Copyright: Copyright ©1998 RedRock Technologies Limited


Welcome to NetNow!

NetNow! has been developed by RedRock Technologies Limited in response to the need for an Internet based messaging server which offers users of a Windows platform the range of facilities traditionally found in unix servers. The primary development goals were full internet compatibility and the widest possible range of features but, unlike traditional offerings, with ease of use and ease of configuration featuring prominently.

Select one of the following for further information:-

What is NetNow!?

Help with NetNow!

Using NetNow!

NetNow! Licence

NetNow! is developed in conjunction with an open mailing list in which everyone is free to participate and contribute their comments, criticisms and requests for features direct to the software development team. Many features in NetNow! have evolved from discussions between the participants in that forum. Select the following for a list of the principal participants:-

Development Team

Copyright © 1998 RedRock Technologies Limited.  All rights reserved.

RedRock Technologies Limited
Noble House
Capital Drive
Milton Keynes
MK14 6QP
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)1908 246400
Fax +44 (0)1908 354220
e-mail info@redrock.co.uk
http://www.redrock.co.uk

Trademarks

Microsoft, Windows, Windows 95, Windows NT and the Windows logo are registered trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation. Netscape and Navigator are trademarks of the Netscape Communications Corporation.

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What is NetNow!?

NetNow! is a message server aimed at individuals, small and medium sized companies and home offices (SOHOS). NetNow!’s primary goal is to provide online services to local users by storing incoming and outgoing news and mail messages offline, then connecting to the Internet at controlled intervals to deliver outgoing messages and collect and store incoming messages. In this way, the illusion is created that users are permanently online to the Internet whilst simultaneously ensuring that cost effective use is made of expensive dial-up facilities. NetNow!’s message storage and collection facilities are also versatile enough to operate on permanent Internet connections and may also be used without an internet connection to provide messaging services across Local Area Networks (LAN) or even private networks which require dial-up access.

Uniquely, NetNow! also includes a special purpose script language which, whilst not essential for normal use, enables individual messaging solutions to be developed to ensure that NetNow! can be customised to meet the widest possible set of requirements.

In summary, NetNow! provides fully featured Mail, News and Intranet services, full disk logging of all activity, comprehensive firewall facilities plus many other services such as a Finger client, Mail-to-News and News-To-Mail gateways, Web Administration, etc. More information can be obtained on these facilities and the services required to support them by referring to the NetNow! Overview section in Using NetNow!:-

Using NetNow!

NetNow! requires either the Windows NT or Windows 95 operating systems to be running on the machine on which it is loaded. The server will operate successfully on a fast 486 class machine but a Pentium class machine is more appropriate. At least 4Mb of free disk space is required to perform an installation but it is unlikely that even a single user installation would require less than 10Mb of disk space during normal operation. Also, NetNow! uses RAS services provided by Windows thus, if a dial-up connection to the Internet is required, Microsoft’s Winsock and Dial-Up Networking applications must be pre-installed and configured with at least one working connection.

All of the configuration dialogs in NetNow! are supported by detailed help topics. If you are new to help systems, particularly Windows 95 style help, you should read the following:-

Help with NetNow!

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Help with NetNow!

The two primary means of obtaining help are the User Guide and the context sensitive help system (in which this page is contained).

User Guide

If you are new to NetNow! it is recommended that you read at least the first seven chapters of the User Guide to obtain an overview before attempting to connect to the Internet.

Context Sensitive Help

At the foot of every configuration dialog in NetNow! is a Help button. Clicking on that button displays a topic in the help file which is tailored to provide appropriate information for that particular dialog. Buttons are also provided within the help text to access any subsidiary topics which may be relevant. In addition, a button marked Related Topics appears below the ruled line at the bottom of every help topic. Clicking on this reveals a list or topics which are also closely related to the current topic. The Back button on the help window toolbar can be used to return directly to the original topic.

If further help is required on individual controls with a configuration dialog the [?] button at the top right hand corner of the dialog can be used, by first clicking on it, then clicking directly on the control in question to reveal a pop up windows containing additional relevant details. The pop up window can be dismissed simply by clicking on it.

Help Topics

Clicking on the Help Topics button on the toolbar of any help topic, or selecting Help Topics from the Help menu in the console, reveals the Help Topics window with three tabs.

The Contents tab provides access to a hierarchical list of topics displayed with [image] icons, each of which can be double clicked to reveal further topics. Topics shown with [image] icons represent further help in the help file.

The Index tab enables searches to be carried out for all the topics which discuss, for example, the concept of caches in NetNow!. If multiple topics exist on any entry a secondary window is displayed to enable an appropriate choice to be made.

The Find tab provides access to every word contained in the NetNow! help file to enable more detailed searches to be performed.

General Help

In addition to context sensitive topics, this help file also provides an introduction to the user interface and the services available on NetNow! with links further links into more detailed topics and references to important external documents:-

Using NetNow!

User Guide

A User Guide, available from NetNow! Limited in printed and PDF formats, provides valuable insight into the features and facilities of NetNow!, with numerous practical examples to guide both single users and system administrators.

NetNow! Web Site

If the above help resources are insufficient you should visit the NetNow! web site which contains reference pages on various topics and links to web based help for NetNow! on other sites. You will also find details of internet mailing lists to which you may subscribe for general help and for help on specific topics within NetNow! - the scripting language, for example. The URL for NetNow!’s web site is:-

http://www.redrock.co.uk/

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NetNow! Licence Details

NetNow! is supplied with a licence and may only be used in accordance with that licence, or a written agreement from RedRock Technologies Limited. The NetNow! software may be installed and a backup copy may be made, however the backup copy may not be used simultaneously with the installed NetNow! software. The NetNow! Software is protected by International Copyright Law.

A "User" represents one person who is licensed to use the services provided by NetNow! within an organisation. NetNow! permits an unlimited number of mailboxes to be created per user.

Currently licences are available in the following combinations:-

1 User

5 Users

10 Users

20 Users

50 Users

100 Users

Unlimited Users

Further details of availability and pricing may be obtained from the RedRock Technologies

Registration Number

When a registered copy of NetNow! is purchased, or additional user licences are added to an existing installation, it may be necessary to update the existing Registration Number of NetNow!. Select About NetNow! from the Help menu then click on Enter new Registration Number and enter the new registration number provided into the Register dialog.

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Using NetNow!

The user interface in NetNow! is organised to make direct access to the powerful features in NetNow! as simple and intuitive as possible. It consists of the following two major elements:-

The console provides the major portion of the visible elements of NetNow!, enabling the user to configure virtually every aspect of NetNow!’s activities via an intuitive object oriented user interface. Although NetNow! is designed to operate as a server and does not require the console to be on display, many of its constituent parts may be highly customised by the user. Select the following for further information:-

Console

NetNow!’s main activities, for example connecting to and disconnecting from the internet, can be initiated from the drop down menu of the NetNow! icon in the system tray (which is located on the task bar). Select the following for further information:-

System Tray Icon

In its most common configuration, NetNow! is started as a service in Windows 95 or Windows NT when the operating system loads and can be shut down by selecting Shutdown Server from the drop down menu of the NetNow! system tray icon, however a number of other configurations are also supported. Select the following for further information:-

Launching and Shutting Down NetNow!

As for any major piece of software, NetNow! can be bewildering to the new user, particularly to those not experienced on the internet. Select the following for an overview of every feature in NetNow! with links to further help on each topic:-

NetNow! Overview

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NetNow! Development Team

Elric Pedder	Project Manager / Developer

Jim Hill	On-Line Documentation

Daniel Lyon	Documentation Editor

Janet Brink	Documentation Editor

Marilyn Heeger	Original Artwork

With thanks to the following for their valuable contributions to the NetNow! project:-

Alan English, Allan Reynolds, Andrew McKay, Ann-Marie Joiner, Anne Pollard, Barry Salter, Ben Smithurst, Ben Vincent, Bob North, Brenton Milne, Brian Orpin, Carl Whalley, Chris Coward, Chris Malme, Christopher Bone, Christopher Partington, Colin Kelly, Colin Mansell, Darren Meldrum, Dave Wheeler, David Barfoot, David Hughes, David Symons, David Agbamu, Duncan Dewar, Edmund Broadley, Edward Betts, Edward Laauwen, Emma Kane, Frank Murray, Geoff Percival, George Poulson, Hugh Spencer, Ian Thomas, Jason Coombes, Jasper Metselaar, Jim Hill, John Blackmore, John Cooper, John Deakin, John Gorst, John Raynor, Jonathan Perkins, Karl Prince, Lance Boehm, Lindy Beveridge, Marcel Moens, Marco Imperi, Mark Derricutt, Mark Hill, Mark Preston, Mark Ruys, Marnix Keesmaat, Martin Clayton, Martin Kerr, Martin Green, Matthew Preston, Michael Humberston, Mike Collins, Mike Tozer, Mike Vybiral, Mike Ziemann, Mitch Bromage, Nathan Strom, Ralph Bednarski, Rashied Ilahibaks, Richard Mein, Richard Morris, Richard Ramshaw, Richard Sobey, Richard Townend, Roelf Renkema, Ross Nicol, Russ Brindley, Simon Fell, Simon Quill, Simon Plant, Simon Steele, Stephen Tyers, Steve Lee, Steve Musitano, Steven Wenham, Stijn Bokhove, Thijs Kinkhorst, Trevor Gentry, Tom Martens, Tony Bullock, Tony Olsen, Tony Rickard, Zac Spitzer.

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Console

The console provides the primary user interface for all the features in NetNow!. It also provides a real time display of NetNow!’s activities and enables all stored message to be viewed. Also, every NetNow! feature which is configured via property dialogs can be accessed via the console.

NetNow!’s console is normally a hidden window but can be displayed by selecting NetNow! Console from the drop down menu of the NetNow! icon in the system tray or simply by double-clicking on that icon. The console may also be displayed by clicking on the console loader shortcut in the NetNow! folder installed in the Start Menu (or by its shortcut key Ctrl+Alt+M), or by launching the NetNow! Console applet in Control Panel. The console can be removed from the desktop without affecting NetNow!’s activities in any way by choosing Close Console from the File menu in the console.

Select the following for a summary of the purpose of every menu entry in the console with links to help topics for further information:-

Console Menus

The toolbar in the console can be displayed with or without captions and is also highly customisable:-

Console Toolbar

The left hand pane of the console is dedicated to a hierarchical tree view of objects in which each major element can be expanded or collapsed by selecting the ‘+’ or ‘-‘ symbols respectively:-

Console Tree View

The right hand pane of the console displays the contents of the object selected in the tree view using one of three user selected views:-

Console List View

The status bar at the bottom of the console displays activity status information and summarises the contents of selected objects:-

Console Status Bar

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Console Menus

In addition to the standard menus in the console detailed below, a Commands menu can be created containing custom menu entries. The Commands menu can be configured to contain any combination of menu entries which appear on other console menus. The Commands menu is created and edited in the Custom Menu Tab of the Customise the Toolbar dialog, accessed by selecting Customise... from the View menu.

Select one of the following for further information on the console menu structure:-

File Menu

View Menu

Options Menu

Actions Menu

Tools Menu

Help Menu

Windows Menu

The Windows menu displays a list of the open windows owned by NetNow!, enabling individual windows to be brought to the foreground via keyboard or mouse selection of the required entry.

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File Menu

Entries in the File menu which are marked with an asterisk are present only in certain contexts.

New

User Mailbox	Creates a new mailbox in the active branch of the console tree view

Mailing List	Creates a new mailing list in the active branch of the console tree view

Mail Archive	Creates a new mail archive in the active branch of the console tree view

Mail Group	Creates a new mail group in the active branch of the console tree view

Finger Record	Creates a new finger record instance

Web Crawler	Creates a new web crawler instance

View Message	Displays the text of the currently selected message in a new window

View Record	Displays the text of the currently selected finger record in a new window

Delete	Deletes the currently selected item

Add File to Archive	Enables a disk file to be added to a mail archive

Clear Host Assignments	Re-applies outbound mail rules to messages waiting for delivery

Close Connection	Halts the currently selected service

Crawl Now	Launches the currently selected web crawler

Properties	Displays the properties dialog for the selected object

Rename	Renames the currently selected archive message

Run Script...	Runs a NetNow! script

Close Console	Removes the console from the desktop

Shutdown Server	Shuts down NetNow!

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View Menu

Show Toolbar	Displays and hides the toolbar

Show Toolbar Captions	Displays and hides the toolbar captions

Small Icons	Displays the contents of the selected item in the tree view as small icons

List	Displays the contents of the selected item in the tree view in list format

Details	Displays the contents of the selected item in the tree view in detail format

Customise...	Modifies the toolbar settings

Configure Columns...	Modifies the columns displayed in the list view of the selected tree view object

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Options Menu

Server...	Configures NetNow!’s general settings

Incoming Mail...	Configures the settings for inbound mail

Outgoing Mail...	Configures the settings for outbound mail

News...	Configures the settings for remote news servers

Newsgroups...	Configures the settings for local and Usenet newsgroups

Dial-up...	Configures the dial-up connection settings

Remote POP3...	Configures the collection of POP3 mail from remote servers

Services...	Configures the services running in NetNow!

Web Crawlers...	Configures the web crawler settings

Users...	Configures the settings for licensed users

Scripts and Templates...	Configures the script and template facilities

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Actions Menu

Go Online	Prompts NetNow! to connect to the internet with the default settings

Go Online With	Prompts NetNow! to connect to the internet using a specific Phonebook entry

Schedule a Connection Now	Prompts NetNow! to connect to the internet using the default schedule

View Event Log	Displays the event log on the desktop

Finger all Automatic Accounts	Prompts NetNow! to launch all finger commands configured as automatic

Finger an account	Launches a finger client program to enable finger commands to be generated

Collect POP3 Mail	Prompts NetNow! to connect to the configured remote POP3 servers to collect mail

Collect News	Prompts NetNow! to connect to the configured remote news servers to collect news articles

Expire Old News	Prompts NetNow! to perform an expire on all newsgroups in its newsbase

Synchronise Clock	Prompts NetNow! to synchronise local machine time with a remote time host

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Tools Menu

Import Mailboxes...	Creates mailboxes in NetNow! from the contents of an input file

Compress Database	Prompts NetNow! to remove gaps created by expired or deleted messages from its database

Start Service	Lists the configured services to enable them to be launched on demand

Search for object...	Enables searches for items in the console display to be carried out

Search Again	Repeats the previous search

Select All	Highlights the entire contents of the current console list view

Invert Selection	Deselects any items currently selected and selects any items not currently selected

Related Topics


Help Menu

Help Topics...	Displays the contents tab of this help file

About NetNow!	Displays the current version and the software registration number of NetNow!

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Console Toolbar

The console toolbar provides quick access to many of the facilities in NetNow!. Floating the cursor over an item on the toolbar displays a tooltip at the mouse pointer and places a brief explanatory text of the purpose of the toolbar item in the console status bar. Each toolbar entry corresponds to an existing entry in the console menu tree.

Displaying the Toolbar

Selecting or deselecting the Show Toolbar item on the View menu hides or reveals the  currently configured toolbar.

Displaying Toolbar Captions

Selecting or deselecting the Show Toolbar Captions item on the View menu hides or reveals a caption on each toolbar entry.

Customising the Toolbar

The contents of the console toolbar can be configured by choosing Customise... from the View menu to reveal the Customise the Toolbar dialog. In that dialog the existing entries can be removed or modified and new entries can be created. Select the following for further information on customising the toolbar:-

Customise the Toolbar

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Customise the Toolbar

The Customise the Toolbar dialog, accessed by selecting Customise... from the View menu, is used to modify the toolbar buttons which appear on the console toolbar and the menu commands which appear on the Commands menu in the console. Select one of the following for further information:-

Toolbar Tab

Custom Menu Tab

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Toolbar Tab

This tab, which appears on the Customise the Toolbar dialog, enables the console toolbar to be customised to individual taste.

Each entry in the toolbar consists of an icon for display purposes, a tooltip which displays brief help text at the mouse pointer, a short command summary which appears in the status bar and a command which uses the text of an existing console menu entry to launch the associated action using a scrip function. The console toolbar can, therefore, implement any action in NetNow! for which there is a menu entry in the console.

To add an item to the toolbar:-

1	Click Add Button to create a template entry

2	Locate and select the new entry, which can be found at the foot of the toolbar contents list

3	Select a suitable Icon for the new entry in the Icon drop list

4	Enter a Caption which will appear beneath the new toolbar entry

5	Enter two text items into the Hint edit box separated by a pipe symbol (ASCII 124) in the format tooltip text|status bar text. For example, the Server toolbar entry contains the default text of Server Properties|Configure NetNow! Properties.

6	Enter the ConsoleMenuCommand(“MenuEntry”) function into the Script to Execute edit box, replacing MenuEntry with the exact text of the desired menu entry. For example, the toolbar for Server requires ConsoleMenuCommand(“Server...”). Note the inclusion of the ellipsis to match the original menu text exactly.

7	Optionally, click Move Up or Move Down to position the selected entry in the desired horizontal location on the toolbar.

8	Optionally, click on Add Separator to create a vertical division in the toolbar to associate like elements into groups.

9	Click Done to commit the changes to the toolbar.

To delete an item from the toolbar:-

1	Select the item in the toolbar contents list

2	Click Delete

Factory Configuration

Click on Default to remove all user configured entries from the toolbar. Note that this simultaneously resets the contents of the Commands menu after confirmation

Related Topics


Custom Menu Tab

This tab, which appears on the Customise the Toolbar dialog, configures the contents of the Commands menu on the console menu bar.

Each entry in the Commands menu consists of a Caption which provides the text of the menu item, a Hint which appears in the status bar when the menu item is selected and a command which uses the text of an existing console menu entry to launch the associated action using a scrip function. The Commands menu can, therefore, implement any action in NetNow! for which there is an existing menu entry in the console.

To add an item to the Commands menu:-

1	Click Add Item to create a template entry

2	Locate and select the new entry, which can be found at the foot of the menu contents list

3	Enter a Caption for the text of the new menu entry

4	Enter a Hint to briefly describe the new menu entry in the status bar

5	Enter the ConsoleMenuCommand(“MenuEntry”) function into the Script to Execute edit box, replacing MenuEntry with the exact text of the desired menu entry. For example, the menu entry for Server requires ConsoleMenuCommand(“Server...”). Note the inclusion of the ellipsis to match the original menu text exactly.

6	Optionally, click Move Up or Move Down to position the selected entry in the desired vertical location on Commands menu.

8	Optionally, click on Add Separator to create a horizontal division between the entries on the Commands menu.

9	Click Done to commit the changes to the new menu item.

To delete an item from the Commands menu:-

1	Select the item in the menu contents list

2	Click Delete

Factory Configuration

Click on Default to remove the Commands menu from the console. Note that this simultaneously resets any user configured alterations to the console toolbar.

Related Topics


Console Tree View

The Tree View in left hand pane of the console consists of a hierarchy of objects. Each object either contains objects lower in the hierarchy or is a container for messages. Selecting any object in the tree view displays its contents in the detail view in the right hand pane of the console. Every object in the console tree view has a context menu, accessed via right clicking on the object or via the context key on a Windows style keyboard. Most objects in the tree view can be configured via the Properties entry on its context menu. Properties for the selected item can also be accessed by choosing Properties from the File menu. User defined object in the tree view may be moved to new locations by drag and drop. Mailslots and Mail Groups, for example, can be freely reorganised in this manner. Click on any of the following Tree View items for further information on that object:-

   Active Connections	Displays running services and current activities

   Mail

   Remote POP3 Mailboxes	Displays user defined Remote POP3 mailboxes

   Remote POP3 Mailbox	Displays the contents of user defined Remote POP3 mailboxes

   Mailboxes     	Displays user defined groups and administrative mailslots

   Mail Group	Displays user defined mailslots in the mail group

   Mailbox	Displays mailbox messages

   Archive	Displays archive messages

   Mail List	Displays accumulated digest messages

   Mailserver	Administrative mailslot for mail

   Newsserver	Administrative mailslot for mail / news gateways

   Postmaster	Displays contents of Postmaster’s Administrative mailslot

   Outgoing Mail	Displays messages waiting for despatch

   News

   Subscriptions	Displays user defined news servers

   Local Group	Displays local newsgroups

   Newsgroup	Displays newsgroup messages

   Remote News Server	Displays remote newsgroups

   Newsgroup	Displays newsgroup messages

   Outgoing News	Displays messages waiting for despatch

   Web Crawlers	Displays user defined web crawlers

   Remote Web Site	Displays contents of remote web site

    Users	Displays list of users

   User	Displays list of mailslots owned by user

   Finger Records	Displays list of finger records

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Console List View

The right hand pane of the console displays the contents of the currently selected item in the list view in the left hand pane. The contents of the list view can be displayed in any one of three formats by selecting the appropriate entry in the View menu:-

Small Icons	Represents each item as an icon with short identifiers, arranged horizontally

List	Represents each item as an icon with short identifiers, arranged vertically

Details	Shows full details of each item in a configurable column display

In all three views items in the list view can be selected using familiar Windows conventions, marquee selection, Ctrl+Click, Shift+Click and Shift+Cursor. Each entry in the list view also has a context menu, accessed via right clicking on the object or via the context key on a Windows style keyboard.

Column Display

When the Details view is active in the List View pane, the visible fields in the column display can be customised by selecting Configure Columns from the View menu to display the Configure Visible Fields dialog. Note that each class of object in NetNow! can be displayed in only one column format. Adjusting the visible columns for one mailbox, for example, imposes those settings on all mailboxes in the console.

Configure Visible Fields

The items in this dialog can be moved freely by drag and drop, or by clicking on the arrowed buttons, to and from the Available Fields and Fields to Display areas to determine which columns are displayed for the currently selected object in the List View. The order of the column display can also be set by moving selected entries by drag and drop or by clicking on Move Up and Move Down.

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Console Status Bar

The console status bar contains three distinct fields, each of which displays specific information on the status of activities or objects within the console.

Selected Object Status

The left panel of the status bar is dedicated to supplying summary information, for example the total number and selected number of messages in a selected mailslot. This information is replaced by a hint message whenever a toolbar item or a menu item is selected in the console.

Outgoing Mail

The centre panel of the status bar displays the number of messages waiting in the outbox for delivery to remote mail hosts. Note that the sending messages via smart host tends to reduce this figure and sending via MX lookup tends to increase this figure.

Dial-up Schedule Status

NetNow! permanently displays the date, time and Phonebook entry of the next scheduled connection to the internet in the right panel of the status bar. This information is particularly useful when configuring dial-up schedules.

Related Topics


System Tray Icon

NetNow! normally displays an icon [image] in the system tray area of the Windows’ task bar when it loads. This can be disabled, for security reasons, using the appropriate option in the Startup Tab.

Double clicking on NetNow!’s system tray icon displays the console on the desktop. Right clicking the icon displays its context menu:-

About NetNow!	Displays the current version and the software registration number of NetNow!

View Event Log	Displays the Event Log on screen

NetNow! Console	Displays the console on the desktop

Finger all Automatic Accounts	Prompts NetNow! to launch all finger commands configured as automatic

Finger an account	Launches a finger client program to enable finger commands to be generated

Collect POP3 Mail	Prompts NetNow! to connect to the configured remote POP3 servers to collect mail

Collect News	Prompts NetNow! to connect to the configured remote news servers to collect news articles

Schedule a Connection Now	Prompts NetNow! to connect to the internet using the default schedule

Go Online	Prompts NetNow! to connect to the internet

Shutdown Server	Shuts down NetNow!

Synchronise Clock	Prompts NetNow! to synchronise local machine time with a remote time host

Related Topics


Launching and Shutting Down NetNow!

Normally, NetNow! is started as a service whenever the operating system loads and stops running only when the operating system shuts down. Other options are available, manual startup, for example, to ensure maximum flexibility. These options can be configured in the Startup Tab of the Server Properties:-

Startup Tab

If NetNow! is not running, it can be started via the shortcut placed in the NetNow! folder of the Start Menu during program installation. Alternatively, the global keystroke shortcut of Control+Alt+M (holding all three keys down simultaneously) may be used.

To stop NetNow! running, select Shutdown Server from the NetNow! icon in the system tray area of the task bar. This option should be used with care in multi-user installations.

NetNow! may also be configured to run without placing its icon in the system tray. This removes the temptation from unauthorised users to “fiddle” with the settings but note that the console should be configured with a password to prevent all unauthorised access:-

If the NetNow! icon is not available in the system tray it can be launched by running the applet named mtqicon.exe in the NetNow! folder - located in the C:\Program Files\NetNow! folder during a standard installation.

Related Topics


NetNow! Overview

NetNow!’s facilities centre around message handling but many added features which combine to create a rich operating environment. This overview provides only basic information on each element, more comprehensive details are provided in the User Guide.

Configuration

Most of NetNow!’s facilities and services are configured using Properties Dialogs which can all be accessed via the console. A comprehensive list of these is available from the Index Tab of this help file by typing “Properties” (without the quotes) into the edit box on that tab. The Index tab can be accessed easily by clicking on the Help Topics button at the top of this window.

Mailslots

There are three types of mailslot in NetNow!. Mailboxes provide temporary message receipt and storage facilities. NetNow! delivers incoming mail to them and mail can be collected from them using any standard POP3 mail client. Archives provide longer term storage facilities for both messages and files. Archives can list their contents in response to enquiries and can also send out copies of any of the messages they contain. Mailing lists are simply discussion groups of people interested in a particular topic. Messages received by a mailing list are distributed to all the participants, known as subscribers. Subscribers can join and leave lists automatically by sending control messages. All types of mailslots can be grouped into logical hierarchies using Mail Groups for ease of administration.

Mailboxes

Archives

Mailing Lists

Mail Groups

Mail

NetNow! incorporates sophisticated mail handling facilties. Incoming mail can be received via the SMTP protocol or collected using the comprehensive POP3 mail collection service which can access unlimited numbers of remote POP3 mailboxes simultaneously to collect waiting messages. Outgoing Mail can be handed off to any specified smart host or delivered direct via MX lookup. Sophisticated mail barring and mail rewriting facilities are also provided.

Inbox Properties

Outbox Properties

POP3 Collection

SMTP Service

News

NetNow! collects news from any number of remote news servers using one of the four collection methods available and stores the retrieved articles in local newsgroups which can be accessed by all standard online and offline news readers. Unlimited numbers of local newsgroups can also be created and messages can be translated from news to mail and from mail to news automatically using inbuilt gateways.

News Properties

General Administratiion

Administrative accounts are present in every NetNow! installation to handle the Postmaster’s mailbox, outgoing mail and news spools, mail to news gateways and mailing list subscription facilities. Select the following for further information:-

Administrative Accounts

Services

Much of the rich functionality of NetNow! is supported by running various TCP/IP services. For example, mail collection uses the POP3 service, mail delivery uses the SMTP service, news reading uses the NNTP service. Each service can be configured to run on any TCP/IP port and each each service has its own firewall for maximum security. All the NetNow! TCP/IP services, those mentioned plus finger, HTTP, remote logging, mail gateway and proxy tunnel services and one non TCP/IP service, mail to disk gateway, are configured in the Service Manager.

Service Manager

Scheduled Dial-up

NetNow! uses the TAPI interface to communicate with the outside world which is implemented as Dial-Up Networking (DUN) in Windows 95 and Windows NT. NetNow! utilises existing DUN connections automatically and also contains powerful scheduling facilities which can be configured to make secure unattended connects to the Internet or to other remote networks.

Internet Dial-up

Web Services

A full intranet web server is available in NetNow!, configured via the HTTP service. In addition, Web Crawlers, which maintain copies of remote web sites which can then be browsed locally offline, a WWW Proxy and a fully indexed web cache are provided.

Web Administration

The web administration service enables registered users to view and update the configuration of their mailslots in the console using standard web browser clients, avoiding the need to provide direct access to the NetNow! server. Mail and news messages held in NetNow! and the contents of the web cache can also be accessed in this way.

Web Administration

User Manager

Scripts Language

NetNow! incorporates a powerful script language which can be used to develop custom message handling solutions. The script language is also incorporate into Templates, the method used by NetNow! to respond automatically to certain types of incoiming messages.

 	Scripts and Templates

Related Topics


Help Unavailable

Sorry -- Help on this topic is not available.


Mailbox Properties

The Mailbox Properties dialog is used to configure mailboxes in NetNow! and can be accessed by choosing New, User Mailbox from the File menu in the console or by choosing Properties from the context menu of any mailbox in the console. Mailboxes appear in the console as [image].

NetNow! mailboxes provide a temporary mail store from which mail can be collected. Mail collected from mailboxes using the POP3 protocol can be retained in the mailbox or deleted at the user’s discretion. Alternatively, NetNow! can store mail in a specified folder using the KA9Q format (used by a number of older mail clients). Once mail has been transferred into the KA9Q format it can no longer be accessed or controlled by NetNow!. Select one of the following for further information:-

POP3 Mailbox Tab

Mail Tab

Aliases Tab

Message Expiry Tab

Gateway Tab

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POP3 Mailbox Tab

This tab appears on the Mailbox Properties dialog and is used to configure POP3 access to the mailbox.

Mailbox Name

The name of a mailbox entered into this edit box also becomes the mail address of the mailbox within NetNow!. It must, therefore, be different from the name of any other mailslot in the console. For example, if a Mailbox Name of “bob” (without the quotes) is entered and if the Local Host is “example.com” then the address of the mailbox is fixed within NetNow! as bob@example.com. Select the following for further information on naming mailslots in NetNow!

Mailslot Naming

Name / Description of Mailbox

Enter a description of the mailbox into this edit box. For ease of administration in large installations it is often useful to enter the full name of the user of the mailbox.

POP3 Password

This entry is used by NetNow! to authorise mail clients which attempt to access this mailslot. If POP3 Password is left empty NetNow! accepts any password from any connecting client.

Owner

The Owner field, defaulting to Administrator, defines the owner of the mailslot. The names which appear in the Owner drop box are those of licensed users as configured in User Manager. Select the following for further information:-

User Manager

Local Directory Visibility

This field can be set to one of three options to determine which users are permitted to alter the settings of the mailslot using the Web Administration feature in NetNow!:-

Private (Owner)	Configuration restricted to the defined Owner of the mailslot

Protected (LAN)	Configuration restricted to any user on the defined Local Area Network

Public (Anybody)	Configuration can be changed by any user

Select the following for further information:-

Web Administration

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Mail Tab

This tab, which appears on the Mailbox Properties dialog, is used to configure the autoresponse, mail forwarding and filtering options for this mailbox.

Send a copy of all messages to

If this option is selected a copies of all messages which arrive in the mailbox are forwarded to the destinations entered into the associated list box. Multiple local or non-local addresses may be entered by separating them with commas, for example “mybox, user@example.com” (without the quotes) where mybox is a local address and user@example.com may be local or non-local. Whenever possible, mailbox aliases should be used for routing mail copies to local addresses in preference to mailbox forwarding. Select the following for further information:-

Mail Routing

Discard from Mailbox

This option is linked to the Send a copy... option and, if checked, NetNow! deletes mail forwarded from this mailbox.

Automatically respond to mail

If this option is enabled NetNow! sends an acknowledgement by mail to the sender of each message which is delivered to this mailbox.

Edit Reply

Click Edit Reply to change the text of the acknowledgement message. Select one of the following for further information:-

Modifying the Autoresponder Template

Scripts and Templates

Acknowledge Delivery Receipt Requests

Check this option to enable NetNow! to respond to delivery receipt requests which may be attached to any messages delivered to this mailbox. There are significant security considerations which should be taken into account when automatic responses are made to messages received from external networks such as the Internet. This applies to the Automatically respond to mail and Acknowledge Delivery Receipt Requests options on this tab. Select the following for further information:-

Mail Security Considerations

Also, all automated mail reply mechanisms must be carefully set up and properly maintained to avoid causing undue annoyance to others. Select the following for further information:-

Automated Mail Responses

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Aliases Tab

This tab, which appears on the Mailbox Properties dialog, is used to configure mailbox aliases in NetNow!. Mailbox aliases are distinct from the Aliases File feature in NetNow!. Select the following for further information on the uses of Mailbox Aliases in NetNow!:-

Using Mailbox Aliases

Aliases for this mailbox

To add an alias, enter the alias at the end of the existing list. To edit an existing alias select it and overtype with the necessary amendments. To delete an entry, select the relevant entry and press the delete key.

Note

If a user name only is entered, for example bob, NetNow! assumes that the user is local - that is, it is assumed that the Local Host should be appended when evaluating mailbox alias entries during the Mail Routing process.

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Message Expiry Tab

This tab, which appears on the Mailbox Properties dialog, is used to configure NetNow!’s handling of messages stored in the mailbox. Note that mail gatewayed to disk cannot be expired.

Messages may be stored in mailboxes within NetNow! if the option to “leave mail on server” is configured in mail clients collecting mail via POP3. The message expiry options allow these messages to be forwarded to another address or to be deleted after a given period, enabling the size of the mailbox to be kept under control.

Message Expiry can also serve other purposes. For example, messages not collected promptly from a mailbox could be forwarded to a colleague or to other administrative staff.

Enable Mail Expiry

When this option is checked NetNow! removes messages stored in the mailbox in accordance with the settings of the remaining options on this tab.

Expire After...days...hours

Enter the number of days and hours for which each message should remain in the mailbox before being expired.

Notify Sender

If this option is enabled NetNow! notifies the sender of the message when it is expired from the mailbox.

Note

Automated responses to mail messages can be regarded as a security risk in certain circumstances. Select the following for further information:-

Mail Security Considerations

Forward to Mailbox

When this option is active expired messages are forwarded to the listed recipient in addition to being deleted from this mailbox. This can be useful if it is essential that every message must be responded to within a certain amount of time.

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Gateway Tab

This tab appears on the Mailbox Properties dialog and provides the options to gateway incoming messages to disk storage. If any of these options are enabled, NetNow! no longer controls the messages and they cannot be retrieved with clients using the POP3 protocol.

Gateway to KA9Q and Text Files

If this option is enabled, NetNow! provides support for KA9Q mail clients by placing messages in a text file which is external to NetNow!’s message database. There are three options and the choice of which to use depends on the type of KA9Q mail client or Pegasus client in use. The root of the KA9Q folder structure is configured by the KA9Q service options in the Server Properties dialogue.

KA9Q Route Mode

If the KA9Q Route Mode option is enabled messages are appended to the user’s mailbox file (which can be read by mail clients such as Pine and PC Elm). The mailbox file is placed in a specific text file in the mail subfolder. The text file is named using the mailbox name defined on the POP3 Mailbox Tab with a .TXT extension.

KA9Q Queue Mode

If this option is enabled messages are placed in the mqueue subfolder of the KA9Q directory structure. It is then the responsibility of the mail client being used to move them to the appropriate place for the user. Please refer to the mail client documentation for further details on using KA9Q.

Pegasus Gateway

This option is similar to the KA9Q Queue mode, except that NetNow! outputs the files using the Pegasus Gateway format and file naming conventions.

Gateway Directory and Real Path

This shows the actual directory in to which NetNow! will place the files (which may be useful for configuring your gateway clients).

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Aliases in NetNow!

An alias is defined simply an assumed name but that simple concept can be utilised to good effect in a variety of ways in messaging systems. NetNow! employs aliases in the following contexts:-

Mailbox Aliases

Mailbox aliases provide the most common use of aliases within NetNow!. Aliases in the mailbox, mailing list and archive mailslots all perform in exactly the same way. They provide both an alternative delivery address for the mailslot in which they appear and an effective means of routing mail messages into other mailboxes in which they are placed. Select the following for further information:-

Using Mailbox Aliases

Aliases File

The aliases file provides address rewriting facilities in NetNow! via entries in a simple text file. It has no user interface in the console. Select the following for further information:-

Aliases File

Domain Aliases

Domain aliases enable NetNow! to recognise other delivery addresses as being local to itself, regardless of the fact that the primary domain name may be completely different. Mail which would otherwise be delivered to a remote host can be retained and delivered locally using this facility. Select the following for further information:-

Server Tab

Homepage Aliases

The HTTP service employs aliases to replace complex, deeply nested, directory paths to the intranet homepages of users with simple mnemonic names. Select the following for further information:-

WWW Server Tab

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Using Mailbox Aliases

A mailbox alias is simply an alternative name for a mailbox. For example, if a mailbox has an address of mybox@example.com and a mailbox alias of “sales” then messages addressed to both mybox@example.com and sales@example.com will be delivered to that mailbox. Mailslot names, and therefore mailslot addresses, must be unique in NetNow! however multiple mailslots may share the same mailbox alias and each mailslot can have an unlimited number of mailbox aliases.

Mailbox aliases can be configured in the Aliases Tab of the Mailbox Properties dialog, the Aliases Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog and the Aliases Tab of the Archive Properties dialog and behave identically in all three mailslots. Note: the alias names used here are all quoted, “alias” for example, to distinguish them from surrounding text. Mailbox aliases must not be quoted in this manner when they are used in the Aliases tabs.

Creating Mailbox Aliases

Mailbox aliases are often exactly the same as an existing mailbox name but can also be created uniquely and mail addressed to them is delivered to the mailslot in which they appear. Mail addressed to foo@example.com, can be received in any mailslot in the console by adding “foo” (without the quotes) to the appropriate Aliases Tab. Select the following for further information:-

Mailslot Naming

Examples

The flexibility of mailbox aliases can be exploited in many ways, One example is the construction of simple mailing lists. If ten mailboxes in NetNow! all have a mailbox alias of “sales” and the Local Host is named example.com then each of those mailboxes will receive a copy of any mail addressed to sales@example.com. A similar simple grouping system could also be constructed for all managers using a “managers” alias and multiple alias entries can be employed where functions coincide. The sales manager, for example, could have aliases of “sales” and “managers”.

Aliases can also help to ensure that the adverse affects of simple addressing errors are reduced, particularly in internal mail systems. Consider the example of Bob Smith whose correct address is bob.smith@example.com. Adding aliases to that mailbox of “robert.smith” and “smith.robert” provides a simple and effective means of helping to ensure that even poorly addressed mail will reach the correct destination.

Some users employ multiple personalities for their messaging activities. Internally, for example, they might be addressed as sales.manager@example.com but externally as robert.smith@example.com. Many users on the Internet adopt identities which reflect the informal nature of that network, bob@example.com, for example. Employing aliases of “robert.smith” and “bob” in the sales.manager mailbox enables all mail for that person to be collected from a single point and reduces the administrative load on the mail server by requiring less mailboxes and by eliminating unnecessary routing between mailboxes.

Mailbox Aliases and Mail Routing

Whenever possible, mailbox aliases should be used for routing mail copies to local addresses in preference to mailbox forwarding because aliases make more efficient use of the Mail Routing process in NetNow!. For example, if the mailbox sally@example.com forwards copies of received mail to bob@example.com then NetNow! must route the same message twice. If, however, an alias of “sally” is added to the bob@example.com mailbox then NetNow! can perform all the necessary routing in one pass when handling the incoming message. Select the following for further information:-

Mail Routing

Note

Mailbox aliases can be regarded as a security risk in certain circumstances. Select the following for further information:-

Mail Security Considerations

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Mail Security Considerations

NetNow! provides a flexible and powerful messaging system which can be used on Local Area Networks (LANs) and on the Internet. Network security on closed networks, such as LANs, is entirely under the control of the LAN administrator but special considerations apply to messages being sent to and received from the Internet. All Internet messaging systems must be regarded as insecure simply because they operate in an open, mostly unregulated, network. The text of messages can be encrypted for privacy, for example, but the message transport systems employed on the Internet require the addresses of the sender and of the intended recipient to be transmitted “in the clear”. Note should also be taken of the problem of abuse of the Internet which may result in Unsolicited Commercial Email (UCE) or Unsolicited Bulk Email (UBE) most often, but by no means exclusively, generated from messages on Usenet.

Mailslot Owners and Local Visibility

Wherever possible, mailslots should be configured to be as secure as possible. This helps to prevent local abuse of message systems by ensuring that non authorised users cannot read mail and news messages held in NetNow!, particularly with regard to the Web Administration Service.

Automated responses to incoming mail

Except in tightly controlled situations, such as well configured mailing lists for example, it is generally considered unwise to configure NetNow! to respond automatically to incoming messages by returning an acknowledgement of any kind to the sender of the message. This is the case regardless of whether the message sender has prompted the response by including a delivery receipt request in their message or whether an autoresponder is being used to send out vacaction messages, for one example.

Delivery receipt requests can be considered meaningless when transmitted across the Internet because they are not handled consistently by many mail systems. Some mail servers respond to delivery receipt requests themselves and others strip them completely before forwarding messages. Whether a response to a delivery receipt request is received or not, therefore, it cannot be assumed that the message has either reached or not reached its destination.

The major problem with all autoresponses, however, is that they can be responsible for sending messages out to inappropriate destinations. Autoresponses to mailing list messages for example, can be infuriating to other subscribers if they get distributed by the list as normal messages. Such activity will invariably result in the culprit being ejected from the mailing list in question and the culprit’s address may also be added to numerous kill files. Also, NetNow! cannot detect in advance whether the return address used by the sender of a message is valid or not before attempting to actually return the response. At best, this may result in autoresponses being bounced by other mail systems, at worst the address of the autoresponder could be abused by a revenge mail bomb attack.

Being largely unregulated, malicious mail messages are not completely unknown on the Internet and a poorly configured autoresponder can be used to target abuse at other parties. Suitable steps should be taken to avoid all such consequences, therefore, before configuring NetNow! to autorespond to incoming messages.

Mailbox Aliases

Mailbox aliases are an extremely useful feature in NetNow!. Care should be observed in multi-user environments, however, that they are not used to obtain copies of messages intended for other recipients.

Firewalls

Wherever possible, SMTP services running on NetNow! should be firewalled to ensure that mail is not relayed for external unauthorised senders. Most dial-up users receive SMTP mail from an indentifiable small number of mail relays and the firewall should be configured to include these addresses and exclude all others. At the very least, the option to retain a copy of all incoming and outgoing messages should be implemented. Select the following for further information:-

Inbox Properties

Outbox Properties

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Mail Routing

There are two mail routing process in NetNow!. The inbound router handles messages within NetNow! and the outbound router handles only those messages which the inbound router has determined cannot be delivered locally. This topic is also handled in depth in the User Guide. Select the following for further information on the Static and Dynamic Routing Tables which handle the outbound mail routing process in NetNow!:-

Mail Routing Table

Mailbox Forwarding

Forwarding mail to local internal addresses in NetNow! should, wherever practical, be implemented using mailbox aliases rather than mailbox forwarding. Mailbox forwarding requires an additional pass through the inbound router in order to arrive at the destination mailbox whereas NetNow! can identify all the recipients of a message during the first pass if mailbox aliases are employed. The use of mailbox forwarding is unavoidable in some circumstances, however it should be noted that Maitraq increments its loop counter on each message every time it passes through the router. Excessive use of mailbox forwarding (e.g. mailbox A forwards to mailbox B which in turn forwards to mailbox C) within NetNow! can prematurely trigger NetNow!’s loop counter and cause messages to be treated as undeliverable.

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Mail Relaying

Mail relaying is the practice of sending mail to a remote mail host other than the host specified by the MX records for the recipient address. Until recently, all mail hosts on the Internet permitted this activity to ensure that the SMTP mail transport system could route around emporary losses of connectivity and other network related problems. Unscrupulous junk mailers abused this open, trust based system, however, by offloading their messages onto any mail system which offered them the opportunity of hiding the true origin of their messages. It is becoming exceedingly rare, therefore, to find a mail host which will offer to accept mail for delivery to anything other than recipients which it regards as being local to itself.

The exception, of course, is the smart mail hosts run by most Internet Service Providers (ISP). If a user’s IP address or logon details identify them as being customers of that ISP, mail relaying to remote mail hosts is permitted. However, If NetNow! connects to two or more Internet Service Provider accounts and outgoing mail is delivered via smart host, ISP(a) may refuse to accept mail for onward delivery if it was composed in NetNow! using a return path appropriate to ISP(b) (and vice-versa, or course).

