home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
Text File | 1992-01-18 | 129.9 KB | 3,410 lines |
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- · ∙■ ·
- │ ▄▄█████▄▄▄▄■▄▄▄▄ · ∙ ·
- ──┼── ░░▒██▒▒▒▒███▀█▓▌█▌██▌■ ▄· Blue Wave Software Presents
- │ ░░▒██▒▒▒▒▒▓▓▓▓▓███████▄■·▌ ∙
- ░░▒██▒▒▒▒▓▓▓▓██▀▀█▀▌█████▌▄·■
- ░░▒██▒▒▒▓▓▓▓▓█▀ ■·▀▐■▀■■▄∙■ The
- ░░▒▒█▒▒▒▓▓▓▓▓█▀ · ∙
- ░░▒▒█▒▒▒▒▓▓▓█▌ ┬┬─┐ ┬┬─ ┬┬ ┬ ┬┬──┐ ┬┬ ┬ ┬ ┌┬──┐ ┬┬ ┬ ┬┬──┐
- ░░▒▒▓██▒▒▒▓▓▓█▄ │├─┴┐ ││ ││ │ │├─ ││ │ │ │├──│ ││ ┌┘ │├─
- ░░▒▒▒▓▓██▒▒▒▓▓▓█▌ ┴┴──┘ ┴┴──┘ ┴┴──┘ ┴┴──┘ └┴─┴─┘ ┴┴ ┴ └┴─┘ ┴┴──┘
- ░░▒▒▒▒▒▓▓██▒▒▒▓▓▓█▄▄▄
- ░░▒▒▒▒▒▓▓▓███▒▒▒▓▓▓▓▓▓█▄ Mail System
- ░░▒▒▒▒▒▓▓▓▓▓████▒▒▒▒▒▒▓▓▓█▄▄ │
- ░░▒▒▒▒▒▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█████████████ ▀_▄▄▄▄▄ ──┼──
- ▒▒███▒▒▒▒████▒▒▒██████▒▒▒████▒▒▒▒███▒▒ │
- ▒▒███▒▒▒▒████▒▒▒██████▒▒▒████▒▒▒▒███▒▒ Copyright (C) 1990, 1991 by
- ▒▒███▒▒▒▒████▒▒▒██████▒▒▒████▒▒▒▒███▒▒ Blue Wave Software
-
-
- Version 2.00
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual
- Documentation by George Hatchew
- All Rights Reserved
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Table of Contents
- -----------------
-
- License Agreement 2
- Command Line Parameters 3
- Initial Installation 4
- Setup/Installation Menu 5
- The Blue Wave Main Menu 18
- The Open Packet Menu 21
- The Closed Packet Menu 24
- The Offline Configuration Menu 26
- File Requesting Through The Blue Wave Mail Door 30
- Reading a Mail Packet 32
- Using The Mouse 38
- Building a Signature File 41
- Using The Blue Wave Mail Door 42
- The Blue Wave Bundling Commands 45
- Product Support 50
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- LICENSE AGREEMENT
- -----------------
-
- Blue Wave Software has taken every precaution to ensure that no harm
- or damage will occur on systems running The Blue Wave Offline Mail
- Reader. However, we cannot be responsible for any damages or other
- losses suffered as a result of running The Blue Wave Offline Mail
- Reader on your system. The user assumes full responsiblity for the
- proper use of this mail system, whether damage occurs as a fault of
- operator error or software error. NO WARRANTIES ARE IMPLIED OR
- EXPRESSLY STATED.
-
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail System and its documentation are
- copyrighted materials of Blue Wave Software. Blue Wave Software
- reserves all rights to these materials, and is protected under United
- States and International Copyright Laws. No part of these materials
- may be reproduced or modified in any way without the prior express
- written permission of Blue Wave Software.
-
- Use of The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader constitutes acceptance of the
- stated terms and conditions. Blue Wave Software reserves all rights
- which are not expressly granted.
-
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader is fully copyrighted, and is not,
- nor will it ever be, in the Public Domain. The Blue Wave Offline Mail
- Reader is NOT FREEWARE. It is distributed under the concept of
- ShareWare. Users are allowed to try this program for 30 days before
- paying for and registering the mail system with Blue Wave Software.
- In this 30 days, you may use the program to its full capacity. If the
- software does not meet your needs, and you do not plan on registering
- with Blue Wave Software after your 30 day trial period, you are to
- cease usage of the mail system. Continued use beyond the authorized
- evaluation period requires payment of the registration fee in full.
-
- Blue Wave Software grants an unlimited license to make and distribute
- unregistered copies of The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader which have
- been released to the public by Blue Wave Software. Absolutely no
- modifications to the files contained in the software package,
- including this documentation file, may be made before distribution.
- No fee may be charged by anyone other than Blue Wave Software beyond
- the actual cost of providing these copies without the prior written
- consent of Blue Wave Software.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS
- -----------------------
-
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader, under normal circumstances, will
- detect the type of monitor that you are using, and adjust its video
- writes accordingly. However, some situations may arise where you will
- need to override the reader's auto-detection, and set the video mode
- yourself.
-
- To execute the program normally, simply type BWAVE from the DOS
- command line. To override the default auto-detection, add the
- following switch(es) to the command line:
-
- -m Forces the reader into MONOCHROME Mode.
-
- -c Forces the reader to modify its screen writes to help
- eliminate "CGA Snow" that early CGA monitors have a
- problem with.
-
- -b Forces the reader to use BIOS screen writes. If your
- computer does not support IBM Direct Video Writes, you
- will need to add this switch. It is highly recommended
- that you NOT use this switch, if at all possible. BIOS
- screen writes are extremely S-L-O-W.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- INITIAL INSTALLATION
- --------------------
-
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader is, for the most part, self-
- configuring. When you execute BWAVE.EXE from the DOS prompt, the
- reader first checks to see if the reader's configuration file
- (BWAVE200.CFG) is present. If this is a first time installation, or
- it cannot find BWAVE200.CFG, you will be asked if you wish to continue
- building a new configuration file. If you have made a mistake, and do
- not wish to build a new configuration file, press 'N'. Otherwise,
- press 'Y', and the reader will begin to perform its initial
- installation.
-
- On floppy drive systems, or systems with slow hard drives, the reader
- may take up to 30 seconds to bring you to the main Blue Wave Menu.
- During this time, the reader is searching your DOS Path statement for
- several external programs that may be needed to run the reader. If
- these programs are found, they will automatically be placed into your
- BWAVE200.CFG file with the proper command lines to execute them.
-
- The following programs are automatically inserted into your
- configuration file when found: PKZIP/PKUNZIP (.ZIP), PKARC/PKXARC
- (.ARC), PKPAK/PKUNPAK (.ARC), PAK (.PAK), LHARC/LHA (.LZH), ARJ
- (.ARJ), Q.EXE (Qedit), and TED.COM (TinyEditor).
-
- If you have these programs somewhere on your system, but they are not
- included within your DOS path statement, it will be necessary to
- manually insert them into the SETUP menu, which will be described in
- the next section.
-
- When the reader is finished building its configuration file, you will
- be taken to the Main Blue Wave menu. From here, you should select
- option 'S' to be taken to the SETUP Menu.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 4
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- SETUP/INSTALLATION MENU
- -----------------------
-
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader was designed to be extremely easy to
- use, yet configurable enough so that you may make the reader behave as
- you need and/or want it to.
-
- When first selecting 'S' from the Main Menu, you will be taken to the
- SETUP Menu. The Setup menu is a pull-down menu structure that is
- grouped into several subdivisions: Registration Information,
- Directories, User Options and Toggles, Archivers/Unarchivers, and
- Color Configurations. Each item on the Setup menu contains a short,
- one-line description of each menu command on the bottom of the screen
- to be meant as a quick reference guide. Of course, for the most
- complete description of each option, you should refer to this
- Operations Manual.
-
- Registration Information
- ------------------------
- The Registration sub-menu contains the information used to
- inform the reader that you have registered your package with
- Blue Wave Software.
-
- Registration Name:
- Here you should enter your name EXACTLY as you
- requested your reader to be registered when you
- send you form in to Blue Wave Software. This
- should be your first and last names. Other
- initials/etc. are optional.
-
- Registration Number:
- When you register your reader with Blue Wave
- Software, you will be issued a unique Reader
- Registration Code. Carefully type in the number
- issued to you in this field.
-
- "Any Name" Default:
- You may alter your "Any Name" default without
- consequence to your reader registration. This
- field is provided as a convenience to you. It
- could possibly serve several purposes, such as to
- monitor mail to other people, or look for mail
- addressed to a different alias that you use on
- another BBS, perhaps. When the reader encounters
- a message addressed TO or FROM the "Any Name"
- Default, it will act as if it has encountered a
- PERSONAL Message. If you have "Beep On Personal
- Messages" enabled, the reader will sound a beep
- when this name is encountered.
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 5
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- SETUP/INSTALLATION MENU (continued)
- -----------------------------------
- On BBS's where there are message areas that you
- may enter ANY NAME into the From: field when
- replying or entering a message, the name entered
- in the "Any Name" Default field will be used to
- fill in the FROM: field. Of course, you may edit
- it, if you like.
-
-
- Directories and File Paths
- --------------------------
- The DIRECTORIES sub-menu allows you to define several
- directories that the reader will use throughout its
- execution. This is also where you will give the reader the
- name of your message editor (an editor that will save
- straight-ASCII text files) and the file to use to pull
- Signature Lines out of, if you are using one.
-
- Download Directory:
- The download directory is where the reader will
- look for Blue Wave mail packets that you have
- downloaded from the BBS. Each BBS Sysop selects a
- "Packet Name" that identifies his or her BBS.
- When you download mail through The Blue Wave Mail
- Door, you should either download it to the
- directory you specify here, or copy the mail
- bundle into this directory. If you enter a
- directory name that does not exist, The Blue Wave
- Offline Reader will ask you if you would like to
- create it. If you answer "Y", the reader will
- attempt to create the directory. If the creation
- of the directory failed for one reason or another,
- you will be informed of this fact.
-
- Please note that the reader *needs* these
- directories in order to operate properly. If the
- reader was unable to create the directory, or if
- you wish to do it manually, it is absolutely
- necessary that you do so before opening a mail
- packet for reading. The expansion of your mail
- packet will probably fail if the download
- directory is not present.