To help overcome this, a static outbound route should be created, placing the smart host addresses of each ISP in the Mail Hosts field. If NetNow! receives a normal “471 No Relaying” response from the first smart host it will automatically attempt to send the mail to the next quoted smart hosted. Some mail hosts, however, are configured to respond with “571 No Relaying” and the receipt of a 5xx SMTP response code is normally treated as an irrecoverable delivery failure. NetNow! has been programmed, however, to interpret 571 codes in this situation as 471 codes and will, therefore, continue trying to deliver the outbound messages to the quoted smart host.

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Mailslot Names
Mailslot Naming

The name of a mailslot in NetNow! also dictates the address of that mailslot. A mailslot named box1 with a Local Host named example.com, for example, would have an email address of box1@example.com. It is good practice to name mailslots which have single users as closely as possible to the name of the user. This reduces the potential for confusion in larger organisations and ensures that mail deliveries suffer the minimum of disruption through incorrect addressing. The mailbox of a user named Fred Bloggs, therefore, would ideally be named Fred_Bloggs, using underscores in preference to dashes to avoid confusion with double barreled names.

In addition, the requirements of RFC 2142 “Mailbox Names for Common Services, Roles and Functions,” should be carefully observed.

Mailslot names in the console:-

•	must be unique

•	must not be longer than 64 characters

•	must use only letters a-z (case insensitive), numbers 1-9 and _ (underscore), + (plus sign) and - (minus sign)

•	should not contain full stops

•	may be mixed case, if preferred, but NetNow! converts mailslot names to lower case when using them as part of an address.

Mailbox Aliases

Similar rules should be applied to mailbox aliases except, of course, that they are designed to be duplicated within the console where necessary in order to fulfill their mail distribution role.

In addition to the mailslot naming rules, mailing lists require special attention. Select the following for further information:-

Mailing List Naming

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Mailslot Names
Mailing List Naming

Mailing list names must comply with the rules applicable to all mailslots in NetNow!:-

Mailslot Naming

Care should also be taken when choosing a list name, however, to ensure the list can be integrated into other facilities available in NetNow!, to comply with generally accepted list practices and to observe RFC requirements.

Many mailing lists maintain archives as a source of reference and it is convenient to be able to add the string “-archive” to the mailing list name to access those archives. The list named NetNow!-support@netmail.demon.co.uk, for example, maintains an archive at NetNow!-support-archive@netmail.demon.co.uk. Consistent naming in this manner also helps administrators to automate message handling between mailing lists and archives. Standard scripts are available, for example, to ensure that access to a list archive is restricted to those who subscribe to its associated mailing list.

RFC 2142 requires that all mailing lists have an administrative address for general queries. Thus, if the list address is list@domain, the administration address is required to be list-request@domain.

By convention, the maintainer of a mailing list has a return address which includes the string “owner.” Thus if the list address is list@domain, the return address for failed messages, etc, should be owner-list@domain or list-owner@domain.

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Mailing List Properties

The Mailing List Properties dialog is used to configure mailboxes in NetNow! and can be accessed by selecting New, Mailing List from the File menu in the console or by choosing Properties from the context menu of any existing mailing list in the console. Mailing lists appear in the console and on the toolbar as [image].

NetNow! mailing lists enable single messages to be distributed to multiple recipients or to single recipients in a ‘round robin’ fashion. All types of mailing lists are supported, open lists, closed lists, anonymising lists, etc. Select one of the following for further information:-

List Tab

Subscribers Tab

Access Tab

Messages Tab

General Tab

Digests Tab

Aliases Tab

Addresses Tab

If the appropriate options are enabled on the Access Tab, subscribers can report on and update many of their subscription properties, for example whether messages should be received from the mailing list as digests instead of normal email messages. Select the following for further information:-

Mailing List Command Syntax

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List Tab

This tab, which appears on the Mailing List Properties dialog, is used to configure the prime properties of a mailing list.

List Name

The List Name also provides the email address of the mailing list and should be chosen with care. Select the following for further information:-

Mailslot Naming

Mailbox

Enter a description for the mailing list into this edit box.  This description can be free text but note that it is used by NetNow! when generating template responses to mailing list commands.

Maintainer

The address entered into the Maintainer field, or chosen from the existing mailslots in the drop list, is used for the SMTP return path on all mailing list distributions and should be chosen with care. Delivery failure and delivery delay reports will be returned automatically to this address by remote mail hosts if problems occur during message delivery. Select the following for further information:-

Mailing List Naming

Distribute incoming messages...

Two methods of mailing list distribution are supported by NetNow! mailing lists:-

Distribute to all	This option distributes a copy of each message received to each subscriber to the mailing list

Distribute evenly	This option distributed each incoming message to only one of the subscribers to the mailing list. The subscriber is selected by NetNow! in ‘round robin’ fashion - each subscriber with their Receive flag enabled receives a message in turn. This facility is useful for distributing the incoming message load around the members of a response team, for example.

Owner

The Owner field, defaulting to Administrator, defines the owner of the mailslot. The names which appear in the Owner drop box are those of licensed users as configured in User Manager. Select the following for further information:-

User Manager

Local Directory Visibility

This field can be set to one of three options to determine which users are permitted to alter the settings of the mailslot using the Web Administration feature in NetNow!:-

Private (Owner)	Configuration restricted to the defined Owner of the mailslot

Protected (LAN)	Configuration restricted to any user on the defined Local Area Network

Public (Anybody)	Configuration can be changed by any user

Select the following for further information:-

Web Administration

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Subscribers Tab

This tab, which appears on the Mailing List Properties dialog, lists the current subscribers to the mailing list, sets the properties and permissions for subscribers and controls and reports on list membership.

The subscriber list on this tab is displayed in multiple columns and the dialog box can be resized as required. The information held for each subscriber, all of which are taken from the Subscriber Properties dialog, is as follows: the Subscriber column displays the Full Name field; the Address column displays the EMail Address field;  the Send-To column displays the Send-To Address field; the Permissions column displays a code for each field in the Flags list box; the Join Date column displays the date of subscription and the Post Date column the date of last message received (or the subscription date if no messages have been received); the Filter column displays the details of any message filters configured on individual subscribers.

The default sort order in the list box is ascending on the Address column. Click on the column headings to temporarily sort the subscriber list on the contents of other columns. Repeat clicking on any one column heading reverses the sort order on that column. If the default sort order is changed an arrow indicating sort order is displayed on the header row of the selected column.

Select the following for a list of the codes employed in the Permissions field:-

Permissions Codes

Each subscriber in the subscriber list is shown against an icon. Select the following for details of these icons:-

Subscriber Icons

To add a subscriber:-

Click on New (or press the Insert key) and complete the necessary details in the Subscribers Properties dialog.

To delete a subscriber:-

Select one or more entries in the subscriber list and click on Delete.

To edit subscriber details:-

Select one or more entries in the subscriber list and click on Properties. Note that if multiple subscribers are selected and if the settings for any of those subscriber differ, NetNow! indicates the conflicting settings by grey shading in the Subscribers Properties dialog. Multiple subscriber entries can be selected using the normal Windows conventions: Ctrl+left-click for non-contiguous selections and Shift+left-click for contiguous selections.

Select the following for further information:-

Subscriber Properties

Report

NetNow! can be configured to send a formatted report on new subscriptions and unsubscriptions to the mailing list in an email message on a regular basis to a specified address. Select the following for further information on this feature:-

Report Properties

The following facilities are available on the context menu in the subscriber list box when one or more subscriber entries are selected:-

Properties	Displays the Subscriber Properties dialog for the selected subscribers

Delete	Deletes the selected subscribers

New	Adds a new subscriber via the Subscriber Properties dialog

Export	Displays the Export Subscription List dialog

Import	Displays the Import Subscription List dialog

Select one of the following for further information:-

Export Subscription List

Import Subscription List

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Access Tab

This tab, which appears on the Mailing List Properties dialog, controls the subscription methods available to new subscribers and sets the address of the list moderator.

Enable Subscription by Mail

Depending on the nature of the mailing list, it may be useful to automate its management to a certain extent by allowing subscribers to join at their own request. Whilst some mailing lists will be used simply as a means of distributing copies of messages to a number of people (for example, department members), mailing lists can also be used to host public discussion forums. In these cases, it is normal practice to permit subscribers to join and leave the list by sending control messages.

Enable Subscription by Proxy

Subscription by Proxy is similar to subscription by mail, but allows subscribers to add or remove others from the mailing list.

Proxy must be an administrator

This option, which is only available when subscription by proxy is enabled, ensures that proxy activity is restricted to subscribers configured in this mailing list as administrators.

Confirm New Subscriptions

Enabling this option, which is only available when subscription by proxy is enabled, requires prospective subscribers to return a confirmation message to the mailing list to authorise their subscription request. The subject header of the confirmation message contains a code which must be returned intact for their subscription to be accepted. This code is only valid for a single combination of mailing list and subscriber, making it extremely difficult to add a subscriber by proxy without their consent. The confirmation message also provides a useful check on the validity and accessibility of the subscription addresses of potential subscribers. Use of this option is strongly recommended for all mailing lists which are accessible via the Internet.

Enable Subscriber Password Authentication

Enabling this option requires all subscribers to provide their password when sending command messages. New subscribers are informed of their password by the mailing list welcome message, if enabled. When sending proxy command messages, administrators should use their own password.

Moderated by

Messages posted by subscribers with the moderated flag set, messages with binary attachments posted without permission or messages posted by guests with the guest moderated flag set, are all marked for moderation. This results in the affected messages being directed to the address specified in the Moderated by drop list instead of being sent to the mailing list. If the moderator chooses to forward any such messages to the mailing list, this can be effected in the NetNow! console by drag and drop from the moderator’s mailbox to the mailing list mailslot.

Guest Properties

Click on Guest Properties to display the settings which are applied to messages sent to the mailing list address by non subscribers. Select the following for further information:-

Guest Properties

New Subscriber Properties

Click on New Subscriber Properties to display the settings which are automatically applied to each new subscriber to the mailing list. Select the following for further information:-

New Subscriber Properties

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Messages Tab

This tab, which appears on the Mailing List Properties dialog, controls the modifications made to messages which are posted to the mailing list.

From...

This setting controls the address set by the mailing list in the From: header of distributed messages. The default Author option retains the author’s address on outgoing messages. Selecting The Mailing List option places the address of the mailing list on all outgoing messages, thus anonymising the list distribution.

Filter

Filter settings can be employed to determine the characteristics of messages which are acceptable to the mailing list. Note that each subscriber may also have individual filter settings, accessed from the Subscriber Properties dialog, which may be used to filter out list messages of no interest.

To add a filter:-

1	Click on Filter to display the Filter Settings dialog

2	Choose a filter from the dropdown list of Filter Criteria

3	Add a filter value to the edit box which is then revealed

4	Determine how the filter condition is to be interpreted by choosing an entry in the Match dropdown list

Steps 2-4 can be repeated to set multiple filter matches

5	Click on Ok

Select the following for further information on filters:-

Filter Settings

Reply-To...

Four options are available for this setting which controls the contents of the Reply-To: header on mailing list distributions:-

Default	This option leaves the contents of any Reply-To: header on incoming messages unchanged. This is the preferred option if the mailing list is an open list where subscribers may wish to cross-post to other mailing lists and to individuals not subscribed to this mailing list.

Author	This option, typically employed by announce type mailing lists where most subscribers do not have posting permission, sets the Reply-To: header to the address of the author of the message.

The Mailing List	This option is useful for closed mailing lists and helps, in so far as is practicable, to ensure that all discussion is conducted via the mailing list rather than between individual subscribers.

Other	This option can be used to direct replies from an announce mailing list to its counterpart discussion mailing list. For mailing lists which are gatewayed to local newsgroups, the address field should contain the gateway address of the local group.

Strip Delivery Receipt Requests

If messages with delivery receipt requests attached are received by the mailing list and are distributed unchanged to the mailing list subscribers, the mail system of each subscriber will respond by sending a message confirming receipt to the address specified in the original message. Unless it is absolutely essential that direct confirmation must be obtained that each individual subscriber has received their copy, it is recommended that this option should be enabled. Note that the address placed by the author in their delivery receipt request is not controlled by NetNow!. Note also, in the case of closed, private or anonymising lists that the use of delivery receipt requests reveals the full subscriber list to the message author.

However, it should also be noted that some internet mail systems strip delivery receipt requests automatically, unlike most internal mail systems, for security reasons. Also, some intermediate mail relays respond to delivery receipt requests before the message has been delivered to its final destination. The effect of these anomalies is that the receipt of a delivery confirmation from an internet address effectively means nothing and that the non receipt of confirmation cannot reasonably be taken to imply that the message has not been delivered successfully.

Explode Messages...

This option integrates the subscriber address checking facility in NetNow! into normal mailing list traffic. It should be used with care because of the resource load which results from the local exploding of a single distributed list message into multiple messages, each tailored by NetNow! to test the receiving address of an individual subscriber. Select the following for further information:-

Mailing List Address Checking

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General Tab

This tab, which appears on the Mailing List Properties dialog, controls the standard response mechanisms of the mailing list.

Templates

These are messages generated automatically by NetNow! when the subscriber joins, leaves, posts to the list, or requests help. Tick the check box beside each standard response message to enable that template for this mailing list. The button beside each template enables the template contents to be edited. Templates use NetNow!’s scripting facilities, but an ordinary text message may also be entered. Select the following for further information on the templates used by NetNow! mailing lists:-

Mailing List Templates

Message Tags

These are short messages which are added to the end of every message distributed by the mailing list. The message may either be stored in an external file, or entered into the memo field. Both methods may be employed simultaneously, if required.

  Related Topics


Digests Tab

This tab, which appears on the Mailing List Properties dialog, configures mailing list digest production. NetNow! produces digests, a digest is simply a collection of normal list messages, in a number of standard formats. Digests are only created and distributed if one or more subscribers, configured on the Subscribers Tab, request a digest and if mailing list messages are distributed during the timeframe of periodic digests.

Generate a digest

When this option is enabled, NetNow! stores a copy of each distributed message in the mailing list until digest production is triggered by the remaining settings on this tab.

Periodic digests

When this option is selected NetNow! produces a digest at regular intervals, in accordance with the associated days and delivery times settings.

Volume digests

When this option is selected NetNow! produces a digest whenever a stored distributed message triggers the volume setting, in Kb. Note that the periodic and volume digest options can both be enabled, such that at least one periodic digest is produced every (n) days but additional volume digests may also be produced if the volume of mailing list messages distributed within those (n) days exceeds the size limit.

Include a contents table

Selecting this option prompts NetNow! to include a short summary of the contents at the start of each digest.

Digest Types

Three digest types are available on request  by subscribers to the mailing list. Select the following for further information:-

Mailing List Digests

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Aliases Tab

This tab, which appears on the Mailing List Properties dialog, is used to configure mailbox aliases in NetNow!. Mailbox aliases are distinct from the Aliases File feature in NetNow!. Select the following for further information on the uses of Mailbox Aliases in NetNow!:-

Using Mailbox Aliases

Aliases for this mailbox

To add an alias, enter the alias at the end of the existing list. To edit an existing alias select it and overtype with the necessary amendments. To delete an entry, select the relevant entry and press the delete key.

Note

If a user name only is entered, for example bob, NetNow! assumes that the user is local - that is, it is assumed that the Local Host should be appended when evaluating mailbox alias entries during the Mail Routing process.

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Addresses Tab

This tab, which appears on the Mailing List Properties dialog, is used to configure NetNow!’s automatic subscription address checking facility. An address check message, based on the list_verify.tpl template, is sent out by NetNow! to each subscriber with a unique return address. NetNow! can automatically remove subscribers from the mailing list if their address check message is returned for any reason, and advises the offending subscriber of this action using the list_exverify.tpl template. Select the following for further information on this process:-

Mailing List Address Checking

Select the following for further information on the templates used by NetNow! in the address checking process:-

Mailing List Templates

Automatically Send...

When this option is enabled NetNow! sends an address check message, using the list_verify.tpl template, at the frequency shown.

Last message sent at

NetNow! records the date and time of the last address check message in this read-only information field.

Send Now

Click on Send Now to generate an immediate address check message to all subscribers to this mailing list.

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Permissions Codes

Each subscriber shown in the subscriber list box on the Subscribers Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog, and configured in the Subscribers Properties dialog, can have the following flag codes set in the Permissions field:-

Flag	Flag Name	Description

S	Posts Messages	The subscriber is permitted to post messages to the list

R	Receives Messages	The subscriber receives normal mailing list distributions

D	Receives Digests (multipart/mixed)	The subscriber receives digests of type multipart/mixed

G	Receives Digests (multipart/digest)	The subscriber receives digests of type multipart/digest

T	Receives Digests (text/plain)	The subscriber receives digests of type text/plain

M	Moderated	All messages to the mailing list from the subscriber are forwarded to the moderator

B	Barred	The subscriber is barred from the mailing list

A	Administrator	The subscriber is an administrator of the mailing list

N	Post Binaries	The subscriber is permitted to send binary messages to the mailing list

I	Receives Binaries	The subscriber can receive binary messages distributed by the mailing list

P	Publicise Membership	The subscriber is visible in the list of subscribers produced by the MEMBERS command

C	Conceal Sender’s Name	The subscriber’s identity is concealed when their messages are distributed by the mailing list

-	Suspended Account	The subscriber has temporarily suspended their account

  Related Topics


Subscriber Icons

Each subscriber in the subscriber list box on the Subscribers Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog is shown against one of the following icons:-

Subscriber is not at this domain

Subscriber is a local user

Subscriber is a local mailing list

Subscriber is a local archive

Subscriber is a list administrator

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Export Subscription List

The Export Subscription List dialog is accessed from the Subscribers Tab on the Mailing List Properties dialog.

The output examples shown here apply to a subscriber with the following properties:-

Name	Fred Bloggs

E-Mail Address	fred@home.example.com

Send-to Address	fred@work.example.com

Details	Busy as Always

Password	Ruby

Flags	RSNI

Join Date	1 February 1998 at 12:38:11

Last Posted	11 March 1998 at 22:53:37

Messages posted	12

Filter	(Any) Subject = [Test]

Three options are available in the Save as type drop list:-

Email Address Only

Use of this results in a text file with the following contents:-

fred@work.example.com

NetNow! Format

Use of this option results in a text file with the following contents (on a single line):-

Fred Bloggs|fred@home.example.com|fred@work.example.com|20/02/1998 12:38:11|11/03/1998 22:53:37|12|0|RSNI|(Any) Subject = [Test]|Busy as always|Ruby

Header Format

Use of this option results in a text file with the following contents:-

Fred Bloggs <fred@work.example.com>

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Import Subscription List

The Import Subscription List dialog is accessed from the Subscribers Tab on the Mailing List Properties dialog. If the text file to be imported consists of the full NetNow! format, for example the exported list from another NetNow! mailing list, NetNow! creates a fully configured new entry, one per line, in the imported file. Select the following for details of the NetNow! subscriber file format:-

Export Subscription List

If the file being imported consists solely of e-mail addresses in this format, Fred Bloggs <fred@home.example.com, one per line, NetNow! creates a subscriber entry in the mailing list for each address as follows:-

Name	Fred Bloggs

E-Mail Address	fred@home.example.com

Send-to Address	fred@home.example.com

Details	<blank>

Password	<blank>

Flags	<blank>

Join Date	Sat, Dec 30 1899 at 00:00:00

Last Posted	Sat, Dec 30 1899 at 00:00:00

Messages posted	0

Filter	No filter configured

  Related Topics


Guest Properties

In NetNow! mailing lists, all non subscribers who post messages to the mailing list are treated as guests. Guests cannot receive messages distributed by the mailing list. Other defaults for guests can be changed by clicking on Guest Properties on the Access Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog:-

Access Tab

The default settings for guest subscribers to NetNow! mailing lists are as follows:-

Posts Messages	guests are permitted to post messages to the mailing list

Receives Messages	not applicable

Receives Digests	not applicable

Moderated	messages from guests are not moderated

Barred	message from guests are not barred

Administrator	guests are not permitted to add templates or modify the settings of other subscribers

Post Binaries	guests are permitted to post binary attachments to the mailing list for distribution

Receives Binaries	not applicable

Publicise Membership	not applicable

Conceal Sender’s Name	the personal details of guests are not withheld from distributed messages

Suspended Account	the guest account is not suspended

  Related Topics


Subscriber Properties

The Subscriber Properties dialog, which can be accessed via Properties on the Subscribers Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog, configures the properties of individual, or groups of, selected subscribers. This dialog is also used to configure the Guest Properties and the New Subscriber Properties when accessed via those buttons on the Access Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog.

Select one of the following for further information:-

Mailing List Subscriber Tab

Statistics Tab

Filter Messages Tab

  Related Topics


Mailing List Subscriber Tab

This tab, which appears on the Subscriber Properties dialog, sets the mailing list permissions for subscribers. If multiple subscribers have been selected in the subscriber list on the Subscribers Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog, some properties on this tab will appear greyed wherever the existing properties of at least two of the selected subscribers conflict. Clicking twice on greyed properties results in all the selected subscribers receiving the same setting for that property, either checked or unchecked as displayed.

Many of the subscriber properties can be modified by the subscribers themselves using command messages sent either to the mailserver, the preferred method, or direct to the mailing list itself. Select the following for further information:-

Mailing List Command Syntax

Full Name	The name of the subscriber, used mostly for administrative purposes. The contents of this field appear in the public membership list if the Publicise Membership flag is set for the subscriber.

Email Address	The subscription address of the subscriber. Messages sent to the mailing list for distribution must be sent from this address.

Send-To Address	The address to which the mailing list sends distributed list messages. This can be different to the Email Address if, for example, the subscriber prefers to read list messages in a different location or if the subscriber has gatewayed the mailing list to a local newsgroup.

Details	General information about the user. The contents of this field also appear in the public membership list.

The above four fields are mapped either from the message headers of subscription messages sent direct to the mailing list by mail, or from the message headers and command syntax of subscription messages sent to the mailserver object. Select the following for further information on this process:-

Subscription Commands

Password	The command password for this subscriber. Required in command messages if Subscriber Password Authentication is enabled on the Access Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog. NetNow! generates random number passwords automatically but these can be altered, if required.

The remaining subscriber properties are presented in the Flags list box in checklist format. Properties which display a tick are set for the selected subscriber(s); properties which are blank are not set.

Posts Messages	the subscriber is permitted to post messages to the mailing list

Receives Messages	the subscriber receives normal mailing list message distributions

Receives Digests	the subscriber receives digests (one of three types) of the mailing list distributions

Moderated	messages from the subscriber are sent to the moderator, not to the mailing list

Barred	all mail addressed to the mailing list from the subscriber is ignored

Administrator	the subscriber is permitted to add templates and modify the settings of other subscribers

Post Binaries	the subscriber is permitted to post binary attachments to the mailing list for distribution

Receives Binaries	the subscriber receives messages with binary attachments

Publicise Membership	the details of the subscriber are available on the public membership list

Conceal Sender’s Name	the personal details of the subscriber are withheld from distributed messages

Suspended Account	the subscriber’s account is suspended

  Related Topics


Statistics Tab

This tab, which appears on the Subscriber Properties dialog, records, in read only information fields, various details on the posting history of the subscriber.

Subscriber joined on

This field displays the date on which the selected subscriber joined the mailing list

Subscriber last posted on

If the selected subscriber has never posted this field displays the date on which they joined the mailing list.

Messages posted to this group

This field displays the total number of messages sent to the mailing list for distribution by the selected subscriber

  Related Topics


Filter Messages Tab

This tab, which appears on the Subscriber Properties dialog, is used to filter out mailing list traffic which is of no interest to the selected subscriber(s).

To add a filter:-

1	Click on Edit to display the Filter Settings dialog

2	Choose a filter from the dropdown list of Filter Criteria

3	Add a filter value to the edit box which is then revealed

4	Determine how the filter condition is to be interpreted by choosing an entry in the Match dropdown list

Steps 2-4 can be repeated to set multiple filter matches

5	Click on Ok

Select the following for further information on filters:-

Filter Settings

Current Filter

NetNow! displays a summary of the filter conditions set for the selected subscriber(s) in this read only field.

  Related Topics


Mailing List Address Checking

Address checking, particularly for large mailing lists, has become necessary as a result of the huge expansion in the numbers of people connected via dial-up links to the internet. Some message senders, particularly those behind institutional firewalls, can send messages easily but have difficulty in receiving responses. Also, some subscribers use address rewriting facilities to forward messages automatically from their original subscription address to other addresses, unknown to the mailing list. If messages are returned undelivered in such cases it can be impossible for the mailing list administrator to determine which subscriber is responsible.

The first line of defence against invalid addresses on mailing lists is the subscription process itself. Enabling the option to Confirm New Subscriptions on the Access Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog ensures that the subscriber’s address can at least receive messages at the time of subscription:-

Access Tab

NetNow! mailing lists also enable the administrator to employ either of two closely related address checking methods to identify problem subscribers. The first method, Address Checking, uses the list_verify.tpl template to distribute a message to each subscriber and is configured on the Addresses Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog:-

Address Checking

The second method integrates the address checking process into normal message distribution and is configured on the Messages Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog:-

Explode Messages

Both methods employ the same technique of sending an individually addressed message to each subscriber, the key feature of which is the unique code attached to the return path address (in the SMTP message envelope). For example, normal list messages might be distributed with a return path of list-owner@example.com and this is altered for address checking to list-owner.abc123@example.com, where abc123 is a code which uniquely identifies each subscriber.

If an address checking message is returned undelivered for any reason it should always be returned to the address shown in the SMTP return path. Some mail systems do not behave correctly, however, and return undelivered mail to the address shown in the From: header of  the undeliverable message. Also, some subscribers set inappropriate ‘vacation messages’ or other autoresponses on their mail accounts which can result in such messages being distributed to all the mailing list members or being sent to the author of every message distributed by the mailing list. For these reasons, the Address Checking method is the preferred option because the message template places the address checking code into the From: header as well as the SMTP return path of the message. Note also that the Explode Messages option can be extremely resource intensive, particularly if the incoming message being exploded into outgoing messages, one per subscriber, is particularly large or if there are a large number of subscribers.

NetNow! automatically removes subscribers from the mailing list if their address checking message is returned as being undeliverable for any reason and advises the offending subscriber of this action using the list_exverify.tpl template. If delivery delay messages are received, however, NetNow! advises the list maintainer but takes no other action. Select the following for further information on the templates used by NetNow! in the address checking process:-

Mailing List Templates

Note

You should take regular snapshots of your subscriber details so that they can be restored easily from a backup using the import and export subscriber facilities in NetNow! mailing lists. Select one of the following for further information:-

Export Subscription List

Import Subscription List

  Related Topics


Mailing List Digests

The production of mailing list digests is configured on the Digests Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog:-

Digests Tab

Three digest types are available, on demand only, for distribution to the subscribers to NetNow! mailing lists when digest production is triggered:-

multipart/mixed	This is the standard digest option which can be set by subscribers using the DIGEST command. NetNow! provides both the full body of all messages and the full headers in a MIME formatted message. The message headers are contained in a concealed sections at the start of each message.  Many mail clients can burst multipart/mixed digests back into their constituent messages.

multipart/digest	This digest option, selected via the DIGESTMD command, provides similar output to the multipart/mixed option, but in a format which can be burst into its constituent messages by the Agent mail and news client from Forté Inc.

text/plain	The final digest option, selected via the DIGESTTEXT command, uses a string of 56 dashes (-) to separate each message and shows only the From: and Subject: headers of the constituent messages.  Digests in text/plain format cannot be burst.

The production of mailing list digests is configured on the Digests Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog:-

Digests Tab

Select the following for further information on the mailing lists commands available to subscribers when setting digest options:-

Digest Commands

  Related Topics


New Subscriber Properties

NetNow! automatically applies the settings made in New Subscriber Properties to all new subscribers to the mailing list. These default settings can be altered by clicking on New Subscriber Properties on the Access Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog.

Access Tab

The default settings for new subscribers to NetNow! mailing lists are as follows:-

Posts Messages	new subscribers may post messages to the mailing list

Receives Messages	new subscriber will receive messages distributed by the mailing list

Receives Digests	message digests are not sent to new subscribers

Moderated	messages from new subscribers are not moderated

Barred	message from new subscribers are not barred

Administrator	new subscribers are not permitted to add templates or modify the settings of other subscribers

Post Binaries	new subscribers are permitted to post binary attachments to the mailing list for distribution

Receives Binaries	new subscribers receive messages with binary attachments

Publicise Membership	the details of new subscribers are not available on the public membership list

Conceal Sender’s Name	the personal details of new subscribers are not withheld from distributed messages

Suspended Account	the accounts of new subscribers are not suspended

  Related Topics


Mailing List Command Syntax

NetNow! supports two methods by which subscribers can view and change the properties of their subscriptions using email messages. Commands should, by preference, be placed in the body of a command message and sent to the Mailserver Account. An unlimited number of commands, one per line, may be sent to the Mailserver Account in the body of the message. The Subject: headers of command messages sent to the Mailserver Account are ignored. Select the following for further information:-

Mailserver Account

The alternative method uses the same commands but they must appear in the Subject: header of command messages sent direct to the mailing list address. The commands must also be preceded by an asterisk (ASCII 42) to prevent command messages being treated as normal list messages. Select the following for further information:-

Sending Commands Direct to Mailing Lists

The mailing list commands are not case sensitive and their parameters, where present, are delimited by the space character (ASCII 32). Select one of the following for further information:-

Alphabetical List of Commands

Set Command

Status Commands

Subscription Commands

Vacation Commands

Note

If Subscriber Password Authentication is enabled each subscriber must supply their password at the end of each command. Administrators sending proxy commands should use their own password, not that of the target subscriber.

  Related Topics


Alphabetical List of Commands

Conceal

Digest

DigestMd

DigestText

Mail

Members

Name

NoConceal

NoDigest

NoMail

NoPublic

NoRecBin

Password

Public

Rec

RecBin

Resume

Set

Status

Subscribe

Suspend

Unsubscribe

  Related Topics


Set Command

The SET command, which may only be used with the specified flag parameters, provides mailing list subscribers with the ability to changes the state of their Mailing List Subscriber Property flags.

SET listname [ <Email Address> ]  flag  [ password ]

listname	The name of the mailing list which must be the same as the List Name field

<Email Address>	The subscription address of the subscriber. May be different from the address of the sender of the command message only if the sender supplies a valid password or if the sender has administrator status. If not supplied, the address is taken from the From: header of the command message.

flag	A flag relating to a Subscription Property, which must be taken from the list of flags below.

password	Required if Subscriber Password Authentication is enabled.

MAIL	Enables the receipt of normal mailing list messages

NOMAIL	Disables the receipt of normal mailing list messages

DIGEST 	Enables the receipt of multipart/mixed format digests*

DIGESTMD	Enables the receipt of multipart/digest format digests*

DIGESTTEXT	Enables the receipt of text/plain format digests*

NODIGEST	Disables the receipt of digests

RECBIN	Enables the receipt of binary attachments

NORECBIN	Disables the receipt of binary attachments

PUBLIC	Displays the subscription in the MEMBERS list

NOPUBLIC	Removes the subscription from the MEMBERS list

CONCEAL	Hides the subscriber’s identity in distributed messages

NOCONCEAL	Leaves the subscriber’s identity visible in distributed messages

NAME=”Fred Bloggs”	Sets the subscriber’s name field to the string contained between the quotes

PASSWORD=”string”	Sets the subscriber password to the string contained between the quotes

REC=<address>	Sets the Send-To address for the subscriber to the given address

*	The three NetNow! digest options are mutually exclusive, therefore only one digest type may be active for a subscriber. Repetition of the Set Digest command selects the next digest type in round-robin fashion.

  Related Topics


Status Commands

The Status Commands provide subscribers with the ability to view their subscription status and obtain a list of the subscribers to a mailing list.

STATUS listname  [ <Email> ] [ password ]

Returns a subscription status report using the list_status.tpl template.

listname	The name of the mailing list which must be the same as the List Name field

<Email>	The subscription address of the subscriber. May be different from the address of the sender of the command message only if the sender has administrator status. If not provided, the value for this parameter is taken from the From: header of the command message

password	Required if Subscriber Password Authentication is enabled.

MEMBERS listname

Returns a message listing all mailing list subscribers with their Publicise  Membership flag set, to the address in the From: header of the command message.

listname	The name of the mailing list which must be the same as the List Name field

password	Required if Subscriber Password Authentication is enabled.

  Related Topics


Subscription Commands

The Subscription Commands, operative only if the Enable Subscription by Mail field is checked, enable potential subscribers to join mailing lists and enable existing subscribers to cancel their subscriptions, both without the direct intervention of the administrator.

SUBSCRIBE listname [ “Name” <Email>  [ <Send-To> ] ] [ password ]

Creates a subscription to the mailing list using the default New Subscriber Properties, but subject to the setting in the Confirm New Subscriptions option and providing that the subscription address is not barred in the Subscriber Properties for an existing subscription.

listname	The name of the mailing list which must be the same as the List Name field

“Name”	The name of the subscriber enclosed in quotes, for example “Fred Bloggs”. If not provided, the value for this parameter is taken from the comments in the From: header of the command message. If no comments are available the <Email Address> is used. Mapped to the Full Name field.

<Email>	The address from which messages will be sent to the mailing list. If not provided, the value for this parameter is taken from the address in the From: header of the command message. Mapped to the Email Address field.

<Send-To>	The address, if present, to which messages from the mailing list will be sent. If a Reply-To: header is present in the command message the address in that field is used if this parameter is not present. Mapped to the Send-To Address field.

password	Required if Subscriber Password Authentication is enabled.

If present in the command message, the contents of the Organisation: header is mapped to the Details field. If the address from which  the command message is sent does not match the <Email> parameter, Enable Subscription by Proxy must be enabled and, unless the sender has administrator status, Proxy must be an Administrator must be disabled. A successful subscription is reported to the new subscriber using the list_welcome.tpl template, if enabled on the General Tab.

UNSUBSCRIBE listname  [ <Email> ] [ password ]

Removes a subscriber from the mailing list.

listname	The name of the mailing list which must be the same as the List Name field

<Email>	The subscription address of the subscriber. May be different from the address of the sender of the command message only if Enable Subscription by Proxy is enabled. The sender of a proxy command message must have administrator status if Proxy must be an Administrator is enabled. If not provided, the value for this parameter is taken from the From: header of the command message

password	Required if Subscriber Password Authentication is enabled.

A successful unsubscription is reported to the subscription address using the list_goodbye.tpl template, if enabled on the General Tab.

  Related Topics


Status Changing Commands
Vacation Commands

The Vacation Commands enable the subscriber to suspend temporarily, and subsequently resume, the normal delivery of mail and digest messages from the mailing list without making any changes to their subscription settings.

SUSPEND listname [ password ]

Suspends mail and digest activity on a subscription until the RESUME command is received.

listname	The name of the mailing list which must be the same as the List Name field

password	Required if Subscriber Password Authentication is enabled.

RESUME listname [ password ]

Resumes mail and digest activity on a subscription.

listname	The name of the mailing list which must be the same as the List Name field

password	Required if Subscriber Password Authentication is enabled.

  Related Topics


Sending Commands Direct to Mailing Lists

The preferred method for sending commands to mailing lists is to place them in the body of a command message addressed to the Mailserver Account. If this is not practical, however, command messages may also be sent directly to the usual mailing list address but with the following provisions:-

•	The syntax is identical to that used for the Mailserver Account, however the listname parameter must not be used.

•	Commands may only be sent in the Subject: header of the command message

•	The command in the Subject: header must be preceded by an asterisk (ASCII 42)

•	One command only may be sent in one command message

Example Command Message

To: mailing.list@example.com

From: <fred@home.example.com>

Subject: * SUBSCRIBE “Fred Bloggs” <fred@home.example.com> <fred@work.example.com>

  Related Topics


Mailing List Properties
Archive Properties

The Archive Properties dialog is used to configure message archives in NetNow! and can be accessed by choosing New, Mail Archive from the File menu in the console or by choosing Properties from the context menu of any archive in the console. Archives, which appear in the console as [image], are designed to store messages sent to them, to provide automatic listings of their contents and to deliver selected messages when requested via a simple command structure.

Select one of the following for further information:-

Archive Tab

Members Tab

Administrators Tab

Auto Expiry Tab

Aliases Tab

Archive Reference

Archive Command Syntax

  Related Topics


Archive Tab

This tab, which appears on the Archive Properties dialog, configures the name of the archive and controls the responses made by the archive for requests to deliver its contents.

Archive Name

The name of an archive entered into this edit box also becomes the mail address of the archive within NetNow!. It must, therefore, be different from the name of any other mailslot in the console. For example, if an Archive Name of “store” (without the quotes) is entered and if the Local Host is “example.com” then the address of the archive is fixed within NetNow! as store@example.com. Select the following for further information on naming mailslots in NetNow!

Mailslot Naming

Archive Description

The archive description appears in messages generated by the archive.

Permit Requests by Proxy

If this option is enabled, the archive permits requests for messages to be made by one party for messages to be forwarded to a second party.

Default Message

If the requested message cannot be found in the archive the default message is sent by the archive instead.

Messages Reply-To:

When enabled, the contents of this field are used to set the Reply-To: header in automated responses from the archive so that subsequent follow-ups can be directed to a more suitable address, for example to the archive owner or to a discussion mailing list, etc.

Owner

The Owner field, defaulting to Administrator, defines the owner of the mailslot. The names which appear in the Owner drop box are those of licensed users as configured in User Manager. Select the following for further information:-

User Manager

Local Directory Visibility

This field can be set to one of three options to determine which users are permitted to alter the settings of the mailslot using the Web Administration feature in NetNow!:-

Private (Owner)	Configuration restricted to the defined Owner of the mailslot

Protected (LAN)	Configuration restricted to any user on the defined Local Area Network

Public (Anybody)	Configuration can be changed by any user

Select the following for further information:-

Web Administration

  Related Topics


Members Tab

This tab, which appears on the Archive Properties dialog, controls access to the archive.

Limit Access...

The archive contents are made available to everybody if Limit Access... is not checked. If checked and if the Archive Members list is empty, access to the archive contents is denied to everybody.

Archive Members

This control displays the current list of Archive Members. If Limit Access... is enabled, only those listed here have access to the archive contents. If a listed archive member, who is not an administrator, posts a message NetNow! assumes (regardless of syntax) that the message is a request for a file, and attempts to interpret it accordingly. Select the following for further information on the interaction of the member and administrator properties:-

Archive Reference

To add a member to the archive:-

1	Select the address of a mailslot in the Email Address edit box, or enter an external address

2	Click Add

To delete a member from the archive:-

1	Select the entry to delete in the Archive Members list

2	Click Delete

Report

NetNow! can be configured to send a formatted report of all requests made to the archive in an email message on a regular basis to a specified address. Select the following for further information on this feature:-

Report Properties

  Related Topics


Administrators Tab

This tab, which appears on the Archive Properties dialog, configures the archive administrators.

Limit Access...

If Limit Access... is enabled, only the listed administrators in Archive Administrators are permitted to add messages to the archive. If Limit Access... is disabled, messages may be added to the archive by anybody. If an administrator who is not also configured a member posts to the archive, NetNow! assumes the message is to be added to the archive. If an administrator who is also configured as a member posts to the archive, and if the Subject: header of that message does not contain a keyword, NetNow! assumes the message is to be added to the archive. Select the following for further information on the interaction of the member and administrator properties:-

Archive Reference

To add an administrator to the archive:-

1	Select the address of a mailslot in the Email Address edit box, or enter an external address

2	Click Add

To delete an administrator from the archive:-

1	Select the entry to delete in the Archive Administrators list

2	Click Delete

Filter

Filter settings can be employed to determine the characteristics of messages which are acceptable for adding to the archive.

To add a filter:-

1	Click on Filter to display the Filter Settings dialog

2	Choose a filter from the dropdown list of Filter Criteria

3	Add a filter value to the edit box which is then revealed

4	Determine how the filter condition is to be interpreted by choosing an entry in the Match dropdown list

Steps 2-4 can be repeated to set multiple filter matches

5	Click Ok

Select the following for further information on filters:-

Filter Settings

  Related Topics


Auto Expiry Tab

This tab, which appears on the Archive Properties dialog, is used to configure NetNow!’s handling of messages stored in the archive.

Enable Mail Expiry

When this option is checked NetNow! removes messages stored in the archive in accordance with the settings of the remaining options on this tab.

Expire After...days...hours

Enter the number of days and hours for which each message should remain in the archive before being expired.

Notify Sender

If this option is enabled NetNow! notifies the sender of the message when it is expired from the archive.

Note

Automated responses to mail messages can be regarded as a security risk in certain circumstances. Select the following for further information:-

Mail Security Considerations

Forward to Mailbox

When this option is active expired messages are forwarded to the listed recipient in addition to being deleted from this archive.

  Related Topics


Aliases Tab

This tab, which appears on the Archives Properties dialog, is used to configure mailbox aliases for the archive. Mailbox aliases are distinct from the Aliases File feature in NetNow!. Select the following for further information on the uses of Mailbox Aliases in NetNow!:-

Using Mailbox Aliases

To add an alias, enter the alias at the end of the existing list. To edit an existing alias select it and overtype with the necessary amendments. To delete an entry, select the relevant entry and press the delete key.

Note

If a user name only is entered, for example “store”, NetNow! assumes that the user is local - that is, it is assumed that the Local Host should be appended when evaluating mailbox alias entries during Mail Routing.

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Archive Reference

NetNow! archives are mailslots which provide public access to their contents. Both ordinary messages and templates can be stored in an archive and both can also be retrieved using command messages. Select the following for further information on archive command messages:-

Archive Command Syntax

Archives have two associated properties - members and administrators. An archive member is permitted to retrieve messages from an archive and an archive administrator is permitted to add messages to an archive. Both of these properties, individually or in concert, may be enabled in order to restrict archive access in various ways or may be disabled so that anybody may add or retrieve messages from the archive.

Messages are added to and retrieved from the archive via command messages. In the absence of a recognised command, NetNow! assumes that the incoming message is either a request for a message to be retrieved from the archive or a message to be added to the archive according to the following table:-

Sender is Member	Sender is Admin	Archive Action

No	No	Incoming message is refused

Yes	No	Matching message(s) retrieved

No	Yes	Incoming message is added

Yes	Yes	Incoming message is added

Archives and Mailing Lists

NetNow! archives can easily be associated with NetNow! mailing lists to provide a useful store of recent list messages for the benefit of all subscribers. The archive address should be added to the mailing list as a subscriber who receives messages only and whose subscription details are not revealed. If the mailing list address is then added to the Administrators Tab of the archive, NetNow! ensures that only messages distributed by the mailing list can be added to the archive.  The ability of archives to expire messages at regular intervals can be exploited to ensure that the mailing list archive does not grow beyond a manageable size.

Adding Messages to an Archive

Command messages which are intended to add messages to an archive must be addressed to the appropriate archive and must contain the command in the Subject: header preceded by an asterisk (ASCII 42). NetNow! first checks the Sender: header of incoming messages to the archive to determine if the sender address is listed as an administrator. If the Sender: header is not present  the address in the From: header is used instead. If a command has been used to add a message to an archive, NetNow! strips the command from the Subject: header of the message before placing the message in the archive. If a filename is also supplied as part of the command and if that file already exists in the archive, the existing message is replaced by the new message.

Retrieving Messages from an Archive

Messages can be requested from the archive either by specifying their filenames or by using a flexible range syntax but the latter is operative only for stored message which have numerical filenames. If NetNow! cannot match the requested message(s) with the contents of the archive, the default message, if configured on the Archive Tab, is returned. If a template is requested NetNow! first executes the template then posts the resulting message to the sender.

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Archive Command Syntax

The command syntax for adding messages to, or retrieving messages from, NetNow! archives is designed to be simple and flexible in operation. Each class of message is treated separately for clarity.

Commands to Add Messages to an Archive

The commands for adding messages to an archive must be sent direct to the archive address and must contain one of  the following commands at the beginning of the Subject: header of the command message. The commands must be preceded by an asterisk (ASCII 42) and are case insensitive. If Limit Access... is enabled on the Administrators Tab of the archive, the sender of the command message must be listed as an administrator:-

*ADD	Adds the message to the archive as an ordinary mail message, selecting the next available serial number for the filename.

*ADD=filename	Adds the message to the archive, assigning the supplied filename

*TEMPLATE	Adds the message as a template (which is executed on retrieval).