-
- Upload Directory:
- The upload directory is where the Blue Wave
- Offline Mail Reader will create your reply packets
- to be uploaded to the BBS. Reply packets are
- named according to the BBS's packet name that the
- sysop has chosen for his or her BBS. After you
- have completed reading a mail packet, and wish to
- return to the Main reader menu, your reply
- directory is checked to see if any files have been
- created that need to be uploaded to the BBS.
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 6
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- SETUP/INSTALLATION MENU (continued)
- -----------------------------------
-
- When the reader detects that a packet should be
- made, the appropriate archiver is used to Mash
- your reply packet for transfer to the BBS. If you
- downloaded a mail packet called WILDBLUE.TU1, and
- have performed an Offline Configuration, a File
- Request, or have replied or entered new mail, a
- file called WILDBLUE.NEW will be created in your
- UPLOAD directory. The next time you sign on to
- the BBS whose packet name is WILDBLUE, you should
- upload WILDBLUE.NEW through The Blue Wave Mail
- Door. The door will then perform the appropriate
- steps to complete your mail session.
-
- Please note that the upload directory must be
- present. Each time the reader is loaded, it
- attempts to make the appropriate directories, if
- they are missing. If you are having trouble with
- the reader and/or external archivers NOT Mashing
- your reply packet properly, please be sure that
- the UPLOAD directory does indeed exist.
-
-
- Work Directory:
- The WORK directory is where the reader will tell
- the external archivers to unMash your mail packet.
- This directory should point to a drive and
- directory that has plenty of space to hold the
- completely unarchived mail packet. While you are
- reading a mail bundle, the complete archived
- packet is still left in your DOWNLOAD directory.
- If you are running on a floppy drive-based system,
- you should be sure that you download a small
- enough mail packet so that the completely
- unarchived packet will still have enough room to
- decompress onto one of your floppy drives.
-
- As with the DOWNLOAD and UPLOAD directories, the
- WORK directory *must* exist. When the reader is
- loaded, it does a check to be sure that the
- directory you have defined does indeed exist. If
- not, it attempts to create it. However, the
- reader will *not* abort if the directory cannot be
- made so that you have the opportunity to go to the
- SETUP menu and redefine your directories.
-
- When the Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader is exited
- properly (through the Q)uit Option on the main
- menu), this directory should be removed
- automatically by the reader.
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 7
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- SETUP/INSTALLATION MENU (continued)
- -----------------------------------
- Editor FilePath:
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader requires the use
- of an external editor for the purpose of editing
- replies and new messages. The reader comes
- packaged with a very simple, small, public domain
- editor called TED.COM. (Tiny Editor) If you are
- not comfortable using this editor, or you prefer
- to use a different editor than TED.COM, you should
- give the name of the editor you would like to use
- here.
-
- By default, upon initialization of the reader,
- TED.COM is inserted in this field. Another
- excellent editor that performs well with The Blue
- Wave Offline Reader is Qedit, by SemWare. (Q.EXE)
-
- Although you do not need to enter the full drive,
- path, and file name of your editor here, it is
- highly suggested. TED.COM will work just as well
- as C:\BWAVE\TED.COM, but each time the reader
- tries to load the editor, a full search of your
- DOS path must be done in order to locate it. By
- supplying the reader with the full path
- specification, it will significantly decrease the
- amount of time it takes to load the editor. By
- not giving the reader the full path to your
- editor, it will also be necessary to keep your
- editor on the DOS path so that it can be found.
-
- In other words, if your editor is NOT on your DOS
- path statement, you *must* specify the full drive,
- directory, and file name.
-
- If you have enabled the option "Perform Memory
- Swaps" in the reader, the reader will swap all of
- its used memory to disk before loading the editor.
- This should allow you to use "big" editors such as
- WordPerfect, Wordstar, or Word. However, make
- sure that you save your document in TEXT mode, or
- your messages will come out garbled, and no one
- will be able to read them.
-
-
- Swap Directory:
- If you have enabled the option "Perform Memory
- Swaps" from the OPTIONS menu in SETUP, the reader
- will dump an image of its currently used memory to
- disk before loading an external program, such as
- your archivers, unarchivers, and your editor. You
- may wish to enable this option if you have
- insufficient memory to run these external programs
- while the reader is loaded.
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 8
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- SETUP/INSTALLATION MENU (continued)
- -----------------------------------
-
- The overlay dump file consumes approximately 150K
- of disk space. The reader allows you to specify
- the drive and directory where you would like this
- swap file written. This would be particularly
- handy for a person running a floppy-based system.
- Because it takes some time to write this swap
- file, and load it back in when the reader resumes
- control of your system, it should probably be
- written to a hard disk. If your memory is tight
- because of running a RAMdisk, you could point the
- swap directory to your RAMdisk to make it
- lightning-fast.
-
- In any case, you should enter your SWAP directory
- here. If this directory does not exist, it will
- *not* be created by the reader. Instead, the
- current directory will be used to store the
- overlay swap file.
-
-
- Signature Filename:
- When entering or replying to messages, The Blue
- Wave Offline Mail Reader allows you to select a
- Signature Line in 3 different ways, or none at
- all. If the Signature Selection Type in the
- SETUP->OPTIONS menu is set to PROMPT or RANDOM,
- the file defined here will be used to pull
- signatures from. If this file doesn't exist, the
- reader will show an error message, and allow you
- to enter one manually.
-
-
-
- User Options and Toggles
- ------------------------
-
- The User OPTIONS and toggles sub-menu allow you to customize
- the way The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader performs various
- functions within the reader. Most options are either a
- "Yes"/"No" answer, but some have several options. In order
- to change the behavior shown on the menu, move the highlight
- bar to the desired menu option and press ENTER. The fields
- will be toggled through the entire list of options, and
- "wrap" around to the first option that was shown.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 9
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- SETUP/INSTALLATION MENU (continued)
- -----------------------------------
- Clock:
- If this option is toggled ON, the reader will
- display the current date and time on-screen
- throughout the mail-reading session. Whenever
- there is keyboard inactivity, the clock will be
- updated. If you are running under a Multi-tasker,
- such as DesqView, it may be a good idea to turn
- the clock OFF. Turning the clock off in this
- situation will most likely improve the performance
- of any background tasks that may be running.
-
- Beep On Personal Messages:
- When this option is toggled ON, the reader will
- sound a beep when it encounters a message that is
- either FROM you, or TO you while reading mail.
- When a message is TO you, a higher pitched sound
- is made than when the message is FROM you. If you
- read mail at 3am like we do, your wife and
- children will appreciate this option!
-
- Noise on Errors:
- When The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader wants your
- attention (an error message, for example), it
- normally sounds a short beep. If you wish to turn
- off this beep, set this option to NO.
-
- Signature Line Selection:
- After you have entered a message, and have told
- the reader that you wish to save it, you can then
- have it append a Signature Line to your message.
- Signature lines can be used to make a short quote,
- relay more information in your message (that you
- may otherwise need to type over and over again),
- or just add a bit of spice. If you wish to
- totally disable the Signature option, set this
- option to "NO SIGS". If you wish to enter a
- signature manually for each message, set this
- option to "MANUAL".
-
- The two other signature types are RANDOM and
- PROMPT. In order for you to use these two
- options, you should have a file (Normally called
- BWSIGS.TXT) defined under the SETUP->DIRECTORIES
- menu option. Please see the previous section
- regarding the Signature Filename for more
- information on defining a custom file.
-
- If RANDOM signatures are selected, the reader will
- randomly select a signature line out of the
- defined file and append it to the message.
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 10
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- SETUP/INSTALLATION MENU (continued)
- -----------------------------------
- If PROMPTing is requested, the reader will show
- you a list of signatures after each message that
- you enter. You will then be able to scroll
- through the selections and choose the signature
- that you would like to be appended. If no
- signature is desired, simply press ESCape. If you
- would like to enter a signature manually, press
- F10. The reader will then allow you to enter a
- custom signature for that message.
-
- For more information on building a SIGNATURE FILE,
- please see the section "Building a Signature File"
- later in the documentation.
-
-
- When to QUOTE Messages:
- When replying to a message, it is often a good
- idea to quote a small portion of the message you
- are replying to so that the context of your
- message is understood. The Blue Wave Offline Mail
- Reader has 3 options for quoting messages.
-
- You can tell the reader to NEVER quote a message.
- In this case, the reader will load your editor
- with an "empty" file, just as if you were entering
- a brand new message.
-
- If you select ALWAYS for "When to QUOTE Messages",
- the reader will always quote the message you are
- replying to, and load your editor with the quoted
- message intact.
-
- If you would like to select whether or not to
- quote the message for each one that you reply to,
- set this option to PROMPT. Each time you press
- "R" while reading mail to reply to a message, the
- reader will first ask you whether or not to quote
- the current message.
-
-
- Attach Quote Header:
- If this option is toggled ON, the reader will
- begin any replies you make with a line that reads:
-
- "-=> Quoting George Hatchew to Fred Rappuhn <=-"
-
- It is often desirable so that other readers may
- follow the message thread a bit better. The
- reader automatically fills in the first name with
- the name contained in the "FROM" field of the
- message you are replying to. The second name is
- taken from the "TO" field.
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 11
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- SETUP/INSTALLATION MENU (continued)
- -----------------------------------
- Perform Memory Swaps:
- When this option is toggled ON, the reader will
- swap its used memory to disk before executing any
- external utilities. This frees up the RAM used by
- the reader, and makes it available for use by the
- external programs.
-
- This option should only be used when necessary, or
- on fast systems. Swapping while running on a
- floppy drive system can be slow. However, if you
- are running in a tight memory situation, it can be
- a life saver.
-
- For more information on SWAPPING, please see the
- previous section regarding "Swap Directory".
-
-
- Mouse Support:
- Under normal circumstances, when The Blue Wave
- Offline Reader detects a mouse on your system, it
- will automatically activate it and make it usable
- to you. If you wish to turn the mouse support
- OFF, set this option to "No".
-
- Further details on how to use the mouse is
- described in the section "Using the Mouse", later
- in the documentation.
-
-
- Exploding Windows:
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader allows you the
- option of turning off the "fancier" exploding
- windows used throughout the mailer.
-
- Displays will be much faster if you disable
- Exploding Windows, or are running on a fast
- machine. To disable Exploding Windows, set this
- option to "No".
-
-
- Automatic Title Scan:
- The reader defaults to showing a "Title Scan" each
- time you enter a new message area from the "Choose
- Area to Read" menu. The title scan makes it fast
- and easy to scan through the message headers (To:,
- From:, Subject:, and whether or not you have
- previously read the message).
-
- Through the Title Scan feature, you can scroll up
- and down through the message titles, and select
- any or all that you may want to read.