*TEMPLATE=filename	Adds the template and assigns a filename

NetNow! checks the Sender: header of command messages to the archive to determine if the sender address is listed as an administrator. If the Sender: header is not present  the address in the From: header is used instead. NetNow! strips the ADD and TEMPLATE commands from the Subject: header of the message before placing the message in the archive. If a filename is also supplied as part of the command and if that file already exists in the archive, the existing message is replaced by the new message.

Commands to Retrieve Messages from an Archive

NetNow! supports two methods by which messages may be retrieved from an archive using email messages. Commands should, by preference, be placed in the body of a command message and sent to the Mailserver Account. An unlimited number of commands, one per line, may be sent to the Mailserver Account in the body of the message. The Subject: headers of command messages sent to the Mailserver Account are ignored. Select the following for further information:-

Mailserver Account

The alternative method uses the same commands but they must appear in the Subject: header of command messages sent direct to the archive address. The commands must also be preceded by an asterisk (ASCII 42) to distinguish them from normal messages. Select the following for further information:-

Sending Retrieve Commands Direct to Archives

Two forms of the SEND command are supported, both of which return the requested messages in the form of  separate outgoing messages. The first variant must be used to retrieve archive messages which do not have numbered filenames.:-

SEND archivename filename [ , filename [ , filename... ]]

archivename	The name of the archive which must be the same as that on the Archive Tab.

filename	The filename of the requested message. If multiple messages are requested the filenames must be delimited by commas

SEND archivename range

archivename	The name of the archive which must be the same as that on the Archive Tab.

range	The range syntax is a series of comma separated expressions of the form first-last, for example “1,5,7-10” (without the quotes) retrieves message numbers 1, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10 from the archive. The range command may only be used to retrieve archive messages which have numerical filenames.

Multiple messages may also be returned as a digest, in which the requested messages are consolidated into one outgoing message. The syntax for the DIGEST commands is identical to that of the SEND commands

DIGEST archivename filename [ , filename [ , filename... ]]

DIGEST archivename range

Notes

•	If NetNow! cannot match the requested message(s) with the contents of the archive, the default message, if configured on the Archive Tab. is returned.

•	If a template is requested NetNow! first executes the template then posts the resulting message to the sender.

•	Templates cannot be retrieved using the DIGEST command.

  Related Topics


Mail Group Properties

The Mail Group Properties dialog is used to configure mail groups in NetNow! and can be accessed by choosing New, Mail Group from the File menu in the console or by choosing Properties from the context menu of any mail group in the console. Mail groups appear in the console as [image].

A mail group enables related mailslots to be grouped together logically with the additional benefit of group accounting facilities which act on all mailslots in each group. Group accounting enables a wide range of mailbox parameters, quantity and volume of mail stored for example, to be controlled and reported at regular intervals.

The hierarchical nature of mail groups allows mail groups to be organised into major groups and sub groups. Sub groups optionally inherit the mailbox accounting settings of their parent group.

Select one of the following for further information:-

Mail Group Tab

Accounting Tab

Mailboxes Tab

  Related Topics


Mail Group Tab

This tab, which appears on the Mail Group Properties dialog, configures the name and description of the mail group and enables NetNow!’s mailbox accounting facilities.

Mail Group

Enter a suitable name into the Mail Group edit box. Mailslots will be shown in the console as branching from the Mail Group object.

Description

Enter a suitable description for the Mail Group into the Description edit box. This description will appear on mailbox accounting statements.

Enable Mailbox Accounting

If this option is enabled NetNow! provides mailbox accounting reports for all the mailslots in this group at regular intervals. Enabling this option also reveals the Accounting and Mailboxes Tabs.

End Accounting Period

Click End Accounting Period, which is available only if mailbox accounting is enabled, to prompt NetNow! to create an immediate mailbox accounting report and to reset the accounting period of the mail group.

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Accounting Tab

This tab, which appears on the Mail Group Properties dialog when mailbox accounting is enabled on the Mail Group Tab, configures the accounting period parameters of mailbox accounting.

Accounting Period

The option buttons should be used to set the reporting frequency to daily, weekly, monthly or annually.

Next Accounting Period...

The date pseudo list box reveals a calendar when selected in which today’s date is clearly marked with a red circle. The accounting period start date commence on or after today, otherwise NetNow! will be unable to produce reports automatically. Set the time at which the report should be generated (in 24 hour format) in the accompanying edit box.

Send a report to

If this option is checked NetNow! sends reports to the mailslot selected in the drop down list. A full Internet address may also be entered.

  Related Topics


Mailboxes Tab

This tab, which appears on the Mail Group Properties dialog, configures the message volumes permitted for mailboxes in the mail group within each accounting period

Maximum Number/Size...

These limits are imposed over each accounting period.  For example, if the limit is 100kb per period and the accounting period is one week, the user associated with any mailbox in that group may post up to 100kb per week.

Warn on approaching limit

This facility sends a message to the user when the given percentage of their limit is being approached (for example, if the warning is set to 90% and the weekly posting limit is 100kb, then the user will receive a warning via post after posting 90kb worth of mail.  Only one warning is sent per period.

Maximum Mailbox Size

This setting controls the maximum size to which the mailbox content is allowed grow at any time.  Messages which would result in the mailbox size exceeding the limit are refused.

  Related Topics


Administrative Accounts

NetNow! maintains three permanent administrative accounts in the console which cannot be deleted.

Postmaster’s Account

The Postmaster’s account is required to exist and, if mail is delivered using the SMTP protocol, must be able to accept incoming mail.

Postmaster’s Mailbox Properties

Mailserver Account

The mailserver account interprets the mailing list and archive commands and automatically forwards them to the appropriate mailslot in the console.

Mailserver Account

Newsserver Account

The newsserver account manages the mail-to-news and news-to-mail gateways in NetNow! and requires no direct intervention by the user.

Outgoing Mail

NetNow! stores outbound mail waiting for delivery to a remote mail host in the Outgoing Mail account.

Outgoing Mail

Outgoing News

NetNow! stores outbound news waiting for delivery to a remote news server in the Outgoing News account

Newsserver Account

button , ALink("FileNewMenu")}	  Related Topics


Postmaster's Mailbox Properties
Postmaster’s Mailbox Properties

This dialog configures the properties of the Postmaster mailbox and is accessed by choosing Properties from the context menu of the Postmaster mailslot in the console, shown as [graphic].  The Postmaster’s mailbox is required to be present for administrative reason, therefore it cannot be deleted.

Select the following for further information:-

Postmaster’s Mailbox Tab

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Postmaster's Mailbox Tab
Postmaster’s Mailbox Tab

This tab, which appears on the Postmaster’s Mailbox Properties dialog, configures the properties of the administrative Postmaster’s mailbox.

Descriptive Name...

Enter a description of the mailbox

Store messages

By default, message are stored in the Postmaster’s mailbox to be collected via POP3. If this option is selected a password should also be entered in the POP3 Password edit box.

Note

If the POP3 Password edit box is left empty NetNow! accepts any password from any connecting client.

Forward to another local mailbox

When enabled, messages to Postmaster can be forwarded to the mailbox entered in this field

  Related Topics


Mailserver Account

This mailserver account enables multiple mailing lists and archives to be administered by mail messages without the need to advertise individual addresses for each service. The mailserver interprets the commands placed in the body of messages sent to it and redirects them automatically to the appropriate mailslot in the console.

The syntax for commands sent to mailserver is constant for all purposes, in the format:-

Command  Mailslot  Parameters

Each element of the command must be separated by a space character (ASCII 32).

Command must be a valid mailing list or archive command

Mailslot must be the configured name of the mailing list or archive

Parameters must be as specified in the syntax of the Command

Any number of commands directed at any number of local mailslots may be issued, one per line, in a single message to the mailserver.

For further information on the permissible commands and their syntax select one of the following:-

Mailing List Command Syntax

Archive Command Syntax

  Related Topics


Outgoing Mail

Mail messages which NetNow! determines cannot be delivered locally are placed in the outbound mail queue, displayed in the console in the Outgoing Mail mailslot, for delivery to a remote news host.

NetNow! evaluates each message as it arrives in the outbound mail queue and applies the mail deliver policy settings configured in the Outbox Properties dialog. Select the following for further information:-

Outbox Properties

Clear Host Assignments

Selecting Clear Host Assignments, from the context menu of the Outgoing Mail object in the list view of the console or from the File menu, prompts NetNow! to remove the current outbound routing information from every message in the outbound mail queue and to reapply the message routing policy. This is useful if a dynamic or static route has been added, deleted or reconfigured in the Static Routing Table dialog.

  Related Topics


Outgoing News

The Outgoing News Account forms the outbound news queue for news messages received by the NNTP Service.

NetNow! examines the Newsgroups: header of all locally originated news messages to determine whether they require to be posted to a local newsgroup or to a remote newsgroup. If the newsgroup is hosted remotely, NetNow! determines the appropriate delivery route(s) by referring to the remote news server configured for each newsgroup in the Newsgroups: header, creating a separate copy of the outbound message for each remote server, if necessary.

NetNow! posts the news messages in the outbound news queue during the next scheduled connect to the assigned remote news servers.

Select one of the following for further information:-

NNTP Service

News Properties

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Finger Record

The Finger Record dialog can be accessed by selecting New, Finger Record from the File menu or by choosing Properties from the context menu of any Finger record. Finger records appear in the console using [image].

The finger client can be used to query remote finger servers for information, for example the users who are currently logged on to a network or details of waiting mail held on a remote server. Select the following for further information:-

Finger Properties Tab

  Related Topics


Finger Properties Tab

This tab, which appears on the Finger Record dialog, configures the properties of finger commands issued by NetNow!.

Account to Finger

Enter the account to finger in this edit box. Generally, this is in the format of account@host but the remote finger server entirely controls the syntax permitted on that host. Some hosts permit more detailed information to be returned using account+@host.

Automatically finger...

When this option is enabled NetNow! fingers the host in Account to Finger every time an Internet dial-up is established.

Record changes...

When this option is enabled NetNow! records all changes in the finger data returned since the last finger command was issued. NetNow! can track approximately ten thousand lines. Each response to the Finger command is identified by the date on which it was obtained..

Display records

When this option is enabled NetNow! displays the results of the finger command in a separate window on the desktop as soon as a response is received.

  Related Topics


Finger

The finger command returns useful information from hosts which support its use. In addition to being useful for hosts on the Internet, it can also be used to return information on the mailslots configured in the console and on the contents of those mailslots.

Finger records can be configured and stored in NetNow! and can be issued en bloc automatically, or manually by selecting Finger All Automatic accounts from the system tray menu or from the Actions menu in the console. Select the following for further information:-

Finger Record

A finger client is incorporated into NetNow! which can be used to send finger commands to remote hosts and to NetNow! itself. Select the following for further information:-

Finger Client

An instance of the Finger service must be running in the console in order to support finger commands directed internally to NetNow!. Select the following for further information:-

User Information Service (Finger)

When the finger service is running, and assuming that the client involved is permitted through the firewall, the finger command can return information from NetNow! in three ways.

Finger domainname or Finger 127.0.0.1 (asssuming that to be in the Domain Aliases) returns a llst of all the mailslots configured in the console.

The finger template, finger.tpl, can be subclassed for any mailslot from which information is required. Select the following for further information:-

Finger.tpl

A text file, similar to a .plan file but containing script commands, can be created to return information about a specific mailslot when fingered. Select the following for further information:-

Finger File

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Finger Client

A finger client is incorporated into NetNow! which can be launched by selecting Finger An Account from either the system tray menu or Action menu in the console.

Sending Finger Commands

Lauch the finger client, multiple instances are supported, and enter the account to finger into the edit box then click on Send to transmit the finger command to the remote finger host. The results of the finger command are returned to the finger client window by NetNow!.

Related Topics


Finger File

A customised response may be obtained from the finger command directed to any configured mailslot in NetNow! if a corresponding finger template has been sub-classed.  NetNow! provides a template as standard which can be used for any mail slot.

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Server Properties

The Server Properties dialog is used to configure general options in NetNow!, for example the domain name and aliases, logging facilities and automatic start-up options. This dialog can be accessed by selecting Server Properties from the Options menu (or by clicking on the [image] button). Select one of the following for further information:-

Server Tab

Administration Tab

LAN Tab

Logging Tab

Startup Tab

Online Tab

  Related Topics


Server Tab

This tab, which appears in the Server Properties dialog, is used to enter the NetNow!’s domain name and its aliases. Email addresses are formed from a user name and the domain name (separated by an @ symbol). If a message addressed to one of these is received, NetNow! attempts to deliver it to a local mailslot. Otherwise, the message is placed in the Outbox and delivered to another mail server.

Domain Name

This is the primary name of the NetNow! Server and it will be used whenever NetNow! generates a return address or a full address for a local mailslot.

Domain Aliases...

Mail addressed to any of the domains or machine host names in this list box will be delivered to a local mailbox. If mail forwarding is used all the alternative address forms should be included here. If mail is to be received to an IP address all possible variations should also be included.

Example Aliases

localhost

127.0.0.1

RedRock Technologies.demon.co.uk	(typical Demon host address)

RedRock Technologies.co.uk	(additional domain)

194.222.78.99	(IP address in dotted quad without brackets)

[194.222.78.99]	(IP address in dotted quad with brackets)

The above set of aliases ensures that inbound mail addressed either to mailboxname@RedRock Technologies.co.uk or to mailboxname@[194.222.78.99] will be delivered locally by NetNow!.

Mail Server Name

Enter the name which NetNow! should use to identify itself when sending administrative messages. This defaults to the NetNow! server identification name with “Mail Server” appended.

Tip

If  inbound mail appears immediately in the Outbox, check first that domain names and machine host names are entered correctly on this tab.

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Administration Tab

This tab appears in the Server Properties dialog and is used to configure access to the console, to synchronise NetNow! with a remote time server and to determine the size of the directory cache used by the NetNow! Server.

Password

If the option to use a password is checked and a password is entered then the password must be supplied in order to open the console. The password is requested again every five minutes while the console is open to reduce the possibility of unauthorised access.

Synchronise the system clock....

A remote time server can be used to correct the system clock of the machine on which NetNow! is running. Note that while this is usually accurate to within a second, the accuracy can vary up to a couple of seconds depending on network traffic. Enabling this option places a Synchronise Clock entry in the Action menu in the console.

Tick the Local Network option if the time server can be contacted without dialling externally. The time is not corrected more than once per day using this option,

Note

NetNow! applies a sanity check to the time and date information returned by the remote time server. If the system clock of the machine on which NetNow! is running differs by more than ninety minutes (to allow for seasonal time zone changes, for example GMT/BST), then the system time is not updated and an advisory message is generated to the Postmaster.

Cache Size

This value represents the number of directories (used by mailboxes and newsgroups) which are kept in memory by NetNow! while they are not in use. System performance can be greatly improved by keeping the last few directories in memory because opening a large directory or folder can be very time consuming. This benefit should be weighed against the amount of memory available to the machine. Unless NetNow! supplies many hundreds of mailboxes and news groups, a value of five to ten should be sufficient.

Date/Time Formats

The formats for diplaying dates and times within NetNow! can be specified by selecting entries from the date and time drop lists. The date and time in the currently active formats are displayed in the information panels alongside each control.

  Related Topics


LAN Tab

This tab appears in the Server Properties dialog and is used to define the range of IP addresses which represent the machines on a local network. The address ranges are used by NetNow! to determine the need for dialups (in some cases) and can also be used in the Service Manager dialog to configure access to the services running on NetNow!. Select the following for further information:-

Specifying LAN and Firewall Settings

{check implicit localhost}

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Specifying LAN and Firewall Settings

A firewall controls access to a service by comparing the IP address of the connecting client to the range of IP addresses which are permitted to connect to that service. Clients with IP addresses outside the permitted range, which may be an inclusive range or an exclusive range, are denied access to the service. Clients with IP addresses inside the permitted range are unaware of the presence of the firewall.

Firewalls in NetNow! must be specified as IP addresses using full dotted quad notation as shown in the examples given below. Each service has its own explicit firewall which can be configured in the Access Control Tab for that service. The Local Area Network (LAN) firewall settings entered here can be accessed from, and incorporated into, each NetNow! Service if required.

Both LAN and firewall settings are configured by a series of inclusive and exclusive IP address ranges which are always interpreted from top to bottom by NetNow! when resolving conflicts.

Example:-

192.100.*.*

193.100.101.*

158.152.1.*

...defines a typical larg(ish) firewall, which includes the Demon service machines. Connections from clients with IP addresses within those ranges only will be permitted. In contrast:-

*

~217.144.*.*

~158.*.*.*

~194.*.*.*

...defines a typical exclusive firewall. In this case all clients with IP addresses not falling into the address ranges shown are accepted. Note that exclusive firewalls should commence with the * (asterisk) wildcard because firewalls are empty by default and no addresses are accepted.

Private Address Space

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) has reserved the following three blocks of the IP address space for private internets:-

10.0.0.0 	-   10.255.255.255  (10/8 prefix)

172.16.0.0	-   172.31.255.255  (172.16/12 prefix)

192.168.0.0	-   192.168.255.255 (192.168/16 prefix)

For further information please refer to RFC 1918.

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Logging Tab

This tab appears in the Server Properties dialog and is used to configure NetNow!’s log file usage.

Store Log in an external file

When this option is enabled, NetNow! writes a record of its activities, in a machine and human readable format, to the disk file specified in the associated edit box. The [graphic] button may be used to access a  standard Windows dialog in which a suitable folder can be found and specified.

Logging Method

This option controls NetNow!’s production of log files. Except for the Single File method, the filename is changed periodically, and when an existing filename is reused after a period change, the existing log entries are cleared.

Single File: The log entries are written only to the specified file, which is never cleared.

•	Change Daily (one week cycle): Every day the log file is changed (by appending the day name to the filename), and after a week the day file is cleared.

•	Change Daily (one month cycle): Same as one week cycle, except the day number is appended to the filename, and the file is cleared after a month.

•	Change Monthly (one year cycle): Same as one week cycle, except the month number is appended to the filename, and the file is cleared annually.

Detailed Message Descriptions

If this option is enabled NetNow! writes additional information relating to each transaction, for example the sender’s name and the message subject. Otherwise, messages are referred to only by their unique NetNow! Server ID number.

Note

NetNow! also continuously writes details of its activities to an internal Event Log. Select the following for further information:-

[button] Event Log

Tip

Wherever possible, consider placing NetNow!’s log files on a different drive to the NetNow! database. This ensures that logs continue to be written in the event that there is no further disk space on the database drive. NetNow! logs can consume between 50Kb and 100Kb of diskspace in a single user system per day, given moderate activity levels.

  Related Topics


Startup Tab

This tab appears in the Server Properties dialog and is used to determine whether and how the NetNow! Server is started.

Normally NetNow! will run when started by a user, and will be shut-down when that user logs off. If NetNow! is being used by a number of users, then either the Windows NT or Windows 95 Service options should be used to provide uninterrupted service even when no user is logged in.

Do not start NetNow! automatically

This options prevents NetNow! for loading itself during Windows startup and may be useful if a “clean” operating system is required at any time for fault finding or maintenance purposes.

Load when any user logs on

With this option, whenever a user logs on the NetNow! Server is started, and when they subsequently log off NetNow! is shut down.

Load when current user logs on

This option applies only to the user currently logged on when this option is selected. Changing the option later for another user will not affect this option. Therefore, to clear this option the user who originally set this option must change it.

Install as a Windows 95 Service

With this option, the NetNow! will start as soon as Windows is loaded, and it will not be closed until the machine shuts down.

Install as a Windows NT Service

With this option, NetNow! will be installed as an NT service, which will appear in the Services Control Panel Applet. In order to cancel this option, the NetNow! must not have been started as an NT service.

Show the Console Icon...

If this option is unchecked an icon will not appear on the system tray. To make the icon appear the supplied MTQICON.EXE utility must be run.

Tip

Preventing the console icon from appearing in the system tray is an effective way to limit access to the NetNow! Server.

When NetNow! is running the console can be displayed using the supplied MTQICON.EXE utility by executing the following command line ...

mtqicon.exe console

... via the RUN facility in the Start Menu, by creating a Start Menu entry or by creating a desktop shortcut. It is useful for mouse-less installations and for those who prefer not to use pointing devices.

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Online Tab

This tab appears in the Server Properties dialog and is used to configure the method of connecting NetNow! to the Internet, to local networks, or to both.

Dial-up Networking / Windows RAS

Choose this option for NetNow! to make use of the Dun services built into Windows 95 and Windows NT to connect to the Internet.

Direct / Permanent Network Connection

Choose this option if NetNow! is directly connected to a LAN which provides its own connection to the Internet.

No Internet Connection (Local Network Only)

Choose this option if NetNow! is connected to a local network only.

Synchronised Online Times

Choose this option to configure NetNow!’s access to a local network which is only available at certain times of the day or during certain days of the week. Connection periods in 15 minute intervals for each day of the week can be marked out on the grid revealed by clicking on Edit.

Virtual Network (Router handles dialup for network)

Choose this option if NetNow!’s Internet or network access is controlled by a router which has its own dialling facilities.

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Inbox Properties

This dialog is used to configure NetNow!’s handling of inbound email messages and can be accessed by selecting Incoming Mail... from the Options menu (or by clicking on the [image] button).

Select one of the following for further information:-

Undelivered Mail

Barring

Re-writing

Sorting

Options

Note

Mail addressed to a host other than this one will also be handled by the Outbox Properties.

  Related Topics


Undelivered Mail Tab

This tab appears on the Inbox Properties dialog and is used to control how NetNow! handles mail which is addressed to this site, but where the addressed mailslot cannot be found.  The handling of mail which cannot be delivered is often called bouncing.

Return Undelivered Mail to Sender

This option simply refuses to accept the incoming message, therefore it remains the responsibility of the sending mail server. Protocol requires that the message either be returned to the sender or that the sender be notified that the message could not be delivered.  This is the most efficient option for dealing with undelivered mail because it places the responsibility for any action on the sending mail server and because NetNow! does not download the message.

Return a Delivery Report (Failure)

This option accepts the message and then posts a separate message back to the sender notifying them that the message could not be delivered.  While effectively performing the same duty as the Return to Sender option, the administrator may control the content of this message by modifying the bounce template.

Forward Undelivered Mail to Mailbox

This option accepts the message and NetNow! delivers it to the specified address. The address may be a local mailbox or a full Internet address. This option allows for the possibility that some correspondents may make mistakes when addressing their mail to you.

Re-address mail to

This option accepts the incoming message, however NetNow! then changes the forward path of every message to the mail host name specified in the associated edit box and places the message in the outbox for delivery to the revised address.

Create Mailbox and Store

This option causes NetNow! to create a new mailbox to accept the message. The new mailbox is created by copying the mailbox settings from an existing mailbox defined as the template in the Template drop box.

Place in Outbox

This option places undeliverable mail directly into the outbox and it is then delivered according to the rules in the Outbox Properties.  Note that this may result in a mail loop if the remote mail server to which the message has been returned decides to post the message back to the NetNow! Server.

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Barring Tab

This tab appears on the Inbox Properties dialog and itself contains two tabs, Bar mail sent from... and Bar mail addressed to..., entries in which cause NetNow! to reject incoming messages before downloading them when matching entries are found in the sender or recipient addresses, respectively.

Mail can be barred based on the sender’s email address or based on the email address of the recipient by typing entries, one per line, into the appropriate dialog. The entries are interpreted from top to bottom by NetNow!.

The message issued by NetNow! when mail is rejected can be specified in the Message to Send when address is barred edit box.

The address lists in both dialogs support the following placeholders or wildcards, which can be used individually or in conjunction with each other.

*	An asterisk, which represents any sequence of zero or more characters

?	A question mark, which represents any single character

%	A percentage sign, which represents any single number

$	A dollar sign, which represents any single letter

~	A tilde, which is used to exclude a wildcard specification

Select one of the following for further information:-

Mail Barrring

Using the Mail Barring Wildcards

Mail Barring Reports

NetNow! can be configured to send a formatted mail barring report in an email message on a regular basis to a specified address. Select the following for further information on this feature:-

Report Properties

Tip

If no messages are being received by NetNow! ensure that inappropriate wildcards have not been placed in either of these tabs. An entry of *@* , for example, will reject all messages offered to NetNow! if it is placed in either the Bar mail sent from... tab or the Bar mail addressed to... tab.

Related Topics


Mail Barring

Mail Barring in NetNow! is implemented in the same way as traditional “bouncing” but with a wider scope and with the addition of sophisticated wildcards. Select the following for further information on the use of wildcards:-

Using the Mail Barring Wildcards

The key feature of Mail Barring during SMTP receipt is that the actual message itself is not downloaded which saves considerable (possibly expensive) on-line time over the alternative methods available, such as deleting the message after receipt. Select the following for further information:-

Mail Barring (SMTP)

Mail Barring is normally aimed solely at exercising control over incoming SMTP mail deliveries but NetNow! extends the concept to include mail collected via POP3 in certain circumstances.  If mail is barred during POP3 collection each message must still be downloaded by NetNow! to provide the necessary data for a bounce message to be returned to the sender. Select the following for further information:-

Mail Barring (POP3)

Mail Barring on Sender or Recipient

NetNow! allows mail to be barred by two methods. Firstly by matching the address of the sender, taken from the SMTP MAIL FROM field, against address specifications found in the Bar mail sent from... Tab and, secondly, by matching the address of the recipient, taken from the SMTP RCPT TO field, against address specifications found in the Bar mail sent to... Tab.

The traditional method of barring relies exclusively on barring mail from sender addresses which have previously been identified as responsible for sending abusive messages or junk mail. Although this methodology is successful it should be noted that it is trivial for malicious senders to forge the identity of the sender as it appears in the SMTP MAIL FROM field. Attempting to block all such variations in presented MAIL FROM SMTP envelopes often results in extremely long lists of barred addresses which can prove difficult and time consuming to maintain.

To help overcome this, NetNow! also implements barring on the identity of the recipient and, properly used, this can provide a very effective defence against junk mail and abusive messages. The most obvious advantage of this method is that the contents of the forward path in messages remains under the control of the user - forged entries in this field means that the message cannot arrive at its intended destination. The major difficulty with this methodology is that the user must have the ability to create alternative mailbox identities within their mail domain and some internet connectivity accounts to do not have this facility.

To make best use of barring on recipient the user should adopt a separate alias, or mailbox name, for each internet activity. For example, a mailing list discussing foobar could be subscribed to using an alias of “foo”. If junk mailers obtain that user name and send unwanted mail to it, the name can simply be placed in mail barring after unsubscribing and resubscribing to the mailing list under a different alias.

This practice is also an effective means of identifying the real source of junk mail. If a subscription to a particular service attracts unwanted mail on a regular basis the user has the option of continuing to resubscribe using different aliases or simply discontinuing the activity as not worthwhile. Neither option interferes with mail addressed to other aliases, it should be noted.

Related Topics


Mail Barring (SMTP)

Before Mail Barring can be fully understood it is necessary to grasp the essentials of the mail receipt process for SMTP.  SMTP mail is always sent by the mail client and received by the mail server as shown in the following stylised mail delivery (commands in capitals):-

Client Mail Machine (Remote)	Server Mail Machine (NetNow!)

HELO my name is “name”	250  my name is NetNow!.server

MAIL FROM:<address.sender>	250  receiving from <address.sender>

RCPT TO:<address.recipient>	250  will send to <address.recipient>

DATA	354  send the message, terminate with "."

.	250  received the message, thanks

QUIT	221  have a nice day (SMTP Closing)

Mail Barring operates solely on the address of the sender, the MAIL FROM: argument, and the address of the recipient, the RCPT TO: argument. These are often referred to as the “message envelope” or the “SMTP envelope”. The most accurate way to determine these addresses is to consult the NetNow! log, however they may sometimes be available within messages themselves:-

•	The address of the sender, known as the return path, is written to the Return-Path header on received messages

•	The address of the recipient, known as the forward path, appears in some Received headers and also, in some POP3 messages, in headers such as X-Apparently-To, X-Delivered-To and similar

Note, however, that the contents of the To and From headers within the message itself are not normally used during mail barring. In fact, during SMTP receipt, the headers and body of the message are not available to NetNow! until after the DATA command has been issued and the whole message has been received. There is no mechanism within the SMTP protocol for receiving the headers only of messages being delivered.

Barring on SMTP Recipient

During SMTP receipt NetNow! matches the addresses contained in the forward path against the address specifications held in the Bar mail sent to... Tab of the Barring Tab in the Inbox Properties dialog. A typical mail barring entry in the NetNow! log appears as follows:-

HELO sender.com	--->  250 example.com

MAIL FROM:<box@sender.com>	--->  250 receiving from box@sender.com

RCPT TO:<john@example.com>	--->  550 No such user

In this case an address specification in the Bar mail sent to... Tab which matches john@example.com causes NetNow! to reject the incoming message. Note that the message itself is not downloaded, that is, there is no DATA command before the message is rejected.

Barring on SMTP Sender

During SMTP receipt NetNow! matches the addresses contained in the return path against the address specifications held in the Bar mail sent from... Tab of the Barring Tab in the Inbox Properties dialog. A typical mail barring entry in the NetNow! log appears as follows:-

HELO sender.com	--->  250 example.com

MAIL FROM: <box@sender.com>	--->  250 receiving from box@sender.com

RCPT TO: <john@example.com>	--->  550 No such user

In this case an address specification in the Bar mail sent from... Tab which matches box@sender.com causes NetNow! to reject the incoming message. Note that barring is carried out after the RCPT TO command is issued. This prevents the sending client machine from attempting to resend the message on another occasion. Again, note that the message is rejected before its contents are received from the sending mail machine.

Barring Message

The above examples both use the simple message “No such user” as the reason given for refusing the message. Alternative messages may be used, such as “Mail not accepted from sender.com”, but these risk telling the recipient of the bounce message more than was intended. In this case that mail probably is accepted to john@example.com but only when it is sent from an address other than sender.com. The implication is clear but much depends, as always, on the identity of the recipient of the bounce message.

Related Topics


Mail Barring (POP3)

It is recommended that the topic Mail Barring (SMTP) be read before continuing ensure that the principles involved in Mail Barring in NetNow! are understood:-

Mail Barring (SMTP)

Related Topics


Using the Mail Barring Wildcards

NetNow! provides a rich and powerful syntax for mail barring using the following placeholders or wildcard specifications which can be used individually or in conjunction with each other:-

*	An asterisk, which represents any sequence of zero or more characters

?	A question mark, which represents any single character

%	A percentage sign, which represents any single number

$	A dollar sign, which represents any single letter

~	A tilde, which is used to exclude a wildcard specification

Note that the order in which entries appear in the Mail Barring dialog is significant because NetNow! evaluates the entries from top to bottom.

Examples - barring on mail sent from

*@example.com 	rejects all messages sent from a domain named example.com

*%%*@example.$$.uk 	rejects all messages sent from any sender with two consecutive numbers in the user name and with a domain name of example.co.uk or example.ac.uk

*money*@*	rejects all messages sent from any user with a mailbox name containing money, regardless of the originating domain

junk@example.com	rejects all messages sent from junk@example.com

*@example.com

~joe@example.com	rejects all messages sent from example.com except for messages from joe@example.com which are accepted

Examples - barring on mail sent to

box1@example.com	rejects all messages sent to box1@example.com

box?@example.com	rejects all messages sent to any box number at example.com whose name is “box” followed by a single character

box*@example.com	rejects all messages sent to all addresses starting with the string “box” at example.com

*@example.com

~box*@example.com	reject all messages sent to example.com except for those addressed to any mailbox starting with the string “box” at example.com which are accepted

Note

In the Bar mail addressed to... Tab NetNow! interprets an entry of box1@ as meaning box1@host.com, but only if host.com is the Local Host Name defined on the Server Tab of the Server Properties dialog. In all other circumstances fully quoted addresses must be entered.

Tip

If no messages are being received by NetNow! ensure that inappropriate wildcards have not been placed in either of these dialogs. An entry of *@* , for example, will reject all messages offered to NetNow! if it is placed in either the Bar mail sent from... Tab or the Bar mail addressed to... Tab.

Related Topics


Re-writing Tab

The Re-writing tab appears on the Inbox Properties dialog and is used to modify recipient addresses during message routing.

Address re-writing entries consist of a specification and a replacement.  Each recipient address processed during routing is compared against each re-writing entry, and, if it matches, a specification it is replaced.  The specification is a wildcard string which may include the wildcard characters * and ?.  * represents any number of characters, while ? represents any single character.

Using the Address Re-writing Wildcards

To add an address re-writing rule :-

1	Click Add

2	Click on the new “*@host.domain.co.uk” entry in the list box

3	Enter the address specification in the first edit box

4	Enter the replacement string in the second edit box

To edit an existing address re-writing rule:-

1	Click on the required entry in the list box

2	Alter the address specification in the first edit box

3	Alter the replacement string in the second edit box

To delete an existing address re-writing rule:-

1	Click on the required entry in the list box

2	Click Delete

The addresses are processed in the order shows in the list box, and the same address can be modified more than once. In fact, the same message may go through the routing system more than once too, which may result in the same replacements being used more than once.

Notes

The string matching is not case sensitive, and local mailslots can be referenced without the full host name.

Address re-writing does not affect the normal headers in an email message. The RCPT TO envelope address only is rewritten.

NetNow! also supports the use of an aliases file which can be used to modifies the RCPT TO envelope address. Select the following for further information:-

Aliases File

Related Topics


Using the Address Re-writing Wildcards

For example, *@host.domain.co.uk would match any user at that host. b*@host.domain.??.uk would match bill@host.domain.co.uk and brian@host.domain.ac.uk, but not rob@host.domain.co.uk.

The replacement string may include the placeholder symbol $. When generating a replacement, the $ symbols are replaced with whatever text matched the wildcards in the specification string. For example, if the specification is *@host.com, and the replacement is $@host.co.uk then given john@host.com, the replacement is john@host.co.uk.

To change the order of replacement, the $ symbol may be followed immediately with a digit from 1 to 9, for example *.*%host.com@* could be used with replacement $1@$3, and given john.47%host.com@post.co.uk, the replacement would be john@post.co.uk.  This introduces a problem of following the $ symbol with a digit, which can be overcome by explicitly including a digit: e.g. *@host.com replaced with $15@host.com, giving john5@host.com for john@host.com.

Note

String matching is not case sensitive, and local mailslots can be referenced without the full host name.

Address re-writing does not affect the normal headers in an email message. The RCPT TO envelope address only is rewritten.

Related Topics


Sorting Tab

This tab appears on the Inbox Properties dialog and enables NetNow! to be configured to deliver incoming mail to a mailbox specified by user definable message filter settings.

To add a sort filter:-

1	Click on Add to display the Filter Settings dialog

2	Choose a filter from the dropdown list of Filter Criteria

3	Add a filter value to the edit box which is then revealed

4	Determine how the filter condition is to be interpreted by choosing an entry in the Match dropdown list

Steps 2-4 can be repeated to set multiple filter matches

5	Click on Ok

6	Select an existing mailslot from the Recipients dropdown list

 To edit an existing sort filter:-

1	Click on the required entry in the list box

2	Click on Edit

3	Adjust the filter fields as required

4	Click on Ok

To delete an existing sort filter:-

1	Click on the required entry in the list box

2	Click on Delete

Select the following for further Filter information:-

Filter Settings

Note

Multiple filter matches are possible but, if any filter does match, the original recipients are ignored.

Related Topics


Options Tab

This tab appears on the Inbox Properties dialog and specifies how NetNow! should handle large incoming messages. Copies of all incoming messages can also be forwarded to a specified address.

Limit Inbound Mail Size

To limit the size of inbound messages for ease of handling:-

1	Check the Limit the size of inbound mail checkbox to activate the feature

2	Set the size in kilobytes above which messages will be broken into partials in the Maximum Message size... edit box

3	Tick the Break messages into MIME... checkbox.

With this feature activated NetNow! produces separate messages, each of the size specified in the Maximum Message Size... edit box, until the incoming message is fully received. Each partial message is routed in NetNow! in exactly the same way. Many mail clients can automatically re-assemble MIME partials on receipt.

Forward a copy of all incoming mail to

NetNow! forwards a copy of all incoming email messages to a specified address if this feature is activated. Retaining a copy of incoming mail is a useful adjunct to the built-in security features in NetNow!.

To forward copies of all inbound mail:-

1	Tick the Forward a copy... checkbox

2	Choose an existing mailslot from the dropdown list. A full email address, external if required, may be entered instead of choosing a mailslot.

Maximum number of mail hops

This setting controls the number of times which a message is permitted to travel through NetNow!’s router before it is deemed to be in a mail loop. All mail messages handled by NetNow! are given an X-Hops: header which contains the current hop count. Messages stored in archives and mailboxes retain their hop count, which count will be further incremented if a stored message is either expired or dragged into another mailslot. Select the following for further information:-

Mail Routing

Related Topics


Aliases File

The aliases file provides a powerful and flexible mechanism for altering RCPT TO: fields during mail routing in a manner similar to the Address Re-writing facility in NetNow!. There is no interface to this facility in the console. The aliases file (with no extension) must be implemented as an ASCII file and stored in the \database\configuration folder.

Syntax

entry 	::= 	key ":" aliaslist

key	::= 	<local or full email address or wildcard>

aliaslist 	::= 	alias { "," alias }

alias	::= 	address | ":" include

address	::= 	<an email address>

include	::= 	<pathname for file of email addresses>

The "include" text file must contain a single email address on each line. Lines starting with a space or tab are appended to the previous line (for line wrapping). Relative pathnames are added to the end of configuration directory. For example, "aliases.ext" might be translated to "c:\NetNow!\database\configuration\aliases.ext". Comments may be included, provided they begin with a hash (#).

Examples

# All inbound mail addressed to root@ is redirected to user@

root: user

# All inbound mail addressed to webmaster@ is redirected to user@ and to postmaster@

webmaster: elric, postmaster

# Inbound mail addressed to NetNow!@example.com is redirected to the addresses contained

# in the file NetNow!-dev.list then a copy is redirected to each of the comma separated addresses.

# Note the second line with a leading space to denote continuation from the first line

NetNow!@example.com: :NetNow!-dev.list, archive@example.com,

  user@bar.co.uk, user@foo.co.uk

# Contents of text file NetNow!-dev.list

elric@example.com

dan@example.com

alan@bar.co.uk

jim@foo.co.uk

Notes

Inbound mail rewritten to aliaslist is not also forwarded to the original recipient. In the first example above, therefore, mail addressed to root@ is not forwarded to root@, only to user@. The address to which inbound mail is being sent may, however, also be added to aliaslist. Thus, using the first example again - root: user, root - would redirect inbound mail addressed to root@ to both root@ and to user@. Alternatively, any entry of “root” (without quotes) may be added to the Aliases tab of any mailslot in the console in which a copy of inbound mail to root@ is required.

Related Topics


Outbox Properties

This dialog is used to configure NetNow!’s handling of outbound email messages and can be accessed by selecting Outgoing Mail from the Options menu (or by clicking on the [image] button).

Select one of the options below for further details on the options in that tab :-

Remote Mail Server

Delivery Options

Mail Routing Table

All mail placed in the outbox is processed by NetNow! according to the settings in, and accessed from, this dialog. The rules in the Static Routing Table are applied to each message to effect delivery of outgoing mail, direct to a specified mail host or via MX Resolution, if applicable. If, at any time, a message cannot be delivered to a mail host specified by mail routing, it is delivered to the listed Remote Mail Server or to the Backup Mail Server.

  Related Topics


Remote Mail Server Tab

This tab appears on the Outbox Properties dialog and is used to describe the remote and backup mail servers to which outbound mail is delivered by default if static routing rules have not been configured or if the mail cannot be delivered to the mail host(s) specified in those routes.

If NetNow! is connected to the Internet via an Internet Service Provider the Remote Mail Server edit box should contain the name of their recommended mail server host, or smart host, which must be capable of passing mail onwards to other Internet hosts. If the Internet Service Provider supplies an alternate server can be specified in the Backup Mail Server edit box as a fall-back mail server when NetNow! cannot connect to the primary mail host.

Remote Mail Server

Enter the name of the remote mail server into the edit box, for example, post.isp.com. The correct name for this service is usually provided by an Internet Service Provider.

Backup Mail Server

Enter the name of the backup mail server, if available, into the edit box.

Forward copies of outgoing mail to

The mail forwarding option enables a record to be kept of all mail successfully delivered to remote mail hosts by NetNow!.

To forward copies of all outbound mail:-

1	Tick the Forward copies of... check box

2	Choose an existing mailslot from the dropdown list. A full email address, external if required, may be entered instead of choosing a mailslot.

Related Topics


Delivery Options Tab

This tab appears on the Outbox Properties and specifies how NetNow! handles outbound mail. The Mail Routing Table enables NetNow! to deliver outbound mail direct to other mail hosts instead of to the Remote Mail Server. The maximum permitted number of outgoing parallel mail delivery connections and the name server to be used for MX Resolution is also be specified here.

If NetNow! fails to deliver outgoing mail for any reason a delivery failure message is sent to the postmaster address of the local host name specified in the Server tab.

Maximum parallel delivery connections

The number of simultaneous mail delivery connects which NetNow! can make is specified in the Maximum Number... edit box. The minimum number of connections which can be specified is 1 and the maximum available is 99.

Default Domain Name Server

If NetNow! is to deliver mail to remote mail hosts on the Internet it must be able to query a Domain Name Server to resolve the MX information for each addressee. Enter the address of the Domain Name Server in the Default Domain Name Server edit box in the form of a dotted quad, e.g. 158.152.1.58. The address of a suitable Domain Name Server is usually supplied by an Internet Service Provider.

Mail Routing Table

Click on the Advanced Routing Tables button to access the Mail Routing Table dialog to define static and dynamic mail routing.

Mail Routing Table

Delivery Failure Reports

In addition to delivery failure reporting to postmaster, NetNow! can be configured to send a formatted delivery failure report in an email message on a regular basis to a specified address. Select the following for further information on this feature.

Report Properties

Related Topics


Mail Routing Table

The Mail Routing Table, accessed via the Delivery Options Tab of the Outbox Properties dialog, enables powerful and flexible rules to be implemented which NetNow! utilises to determine how outbound mail should be delivered. NetNow! evaluates each outbound message against the entries in the main list box from top to bottom. Any item of mail may match the criteria set for more than one entry in the table but the first matching entry encountered determines the delivery route of the message. If the Mail Routing Table contains no entries, or if a message matches none of the entries, outbound mail is delivered to the Remote Mail Server specified on the Remote Mail Server Tab of the Delivery Options dialog.

By placing appropriate entries in the Static Routing Table, NetNow! can be configured to deliver mail to a local network, direct to the SMTP server of another Internet host, to the mail host(s) determined by MX Resolution or to any specified remote mail server which receives mail using the SMTP protocol.

If MX Resolution is employed, NetNow! stores the information returned from each lookup against the delivery address in the Dynamic Routing Table. The number of days for which the results of MX Resolution are cached can also be specified.

NetNow! can also be configured to generate delivery delay messages to the postmaster at the local host, using the delivery_delay.tpl template, if mail remains undelivered for a user definable amount of time.

When NetNow! has exhausted the available options for delivering an item of outbound mail a delivery failure message to the postmaster at the local host is generated using the delivery_failure.tpl template.

Static Routing Table Tab

Dynamic Routing Table (MX Cache) Tab

Note

If changes are made to the Mail Routing Table, those changes will not be registered by NetNow! until the outbound router next becomes idle.

Tip

If there are messages waiting for delivery in the Outgoing Mail mailslot of the console NetNow! can be induced to reassign delivery routes to all outstanding items by choosing Clear Host Assignments from the context menu of that mailslot.

Related Topics


Static Routing Table Tab

The Static Routing Table Tab, which appears on the Mail Routing Table dialog, contains the routing information which NetNow! uses to delivery outbound messages.

NetNow! evaluates each message against the routes entered into this table from top to bottom. A message may match the specification of more than one route, therefore, but NetNow! will always attempt delivery using the first matching route found only.

Filters can also be employed to further refine the route chosen by NetNow! for the delivery of outbound mail.

To add a route:-

1	Click on Add

2	Select the new default entry in the list box

3	Enter the required route details (see Static Route Specification)

4	Position the new entry (if there are existing entries in the list box) by clicking repeatedly on Move Up or Move Down as required.