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 12
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- SETUP/INSTALLATION MENU (continued)
- -----------------------------------
- You can disable the Automatic Title Scan by
- setting this option to "No". Please be aware that
- even though you set this option to "No", you can
- still get a Title Scan of a message area at any
- time during the reading of mail in an area.
-
- To get a title scan when you are reading messages,
- simply press the "T", and the Title Scan will be
- shown just as if you had enabled this option.
-
-
- Save Message Pointers:
- If desired, the Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader will
- save the message "read" pointers for you while
- reading mail in an area. There are 3 ways to tell
- the reader to do this for you. (Pointers are kind
- of like bookmarks. If you choose to use this
- option, the reader will mark each message that you
- have read with a marker. The next time you enter
- the area, both the Title Scan and the message
- header window will indicate to you which messages
- you have already seen.)
-
- If you select "Never", the reader will not update
- its data files with your pointers. If you always
- read your mail packet(s) in one sitting, and purge
- the packet afterwards, you will probably want to
- set "Save Message Pointers" to this level.
-
- The next two options force the reader to write
- your message pointers to its data files each time
- you quit reading a message area. On hard drive
- systems, the update is extremely fast. On floppy-
- based systems it may take between 10 and 15
- seconds. The difference between the next two
- options is in the way that the message pointers
- are saved BETWEEN closing the mail packet and
- opening it again later for reading.
-
- If you set this option to "Always", the reader
- will update your downloaded mail bundle with the
- updated file containing your message pointers each
- time you press "Q)uit and Close Packet" from the
- Open Packet Menu. In order to do this, the
- archiver that is used to Mash your mail will be
- used to update the compressed mail bundle.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 13
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- SETUP/INSTALLATION MENU (continued)
- -----------------------------------
- If you set this option to "Prompt", the reader
- will save your message pointers throughout the
- mail reading session, but will prompt you for a
- yes or no answer to "Do you want to permanently
- save your message pointers?" before executing the
- archiver.
-
- If you answer "No", your pointers will not be
- updated in the downloaded mail packet. Answering
- "Yes" will cause the reader to execute the
- archiver used on the BBS you downloaded your mail
- packet from, and update the data files within the
- archive.
-
-
- Send FF After Printing:
- During the reading of mail, you can press ALT-P to
- "write" the current message to the default
- printer. By default, the Blue Wave Offline Reader
- will not send a Form Feed (eject the page) after
- the printing of each message.
-
- If you set this option to "Yes", the reader will
- eject a page after each message is printed. Many
- Laser printers need this option enabled in order
- to operate correctly.
-
-
- Sort Messages by Subject:
- Before reading in the messages in an area, the
- reader will sort them by SUBJECT if this option is
- set to "Yes". Subjects are sorted into
- alphabetical order. The reader ignores the
- characters "RE:" during the message sort.
-
-
- Archivers
- ---------
-
- The ARCHIVERS sub-menu allows you to define the paths and
- command lines that will be used by the reader when Mashing
- and unMashing your mail and reply packets. There are 6
- entries on this sub-menu. You can define
- compression/decompression command lines for ZIP, ARC, PAK,
- LZH, and ARJ. There is also an entry called "External".
- You can use this "External" Slot for any
- archivers/unarchivers that may come along that the reader
- will not recognize.
-
- When the reader does not recognize the archive format of a
- mail packet, the command line entered in the "External" slot
- will be used. If that command line fails, the reader will
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 14
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- SETUP/INSTALLATION MENU (continued)
- -----------------------------------
- abort that mail packet, and take you back to the MAIN Blue
- Wave Menu.
-
- Two "macro" characters may be used in the command line
- definitions for automatic insertion of the file names and
- directories by The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader.
-
- Where the archiver command line needs the name of the file
- to be worked on, you should use the "macro" @F. The other
- "macro", @I, is usually used as the second command line
- parameter to the archiver or unarchiver. For example,
- suppose your download directory is "C:\BWAVE\DOWN", and the
- packet that you are about to open is WILDBLUE.TU1. You also
- have your work directory defined as "C:\BWAVE\WORK". In
- order for the Blue Wave Reader to successfully decompress
- your mail packet (ZIP compression is assumed), it would need
- to execute the following command:
-
- PKUNZIP C:\BWAVE\DOWN\WILDBLUE.TU1 C:\BWAVE\WORK
-
- If you have this defined as your ZIP decompression command
- line:
-
- PKUNZIP.EXE @F @I
-
- The reader would do all of the work for you. For each
- compression type that the reader supports, a sample command
- line will be given. Please remember that if the archiver or
- unarchiver you are trying to use is not located on your DOS
- path, you will need to insert the FULL
- drive:\path\filename.ext in these fields. Otherwise, you
- may just specify the name of the .EXE or .COM file.
-
-
- ZIP:
- These are the suggested command lines for ZIP
- compression and decompression:
-
- PKZIP.EXE @F @I
- PKUNZIP.EXE @F @I
-
-
- ARC:
- These are the suggested command lines for ARC
- compression and decompression. (Please remember
- that you may substitute PKPAK and PKUNPAK for
- PKARC and PKXARC below).
-
- PKARC.COM -a @F @I
- PKXARC.EXE @F @I
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 15
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- SETUP/INSTALLATION MENU (continued)
- -----------------------------------
- PAK:
- These are the suggested command lines for PAK
- compression and decompression:
-
- PAK.EXE a @F @I
- PAK.EXE e @F @I
-
-
- LZH:
- These are the suggested command lines for LZH
- compression and decompression. (Please note that
- you may substitute LHA.EXE for LHARC.EXE below).
-
- LHARC.EXE a @F @I
- LHARC.EXE e @F @I
-
-
- ARJ:
- These are the suggested command lines for ARJ
- compression and decompression.
-
- ARJ.EXE a @F @I
- ARJ.EXE e @F @I
-
-
-
- Color Configuration
- -------------------
- The color configuration menu has two options. The first
- allows you to customize your screen colors while using the
- reader. The second menu option allows you to reset your
- colors to the default Blue Wave color scheme. Please be
- aware that if you reset your colors to the Blue Wave color
- scheme and save the color configuration, your custom colors
- will be lost.
-
- When you select Custom Color Scheme from the COLORS sub-
- menu, you will have the chance to change the color of
- several display items while you are reading messages with
- the reader.
-
- The top half of the display provides a sample of what the
- colors will look like once you get to the message reading
- screen. While you are editing the color configuration, the
- colors will change in the sample.
-
- When you are finished editing your custom color scheme,
- press ESCape. You will then be asked if you would like to
- save your custom color configuration. If you answer "Y",
- your colors will be permanently saved in a file called
- BWCOLOR.200. If you answer "N", your colors will be
- remembered for the current session only.
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 16
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- SETUP/INSTALLATION MENU (continued)
- -----------------------------------
-
- Quit
- ----
- When you select QUIT from the SETUP menu, and have made
- changes to your setup, you will be asked if you would like
- to save your setup permanently. Answer "N" if you want the
- changes made to be active during the CURRENT session ONLY.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 17
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- THE BLUE WAVE MAIN MENU
- -----------------------
-
- After your initial configuration is complete, you will be returned to
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader's MAIN Menu. The Main Menu will
- also appear as the first menu each time you load BWAVE.EXE from the
- DOS command line.
-
- From the Main Menu, you can select from five options: Open Mail
- Packet, Closed Packet Menu, Purge Mail Packets, Setup Parameters, and
- Quit The Blue Wave.
-
-
- Open Mail Packet
- ----------------
- When you select "O"pen Mail Packet from the main menu, the
- reader will do a quick scan of the directory you have
- defined as your "Download Directory" in the SETUP Menu. The
- reader will attempt to find all packets that it believes to
- be Blue Wave Mail Bundles. (All files with the first two
- letters of the extension matching "MO", "TU", "WE", "TH",
- "FR", "SA", and "SU". The third character of the extension
- must be a number from 1 to 9).
-
- If only one of these mail bundles is found in the directory,
- the reader will automatically select that packet, and assume
- you would like to open it for reading.
-
- If more than one mail packet is found in the download
- directory, you will be shown a list of all files available
- for reading. You can then scroll through the list and
- highlight the packet you would like to read. When you have
- highlighted the correct packet, press ENTER.
-
- After the packet has been selected, the reader will do a
- quick scan of the Upload directory for any *.NEW files that
- are waiting to be uploaded to the BBS. If a reply packet is
- found for the BBS you are about to read mail for, you will
- be asked: "A Reply Packet Exists for [BBS ID]. Do you want
- to ADD to it?". If you answer "Y", the reader will then
- begin to unMash your reply packet so that any new replies
- you make can be added to it.
-
- If you answer "N", the reader will DELETE the reply packet
- for you, and will continue to unMash your new mail packet
- for reading.
-
- If the unpacking of the mail was successful, you will then
- be taken to the OPEN PACKET MENU (described later in the
- documentation).
-
- If the unpacking of the mail was not a success, the reader
- will give an error message, and return you to the Main Menu.
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 18
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- THE BLUE WAVE MAIN MENU (continued)
- -----------------------------------
-
-
- Closed Packet Menu
- ------------------
-
- In order to enter the Closed Packet Menu, you must have
- downloaded at least one Blue Wave Mail Packet from a BBS,
- and have opened the packet. Each time a mail packet is
- opened, the reader compares the INFormation file (*.INF)
- contained in the mail packet with any that may be located in
- the main Blue Wave directory. If you do not have an
- INFormation file from that BBS, or the INFormation file you
- have is older than the one contained in the mail packet that
- you are opening, the reader will make a copy of it in the
- current directory.
-
- The Closed Packet Menu allows you to enter new mail, perform
- offline configurations, enter file requests, and edit or
- kill replies without having to have a current packet for the
- BBS you would like to work with. This is a feature not
- available in most offline mail readers.
-
- When you select "C"losed Packet Menu from the Blue Wave MAIN
- menu, you will be shown a list of all BBSs that you have
- previously downloaded and read mail from. Highlight the BBS
- that you would like to work with, and press ENTER. (If only
- one INFormation file is available, it will automatically be
- loaded by the reader.)
-
- As with the Open Mail Packet selection, the reader will scan
- your upload directory for any *.NEW files that are waiting
- to be uploaded to the BBS. If it finds a .NEW file, you
- will be prompted whether you would like to ADD to the file,
- or DELETE it. If you haven't uploaded your reply packet
- yet, type "Y". If you have already uploaded that reply
- packet, and wish to delete it, type "N".