5	Click on Ok

To edit an existing route:-

1	Select an existing entry in the list box

2	Revise the entry as required

3	Click on Ok

To delete an existing route:-

1	Select an existing entry in the list box

2	Click on Delete

3	Click on Ok

Select the following for further information on the entries required to implement a valid Static Route Specification:-

Static Route Specification

Related Topics


Static Route Specification

The following details should be entered into the Static Routing Table Tab, which appears on the Mail Routing Table dialog. Filters are also available to further refine the route selected by NetNow! for delivering outbound mail.

A route consists of the following fields:-

Address Spec

This edit box contains the address specification against which NetNow! tests each item of outbound mail. The default entry of “*” (an asterisk) matches the address of all outbound messages. An entry of “example.com” (without quotes) matches messages addressed to any user at the example.com domain.

Use MX Host Lookups

If this checkbox is ticked, NetNow! will use MX Resolution to deliver outbound mail which matches the Address Spec. The Mail Hosts field changes name automatically to DNS Machines when the MX checkbox is ticked.

Local Area Network

If the outbound mail is addressed to a user on an attached local network this checkbox should be ticked and NetNow! will deliver matching outbound messages immediately or in accordance with the Synchronised Online Times if that option is selected in the Online Tab.

Mail Hosts / DNS Machines

If the MX Host Lookups checkbox is unticked this field is named Mail Hosts and the name of an Internet Service Provider’s mail server or smart host, usually in the form of “post.domain.co.uk” (without quotes), should be entered. Multiple Mail Hosts may be entered in the edit box, with each entry separated by a comma. If a TCP/IP port other than the standard SMTP port must be accessed on the remote mail host the port number should be appended to the mail host with a delimiting semicolon in the form of “post.domain.co.uk:5005” (without quotes).

If the MX Host Lookups checkbox is ticked this field is named DNS Machines and the names of suitable machines should be entered. If more than one machine is available, multiple machines may be entered, separated using commas.

The correct names of DNS Machines to use are normally specified by an Internet Service Provider. For example, demon.net in the UK makes two machines available for DNS lookups and the DNS Machines edit box should contain the entry:-

ns-cache-1.demon.co.uk,ns-cache-2.demon.co.uk

Cache for (n) days

This field is available only if the Use MX Host Lookups field is checked. NetNow! places MX Resolution results in the Dynamic Routing Table (MX Cache) and this field determines how long NetNow! continues to use that information before performing another lookup. The default value for this field is 30 days.

Keep trying every (n) minutes

The setting in this edit box determines the amount of time that NetNow! waits between outbound mail delivery attempts. The default value for this field is 60 minutes.

For up to (n) hours

This setting, in conjunction with the Keep trying every... field, determines the number of delivery retries that NetNow! will make. The default value for this field is 96 hours.

Notify after (n) hours

NetNow! uses the delivery_delay.tpl template to inform the postmaster at the local host that mail outbound mail has been delayed after the number of hours specified in this field. The default value for the field is 24 hours.

Fallback on default smart host....

If NetNow! fails to deliver matching outbound mail via the specified mail host(s), the mail is delivered to the Remote Server ( as specified on the Remote Mail Server Tab of the Delivery Options dialog) if this checkbox is ticked.

Filter

The Static Routing Table entry which NetNow! will select for the delivery of outbound mail can be further refined by attaching a filter, or number of filters, to each route, if required.

To add a filter to a selected route:-

1	Click on Filter to display the Filter Settings dialog

2	Choose a filter from the dropdown list of Filter Criteria

3	Add a filter value to the edit box which is then revealed

4	Determine how the filter condition is to be interpreted by choosing an entry in the Match dropdown list

Steps 2-4 can be repeated to set multiple filter matches

5	Click on Ok

To edit an existing sort filter:-

1	Click on the required entry in the list box

2	Click on Filter

3	Adjust the filter fields as required

4	Click on Ok

To delete an existing sort filter:-

1	Click on the required entry in the list box

2	Click on Filter

3	Click on Clear in the Filter Settings dialog

4	Click on Ok

Select the following for further information on NetNow! Filters:-

Filter Settings

Select the following for an example Dynamic Routing Table entry:-

Dynamic Route Example

Tip

A route can be disabled temporarily by adding a number of # characters to the front of the address specification. For example, to disable the existing route for example.com the Address Spec edit box could be altered to read “##example.com”.

Related Topics


Static Route Example

The following entries might appear in this order in the Static Routing Table:-

1.	Address Spec	example.com

Mail Hosts	post.eng.demon.net

Use MX Lookups	(unchecked)

Local Area Network	(unchecked)

Fallback on smart host	(unchecked)

Keep trying every	60 minutes

For up to	96 hours

Notify after	24 hours

Cache for	30 days

Filter	(not set)

2.	Address Spec	*

Mail Hosts	post.demon.co.uk

Use MX Lookups	(unchecked)

Local Area Network	(unchecked)

Fallback on smart host	(checked)

Keep trying every	60 minutes

For up to	96 hours

Notify after	24 hours

Cache for	30 days

Filter	Any #minrcpts = 2

3.	Address Spec	*

DNS Machines	ns-cache-1.demon.co.uk,ns-cache-2.demon.co.uk

Use MX Lookups	(checked)

Local Area Network	(unchecked)

Fallback on smart host	(checked)

Keep trying every	60 minutes

For up to	96 hours

Notify after	24 hours

Cache for	30 days

Filter	(not set)

The example.com entry is placed first here so that all outbound messages for that domain are routed to the mail host named post.eng.demon.net which may, for example, be best suited for handling mail to that domain. The option to fallback to smart host is unchecked on this route, therefore mail which cannot be delivered via the specified mail host is bounced back to the postmaster at local host.

The following two entries have address specifications of * (asterisk), therefore each line matches all remaining outbound mail.

A filter has been added to the first of those two entries, however, which restricts its application to messages which have two or more recipients. This ensures that mailing list distributions, for example, are routed to the smart host, post.demon.co.uk, specified in that line. It is usually preferred to send mailing list distributions direct to a smart host because NetNow! can specify multiple delivery addresses and send only one copy of the message. The smart host then does the rest of the work which can save considerable time on-line for dial-up connections at the expense of potentially slower delivery of mail to its final destination if the smart host happens to be highly loaded at the time.

Single recipient messages fall through to the second of those two lines and are delivered by MX lookup. If delivery via MX lookup fails, this route is configured to deliver via smart host instead.

Related Topics


Dynamic Routing Table (MX Cache) Tab

The Dynamic Routing Table (MX Cache) Tab, which appears on the Mail Routing Table dialog, contains the results of MX lookups made by NetNow! during outbound mail deliveries. To improve mail delivery speed, NetNow! utilises existing entries in this table whenever possible.

The expiry date of each entry is controlled by the date on which NetNow! last performed an MX lookup on that delivery address and by the number of days expiry set in the Cache for (n) days field of the appropriate entry in the Static Routing Table.

The information in this dialog is shown in three fields:-

•	Host contains the host to which mail is delivered and which is derived by NetNow! automatically from the delivery address on each outbound message.

•	Mail Exchanges shows the information received back by NetNow! when it performs MX Resolution on the host names. The entries are in order, with most preferred mail host first.

•	Expiry shows the date on which each entry will expire. NetNow! performs another MX lookup if mail is required to be delivered to that host after the expiry date.

Select the following for example Dynamic Routing Table entries.

Dynamic Route Example

Expire Selected Records

If it is suspected that NetNow! is holding invalid MX records in the Dynamic Routing Table, causing difficulties in delivering mail to a host, the effected host record can be manually expired from the MX Cache, forcing NetNow! to perform another MX lookup during the next mail delivery, To remove the affected host entries in the Dynamic Routing Table first select them, then click on Expire Selected Records.

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Dynamic Route Example

Host	example.com

Mail Exchangers	mailhost.example.com, relay-1.example.com

Expiry	03/02/1998 15:59:00

This example entry shows that NetNow! has retrieved two mail hosts for example.com during MX Resolution with mailhost.example.com being preferred. This entry will be reused by NetNow! for mail deliveries to example.com until the entry expires from the cache on the date and time shown in the Expiry column.

The expiry time is a compromise setting which attempts to speed up mail delivery by reusing previously obtained information but which also risks that information becoming out of date which may then cause NetNow! to deliver mail via the slower smart host route.

Related Topics


MX Resolution

MX Resolution is used to deliver mail to the most appropriate mail server for any given recipient.

About MX Resolution

When to use MX Resolution

There are a number of reasons why it may be preferable to use MX resolution instead of sending all mail to the smart host listed in the Remote Mail Server Tab.  For example, mail will almost certainly be delivered to the recipient faster by using MX resolution.  Posting to the smart host will result in a delay while that host buffers mail for later delivery.  In addition, the smart host may be in high demand at peak times which may result in low efficiency and slow processing.

However, there are also cases for not using MX resolution.  For example, a message addressed to a large number of recipients may have to be delivered to a large number of different mail servers.  If you are connecting to the Internet via dialup, it may be more appropriate to minimise online time by delivering only to the smart host.

Specifying the Domain Name Server

The MX records must be retrieved from a domain name server (DNS). Internet Service Providers will usually recommend a DNS host to use. Selecting default will cause NetNow! to attempt to select one from the current network configuration.  If a DNS host is known, it should be entered explicitly since NetNow! cannot always select one automatically.

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About MX Resolution

Before the advent of dialup networking all machines on the Internet were permanently connected.  Given the host part of an address, a mail client would only have to connect to that host to deliver mail.

More recently, many Internet hosts do not have a permanent connections to the Internet and are, therefore, not always available for mail delivery, and, since most hosts cannot receive mail directly, a system of Mail eXchanges (MX) is employed.

A Mail Exchange is a machine designated for receiving mail for a number of hosts. NetNow! can query a Domain Name Server for the recommended MX server(s) for any email address. If NetNow! is able to successfully retrieve the MX records, it can send mail directly to an MX server which guarantees the fastest possible delivery of mail to each host.

Posting to a smart host will almost certainly result in a delay while mail is stored and routed internally and this can result in significantly slower mail delivery, especially during peak periods.

Note

When NetNow! is unable to connect to a Mail Exchange, it will deliver instead to the smart host(s) specified in the Remote Mail Server Tab.

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News Properties

This dialog is used to configure the news facilities provided by NetNow! and can be accessed by selecting News... from the Options menu (or by clicking on the [image] button).

NetNow! can connect to, deliver news to and retrieve news from most remote news hosts on the internet which provide access via the NNTP protocol, assuming that the required authorisations are issued. Multiple remote news hosts can be contacted simultaneously and NetNow! can also open multiple connections to each host, if appropriate, in order to maximise utilisation of available bandwidth.

The connection properties for each remote host from which news is collected are maintained separately and separate group lists can also be downloaded from, and maintained for, each remote news host.

NetNow! retrieves news articles by Message-ID from subscriptions to newsgroups on remote hosts and provides full local cross-post management facilities. Because NetNow! collects by Message-ID the host from which NetNow! collects news for each subscribed group can be changed at any time without missing or duplicating any articles. Note, however, that the collection of articles for a single newsgroup from multiple hosts is not supported.

News can be collected from remote news hosts by NetNow! using one of NEWNEWS, XOVER, XHDR and GROUP methods.

NetNow! provides news to clients by supplying the articles retrieved from remote news hosts. Local newsgroups can also be hosted on NetNow!. Messages in local newsgroups are not propagated to other news hosts.

News articles can be gatewayed to mail and mail messages can be gatewayed into local newsgroups. Using these facilities NetNow! can be configured to present mailing lists as local newsgroups.

Select one of the options below for further information:-

News Collection

Newsgroup Subscriptions

Newsgroup Defaults

News Servers

News Collection Methods

Related Topics


News Collection Tab

This tab appears on the News Properties dialog and provides access to the news subscription facilities and default newsgroup settings in NetNow!.

News Collection

Tick the News Collection Enabled checkbox to enable NetNow! to collect news and to place the Collect News entry in the console Action menu and in the dropdown menu of the console icon in the system tray.

Choose one of the following for further information:-

Newsgroup Subscriptions

Newsgroup Defaults

Related Topics


News Servers Tab

This tab appears on the News Properties dialog and is used to configure the remote news servers to which NetNow! connects in order to collect news articles.

Default Server

This is the remote news host to which NetNow! delivers articles when there is no relevant subscription. The Default Server is selected by choosing a server in the dropdown list.

To create a news server entry click on Add to display the News Server Properties dialog.

To edit an existing entry click on the server entry in the list box and click on Properties to display the News Server Properties dialog for that entry.

News Server Properties

To delete an existing entry click on the entry in the list box and click on Delete.

News Servers

The list box in this tab displays the name of each configured server and the User Account taken from the Connection Properties Tab, if appropriate. An icon against each entry indicates the state of the server:-

 Server is accessed via a dial-up connection (remote server)

 Server is on the Local Area Network

 Server is disabled

 An error occurred during the last connection to the server

If an error occurs, further details can be found on the News Server Properties Tab.

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News Server Properties

This dialog is accessed from the context menu of news server entries in the console and in the list box of the News Servers Tab and is used to configure the connection to remote news servers, the frequency of news collection, the retrieval of. group lists and the news collection method.

Select one of the following for further details:-

News Server Properties

Connection Properties

Related Topics


News Server Properties Tab

This tab appears in the News Server Properties dialog and enables local or remote news servers from which NetNow! collects its news to be configured. The frequency of news collection can also be specified.

Enable collection/posting...

Tick the Enable collection/posting... checkbox to allow NetNow! to collect news from this server.

News Server

Enter the full name of the news host into the edit box provided, replacing the default entry of “news.host”. The host name of the news server is preferred rather than its IP address because is more reliable to allow NetNow! to determine the correct IP address from the host name by a DNS lookup before every connection.

Retrieve a full list of newsgroups

Tick the Retrieve a full list of newsgroups checkbox to prompt NetNow! to download a full newsgroups list on its next connection to the news server. When connecting to a news service for the first time a full group list should be downloaded to populate the Newsgroup Subscriptions dialog.

After NetNow! has downloaded a newsgroup list this checkbox is automatically unticked.

Local Area Network

If the Local Area Network checkbox is ticked, NetNow! connects to the host specified in News Server periodically whether NetNow! is online or not.

Collect news every...

NetNow! can be configured to collect news from the server specified in News Server at intervals specified by this setting.

Note

For remote news servers only: if NetNow! is offline when this interval expires, news will be collected from the remote server during the next connection to the Internet.

Last Collection

Each time that NetNow! connects successfully to the news host this informational field is updated with the date and time of that connection. If the last connection is not successful, NetNow! provides an explanatory text for the failure instead, for example, “invalid account/password”

Tip

News servers are often busy during certain times of the day and can be remarkably traffic free at other times. If periods of minimum usage can be determined NetNow! can be configured to take full advantage of the increased download speeds and improved general server responsiveness available by setting up Internet Dial-up schedules to download news at those times only.

Related Topics


Connection Properties Tab

This tab, which appears in the News Server Properties dialog, is used to configure remote server authentication, the number of connections made to the news server, NetNow!’s response to connection failures reported by news servers and the method used for collecting news from the subscribed groups on the news server.

Authorisation

Some news servers require a user name and password to be entered when connecting to them. These details can be entered into the edit boxes, Account and Password, which become available when Account/Password Authentication is ticked.

Number of Parallel Connections

NetNow! collects news one article at a time in an article request-retrieve process. This leads to a degree of latency between NetNow!’s request for an article and the news server downloading the article. To help overcome this latency (and thus make more efficient use of bandwidth) NetNow! supports multiple simultaneous connections to each news server. The use of two or three connections can dramatically improve efficiency if little other use of the modem connection is being made. If the remote news server is operating very slowly (due to high demand by other users), increasing this figure substantially may also improve efficiency (at the possible cost of other users). NetNow! defaults to making two parallel connections which is sufficient for most circumstances.

Number of Connection Attempts

When news servers are in heavy use, they will often refuse connections rather than offer poor efficiency. NetNow! can be configured to make a number of attempts to connect to the server before giving up by entering a suitable figure. The default is set to ten connection attempts.

Collection Method

Select a collection method from the dropdown list which is appropriate for the server from which news is being collected.

News Collection Methods

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News Collection Methods

Four methods of news collection are available in NetNow! to ensure that news can be collected efficiently from most news server implementations. Each news collection method has advantages and limitations:-

NEWNEWS

NEWNEWS is the preferred and default method but the command is not well implemented on some news server implementations and is often unsupported for that reason. Always choose this method if it is available because it is both fast to execute on the server and returns the least data from which NetNow! can select the articles which have not yet been downloaded.

XOVER and XHDR

XOVER and XHDR are similar, but XOVER is almost always faster to execute on the server but also returns more data, most of which is ignored by NetNow!. XHDR is slower on the remote server but returns far less data.

XOVER is preferred over a LAN, therefore, where latency is more of an issue than bandwidth, but, for modem users, where bandwidth is the more important factor, XHDR is preferred. Note also that the latency problem with XHDR can be overcome by employing multiple parallel connections. This is good practice, in any case, because there is always some latency with news servers.

GROUP

GROUP is the fastest method, faster even than NEWNEWS, but can result in the duplication of some articles and can also cause some articles to be skipped.

Notes

When using the GROUP option, the ‘Ignore articles older than...' setting has no effect.

The NEWNEWS option is based upon the last collection date, whereas the other methods are based upon the last article number. Switching from NEWNEWS to any other option will, therefore, require additional time during the first few news collections to catch up.

Related Topics


Newsgroup Subscriptions

This dialog, accessed by selecting Newsgroups... from the Options menu in the console or by the Subscriptions button on the News Collection Tab of the News Properties dialog, is used to control subscriptions to newsgroups on configured news hosts.

The newsgroup lists from each configured news host are displayed individually in hierarchical format and NetNow! can be subscribed to any number of newsgroups on any of the remote news hosts. The same newsgroup cannot be subscribed to on multiple hosts, however. The interface in this dialog also provides powerful Find and Go To functions to speed up the subscription process.

The properties for existing subscriptions and the default subscription properties can be displayed and altered from this dialog and local and remote hosted subscriptions can be created manually if preferred.

Choose one of the following for further information:-

Subscriptions

Groups On Server

Newsgroup Defaults

Related Topics


Subscriptions Tab

This tab appears on the Newsgroup Subscriptions dialog and displays a list box showing of current newsgroup subscriptions in NetNow! in the Name field in alphabetic order, the date and time of last collection (if assigned to a remote news host) in the Last Collection field, and the host from which articles are retrieved for the subscribed group in the News Server field. Select the following for further information on creating a new newsgroup subscription.

Groups On Server

Newsgroup Properties

Select an existing subscription entry in the list box and click on Properties to reveal the Newsgroup Properties dialog for that group

Unsubscribing from a Newsgroup

To unsubscribe from a newsgroup, first select the required newsgroup in the list box then click on Unsubscribe. Unsubscription can also be made using the groups lists displayed on the Groups On Server Tab.

Subscription Defaults

Click on Defaults to display the Newsgroup Defaults dialog.

Creating a Newsgroup

A local newsgroup can be created in NetNow! by the following process. Click on Create to reveal the Create a Newsgroup dialog and enter the name of the new newsgroup into the Name of Newsgroup edit box. Tick the Local Newsgroup checkbox and click on Ok. The new entry will be displayed immediately in the list of subscriptions. Articles posted to local newsgroups are not delivered to any other news servers.

Follow the same process to create a newsgroup in NetNow! to store news collected from a remote mail host but Local Newsgroup should be left unchecked so that NetNow! creates a newsgroup without assigning a news host. Select the new entry in the list box and click on Properties to display the Newsgroup Properties dialog to complete the setup and to assign a remote news host. Articles posted to non local newsgroups in NetNow! are always propagated to the relevant remote news host.

Related Topics


Groups on Server Tab

This tab appears on the Newsgroup Subscriptions dialog and contains the groups lists in an hierarchical tree with the news host from which they were downloaded at the root.

Newsgroups can be located by clicking on the + (plus) and - (minus) symbols to expand and contract the hierarchical trees of newsgroups to find areas of interest.

The plus and minus keys on the numerical keypad of most keyboards, in conjunction with the cursor keys, can also be used for those functions.

Due to the large numbers of newsgroups involved, some delay may be experienced when expanding and contracting the groups lists.

Finding a Newsgroup

Select one groups list and enter a full or partial search string into the Search for edit box. Searching on “bar” (without quotes), for example, would find newsgroups named bar.foo, foo.bar.foo, foo.barring, etc. Then click on Find.

When NetNow! finds the first matching newsgroup in the selected groups list it displays the full name of that newsgroup in the Found: textbox. The search can be continued for other matching groups by repeatedly clicking on Find.

Go To a Newsgroup

Whenever a newsgroup is displayed in the Found: textbox, click on Go To in order to prompt NetNow! to navigate the hierarchical tree, expanding branches as required, to display and select that newsgroup.

Subscribing to a Newsgroup

Select the required newsgroup in the hierarchical tree and click on Subscribe.

Unsubscribing from a Newsgroup

Select the required newsgroup in the hierarchical tree and click on Unsubscribe.

NetNow! creates and deletes entries in the appropriate lists of subscribed groups when the Done button is clicked.

Related Topics


Newsgroup Properties

This dialog, accessed by selecting Properties from the context menu of the newsgroup entry in the console or by selecting the Properties button on the Subscriptions Tab of the Newsgroup Subscriptions dialog, contains four tabs which are used to configure how news articles are downloaded from the selected newsgroup. The news-to-mail and mail-to-news gateways provided by NetNow! are also configured here.

Notes

NetNow! requests news articles using unique article identifiers.  Each article posted anywhere has a unique identity, and it maintains that identity number from the time it is first posted until it is finally expired.  By referencing articles in this way, NetNow! can change the news server it collects mail from for a specific group at any time without missing or duplicating any articles.

In common with all news servers, NetNow! assigns a local serial number, in a simple rising sequence, to each article stored in each newsgroup database. Articles can be retrieved from NetNow! using this article number or by using Message-ID.

If an article is posted to more than one newsgroup (crossposting) it is only downloaded once and, if more than one of those newsgroups is subscribed to on NetNow!, the article is duplicated locally for each newsgroup involved. NetNow! then sets set an Xref: header on each article copy to indicate all the newsgroups in which it appears and the local serial numbers of each article in each newsgroup.

Select one of the following for further details:-

Properties

Download

Mail Gateway

News Gateway

Related Topics


Properties Tab

This tab, which appears on the Newsgroup Properties dialog, enables the following newsgroup settings to be adjusted:-

Download articles

Tick the Download articles checkbox to enable NetNow! to collect articles from the selected news host on each connect to the Internet following expiry of the Collect news every... property of the news host.

News Host

Select the news host from which articles should be collected for this newsgroup from  the News Host dropdown list. The properties for each news host are configured separately in the News Server Properties dialog.

Note

NetNow! cannot determine in advance whether the required newsgroup exists on the selected remote news host. This is unlikely to be a problem, if the subscription has been made from the downloaded groups list for that news hosts, but possible, nonetheless. If the newsgroup proves not to be available when NetNow! connects that information will be clearly presented in NetNow!’s logs and, of course, no articles will be downloaded.

Download Priority

NetNow! may be subscribed to many newsgroups on a single news host and this field enables retrieval to be prioritised for individual newsgroups. The Download Priority setting determines the order in which the newsgroups on any news host are queried for new articles to be downloaded by NetNow!. Three settings are available, High, Normal and Low, in order of precedence. Prioritising newsgroups in this way ensures that news is downloaded first for the most important newsgroups making best use of the available connection time which may be limited during short scheduled connections.

Note

If too many newsgroups are given High priority settings, NetNow! will be unable to distinguish any effective difference in priority between those newsgroups thus defeating the purpose. Also, the prioritised settings for the newsgroups on any one news host do not affect the download progress of other news hosts during news collection.

Article Range

The Article Range field (for information only) shows the lowest local serial number currently held in this newsgroup database followed by the highest serial number followed, in brackets, by the total number of articles stored. When NetNow! expires articles from the newsgroup database the lowest serial is number is adjusted upwards. When NetNow! downloads new articles during news collection the highest serial number is adjusted upwards. The total number of articles is adjusted accordingly in each case.

Highest Server Number

When collecting news using GROUP, NetNow! stores the highest article number retrieved from the remote news server so that new articles only can be requested during the next connect.

Last News Collection

When NetNow! connects to a remote news host it requests a list of all articles which have arrived since its last connection. The date and time in the Last News Collection field (for information only) represents the last successful connection.

Reset Date/Numbers

It may occasionally be useful to reset the Last News Collection in order to prompt NetNow! to check all articles available on the remote news host again during the next news collection. Click on Reset Date/Numbers to prompt NetNow! to check for new articles (up to the maximum period specified on the Download Tab).

Note

An article will not be retrieved by NetNow! under normal circumstances if it has already been downloaded once because NetNow! carries out very efficient checks for existing articles during news collection.

Related Topics


Download Tab

This tab appears on the Newsgroup Properties dialog and is used to guide NetNow! on the articles is should select for download during news collection and the length of time for which those articles should be stored locally.

Override Default Properties

The default settings for all groups are made in the News Properties dialog, and, if the override is not checked, those settings will be used here.

Ignore articles older than...

When NetNow! begins download for this newsgroup it requests all articles which have arrived a the server since the last connection, unless it is the first connection to that server or unless the last connection was greater than this number of days ago.

Ignore bodies longer than...

All headers will be downloaded if this option is set but the message body will only be downloaded if the number of lines are within the limit set here.

Store articles for up to...

Articles which have been stored in the NetNow! news database for longer than the specified period will be expired (deleted from NetNow!’s news database). The number of days storage should be based on the importance of the availability of old articles to connecting news clients but careful account must also be taken of the amount of traffic in the newsgroup. Busy newsgroups set for long expiry times can consume large amounts of disk space - more importantly, the directory will also occupy a large amount of memory in NetNow! when the news group is in use.

Filter

This filter can be used to select articles for download based upon the article header. If the article is excluded, the header will still be stored. Please note that the #body filter does not operate on incoming news feeds.

To add a filter:-

1	Click on Filter to display the Filter Settings dialog

2	Choose a filter from the dropdown list of Filter Criteria

3	Add a filter value to the edit box which is then revealed

4	Determine how the filter condition is to be interpreted by choosing an entry in the Match dropdown list

Steps 2-4 can be repeated to set multiple filter matches

5	Click on Ok

Select the following for further Filter information:-

Filter Settings

Related Topics


Mail Gateway Tab

This tab appears on the Newsgroup Properties dialog and is used to configure the news-to-mail gateway for individual groups.

A news-to-mail gateway enables news articles to be posted automatically to the listed email addresses when they are downloaded.  There are a number of possible uses for this facility:-

•	Articles can be sent to a mailing list which users can more easily subscribe to and unsubscribe from.

•	Individual users can have filters set such that only those articles which are relevant to them are sent directly to their mailbox.

•	A news-to-mail gateway can be used in conjunction with the mail-to-news gateway to supply a mailing list in the form of a local newsgroup. Refer to the News Gateway Tab for further details.

Enable news-to-mail gateway

Check this option to enable NetNow! to gateway news articles for any entries shown in the list box.

Each entry in the list box consists of an Address to which gatewayed articles will be sent and a Filter, which controls which articles will be sent.

To add an address to the list box:-

1	Click Add to display the News to Mail Gateway dialog (see below)

2	Complete the required entries on the Properties Tab

3	Click Ok

To edit an existing address in the list box:-

1	Select an existing entry and click Edit to display the News to Mail Gateway dialog

2	Make the necessary adjustments in the Properties Tab

3	Click Ok

To delete an address from the list box:-

1	Select the required entry and click on Delete.

Select the following for further information on the News to Mail Gateway dialog:-

News to Mail Gateway

Related Topics


News to Mail Gateway

This dialog is used to configure the news to mail gateway addresses and filters for the selected gateway entry and is accessed via the Add and Edit buttons on the Mail Gateway Tab of the Newsgroup Properties dialog.

Select the following for further information:-

Properties

Related Topics


Properties Tab

This tab appears on the News to Mail Gateway dialog and is used to configure the posting addresses of the gateway entry selected in the Mail Gateway Tab of that dialog.

E-Mail Address to post to

The default entry of user@host.domain must be overwritten with a valid mail address for the News to Mail Gateway to operate correctly. Enter the mail address to which copies of news messages posted to the newsgroup should be sent. Note that this address is used for routing the mail messages.

To: Field for messages

The default entry, in the format “newsgroup.name@your.localhost”, may be overridden by an alternative mail address if desired. Enter the address which NetNow! should use for the To: header of mail messages resulting from news messages posted to the newsgroup. Note that the address in the To: header is not used for routing the mail messages.

Edit Filter

To edit a message Filter:-

1	Click on Edit Filter to display the Filter Settings dialog

2	Choose a filter from the dropdown list of Filter Criteria

3	Add a filter value to the edit box which is then revealed

4	Determine how the filter condition is to be interpreted by choosing an entry in the Match dropdown list

Steps 2-4 can be repeated to set multiple filter matches

5	Click Ok

Select the following for further Filter information:-

Filter Settings

Related Topics


News Gateway Tab

This tab appears on the Newsgroup Properties dialog and is used to configure the mail-to-news gateway for this individual groups.

A mail-to-news gateway enables messages sent to the gateway via email to be posted to the newsgroup. In conjunction with the news-to-mail gateway, this is a useful facility for users who cannot use news client software. The address to which mail should be sent for this gateway is displayed at the bottom of the tab.

Using a Local Newsgroup to Host a Mailing List

Mailing list forums are essentially small newsgroups, but, instead of their articles being sent to every news server in the world, they are sent only to other subscribers on the same mailing list. The forum is often better visualised, however, as a newsgroup rather than as a series of email messages and NetNow! supports this view by providing a gateway facility which translates messages automatically between a mailing list and a news group.

Creating a Gatewayed Mailing List

1	Create a local news group with a suitable name.

2	Subscribe the email address of the news gateway to the mailing list (using the address displayed at the bottom of the News Gateway Tab as both the send and receive address).

3	Ensure that the news-to-mail gateway is enabled on the News Gateway Tab

4	Add the mailing list address on the Mail Gateway Tab.

5	Ensure that the mail-to-news gateway is enabled on the Mail Gateway Tab

It is now possible to use a news client to read and post messages to the mailing list.

Related Topics


Newsgroup Defaults

This dialog can be accessed from the Default Newsgroup Properties button on the News Collection Tab of the News Properties dialog and from the Defaults button on the Subscriptions Tab of the Newsgroup Subscriptions dialog and is used to determine the default settings for new newsgroup subscriptions.

For further information select the following:-

Download Tab

Related Topics


Download Tab

This tab, which appears on the Newsgroup Defaults dialog, provides the default settings for new newsgroup subscriptions and determines which articles are downloaded from news servers and the storage time of those articles. These settings can be changed individually for each subscribed newsgroup by ticking the Override Default Properties checkbox on the Download Tab of the Newsgroup Properties dialog of each newsgroup.

Ignore articles older than...

When NetNow! begins download for this newsgroup it requests all articles which have arrived a the server since the last connection, unless it is the first connection to that server or unless the last connection was greater than this number of days ago.

Ignore bodies longer than...

All headers will be downloaded if this option is set but the message body will only be downloaded if the number of lines are within the limit set here.

Store articles for up to...

Articles which have been stored in the NetNow! news database for longer than the specified period will be expired (deleted from NetNow!’s news database). The number of days storage should be based on the importance of the availability of old articles to connecting news clients but careful account must also be taken of the amount of traffic in the newsgroup. Busy newsgroups set for long expiry times can consume large amounts of disk space - more importantly, the directory will also occupy a large amount of memory in NetNow! when the news group is in use.

Related Topics


Report Properties

This dialog, which can be accessed as indicated below, enables the activity reporting facilities in NetNow! to be configured. All reports, which are in email format, are configured in exactly the same manner and each can be delivered to a different local or remote address. Select one of the following for further information:-

Settings

Current Report

The available reports are:-

Mail Barring Report

This report, accessed via the Mail Barring Reports button on the Barring Tab of the Inbox Properties dialog, delivers a list of all the inbound messages refused by NetNow!.

Delivery Failure Report

This report, accessed via the Delivery Failure Reports button on the Delivery Options Tab of the Outbox Properties dialog, delivers a list of outbound messages which could not be delivered by NetNow!.

Dial-up Report

This report, accessed via the Dial-up Reporting button on the Actions Tab of the Internet Dial-up dialog, delivers a list of all connections to the Internet made by NetNow!.

Subscription Report

This report, accessed via the Report button on the Subscribers Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog, delivers a list of subscriptions and unsubscriptions received for a mailing list.

Archive Report

This report, accessed via the Report button on the Members Tab of the Archive Properties dialog, delivers a list of all accesses to an archive.

Related Topics


Settings Tab

This tab appears in the Report Properties dialog and is used to configure the properties of the reports generated by NetNow!.

Enable Reporting

NetNow! produces reports only when this check box is ticked.

Send the report every...

This edit box is used to set the frequency in days at which NetNow! produces reports.

Send next report at...

This pseudo list box reveals a calendar when selected in which today’s date is clearly marked with a red circle. The next date on which NetNow! should send a report must be set to today, or to a date in the future, otherwise NetNow! will be unable to produce reports automatically.

If the date of the next report is set to today then the time, in hh:mm:ss format, must be later than the current time otherwise NetNow! will be unable to produce reports automatically.

Send the report to

Enter the address to which NetNow! should send reports in this edit box. Multiple local or non-local addresses may be entered by separating them with commas, for example “mybox, user@example.com” (without the quotes) where mybox is a local address and user@example.com may be local or non-local.

Last report sent at

NetNow! displays the date and time of the last report sent in this read only information field.

Send Report Now

When this button is clicked NetNow! sends pending reports immediately.

Related Topics


Current Report Tab

This tab, which appears in the Report Properties dialog, shows a read-only preview of the report listing accumulated to date by NetNow!.

Related Topics


Internet Dial-up

The Internet Dial-up dialog is used to configure how NetNow! connects to the internet and can be accessed by selecting Dial-up... from the Options menu in the console or by clicking on the [image] button on the toolbar.

Select one of the following options for further details:-

Dial-up Connection Tab

Actions Tab

Schedules Tab

Schedule Options Tab

Related Topics


Dial-up Connection Tab

This tab appears on the Internet Dial-up dialog and configures the Dial-up Networking / RAS connections.

The Phone Book list box displays the current DUN (Dial-Up Networking) connections which are available to all Windows programs. NetNow! monitors these DUN connections continuously, if they have been configured correctly as Phone Book entries, to determine whether an Internet connection is active.

NetNow! can also use the Phone Book entries to connect itself to the Internet (during unattended connections, for example) if the User / Host Name and Password fields are completed with the relevant information. Note that the User / Hostname and Password fields should contain the same information as the corresponding fields in the Dial-up Networking “Connect To” dialog.

To configure an existing entry in the Phone Book:-

1	Select one entry in the list box

2	Tick the Internet Connection checkbox

3	Enter a User / Hostname (also known as an Account)

4	Enter a Password

Click on New to launch the DUN “Make New Connection” dialog and create a new DUN connection. Existing connections shown in the Phone Book can be modified by clicking on Edit to launch the DUN “Properties” dialog.

Note

The User / Host Name and Password fields must be completed even if they have already been separately configured for other DUN applications.

Related Topics


Actions Tab

This tab, which appears on the Internet Dial-up dialog, configures NetNow!’s automatic online activities and specifies the Dial-up Networking connection used to used when connecting to the Internet.

Tick the Automatic...Mail... and Auto-Finger... checkboxes as required to ensure that NetNow! performs those functions during every connect.

Current Dial-up

A connection must be selected in the Current Dial-up drop box to enable NetNow! to connect to the Internet when the Go Online or Schedule a Connection Now commands are used from the system tray menu or from the Actions menu in the console.

If the Select Next Alternative... is checked, NetNow! will automatically select an alternative DUN connection for the next dial-up (assuming more than one DUN connection has been configured in the Phone Book). NetNow! will also make that connection the new Current Dial-up.

Dial-up Reporting

NetNow! can be configured to send a formatted dial-up report in an email message on a regular basis to a specified address. Select the following for further information on this feature:-

Report Properties

Related Topics


Schedules Tab

This tab, which appears on the Internet Dial-up dialog, is used to create and configure scheduled automatic connections to the Internet .

A schedule entry prompts NetNow! to connect to the Internet, using a defined Phone Book entry, at predetermined times either on a daily basis, on certain weekdays only or on a specific day each month. Each schedule can also be configured to handle news and POP3 mail collection as required, can be constrained to initiate only if high priority outbound mail is waiting to be delivered and can be disabled automatically if the previous (manual or scheduled) connection took place too recently.

Enable Scheduling

Tick this checkbox to enable the scheduling function in NetNow!.

Scheduled Dial-up Events

This list box displays each configured schedule with a clock symbol.

To add a schedule entry:-

1	Click Add to display the Scheduled Dial-up Settings dialog

2	Configure the settings as required

3	Click Ok

To delete a schedule entry:-

1	Select the schedule entry in the Scheduled Dial-up Events list box

2	Click Delete

To edit a schedule entry:-

1	Select the schedule entry in the Scheduled Dial-up Events list box

2	Click Edit to display the Scheduled Dial-up Settings dialog

3	Configure the settings as required

4	Click Ok

Select the following for further information on schedule settings:-

Scheduled Dial-up Settings

Related Topics


Schedule Options Tab

This tab, which appears on the Internet Dial-up dialog, is used to configure some general options for NetNow!’s scheduling service.

Query Connect/Disconnect

When this option is enabled NetNow! displays a warning dialog both before each scheduled connection, so that the connection can be cancelled by the user if desired, and after each scheduled connection, so that the disconnection can be cancelled by the user if desired.

Warn on Missed Schedules

If this option is enabled and NetNow! was not running when a scheduled connection became due,  a dialog is displayed, with confirm and cancel options, which enables the user to prompt NetNow! to carry out the missed scheduled connection.

Auto-schedule when outbound mail is waiting

When this option is enabled the Only for High Priority Mail check box and the Schedule within... edit box are made available. This facility enables NetNow! to create a temporary schedule whenever outbound mail is waiting in the Outbox. If Only for High Priority Mail is ticked then NetNow! ignores the arrival of lower priority mail in the Outbox. The Schedule within... setting can be adjusted to allow time for additional mail to accumulate if desired.

The temporary schedule created by NetNow! for this purpose is generated separately on each connection, using the settings obtained from the Automatic Schedule button.

Automatic Schedule / Schedule Now Settings

Clicking this button reveals the Scheduled Dial-up Settings dialog. NetNow! uses the settings in this dialog to configure the schedule settings used for both the Automatic Schedule and Schedule a Connection Now (found on the system tray menu and on the Action menu of the console) options. Select the following for further information on schedule settings:-

Scheduled Dial-up Settings

Related Topics


Scheduled Dial-up Settings

This dialog can be accessed via the Add and Edit buttons on the Schedules Tab, from the Automatic Schedule / Schedule Now Settings button on the Schedule Options Tab, from the Settings button on the WWW Proxy Tab of the HTTP Service dialog and from the Settings button on Proxy Tab of the TCP/IP Proxy Tunnel dialog. It is used to configure the settings for individual automatic dial-up scheduled connections to the Internet.

Select one of the options below for further information:-

Connection Settings Tab

Schedule Date and Time Tab

Options Tab

Related Topics


Connection Settings Tab

This tab, which appears on the Scheduled Dial-up Settings dialog, contains the settings which determine how NetNow! connects to the Internet to fulfil each schedule.

Enable this Schedule

Tick the check box to enable this schedule

Dial-up Connection

Select an existing Phone Book entry from the drop box.

Select Alternative...on failure

If this option is enabled NetNow! will automatically select another entry from the Phone Book if the attempt to connect with the current entry fails. The new Phone Book entry selected by NetNow! is also made the Current Dial-up.

Number of retries...

Set the edit box to the number of redial attempts which NetNow! should make if it is unable to connect for any reason.

Disconnect after...no activity

Set the edit box to the number of seconds of no activity in NetNow! after which the Internet connection will be automatically closed.

Disconnect unconditionally...

Set the edit box to the number of seconds after connect at which NetNow! will close its connection to the Internet.

Note

The idle and auto disconnect systems are time based because NetNow! can detect the online activity of its own news and mail systems only and not the online activity of other IP programs.

Related Topics


Schedule Date and Time Tab

This tab, which appears on the Scheduled Dial-up Settings dialog, contains two additional tabs in which the date, time and frequency of a schedule can be specified.

Date Tab

This tab controls the frequency at which the schedule will take place. By choosing the appropriate radio button, NetNow! can be configured to connect every day of the week,  on selected days of the week (by ticking the desired days) or on a specific day of each month.

Time Tab

This tab controls the time of day at which the scheduled connect is initiated. By choosing the appropriate radio button, NetNow! can be configured to connect once a day at the time set, every hour at the number of minutes set or at intervals specified in minutes starting at 12 am.

For the latter two options only, NetNow! can also be configured to connect during a certain times of the day.

Related Topics


Options Tab

This tab, which appears on the Scheduled Dial-up Settings dialog, enables the activities which NetNow! performs while on line during a scheduled dial-up to be configured.

Enable POP3 Collection

Enable News Collection

These activities can be configured elsewhere to take place at regular intervals. The check boxes should be ticked if these activities are to be allowed during a scheduled connect.

Some schedules may take place during periods of peak telephone charges and be intended for the delivery of priority outbound mail only. It can be useful, therefore, to deselect either or both of these options to save time and bandwidth online in such circumstances.

Enable schedule only if outbound mail is waiting

If this option is selected NetNow! will cancel the scheduled connect unless there is some outbound mail waiting to be delivered.

High priority mail only

If this option is selected NetNow! will cancel the scheduled connect unless there is outbound mail waiting to be delivered which NetNow! recognises as being of high priority.

Enable only if offline...

Tick this option to prevent NetNow! from initiating this schedule if the previous connection, which could be manual or automatic, has taken place within the configurable time period in minutes.

Related Topics


POP3 Collection Properties

The POP3 Collection Properties dialog is used to configure NetNow!’s collection of mail from remote POP3 servers and can be accessed by selecting Remote POP3 from the Options menu in the console or by clicking on the [graphic] button on the toolbar.

This facility is used to collect mail from remote POP3 accounts on other machines across the Internet, or over a local area network, using the POP3 mail protocol instead of the SMTP protocol. Mail collected from these accounts can be sent directly to one or more mailboxes or can be distributed to any number of users. This makes it possible for a single POP3 account at any site to be shared by any number of people, and, by making use of the Leave On Server options, a single account can also be shared across multiple sites.

For further information select one of the following:-

Remote POP3 Accounts Tab

POP3 Account Properties

Related Topics


Remote POP3 Accounts Tab

This tab appears on the POP3 Account Properties dialog and is used add, modify and delete remote POP3 accounts.

Enable POP3 Collection

Tick this check box to place the Collect POP3 Mail  command on the Actions menu in the console and on the NetNow! icon menu in the system tray.

List of Accounts

NetNow! shows each configured external POP3 server in this list box. The Account column displays the POP3 address of the account. The date and time the account was last accessed is displayed in the Last Collection column. The final column, Routing, displays the configured routing method of each entry.

To add a POP3 account:-

1	Click on Add to reveal the POP3 Account Properties dialog

2	Enter the required information

3	Click OK

To edit a POP3 account:-

1	Select the required entry in the List of Accounts

2	Click on Properties to reveal the POP3 Account Properties dialog

3	Edit the information as required

4	Click OK

To delete a POP3 account:-

1	Select the required entry in the List of Accounts

2	Click Delete

For further information select the following:-

POP3 Account Properties

Related Topics


POP3 Account Properties

The POP3 Account Properties dialog, accessed by clicking on Add in the POP3 Accounts Tab or by selecting an existing account and clicking on Properties in the POP3 Collection Properties dialog, is used to configure a remote POP3 account.

Select one of the following for further information:-

Account Details Tab

Message Routing Tab

Mail Filtering Tab

Related Topics


Account Details Tab

This tab appears on the POP3 Account Properties dialog and is used to configure the general properties of an account.

Enable this account

Tick this checkbox to prompt NetNow! to collect mail from the specified mailbox on the configured remote POP3 server

POP3 Server

Enter the name of the POP3 Server used for mail collection from the POP3 account.