-
- If everything was successful, you will then be taken to the
- CLOSED PACKET MENU. For further information on using the
- Closed Packet Menu, please see the section entitled "Closed
- Packet Menu" later in the documentation.
-
-
- Purge Mail Packets
- ------------------
- Selecting "P"urge Mail Packets from the Blue Wave Main Menu
- will allow you to delete any mail packets that are waiting
- in your Download directory.
-
- After selecting "P", you will be shown a list of all
- available mail packets. You can then purge the mail packets
- either one at a time, or by TAGging them for purge.
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 19
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- THE BLUE WAVE MAIN MENU (continued)
- -----------------------------------
-
- To purge mail packets one at a time, move the highlight bar
- to the packet you would like to delete and press ENTER. The
- reader will then ask for confirmation. Type "Y" if you wish
- to delete the packet. Type "N" or ESC if you don't want to
- delete the file.
-
- To delete several mail packets at a time, move the highlight
- bar to the first packet you would like deleted and press the
- SPACE bar. Continue this process until you have selected
- all packets that you would like purged. When done tagging
- packets, press ESC. The reader will then ask for
- confirmation before deleting the mail packets. To abort the
- deletion, press "N" or ESC. To delete the mail packets,
- type "Y".
-
-
-
- Setup Parameters
- ----------------
- Selecting "S" from the Main Menu will take you to the
- SETUP/installation menu. For full details on the SETUP
- menu, please see the previous section regarding the
- SETUP/INSTALLATION MENU.
-
-
- Quit The Blue Wave
- ------------------
- Pressing ESC or "Q" from the Main Menu will allow you to
- exit The Blue Wave normally. Whenever you use The Blue Wave
- Offline Mail Reader, you should be sure to properly exit the
- program so that anything that needs to be done with your
- reply and/or mail packets may be processed by the reader.
-
- You will then be asked if you would really like to exit the
- reader. To exit the program, type "Y". To go back to the
- Main Menu, type "N" or ESC.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 20
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- THE OPEN PACKET MENU
- --------------------
-
- After selecting "Open Mail Packet" from the Blue Wave Offline Mail
- Reader's MAIN menu, and your mail packet has been successfully opened,
- you will be shown a new screen with a new menu.
-
- This screen is referred to as the OPEN PACKET MENU. At the bottom of
- the screen, you will notice some information about the current packet.
- The file name of the packet that you have open is displayed on the top
- border of the information window. Inside the window, you will find
- the name of the BBS that the mail packet came from, along with the
- Sysop's name.
-
- At this point, your mail packet is open and ready for use. There are
- several choices on the Open Packet Menu, and each one will be
- described in detail below.
-
-
- Read Mail Packet
- ----------------
- Selecting "R"ead Mail Packet from the Open Packet Menu will
- allow you to read the mail that you have downloaded through
- The Blue Wave Mail Door. You will be shown a list of all
- message areas that you are currently downloading, along with
- the total messages in each area, total personal messages in
- each area, and the description of the message area.
-
- Select the message area that you would like to read from
- this list, and press ENTER. The reader will then begin the
- message reading process for that message area. For the
- commands available while reading messages, please see the
- section titled "READING MESSAGES".
-
-
- Enter New Mail In Any Area
- --------------------------
- The "E"nter New Mail In Any Area command will allow you to
- post messages in bases that you are not currently
- downloading. If you need to enter mail in a base that you
- are not downloading, or a base that currently has no
- messages in your download packet, you will want to enter
- this command.
-
- The reader will then display several message areas,
- including ones that you ARE currently downloading.
- Highlight the message area that you would like to enter the
- new message in, and press ENTER. The reader will go through
- the same process just as if you were entering mail through
- the message reading screen.
-
- When you are done entering mail, simply press ESCape, and
- you will be taken back to the Open or Closed Packet Menu.
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 21
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- THE OPEN PACKET MENU (continued)
- --------------------------------
-
- View, Edit or Kill Replies
- --------------------------
- Selecting "V"iew, Edit, or Kill Replies from the Open Packet
- Menu will allow you to see inside of your reply packet and
- make changes.
-
- You will be shown a list of all of the messages inside of
- your current .NEW packet. Highlight the message you would
- like to work with, and press ENTER. You will then be given
- two choices:
-
- Edit:
- To edit the message's To: or Subject: fields, or
- the message text itself, press "E". The reader
- will go through the same process as when you
- entered the message, but the entry form will be
- filled in with the current message's attributes.
- Simply press ENTER over the fields that you do not
- wish to change.
-
- The reader will then load your message into your
- text editor, and allow you to edit the text. You
- can then repeat the process for each message in
- the reply packet, if you like.
-
- Kill:
- To purge the message from you upload packet,
- select "K". The reader will then delete the
- message from your upload packet.
-
- When you have finished working with the replies in your
- reply packet, simply press ESCape. The reader will then
- take you back to the Open Packet Menu (or the Closed Packet
- Menu, depending on where you were in the program).
-
-
-
- Welcome Messages
- ----------------
- Selecting "W"elcome Messages from the Open Packet Menu will
- allow you to review any messages that the sysop has sent
- along with your mail packet.
-
- The sysop welcome messages are optional, and your sysop may
- or may not include them in your mail packet. Often times
- the sysop may include a list of new message areas available,
- or new files on the BBS since your last login. To abort
- viewing the current welcome message being displayed, press
- ESCape at the "Press Any Key" prompt.
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 22
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- THE OPEN PACKET MENU (continued)
- --------------------------------
-
- Offline Configuration
- ---------------------
- Selecting "O"ffline Configuration from the Open Packet Menu
- will take you to the Offline Configuration Menu. For more
- details on using the Offline Configuration Menu, please see
- the appropriate section in the documentation.
-
-
-
- File Request
- ------------
- Selecting "F"ile Request from the Open Packet Menu will take
- you to the File Requesting Menu. For more information on
- the use of File Requests, please see the appropriate section
- in the documentation.
-
-
-
- Quit and Close Packet
- ---------------------
- Selecting "Q"uit and Close Packet from the Open Packet Menu
- will close the mail bundle you are currently working with,
- and return you to the Blue Wave Main Menu.
-
- If you have enabled the option to ALWAYS or PROMPT save of
- your message read pointers, the *.FTI file enclosed with
- your mail bundle will be updated into the compressed mail
- file with the appropriate archiver.
-
- The reader will then erase all of the mail files in your
- WORK directory (the uncompressed mail files), and archive
- any replies, offline configurations, or file requests that
- you have made into a .NEW file.
-
- The .NEW file, if made, will be located in the directory you
- have specified in the SETUP menu as the UPLOAD Directory.
- The next time you sign onto the BBS that the mail packet
- came from, you should upload the .NEW file through the Blue
- Wave Mail Door to complete the mail download/upload cycle.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 23
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- THE CLOSED PACKET MENU
- ----------------------
-
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader allows you to perform some of the
- same functions that are normally available on the Open Packet Menu
- EVEN WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE A MAIL PACKET AVAILABLE FROM THE BBS!
-
- In order to perform a "Closed Packet" function from the Blue Wave
- Offline Mail Reader, it is necessary to have downloaded and opened at
- least ONE mail packet from the BBS you would like to work with. Each
- time you open a mail packet for reading, the reader checks to see
- whether the current BBS information is newer than that which the
- reader has stored for use in the Closed Packet Menu. If so, the
- reader updates its information, and stores it in your main BWAVE
- directory in a file known as the INF, or INFormation, file. The
- file's ROOT name will be the same as the packet name that the sysop
- has selected for his or her system. (If you download a packet called
- RAVEN.FR2, the reader will store a file called RAVEN.INF in your main
- BWAVE directory).
-
- When you select the Closed Packet Menu from the Blue Wave Offline Mail
- Reader's MAIN menu, the reader will initialize itself with the
- information stored in one of these files. If only one INFormation
- file is found, it will automatically be loaded, and the BBS
- information will appear on the lower four lines of your screen. If
- more than one INFormation file is available, you will be prompted as
- to which BBS you would like to select. Move the highlight bar to the
- appropriate BBS, and press ENTER.
-
- You will then see the CLOSED Packet Menu, with 5 options available:
- Enter New Mail in Any Area, Edit/Kill Replies, Offline Configuration,
- File Request, and Quit to Main Menu.
-
-
- Enter New Mail in Any Area
- --------------------------
- Selecting this option from the Closed Packet Menu will allow
- you to enter mail in any area on the BBS that is available
- to you. The reader will go through the normal Message Entry
- screen, and then load your editor for you to enter the
- message.
-
-
- Edit/Kill Replies
- -----------------
- Edit/Kill replies will allow you to edit any messages that
- may be in your *.NEW file before you upload them to the BBS.
- For more information on using the Edit/Kill Replies option,
- please see the Kill/Edit Replies section in the
- documentation under the heading OPEN PACKET MENU.
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 24
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- THE CLOSED PACKET MENU (continued)
- ----------------------------------
- Offline Configuration
- ---------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader will allow you to perform
- an Offline Configuration for the current BBS while at the
- Closed Packet Menu. Please see the section entitled "The
- Offline Configuration Menu" later in the documentation for
- more detailed information on performing an Offline
- Configuration.
-
-
-
- File Request
- ------------
- The reader will allow you to perform a File Request from the
- Closed Packet Menu, also. This function works the same as
- the "Open Packet Menu". For more information on File
- Requesting, please see the section in the documentation
- regarding File Requesting.
-
-
-
- Quit to Main Menu
- -----------------
- After you have finished working at the Closed Packet Menu,
- you should select this option, and return to the Main Menu.
- If you have a reply packet that needs to be uploaded to the
- BBS, the reader will compress your replies, and place the
- resulting .NEW file into your upload directory.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 25
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- THE OFFLINE CONFIGURATION MENU
- ------------------------------
-
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail System will allow you to perform Offline
- Configurations in a very simple, easy to use manner. The entire
- offline configuration process is menu driven, and does not require
- kludgy "messages" to operate.
-
- First, a word about offline configurations.
- Offline Configuration is a way for you to communicate to the Blue Wave
- Mail Door any changes that you may want to make in your DOOR
- configuration. You can change your HotKeys mode, Xpert Mode, the
- message areas that you are downloading, and keywords/filters. In
- fact, the only thing that you cannot change through the Offline
- Configuration process is the selection of your Archiver and Protocol.
-
- Offline configurations can save you precious time and money, because
- you can take your time setting up The Blue Wave Mail Door the way you
- would like it without tying up the BBS and watching the phone company
- get rich.
-
- Offline configuration is a feature that is totally enabled upon
- registration of The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader. Since the reader
- and door are ShareWare products, you are given a fair chance to try
- them out before paying for the software. After 5 offline
- configurations, this feature is disabled for unregistered users. When
- you register your reader with Blue Wave Software, the door will allow
- you to perform as many offline configurations as you please.
-
- The reader communicates your offline configuration to the door through
- your UPLOAD, or reply packet. When you perform an offline
- configuration, a special file is placed into your .NEW packet. In
- order for the door to recognize that you have made an offline
- configuration, you will need to upload your .NEW packet through The
- Blue Wave Mail Door. After processing any messages that you have
- uploaded, you will see a message from the door indicating that it is
- processing your offline configuration request. Your new configuration
- is in effect immediately after your packet is uploaded. If you want
- your configuration to become active AFTER your current download
- session, you should upload the configuration after downloading your
- mail packet.
-
- When you first select "Offline Configuration" from either the reader's
- Open Packet or Closed Packet Menus, the reader will do a quick scan of
- your reply directory to see if any offline configurations are pending
- (waiting to be uploaded to the BBS.) If an offline configuration file
- is found, you will be asked if you would like to load the NEW
- information (that which is waiting to be uploaded to the BBS). To
- load the ORIGINAL information, select "N". To load the changes that
- are waiting to be uploaded, press "Y". The reader will then take you
- to the Offline Configuration Menu.
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 26
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- THE OFFLINE CONFIGURATION MENU (continued)
- ------------------------------------------
-
- Password
- --------
- Press ENTER on the Password option to choose the type of
- passwording (if any) you would like to use within The Blue
- Wave Mail System. You will then be asked to fill in two
- fields.
-
- The first field is the password that you would like to use
- to protect your access to either The Blue Wave Mail Door,
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader, or both. Type your
- password here.
-
- The second field asks you which type of passwording you
- would like. You can select between "None", which disables
- the passwording feature, "Door Only", "Reader Only", or
- "Both Reader and Door". Select the option you would like
- using the cursor keys, and press ENTER.
-
-
-
- Keywords
- --------
- The Blue Wave Mail Door will scan and bundle messages based
- upon Keywords that you may define. To learn how to use
- Keywords in The Blue Wave Mail Door, please see "Using The
- Blue Wave Mail Door" later in the documentation.
-
- Press ENTER on the Keywords option to edit the Keywords that
- you would like the door to use. You can use the cursor keys
- to move between the fields, and press F10 when done.
-
-
-
- Filters
- -------
- As with Keywords, The Blue Wave Mail Door will FILTER mail
- based upon strings that you may define as Filters. To learn
- how to use Filters in The Blue Wave Mail Door, please see
- "Using The Blue Wave Mail Door" later in the documentation.
-
- Press ENTER on the Filters option to edit the Filters that
- you would like the door to use. You can use the cursor keys
- to move between the fields, and press F10 when done.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 27
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- THE OFFLINE CONFIGURATION MENU (continued)
- ------------------------------------------
- Macros
- ------
- The Blue Wave Mail Door allows you to define up to 3
- Bundling Command Macros. These macros allow you to enter a
- bundling command that you use frequently in just 2
- keypresses while online. Again, this option can save you
- both online time and money.
-
- Pressing ENTER on the Macro Menu option will allow you to
- edit your 3 Blue Wave Bundling Command Macros. As with the
- previous fields, you can use the cursor keys to scroll
- through the fields. Press F10 or ENTER on the last field
- when you are finished editing your Bundling Command Macros.
-
- For more complete information on using the Blue Wave
- Bundling Commands and Macros, please see "Using The Blue
- Wave Mail Door", later in the documentation.
-
-
-
- BBS
- ---
- Pressing ENTER on the BBS menu item will allow you to define
- whether or not HotKeys and/or Xpert Modes are toggled on or
- off.
-
-
-
- Areas
- -----
- Selecting the Areas menu item will allow you to toggle
- on/off the areas on the BBS that you are currently scanning
- and downloading.
-
- You will be shown a list of all message areas available to
- you on the BBS that is currently active. The message areas
- that are currently ACTIVE (those which you are scanning
- through the door) will be indicated by a "check mark" in the
- left-most column. Inactive areas will not be highlighted.
-
- If an area is currently ACTIVE, and you wish to tell the
- door to stop scanning the area, highlight it and press the
- SPACE BAR. The "check mark" will disappear, indicating that
- it will no longer be active.
-
- If an area is currently INACTIVE, and you wish to begin
- scanning that area for mail, simply move the highlight bar
- to the desired message area and press the SPACE BAR.
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 28
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- THE OFFLINE CONFIGURATION MENU (continued)
- ------------------------------------------
- When you are done selecting or deselecting areas for
- scanning, press ENTER or ESCape. If the reader thinks that
- you have changed your area configuration, you will be
- prompted whether or not you wish to upload (send the Blue
- Wave Mail Door) your area configuration. Press ENTER or "Y"
- to save your area configuration to your .NEW packet. If you
- wish to discard the area information and keep it the same,
- press "N".
-
- The next time you log into The Blue Wave Mail Door and
- upload your .NEW packet, the door will activate and/or
- deactivate the areas that you wish. It will then give you a
- list of all active areas.
-
-
-
- Quit
- ----
- Selecting the Quit option will return you to the Open or
- Closed Packet Menu, depending on where you were when you
- entered the Offline Configuration Menu. If you have made
- changes to your door configuration, the reader will ask you
- if you wish to save the changes. If you wish to discard the
- information that you have changed, press "N". Pressing "Y"
- will cause the reader to generate an Offline Configuration
- File, and place it into your upload (reply) packet.
-
- If you have selected to save your changes, please remember
- that you MUST upload your .NEW packet to The Blue Wave Mail
- Door before your changes will be in effect.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 29
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- FILE REQUESTING THROUGH THE BLUE WAVE MAIL DOOR
- -----------------------------------------------
-
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail System incorporates a powerful File Request
- system to save you even more online time and money.
-
- File request sessions are controlled by the Sysop of each individual
- BBS. Therefore, the BBS that you call may not support The Blue Wave
- Mail System's file request procedure. File requesting is also limited
- in UNREGISTERED versions of The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader. You
- will be given 5 opportunities to try the system's file request
- sessions if you are an unregistered user. After you have exceeded
- this limit, you must either discontinue file requesting, or register
- your copy of The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader with Blue Wave
- Software. Registered users may file request any number of times,
- provided they do not exceed the Sysop's limit of files or any possible
- upload/download ratios.
-
- Entering your file request through the reader is simple; just choose
- "File Request" from either the Open or Closed Mail Packet Menu. You
- will then be able to enter up to 10 file names that you would like to
- download from the current BBS during your next upload/download session
- through The Blue Wave Mail Door. Wildcards in file names (the DOS '*'
- and '?' characters) are NOT supported.
-
- When you have entered a file request, the reader will include a
- special file in your upload (reply) packet indicating to the door
- which file(s) you would like to download. When you upload your packet
- through the door, it will search the BBS's file directories for the
- file(s) you have requested. If they are found, you will be given the
- chance to download them.
-
- When installing The Blue Wave Mail Door, the Sysop can indicate which
- protocols are BATCH, and which are SINGLE file protocols. The door
- will respond differently according to the protocol that you have
- chosen.
-
-
- Single-File Protocols
- ---------------------
- If you are using a protocol that has been installed as a
- SINGLE FILE protocol, you will be asked, one by one, whether
- or not you wish to download the file that you have requested
- while you are ONLINE with The Blue Wave Mail Door. Pressing
- "N" will skip the currently displayed file, and continue to
- the next file in your request packet. If you wish to
- download the file being displayed, press "Y". The door will
- then begin sending you the file with the protocol that you
- normally download mail packets with. (Xmodem is a single-
- file protocol).
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 30
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- FILE REQUESTING THROUGH THE BLUE WAVE MAIL DOOR (continued)
- -----------------------------------------------------------
- Batch Protocols
- ---------------
- If you are using a protocol that has been installed as a
- BATCH protocol, the door will always send you your requested
- files in a BATCH. Using a batch protocol (such as Zmodem)
- gives you not only increased speed, but also greater
- flexibility.
-
- The door will build a "batch download queue" of the file(s)
- that you have selected. After the door has processed your
- last file request, the door will ask you whether or not you
- wish to continue with the file request session NOW.
-
- Pressing "Y" will immediately begin your download session.
- At this time you should tell your communications program to
- begin receiving a BATCH download.
-
- Pressing "Q" will abort the file request session, and
- continue just as if no file requests had been received.
-
- Pressing "N" will allow you to download the file requests at
- the same time you download your regular mail packet. The
- door will return you to the main menu, where you should
- select "(D)ownload Mail". After the door has gathered and
- bundled your mail packet, it will display the "normal"
- screen indicating the file name and size/time of your mail
- packet. You will also notice that it says "Req. Size:".
- The total size of your file request will be shown here.
- Begin your mail download as usual, indicating to your
- communications program that you will be receiving a BATCH
- download.
-
- The door will then begin sending all of the files in the
- "download queue", beginning with the files that you have
- requested. Your mail packet will be sent LAST.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 31
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- READING A MAIL PACKET
- ---------------------
-
- It is very possible that most of your time within The Blue Wave
- Offline Mail Reader will be spent reading messages. When it comes
- right down to it, the entire purpose of the reader is allow you to
- read your mail OFFLINE, while saving you money at the same time.
-
- The reader allows you to enter new messages, and reply to current
- messages offline too. Besides the obvious savings in online time in
- replying, you are not pushed against time limits when creating
- messages offline. You have time to think your messages through and
- create useful replies. In fact, the advent of offline mail systems
- has not only increased the popularity of messaging on BBSs, but has
- made networking (with amateur networks such as FidoNet) expand into a
- huge pool of useful information.
-
- As you are probably aware, BBS message bases are usually divided into
- sub-topics sometimes called Conferences, Message Areas, Echos, and
- Special Interest Groups (SIGS). When you download your mail through
- The Blue Wave Mail System, these message area distinctions are
- preserved. Selecting "Read Mail Packet" from the reader's OPEN PACKET
- Menu will take the reader into "message reading mode".
-
- You will be shown a list of all of the areas that you have instructed
- the door to bundle messages in, along with the total number of
- messages in the area, and the total number of PERSONAL messages in the
- area. To actually begin reading your mail packet, you need to
- highlight the message area that you would like to read, and press
- ENTER.