POP3 Account

Enter the user name of the POP3 account.

Note

For example, Fred Bloggs might have a POP3 account with an address of fred.bloggs@popmail.com. The user name of this account, therefore, is fred.bloggs and that should be entered into the POP3 Account edit box That address, fred.bloggs@popmail.com, is the address which Fred would give out to other email users so that they could send messages to him. The server address of a POP3 account is usually different, however, and Fred must collect his mail from the server address not from fred.bloggs@popmail.com. In this hypothetical case the server address is pop3.popmail.com which is the address which should be entered into the POP3 Server edit box. The correct server address is usually provided separately by the service provider and is not always obviously related to the address to which mail is sent.

When NetNow! contacts the remote POP3 server the POP3 Account and POP3 Server entries are combined to create the correct address from which to collect waiting messages. In the above example that would be fred.bloggs@pop3.popmail.com. That address is also displayed by NetNow! in the object listing in the console.

Password

The password for the remote POP3 account should be entered here.

Leave Mail on Server

Check this option in order to:-

•	Share the account with others

•	Collect mail from the account at different sites (e.g. both at home and work).

•	Or simply as a safety precaution

In each of those cases it is then the service provider’s responsibility to expire mail in the account but mail can still be deleted on that account from the console.

The Leave Mail On Server option works effectively only if the remote POP3 server supports the UIDL command. If in doubt, the appropriate service provider should be consulted. The Leave Mail On Server option may still be enabled but it is possible that some messages might not be downloaded whilst others might be duplicated.

Automatically delete after...

If this option is selected NetNow! deletes any mail left on the remote POP3 server as a result of the Leave Mail on Server option automatically after the number of days set in the edit box.

Local Area Network

If this option is checked NetNow! assumes that an online connection need not take place in order to connect to the remote POP3 account.

Check mailbox every...

Enter the time in minutes after which NetNow! should connect to the remote POP3 server and check for new mail

Last Collection

This information-only field displays the last date and time of mail collection.

Related Topics


Message Routing Tab

This tab appears on the POP3 Account Properties dialog and is used to determine how NetNow! delivers mail downloaded from remote POP3 accounts.

Send to listed recipient(s)

If this option is selected NetNow! routes downloaded mail to the recipient entered in the edit box. Multiple recipient addresses may be entered by separating each address by a comma, for example “box1, box2, user@example.com” (without the quotes) where the first two addresses are local mailboxes and the third may be an external address.

Enable Message Routing

The POP3 protocol was not designed to enable mail to be routed after being downloaded and this option must be used with care because the original intended recipient(s) may not be easy for NetNow! to identify in the message headers. One example of this is provided by mailing list distributions which normally have the address of the mailing list in the To header. Some POP3 accounts provide custom mechanisms which attempt to overcome this problem, usually by placing the address of the intended recipient in another header in the message. NetNow! interprets the headers of POP3 messages using one of the following methods:-

Ignore non-local recipients

If this option is selected NetNow! ignores any recipients who are interpreted to be non-local and delivers to local addresses only.

Assume all recipients are local

If this option is selected NetNow! rewrites the interpreted addresses of any non-local recipients and treats them as being local. If the rewritten address can then be resolved as a valid local address NetNow! delivers the message to the appropriate mailbox. If not, NetNow! determines how the message should be handled according to the settings in the Undelivered Mail Tab of the Inbox Properties dialog.

Forward non-local recipients off-site

If this option is selected NetNow! treats interpreted addresses literally. That is, messages addressed to local recipients are delivered to the appropriate mailbox and messages addressed to non-local recipients are placed in the Outbox to be delivered externally.

Use these header fields...

NetNow! extracts recipient addresses from the headers of messages collected from remote POP3 servers by interpreting the contents of header fields entered into this list box. Custom headers, such as X-Apparently-To, may be entered here instead of, the normal To: and Cc: headers found in most messages.

Use *ENV extension to POP3

Some service providers use an extension to the POP3 protocol which provides the original contents of the SMTP envelope in response to the *ENV command. This protocol extension overcomes the normal routing problems associated with POP3 and, if selected, NetNow! can deliver collected mail to the correct recipient(s) with complete reliability. Check with your Internet Service Provider to determine whether this facility is available.

Extract recipients from Received: fields

If this option is selected NetNow! scans the Received: headers of incoming messages to determine the correct recipient for each messages. If the address of the recipient is not mentioned in the Received: header fields by any of the intermediate SMTP mail relays then NetNow! routes the message according to the settings in the Undelivered Mail Tab of the Inbox Properties dialog. The following example Received: field displays the address of the recipient as fred@example.com:-

Received: from relay.mail.isp.net ([0.0.0.0]) by mail.relay.com id abc123456

for fred@example.com;  1 Jan 98 12:46 GMT

Caution

Mail collected by NetNow! via POP3 and routed solely on the values in To: and Cc: headers can be fraught with problems. If, for example, the To: header contains multiple addresses, NetNow! may create and deliver individual messages for each of those individual addresses . Depending on the POP3 mail routing policy those copies could also be sent to the outbox for redelivery.

Related Topics


Mail Filtering Tab

This tab appears on the POP3 Account Properties dialog. NetNow! uses the settings in this tab to provide filtering facilities for messages retrieved from remote POP3 servers.

One advantage of using the POP3 protocol to collect mail is that the headers of any messages waiting on the remote POP3 server can be retrieved without downloading the whole message. NetNow! leverages this capability by providing filters which act on the headers and on the overall message size so that mail can be screened in advance of retrieval. If filtered mail is left on the remote POP3 server instead of being downloaded, it can still be retrieved at a later date by altering the properties of the message preview entry in the console.

Enable Filtering

Check this option to enable NetNow! to provide filtering facilities for this account.

Maximum Size

NetNow! will not download any messages from the remote POP3 server which exceed the size in Kb entered into this edit box.

Delete Unwanted Mail

If this option, which is only available if Leave Mail On Server is enabled on the Account Details Tab, is checked NetNow! immediately deletes all filtered out mail from the remote POP3 server.

Notify Sender...

This option is available only if Delete Unwanted Mail is enabled. If enabled, NetNow! sends a message, based on the pop3_deleted.tpl template, to the sender to advise them that their message was refused.

Send Filter Summary...

If this option is checked NetNow! sends filter summary messages to the address selected in the drop box. Select the following for further information:-

Filter Summaries

Edit Filter

Click on Edit Filter to reveal the Filter Settings dialog wherein filters can be configured to act on the headers of the messages waiting for retrieval from the remote POP3 server. Select the option below for further filter information:-

Filter Settings

Related Topics


Filter Summaries

This is a powerful feature in NetNow! which applies to the retrieval of POP3 messages from remote POP3 accounts. Filter Summaries are configured from the Mail Filtering Tab of the POP3 Account Properties dialog.

The filter summary message is created by NetNow!, using the pop3_summary.tpl template and contains summary details of every message waiting for collection on the remote POP3 server. Each message on the summary is identified with a unique serial number.

The serial numbers can be used to instruct NetNow! to retrieve the matching message from the remote POP3 server instead of either deleting it or allowing it to remain uncollected. Full instructions on how to perform these actions are included in each filter summary message.

Note that if the Delete Unwanted Mail option on the Mail Filtering Tab is checked or if the Leave Mail on Server option on the Account Details Tab is not checked then there may be no messages shown on the Filter Summary.

Related Topics


Filter Settings

This dialog, which can be accessed from many different places within NetNow!, is used to create single or multiple filter settings, against which NetNow! matches each message being processed to determine whether the message should be included or excluded.

Select the following for further information:-

Filter Settings Tab

Related Topics


Filter Settings Tab

The Filter Settings Tab, which appears on the Filter Settings dialog, is used to configure the filter settings which are used in many different contexts within NetNow!.

The tab consists of a two column table with each row of that table providing an individual customisable filter setting. Each filter setting is a combination of a Filter Criteria and a field value. NetNow! performs case insensitive matches on the contents of field values, which may also contain the following wildcards:-

*	An asterisk, which represents any sequence of zero or more characters

?	A question mark, which represents any single character

%	A percentage sign, which represents any single number

$	A dollar sign, which represents any single letter

Messages can be either included or excluded from being acted on by NetNow! by placing suitable entries in the Filter Criteria table and setting a Match type accordingly.

Filter Criteria

NetNow! provides an extensive list of standard Filter Criteria but any header name can also be used if required by overwriting the existing text in a criteria field. The headers of a message can be viewed in the console by selecting a message and choosing View from its context menu. The headers appear at the top of messages and are separated by a single blank line from message bodies.

Select one of the following for more information:-

Filter Criteria

Filter Examples

Match

The Match type modifies how a match is obtained:-

All	the message is included only if all entries match

Any	the message is included if any entries match

None	the message is included only if no entries match

Not All	the message is excluded only if all entries match

Note

Note carefully the context in which filters are used. In some cases filter matches include messages, in other cases filter matches exclude messages.

Related Topics


Filter Criteria

The standard Filter Criteria available, which equate to the header fields found in most mail and news messages, are as follows:-

Sender

From

To

Cc

Bcc

Organisation

Newsgroups

Subject

Reply-To

Return-Path

Message-ID

Return-Receipt-To

NetNow! also provides the following standard Filter Criteria which express other useful message properties:-

#size	the size of a message in lines

#body	the contents of the body text of a message

#minrcpts	the minimum number of recipients of a message

#maxrcpts	the maximum number of recipients of a message

#minsize	the minimum size of a message

#maxsize	the maximum size of a message

#priority	the priority setting of a message (“high” / “low”)

The header fields of a message can be viewed by selecting the message in the console and choosing View from its context menu. The header fields begin at the top of the message and are separated from the text of the message body by a single blank line.

Custom headers not found in the above list may also entered as Filter Criteria by overwriting the existing text in that field.

Related Topics


Filter Examples

A filter entry consists of  two fields, an entry in the Filter Criteria and a corresponding field value, for example:-

Filter Criteria	Field Value

Subject	dollar

...traps any message in which the Subject: header includes the text “dollar” anywhere in that header field. NetNow! makes case insensitive matches against the field values in filters thus that entry would also match Dollar and DoLLar. The standard wildcards available in NetNow! can also be used in the field value, for example:-

Filter Criteria	Field Value

To	*@example.com

...traps any message addressed in the To: header to any user at the example.com domain. Custom headers may also be used in the Filter Criteria by overwriting the existing text. Some service providers, for example, use the non standard X-Apparently-To: header to record the message envelope forward address:-

Filter Criteria	Field Value

X-Apparently-To	*fred*

...traps any message in which that header holds an address containing the text “fred”.

NetNow! filters can also be configured to act only if multiple conditions are met. For example, if messages are to be excluded only if they contain both an address in the Sender: header and a subject which includes the text “Foobar”:-

Filter Criteria	Field Value	Match

Sender	*

Subject	Foobar	Not All

Related Topics


Service Manager

The Service Manager dialog, accessed by selecting Services... from the Options menu (or by clicking on the [graphic] button), is used to configure the core services running on NetNow!. Multiple instances of services can be run but those which run on the TCP/IP network protocol cannot share a port.

The configured services are displayed in a two column list box. The name of the service is shown in the Service column followed by the TCP/IP port in the Port/Location column.

To add a service:-

1	Click Add

2	Select a service from the floating menu

3	Configure that service in its service dialog

4	Click OK

To edit a service:-

1	Select an entry in the Service column

2	Click Properties

3	Reconfigure that service in its service dialog

4	Click OK

To delete a service:-

1	Select an entry in the Service column

2	Click Remove

3	Click Yes in the resulting Confirm dialog

If multiple instances of a service are required it is often convenient to copy the settings for a new instance from those of an existing instance especially where, for example, only the port number needs to be changed.

To copy a service:-

1	Select an entry in the Service column

2	Click Copy

3	Reconfigure the copy service in its service dialog

4	Click OK

Select one of the following for further information:-

SMTP Service

POP3 Service

NNTP Service

HTTP Service

Gateway Service

TCP/IP Proxy Tunnel

Remote Logging Service

User Information Service (Finger)

Related Topics


SMTP Service

This dialog, accessed from the Service Manager dialog, is used to configure the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) Service in NetNow!. Multiple SMTP Service instances may be configured but each must operate on a different TCP/IP port. SMTP is the protocol used to enable other mail servers and mail clients to deliver mail to NetNow!. Select one of the following for further information:-

Service Tab

Access Control Tab

Large Message Safety Tab

Related Topics


Service Tab

This tab, accessed from the SMTP Service dialog, configures the main properties of an instance of the SMTP service.

Enable at Startup

This service is enabled when NetNow! starts up if this option is selected. Configured services may also be started by selecting Start Service from the Tools menu in the console.

TCP/IP Port to listen on

The standard port for SMTP is 25. If a second instance of the SMTP Service is being configured another free port must be used and mail clients or servers wishing to use this instance must be configured accordingly.

NetNow! allows TCP/IP ports to be specified by port number or by the standard service protocol acronym. For example “SMTP” (without the quotes) may be used instead of  “25”. For further information on TCP/IP Ports select the following:-

TCP/IP Ports

Limit to...simultaneous connections

NetNow! refuses simultaneous client connections above the numerical limit set in this edit box. With a default of value of 25, the minimum number of simultaneous connections allowable is 1 and the maximum is 999.

Disconnect idle...

NetNow! will initiate disconnection from idle clients after the period set in seconds in the edit box. The default is 60 seconds.

Related Topics


Access Control Tab

This tab, accessed from the SMTP Service dialog, controls which clients are permitted to use this instance of the SMTP service.

1	Allow any client to connect

If this option is selected NetNow! will allow any client to use this service. This option is not recommended unless NetNow! is operating behind a separately configured firewall or unless access by unauthorised clients is physically impossible (i.e. in a closed network which does not connect, for example, to the Internet).

2	Use the addresses below as a Firewall

If this option is selected NetNow! uses the range of IP addresses entered directly into the Limit access to... list box to determine which clients are permitted to use the service. Note that the firewall is empty by default therefore no clients will be able to use the service until a suitable IP address range is entered.

3	(2) and Local Area Network

If this option is selected NetNow! uses the range of IP addresses entered directly into the Limit access to... list box followed by the range of IP addresses entered into the LAN Tab of the Service Properties dialog to determine which clients are permitted to use the service.

The Edit button can be used to display the LAN Tab if needed.

4	(3) and machines recently collecting POP3 mail

This option operates exactly as option three but also temporarily adds the IP address of  any client authorised to collect POP3 mail from NetNow! to the list of explicitly permitted IP addresses for this SMTP service. This is a highly effective mechanism for allowing trusted clients unimpeded access to mail facilities whilst simultaneously preventing unauthorised mail relaying. Note that this feature can include individual clients hosted on external networks provided they first access a POP3 mailbox (through the POP3 service firewall and a valid POP3 mailbox password) before attempting to send mail via SMTP.

Related Topics


Large Message Safety Tab

This tab, accessed from the SMTP Service dialog, enables the Large Message Safety facility, unique to NetNow!, to be configured for this instance of the SMTP Service. If NetNow! determines that a message in the process of being delivered has exceeded the specified size limit it generates a key which uniquely identifies that message, then immediately rejects the message. If NetNow! detects that a recently rejected message is being re-offered for delivery by the same sending client that message is instantly rejected. NetNow! does not apply the Large Message Safety restrictions to messages being received from addresses in the whitelist.

Enable Large Message Safety...

If this check box is ticked NetNow! monitors the size of all messages handled by this service.

Kill messages larger than...

Enter the maximum size of message which NetNow! should accept before activating Large Message Safety into the edit box provided.

Allow large messages from...whitelist

Enter the addresses from which NetNow! should accept messages of any size. Wildcards can be used to include complete domains, *@example.com for example, will allow large messages to be received from any user at example.com.

Related Topics


POP3 Service

This dialog, accessed from the Service Manager dialog, is used to configure the Post Office Protocol (POP3) Service in NetNow!. Multiple POP3 Service instances may be configured but each must operate on a different TCP/IP port. The POP3 Service enables mail clients to retrieve messages stored in mailboxes in NetNow!. Select one of the following for further information:-

Service Tab

Access Control Tab

Related Topics


Service Tab

This tab, accessed from the POP3 Service dialog, configures the main properties of an instance of the POP3 Service.

Enable at Startup

This service is enabled when NetNow! starts up if this option is selected. Configured services may also be started by selecting Start Service from the Tools menu in the console.

TCP/IP Port to listen on

The standard port for POP3 is 110. If a second instance of the POP3 Service is being configured another free port must be used and mail clients wishing to use this instance must be configured accordingly.

NetNow! allows TCP/IP ports to be specified by port number or by the standard service protocol acronym. For example “POP3” (without the quotes) may be used instead of  “110”. For further information on TCP/IP Ports select the following:-

TCP/IP Ports

Limit to...simultaneous connections

NetNow! refuses simultaneous client connections above the numerical limit set in this edit box. With a default of value of 25, the minimum number of simultaneous connections allowable is 1 and the maximum is 999.

Disconnect idle...

NetNow! will initiate disconnection from idle clients after the period set in seconds in the edit box. The default is 60 seconds.

Related Topics


Access Control Tab

This tab, accessed from the POP3 Service dialog, controls which clients are permitted to use this instance of the POP3 service.

1	Allow any client to connect

If this option is selected NetNow! will allow any client to use this service. This option is not recommended unless NetNow! is operating behind a separately configured firewall or unless access by unauthorised clients is physically impossible (i.e. in a closed network which does not connect, for example, to the Internet).

2	Use the addresses below as a Firewall

If this option is selected NetNow! uses the range of IP addresses entered directly into the Limit access to... list box to determine which clients are permitted to use the service. Note that the firewall is empty by default therefore no clients will be able to use the service until a suitable IP address range is entered.

3	(2) and Local Area Network

If this option is selected NetNow! uses the range of IP addresses entered directly into the Limit access to... list box followed by the range of IP addresses entered into the LAN Tab of the Service Properties dialog to determine which clients are permitted to use the service.

The Edit button can be used to display the LAN Tab if needed.

Related Topics


NNTP Service

This dialog, accessed from the Service Manager dialog, is used to configure the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) Service in NetNow!. Multiple NNTP Service instances may be configured but each must operate on a different TCP/IP port. The NNTP Service enables news clients to read and retrieve news articles stored locally in NetNow!. Select one of the following for further information:-

Service Tab

Access Control Tab

Related Topics


Service Tab

This tab, accessed from the NNTP Service dialog, configures the main properties of an instance of the NNTP Service.

Enable at Startup

This service is enabled when NetNow! starts up if this option is selected. Configured services may also be started by selecting Start Service from the Tools menu in the console.

TCP/IP Port to listen on

The standard port for NNTP is 119. If a second instance of the NNTP Service is being configured another free port must be used and news clients wishing to use this instance must be configured accordingly.

NetNow! allows TCP/IP ports to be specified by port number or by the standard service protocol acronym. For example “NNTP” (without the quotes) may be used instead of  “119”. For further information on TCP/IP Ports select the following:-

TCP/IP Ports

Limit to...simultaneous connections

NetNow! refuses simultaneous client connections above the numerical limit set in this edit box. With a default of value of 25, the minimum number of simultaneous connections allowable is 1 and the maximum is 999.

Disconnect idle...

NetNow! will initiate disconnection from idle clients after the period set in seconds in the edit box. The default is 600 seconds.

Related Topics


Access Control Tab

This tab, accessed from the NNTP Service dialog, controls which clients are permitted to use this instance of the NNTP service.

1	Allow any client to connect

If this option is selected NetNow! will allow any client to use this service. This option is not recommended unless NetNow! is operating behind a separately configured firewall or unless access by unauthorised clients is physically impossible (i.e. in a closed network which does not connect, for example, to the Internet).

2	Use the addresses below as a Firewall

If this option is selected NetNow! uses the range of IP addresses entered directly into the Limit access to... list box to determine which clients are permitted to use the service. Note that the firewall is empty by default therefore no clients will be able to use the service until a suitable IP address range is entered.

3	(2) and Local Area Network

If this option is selected NetNow! uses the range of IP addresses entered directly into the Limit access to... list box followed by the range of IP addresses entered into the LAN Tab of the Service Properties dialog to determine which clients are permitted to use the service.

The Edit button can be used to display the LAN Tab if needed.

Related Topics


HTTP Service

This dialog, accessed from the Service Manager dialog, is used to configure the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Service in NetNow!. Multiple HTTP Service instances may be configured but each must operate on a different TCP/IP port. The HTTP Service can be configured to act as a small World Wide Web (WWW) server and can proxy web requests. NetNow!’s remote administration feature is also configured in this dialog.

Select one of the following for further information:-

Service Tab

Access Control Tab

WWW Server Tab

WWW Proxy Tab

Outgoing Proxy Firewall

Related Topics


Service Tab

This tab, accessed from the HTTP Service dialog, configures the main properties of an instance of the HTTP Service.

Enable at Startup

This service is enabled when NetNow! starts up if this option is selected. Configured services may also be started by selecting Start Service from the Tools menu in the console.

TCP/IP Port to listen on

The standard port for HTTP is 80. If a second instance of the HTTP Service is being configured another free port must be used and browser clients wishing to use this instance must be configured accordingly.

NetNow! allows TCP/IP ports to be specified by port number or by the standard service protocol acronym. For example “HTTP” (without the quotes) may be used instead of  “80”. For further information on TCP/IP Ports select the following:-

TCP/IP Ports

Limit to...simultaneous connections

NetNow! refuses simultaneous client connections above the numerical limit set in this edit box. With a default of value of 25, the minimum number of simultaneous connections allowable is 1 and the maximum is 999.

Provide HTTP Proxy Services

Check this option to permit HTTP Proxy Services to be delivered by NetNow! using this instance of the HTTP Service.

WWW Server

Check this option to permit a WWW Server to be run by NetNow! on this instance of the HTTP Service.

Web Administration Service

Check this option to permit Web Administrative Services to be delivered by NetNow! using this instance of the HTTP Service.

Security Timeout...

The HTTP Service will disconnect web browsers if they are left idle for longer than the period specified in minutes. This feature helps to reduce the possibility of unauthorised access if a web browser is logged in and accidentally left active on a client machine.

Related Topics


Access Control Tab

This tab, accessed from the HTTP Service dialog, controls which clients are permitted to use this instance of the HTTP service.

1	Allow any client to connect

If this option is selected NetNow! will allow any client to use this service. This option is not recommended unless NetNow! is operating behind a separately configured firewall or unless access by unauthorised clients is physically impossible (i.e. in a closed network which does not connect, for example, to the Internet).

2	Use the addresses below as a Firewall

If this option is selected NetNow! uses the range of IP addresses entered directly into the Limit access to... list box to determine which clients are permitted to use the service. Note that the firewall is empty by default therefore no clients will be able to use the service until a suitable IP address range is entered.

3	(2) and Local Area Network

If this option is selected NetNow! uses the range of IP addresses entered directly into the Limit access to... list box followed by the range of IP addresses entered into the LAN Tab of the Service Properties dialog to determine which clients are permitted to use the service.

The Edit button can be used to display the LAN Tab if needed.

Related Topics


WWW Server Tab

This tab, accessed from the HTTP Service dialog, controls the path and folder name which is accessed by web browsers using the WWW Server as a local Intranet service in NetNow!. Aliases can also be used to provide access to other folders.

Root

Specify the base folder of the WWW Server in the Root edit box. The [graphic] button may be used to access a  standard Windows dialog which can be used to navigate to and specify the correct folder.

Aliases

The Aliases list box enables additional folders to be specified which can be accessed in web browsers directly or by the specified alias name. The alias provides web browsers with a short and simple Uniform Resource Locator (URL) which avoids the need for extensive searching in directory trees. For example, the alias “sales” (without the quotes) might point to the sales department intranet located on c:\webservices\intranet\sales. Web browsers can then access that location via the URL of http://example.com/sales.

To add an alias:-

1	Click Add

2	Select the new sample entry in the Aliases list

3	Provide a name for the alias in the Root Alias text box

4	Specify the path and folder for the alias in the Path text box. The [graphic] button may be used to access a  standard Windows dialog in which the correct folder can be found and specified.

To modify an existing alias:-

1	Select an existing entry in the Aliases list

2	Edit the alias name and path in the Root Alias and Path text boxes. The [graphic] button may be used to access a  standard Windows dialog to adjust the Path if required.

To delete an alias:-

1	Select an existing entry in the Aliases list

2	Click Delete

Note

Aliases which commence with a tilde (~) are intended for use as homepages by specific users. The alias must also be entered in the Web Home Pages edit box on the Properties Tab of the User Properties dialog for that user. Select the following for further information on that option:-

Properties Tab

Related Topics


WWW Proxy Tab

This tab, accessed from the HTTP Service dialog, configures the WWW Proxy service in NetNow!.

Enable Dial-up

If this option is checked NetNow! connects to the Internet when a client requests a non local web page. Click on Settings to display the Scheduled Dial-up Settings dialog to specify how NetNow! should connect to the Internet.

Conditional (Ask user through a web page)

If this option is checked NetNow! asks, via a page in the client web browser, for confirmation that an Internet connection should be made.

Connect to requested web server

If this option is selected NetNow! connects directly to the requested web server, bypassing the entry in the Web Cache edit box.

Connect to a web cache / proxy

If this option is selected NetNow! connects to the requested web server via the external proxy specified in the Web Cache / Proxy Server edit box using the TCP/IP port specified in the Port edit box.

Note

It is necessary to use this proxy option to enable NetNow! to hand off those protocols which it does not directly support, FTP, Telnet and Gopher, etc.

Cache files in the global pool

If this check box is ticked NetNow! caches permitted file types retrieved via this instance of the WWW Proxy service in the global pool located in the NetNow! folder \database\cache. Select the following for further information on the global pool:-

Web Crawlers and Web Cache

Click on Types to access the list of retrieved file types which NetNow! is permitted to place in the global pool. A read only display of the configured list of file types appears beside this option in the tab. Select the following for further information:-

File Types

Edit Outgoing Firewall

NetNow! provides an editable list of URLs and IP address specifications in an Outgoing Proxy Firewall. This firewall can be configured to deny WWW Proxy access to any connecting client or to any range of external URLs for each configured client. An empty firewall permits all connecting clients (which have passed through the HTTP Service firewall) to access all external URLs. Click on Edit Outgoing Firewall to display and edit this firewall. Select the following for further information on this option:-

Outgoing Proxy Firewall

Related Topics


File Types

This dialog, accessed from via the WWW Proxy Tab of the HTTP Service dialog, controls the file types which NetNow! stores in its web cache. If the List of file and URL masks list box is empty, NetNow! stores no files in the web cache.

The following placeholders or wildcards are supported. They can be used individually or in conjunction with each other.

*	An asterisk, which represents any sequence of zero or more characters

?	A question mark, which represents any single character

%	A percentage sign, which represents any single number

$	A dollar sign, which represents any single letter

~	A tilde, which is used to exclude a wildcard specification

The following file types are excluded by default (note that the leading asterisk (*) includes all other file types):-

*

~*.exe

~*.zip

~*.arj

~*.tgz

~*.gzip

Related Topics


Outgoing Proxy Firewall

This dialog is accessed via the Edit Outgoing Firewall button on the WWW Proxy Tab of the HTTP Service dialog.

NetNow! provides an editable list of URLs and IP address specifications in the Outgoing Proxy Firewall which is specific to each instance of the HTTP Service. This firewall can be configured to deny WWW Proxy access to any connecting client or to any range of external URLs for each configured client. An empty firewall permits all connecting clients (which have permission via the relevant HTTP Service firewall) to access all external URLs.

The Outgoing Proxy Firewall consists of two columns of data - a Client Machine IP Ranges column and a Valid Web Host Ranges column in which separate web ranges can be held for each IP range.

To add an entry to the firewall:-

1	Click Add

2	Enter an IP Range into the new placeholder provided in the left hand column

3	Press TAB to navigate to the right hand column (or click directly in the Web Host Range column)

4	Enter the required Web Host Range

5	Click OK

To edit an entry in the firewall:-

1	Select the required entry in the IP Range column

2	Edit the IP Range if required

3	Press TAB to navigate to the Web Host Range column

4	Edit the Web Host Range if required

5	Click OK

To delete an entry from the firewall:-

1	Select the required entry in the IP Range column

2	Click Remove

3	Click OK

Note

If the Outgoing Proxy Firewall denies access to a site this text is delivered to the web client, “Access to Host Barred: WWW Access to www.RedRock Technologies.co.uk is not permitted.”

Related Topics


Outgoing Proxy Firewall Example

Related Topics


Gateway Service

This dialog, accessed from the Service Manager dialog, is used to collect messages created by KA9Q or Pegasus style mail clients. The collected mail is placed in NetNow!’s inbound router. Note that this is not a TCP/IP service.

Select the following for further information:-

Service Tab

Related Topics


Service Tab

This tab, accessed from the Gateway Service dialog, specifies the folder which the Gateway Service monitors in order to collect messages sent from KA9Q or Pegasus style mail clients.

Enable at Startup

This service is enabled when NetNow! starts up if this option is selected. Configured services may also be started by selecting Start Service from the Tools menu in the console.

Directory to monitor

Specify the path and folder which NetNow! will monitor in the Directory to monitor text box. The [image] button may be used to access a  standard Windows dialog in which the correct folder can be found and specified.

Path

A foreshortened path within the directory structure of NetNow!’s database path, for example mail\ka9q, may be entered into the Directory to monitor text box and NetNow! will prepend the full path to that folder in the read only Path text box to confirm the actual folder being used. Foreshortened paths cannot be specified outside NetNow!’s database structure.

Related Topics


TCP/IP Proxy Tunnel

This dialog, accessed from the Service Manager dialog, enables single stream TCP/IP protocols to relayed between two machines via NetNow!.

Examples of single stream protocols are SMTP, NNTP, POP3, IMAP, HTTP, Time, Finger, etc. The service specifically excludes multiple stream protocols such as FTP (File Transfer Protocol).

Note

FTP is not proxied by NetNow! but it can be supported through an external web proxy. FTP in a web browser via an external web proxy is actually handled by the HTTP protocol. Select the following for further details on this option:-

WWW Proxy Tab

Select one of the following for further information:-

Service Tab

Access Control Tab

Proxy Tab

Related Topics


Service Tab

This tab, accessed from the TCP/IP Tunnel Service dialog, configures the main properties of an instance of the TCP/IP Tunnel Service.

Enable at Startup

This service is enabled when NetNow! starts up if this option is selected. Configured services may also be started by selecting Start Service from the Tools menu in the console.

TCP/IP Port to listen on

Enter the Port number to which clients must connect when using this instance of the TCP/IP Tunnel Service. For further information on TCP/IP Ports select the following:-

TCP/IP Ports

Limit to...simultaneous connections

NetNow! refuses simultaneous client connections above the numerical limit set in this edit box. With a default of value of 25, the minimum number of simultaneous connections allowable is 1 and the maximum is 999.

Disconnect idle...

NetNow! will initiate disconnection from idle clients after the period set in seconds in the edit box. The default is 60 seconds.

Related Topics


Access Control Tab

This tab, accessed from the TCP/IP Tunnel Service dialog, controls which clients are permitted to use this instance of the TCP/IP Tunnel Service.

1	Allow any client to connect

If this option is selected NetNow! will allow any client to use this service. This option is not recommended unless NetNow! is operating behind a separately configured firewall or unless access by unauthorised clients is physically impossible (i.e. in a closed network which does not connect, for example, to the Internet).

2	Use the addresses below as a Firewall

If this option is selected NetNow! uses the range of IP addresses entered directly into the Limit access to... list box to determine which clients are permitted to use the service. Note that the firewall is empty by default therefore no clients will be able to use the service until a suitable IP address range is entered.

3	(2) and Local Area Network

If this option is selected NetNow! uses the range of IP addresses entered directly into the Limit access to... list box followed by the range of IP addresses entered into the LAN Tab of the Service Properties dialog to determine which clients are permitted to use the service.

The Edit button can be used to display the LAN Tab if needed.

Related Topics


Proxy Tab

This tab, accessed from the TCP/IP Tunnel Service dialog, specifies the external machine and TCP/IP port to which clients this using instance of the TCP/IP Tunnel Service will be connected.

Remote Server

NetNow! forwards client TCP/IP proxy requests to the Remote Server named in this edit box.

Port

Enter the port number on the Remote Server to which NetNow! should connect. For further information on TCP/IP ports select the following:-

TCP/IP Ports

Server is on the LAN / do nothing

If this option is selected NetNow! assumes that the host specified in Remote Server is available on a local network. If the Remote Server is not available NetNow! makes no attempt to initiate a dial-up connection in order to connect.

Initiate a dial-up

If this option is selected NetNow! assumes that the host specified in Remote Server is hosted on the Internet. If offline, NetNow! will initiate a dial-up connection to the Internet to service the proxy request. Click on Settings to display the Scheduled Dial-up Settings dialog to specify how NetNow! should connect to the Internet.

Use alternative local server

If this option is selected NetNow! assumes that an Internet connection is required to reach the specified Remote Server. If NetNow! is online it passes the proxy request to the specified Remote Server. If, however, NetNow! is offline it passes the proxy request instead to the local server and port specified in the associated edit boxes.

Related Topics


TCP/IP Proxy Tunnel Examples

Proxy tunnels can be used to send single stream TCP/IP protocols through NetNow! for a wide variety of purposes. The following example is intended to be indicative, not comprehensive.

News Client Direct to Remote Server

It may be advantageous to connect a news client direct to a remote server for a number of reasons. The remote server may require a particular authentication process which is not available in NetNow! or the required newsgroups may not suitable for collection using NetNow!’s NNTP slave server. One example of the latter is binary newsgroups. NetNow! does not contain the necessary functionality to collect headers only on a first connect to a remote server and new headers and selected articles only on subsequent connects. The proxy tunnel in NetNow! allows the news client to connect directly to the remote server, but it also enables NetNow! to manage the dial-up process and monitor the online time consumed. Follow this procedure for the settings in NetNow!:-

1	Select Services from the Options menu in the console to display the Service Manager

2	Click on Add and select TCP/IP Proxy Tunnel from the menu

3	On the Service Tab set the TCP/IP Port to listen on to 5002

4	On the Proxy Tab set the Remote Server to, for example, news.isp.com on Port 119

5	Click on Initiate a dial-up then on Settings

6	Check the Scheduled Dial-up Settings and click OK

7	Start the Proxy Tunnel Service from the Tools menu in the console

All that remains is to change the remote news server setting and the port setting in the news client. Please refer to the documentation provided because this procedure is different in all clients programs.

Related Topics


Remote Logging Service

This dialog, accessed from the Service Manager dialog, is used to configure the parameters which allow clients, such as telnet or the Remote Logging Tool, to monitor the activity of NetNow! from a remote machine.

Select one of the following for further information:-

Service Tab

Access Control Tab

Related Topics


Service Tab

This tab, accessed from the Remote Logging Service dialog, configures the main properties of an instance of the Remote Logging Service.

Enable at Startup

This service is enabled when NetNow! starts up if this option is selected. Configured services may also be started by selecting Start Service from the Tools menu in the console.

TCP/IP Port to listen on

The standard port for NetNow! logging is 5001. If a second instance of the Remote Logging Service is being configured another free port must be used and clients wishing to use this instance must be configured accordingly. For further information on TCP/IP Ports select the following:-

TCP/IP Ports

Limit to...simultaneous connections

NetNow! refuses simultaneous client connections above the numerical limit set in this edit box. With a default of value of 25, the minimum number of simultaneous connections allowable is 1 and the maximum is 999.

Password

NetNow! will refuse connection to clients which cannot supply the password entered into this edit box in response to the AUTHENTICATE request. Clients cannot connect to this service if the Password is left blank. Note that the edit box echoes an * (asterisk) symbol in response to each character entered.

Related Topics


Access Control Tab

This tab, accessed from the Remote Logging Service dialog, controls which clients are permitted to use this instance of the Remote Logging Service.

1	Allow any client to connect

If this option is selected NetNow! will allow any client to use this service. This option is not recommended unless NetNow! is operating behind a separately configured firewall or unless access by unauthorised clients is physically impossible (i.e. in a closed network which does not connect, for example, to the Internet).

2	Use the addresses below as a Firewall

If this option is selected NetNow! uses the range of IP addresses entered directly into the Limit access to... list box to determine which clients are permitted to use the service. Note that the firewall is empty by default therefore no clients will be able to use the service until a suitable IP address range is entered.

3	(2) and Local Area Network

If this option is selected NetNow! uses the range of IP addresses entered directly into the Limit access to... list box followed by the range of IP addresses entered into the LAN Tab of the Service Properties dialog to determine which clients are permitted to use the service.

The Edit button can be used to display the LAN Tab if needed.

Related Topics


User Information Service (Finger)

This dialog, accessed from the Service Manager dialog, is used to configure the parameters by which finger clients can obtain public information about mailboxes contained in NetNow!. The finger response from individual mailboxes is controlled by a NetNow! template. Select the following for further information on that option:-

Finger Template

Select one of the following for further information:-

Service Tab

Access Control Tab

Tip

When this service is enabled, finger clients connecting to NetNow! can retrieve a list of the available mailslots by specifying the name or IP address of the NetNow! host on the command line, for example:-

finger example.com

Select the following for further finger information:-

Finger

Related Topics


Service Tab

This tab, accessed from the User Information Service (Finger) dialog, configures the main properties of an instance of the User Information Service.

Enable at Startup

This service is enabled when NetNow! starts up if this option is selected. Configured services may also be started by selecting Start Service from the Tools menu in the console.

TCP/IP Port to listen on

The standard port for finger is 79. If a second instance of the User Information Service (Finger) is being configured another free port must be used and finger clients wishing to use this instance must be configured accordingly. For further information on TCP/IP Ports select the following:-

TCP/IP Ports

Limit to...simultaneous connections

NetNow! refuses simultaneous client connections above the numerical limit set in this edit box. With a default of value of 25, the minimum number of simultaneous connections allowable is 1 and the maximum is 999.

Related Topics


Access Control Tab

This tab, accessed from the User Information Service (Finger) dialog, controls which clients are permitted to use this instance of the User Information Service.

1	Allow any client to connect

If this option is selected NetNow! will allow any client to use this service. This option is not recommended unless NetNow! is operating behind a separately configured firewall or unless access by unauthorised clients is physically impossible (i.e. in a closed network which does not connect, for example, to the Internet).

2	Use the addresses below as a Firewall

If this option is selected NetNow! uses the range of IP addresses entered directly into the Limit access to... list box to determine which clients are permitted to use the service. Note that the firewall is empty by default therefore no clients will be able to use the service until a suitable IP address range is entered.

3	(2) and Local Area Network

If this option is selected NetNow! uses the range of IP addresses entered directly into the Limit access to... list box followed by the range of IP addresses entered into the LAN Tab of the Service Properties dialog to determine which clients are permitted to use the service.

The Edit button can be used to display the LAN Tab if needed.

Related Topics


TCP/IP Ports

NetNow! utilises standard port assignments for all its TCP/IP activities. There is a list of assigned TCP/IP ports in the text file named “services” located in the Windows folder and the current list of assigned port numbers may be obtained from IANA:-

ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/iana/assignments/port-numbers

Ports in NetNow! may be specified by port number or by the standard service protocol acronym, shown as “Port Text” in the following list ...

Protocol Name	Port No	Port Text

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol	25	SMTP

Post Office Protocol	110	POP3

Network News Transfer Protocol	119	NNTP

HyperText Transfer Protocol	80	HTTP

User Information (Finger)	79	FINGER

Remote Logging Service	5001

A port number may only be used once and for one purpose in NetNow!. If additional port numbers are required, for example for a TCP/IP Proxy Tunnel or for another instance of one of the above services, port numbers above in the user defined range (that is, 5000 and above) should be used.

To set up client programs to access the specified port numbers, please refer to the documentation provided with the client program. Select the following for further information:-

Related Topics


Web Crawlers and Web Cache

This dialog can be accessed by selecting Web Crawlers... from the Options menu in the console, by choosing Properties from the context menu of the console object tree or by clicking on the [image] button on the console toolbar. The Web Crawler facility enables NetNow! to download and store all or part of remote web sites into the Web Cache, from where it can be viewed, without needing an internet connection, by local clients with permission to use the Web Proxy provided by the Web Administration facilities in NetNow!.

Web Crawlers

The Web Crawlers list box displays a two column listing; the Name column holds the description given to the entry and Root URL column holds the URL which NetNow! uses as the start point when crawling. Both entries are configured in the Web Crawler Properties dialog.

To add an instance of a Web Crawler click on Add and complete the Web Crawler Properties dialog. Existing Web Crawler entries, when selected, may be edited by clicking on Edit or Remove. Note that web pages collected by web crawlers are not deleted from the cache when an entry in the Web Crawlers list box is removed.

Web Crawler Properties

NetNow! can be prompted to initiate a web crawl by selecting an entry in the Web Crawlers list box and clicking on Crawl Now.

The following settings control NetNow!’s handling of web pages downloaded via Web Proxy and stored in the Web Cache (\database\cache).

Files invalid after...

NetNow! expires entries in the Web Cache in accordance with the settings in these edit boxes. The default values are 48 hours when online and 99999 hours when offline.

Cache Pool

The default setting for the size of the Web Cache is 15 Mb. This should be adjusted upwards to allow for the activities of Web Crawlers and to increase the utility gained from offline viewing of the cache contents via the Web Administration facility.

Maximum crawlers active

This setting controls the maximum number of parallel crawler connections launched by NetNow! when Crawl Now is clicked or when an existing Web Crawler entry expires. The default setting is 6, which is adequate for most dial-up internet connections.

  Related Topics


Web Crawler Properties

This dialog enables the settings for individual Web Crawler instances to be configured. It can be accessed from the console by choosing Properties from the context menu of individual Web Crawler entries in the console object tree or by clicking on Add (or on Edit after selecting an existing entry) in the Web Crawlers and Web Cache dialog.  Select one of the following for further information:-

Properties Tab

Crawler Settings Tab

Connection Tab

Related Topics


Properties Tab

This tab appears on the Web Crawler Properties dialog and configures the major properties of each crawler instance. The examples given below all relate to the NetNow! web site, http://www.RedRock Technologies.co.uk/index.html, and should be entered unquoted.

Name

Enter a short name, without spaces, into the Name field to identify this crawler, for example “RedRock Technologies”. Note that this Name cannot be changed if an existing Web Crawler entry is being edited.

Description

The Description field is used in the Web Crawlers list box on the Web Crawlers and Web Cache dialog to identify each crawler, for example “RedRock Technologies Limited Web Site”.

Root URL

The full URL of the web page at which NetNow! should commence crawling should be entered into this field, “http://www.RedRock Technologies.co.uk/index.html”, for example. Contractions and abbreviations are not supported. The Root URL appears in the Root URL column of the Web Crawlers list box on the Web Crawlers and Web Cache dialog.

Owner

This field, defaulting to Administrator, defines the Owner of the crawler. The names which appear in the drop list are those of licensed NetNow! users as configured in User Manager. Select the following for further information:-

User Manager

Directories

The Directories field can be set to one of three options, defaulting to Public, to determine the access permissions of each crawler:-

Private	Visible only to owner

Protected	Visible on local network

Public	Visible by anybody

For example, if the Owner is set to a defined user and the Directories are set to Private, only that user will be able to see or access this crawler entry in the Web Administration facility in NetNow!. Select the following for further information:-

User Manager

Create an Index

The index created by NetNow! if this option is checked is used to present an entry for this crawler in Web Administration and enables detailed searches to be performed by NetNow! on the web pages held in the Web Cache. Select the following for further information:-

Web Administration

Related Topics


Crawler Settings Tab

The Crawler Settings Tab, which appears on the Web Crawler Properties dialog, enables the administrator to set limits on the activities of each crawler instance.

Follow Links to other sites

If this option is enabled, the crawler follows URL links on the original target site to other sites and may also follow URL links on the second site to further sites. Note that the content of remote web sites is not controlled by the crawler and that unwanted text, or even illegal images, could be downloaded and cached as a result.

Limit Scan Depth...

This setting constrains the crawler to scan URLs to the depth value set in the edit box, defaulting to 3. The limit can be raised to ensure that complete web sites are downloaded if necessary. Note that the effect of this setting is highly dependent on the structure of the web site being crawled.

Limit Downloads...

This option, which defaults to 200, must also be set to reflect the structure of the web site being crawled.

Note

Neither the Limit Scan Depth... nor the Limit Downloads... settings, separately or in combination, directly control the volume of pages returned by a crawler. The intent of setting the former to a low level can be defeated by a site which contains many links on its Root URL and the effectiveness of the latter is highly dependent on whether the site being crawled contains large numbers of small pages or small numbers of large pages.

Automatically update...

This option, with a default of 24 days, controls the frequency at which the crawler is launched to refresh the cached copy of the remote web site. The number of days should be reduced for volatile web sites with critical content and increased for relatively static web sites.

Limit download to these URLs

The full range of NetNow! wildcards can be used to specify file masks appropriate to each crawler. Note that an empty list box causes the crawler to return no files, hence the use of an asterisk (*) for the opening mask:-

*	An asterisk, which represents any sequence of zero or more characters

?	A question mark, which represents any single character

%	A percentage sign, which represents any single number

$	A dollar sign, which represents any single letter

~	A tilde, which is used to exclude a wildcard specification

The default file masks , which can be edited directly in the list box for each crawler instance, are:-

*

~*.zip

~*.exe

~*.gz

~*.mpg

~*.avi

~*.mov

Related Topics


Connection Tab

This tab, which appears on the Web Crawler Properties dialog, controls whether the crawler uses a remote proxy server or a direct connection to the target  web site.

Connect directly...

NetNow! bypasses any web proxy settings when connecting the crawler to the target web site if this option is selected.

Connect via a web proxy

If this option is selected NetNow! connects the crawler via the proxy specified in the Proxy Server and Port edit boxes. Select the following for further information:-

WWW Proxy Tab

Related Topics


User Manager

The User Manager dialog, which can be accessed by selecting Users... from the Options menu in the console or by clicking on the [image] button on the console toolbar, enables the properties and permissions of licensed NetNow! users to be configured. Select the following for further information:-

User Properties

The list box in this dialog displays the Username and Description entered in the User Properties dialog for each configured user.

To add a user:-

Users can be added to the list box in this dialog in two ways. If an existing Username matches, precisely or approximately, the required properties of the new user, first select that user then click on Copy to display the User Properties dialog in which appropriate adjustments can be made. Alternatively, click on Add.

To delete an existing user:-

Select the user in the list box and click on Remove.

To edit the properties of an existing user:-

Select the user in the list box and click on Properties to display the User Properties dialog.

Guests

To configure the properties applied to all guest users, click on Guests to display the User Properties dialog.

Licensed Users

The total number of licensed users in NetNow! is displayed in the raised panel.  Select the following for further information on Licensed Users in NetNow!:-

NetNow! License Details

Related Topics


User Properties

This dialog, accessed via the User Manager dialog, enables the password, newsgroups and web services settings for licensed users to be configured. Select one of the following for further information:-

Properties Tab

Newsgroups Tab

Web Services Tab

Related Topics


Properties Tab

This tab, which appears on the User Properties dialog, configures the password and web services properties of the user.

Login User Name

The Login User Name will be required whenever the user accesses the Web Administration or WWW Proxy facilities.

Full Name

The Full Name entered into this edit box is used for descriptive purposes only.

Password

Enter the password which will be required from the user before being permitted to use the Web Administration or WWW Proxy facilities in NetNow!.

Web Home Pages

If the user maintains an individual home page, the root folder for that home page should be entered to the Web Home Pages edit box. The [image] button may be used to access a  standard Windows dialog which can be used to navigate to and specify the correct folder. If an alias is used it must first be created the Aliases list box on the WWW Server Tab of the HTTP Service dialog. Select the following for further information:-

WWW Server Tab

Related Topics


Newgroups Tab
Newsgroups Tab

This tab, which appears on the User Properties dialog, configures the range of newsgroups which licensed users may access via the Web Administration facilities in NetNow!. Note that the complete range of newsgroups is restricted to those to which NetNow! has subscribed.

Two list boxes are presented, the upper one controlling the newsgroups to which the user has read access and the lower one controlling the newsgroups to which the user has posting permission.

The full range of NetNow! wildcards can be used to specify newsgroups masks. Note that an empty list box specifies no read or writing permissions to any newsgroups, hence the use of an asterisk (*) for the default mask in both edit boxes:-

*	An asterisk, which represents any sequence of zero or more characters

?	A question mark, which represents any single character

%	A percentage sign, which represents any single number

$	A dollar sign, which represents any single letter

~	A tilde, which is used to exclude a wildcard specification

Select the following for example wildcard entries:-

Using the Newsgroups Wildcards

Related Topics


Web Services Tab

This tab, which appears on the User Properties dialog, sets the configuration permissions for the user when using the Web Administration facilities in NetNow!.

Change Mailbox Password	Enables the user to set passwords on their owned mailboxes

Change Mailslot Descriptions	Enables the user to change the description field in their owned mailslots

Configure Mail Forwarding	Enables the user to forward messages which arrive in their owned mailboxes to any address, internal or external

Configure Mailbox Autoresponder	Enables the user to change the response message given by autoresponders on their owned mailboxes

System Administration Privileges	Enables the user to act as system administrator

Use the Web Proxy	Enables the user to access NetNow!’s Web Proxy by quoting their username and password

Related Topics


Using the Newsgroups Wildcards

The full set of NetNow! wildcards can be used in the Newsgroups Tab on the User Manager dialog. Given the following list of subscribed newsgroups in NetNow! ...

news.software.nntp

news.software.readers

uk.net

uk.net.news.announce

uk.net.news.config

uk.net.news.management

... the following newsgroup mask in the read status list box  ...

uk.*

... permits read only access to the following newsgroups ...

uk.net

uk.net.news.announce

uk.net.news.config

uk.net.news.management

The following newsgroup mask in the read status list box ...

*news*

... permits read only access to the following newsgroups ...

news.software.nntp

news.software.readers

uk.net.news.announce

uk.net.news.config

uk.net.news.management

Finally, the following newsgroup mask in the read status list box ...

*

~*news*

... permits read only access to the following newsgroups ...

uk.net

Related Topics


Scripts and Templates

This dialog, which can be accessed by selecting Scripts and Templates from the Options menu (or by clicking on the [image] button), provides access to the comprehensive script, template and plug-in facilities in NetNow!. Select one of the following for further information:-

Templates Tab

Scripts Tab

Automated Scripting Tab

Plug-ins Tab

About Scripts

About Templates

List of Templates

Command Reference for Scripts and Templates

Related Topics


Templates Tab

This tab, which appears on the Scripts and Templates dialog, lists all the templates present in NetNow! and enables master templates to be sub-classed and edited to customise NetNow!’s responses for individual mailslots.

 Each entry in the list box constitutes an individual template, the template name (which is also the filename of the template as it appears in the folder \database\templates) in the Class column and a description of the purpose of the template in the Description column. Master templates show non-editable descriptions. Subclassed templates adopt their descriptions from the description field of the mailslots to which they have been subclassed and are shown indented from, and immediately below, the master templates from which they were derived.

To subclass a template:-

1	Select an existing master template in the list box. Note that some templates cannot be subclassed

2	Click on Sub-Class to display the Create a Template Sub-Class dialog

3	Select the required mailslot from the drop list

4	Click Ok and NetNow! creates a new subclassed entry in the list box. The filename assigned to the new entry is in the format master_template_name~assigned_mailslot_name.tpl

To delete an existing template:-

1	Select a template in the list box. Note that master templates cannot be deleted

2	Click Delete

To edit an existing template:-

1	Select a template in the list box

2	Click Edit

3	NetNow! consults the registry and launches the configured text editor, normally notepad.exe, with the complete text of the template for editing

4	Saving the template file in the text editor commits changes to the template file to disk and the revised template will be then used by NetNow!

Note

When editing templates ensure that the text editor used does not alter the extension of the template file, which must remain .tpl to be recognised by NetNow! as a valid template.

Related Topics


Scripts Tab

This tab, which appears on the Scripts and Templates dialog, enables NetNow! scripts to be created, edited, syntax checked and deleted.

Existing scripts are shown in the list box on this tab in the format of their filename minus their standard extension of .mtq. For example, an entry in the list box of my_script translates to a file stored in the \database\scripts folder of my_script.mtq.

To add a script:-

1	Click Add

2	Edit the sample script name, new_script, offered by NetNow! and press the Enter key

To edit an existing script:-

1	Select the required script in the list box

2	Click Edit

3	NetNow! consults the registry and launches the configured text editor, normally notepad.exe, with the complete text of the script for editing

4	Saving the script file in the text editor commits changes to the script file to disk and the revised script will be then used by NetNow!

To delete an existing script:-

1	Select the required script in the list box

2	Click Delete

To check the syntax of an existing script:-

1	Select the required script in the list box

2	Click Graph

3	Examine the diagram in the resulting Script Execution Graph window

4	Close the graph window

Select the following for further information on the Script Execution Graph

Script Execution Graph

Note

When editing scripts ensure that the text editor used does not alter the extension of the script file, which must remain .mtq to be recognised by NetNow! as a valid script. NetNow! loads scripts from disk each time they are executed or graphed; the script being edited can, therefore, be retained in the text editor if further editing is likely to be required during script testing.

Related Topics


Automated Scripting Tab

This tab, which appears on the Scripts and Templates dialog, lists the available NetNow! scripts controls how and when they are triggered and executed.

Existing scripts are shown in the list box on this tab with the following information. The Script field displays the script name assigned on the Scripts Tab. The remaining columns, Description, Trigger, Filter and Last Execution reflect the entries made in the corresponding fields in the Automated Script dialog.

Click Add to place a New Event entry in the list box. Select the new entry and click Properties to display the Automated Script dialog. Existing entries can also be modified by first selecting them then clicking Properties. Select the following for further information:-

Automated Script

Related Topics


Automated Script

This Automated Script dialog, which is accessed via Properties on the Automated Scripting Tab of the Scripts and Templates dialog, configures the properties of automated scripts. Select one of the following for further information:-

Properties Tab

Message Trigger Tab

Scheduled Event Tab

Note

The Message Trigger Tab appears when a Message trigger is selected in the Properties Tab and is replaced by the Scheduled Event Tab when a Schedule trigger is selected. Neither tab is shown if a Dial-up trigger is selected.

Related Topics


Properties Tab

This tab, which appears on the Automated Script dialog, controls the way NetNow! triggers and executes scripts and plug-ins.

Enable this Script

This tick box must be checked for NetNow! to execute script triggers and schedules.

Description

Enter a description to identify this script on the Automated Scripting Tab.

Script/Plug-in to Execute

Select an existing script filename from the drop list.

Disable after execution

Set this option to create a script which runs only once.

Script Trigger

Four script triggers are available:-

Message	This option adds a Message Trigger Tab to the Automated Script dialog wherein the conditions which will activate the message trigger can be specified

Scheduled	This options add a Scheduled Event Tab to the Automated Script dialog wherein the script can be specified to run at a specific date, time and frequency

Dial-up Connected	Triggers the script when NetNow! detects that a dial-up connection has connected

Dial-up Disconnected	Triggers the script when NetNow! detects that a dial-up connection has disconnected

Last Execution

NetNow! maintains the date and time at which this script was last run in this read only information field.

Related Topics


Message Trigger Tab

This tab, which appears on the Automated Script dialog only when a Message Trigger is selected on the Properties Tab, specifies the message conditions on which NetNow! executes this script.

Filtered

If this option is selected NetNow! runs the script only when the filter conditions set by clicking Filter are matched by a message. Select the following for further information on filter settings:-

Filter Settings

All Messages

This setting disables any filter settings and runs the script for every message.

Execute script during

Six conditions are available for triggering scripts to act on messages:-

Inbound Mail Delivery	An inbound mail trigger in initiated on receipt of every mail message which is either sent to NetNow! or is collected by NetNow!. Note that messages received from a local mail client for internal or external distribution are included in that definition but mailing list distributions and archive responses (which are generated within NetNow!) are not included. Inbound mail delivery can occur only once for each message.

Outbound Mail Delivery	An outbound mail trigger is initiated for all mail messages, generated internally or externally, which arrive at the outbox for distribution to a mail host which is remote from NetNow!. Naturally, this definition excludes messages which are delivered locally, that is, to mailslots within NetNow!. Outbound mail delivery can occur only once for each message.

Mail Routing	Every mail message in NetNow!, regardless of its origin, must pass through the message router at least once in order to determine whether it can be delivered locally or must be placed in the outbox for delivery to a remote mail host. Some messages may pass through the router more than once; if so, a separate mail routing trigger in initiated on each pass through the router.

Mail Storage	A mail storage script trigger is initiated when a message arrives at a mailslot in NetNow!. A single message may initiate multiple mail storage triggers depending on the number of message recipients.

Inbound News Delivery	This message trigger occurs once at the point of receipt for every news message either collected by NetNow! from a remote news server or posted to NetNow! by a local news client. Inbound news delivery can occur only once for each message.

Outbound News Delivery	An outbound news delivery trigger occurs once for each news post which arrives in the news outbox for onward delivery to a remote news server. Outbound news delivery can occur only once for each message.

Script will modify the message

This option should be checked if the message which triggered this script is altered by it in any way but should not be checked if the message trigger is being used to initiate another action within or without NetNow!.

Handoff to script

If this option is enabled NetNow! discards the message which has triggered the script and no further routing or storage of that message takes place.

Related Topics


Scheduled Event Tab

This tab, which appears on the Automated Script dialog only when a Scheduled Trigger is selected on the Properties Tab, controls the date, time and frequency at which NetNow! executes the script.

The Schedules list box displays each configured schedule with a description of its settings.

To add a script schedule:-

1	Click Add

2	Select the New Schedule entry in the list box

3	Click Properties to display the Schedule Event Properties dialog

4	Enter the required schedule settings

5	Click OK

To edit an existing script schedule:-

1	Select an existing Schedule entry in the list box

2	Click Properties to display the Schedule Event Properties dialog

3	Adjust the schedule settings as required

4	Click OK

To delete an existing script schedule:-

1	Select an existing Schedule entry in the list box

2	Click Delete

Select the following for further information on the Scheduled Event Properties dialog:-

Scheduled Event Properties

Next:

NetNow! derives the next script execution date and time from the configured schedules and displays that information in this read only field

Related Topics


Scheduled Event Properties

The Schedule Event Properties dialog, accessed via Properties on the Scheduled Event Tab, enables multiple schedules to be created for scripts executed in response to a scheduled trigger.

Each schedule can be configured in one of five frequencies by selecting the following entries in the Event Scheduling drop list:-

Once	Requires Year, Month, Day and Time settings to be specified

Hourly	Requires a single setting of Minutes past the hour to be specified

Daily	Requires a single setting of the Time of Day to be specified

Weekly	Requires Days of the Week to be selected and Time of Day to be specified

Monthly	Requires Day of the Month and the Time of Day to be specified

Yearly	Requires Month, Day of the Month and Time of Day to be specified

Related Topics


Plug-ins Tab

This tab, which appears on the Scripts and Templates dialog, is used to provide support for later third-party developments.  Instructions for using the plug-ins should be provided by the supplier.

Related Topics


About Scripts

The script language provides a simple, flexible and powerful means of customising and extending the features and flexibility of NetNow!. Whilst it is true to say that some things can only be carried out in NetNow! by using scripts it is not necessary to learn the script language in order to operate NetNow! successfully.

A script consists of a sequence of expressions stored in an ASCII text file in the scripts folder with an extension of .mtq which NetNow! reads off disk , interprets and executes on demand. The expressions in scripts are assembled entirely from functions, variables and operators. Functions provide the core of the script language and there is extensive support for message handling. Variables, which are not typed, can be created at will and are used to hold information and to store the results of functions. The normal set of operators are provided to add, subtract, multiple and divide, etc. The syntax for scripts is not complex and can be learned readily without prior experience, though someone versed in a macro language or other programming languages will find it easier. Select one of the following for further information:-

Script Syntax

Script Style Guide

Scripts can be triggered in a variety of ways. The simplest is provided by the Run Script facility available in the File menu of the console which instructs NetNow! to run the selected script immediately. Scripts can also be triggered by the arrival of incoming or outgoing messages, by the contents of particular headers or the identity of the sender or recipient during message routing, or by creating a schedule which runs a script at the same day of the day, or on a certain day of the month. Select the following for further information:-

Automated Scripting Tab

Maitlraq scripts are capable of performing many intricate tasks but they do not constitute a programming language in their own right. Functions are provided in the script language, however, which can launch and interact with custom written programs to enable NetNow!’s functionality to be extended in ways limited only by the imagination of the user.

The NetNow! templates consist of a mixture of text and script expresssions and are a rich source of information, ideas, and inspiration for scripts. They are also a valuable introduction into the capabilities and syntax of scripts and studying the standard templates is highly recommended in conjunction with the script commands reference in this help file. A more extensive introduction to scripts is provided in the NetNow! User Guide.

List of Templates

Command Reference for Scripts and Templates

Related Topics


About Templates

Templates provide NetNow! with a customisable mechanism for generating response messages, mailing list welcome messages and mailbox autoresponses, for example. They consist of a mixture of text and script commands enclosed in braces in the format, This is text {script command} and NetNow! evaluates the scripts commands in the braces before sending the message to its destination. Templates are implemented as ASCII files in the \templates directory with a file extension of .tpl. NetNow! ships with a set of standard templates which provide support for mailing lists, archives and mailbox autoresponders, amongst others.

List of Templates

These standard templates can be customised by the user via a process known as subclassing. When a subscriber joins a mailing list, for example, NetNow! sends out the standard template welcome.tpl in response, assuming that the mailing list in question has that property enabled. If the administrator of that mailing list wishes to customise the welcome response the properties of the standard template can be transferred to a subsclassed copy for use by that specific mailing list. Thus, if the mailing list name is NetNow!-list, the subclassed copy of the welcome.tpl script becomes welcome~NetNow!-list.tpl. Select the following for further information:-

Templates Tab

Related Topics


About Plug-ins

Plug-ins provide a standard interface for third-party developers to provide add

The full specification for this feature has not yet been published however a sample plug-in program is available from the RedRock Technologies web site which demonstrates the capabilites of this powerful extension to NetNow!.

Related Topics


List of Templates

NetNow! templates are stored in the folder \database\templates with an extension of .tpl. Select one of the following for information on the usage of the standard NetNow! templates:-

Mailing List Templates

Mailslot Templates

Message Transport Templates

Related Topics


Mailing List Templates

list_acknowledgment.tpl	Used to acknowledge receipt of an input mailing list message if Acknowledgement is checked on the General Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog.

list_confirmation.tpl	Used when responding to the SUBSCRIBE command from prospective mailing list subscribers to confirm that their address is reachable and that the subscription request was valid. Active only when Confirm New Subscriptions is checked on the Access Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog.

list_exverify.tpl	Used when responding to mailing list subscribers when removed automatically from the mailing list by the address verification process employed by the list_verify.tpl template or by the Explode Messages process on the Messages Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog.

list_goodbye.tpl	Used when responding to the UNSUBSCRIBE command from an existing mailing list subscriber. Active only if Goodbye is checked on the General Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog.

list_help.tpl	Provides the help text for the mailing list command syntax. Used only in response to the HELP command.

list_info.tpl	Used to reply to non-subscribers in response to any input mailing list message if the mailing list is not subscription-by-mail or if Help Joining is checked on the General Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog.

list_members.tpl	Provides a list of existing mailing list subscribers in response to the MEMBERS command. Lists only those subscribers with their PUBLIC flag set.

list_refused.tpl	Used to reply to non-subscribers in response to any input mailing list message if the mailing list is not subscription-by-mail or if Help Joining is not checked on the General Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog.

list_status.tpl	Provides the current subscription information for individual mailing list subscribers in response to the STATUS command.

list_welcome.tpl	Used when responding to the SUBSCRIBE command from a prospective mailing list subscriber (or after receipt of confirmation if the list_confirmation.tpl template has been sent). Active only if Welcome is checked on the General Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog.

list_verify.tpl	Used for address verification on all existing requirements at a frequency determined by the settings on the Addresses Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog.

Related Topics


Mailslot Templates

account_exceeded.tpl	Used to send an advice to the mailbox owner when the accounting limits set on the Mailboxes Tab of the Mail Group Properties dialog are exceeded.

account_warning.tpl	Used to advise the mailbox owner when the Warn on exceeding limit percentage setting on the Mailboxes Tab of the Mail Group Properties dialog is breached.

accounting.tpl	Produces a mailbox accounting report for each mailbox in a group in the console when Enable Mailbox Accounting is checked on the Mail Group Tab of the Mail Group Properties dialog.

autoresponder.tpl	Used to respond to message receipt in mailboxes when Automatically respond to mail is checked on the Mail Tab of the Mailbox Properties dialog.

archive_help.tpl	Provides the help text for the archive command syntax. Used when responding to the HELP command.

archive_index.tpl	Used when responding to the INDEX command sent to archives. Provides a list (message filename / author / subject / date) of the archive contents

Related Topics


Message Transport Templates

bounce.tpl	Used to advise the sender of a mail message that their message has been refused. Activated when the Return a Delivery Report (Failure) option is selected on the Undelivered Mail Tab of the Inbox Properties dialog.

delivery_delay.tpl	Used to advise the sender of a mail message waiting for outbound delivery that their message has been delayed. Activated when the notify after...hours setting on the selected route in the Static Routing Table Tab of the Mail Routing Table dialog is exceeded.

delivery_failure.tpl	Used to advise the sender that NetNow! was unable to deliver their message.

delivery_loop.tpl	Used to advise the sender of a message either that a mail loop in NetNow! would be caused by their message, or that their message has exceeded the Maximum number of mail hops setting on the Options Tab of the Inbox Properties dialog.

delivery_ticket.tpl	Used in response to the presence of Return-Receipt headers in a message arriving (a) at a mailbox, but only if Acknowledge Delivery Receipt Requests is checked on the Mail Tab of the Mailbox Properties dialog, or (b) at a mailing list, but only if Strip Delivery Receipts in not checked on the Messages Tab of the Mailing List Properties dialog.

finger.tpl	Returns information on a mailslot when a subclassed instance of the template is created.

mailserver_error.tpl	Used by the mailserver mailslot to advise the sender of a message that their command (intended for a mailing list or an archive) could not be successfully processed.

news_failure.tpl	Used to advise the poster of an outbound news message that NetNow! failed to deliver it to the specified remote news server.

pop3_deleted.tpl	Used to inform the sender of a message waiting for POP3 collection on a remote POP3 server that their message was not accepted by the recipient. Active only if both Leave Mail on Server is checked on the Account Details Tab and Delete unwanted mail and Notify Sender when messages are deleted are also checked on the Mail Filtering Tab - both tabs appearing on the POP3 Collection Properties dialog.

pop3_summary.tpl	Used to create a summary of POP3 mail waiting for collection on a remote POP3 server. Produced only if Send Filter Summary is checked on the Mail Filtering Tab of the POP3 Collection Properties dialog.

Related Topics


Script Execution Graph

The script execution graph. which is accessed via the Scripts Tab of the Scripts and Templates dialog, maps the syntax of the selected script into linked symbols representing the flow of the script. The graph displays syntax errors using an <ERROR> symbol on a blue background. Note, however, that the graph cannot distinguish semantic errors in scripts. Thus a function written as NoFunction(“string”, “string”) will be evaluated and displayed by the graph correctly even though there is no function with that name.

Each element within the selected script is displayed on coloured legends

Indicates a syntax error in the script

Indicates a script function

Indicates an operator

Indicates a variable

Indicates a string

The If() function also displays TRUE and FALSE indicators on its parameters

Related Topics


Command Reference for Scripts and Templates

The syntax for the NetNow! script language is very straightforward and the basic principles can easily be absorbed by studying the examples which appear in the function definitions and in the standard templates provided with NetNow!. Select the following for more detailed syntax information which explains how NetNow! scripts are constructed and how they can best be presented:-

Script Syntax

Script Style Guide

A more general introduction to NetNow! scripts and templates can be accessed by selecting the following:-

About Templates

About Scripts

The core of the NetNow! script language consists functions which are designed to provide the maximum flexibility within a messaging environment. Select one of the following categories for further information:-

Language Constructs

File Functions

String Functions

Database Functions

Message Functions

Address Functions

Date and Time Functions

Program Launch Functions

System Information Functions

Boolean Functions

Miscellaneous Functions

Alphabetical List of Functions

Related Topics


Language Constructs

These functions provide the basic building blocks of the script language used in NetNow! scripts and templates. Every script, no matter how short, includes a hidden Do() function, the parameters of which are the individual expressions which combine to form a script and which are normally delimited by semicolons “;” to distinguish them more easily from the commas “,” used to delimit the arguments in functions.

Define()

Do()

For()

If()

Repeat()

While()

The syntax rules for NetNow! script language contain few exceptions or special cases. Two items of particular note are the operators (for maths and string handling) and for escape characters (for placing quotation marks and carriage returns into scripts). Select one of the following for further information on these elements of the script language:-

Operators

Escape Characters

Related Topics


File Functions

The file functions in NetNow! are similar to those found in many computer languages for handling text files. These functions are particularly useful for interacting with external programs because NetNow! cannot directly accept return information from external programs launched via the script language.

AppendFile()

CloseFile()

CreateFile()

DeleteFile()

EOF()

GetDirectory()

GetFieldOfDirectory()

OpenFile()

Read()

RenameFile()

Write()

Related Topics


String Functions

The script functions enable strings, lists and other data to be manipulated in NetNow! scripts. The scripting language has no concept of data typing, thus all expressions can be treated as strings, making these functions extremely versatile.

CJ()

Length()

ListCount()

ListItem()

LJ()

Params()

RJ()

SubStr()

WildcardMatch()

WildcardMatchReplace()

Related Topics


Database Functions

To assist the development of powerful scripts, NetNow! provides a number of database functions. These functions are designed to provide shared access to data between any number of scripts operating simultaneously. The databases tables are user editable and are stored in the NetNow! database under the ‘db’ folder. The structure employed is that of the familiar Windows .INI file format.

Each database is identified by a unique name, and it is created when it is first referenced. Each table contains a number of records, again created when first referenced. Each record is referred to by a unique name which is set by the script. Each record can have any number of fields; each field stores a single value.

DbDeleteRecord()

DbListRecords()

DbRead()

DbRecordExists()

DbWrite()

Related Topics


Message Functions

These functions are used to access and write to the current message. The current message depends on the type of script being executed and on the context in which the function is being used.

In scripts triggered by the receipt of messages the current message initially refers to the trigger message. In templates, the current message initially refers to the template itself (that is, the message being created by the template). Some templates are triggered by the receipt of messages. In these cases the current message can be switched between the two message contexts by using the SelectInMessage() and SelectOutMessage() functions.

DeleteHeader()

Header()

LoadHeader()

LoadMessage()

MessageBody()

MsgAddLine()

MsgDeleteLine()

MsgGetLine()

MsgGetLineCount()

MsgGetRcpts()

MsgGetSender()

MsgInsertLine()

MsgSetRcpts()

Original Message()

PostMesssage()

SelectInMessage()

SelectOutMessage()

SetHeader()

Related Topics


Address Functions

The address functions in NetNow! enable rapid and consistent handling of internet address formats. Each element of an address can separately identified so that comparisons between addresses, for testing message conditions or for address rewriting, are easily made.

AddressOf()

HostOf()

IsUserLocal()

NameOf()

SameAddress()

UserOf()

Related Topics


Date and Time Functions

The date and time functions provide considerable flexibility in date and time handling in NetNow! scripts. The common internet date standards can be recreated easily for sending customised messages in addition to the day/month/year and hour:minute syntax in normal date usage.

FormatDate()

FormatDateTime()

FormatTime()

Now()

Related Topics


Program Launch Functions

NetNow! can be extended with outside programs and function libraries via the scripting language. The following functions enable calls to custom made applications and scripts to be made in order to integrate NetNow! with existing software. By writing external functions, it is possible to develop more complex extensions to NetNow! than those possible with the scripting language alone.

CallDllFunction()

CallScript()

ConsoleMenuCommand()

Execute()

ExecuteAsync()

ShellExecute()

Related Topics


System Information Functions

Values can be read from and written to the system configuration using any of the extensive keys available in the system tree.

GetSystemVar()

SetSystemVar()

The system tree is implemented in an hierarchical structure similar to the operating system registry. Select the following for a complete list of the available system variables:-

The System Tree

In addition, the following functions return information from NetNow! in the form of comma separated lists.

GetMailboxes()

GetMailGroups()

GetSubscribers()

Related Topics


Miscellaneous Functions

There’s always one!

UniqueString()

Related Topics


Boolean Functions

Boolean functions can return only a TRUE or FALSE result.

Not()

In addition, the following constructs can be employed to provide boolean AND and OR facilities in scripts and templates.

&	Logical AND (ASCII 38)

|	Logical OR (ASCII 124)

//	Example of AND usage

If((SameAddress(Header(“From”), Header(“Reply-To”))

 & (SameAddress(HostOf(Header(“To”)), localhost)),

   DeleteHeader(“Reply-To”)

)

//	Example of OR usage

If((SameAddress(HostOf(Header(“From”)), localhost))

 | (SameAddress(HostOf(Header(“To”)), localhost)),

   SetHeader(“Bcc”, AddressOf(“local-msg-store”))

)

Related Topics


Operators

NetNow! scripts may contain any of the following operators:-

:=	Assignment	ASCII 58 ASCII 61	Assigns a value to a variable

+	Add	ASCII 43	Sums two numbers

-	Subtract	ASCII 45	Finds the difference between two numbers

*	Multiply	ASCII 42	Multiplies two numbers

\	Divide	ASCII 92	Divides two numbers

/	Modulus	ASCII 47	Divides two numbers returning only the remainder

E	Exponent	ASCII 69	Raises the number to the power of an exponent

<	Less than	ASCII 60	Compares two expressions

<=	Less than or equal	ASCII 60 ASCII 61	Compares two expressions

=	Equal	ASCII 61	Compares two expressions

<>	Not equal	ASCII 60 ASCII 62	Compares two expressions

>=	Greater than or equal	ASCII 62 ASCII 61	Compares two expressions

>	Greater than	ASCII 62	Compares two expressions

++	String concatenation	ASCII 43 ASCII 43	Joins two text strings seamlessly into one string

Related Topics


Escape Characters

The escape characters enable elements which are normally interpreted by NetNow! to be placed in scripts. Each character is preceded by the backslash symbol (ASCII 92) as the escape character and whitespace is not permitted between the escape and the qualifying character.

\n	New Line	Places a carriage return (ASCII 10 ASCII 13) in the script

\q	Quote	Places a quote symbol “ “ “ (ASCII 34) in the script

\l	Left Bracket	Places a left bracket symbol “ { “ (ASCII 123) in the script

\r	Right Bracket	Places a right bracket symbol “ } “ (ASCII 125) in the script

//	Comment	Indicates a comment line in a script

//	Script example produces the strings “This is “one” line” and “This is “another” line” on two separate lines

MsgAddLine(“This is \qone\q line\nThis is \qanother\q line”)

Related Topics


Script Syntax

The quickest and simplest method of checking script syntax is to make use of the script execution graph  in which most syntax error in scripts are identified by an <ERROR> condition. What follows here should provide sufficient information to identify and resolve such problems. Careful adherence to the conventions and suggestions proposed in the Script Style Guide also helps to avoid the most common errors in scripts.

Comments

Lines in scripts and templates which commence with the string “//” are interpreted as comments by NetNow!. Comments may appear anywhere within a script or template but must be on separate lines and must not be integrated into or appended to script statements:-

//	This comment is legal

SetHeader(“From”, 	// This comment is not legal

   AddressOf(“postmaster”)

);

Functions

To be recognised as valid by NetNow!, every function must have opening and closing brackets “( )” and the function name must be followed immediately (no white space) by the opening bracket, “(“.

//	recognised as a function

MyFunction( .... )

//	not recognised as a function

MyFunction  ( ... )

The syntax of a function used in the Command Reference is, generally, shown as:-

FunctionName( arg1 , arg2 [, arg3 ])

This example shows that FunctionName() requires two arguments, arg1 and arg2. The use of square brackets “[ ]”  around arg3 indicates that it is an optional argument. That is, it may be used if needed (without the square brackets when used, of course) but is not required for the function to operate correctly.

Function Arguments

The arguments to a function must be separated by commas and must be quoted in the order specified by the Command Reference. Arguments generally consist of strings but can always also accept functions which themselves evaluate to strings. The SetHeader() function, for example, requires two arguments, “field” and “value” and the following two expressions are functionally identical:-

var_string := Header(“From”);

SetHeader(“Reply-To”, var_string)

SetHeader(“Reply-To”, Header(“From”))

 Variables

Variable names must begin with an alphabetic character and must not contain spaces (ASCII 32) nor the symbols used for operators nor the symbols used to delimit functions (left and right brackets and commas) nor the semicolon “;” which is used to delimit expressions.

Any string of valid characters which precedes an assignment operator, “:=”, in a script is treated as a variable by NetNow!. Such variables can simply be regarded as general purpose containers and do not have to be declared or typed before use. If NetNow! cannot evaluate the contents of a variable it returns a null value. NetNow! types the contents of variables as it evaluates them using the context of the function being evaluated as a guide. If, for example, a variable named my_var contains the string “10”, NetNow! treats that as a string when evaluating strings and as a number when evaluating numbers:-

my_var := “10”

//	Creates the string “for 10 minutes” in the variable my_var

my_var := “for ” ++ my_var ++ “ minutes”

//	Performs a calculation resulting in my_var containing the value of 20

my_var := my_var + 10

Operators

NetNow! scripts use all the normal mathematical operators “+” for addition, “/” for division, etc., in scripts. The following example adds ten to two hundred in one calculation, subtracts one from three in another calculation, then divides the first result by the second result:-

calc_result := (10 + 200) / (3 - 1)

Script Expressions

An expression is simply something which NetNow! can evaluate to a result, anything from a simple assignment, or an argument within a function, to a complex multiple argument function in which other functions are embedded. Script expressions are separated by a semicolon “;” which is treated as a continuation character by NetNow!. If the semicolon is missing between two expressions then NetNow! halts execution of the script at that point on the assumption that there are no more expressions to evaluate. The corollary is, therefore, that the last expression in a script must not have a continuation character appended otherwise NetNow! assumes that one or more expressions are missing and generates an error. This example shows three expressions linked together by continuation characters to form a script:-

msg_txt := OpenFile(“message.txt”);

PostMessage(“postmaster”, “johns”,

   While(Not(EOF(msg_txt)),

      Read(msg_txt) ++ “\n”

   )

);

CloseFile(msg_txt)

Lists

A list in the NetNow! script language consists of a number of comma separated elements. Optionally, each element may also be enclosed in quotes. The function GetMailboxes(), for example, returns a list which consists of the names of all the mailboxes configured in the console. That list might look something like this:-

“postmaster, sales, marketing, john, ellen, webmaster, williiam”

NetNow! provides a number of string functions to manipulate these lists in addition to the For() loop which can be used to iterate through them quickly and efficiently.

Related Topics


Script Style Guide

There are no absolute rules which define the layout of scripts. Any style which suits the individual and which satisfies the script syntax rules may be used. The style proposed here, as used in the NetNow! User Guide, is not mandatory therefore, but should prove to be of considerable benefit not just because it promotes clarity and legibility but also because it enables better use to be made of the many script examples which have already been placed in the public domain. Consider the following script:-

        msg_txt:=openfile(“message.txt”);postmessage(“postmaster”,“johns”,while(not(eof(msg_txt)),read(msg_txt)++“\n”));closefile(msg_txt)

That script consists of three expressions delimited by semicolons. It is syntactically correct and is interpreted correctly by NetNow!. Excellent it may be as an exercise in obfuscation but it is not only difficult to read but difficult to debug if errors are encountered. This script style guide attempts to explain how that sample script can be rewritten to make its structure and purpose clear to the user by following a simple set of rules.

Functions

Show NetNow! functions in proper case (with a leading capital letter) and with each element of the function name also in proper case. For example, msggetlinecount() is a legal function but is better written as MsgGetLineCount() which enables the eye to parse the function name for its constituent parts more readily and also helps to distinguish functions from other elements of the script language. The commas which separate the individual arguments of each function should be used in exactly the same way as in normal English, with no preceding space and one trailing space.

Variables

Two conventions are employed for variable names in this help file. Firstly, they always appear in lower case; secondly, they include an underscore in their name wherever practical. It is also often helpful if meaningful names are used, either in the descriptive style of “msg_txt” used in the above example or, when opening a series of files, by employing sequential variable names, “a”, “b”, “c”, etc., in the order in which the files are opened. This provides a simple mnemonic to ensure that all open files are explicitly closed.

Operators

For best effect, operators (“+”, “/”, etc.) should be separated from surrounding elements by leading and trailing whitespace and should be grouped using brackets when calculation precedence must be observed.

Script Layout

Although scripts are written to be interpreted by computers they must also be maintained by humans. The primary considerations for script layout, therefore, are line length and clarity of purpose. In addition, there are simple rules which can be observed to ensure that dependencies within functions, that is when the result of one function depends on the result of another function, are easily recognised. Here’s another variation on the same script:-

msg_txt := OpenFile(“message.txt”);

PostMessage(“postmaster”, “johns”, While(Not(EOF(msg_txt)), Read(msg_txt) ++ “\n”));

CloseFile(msg_txt)

The three major expressions within the script are now shown on separate lines (broken at the “;” separator). Lines one and three can now be easily understood but line two contains too much nested information to make its purpose clear and may also be too long for comfortable reading on some systems. The PostMessage() function takes three parameters and the natural breaks provided by these can be utilised to good effect:-

msg_txt := OpenFile(“message.txt”);

PostMessage(“postmaster”, “johns”,

   While(Not(EOF(msg_txt)), Read(msg_txt) ++ “\n”)

);

CloseFile(msg_txt)

Three items of note. First, the closing right bracket of the PostMessage() function now appears on its own line at the end of that expression and is aligned in the same column as the start of the PostMessage() function to better indicate ownership. Second, the first two parameters to the PostMessage() function remain on the first line because they can easily be accommodated. Third, the third parameter is indented from the start column of the PostMessage() function to indicate dependency.

The second parameter to the PostMessage() function contains a While() loop which is not excessively long in this example but it may also usefully be written on multiple lines to better indicate the scope of the While() loop and provide additional clarity on the purpose of the script:-

msg_txt := OpenFile(“message.txt”);

PostMessage(“postmaster”, “johns”,

   While(Not(EOF(msg_txt)),

      Read(msg_txt) ++ “\n”

   )

);

CloseFile(msg_txt)

Note how the closing bracket of the While() function is again aligned directly under the start of its function name and that the second parameter of the While() loop is also indented to indicate its dependency. It is now possible to debug the syntax of that script more easily, to spot missing brackets, for example, and it can be read, and its purpose understood, with a minimum of effort.

Related Topics


The System Tree

The NetNow! System Tree is implemented as an hierarchical structure which exposes many of the configured properties in the console to the NetNow! Script Language. The contents of the comprehensive System Tree are categorised for ease of reference via the following links:-

General System Variables

Mailslots Variables

Subscriber Properties Variables

Mail Groups Variables

POP3 Collection Variables

Key to System Tree Variables

The following table defines the variable types found in the above categories of the System Tree

(W)	The variable is write-only (that is, a function is performed when the variable is written to).

String	The  value is a textual string

Integer	The value can always be interpreted as an integer number (whole number).

Boolean	The value will be either TRUE or FALSE

DateTime	The value will be a date and time using the NetNow! system format (dd/mm/yyyy hh:mm:ss)

Time	he value will be a time using the NetNow! system format (hh:mm:ss)

Option	The value must be one of the specified strings

List	The value is a comma separated list. Each item in the list may be enclosed within quotation marks (“item1”,”item2”...)

Related Topics


General System Variables

/	These apply to the entire system, rather than to a specific object such as a mailslot

Variable	Type	Purpose of Variable

AddArchive	String (W)	Creates a new archive with the given name

AddMailbox	String (W)	Creates a new mailbox with the given name

AddMailingList	String (W)	Creates a new mailing list with the given name

BounceOption	Option	Determines how undelivered mail is handled

“returntosender”	Return (refuse to accept)

“returnreport”	Create a failure report

“forwarduser”	Send to a specific mailbox

“readdress”	Re-address to another domain

“create”	Create a new mailbox

“sendtooutbox”	Place in the outbox

BounceSite	String	Site for BounceOption=readdress

BounceUser	String	Site for BounceOption=forwarduser

BreakIntoPartials	Boolean	Enable/Disable the Break Incoming Mail option

ForwardIncoming	Boolean	Forward all incoming mail to a local mailbox

ForwardIncomingTo	String	Forward all incoming mail to this mailbox

HostAliases	List	Specifies the domain aliases (comma separated)

LocalAreaNetwork	List	The IP Addresses representing the local network

LocalHost	String	Specifies the local domain name

MailboxTemplate	String	Mailbox to copy for BounceOption=create

MailSortingRules	List	The rules used for the Mail Sorting facility

MaximumMessageSize	Integer	The maximum size of incoming mail to accept, or the size at which mail is broken into partials

NetworkOption	Option	Specifies the way NetNow! handles Internet dial-up

“dialup”	Use DUN to connect

“direct”	Permanent connection

“sync”	Synchronised times

“virtual”	Virtual network

“none”	No Internet connection

OutgoingForward	Boolean	Enable/Disable the option to copy outgoing mail to a local mailbox

OutgoingForwardUser	String	The username to which copies of outgoing mail are forwarded

RASEntry	String	Current DUN connection

RASScheduleEnable	Boolean	Enable/Disable dial-up schedules

RemoteSMTP	String	The outbound mail server

RemoveMailslot	String (W)	Delete the specified mailslot

SenderBarring	List	List of sender addresses to bar

SenderBarringMessage	String	The reason to give when an address is barred

SenderBarringRcpt	List	List of recipient addresses to bar

Related Topics


Mail Slots
Mailslots Variables

/mailslots/mailslot	These provide access to the mailslots in NetNow!. Mailslots are referred to by their name (identifier). For example, /mailslots/johns/description may return “John Smith”. Note that many variables only apply to certain types of mailslot.