-
- If you have enabled the Automatic Title Scan option in the reader's
- SETUP menu, you will be shown a list of all messages in the current
- message area. The title scan allows you to "page" through the
- messages and begin reading with the message that you have highlighted.
- To begin reading your mail on the first message, simply press ENTER
- after the Title Scan is shown. If you press ESCape while reading
- messages, the reader will take you back to the Title Scan screen, and
- position the highlight bar on the last message that you have read.
- You can then page through the messages some more, and press ENTER on
- the message to read, or press ESCape again to return to the "Choose
- Area to Read" screen.
-
- There are various keys that are active while reading mail. Each one
- will now be explained below in detail. At any time while reading
- mail, pressing F1 will give you an abbreviated HELP screen, with short
- descriptions of each of these keys.
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 32
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- READING A MAIL PACKET (continued)
- ---------------------------------
-
- Message Movement
- ----------------
-
- The following keys allow you to "move" around the message base in
- various ways:
-
-
- ESCape
- ------
- Pressing ESCape while reading a message in an area will drop
- the reader backwards by one screen. If "Automatic Title
- Scan" is enabled in the reader, you will be shown the Title
- Scan screen. If the Automatic Title Scan is OFF, the reader
- will drop to the "Choose Area to Read" selection screen.
-
-
- RightArrow
- Grey ENTER
- Grey PLUS
- ENTER Key
- SPACE Bar
- ----------
- Each of these 5 keys will advance you to the next message in
- the area. If you are currently reading the LAST message in
- an area, the reader will beep once. Pressing any one of
- these keys again will automatically drop you back one
- screen. (The reader will act as if ESCape was pressed).
-
-
- LeftArrow
- Grey MINUS
- ----------
- These two keys will move you BACK one message in the current
- area. As with the "forward" keys, if you are reading the
- FIRST message in an area, the reader will beep once.
- Pressing these two keys a second time will make the reader
- act as if an ESCape was pressed.
-
-
- UpArrow
- -------
- The UpArrow (cursor key) will scroll the current message UP
- one line. If you are at the top of the message, this key
- becomes inactive.
-
-
- DownArrow
- ---------
- The DownArrow (cursor key) will scroll the current message
- DOWN one line. If you are at the BOTTOM of the message,
- this key becomes inactive.
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 33
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- READING A MAIL PACKET (continued)
- ---------------------------------
-
-
- PageDown
- --------
- The PageDown key (labeled PgDn or PgDwn on some keyboards)
- will scroll the current message down one complete screen.
-
-
- PageUp
- ------
- The PageUp key (labeled PgUp on some keyboards) will scroll
- the message UP one full screen, until the top of the message
- is reached.
-
-
- Home
- ----
- The HOME key will take you to the first "page" of the
- current message.
-
-
- End
- ---
- The END key will take you to the last "page" of the current
- message.
-
-
- The "F" Key
- -----------
- Pressing "F" while reading messages will take you to the
- FIRST message in the current message area.
-
-
- The "L" Key
- -----------
- Pressing "L" while reading messages will take you to the
- LAST message in the current message area.
-
-
- The "J" Key
- -----------
- Pressing "J" while reading messages will allow you to JUMP
- to a specified message number in the current area. You will
- be prompted to enter a message number. If the message is
- available, the reader will immediately JUMP to that message.
- If the message is unavailable, you will be given an error
- message, and the reader will stay on the current message.
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 34
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- READING A MAIL PACKET (continued)
- ---------------------------------
- Control-RightArrow
- ------------------
- This key is only useful when reading a mail packet on BBSs
- that support Reply Chaining, or Reply Linking. If the
- current message has a line on the message header that says
- "Reply at #nn", you can press the Control-RightArrow key
- combination to go directly to the reply of the current
- message. (Hold down the CTRL key, and press the right
- cursor key). If the reply is not available, the reader will
- give you an informative message, and stay on the current
- message.
-
-
- Control-LeftArrow
- -----------------
- This key combination is similar to the Control-RightArrow
- combination, but instead of moving to the reply of the
- current message, the reader will jump to the ORIGINAL
- message, if available. If the message header displays the
- line "Reply to #nn", this key will take you to the proper
- message number.
-
-
-
-
- Message Command Keys
- --------------------
-
- The following keys allow you to perform various, useful functions
- while reading a mail packet:
-
-
- The "R" Key
- -----------
- Pressing "R" while reading messages will allow you to REPLY
- to the current message. If enabled, you will be asked if
- you would like to Quote the current message. You will then
- be given a "form" to fill out, containing the PRIVATE status
- of your message, who the message is FROM, who the message is
- TO, and the message SUBJECT. After the "form" has been
- completely filled out, the reader will load your text editor
- and allow you to enter the text of your message.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 35
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- READING A MAIL PACKET (continued)
- ---------------------------------
- The "E" Key
- -----------
- The "E" key is similar in operation to the "R" key, except
- that you are not asked if you would like to Quote the
- current message. Use the "E" key when you would like to
- enter a NEW message in the message area. The reader will
- prompt you for the appropriate information, and then load
- your text editor. Enter the body of your message, and quit
- the editor. You can then choose to save your message, edit
- your message again, or kill the message altogether.
-
-
- The "T" Key
- -----------
- The "T" key will give you a Title Scan of the current
- message area. The Title Scan can be very handy to use if
- you have disabled the Automatic Title Scan. The Title Scan
- allows you to page through the message "headers", as a type
- of "preview" of the message text. It displays the messages
- "read" status (whether or not you have already read the
- message), who the message is FROM, who the message is TO,
- and the SUBJECT of the message.
-
- It is also a quick way to jump between messages. You can
- move the highlight bar to the message that you would like to
- read, and press ENTER. The reader will immediately move you
- to the message that you have selected, and begin reading
- from there.
-
-
- The "V" Key
- -----------
- The "V" key will allow you to View the current message on-
- screen, as is. This command is useful for BBSs that support
- the uploading or entering of ANSI messages (those which
- contain the ANSI Escape Color Codes). The reader will
- simply output the current message to the screen through DOS
- (just as if you executed a "TYPE FILENAME.EXT" at the DOS
- prompt. In order to see ANSI in messages, however, it will
- be necessary to have ANSI.SYS loaded at boot-up through
- CONFIG.SYS. Please see your DOS reference manual for
- instructions on installing the ANSI.SYS driver.
-
-
- The "S" Key
- -----------
- Pressing "S" while reading messages will activate the
- reader's SEARCHING feature. You will be given a "form"
- similar to the message entry form. Fill out the search
- criterion, and press F10 or ENTER on the last field of the
- window when finished.
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 36
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- READING A MAIL PACKET (continued)
- ---------------------------------
- You can instruct the reader to perform a search for ANY
- matches that it finds by answering "N" to the "Must match
- all search criterion" question. If you want the message to
- match ALL of the criterion, answer "Y" to this question.
-
- Press ESCape when you have completed your search.
-
-
- The "P" Key
- -----------
- Pressing "P" while reading messages will make the reader
- search for PERSONAL mail in the current message area ONLY.
- (Future versions of The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader will
- perform Global Search and Personal Mail functions). The
- reader will act the same as if it were performing a user-
- defined search of the current message area.
-
-
- Alt-S
- -----
- Pressing the key combination ALT-S (hold down the ALT key,
- and press "S") will allow you to save the current message to
- a DISK file. The reader will prompt you for the file name
- to save the message to. Press ESCape to abort the save
- function.
-
- If the file you specify already exists, it will
- automatically be APPENDED to. If the file does not exist,
- it will be created by the reader.
-
-
- Alt-P
- -----
- The key combination ALT-P performs the same function as the
- ALT-S key, but instead saves the current message to your
- PRINTER. If you have toggled "Send FF After Printing Msgs."
- ON, the reader will send a form-feed to the printer after
- printing each message.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 37
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- USING THE MOUSE
- ---------------
-
- The Blue Wave Mail System fully supports the use of a MOUSE for moving
- through the menu system, selecting items from lists, and entering one-
- key input through the keyboard. In order to take advantage of the
- mouse support, you must have "Mouse Support" in the reader's SETUP
- menu set to "Yes". You must also have a Microsoft or compatible mouse
- driver loaded either as a TSR or a Device Driver through CONFIG.SYS.
- For more information on installing your mouse driver, please see
- either your Mouse reference manual, or the DOS reference manual.
-
- There are four types of input required through The Blue Wave Offline
- Mail Reader; Y/N responses, Menu Input, List Selection, and Multiple
- Choice Mini-Menus. Mouse functions while reading mail will be
- discussed separately.
-
-
- Y/N Responses
- -------------
- Most of the input required at prompts in the reader require
- either a "Yes" or "No" response. Instead of pressing "Y" or
- "N", you can use the mouse as the "keyboard". Pressing the
- LEFT mouse button at a Y/N prompt will translate into a "Y".
- The RIGHT mouse button translates to a "N".
-
-
- Menu Input
- ----------
- You can select a menu item by simply moving the mouse cursor
- to the desired menu option and pressing the LEFT mouse
- button. Pressing the RIGHT mouse button while the reader is
- processing a menu will have the same effect as pressing the
- ESCape key.
-
-
- List Selection
- --------------
- The reader has several screens where you must highlight an
- item from a "list", and press ENTER to select the item.
- (Such as when choosing an area to read). Mouse input on
- these lists is very simple and straight forward.
-
- To select an item on the current screen, move the mouse
- cursor to the desired line and press the LEFT mouse button.
-
- If there is more than one "page" of choices, the reader will
- place a "[ PgDn ]" or a "[ PgUp ]" symbol at the bottom of
- the selection list. To move down one page, move the mouse
- cursor to the "[ PgDn ]" symbol and press the LEFT mouse
- button. To move up one page, move the mouse cursor to the
- "[ PgUp ]" symbol and press the LEFT mouse button.
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 38
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- USING THE MOUSE (continued)
- ---------------------------
-
- Pressing the RIGHT mouse button while the reader is
- processing a "list" will make the reader behave as if you
- pressed the ESCape key.
-
-
- Multiple Choice Mini-Menus
- --------------------------
- Sometimes the reader will allow you to enter more than just
- a "Y/N" response. One example is after entering a message
- in any message area. After returning from the editor, the
- reader will give you the following prompt:
-
- "S)ave, E)dit, or K)ill?"
-
- The default selection will appear on the screen as an "S".
- To accept the default and save the message, press the LEFT
- mouse button while the cursor is anywhere on the screen
- except on top of the words "E)dit" and "K)ill".
-
- To make the reader respond as if you pressed the "E" key,
- simply move the mouse cursor to any of the characters in the
- word "E)dit", and press the LEFT mouse button.