Variable	Type	Purpose of Variable

Password	String	Mailbox POP3 Password (Mailboxes)

StoreMail	Boolean	Enable/Disable the storing of mail in mailboxes (Mailboxes)

EnableForwarding	Boolean	Enable mailbox forwarding (Mailboxes)

ForwardTo	List	Mailbox forwarding address (Mailboxes)

Members	List	Archive membership (Archives)

Administrators	List	Archive administrators (Archives)

Aliases	List	Mail Slot Aliases

AddSubscriber	String	Add a new list subscriber by specifying their e-mail address (Lists)

arDefault	Boolean	Enable the default message (Archives)

arIndexDate	Boolean	Includes dates in the index (Archives)

arIndexSender	Boolean	Include the sender in the index (Archives)

arIndexSize	Boolean	Include sizes in the index (Archives)

arLimitAdministration	Boolean	Limit Administration (Archives)

arLimitMembership	Boolean	Limit Membership (Archives)

arRequestProxy	Boolean	Enable requests by proxy (Archives)

AutoresponderText	String	The Autoresponder message (Mailboxes)

DefaultMessage	String	Default message for Archives (Archives)

Description	String	Descriptive name of the mailslot

DigestSize	Integer	Size (in Kb) to trigger digest delivery (Lists)

DigestTime	Integer	Number of days between digest deliveries (Lists)

ExpireForward	String	Address to forward expired mail to (Archives and Mailboxes)

ExpireHours	Integer	Number of hours after which to expire messages (Archives and Mailboxes)

Filter	String	Mailslot filter

GatewayDirectory	String	Directory for mail gateway (Mailboxes)

Maintainer	String	Mailing List Maintainer (Lists)

mbAutoresponder	Boolean	Enable the autoresponder (Mailboxes)

mbExpireForward	Boolean	Forward expired mail (Mailboxes)

mbExpireMail	Boolean	Expire mail (Mailboxes)

msExpiryNotify	Boolean	Notify sender on expiry (Mailboxes)

mbGatewayKA9QQueue	Boolean	Use KA9Q Queue mode for the gateway (Mailboxes)

mbGatewayKA9QPegasus	Boolean	Use Pegasus mode for the gateway (Mailboxes)

mbGatewayKA9QRoute	Boolean	Use KA9Q Route mode for the gateway (Mailboxes)

mlAddTag	Boolean	Add the tag specified in the “Tag” variable (Lists)

mlAddTagFile	Boolean	Add the tag file specified in “TagFile” variable (Lists)

mlAnonymous	Boolean	Anonymous Option (Lists)

mlConfirmSubscription	Boolean	Confirm subscription-by-mail (Lists)

mlDigest	Boolean	Enable digests (Lists)

mlDigestTime	Boolean	Enable scheduled digests (Lists)

mlEvenDistribution	Boolean	Distribute mail evenly between subscribers (Lists)

mlModerated	Boolean	List is moderated (Lists)

mlProxyIsAdministrator	Boolean	Proxy must be an administrator (Lists)

mlReplytoAuthor	Boolean	Set Reply-To to the message author (Lists)

mlReplyToDefault	Boolean	Leave the Reply-To of the message unchanged (Lists)

mlReplyToList	Boolean	Set Reply-To to the List (Lists)

mlReplyToOther	Boolean	Set Reply--To to the “ReplyTo” variable (Lists)

mlSecure	Boolean	Only accept subscription-by-mail commands accompanied by the subscriber’s password (Lists)

mlStripDeliveryTicket	Boolean	Remove the delivery ticket from message (Lists)

mlSubscriptionByMail	Boolean	Subscription by mail (Lists)

mlSubscriptionByProxy	Boolean	Subscription by proxy (Lists)

Moderator	String	Mailing list moderator (Lists)

NextDigest	DateTime	Next digest delivery (Lists)

RemoveSubscriber	String	Remove a list subscriber by specifying their email address (Lists)

ReplyTo	String	Reply-To address (Lists)

Tag	String	Message tag text (Lists)

TagFile	String	Filename for message tab (Lists)

Related Topics


Subscriber Properties
Subscriber Properties Variables

/mailslot/slot/subscribers/sub	These variables provide access to the subscriber properties in Mailing Lists. The subscriber is referenced by their e-mail address (the sending address, not the reply-to address). The default and guest subscription properties can be referred to through the reserved addresses “.default” and “.guest” respectively

Variable	Type	Purpose of Variable

Details	String	Additional details (usually Organisation name)

EMail	String	E-Mail address of subscriber (Key)

Filter	String	Message filter

JoinDate	DateTime	Joining date

Name	String	Full Name of subscriber

Password	String	Password

PostDate	DateTime	Last time subscriber posted to list

ReplyTo	String	Reply-To address for subscriber

sfAdmin	Boolean	Subscriber is classed as an administrator

sfBarred	Boolean	Mail from subscriber is always refused

sfConceal	Boolean	Subscriber wishes to remain anonymous

sfDigest	Boolean	Subscriber receives Digests (Multipart/mixed format)

sfDigestMD	Boolean	Subscriber receives Digests (Multipart/digest format)

sfDigestText	Boolean	Subscriber receives Digests (test/plain format)

sfModerated	Boolean	Mail from subscriber is accepted but held for moderation

sfPublic	Boolean	Subscriber wishes to appear in the membership list

sfRecBin	Boolean	Subscriber accepts messages with binary attachments

sfRecipient	Boolean	Subscriber receives mail

sfSender	Boolean	Subscriber is allowed to post

sfSndBin	Boolean	Subscriber is permitted to post binary attachments

sfSuspended	Boolean	Suspended flag

Volume	Integer	Number of messages posted

Related Topics


Mail Groups Variables

/mailgroups/group	These variables provide access to the Mail Groups which represent the logical mailslot groupings and act as an interface to the accounting facilities. The mailgroups are accessed with the group name.

Variable	Type	Purpose of Variable

AccountingPeriod	Option	Length of accounting period

“daily”

“weekly”

“monthly”

“annually”

Description	String	Mail group description

EnableAccounting	Boolean	Enable the accounting settings

EnableMailboxLimit	Boolean	Limit the size of the mailbox

EnableSendLimit	Boolean	Enable limits on messages sent by the mailslot address

InheritAccounting	Boolean	Inherit parent’s accounting settings

LastPeriod	DateTime	Date this accounting period began

MailboxLimit	Integer	Maximum size of the mailbox

Name	String	Mail group name

NextPeriod	DateTime	Date of next accounting period

Parent	Integer	ID of parent mail group

ReportTo	String	Address to which the report is sent

SendLimitMessages	Integer	Maximum number of messages per period

SendLimitMessageSize	Integer	Maximum individual message size (Kb)

SendLimitVolume	Integer	Maximum volume of mail (Kb) per period

SendReport	Boolean	Send a report by mail

SendWarning	Boolean	Send a warning message to the mailslot when limits are being reached

Warning	Integer	Send the warning when the volume/messages reach the given percentage of the limit

Related Topics


POP3 Collection Variables

/pop3accounts/account	These variables provide access to NetNow!’s POP3 Collection facilities. The accounts are referred to by a key created by combining the user name and the POP3 server with the ‘@’ symbol.

Variable	Type	Purpose of Variable

Active	Boolean	Enable / disable account

Account	String	The POP3 account in username@host format

Password	String	The login password

Local	Boolean	Is the account on the local network?

LastAttempt	DateTime	Last time NetNow! attempted to connect to the account

LastCollection	DateTime	Last time NetNow! connected to the account

LeaveOnServer	Boolean	Leave the mail on the server after collection

RecipientOption	Option	Option for handling extracted recipients

“ignorenonlocal”

“assumelocal”

“forwardnonlocal”

EnableFilter	Boolean	Enable ./ disable the message and size filter

Filter	String	The message filter

FilterSize	Integer	The maximum size of message to collect

Frequency	Integer	Minimum period in minutes between collection attempts

Routing	Boolean	Route mail based on an extracted address

RouteOption	Option	Method to use for routing

“fields”	Extract from specified fields

“env”	Use *ENV command

“received”	Extract from Received: field

Recipients	List	Recipients to send to if not routing

SendSummary	Boolean	Send a summary message

SummaryTo	String	Address to send the summary message to

RcptFields	List	List of fields to examine for recipient addresses (if RouteOption=”fields”)

AutoDelete	Boolean	Automatically delete messages over a certain age

AutoDeleteAfter	Integer	Number of days after which messages should be deleted

Related Topics


Alphabetical List of Functions

AddressOf()

AppendFile()

CallDllFunction()

CallScript()

CJ()

ConsoleMenuCommand()

CloseFile()

CreateFile()

DbDeleteRecord()

DbListRecords()

DbRead()

DbRecordExists()

DbWrite()

Define()

DeleteFile()

DeleteHeader()

Do()

EOF()

Execute()

ExecuteAsync()

For()

FormatDate()

FormatDateTime()

FormatTime()

GetDirectory()

GetFieldOfDirectory()

GetMailboxes()

GetMailGroups()

GetSubscribers()

GetSystemVar()

Header()

HostOf()

If()

IsUserLocal()

Length()

ListCount()

ListItem()

LJ()

LoadHeader()

LoadMessage()

MessageBody()

MsgAddLine()

MsgDeleteLine()

MsgGetLine()

MsgGetLineCount()

MsgGetRcpts()

MsgGetSender()

MsgInsertLine()

MsgSetRcpts()

NameOf()

Not()

Now()

OpenFile()

Original Message()

Params()

PostMesssage()

Read()

RenameFile()

Repeat()

RJ()

SameAddress()

SelectInMessage()

SelectOutMessage()

SetHeader()

SetSystemVar()

ShellExecute()

SubStr()

UniqueString()

UserOf()

While()

WildcardMatch()

WildcardMatchReplace()

Write()

Related Topics


AddressOf()

Interprets a usable address from an input string

address := AddressOf( string )

string	The address string from which an address is required

address	A string containing the interpreted address

“fred@home.example.com” := AddressOf(“Fred Bloggs <fred@home.example.com>”)

Note

This function may also be used to create an address from a string which does not contain an address. NetNow! uses the domain specified in the Server Properties by default when creating the domain portion of the address. In the following example the string value of localhost is “example.com”

“fred@example.com” := AddressOf(“Fred”)

Related Topics


AppendFile()

Opens a file for writing. The file pointer is positioned at the end of the current file content.

handle := AppendFile( path )

path	Identifies the file to be created by its filing system name. If no path is quoted NetNow! assumes the folder \database

handle	This identifier is used in subsequent references to the file and should be released using CloseFile(). The null value is returned if the file could not be opened.

myfile:= AppendFile(“d:\internet\resource\sig-jim.txt”);

Write(myfile, “\nNetNow! - http://www.RedRock Technologies.co.uk/“);

CloseFile(myfile)

Related Topics


CallDllFunction()

Using this function, NetNow! can be integrated with other software or complex functionality can be added to NetNow! which would not be possible with the scripting functions alone. This function is also a key part of the NetNow! Plug-ins mechanism. CallDLLFunction() simply calls another user-defined function stored in a Dynamic Link Library (DLL). The user-defined function must be exported from the library in the same way as any .DLL function (i.e. standard ‘C’ type parameters). Communication between NetNow! and the DLL function take place through a shared block of memory (allocated and released by NetNow!). The DLL function must return a single 32-bit integer (which must contain zero), and take two parameters: a 32-bit integer defining the size of the memory block, followed by a 32-bit pointer to the start of that block.

‘C’ Prototype	int FunctionName(int size, char *ptr);

Pascal Prototype	function FunctionName(size: Integer; ptr: PChar): Integer; stdcall;

Note the use of the keyword stdcall in the Pascal prototype. If this is not used, the parameters will be read from the register instead of the stack, causing unpredictable problems.

NetNow! passes the parameters given in the CallDLLFunction() in the form of a null-terminated string, entered into the shared memory block. When the function is completed, the contents of the memory block is assumed to be a null-terminated string, and is returned as the result of the CallDLLFunction().

It is a good idea to bind regularly used function to scripting functions using Define() . These function definitions can be stored in a single file that can be called by any script that wishes to use the library functions.

result := CallDLLFunction( library , function , [ parameters ], [ datasize ])

library	The full path name of the DLL which will contain the requested name of the function to execute in the DLL

function	The name of the function to execute in the DLL. This should be the exported name of the function

parameters	This optional parameter is a text string that is placed in the shared data-block prior to the DLL function being executed

datasize	This optional parameter determines how large the memory block will be. This is also the maximum size of the data that can be passed between NetNow! and the DLL function. If this value is not given, the default of 256 will be used

result	This is the text string contained in the memory block after the function has been executed. If the function does not modify the memory block then this will be the same as the parameters value

//	Shows how two external DLL functions (for accessing registry data) are bound to more user-friendly NetNow! functions. The definitions could have been stored in a separate file, called with the CallScript() function at the start of any script that might need them.

Func_Lib := “c:\lib\myfuncs.dll”;

Define(“RegReadVal”,

   CallDLLFunction(Func_Lib, “RegReadVal”, $1, 4096)

);

Define(“RegWriteVal”,

   CallDLLFunction(Func_Lib, “RegWriteVal”, $1 ++ “=” ++ $2, 4096)

);

val := RegReadVal(“\Software\MyProgram\Value1”);

RegWriteVal(“\Software\MyProgram\Value2”, val)

Related Topics


CallScript()

Runs a predefined NetNow! script file. The script file must be located in the \scripts folder and must have the standard script extension of .mtq. The called script is executed before control returns to the main script.

CallScript( script )

script	A string consisting of the filename (minus its .mtq extension) of script to be run

CallScript(“my_script”)

Related Topics


CJ()

Centre Justify (CJ) pads out a given string to make it a specified length. If the given string is longer than the required length, the string is trimmed appropriately. CJ() adds padding characters evenly to both sides. The padding characters are taken sequentially from the given pad string.

string := LJ( text , width [, pad ] )

text	The string to which the padding characters are to be added

width	The required width of the resulting string. If this is longer than the length of text then text is reduced to this length, otherwise characters are taken successively from the pad string until the resulting string reaches the required length

pad	The characters to pad out the string until it reaches the required length

string	The result of the function which is always width characters long. If this parameter is not given, the default “ ” is used (a space)

CJ(“text”, 10, “-=”);

//	”-=-text=-=”

Related Topics


ConsoleMenuCommand()

Scans the console menu tree for a matching entry, then executes the function assigned to that entry in NetNow!.

ConsoleMenuCommand( menu )

menu	The text of any menu entry in NetNow!’s console

ConsoleMenuCommand(“Go Online”)

Related Topics


CloseFile()

Closes a file previously opened with OpenFile(), AppendFile() or CreateFile() . Once a file handle has been closed, the handle no longer has any meaning and should no longer be used. NetNow! automatically closes any open files at the end of each script however it is good practice to explicitly close any files opened for clarity. Further, when a file is open, it cannot be deleted or emptied with CreateFile().

CloseFile( handle )

handle	The file identifier returned by a call to OpenFile() , AppendFile() or CreateFile()

myfile:= CreateFile(“d:\internet\resource\sig-jim.txt”);

Write(myfile, “\n-- \nJim Hill”);

CloseFile(myfile)

Related Topics


CreateFile()

Creates a new, empty text file for writing. The function returns a handle which identifies the file, and is valid until it is released with the CloseFile() function. New files can only be written to because the file pointer is always at the end of the file. The file cannot be opened by other scripts until the handle has been released. If the file identified by path already exists it is emptied.

handle := CreateFile( path )

path	Identifies the file to be created by its filing system name. If no path is quoted NetNow! creates the file in the folder \database

handle	This identifier is used in subsequent references to the file, and should be released using CloseFile(). The null value is returned if the file could not be created.

myfile:= CreateFile(“d:\internet\resource\sig-jim.txt”);

Write(myfile, “\n-- \nJim Hill”);

CloseFile(myfile)

Related Topics


DbDeleteRecord()

Removes the specified record from the specified database.

DBDeleteRecord( database , record )

database	The name of the database table

record	The name of the record to remove. If this record does not exist no action is taken

DBDeleteRecord(“MyData”, “Jim”)

//	Deletes the following record in a database named MyData

[Jim]

Hobby=Cycling

Related Topics


DbListRecords()

Creates a list from the contents of the specified database

list := DBListRecords( database )

database	The name of the database table

list	A list of the records contained in the database

Related Topics


DbRead()

Returns the current contents of the specified field, record and database table. An empty string is returned if the field does not exist and the database table will also be created if that has not yet been explicitly done.

The name of the database table is essentially the filename, thus operating system file naming conventions must be taken into consideration. For example, the database name is not case sensitive and certain characters are not permitted.

Records do not have to share the same set of fields therefore it is not inefficient to use different field names in different records.

value := DBRead( database , record , field )

database	The name of the database table

record	The name of the record in the form of a string. The name is not case sensitive

field	The name of the field from which a value is to be retrieved. The field name is not case sensitive

value	The string of data extracted from the database. If the field, record or table do not exist, an empty string is returned

If(IsAddressLocal(MsgGetSender(),

   Do(

      name := UserOf(MsgGetSender()),

      If(DBRecordExists(“signatures”, name),

         MsgAddLine(DBRead(“signatures”, name, “sig”)

      )

   )

)

Related Topics


DbRecordExists()

Checks whether the given database table and record exists.

exists := DBRecordExists( database , record )

database	The name of the database table

record	The record to search for in the given database

exists	The result is true if the record and database both exist and false if either is missing

If(IsAddressLocal(MsgGetSender(),

   Do(

      name := UserOf(MsgGetSender()),

      If(DBRecordExists(“signatures”, name),

         MsgAddLine(DBRead(“signatures”, name, “sig”)

      )

   )

)

Related Topics


DbWrite()

Writes the given value into the database. The specified database table, record and field are created if they do not exist.

The name of the database table is essentially the filename, thus operating system file naming conventions must be taken into consideration. For example, the database name is not case sensitive and certain characters are not permitted.

Records do not have to share the same set of fields therefore it is not inefficient to use different field names in different records.

The string of data to be written into the database must not be longer than 200 characters, and it must not contain line breaks. It is not practical, therefore, to store messages or parts of messages in the database, however the value of header can be accommodated.

DBWrite( database , record , field , value )

database	The name of the database table

record	The name of the record in the form of a string. The name is not case sensitive

field	The name of the field to which a value is to be written. The field name is not case sensitive

value	The string of data written into the database. If the field, record or table do not exist, an empty string is returned

DBWrite(“MyData”, “Jim”, “Hobby”, “Cycling”)

// Creates the following record in a database named MyData

[Jim]

Hobby=Cycling

Related Topics


Define()

Creates a new user-defined function which must be defined before it used in the rest of the script. Function definitions can be shared with references to external scripts. Any number of parameters can be passed to the defined function. From within the function definition, the parameters are referred to by the placeholders $1, $2, $3, etc. The number of parameters is given by $0.

Define( func_name , content )

func_name	The name of the function to be defined (in the form of a string)

content	The function expressions. Use the Do() function to bind multiple statements

#	defines a function which repeats the given string a specified number of times. If a number is not given, the default of ‘5’ is used.

Define(“RepeatLine”,

   Do(

      local_i := If($0 < 2, 5, $2),

      While(local_i > 0, Do(

         local_i := local_i - 1,

         $1 ++ “\n”)

      )

   )

);

RepeatLine( “Repeated Line”, 3);

RepeatLine( “Another Repeated Line”)

Related Topics


DeleteFile()

Erases the specified file but only if it is not currently open. Note that the parameter passed is the name of the file, not a file handle. If the path argument specified only a filename, NetNow! assumes the path to be \database.

DeleteFile( path )

path	The filing system name of the file to be deleted

DeleteFile(“c:\data\control.txt”)

Related Topics


DeleteHeader()

Removes a header field from the current message. If the specified field occurs more than once, only the first instance is removed. Note that the field separator used in headers, a semicolon “;” must not be quoted when referring to header names.

DeleteHeader( field )

field	The field name to remove from the message header

If(SameAddress(Header(“From”), Header(“Reply-To”)),

   DeleteHeader(“Reply-To”)

)

Related Topics


Do()

This function is essentially the same as the concatenation operator (++), but makes the script more readable. Do() takes any number of parameters, and returns a concatenation of all of them.

result := Do( expr [, expr [, expr ...]] )

expr	An expression to be evaluated.

result	The concatenation of all the evaluated expressions given to the function

Do(

   SetHeader("From", AddressOf(“jim”)),

   SetHeader(“To”, “foo@example.com”),

   SetHeader("Organization", "JH Consulting")

)

Related Topics


EOF()

The End Of File function returns whether or not there is any further data available from a file opened with OpenFile(). Normally, EOF() would be used in a loop in conjunction with the Read() function to retrieve the contents from a file.

boolean := EOF( handle )

handle	The file identifier returned by a call to OpenFile()

boolean	False if there is more data to be read. True if the end of the file has been reached

a := OpenFile(“input.txt”);

While(Not(EOF(a)),

   my_text := my_text ++ Read(a) ++ “\n”

);

CloseFile(a)

Related Topics


Execute()

Calls an external application with the given parameters. The Execute() function suspends the script in which it is used until the application terminates. Conversely, the ExecuteAsync() function allows the script to continue immediately.

Although it is possible to send information to the executed application via the ‘command line parameters’, there is no means for the application to pass information back to the script. However, it may be useful for the application to store information in an external file in a known location, perhaps one passed as a parameter, which the script can then read from. If this method is chosen the ExecuteAsync() function should not be used because it is uncertain whether the application will have completed writing it’s output file by the time the script attempts to read it.

Execute( application , [ parameters ] )

application	The full path name of the application to execute

parameters	The parameters, separated by spaces, passed to the application. These are the same as the command-line parameters that might be given if the application was executed from the Windows Shell.

//	Runs the Notepad text editor (assuming that Windows has been installed into the “c:\windows” directory) and provides the filename to open.

//	A more effective text editing example is given for ShellExecute()

Execute(“c:\windows\notepad.exe”, “c:\windows\temp\info.txt”)

Related Topics


ExecuteAsync()

Calls an external application with the given parameters. The ExecuteAsync() function allows the script to continue immediately. Conversely, the Execute() function suspends the script in which it is used until the application terminates.

Although it is possible to send information to the executed application via the ‘command line parameters’, there is no means for the application to pass information back to the script. However, it may be useful for the application to store information in an external file in a known location, perhaps one passed as a parameter, which the script can then read from. If this method is chosen the ExecuteAsync() function should not be used because it is uncertain whether the application will have completed writing it’s output file by the time the script attempts to read it.

ExecuteAsync( application , [ parameters ])

application	The full path name of the application to execute

parameters	The parameters, separated by spaces, passed to the application. These are the same as the command-line parameters that might be given if the application was executed from the Windows Shell.

//	Runs the Notepad text editor (assuming that Windows has been installed into the “c:\windows” directory) and provides the filename to open.

//	A more effective text editing example is given for ShellExecute()

ExecuteAsync(“c:\windows\notepad.exe”, “c:\windows\temp\info.txt”)

Related Topics


For()

Iterates through each item in a list, setting the given variable to the current item each cycle. It is a looping function similar to While() and Repeat() , where the content expression is evaluated each cycle.

result := For( list , varname , content )

list	A comma separated list of items to be iterated through

varname	The name of the variable into which the current list item will be placed during each cycle. Note that the variable’s name should be specified, not the variable itself

content	The expression to be evaluated during each loop cycle

result	A concatenation of each cycle’s evaluation

For(“Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri”, “day”,

   If(day != “Fri”,

      MsgAddLine(“Day ” ++ day),

      MsgAddLine(“End of the week: ” ++ day)

   )

)

Related Topics


FormatDate()

Creates a formatted output date string from a numerical input date.

text := FormatDate( format [ , datenum ] )

format	A string employing one of more of the display formats defined below

datenum	A numerical date in NetNow!’s system format (dd/mm/yyyy). If no date is specified NetNow! assumes the current date

text	Formatted output date using the locale settings on the host machine

FormatDate(“dddd, mmm d yyyy”, date)

Display Formats

d	Single digit day number (1-31)

dd	Double digit day number (01-31)

ddd	Three letter day abbreviation (Sun)

dddd	Full length day name (Sunday)

m	Single digit month number (1-12)

mm	Double digit month number (01-12)

mmm	Three letter month abbreviation (Jan)

mmmm	Full length month name (January)

yy	Two digit year (99)

yyyy	Four digit year (1999)

/	Displays the date separator for the locale

‘text’	Text enclosed between single quotes is displayed literally

Related Topics


FormatDateTime()

Creates a formatted output date and time string from a numerical input date and time.

text := FormatDateTime( format [ , datenum ] )

format	A string employing one of more of the display formats defined below

datenum	A numerical date in NetNow!’s system format (dd/mm/yyyy and hh:mm:ss). If no date and time is specified NetNow! assumes the current date and time

text	Formatted output date using the locale settings on the host machine

FormatDateTime(“dddd, mmm d yyyy ‘at’ hh:nn”, date)

Display Formats

d	Single digit day number (1-31)

dd	Double digit day number (01-31)

ddd	Three letter day abbreviation (Sun)

dddd	Full length day name (Sunday)

m	Single digit month number (1-12)

mm	Double digit month number (01-12)

mmm	Three letter month abbreviation (Jan)

mmmm	Full length month name (January)

yy	Two digit year (99)

yyyy	Four digit year (1999)

h	Single digit hour (0-23)

hh	Double digit hour (00-23)

n	Single digit minutes (0-59)

nn	Double digit minute (00-59)

s	Single digit second (0-59)

ss	Double digit second (00-59)

am/pm	Displays “am” or “pm” using the local settings. The time is converted to 12 hour format

a/p	Displays “a” or “p”. The time is converted to 12 hour format

/	Displays the date separator for the locale

:	Displays the time separator for the locale

‘text’	Text enclosed between single quotes is displayed literally

Related Topics


FormatTime()

Creates a formatted output time string from a numerical input time.

text := FormatTime( format [ , timenum ] )

format	A string employing one of more of the display formats defined below

timenum	A numerical time in NetNow!’s system format (hh:mm:ss). If no time is specified NetNow! assumes the current time

text	Formatted output time using the locale settings on the host machine

FormatTime(“hh:nn”, time)

Display Formats

h	Single digit hour (0-23)

hh	Double digit hour (00-23)

n	Single digit minutes (0-59)

nn	Double digit minute (00-59)

s	Single digit second (0-59)

ss	Double digit second (00-59)

am/pm	Displays “am” or “pm” using the local settings. The time is converted to 12 hour format

a/p	Displays “a” or “p”. The time is converted to 12 hour format

:	Displays the time separator for the locale

‘text’	Text enclosed between single quotes is displayed literally

Related Topics


GetDirectory()

Returns a list of the files in the specified directory. It is also aware of the NetNow! database and is able to return filenames from the archive volumes which are used for mailslots and POP3 collection accounts. If a fully qualified path is specified, NetNow! returns the file list obtained from the filing system. If a relative path is given, this is resolved starting at the location of the NetNow! database folder.

list := GetDirectory( path )

path	The path of the directory

list	A list, in NetNow!’s standard list format, of the filenames in the specified directory

These examples show the function being used with a normal filing system directory, a directory in the NetNow! database, an archive directory and the POP3  collection directory:-

list := GetDirectory(“c:\windows\temp”)

list := GetDirectory(“\mail\outbox”)

list := GetDirectory(“\mail\inbox\johns”)

list := GetDirectory(“\mail\pop3\fred@pop3.example.com”)

Related Topics


GetFieldOfDirectory()

Returns the value of a field in the directory record for a given file. The field must be one of those described below, some of which are applicable to certain file types only. Also, some are only available to files held in the NetNow! database.

value := GetFieldOfDirectory( path , filename , field )

path	The full path of the directory which may also be relative to the database directory

filename	The filename in the specified directory

field	The name of the field in filename to examine

Field	Type	Applicable Directories	Description

size	Integer	Any Directory	The file size in bytes

date	DateTime	Any Directory	The file creation date

subject	String	Any Indexed Directory	The subject line from the message

to	String	Any Indexed Directory	The addresee of the message

from	String	Any Indexed Directory	The sender of the message

serial	String	Any Indexed Directory	The unique serial number of the file

pop3_erased	Boolean	POP3 Collection	Flag indicating if the message was erased

pop3_delete	Boolean	POP3 Collection	Flag indicating if the message is marked for deletion

pop3_fetched	Boolean	POP3 Collection	Flag indicating if the message was downloaded

pop3_download	Boolean	POP3 Collection	Flag indicating if the message is marked for download

Related Topics


GetMailboxes()

Returns a list consisting of the names of all mailslots configured in the console.

list := GetMailboxes()

list	A list, in NetNow!’s standard list format, of the names of all mailslots configured in the console

Related Topics


GetMailGroups()

Returns a list of the names of all mail groups configured in the console.

list := GetMailGroups()

list	A list, in NetNow!’s standard list format, of the names of all mail groups configured in the console

Related Topics


GetSubscribers()

Returns a list of the Email addresses of the current subscribers to the specified mailing list

list := GetSubscribers( maillist )

maillist	The name of a mailing configured in the console. The name of the list must be exactly as shown in the List Tab

list	A list, in NetNow!’s standard list format, of the Email addresses of the current subscribers to maillist

Related Topics


GetSystemVar()

Returns the current value of the specified system variable. Select the following for a list of the available system variables:-

System Information Functions

value := GetSystemVar( variable )

variable	The full path to the system variable

value	The current setting of the specified variable

Related Topics


Header()

Returns the contents of the specified header field in the current message. If the specified header field occurs more than once in the message, the resulting string is a concatenation of all the fields. Note that the field separator used in headers, a semicolon “;” must not be quoted when referring to header names.

string := Header( field )

field	The field name to extract from the message header

string	The text content of the specified field is returned

If(UserOf(Header(“To”)) = “webmaster”,

   SetHeader(“From”, AddressOf(“webmaster”),

   SetHeader(“From”, AddressOf(“postmaster”)

)

Related Topics


HostOf()

Extracts the host portion of an email address.

host := HostOf( string )

string	The address string from which a host name is to be extracted

host	A string containing the extracted host name

“home.example.com” := UserOf(“fred@home.example.com”)

Related Topics


If()

Returns one of two given expressions based upon the result of the first expression. This is similar to the if...then...else construct found in most languages. Three expressions are given to the function. If the first expression evaluates to true the second expression is evaluated and returned, otherwise, if given, the third expression is evaluated and returned.

result := If( boolean_expr , true_expr [, false_expr ])

boolean_expr	An expression which should evaluate to true or false

true_expr	The expression evaluated if boolean_expr evaluates to true

false_expr	The expression evaluated if boolean_expr evaluates to false. If the false_expr is not given (and if boolean_expr evaluates to false ) then no value is returned

result	The result of the evaluation of either true_expr or false_expr

If(UserOf(Header(“To”)) = “webmaster”,

   SetHeader(“From”, AddressOf(“webmaster”),

   SetHeader(“From”, AddressOf(“postmaster”)

)

Related Topics


IsUserLocal()

Return a boolean indicating whether the address supplied as a parameter can be delivered locally.

boolean := IsUserLocal( address )

address	A text string containing an address or part address

boolean	True if mail can be delivered locally to the address provided, otherwise false.

“TRUE” := IsUserLocal(“fred@example.com”)

Related Topics


Length()

Returns the length in characters of the given string.

num_chars := Length( string )

string	The text to measure

num_chars	The number of characters counted in string

If(Length(Header(“Reply-To”)) > 0,

   SetHeader(“To”, Header(“Reply-To”)),

   SetHeader(“To”, Header(“From”))

)

Related Topics


ListCount()

Determines the number of items in a list. Lists are used frequently in the scripting language and consist of a string containing items (optionally surrounded by quotes) separated by commas.

count := ListCount( list )

list	A list of items separated by commas

count	The number of items in the list

3 := ListCount(“one, two, three”)

Related Topics


ListItem()

Extracts a single item from a list, excluding any quotes if they exist. The list index commences at zero.

item := ListItem( list , index )

list	A list of items

index	The offset of the required item in the list

item	The returned item from the list

“two” := ListItem(“one, two, three”, 1)

Related Topics


LJ()

Left Justify (LJ) pads out a given string to make it a specified length. If the given string is longer than the required length, the string is trimmed appropriately. LJ() adds padding characters to the right. The padding characters are taken sequentially from the given pad string.

string := LJ( text , width [, pad ] )

text	The string to which the padding characters are to be added

width	The required width of the resulting string. If this is longer than the length of text then text is reduced to this length, otherwise characters are taken successively from the pad string until the resulting string reaches the required length

pad	The characters to pad out the string until it reaches the required length

string	The result of the function which is always width characters long. If this parameter is not given, the default “ ” is used (a space)

//	Produces “text......” from “text”

LJ(“text”, 10, “.”)

//	Produces “Six” from “Sixteen”

LJ(“Sixteen”, 3)

Related Topics


LoadHeader()

The LoadHeader() function is identical to LoadMessage() except that the message body is not loaded. This is useful where the message may be very large but the content is not important. Select the following for further information:-

LoadMessage()

LoadHeader( path , content )

path	The file name of the message.

content	The expression to execute in the context of the loaded message

Related Topics


LoadMessage()

Loads a message from disk into the ‘current message’ Messages can be loaded either from the NetNow! Database, or from a text file stored elsewhere on disk. Messages from the database must be given a path relative to the database root. For example, to load a message from the mailbox johns , use the path ‘mail\inbox\johns\ENDR01234567’. Messages in text files must use the NetNow! message format, where the message envelope is included with the message itself.

A relative path should be used for messages stored in the database, and a fully qualified name for external text messages. Messages should not be loaded from the NetNow! database using a fully qualified name because this may interfere with the database management system.

The last parameter to the function is the expression to execute in the context of the newly loaded message. After this function has been called, the message is discarded.

LoadMessage( path , content )

path	The file name of the message.

content	The expression to execute in the context of the loaded message

//	Prepares a message for mobile SMS (which can only carry 160 characters, and no subject line

LoadMessage( “mail\inbox\johns\” ++ msgid,

   Do(

      i := 0,

      msgc := “”,

      While((i < GetMsgLineCount()) & (Length(msgc) < 160),

         Do(

            msgc := msgc ++ GetMsgLine(i) ++ “ ”,

            i := i + 1

         )

      )

   )

);

PostMessage( “postmaster”, “johnsms@sms.com”, msgc)

Related Topics


MessageBody()

Returns either the entire text, or the text in a specified number of lines, from the current message

text := MessageBody( [ line_num , line_num ] )

line_num	The line number required from the text of the current message

text	The extracted text of the message

Related Topics


MsgAddLine()

Adds a line into the current message. This function is identical to MsgInsertLine() except that the index is implicitly the value returned by MsgGetLineCount().

MsgAddLine( string )

string	The line to be added to the message

sig_file := OpenFile(“sig-jim.txt”);

While(Not(EOF(sig_file)),

   MsgAddLine(Read(sig_file))

);

CloseFile(sig_file)

Related Topics


MsgDeleteLine()

Removes the line specified by index from the body of the current message. The line index commences at ‘0’.

MsgDeleteLine( index )

index	The index of the line to be removed, starting from zero

//	Removes all blank lines from current message

While(MessageGetLineCount() > cur_line,

   If(Length(MsgGetLine(cur_line)) = 0,

      MsgDeleteLine(cur_line),

       cur_line := cur_line + 1

   )

)

Related Topics


MsgGetLine()

Extracts a single line from the body of the current message. The required line is identified by a numerical index, ‘0’ representing the first line. The function MsgGetLineCount() can be used to determine the number of lines in the message body.

string := MsgGetLine( index )

index	The index of the required line, starting at zero

string	The requested line from the current message body

my_string := MsgGetLine(0);

If(Length(my_string) > 0,

   SetHeader(“Subject”, my_string),

   SetHeader(“Subject”, “Untitled Message”)

)

Related Topics


MsgGetLineCount()

Returns the number of lines in the current message body. Use this function to identify the range of valid line indices. For example, a value of ‘5’ indicates that the message lines from ‘0’ to ‘4’ are valid.

lines := MsgGetLineCount()

lines	The number of lines in the message body.

If(MessageGetLineCount() > 500,

   Do(

      your_id := Header(“Message-ID”),

      your_date := Header(“Date”),

      reply := If(Header(“Reply-To”) = “”, AddressOf(Header(“From”)), AddressOf(Header(“Reply-To”))),

      PostMessage(“postmaster”, reply,

         Do(

            SetHeader(“Subject”, “Failed Message : list policy max 200 lines” ),

            MsgAddLine(“The message you forwarded to this mailing list exceeded”),

            MsgAddLine(“the maximum permissable of 200 lines.”)

            MsgAddLine(“Message-ID: ” ++ your_id),

            MsgAddLine(“Date: ” ++ your_date)

         )

      )

   )

)

Related Topics


MsgGetRcpts()

Returns a list of the message recipients specified by the current message envelope (forward path). The recipients are not necessarily the contents of the To: or Cc: fields in the message header. Local recipients may not have the domain part of their e-mail address specified.

list := MsgGetRcpts()

list	A comma separated list of the message recipients.

//	Sends message to junk mailbox if To: and Cc: headers don’t match message forward path

rcpt_list := MsgGetRcpts();

match := “FALSE”;

For(rcpt_list, “rcpt”,

   If(WildcardMatch(Header(“To”), “*” ++ rcpt ++ “*”),

      match := “TRUE”,

      If(WildcardMatch(Header(“Cc”), “*” ++ rcpt ++ “*”),

         match := “TRUE”

      )

   )

);

If(match,, MsgSetRcpts(AddressOf(“junk”)))

Related Topics


MsgGetSender()

Returns the sender value (return path address) of the current message envelope. Note, this is not the same as the Sender: or From: fields of the message header.

sender := MsgGetSender()

sender	The sender value taken from the message envelope.

If(WildcardMatch(MsgGetSender(), “*cyberpromo*”),

   MsgSetRcpts(AddressOf(“junk”))

)

Related Topics


MsgInsertLine()

Inserts a new line into the current message body at the specified location. For example, if the message is five lines in length, then inserting at line ‘5’ will cause the current line ‘5’ to become line ‘6’.

MsgInsertLine( index , string )

index	The line position at which the string will be inserted

string	The line to be inserted

If(Header(“X-No-Archive) = “”,

   MsgInsertLine(1, “X-No-Archive: Yes”)

)

Related Topics


MsgSetRcpts()

Replaces the recipients in the current message envelope with the given list. Use this function to in scripts which modify trigger messages in order to re-direct them. Note that scripts with the ‘handoff’ property set are also responsible for actually sending the current message, as once the script has been executed, NetNow! disposes of it.

MsgSetRcpts( rcptlist )

rcptlist	A comma separated list of the recipients to which the current message is being sent

//	adds a recipient to the message

MsgSetRcpts(MsgGetRcpts() ++ “, ” ++ “box@example.com”)

Related Topics


NameOf()

Attempts to extract a real name from an email address. Note that all addresses do not contain real names.

name := NameOf( string )

string	The address string from which a real name is to be extracted

username	A string containing the extracted real name

“Fred Bloggs” := UserOf(“Fred Bloggs <fred@home.example.com>”)

“Fred Bloggs” := UserOf(“fred@home.example.com (Fred Bloggs)”)

Related Topics


Now()

Returns the current time in the standard format.

time := Now()

time	A string containing the time in standard format

Related Topics


OpenFile()

Opens a text file for reading. The function returns a handle which identifies this instance of the file, and is valid until it is released with the CloseFile() function. The handle also identifies the current file pointer, so that consecutive file reads retrieve consecutive lines of text. When the end of the file is reached, the EOF() function will return true. The same file can be opened by more than one script (and more than once in the same script).

handle := OpenFile( path )

path	Identifies the file to be opened by its filing system name. If no path is quoted NetNow! assumes that the file can be found in the folder \database

handle	This identifier is used in subsequent references to the file, and should be released using CloseFile() . The null value is returned if the file could not be opened.

a := OpenFile(“c:\files\myfile.txt”);

mydata := Read(a);

CloseFile(a)

Related Topics


OriginalMessage()

Quotes the complete trigger message. A single string is returned which contains both the header fields and the message body. Each line is separated by the ‘\n’ escape so that, when added to another message or written to a file, the original line breaks are maintained.

string := OriginalMessage([ maxlines ])

maxlines	The number of lines to quote (optional). If no parameter is given, the entire message is returned

string	A single string containing the original (trigger) message

Message: "{ Header("Subject") }"

Sent on: { Header("Date") }

To: { Recipient }

Your message was not delivered to the listed recipient as there is no such mailbox at this address.

Your original message is quoted below

----------------------------

{ OriginalMessage(25) }

Related Topics


Params()

Divides a given string into parts according to the given separator and returns the indexed part.

part := Params( string , separator , index )

string	The text string to extract a partial from

separator	The string that separates the parts of the original string

index	The offset of the partial to return

part	The indexed result

//	Show extraction using single and multiple character separators

“Wed” := Params( “Mon/Tue/Wed/Thu/Fri”, “/”, 3)

“C” := Params( “A + B + C + D + E”, “ + “, 3)

Related Topics


PostMessage()
PostMesssage()

Used to create a new message and send it to the specified recipients. The content parameter represents the expression to execute in the context of the new message. In other words, when the content is executed, the ‘current message’ points to the newly created message, prior to it being delivered. The result from the expression is automatically added to the end of the new message body.

PostMessage( sender , rcpts , content )

sender	The value to place in the message envelope’s sender field

rcpts	The address(es) to which the message is to be sent

content	The expression to be executed in the context of the new message

//	Returns a message to the sender of the trigger message indicating that the e-mail address they used was not found.

PostMessage(“postmaster”, MsgGetSender(),

   Do(

      SetHeader(“Subject”, “Address Unavailable” ),

      MsgAddLine(“The address you specified was not found.”),

      MsgAddLine(“Your original message is quoted below :-”),

      MsgAddLine(“--”),

      MsgAddLine(OriginalMessage(25))

   )

)

Related Topics


Read()

Reads a single line of text from a text file opened with OpenFile(). The file pointer is advanced such that subsequent reads return consecutive lines of text.

variable := Read( handle )

variable	A variable name to hold a single line of text retrieved from the file

handle	The file identifier obtained from a call to OpenFile()

my_file := OpenFile(“greeting.txt”);

helo_txt := Read(my_file);

CloseFile(my_file)

Related Topics


RenameFile()

Renames the specified disk file. If the existing file cannot be found no action is taken.

RenameFile( file , newfile )

file	The full path to the existing file. If no path is specified NetNow! assumes the file exists in its database folder

newfile	The full path for the new filename

RenameFile(“c:\data\oldname.txt”, “c:\reports\newname.txt”)

Related Topics


Repeat()

This function is very similar to the While() function, with the exception that the continuation expression is evaluated at the end of each cycle. The loop is terminated when this expression returns true. This is similar to the familiar repeat ... until construct found in many languages.

result := Repeat( content , continuation )

continuation	An expression evaluated after each cycle, which will terminate the loop if the result is true

content	An expression which is evaluated each cycle loop, with the result being appended to the function output

result	The concatenation of the result from each cycle

max_count := 10;

a := CreateFile(“myfile.txt”);

Repeat(

   Do(

      Write(a, “This is line number “ ++ i),

      loop_count := loop_count + 1

   ),

   loop_count >= max_count

);

CloseFile(a)

Related Topics


RJ()

Right Justify (RJ) pads out a given string to make it a specified length. If the given string is longer than the required length, the string is trimmed appropriately. RJ() adds padding characters to the left. The padding characters are taken sequentially from the given pad string.

string := RJ( text , width [, pad ] )

text	The string to which the padding characters are to be added

width	The required width of the resulting string. If this is longer than the length of text then text is reduced to this length, otherwise characters are taken successively from the pad string until the resulting string reaches the required length

pad	The characters to pad out the string until it reaches the required length

string	The result of the function which is always width characters long. If this parameter is not given, the default “ ” is used (a space)

RJ(“.”, 10, “abcde”);

//	”abcdeabcd.”

Related Topics


SameAddress()

Determines whether two specified addresses are the same, taking into account the Domain Aliases in NetNow!

boolean := SameAddress( address , address )

address	The addresses to be compared

boolean	TRUE if the addresses resolve to be the same, otherwise FALSE

From: “Fred Bloggs” <fred@home.example.com>

Reply-To: fred@home.example.com (Resting Up)

“TRUE” := SameAddress(Header(“From”), Header(“Reply-To”))

Related Topics


SelectInMessage()

Changes context from the current message to the trigger message.

SelectInMessage()

{

  SelectOutMessage();

  SetHeader("Subject", "Automatic Reply");

  SelectInMessage()

}

Your message :-

  "{Header("Subject")}" on {Header("Date")}

has been received.

Related Topics


SelectOutMessage()

Used only in Templates triggered by a message. Changes the script context to the outgoing message.

SelectOutMessage()

{

  SelectOutMessage();

  SetHeader("Subject", "Automatic Reply");

  SelectInMessage()

}

Your message :-

  "{Header("Subject")}" on {Header("Date")}

has been received.

Related Topics


SetHeader()

Sets the specified header field of the current message to the given value. In cases where the specified field occurs more than once, only the first instance of the field is set. Note that the field separator used in headers, a semicolon “;” must not be quoted when referring to header names.

SetHeader( field , value )

field	The field name to modify in the message header

value	The value to assign to the specified field

If(UserOf(Header(“To”)) = “webmaster”,

   SetHeader(“From”, AddressOf(“webmaster”),

   SetHeader(“From”, AddressOf(“postmaster”)

)

Related Topics


SetSystemVar()

Writes a value to the specified system variable. Select the following for a list of the available system variables:-

System Information Functions

SetSystemVar( variable . value )

variable	The full path to the system variable

value	The value to be placed in the specified variable

Related Topics


ShellExecute()

This function is very similar to ExecuteAsync(), in that it is used to run a program without waiting for it to terminate. However, this command concentrates on files (or documents), rather than the applications used with them. Essentially, the given parameters are passed to the Windows Shell to be handled rather than by calling the application directly. This also makes it possible for the Shell to select an appropriate program to run for a given filename. For example, given the filename of a text document, the Shell may open it using Notepad or Wordpad . You can also run specific programs using this function, but you do not need to know their filenames (providing the Shell can locate them).

ShellExecute( filename , [ parameters ])

filename	The filename of the document to be opened, or the application to be executed. If the filename is an application in the Windows Path a full path-name is not required

parameters	Optional parameters given to the application eventually called by the Shell

//	This example is similar to that shown in Execute(). The advantage being that it is not necessary to need to know the location of the text editor or even what text editor has been registered. Note that the Shell selects an application based upon the file’s extension (i.e. “.txt” in this example). To edit a text file which ends with a different extension it is necessary to specify the application as shown in the second example.

ShellExecute(“c:\temp\info.txt”)

Related Topics


SubStr()

Returns a substring taken from the given string. The position and length of the required substring are given as parameters.

sub := SubStr( string , index , length )

sub	The resulting substring

string	The string from which a substring is to be extracted

index	The index offset, starting at zero, of the first character to extract from the string

length	The number of characters to extract

“some” := Substr(“This is some text”, 8, 4)

Related Topics


UniqueString()

Returns a unique random eight character string suitable for use in forming Message-ID: header fields.

string := UniqueString()

string	The resulting  unique string

Related Topics


UserOf()

Extracts the username portion of an email address.

username := UserOf( string )

string	The address string from which a username is to be extracted

username	A string containing the extracted username

“fred” := UserOf(“fred@home.example.com”)

Related Topics


While()

In a while loop the content is repeatedly evaluated until the continuation expression evaluates to false. Each time the content is evaluated, the result is appended to the function result. This is similar to the while do ... construct found in many languages.

result := While( continuation , content )

continuation	An expression evaluated just before each cycle, which will terminate the loop if the result is false

content	An expression which is evaluated each cycle loop, with the result being appended to the function output

result	The concatenation of the result from each cycle

a := OpenFile(“input.txt”);

b := CreateFile(“output.txt”);

While(Not(EOF(a)),

   Write(b, Read(a))

);

CloseFile(a);

CloseFile(b)

Related Topics


WildcardMatch()

Compares a string with a wildcard expression, and returns a boolean value indicating whether the match was successful. The wildcard expression consists of plain text, with the placeholders ‘*’ and ‘?’ to represent a series of unknown characters and a single unknown character respectively. Note the ‘*’ placeholder represents zero or more matching characters.

match := WildcardMatch( string , expr )

string	The string to match

expr	Wildcard expression to use when matching string

match	A boolean value (true or false) indicating whether the given string matched the wildcard expression

true_match := WildcardMatch(

   “The quick brown fox”,

   “*quick*”

);

false_match := WildcardMatch(

   “The quick brown fox”,

   “*q????k*”

);

true_match := WildcardMatch(

   “The quick brown fox”,

   “*fo?”

)

Related Topics


WildcardMatchReplace()

Compares an input string with a wildcarded string expression and creates an output string (from those portions of the input string which match the wildcards) by the use of substitution in the replacement string. This function implements the Address Rewriting capabilities in scripts and is limited to input strings of less than 250 characters. The wildcards permitted in the expression string are ? (ASCII 63) which represents any single character and * (ASCII 42) which matches any number of characters. The placeholder used to generate the output string is $ (ASCII 36) and derivatives using numerical modifiers, for example $1, $2.

result := WildcardMatch( string , expr , replace )

string	The input string

expr	A wildcarded string expression

replace	a string expression using placeholders corresponding with the wildcards used in expr

result	The output string

4 := WildcardMatchReplace(“Multipart message (4/5)”, "*(*/*", "$2")

Notes

The first wildcard in expr matches “Multipart message “ in the input string and is assigned to the $1 placeholder

The first wildcard in expr matches “4“ in the input string and is assigned to the $2 placeholder

The third wildcard in expr matches “5)“ in the input string and is assigned to the $3 placeholder

Related Topics


Write()

Writes a string to a file which is open (via CreateFile() or AppendFile()) for writing. If the written string contains carriage returns this will result in multiple lines in the target file. Note that such lines will require multiple Read() statements when retrieving them.

Write( handle , string )

handle	The file identifier obtained from a call to CreateFile() or AppendFile()

string	A string of arbitrary length to be written to the file

myfile := CreateFile(“output.txt”);

Write(myfile, “This is line one\nThis is line two”);

CloseFile(myfile)

Related Topics


Not()

Reverses the boolean result of an expression.

result := Not( expression )

expression	Any script expression which evaluates to true or false

result	The reverse of the boolean evaluated in expression

“TRUE” = Not(“FALSE”)

Related Topics


Web Administration

The Web Administration facilities in NetNow! enable many aspects of NetNow! to be configured via a web browser interface. Access is controlled by user name and password and is, therefore, restricted to registered users. Guest facilities are also provided, however. Select the following for further information on creating users in NetNow! and on the permissions which must be set in order to provide access to web administration:-

User Manager

The web administration facilities run on the HTTP Service and cannot be accessed unless an instance of that service is running and unless the web administration feature is enabled. Select the following for further information:-

HTTP Service

Once configured, the web administration facilities can be accessed via any web browser client which is capable of handling frames. The URL for the web administration service is http://host/$ where host should be replaced by the machine name or IP address of the server on which NetNow! is running.

Using Web Administration users can view and change the configuration of mailslots which they own, manage their subscriptions to local mailing lists, read and reply to their mail, read usenet newsgroups and browse the web cache using a simple point and click interface.

Futher information on Web Administration can be found in the User Guide.

Related Topics


Enter the primary domain name of the NetNow! Server. If you don’t have a domain use a pseudo domain. For example, if your email address is john@isp.com you might use john.isp.com for your pseudo domain. Mail addressed to the primary domain is treated as deliverable locally.


Domain aliases should normally include 127.0.0.1 and localhost. If you use mail forwarding, you should also enter all alternative address forms. Mail addressed to the domain aliases is treated as deliverable locally.


This is used by NetNow! when addressing administrative mail messages. NetNow! normally uses the consonants in your domain name to devise a name but you may enter any descriptive name you wish.


Check this to require the use of a password before the console can be accessed.


Enter the password which must be provided when opening the console if Require Password is checked. NetNow! echoes *** characters to the screen for security when passwords are entered.


Check this to synchronise local time with a remote time server.


Enter the name of the remote time server - usually in the form ntp@isp.com


Check this if the time server is available to the NetNow! machine over a local area network, that is, without having to connect to the internet.


Caching directories improves NetNow!’s performance. Increase the number from the default of five only if you have configured large numbers of mailslots or newsgroups in NetNow! and if sufficient free system memory is available.


Enter the IP addresses of the machines which you wish NetNow! to regard as being on your local area network. The IP addresses listed in this tab can be included or excluded from accessing NetNow! services en bloc.


Check this to enable NetNow! to record details of all its activities to a log file.


Enter the path and name to be used for log files. Note that, depending on activity levels, log files can become very large, Ideally, the log file should be written to a different drive from the main database to avoid problems with low diskspace. NetNow! may change some characters in the provided name depending on the selected Logging Method.


The logging methods determine how often the log filenames are reused. When a log filename is reused its existing contents are immediately deleted.


Check this to enable the maximum detail on messages, such as the sender’s name and the subject heading, to be recorded in log files.


Select this option to load NetNow! manually.


Select this option to have NetNow! start automatically when users log on and stop automatically when users log off.


This option applies only to the user currently logged on. Once set it cannot be set for other users and can only be cleared by the original user.


Select this option for NetNow! to start when Windows loads. NetNow! runs continuously until either Windows is unloaded or NetNow! is manually halted.


Select this option to install NetNow! as an NT service, which appears in the NT Services Control Panel Applet. In order to cancel this option NetNow! must not have been started as an NT service.


If this option is not checked  then NetNow! runs normally but without its icon in system tray to disable access to the console. Running the supplied mtqicon.exe utility causes the icon to reappear in the system tray.


Select this option if NetNow! connects to the Internet, or to any other external network, using a DUN connection


Select this option if NetNow! has a permanent connection to the Internet, direct or via a local area network


Select this option to run NetNow! in local mode with no connections to external networks.


Select this option if NetNow! is connected to a local area network which is only available at certain times of the day.


Select this option if NetNow!’s external network access is controlled by a router which has its own dialling facilities.


Click this to specify the times when the local area network is available to NetNow!


This option refuses to accept undeliverable messages and protocol requires that the sending server either return the message to the sender or notify the sender that the message could not be delivered. This is the most efficient option for dealing with undelivered mail because it places the responsibility on the sending mail server and NetNow! never had to download such messages.


This option accepts the message then posts a separate message back to the sender notifying them that the message could not be delivered. Whilst effectively performing the same process as the Return Undelivered to Sender option, the administrator can control the content of the notification message by modifying the bounce template.


This option accepts the message and delivers it directly to the specified address. The address may be either a local mailslot or a fully quoted Internet address.


Enter the address to which undeliverable messages are  to be forwarded. The address may be either a local mailslot or a fully quoted Internet address.


This option accepts the message then changes the user to match the entry in the associated edit box and changes the host part of the address to that of the configured NetNow! Domain Name before delivering it locally.


Enter the host name to which undelivered mail should be forwarded. The user portion of the address only is required because NetNow! automatically adds the configured Domain Name.


This option creates a new mailbox to accept the undeliverable message, copying the settings for the new mailbox from an existing mailbox defined as the template.


Select an existing mailslot to be used as a template when creating the new mailbox. Selecting <default> creates a mailbox with the default settings.


This option places undeliverable messages directly in the Outbox from where they are delivered according to the settings in the Outbox Properties.  Note that this may result in a mail loop if the remote mail server to which the message is sent decides to post it back to this server again.


Enter the address specification from which mail is to be barred. Wildcards may be used in the address specifications. Note that the address must be that presented in MAIL FROM (usually shown in the Return-Path: header) and not the address in the From: header of the message.


Enter the address specification to which mail should be barred. Wildcards may be used in the address specification to include and exclude ranges within the address specification. Note that the address must be that presented in RCPT TO as the recipient no the address in the To: or Cc: header of the message.


Enter the message to return to the sender if their message is barred.  It is often useful to supply a vague message in order that the sender not change their address and attempt to post again. There is much to recommend the simple message “No such user.”


Click this to configure the production of Mail Barring Reports.


This is the list of current address re-writing entries, used to rewrite the recipient addresses on incoming mail messages.


Enter the address specification for the currently selected entry


Enter the replacement expression for the currently selected entry


Click to add a new template address re-writing entry


Click to delete the currently selected address re-writing entry


This is the list of mail sorting entries, used to re-address messages to alternative recipients based on matching filter settings


Enter the address of the recipient for the currently selected mail sorting entry. A local mailslot or a full Internet address may be entered.


Click to edit the currently selected mail sorting entry


Click to add a new mail sorting entry


Click to delete the currently selected mail sorting entry


Check this to enable NetNow! to control how large incoming mail messages are handled.


Enter the message size in kilobytes beyond which NetNow! will break incoming messages into multiple messages.


Check this to break incoming messages which exceed the message size limit into MIME partial messages.


Check this to forward a copy of every message to either a local mailslot or a full Internet address.


Select the mailslot to which a copy of all incoming mail messages should be forwarded. A full Internet address may also be entered.


Enter the maximum number of mail hops permitted before NetNow! treats the message as being in a mail loop. Too low a figure (below 5) results in messages from other NetNow! users triggering mail loop detection too frequently. Too high a figure (above 20) may result in prolonged disk thrashing if the loop is the result of rapid reproduction of a very large message.


Enter the primary smart mail host to which outbound mail should be delivered. This should be the mail server recommended by your Internet Service Provider if you are using one.


Enter the backup mail server to use when the primary mail server is unavailable.


Check this to forward a copy all outbound mail messages to the specified local mailslot.


Select a local mailslot to which a copy all outbound mail are to be forwarded. Ensure that this mailslot does not forward mail outside this host or a mail loop will be created.


Set the maximum number of parallel mail delivery connections opened by NetNow!. Setting this too low (below 10) reduces the performance of NetNow! when delivering messages via MX Lookup. Setting this too high (above 100) may also reduce delivery performance by saturating a dial-up connection with excessive TCP/IP overheads.


Enter the IP address of the Domain Name Server to be used when delivering mail via MX Lookup. Your Internet Service Provider should specify the correct DNS server addresses for their domain. Multiple DNS servers may be entered, any of which may be selected as the current entry.


Click this to access the Mail Routing Table which contains the Static and Dynamic Routing Tables.


Click this to configure the production of Delivery Failure Reports.


This is the list of static routing entries. NetNow! compares the recipient addresses in outgoing messages against these entries in the order shown in the list, from top to bottom, in order to assign an appropriate delivery route to each message. If there are no entries in the list NetNow! delivers all outgoing mail to the default Remote Mail Server.


Click this to move the currently selected static route one position higher in the table.


Click this to move the currently selected static route one position lower in the table.


Click this to add a new outline entry to the end of the list of static routes


Click this to delete the currently selected entry in the list of static routes.


Enter an address specification. NetNow! evaluates the recipient addresses of outgoing messages against the address specification in order to assign a mail delivery route for each recipient. An entry of * (asterisk) matches all addresses. An entry of *example.com matches all users at the example.com domain. Note that the Filter setting may also affect whether a particular route is selected by NetNow!.


Check this if NetNow! should deliver outgoing messages matching this route via MX Lookup. If this entry is checked, the Mail Hosts field title changes to DNS Machines.


Check this if the remote mail host can be accessed by NetNow! over the local area network.


Enter the Mail Hosts to which NetNow! should deliver mail which matches this route. For remote internet hosts, this would usually be the smart mail server specified by your Internet Service Provider. If delivery via MX is selected the DNS Machines to use should be entered here. Multiple entries in this field may be separated by commas.


Enter the number of days for which NetNow! should retain the MX information retrieved for this route in the Dynamic Routing Table.


Enter the number of minutes which NetNow! should wait before attempting to deliver a failed outgoing message again


Enter the number of hours for which NetNow! should continue to attempt to deliver a failed outgoing message.


Enter the number of hours after which NetNow! should advise the postmaster that message delivery has been delayed.


Check this to allow NetNow! to forward messages which cannot be delivered by the specified route to the configured smart host. This option should not be used if the static route is used for sending internal messages over a private network.


Click this to configure the filter settings for the currently selected static route.


This list shows the recipient addresses, in the Host column, for which NetNow! has retrieved MX records. The mail hosts retrieved from the MX records are shown in the Mail Exchanges column in reducing order of precedence, left to right. The date and time when NetNow! will refresh the current records for each entry appears in the Expiry column.


Click this to remove the currently selected entries from the Dynamic Routing Table. NetNow! will obtain fresh MX information the next time it needs to deliver mail to the recipient address shown in the Host column.


Check this to enable NetNow! to produce reports on the current activity.


Enter the number of days over which NetNow! should collect information before producing a report.


Set the date on which the next report should be produced using the popup calendar.


Set the time at which the next report should be produced


Enter the address to which the report should be sent. A local mailslot or a full Internet address may be entered.


Click this to prompt NetNow! to send its report now. Note that a report will only be sent if some data has been accumulated.


Check this to enable news collection from news servers accessed via a local area network or dial-up connection.


Click this to display the Newsgroup Subscriptions dialog


Click this to display the Default Newsgroup Properties dialog


Select a default news server for use when an article is posted to an unknown Internet newsgroup and to use to collect articles for newsgroups without a recognised server entry.


This is the list of currently configured news servers. The icon indicates whether the server is available on a local area network or is available only during dial-up connections.  In addition, the icon indicates it the server is enabled and if the last connection was successful.


Click this to display the properties dialog of the currently selected news server entry.


Click this to configure a new news server.


Click this to delete the currently selected news server entry.


Check this to permit NetNow! to collect message from, and post messages to, this server.


Enter the host name of this remote server, for example news.domain.com


Check this to download a full list of the newsgroups available on this server the next time NetNow! connects. When a list has been collected NetNow! unchecks this option automatically.


Check this if the news server is available on the local area network without having to connect to an external network.


Enter the minimum number of minutes between automatic connections to this server.


Select this option if the news server does not require any authentication or user account details.


Select this option if the news server requires both user name and password details before news can be collected.


Enter the user or account name which NetNow! should use when requested by the news server.


Enter the password which NetNow! should use when requested by the news server.


Set the maximum number of simultaneous connections which NetNow! can make to this news server. Using more than one connection substantially improves efficiency, although it is not normally beneficial to use more than five connections.


Enter the maximum number of attempts NetNow! should make when connecting to this server. If the news server is in heavy use it may refuse a number of connections in which case repeated attempts may be successful.


Select the news collection method which NetNow! should use with this server. Advice on suitable methods can be obtained from the administrator of the server. Select XHDR if no information to the contrary is available.


First select a news host then enter a string to search for a newsgroup on that server. Click Find to display the first matching entry in Found. Click Find repeatedly to find further matching entries. Click Go To to navigate quickly to the current Found newsgroup in the newsgroups list.


Click this to search the currently selected news host for a newsgroup name containing the string entered into Search For.  Click Find repeatedly to display further matching entries until the desired newsgroup is located.


This is the newsgroup list tree, made up of all the groups available from all the configured news hosts. Note that the full group list must first have been downloaded in order for the group names to appear under the server. Click on the + and - symbols to expand and contract the branches.


This is the list of all currently subscribed newsgroups. Alongside the full name of each newsgroup is the date and time at which news was last collected from the remote server shown in the News Server column. Local Groups are also shown in the list.


Click this to subscribe or unsubscribe from the currently selected newsgroup.


Click this to display the properties of the currently selected newsgroup.


Click this to display the default settings used for new subscriptions. Changes to the default settings do not alter the properties of existing newsgroups.


Click this button to create a new newsgroup. The new newsgroup can either be a newsgroup which exists on one of the news hosts or a local newsgroup which will be available only from this server.


Click this to access the help file topics relating to newsgroups.


Click this to dismiss the Newsgroups Subscriptions dialog and record any changes made.


Check this to enable articles to be downloaded for this newsgroup.


Select the news host from which to download articles for this newsgroup.


Assign the priority setting for article collection for this newsgroup. High priority newsgroups are processed before normal or low priority newsgroups.


Click on this to reset the last collection date and the recorded article numbers on the remote server. NetNow! then re-evaluates these settings during the next news collection, checking that each article on the remote news host is stored in NetNow!’s newsbase.


Check this to override the default newsgroup settings.


Check this to override the default setting and enter the revised number of days representing the age of articles beyond which they are ignored by NetNow!


Check this to override the default setting and enter a revised maximum number of lines permitted in message bodies. If an article exceeds this limit, NetNow! stores the headers of the article but does not download the body of the article.


Enter a figure to override the default setting for the number days up to which NetNow! will store downloaded articles in its newsbase.


Click this to configure a filter to include or exclude article bodies from being downloaded.


Check this to enable the News to Mail gateway for this newsgroup.


This list shows the addresses which receive copies by mail of news articles downloaded into this newsgroup. Any filter settings used to include or exclude articles from being sent to individual addresses are also shown.


Click this to edit the configuration of the currently selected address.


Click this to delete the currently selected address.


Click this to add and configure a new address to the list of addresses.


Check this to enable the mail to news gateway for this newsgroup. Messages sent by email to the address below are posted automatically into this newsgroup.


This is the address to which mail messages should be sent for NetNow! to post them automatically into this newsgroup.


Enter the address to which news articles arriving in this newsgroup should be sent by mail.


Enter a revised header field address which may be required if the email address to which news articles are sent is that of a mailing list.


Click this to configure the article filter settings for this address.


Select a filter criteria from the list or enter any header field name which does not already appear in the list.


Enter a value to match with the field contents of the message being filtered. A match is made by finding the value entered anywhere in the field content. The match is not case sensitive.


Select a match condition from the list.


Click this to clear all the configured filter settings


This is a list of all the configured Dial-Up Networking entries available to NetNow!. If the globe icon appears next to an entry NetNow! has been configured to use that entry to access the Internet.


Enter the user or account name for the currently selected Dial-Up Networking entry. This information is usually provided by an Internet Service Provider.


Enter the password for the currently selected Dial-Up Networking entry. This information is usually set by the user in accordance with instructions from an Internet Service Provider.


Check this if the currently selected Dial-Up Networking entry is to be used by NetNow! to access the Internet.


Click this to enter a new Dial-Up Networking entry into the operating system. Refer to Windows documentation for further information on this process.


Click this to edit the configuration of the currently selected Dial-Up Networking entry.


Check this if NetNow! is required to delivery outgoing mail during every connection to the Internet. Use Despatch Pending Messages on the Action menu if this option is unchecked.


Check this if NetNow! is required to invoke Finger commands which have their automatic option set immediately after connecting to the Internet. Use Finger All Automatic Accounts on the Action menu if this option is unchecked.


Select the Dial-Up Networking entry to use when you use the Go Online or Schedule a Connection Now commands from the system tray menu or the Actions menu in the console.


Check this to allow NetNow! to automatically select an alternative Dial-Up Networking connection if a dial-up attempt fails for any reason.


Click this to configure the production of Dial-up Reports.


Check this to enable NetNow!’s scheduling facilities. If unchecked none of the automatic schedules will take place, even if they are individually enabled.


This is the list of configured connection schedules.


Click this to add and configure a new dial-up schedule.


Click this to reconfigure the currently selected dial-up schedule.


Click this to delete the currently selected dial-up schedule.


Check this to have NetNow! display a dialog to confirm the connection or disconnection of a schedule.


Check this to have NetNow! to warn if dial-up schedules have been missed while NetNow! was not running.


Check this to have NetNow! create a temporary scheduled connection whenever mail arrives in the outbox.


Check this to have NetNow! create an automatic schedule only if mail arriving in the Outbox is high priority.


Enter the number of minutes to wait before starting a mail initiated connection. If a normal connect is scheduled to place this time the arriving mail does not trigger an immediate connection.


Click this to edit the connection settings for automatic schedules. Automatic schedules are used when Schedule a Connection Now is selected from the system tray menu or the Action menu in the console.


Check this to enable the schedule to occur at the specified times.


Select the Dial-Up Networking entry for NetNow! to use when connecting.


If this scheduled connection fails and this option is checked NetNow! using the next alternative configured Dial-Up Networking connection on the next connection attempt. That alternative DUN connection is also set to be the default dial-up connection.


Set the number of times NetNow! should retry after failure to connect on this schedule


Set the idle timeout for this schedule. NetNow! monitors only its own TCP/IP activity, it cannot detect TCP/IP activity in other applications making use of the scheduled connection.


Set the number of minutes after which NetNow! should disconnect unconditionally from the Internet.


Select this option to force the schedule connect to the Internet every day of the week.


Select this option to specify the days of the week on which this schedule connects to the Internet.


Select this option to specify the day of the month on which this schedule connects to the Internet. Enter the required day of the month in the associated edit box.


Select this option to make the schedule connect once per day at the time configured in the associated control.


Select this option to enable NetNow! to connect every hour to the Internet at the number of minutes past the hour entered into the associated control.


Select this option to specify the delay in minutes between connects to the Internet.


Check this to set the time of the day during which connects to the Internet should not be made. Note that the time controls do not permit the connection period to be specified across midnight. The latest time permissible in the right hand time control is, therefore, 23:59:59.


Check this option to enable NetNow! to collect messages from remote POP3 servers while this schedule is connected to the Internet.


Check this option to enable NetNow! to collect messages from remote news servers while this schedule is connected to the Internet.


Check this to permit scheduled connections to take place only if there is mail waiting in the outbox.


Check this to permit scheduled connections to take place only if there is high priority mail waiting in the outbox.


Check this to prevent a scheduled connection taking place if a manual connection was made more recently than the number of minutes shown in the associated field.


Enter the number of minutes after an Internet connection during which NetNow! should suppress scheduled connections.


Check this to enable POP3 collection to take place automatically at the intervals defined in the individual POP3 accounts.


This is the list of configured remote POP3 collection accounts.


Click this to view and edit the properties of the currently selected POP3 collection account.


Click this to delete the currently selected remote POP3 collection account.


Click this to add and configure a new remote POP3 collection account.


Check this to enable NetNow! to collect POP3 mail from this account.


Enter the name of the remote POP3 server on which the POP3 account is held, for example, pop3.isp.com. NetNow! utilises the contents of both Server and Account fields, in the format accountname@servername, when attempting to collect mail for this POP3 account.


Enter the user or account name provided by the supplier of the remote POP3 account.  NetNow! utilises the contents of both Server and Account fields, in the format accountname@servername, when attempting to collect mail for this POP3 account.


Enter the password required to access this account on the remote POP3 server. NetNow! echoes * (asterisk) characters in response for additional security.


Check this to have NetNow! leave messages on the server and download copies only. This is useful if other users also access the mail stored in this account.  Note that the server must support the UIDL command for this feature to operate reliably.


Check this to enable NetNow! to automatically delete messages left on the remote POP3 server for longer than the specified number of days.


Set the number of days for which messages left on the remote POP3 server after downloading should be deleted automatically by NetNow!.


Check this if the remote POP3 server is available across a local area network, that is, if NetNow! can collect messages from this account without connecting to the Internet.


Set the number of minutes which NetNow! should wait between collections of messages from this POP3 account.


Select this option to send all the mail collected from the remote POP3 account to the listed recipient. Multiple recipients must be comma separated.


Select this option to deliver the mail collected from this remote POP3 account as specified by one of the available sub options.


Select this sub option to ignore any messages collected from this remote POP3 account which do not specify a local recipient. If a message contains both local and non local recipients NetNow! delivers a copy of the message to the local recipient only.


Select this sub option to have NetNow! rewrite the domain portion of all identified message recipients. NetNow! preserves the user name(s) of the original recipient(s) and rewrites the domain name(s), if necessary, to ensure that every recipient is treated as being local.


Select this sub option to have NetNow! place a copy of any messages which are addressed to non local recipients in the outbox. If any of the recipients of a message are identified as local, a copy of the message is also sent to their mailbox.


Select this sub option to have NetNow! extract message recipients only from the specified message header fields.


Enter the names (but not the colon) of the header fields which NetNow! should use to identify the message recipients. Custom header fields, for example X-Originally-To, may also be entered if they appear on all messages collected from this remote POP3 account.


Select this sub option to have NetNow! identify the message recipients using the *ENV POP3 protocol extension available in some POP3 implementations.


Select this sub option to have NetNow! extract the message recipient from the final Received: header field in the message. Note that whether a recipient address appears in that Received: header field is dependent on the behaviour of the mail relays which receive mail for the remote POP3 account and is not under the direct control of NetNow!.


Check this option to enable message filtering on this POP3 collection account


If this is checked, NetNow! does not download messages above the size limit specified.


Check this to delete unwanted messages which have been filtered out.


Check this to have NetNow! advise the sender of a deleted message that their message was refused.


Click this to configure the filter rules for accepting and rejecting messages collected from this POP3 account.


Check this to have NetNow! forward a report on all the messages received during each POP3 collection to the specified address.


Enter the address to which POP3 collection reports should be sent. The address may be either a local mailslot or a fully quoted Internet address.


Check this to start the service when NetNow! starts. If unchecked, the service can be started using Start Service from the Tools menu in the console.


Enter the port number which NetNow! should use for this service. Note that the port number of each running service must be unique.


Enter the maximum number of simultaneous client connections which this service should permit.


Enter the time in seconds after which NetNow! should unilaterally close inactive connections.


Select this option to disable the firewall for this service.


Select this option to restrict access to this service to clients with an IP address which is within the IP address ranges entered into the firewall edit box below.


Select this option to restrict access to this service to clients with an IP address which is either within the IP address ranges entered into the firewall edit box below or is within the Local IP Address Ranges configured in the Server Properties dialog.


Click this to access the Local IP Address Ranges configured in the Server Properties dialog.


Select this option to restrict access to this service to clients with an IP address which is either within the IP address ranges entered into the firewall edit box below or is within the Local IP Address Ranges configured in the Server Properties dialog, or has recently connected successfully to a NetNow! POP3 service.


Enter the IP Address ranges which are permitted to access this service. Note that an empty firewall excludes all IP addresses except the localhost IP address of 127.0.0.1


Check this to enable NetNow!’s large message handling facilities.


Enter the size above which NetNow! should reject messages received by SMTP.


Enter the addresses from which messages of any size will be accepted by NetNow!. Wildcards may also be used. For example, *@domain.com, accepts messages of any size from all users at domain.com. Note that NetNow! compares the address given in the MAIL FROM: parameter during SMTP receipt with these address entries, not the To: header in the message itself.


Check this to have NetNow! make HTTP proxy services available to connecting clients.


Check this to have NetNow! run a WWW Server on the HTTP service.


Check this to make the Web Administration Service available to browser clients.


Enter the number of minutes after which NetNow! should close idle client connections for added security.


Check this to enable connecting browser clients to initiate a connection to the Internet if the web page they request is not in the local cache.


Click this to specify how the connection to the Internet should be made.


Check this option to display a confirmation dialog to the user before an Internet connection is initiated.


Check this option to enable clients to request web pages directly from remote web servers.


Check this option to force all client requested web pages to be obtained from the external web proxy configured below.


Enter the address of the remote web proxy service. For example, www-cache.isp.com.


Enter the TCP/IP port number of the remote web proxy service. For example, 8080.


Check this option to retain a copy of all retrieved web pages in NetNow!’s web cache.


Click this to configure the file types which are excluded from being placed in the web cache.


Click this to configure the URL ranges which clients within stated IP address ranges are permitted to access.


Enter the base directory of the WWW server. For example, x:\services\local\intranet


This is the Aliases list which consists of alias names and their associated directory paths. The aliases can be used by web browsers to avoid the need to remember the correct directory paths.


Edit the alias in this edit box to update the alias name for the currently selected entry in the Aliases list.


Edit the path in this edit box to update the path specification for the currently selected entry in the Aliases list.


Click this to add a new template entry to the Aliases list


Click this to delete the currently selected entry in the Aliases list.


Enter the path and folder for NetNow! to monitor for incoming messages from KA9Q clients. If that folder is located within NetNow!’s database tree only the relative portion of the path need be entered, e.g. mail\ka9q.


This shows the real path of the entry made in the Directory to monitor edit box.


Enter the address of the remote server to which NetNow! should pass all traffic from connecting clients.


Enter the port number on which NetNow! should connect to the remote server


Check this option if the remote server is available to NetNow! over a local area network.


Check this option if NetNow! needs to initiate a dial-up connection to reach the remote server.


Click this to configure the dial-up properties used by NetNow! when a connection to the Internet is required.


Check this option if the remote server requires an Internet connection and if connections are permitted only when already online.


Enter the address of the remote server to which NetNow! should pass traffic from connecting clients when NetNow! is online.


Enter the port number on which NetNow! should connect to the alternative remote server.


This is the list of web crawlers, showing the name and full URL of each configured crawler.


Click this to view and update the properties of the currently selected entry in the list of web crawlers.


Click this to add and configure a new web crawler entry.


Click this to delete the currently selected entry in the list of web crawlers


Click this (when online to the Internet) to prompt NetNow! to connect to, and download from, the currently selected entry in the list of web crawlers.


Enter the number of online hours after which NetNow! should expire files held in its web cache.


Enter the number of offline hours after which NetNow! should expire files held in its web cache.


Enter the maximum diskspace in Mb which NetNow! should use for its web cache.


Enter the maximum number of simultaneous crawler connections which NetNow! may launch.


Enter a short name for this web crawler.


Enter a description for this web crawler.


Enter the root URL for this web crawler. The URL must be quoted in full. For example, http://www.RedRock Technologies.co.uk/index.html.


Select the owner of this crawler from the list of configured users.


Select the desired directory visibility of this crawler.


Check this to enable NetNow! to index the web pages downloaded by this crawler.


Check this to allow this web crawler to follow links which point to pages on other web sites.


Check this and enter a suitable figure for the depth to which this crawler should follow references, based on the root URL itself being zero depth.


Check this and enter a suitable figure to limit the maximum number of web pages which NetNow! is permitted to download in one session.


Check this and enter a suitable number of days if NetNow! is required to update its local copy of the web site at regular intervals.


Enter the list of file types which this web crawler is permitted to download and cache locally.


Check this if the web crawler is to connect directly to the root URL.


Check this if the web crawler is to access the root URL via a web proxy.


Enter the address of the web proxy to use for this web crawler. For example, www-cache.isp.co.uk


Enter the port number on which this web crawler should connect to the web proxy. For example, 8080


This is the list of users, each entry shown with a user name and description.


Click this to add and configure the properties of a new user.


Click this to create a new user by copying the settings of the currently selected entry in the list of users.


Click this to remove the currently selected entry in the list of users.


Click this to view and edit the properties of the currently selected entry in the list of users.


Click this to configure the properties of guest users.


Enter a unique name to identify this user. This name appears in various dialogs and is required when logging on to Remote Administration.


Enter the full name of this user.


Enter the password for this user. This is required when logging on to Remote Administration.


Enter the root directory or alias of the home pages belonging to this user.


Enter the list of newsgroups which this user is permitted to access.


Enter the list of newsgroups to which this user is allowed to post.


Set the Web Administration permissions appropriate for this user by enabling or disabling these properties.


This is the list of templates, showing the template name and description for each entry.


Click this to subclass the currently selected master template or to delete the currently selected subclassed template.


Click this to launch the system configured editor program in which the currently selected template can be edited.


This is the list of scripts, each entry showing the filename (minus extension) of the script. The name of the script may be edited “in place” by left clicking once on the required entry, pausing, then left clicking once again.


Click this to launch the system configured editor program in which the currently selected entry in the list of scripts can be edited.


Click this to add a new entry named “new_script” to the list of scripts. This new entry can be immediately renamed.


Click this to delete the currently selected entry in the list of scripts.


Click this to load the currently selected entry in the list of scripts into the syntax checking graph.


This is the list of automated scripts. Against the filename (minus the standard extension) of each script is shown a description, the assigned trigger type and any filter conditions which have been configured.


Click this to configure the properties of the currently selected entry in the list of automated scripts.


Click this to add a new boilerplate entry to the list of automated scripts.


Click this to delete the currently selected entry in the list of automated scripts


This is the list of installed plug-ins, each entry showing the name of the plug-in and its description.


Click this to configure the properties of the currently selected entry in the list of plug-ins.


Click this to launch the currently selected entry in the list of plug-ins.


Check this to enable this automated script to be executed by NetNow!.


Enter a description of the action which the automated script performs.


Select the script or plug-in to execute from the list of available items.


Check this to permit this automated script to run once only.


Set the trigger type for this automated script from the list of available trigger types.


Select this option to restrict the execution of this automated script to messages which meet the configured filter conditions.


Click this top configure filter conditions which must be met before this automated is executed by NetNow!.


Check this option to allow this automated script to be executed on all messages.


Set the trigger for this automated script from the list of available triggers.


Check this to enable the automated script to make changes to the trigger message.


Check this for NetNow! to delete the trigger message immediately after this script has been triggered.


This is the list of schedules which will launch this automated script.


Click this to alter the configuration of the currently selected entry in the list of schedules.


Click this to delete the currently selected entry in the list of schedules.


Click this to add a New Schedule entry to the list of schedules.


This is the list of services, each showing the service type and the port number on which it is configured to run.


Click this to add and configure a new instance of a service.


Click this to add a new instance of a service by copying the properties of the currently selected entry in the list of services.


Click this to delete the currently selected entry in the list of services.


Click this to view and edit the properties of the currently selected entry in the list of services.


Enter a name for this mailbox. The name must be unique in the console.


Enter a description for this mailbox, usually the full name of the owner.


Enter a password which must be used by mail clients collecting mail from this mailbox using POP3. NetNow! echoes * (asterisk) characters to the screen for security.


Select the owner of this mailslot from the list of configured users.


Select the directory visibility of this mailslot from the list provided.


Check this option to have copies of all messages sent to this mailbox duplicated to the listed email addresses.


Enter the email addresses to which mail is to be forwarded (multiple addresses may be entered, separated by commas).


Check this to delete messages which have been forwarded.


Check this to autorespond to the sender of every message which arrives in this mailbox.


Check this to permit NetNow! to respond to requests for return receipts by messages arriving in the mailbox.


Click this to edit the text response sent out by the autoresponder.


Click this to configure filters to selectively accept messages for this mailbox.


This is the list of aliases for this mailslot. Entries can be added by typing them in at the end of the existing list and can be deleted by using the delete key.


Check this to enable the automatic expiry options for this mailslot.


Enter the number of days and hours for which messages should be retained before expiry.


Check this to have the original author of the message informed when their message expires.


Check this to move the message to an alternative location instead of deleting it on expiry and enter the address to which the message is to be sent when it expires. A mailbox name or a full Internet address may be entered in the address field.


Check this to retrieve mail using a KA9Q client. Note that messages is not stored in the mailbox but is copied to the specified directory location instead.


Select this option to have NetNow! append new messages to the user’s personal mail file (in the spool\mail subdirectory).


Select this option to place all messages in the spool\mqueue directory of the KA9Q directory structure.


Select this option to place files in the specified directory using the Pegasus gateway format and filenaming convention.


Specify the root output directory in to which to place files.  If you don’t specify a full path name, then the path will be relative to the database location.


This shows the real location in which the files are placed. It may depend on the location of the database, and the type of gateway selected.


Enter a name for this mailing list. The name must be unique in the console.


Enter a description for this mailing list. The description is used in various list administrative messages.


Enter the address of the mailslot to which delivery reports and error reports for messages distributed by the mailing list are sent.


Select this option for messages to be distributed normally to all subscribers with their Receive flag set.


Select this option for messages to be distributed to only one subscriber who has the Receive flag set, and whose filter permits the message to be sent to them. Unless the subscription list is altered, messages will be sent to each subscriber in turn.


This is the list of subscribers. Expand the dialog to view more information on each subscriber. Right click the list for further commands.


Click this to configure the subscriber reports.


Click this to view and edit the properties of the currently selected entry in the subscriber list.


Click this to manually add and configure the properties of a new subscriber to the mailing list.


Click this to delete the currently selected entry in the list of subscribers.


Check this to allow subscribers to join and leave the list by sending control messages. Note that this setting also enables all the list commands.


Check this to allow subscribers to add and remove other email addresses by sending control messages. Note this option also allows subscribers to send all the list commands by proxy.


Check this to restrict proxy commands to those issued by subscribers configured as administrators.


Check this option to have the list send a subscription confirmation message to all new subscribers who subscribe by mail. Prospective subscribers must follow the instructions in that message and reply to it before they are actually added to the list of subscribers.


Check this to require that all command messages which report on or modify the subscriber’s properties include their assigned password on the subject line. A subscriber’s initial password is provided in their welcome message. Administrators modifying the settings of other subscribers must supply either their own password or that of the subscriber.


Check this to enable moderation of the list and enter the address of the moderator in the field provided. The moderator forwards accepted messages back to the list for distribution.


Click this to view and configure the properties for all guest subscribers. Guests are posters to the list who are not currently subscribers.


Click this to view and configure the initial properties which are assigned automatically to all new subscribers.


Check this option to show the names and addresses of the authors on messages distributed by the list.


Check this option to conceal the names and addresses of the authors of messages distributed by the list. The list places its own address in the From: header.


Click this to configure which messages are accepted by the list for distribution.


Check this option to allow the Reply-To: header, if present, to remain unchanged.


Check this option to place the author’s address in the Reply-To: header of distributed messages.


Check this option to place the list address in the Reply-To: header of distributed messages.


Check this option to place the address in the provided address field in the Reply-To: header of distributed messages.


Check this to remove all return receipt requests placed in the message by the author of the message.


Check this to enable address checking messages to be distributed by the mailing list automatically at the configured frequency setting (the default setting is one address check per 20 list messages).


Check this to enable the list to send a welcome message to new subscribers. The text of the message template may be edited by clicking the [image] button provided.


Check this to enable the list to send a goodbye message to confirm unsubscriptions. The text of the message template may be edited by clicking the [image] button.


Check this to enable the list to send a help with joining message to prospective subscribers. The text of the message template may be edited by clicking the [image] button.


Check this to enable the list to send a confirmation message to acknowledge messages posted to the list. The text of the message template may be edited by clicking the [image] button.


Check this to add a tag held in a disk file to the end of all distributed messages.


Enter the full path and filename of the file containing the tag message to be added by the list to the bottom of each distributed message


Check this to add the tag in the edit box below to the bottom of all messages distributed by the list.


Enter the text of the tag which is to be added to the bottom of all messages distributed by the list.


Check this to enable digest production by the list. All messages received for distribution are stored until digest production is triggered.


Check this to deliver a digest periodically and enter the number of days for which messages received by the list should be accumulated before sending the digest into the associated edit box.


Enter the time and date and which the next digest should be produced.


Check this to deliver a digest whenever the volume of messages accumulated exceeds the setting in the associated volume field.


Enter the maximum size in Kb of messages which the list should accumulate before a digest is produced.


Check this to include a contents list at the beginning of every digest produced by the list.


Click this to send a digest now. This button is ineffective if there are no messages accumulated in the mailing list waiting for a digest to be triggered.


Check this to enable address checking messages to be sent to all subscribers by the list.


Enter the number of days which NetNow! should wait between despatches of address checking messages.


Select the date, using the popup calendar, on which the next address check message should be sent.


Click this to send a mailing list address check message to each subscriber now.


This field shows the full name of the subscriber.


This field holds the subscription address of the subscriber


This field holds the address to which normal list messages will be despatched for this subscriber.


This field holds additional information on the subscriber - usually taken from the Organisation: header of the subscription message.


This field holds the password of the subscriber.


This is the list of subscriber properties. Properties which are ticked are enabled, those which are not ticked are disabled.


These fields display various statistics for this subscriber, such as the total number of messages posted, etc.


This field shows the message selection filters configured for this subscriber.


Click this to edit the message selection filters for this subscriber.


Enter a name for this archive. The name must be unique in the console.


Enter a description for the archive. This is used by NetNow! in various administrative messages.


Check this to enable the archive to respond to article requests made on behalf of other people.


Check this to have the archive send a default message if the requested message cannot be found in the archive. Enter the filename of the default message to send into the field provided.


Check this to set the Reply-To: header in administrative messages sent out by the archive to the address entered into the associated edit box.


Check this to limit the membership to those email addresses listed below.  If unchecked, all posters to this archive are assumed to be members.


This is the list of archive members, each identified by their address.


Click this to add the address showing in the Email Address field to the list of archive members.


Click this to delete the currently selected entry in the list of archive members.


Enter the address, or select an entry from the list of mailslots, of a new archive member before clicking on Add.


Click this to configure the production of Archive Request Reports.


Check this to limit the archive administrators to the email addresses listed. If unchecked, all posters to this archive are assumed to be administrators.


This is the list of archive administrators, each identified by their address.


Click this to add the address in the Email Address field to the list of archive administrators.


Click this to delete the currently selected entry in the list of archive administrators.


Enter the address, or select an entry from the list of mailslots, of a new archive administrator before clicking on Add.


Click on this to configure the message selection filters for articles being added to this archive.


Enter a name for the mail group. The name must be unique within the console.


Enter a description for this mail group.


Check this to enable Mailbox Accounting for all current and future mailslots in this mail group.


Click this to end the current accounting period immediately. This resets the user limits on all mailslots and also sends out an accounting report, if enabled.


Check this option to set the accounting period to daily.


Check this option to set the accounting period to weekly.


Check this option to set the accounting period to monthly


Check this option to set the accounting period to annually.


Select the date on which the next accounting period is to begin from the popup calendar. Set the time of the accounting period end on that day in the associated time field.


Check this to generate an accounting report at the end of each accounting period and enter the address to which the report is to be sent in the field provided. The address may be a local mailslot or a full Internet address.


Check this to impose limits on the messages which can be sent by users whose mailboxes are in this mail group.


Enter the maximum number of messages, the maximum volume of messages and the maximum size of message which users in this mail group may post during an accounting period.


Check this to send a warning message to users when they reach the percentage of any of their imposed limits as entered into the provided percentage field.


Check this to limit the amount of mail which can be stored in a mailbox in this mail group to the maximum size entered in the provided field.


Enter the account to finger which should be in the form of user@host


Check this to launch this finger command every time NetNow! goes online.


Check this to record any changes in the finger result since the last finger report was received. Up to ten thousand lines of changes can be recorded. Each different reply is marked with the date on which it was obtained.


Check this to have NetNow! display the results of the finger command in a window in the desktop as soon as a response is received.


Select the standard format to be used in NetNow! for displaying the date. The current date in the selected format is displayed in the associated panel.


Select the standard format to be used in NetNow! for displaying the time. The current time in the selected format is displayed in the associated panel.