-
- Likewise, to tell the reader to kill the message, move the
- mouse cursor to any of the letters in the word "K)ill", and
- press the LEFT mouse button.
-
-
-
- Reading Mail with the Mouse
- ---------------------------
- When you have enabled Mouse support in the reader, you can
- use the mouse to move from message to message, and scroll
- through the current message.
-
- To move to the NEXT message, move the mouse cursor to the
- "block" marked "NEXT" on the message header border, and
- press the LEFT mouse button. To move the the PREVIOUS
- message, move the mouse cursor to the block marked "PREV" on
- the message header border, and press the LEFT mouse button.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 39
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- USING THE MOUSE (continued)
- ---------------------------
- In order to scroll the lines of the current message, you
- will need to imagine that the message text "window" has a
- "line" dividing it through the center. When the mouse
- cursor is anywhere on the UPPER half of the message text
- window, you can press the LEFT mouse button to scroll the
- message text up one line. When the mouse cursor is anywhere
- on the LOWER half of the message text window, you can press
- the LEFT mouse button to scroll the message text down one
- line. In both cases, hold the LEFT button down to scroll
- the message more than one line.
-
- At any time while reading mail, press the RIGHT mouse button
- to return to the previous screen.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 40
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- BUILDING A SIGNATURE FILE
- -------------------------
-
- As described earlier in the SETUP Menu section, you can make the
- reader add custom "Signature Lines" to the end of your messages. If
- you have this option set to "Random" or "Prompt", the reader will
- expect to find a Signature File (the reader allows you to define this
- file name in the SETUP->DIRECTORIES menu option).
-
- If at any time the reader cannot find the Signature File that you have
- specified, it will ask you to manually enter a signature. Otherwise,
- the reader will use the signatures you have entered into this text
- file.
-
- Building your custom signature file is easy; all you will need is a
- standard ASCII text editor. (The editor you use for entering messages
- should work just fine). A sample file, BWSIGS.TXT, should have been
- enclosed with your archive of The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader.
-
- Signature lines should be kept short (under 75 characters). Each
- signature can only be one line long. Any blank lines (those
- containing only a carriage return), and any lines beginning with a
- semi-colon (;) are IGNORED. This will allow you to add comment lines
- or space your signatures out for ease of readability.
-
- If your signature lines are greater than 75 characters, they will be
- truncated by the reader before adding them to your message.
-
- Signature files may be as large as you would like to make them, but
- the reader will only handle 500 signatures at any one time. If there
- are more than 500 "valid" signature lines (lines NOT beginning with a
- semi-colon or BLANK lines), the reader will simply ignore them.
-
- If the reader seems unacceptably slow after choosing your signature
- line, or just before it has prompted you for the signature line you
- would like to add, trimming the size of your file will increase its
- speed tremendously.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 41
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- USING THE BLUE WAVE MAIL DOOR
- -----------------------------
-
- Although most of the time you spend using The Blue Wave Mail System
- will be spent in the Offline Reader Environment, much of the power and
- potential for online savings of time and money will come through using
- the Blue Wave Mail Door to its full potential. In order to get the
- fullest out of The Blue Wave Mail Door, it is necessary to become
- familiar with the operating procedures in the door.
-
-
-
- The Configuration Menu
- ----------------------
-
- This section will describe all of the commands available to you
- through the Blue Wave Mail Door's Configuration Menu. At first
- glance, the Configuration Menu may seem overwhelming. Please do not
- let this scare you off. The mail system was carefully designed to
- provide each individual user with options not available in other mail
- systems. Each menu item will be described below, along with a short
- description of where, how and/or why the command would be useful in
- any given situation, if the command description is not obvious
-
- Choose Message Areas
- --------------------
- When selecting "C", you will be displayed a list of all
- LOCAL, ECHOMAIL, and GROUPMAIL bases available to you. Here
- you will be able to select and deselect message areas for
- download through the Blue Wave Mail Door. To toggle the
- status of a message base, enter the base number or
- number/letter combination associated with the message area.
- You may enter more than one message base number at a time;
- simply separate them by spaces.
-
- Lastread Pointers
- -----------------
- Selecting "L" from the Configuration Menu will allow you to
- reset the pointers indicating which messages have been read,
- and which have not been read. The door will ask you how
- many DAYS you would like to "go back". Entering a 0 here
- will set your pointers to the current date and time (no mail
- will be found for download during a subsequent scan until
- more mail has been imported into the bases.)
-
- Entering any number other than 0 will reset your pointers to
- the specified number of days. (Entering a '1' would set
- your pointers back 24 hours. Entering a '2' would set your
- pointers back 48 hours, and so on.)
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 42
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- USING THE BLUE WAVE MAIL DOOR (continued)
- -----------------------------------------
- You will then be asked if you would like to reset your
- pointers in ALL areas, or in SELECTED areas. Choosing "All"
- will reset the pointers for all bases (even those that you
- are not currently downloading). Selecting "S" will reset
- the message pointers in ONLY the areas that you are
- downloading. In most cases, you will want to select "S".
-
-
- Archiver Selection
- ------------------
- Selecting "A" from the door's Configuration Menu will allow
- you to select the archiver of your choice, from those
- defined by the Sysop. The archiver will be used to compress
- (Mash) the mail packet before you download it.
-
-
- Protocol Selection
- ------------------
- Selecting "P" from the Configuration Menu will allow you to
- select the transfer protocol of your choice, from those
- defined by the Sysop. The protocol will be used during a
- download of a mail packet, the upload of a mail packet, and
- any File Request sessions that you may make.
-
-
- HotKeys
- -------
- The Blue Wave Mail Door defaults to using "HotKeys" for a
- new user. The HotKey option allows you to select menu
- commands without having to press ENTER after each selection.
- Obviously, however, it will be necessary to press ENTER
- after some commands that require input of more than one
- character. With extremely noisy phone line conditions,
- HotKeys may not be desirable.
-
-
- Xpert Help Menus
- ----------------
- The Blue Wave Mail Door defaults to using FULL help menus.
- However, after you become comfortable with the door, you may
- wish to turn off the full help menus. With Xpert Mode
- enabled, only the menu title, command keys, and time
- remaining are displayed.
-
-
- View Settings
- -------------
- This command simply displays the status of the following
- options: HotKeys, Xpert Mode, Archiver Selection, Protocol
- Selection, and the Password (SECURE) option.
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 43
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- USING THE BLUE WAVE MAIL DOOR (continued)
- -----------------------------------------
- Set Password Option
- -------------------
- The Password, or Secure option is unique to The Blue Wave
- Mail System. Although some may question its usefulness,
- there are several situations where you may wish to enable
- this feature. There are 4 levels of security available:
-
- * Password prompting in the DOOR only.
- * Password prompting in the READER only.
- * Password prompting in the READER and DOOR.
- * No password prompting (DEFAULT).
-
- In a situation where you download sensitive areas from the
- BBS, and use the Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader on a machine
- that is shared by several other users, you may wish to add
- the secure option to the READER only. Each mail packet will
- be encrypted with a password. If a user tries to read a
- packet encrypted with a password, they will be prompted to
- enter it. If the user does not get the correct password
- after three tries, the reader will NOT allow them to read
- the mail packet.
-
- Another situation may occur where Father downloads sensitive
- mail, and does not wish for Daughter, Son, or Wife to read
- it. It may be useful to set the secure option in both the
- READER and DOOR, since it is possible that the family knows
- Father's BBS password. By prompting for a password when
- entering the door (obviously one that is different from the
- BBS password), he has another layer of security.
-
-
- Keyword Selection
- -----------------
- The Blue Wave Mail Door allows you to specify up to 10
- different Keyword definitions. These keywords will be used
- during the mail scanning process to inform you of mail in an
- area which contains any one of the keyword definitions. To
- get the full use out of keywords, you must use The Blue Wave
- Bundling Commands (described later) to instruct the door on
- how to handle keywords in certain areas.
-
- The best way to describe the use of keywords is with an
- example. Let's suppose that you are looking for Apple
- computer equipment to buy in the National For-Sale FidoNet
- Echo. Sometimes the FOR-SALE echo generates more than 200
- messages per day. Instead of downloading all 200 messages,
- of which (possibly) 199 of them are of no interest to you,
- you may define the keyword APPLE.
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 44
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- USING THE BLUE WAVE MAIL DOOR (continued)
- -----------------------------------------
- You would then be informed during the SCANNING process of
- all mail containing the keyword APPLE. By using the Blue
- Wave Bundling Commands, it is possible to ONLY bundle
- messages with the Keyword APPLE in them. This, of course,
- saves on-line time, and time you would have to spend paging
- through the numerous (UNWANTED) messages offline when using
- the reader. Naturally, there are many other uses to the
- Keywords option. The idea behind keywords is to let The
- Blue Wave Mail Door do the work for you!
-
-
- Filter Selection
- ----------------
- Like Keywords, The Blue Wave Mail Door allows you to specify
- up to 10 FILTERS. Filters essentially work just the
- opposite of Keywords. During the door's SCANNING process,
- you are informed of messages that contain any of the Filters
- that you have defined. After the mail scan is complete, you
- can use The Blue Wave Bundling Commands to FILTER the
- messages that you do not want to receive.
-
- Again, the best way to describe the usefulness of Filters is
- with an example. Let's suppose that Joe Blow in the FidoNet
- C Programming Echo is consistently entering messages which
- contain false information, is constantly flaming others, and
- is being an all around nuisance. Although you really enjoy
- reading the C_ECHO, you get tired of seeing messages entered
- either from Joe Blow or to Joe Blow. By defining the Filter
- of JOE BLOW, you will be flagged if there are any messages
- containing the Filter. By using The Blue Wave Bundling
- Commands, you can then instruct The Blue Wave Mail Door NOT
- to bundle messages containing the Filter JOE BLOW.
-
-
-
-
- The Blue Wave Bundling Commands
- -------------------------------
-
- Several Bundling Commands are available to you to make The Blue Wave
- Mail System one of the most robust mail systems available today. By
- combining The Blue Wave Bundling Commands with Keyword Definitions and
- Filter Definitions, you can discriminately select messages ON-LINE to
- download, rather than wasting time downloading mail, of which only a
- few messages are of any interest. The following section will give an
- in-depth description of each Bundling Command available to you, and
- examples on how to use each one to build a custom mail packet.
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 45
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- USING THE BLUE WAVE MAIL DOOR (continued)
- -----------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Mail Door prompts you for your Bundling Commands at the
- end of each mail SCAN, just before the system actually gathers mail
- for you. After viewing the SCAN TABLE, you can actually select which
- areas and/or messages you wish to download. The Bundling Commands
- ONLY affect the current download session, and are not saved for later
- use. (Unless you have defined them as a MACRO in the door's
- configuration menu, or in the reader's OFFLINE configuration). The
- default behavior of the door is to gather ALL NEW MAIL. The Blue Wave
- Bundling Commands only MODIFY the result.
-
- You can think of The Blue Wave Bundling Commands as a way to
- dynamically change the messages that the door has prepared to download
- for you. The commands are actually LETTERS and SYMBOLS, followed by
- numbers and "key words" which modify the effect of the Command. The
- keywords "*" and "all" area recognized by each Bundling Command, and
- operate on ALL message areas. (A "K*" would gather Keywords ONLY in
- ALL areas).
-
- The Bundling Commands may be "linked" together to form one long
- string. To perform multiple commands within the same bundling
- command, you simply need to separate them by SPACES. "-2 K9 P14 F22"
- is a perfectly valid bundling command. (This example would cause the
- door to not bundle messages in area number 2, gather keywords only in
- message area number 9, gather only personal mail in area number 14,
- and filter out messages in area number 22.)
-
- Deselecting an Area
- -------------------
- To dynamically (and temporarily) deselect an area from the
- message bases that you are downloading, you can use the "-"
- bundling command. "-*" or "-ALL" would deselect all message
- areas, resulting in a total of 0 messages being downloaded.
- "-14" would temporarily deselect area #14. "-P1" would
- deselect message area "P1" on systems that use letters as
- area names such as Maximus-CBCS.
-
- Format: -<area #>
-
- Adding an Area
- --------------
- To reselect an area which was previously deselected using
- the "-" command, use the "+<area #>" command. Please note
- that it is NOT possible to add a message area to your
- download packet that you are not currently scanning. If you
- have entered several bundling commands and realize that you
- have made a mistake, use the "+*" or "+ALL" command. This
- will reselect ALL message areas that you are scanning, and
- clear any designation of keywords/personal/filters in all
- message areas. In other words, it's the same as starting
- new.
-
- Format: +<area #>
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 46
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- USING THE BLUE WAVE MAIL DOOR (continued)
- -----------------------------------------
-
- Bundling Personal Messages Only
- -------------------------------
- To instruct the door to bundle only your personal mail (mail
- addressed either to your login name or real name) in a
- message area, use the "P" command. To bundle only your
- personal mail in area #23, use "P23". To bundle only
- personal mail in ALL areas, use either "P*" or "PALL".
-
- Format: P<area #>
-
-
- Bundling Keywords Only
- ----------------------
- To instruct the door to bundle only messages containing your
- Keyword definitions, use the "K" bundling command.
-
- WHEN USING THE "K" COMMAND, PERSONAL MAIL IS ALSO BUNDLED,
- IF ANY IS FOUND.
-
- To download only keyword messages in area #192, use the
- bundling command "K192". If you want to download ONLY
- keyword and personal mail in all areas, use "K*" or "KALL".
-
- Format: K<area #>
-
-
- Filtering Messages in an Area
- -----------------------------
- If you would like the door to skip packing any messages that
- contain your filter definitions, use the "F" bundling
- command. To filter all messages in area #57, use the
- bundling command "F57". To filter messages in ALL message
- areas, use the "F*" or "FALL" commands.
-
- Format: F<area #>
-
-
- Bundling a Specified NUMBER of Messages
- ---------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Mail Door has the ability to download a
- specified number of messages in any message area. This
- command is especially useful when downloading a message area
- for the first time, as sort of a "test drive". You may only
- want to bundle the last 10 messages in the area to see if
- you will enjoy reading that particular message base.
-
- To perform this function, use the "L" bundling command. The
- "L" bundling command is a bit different from the rest, as it
- takes two parameters, instead of one. To bundle the last 10
- messages in area #563, use the command "563L10". To gather
- the last 10 messages in ALL areas, use the command "*L10".
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 47
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- USING THE BLUE WAVE MAIL DOOR (continued)
- -----------------------------------------
-
- The "L" bundling command is also a quick way to override
- your lastread message pointers for a particular area. If
- you choose to download the last 500 messages in area #3, and
- your lastread pointer indicates that only 7 messages are
- new, the "L" command will allow you to override the setting
- and download all 500 messages. (Use "3L500").
-
- Format: <area #>L<# of messages to bundle>
-
-
- Lastread Pointers and Bundling Commands
- ---------------------------------------
-
- By default, upon a successful download session through The Blue Wave
- Mail Door, the door will update the last read message pointers in ALL
- areas that were SCANNED. (Note: If an area was deselected with a "-"
- command, it will STILL be updated to reflect the new last read
- pointer!) In most cases, this is desirable. However, The Blue Wave
- Mail System takes into consideration that all users' needs are
- different. The following two Bundling Commands will modify the
- default setting regarding message pointers.
-
- No Update of Message Pointers
- -----------------------------
- If you wish the door NOT to update your message pointers for
- one reason or another, use the "N" bundling command. If you
- want the door to not save message pointers in area #75, use
- the command "N75". To not update message pointers in ALL
- areas that you are scanning, use "N*" or "NALL".
-
-
- Force Update of Message Pointers
- --------------------------------
- Because the default behavior of the door is to UPDATE
- message pointers, this command is only useful to kill the
- effect of a previously entered "N" command. Suppose that
- you are downloading 50 areas, and only want one message base
- updated. You could use the command "N* U2". This would
- force the door to ONLY update the pointers in area #2.
- After an accidental "N*", a "U*" will correct the mistake.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 48
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- USING THE BLUE WAVE MAIL DOOR (continued)
- -----------------------------------------
- The "!" Command
- ---------------
- Finally, the "!" command. A "!" anywhere on the command
- line tells the Blue Wave Mail Door to NOT prompt for any
- more bundling commands once the bundling command has been
- processed. By default, the door will process a command
- line, calculate a new TOTAL MESSAGES, and display it. You
- may the enter more bundling commands, or simply press ENTER
- to accept what was already processed, and begin bundling.
-
-
-
- Example Bundling Commands
- -------------------------
-
- Most of the Blue Wave Bundling Commands described above do very little
- good when used alone. By combining the commands, the ultimate in
- custom mail bundling is available. Several examples follow, but please
- remember, there is virtually no end to what can be accomplished!
-
- -ALL +14 K17 F1
- This command deselects all areas, adds area #14 for ALL NEW
- mail, area #17 for KEYWORDS ONLY, and FILTERS mail in area
- #1. The door then calculates a new total, and waits for
- more input.
-
- -ALL +14 K17 F1 !
- This command does the same thing as the previous example,
- except it doesn't prompt for more commands, and begins
- bundling immediately.
-
- -14 P2 N18 K1 P22 17L60 F928
- This command deselects area #14, gathers personal messages
- only in area #2, does not update message pointers for area
- #18, selects keywords only in area #1, personal messages
- only in area #22, gathers the last 60 messages in area #17,
- and filters messages in area #928.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 49
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- PRODUCT SUPPORT
- ---------------
-
- The Blue Wave Mail System is a growing and developing software
- package. Blue Wave Software is always interested in hearing your
- comments, complaints, suggestions, and of course kind words. We take
- into consideration every request that we get in order to make The Blue
- Wave Mail System a first class offline mail package. We would like to
- hear from you!
-
- If you are having trouble with The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader, or
- have comments and suggestions, please drop us a line. We can be
- reached via direct FidoNet NETMAIL, through the International BLUEWAVE
- Echo (available on the FidoNet Backbone and Distribution Hubs), and of
- course through the US Mail.
-
- Blue Wave Software is owned and operated by Fred Rappuhn and George
- Hatchew in Flint, Michigan, USA. Here are the addresses where you may
- contact us directly:
-
- US Postal Service
- -----------------
- Blue Wave Software
- PO Box 1057
- Flint, MI 48503
- USA
-
-
- The Blue Wave Software Support BBSs
- -----------------------------------
- The Wild! Blue BBS The Flight of the Raven
- 1-313-743-8464 1-313-232-7815
- Flint, Michigan Flint, Michigan
- 2400 Baud N-8-1 9600 HST/v32 N-8-1
- FidoNet 1:2240/176 FidoNet 1:2240/107
- Sysop: George Hatchew Sysop: Fred Rappuhn
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 50
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- INDEX OF KEYWORDS
- -----------------
- @F 15 Password option 27
- @I 15 Personal Mail 37
- Addresses 50 PKARC 4
- ANSI messages 36 PKPAK 4
- ANSI.SYS 36 PKZIP 4
- ARC 15 Protocol 43
- Archiver 43 Purge Mail 19
- Archiver command line 15 Qedit 4
- Archivers 5, 14 Quote Header 11
- Area configuration 29 QUOTE Messages 11
- ARJ 4, 16 Reading messages 32
- Batch Protocols 31 Registration Information 5
- Beep On Personal Messages 10 Registration Name 5
- BIOS screen writes 3 Registration Number 5
- Blue Wave Mail Door 42 Reply Chaining 35
- BLUEWAVE 50 SEARCHING 36
- Bundling Commands 45, 46, 49 Setup 5
- BWAVE200.CFG 4 Signature File 41
- BWCOLOR.200 16 Signature Filename 9
- CGA Snow 3 Signature Line Selection 10
- Clock 10 Signature Lines 41
- Closed Packet Menu 19, 24 Single-File Protocols 30
- Color configuration 16 Sorting 14
- Color Configurations 5 Support 50
- Command line 3 Swap Directory 8
- Directories 5 Swapping 12
- Directories and File Paths 6 TinyEditor 4
- Download Directory 6 Title Scan 12, 13, 36
- Echo 50 Unarchivers 5
- Editor FilePath 8 Unregistered users 26
- Exploding Windows 12 Upload Directory 6
- FidoNet 50 Video writes 3
- File Request 25, 30 Welcome messages 22
- File Requests 23 Work Directory 7
- Filters 27, 45 Xpert Mode 43
- Form Feed 14 ZIP 15
- HotKeys 43
- INFormation file 19
- Keywords 27, 44
- Laser printers 14
- LHARC 4
- LZH 16
- Macros 28
- Memory Swaps 12
- Message Pointers 13, 14
- Message reading 21
- MONOCHROME Mode 3
- Mouse Support 12, 38
- Noise on Errors 10
- Offline Configuration 23, 25, 26
- PAK 4, 16
- Password 44
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Operations Manual, v2.00
- Page 51
-
-
-