PCBoard 15.1 Demo

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Text File | 1994-02-14 | 25.0 KB | 467 lines

@X00 @X38┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────@X3B┐@X0B @X38│ @X3EHelp: @X3F(R)ead Messages @X3B│@X0B @X38└@X3B────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘@X0E The Read messages command permits you to read messages on a bulletin board system. Messages may be addressed to you, or to other people. From this command you may also reply to messages you are reading, search for text in messages, and get a synopsis of messages that are currently on the system. @X0F Selection Subcommands @X03 The following is a list of what are called the selection subcommands. These commands will determine the criteria for the messages that you will read. With the exception of the message #, you may use any subcommand in conjunction with any other subcommand. For example, if you wanted to read new mail in all conferences that you have set for scanning, enter R;S;A. Likewise, if you wanted to read the same messages, but only display those from a user named FRANK CROSS, enter R;S;A;USER;FRANK CROSS at the conference command prompt. @X0B [Message #] Message number to read. A Scan all selected conferences. ALL Scan all conferences that you have access to. F Read messages from current user. FROM Read messages from a user. N New Messages by date. S Read new messages. TO Read messages to a user. TS Search messages for specific text. U Read unread messages. USER Search messages to or from a particular user. WAIT Scan messages in conferences where you have mail waiting. Y Read messages addressed to you. YA Read messages to you or to ALL. @X0F Scan Subcommands @X03 These particular subcommands can be used to set the direction that you will read mail. For example, if you wanted to begin reading at the end of the current message base, you would enter R;L. @X0B + @X03/@X0B - Set read direction 1+ Begin with first message in the message base. L Begin with the last message. N New messages by date. RM Read memorized message. RM+ Read memorized message and continue reading forward. RM- Read memorized message and continue reading reverse. @X0F Capture Subcommands @X03 One time-saving feature that PCBoard offers is the ability to capture messages into one single file which you may download and browse off-line. The resulting file is an ASCII file that looks just like what you see on the screen when viewing messages. Sometimes you may want to download a group of messages or just a single message. These subcommands allow you to capture messages and then download them to either a file or printer on your system. @X0B C Capture messages D Capture messages QWK Capture messages to a QWK packet Z Capture and compress messages @X0F General Subcommands @X03 The following commands could be categorized as miscellaneous subcommands. Here, you will find commands to perform various functions that may not necessarily be directly related to reading messages, but are still available for your convenience. @X0B DE De-select current conference G Goodbye. J Join a conference. K Kill a message. LONG Use the extended message header for displaying. NS Nonstop mode. O Read-only mode. Q Quick scan messages. SE Select current conference for scanning. SET Set the last message read number. SHORT Use the brief message header for displaying. @X0F Description @X03 Exchanging electronic mail or messages between users is probably the most popular form of communications on bulletin board systems. Users will enter and read messages almost every call. PCBoard has several subcommands that allow you to read only those messages that interest you. While the number of subcommands may overwhelm you at first, you will find that you will become familiar with them after a little bit of practice. You may also find that using mnemonics will help you remember the commands easier. By looking at the subcommands described earlier you would find that you could enter R;S;A at a conference command prompt to read all new messages in the conferences that you have selected for scanning. You may find it easier to remember that R;S;A means Read mail Since last time in All selected conferences. Use the selection subcommands to determine the messages that you will read. After you read each message you will be presented with an End of Message Command prompt where you can enter other commands that enable you to reply to messages and other functions as well. @X0F Combining Read Subcommands @X03 Once you understand how you can combine the various read subcommands, you will be able to better make use of PCBoard's power. The following section is designed to help you find the right subcommand for the right situation. If you enter R at a conference command prompt you will see a line which shows you the range of the message numbers in the current conference message base and will ask you what Message Read Command you would like to use. At this point, choose at least one subcommand from the Read: Selection Subcommands section. For example, if you were to enter a Y, you are telling PCBoard to read messages that are addressed to you. Now that PCBoard has enough information to go on, it will begin scanning with message #1 for any mail that is addressed to you. You may be wondering what you would do if you did not want to begin scanning at message number one -- Maybe you only wanted to scan any new mail that is addressed to you. What you would do in this case is use both the Y and the S subcommands. Simply enter both subcommands at the Message Read Command prompt putting either a space or a semicolon between each command. The following is a sample scenario: @X0E (@X0C50@X0E min. left) Main Board Command? @X07R @X0E (H)elp, (3523-5032), Message Read Command?@X07 Y;S @X03 At this point, PCBoard would begin scanning all new mail in the current conference for any messages that are addressed to you. @X0F The Difference Between LONG and SHORT Message Headers @X03 The message header is the information that you are displayed regarding who the message is from or to, the subject of the message, etc. PCBoard supports two different message headers -- long and short. The long message header closely resembles the message header of previous versions of PCBoard with the exception that the, TO, FROM, and SUBJECT fields all take one line a piece. The long message header displays the following information: @X0B Date Message number Reference number (if message is a reply) Who the message is address to Who the message is from The subject of the message If the message has been read or not The current conference (name and number) The status of a message (has replies, message security, etc.) Type of message read you are using @X03 All in all, this format takes a hefty 7 display lines on the screen including the blank line between the header and the message text. This amounts to nearly one third of the entire display area on the screen. The short header, on the other hand, uses only 5 display lines including the blank line. This amounts to less than one quarter of the display screen enabling you to fit more message text on the screen. The short message header displays the following information: @X0B Date and time the message was entered Message number If the message has replies (displayed as an R on the top line) If the message has been read (displayed as an * on the top line) Who the message is addressed to Who the message is from The subject of the message @X03 The following shows the long message header style: @X1FDate: 07-12-93 (17:53) Number: 71303 of 71372 (Refer# 71235)@CLREOL@ @X3F To: STEVE HOWLETT@CLREOL@ From: DARRELL FARMER@CLREOL@ Subj: Security Levels@CLREOL@ @X3ERead: NO Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE@CLREOL@ Conf: Chatter (1) Read Type: MAIL FOR YOU (+)@CLREOL@ @X03 The following illustrates the short message header style @X1FDate: 07-12-93 (17:53) Number: 71303 of 71372 (Refer# 71235)@CLREOL@ @X3F To: STEVE HOWLETT@CLREOL@ From: DARRELL FARMER@CLREOL@ Subj: Security Levels@CLREOL@ @X03 As you can see two lines of information really does make a difference. The default header that is used is determined by how you answered the following question using the W user command: @X0E Use long headers when reading messages? (@X07Y@X0E) @X03 You can also switch between long and short headers by typing either LONG or SHORT at the End of Message Command prompt. In addition, you may also use these words when using the R user command. For example: @X0E R;A;LONG R;Y;S;SHORT @X0F Examples @X03 If you do not like to read a lot of mail when you login to a system, you may want to only read new messages that are addressed to you in all conferences that you are able to join. To do this, you would enter the following at the conference command prompt: @X0E R;Y;S;ALL @X03 If you wanted to read the same messages but instead you wanted to capture them to a file that you could download, you would enter the following instead: @X0E R;Y;S;ALL;C @X03 Sometimes you may want to search for messages that only have certain text in either the message header or the actual message body. For, example, if you wanted to search all of the messages in the current message base for HARD DRIVE you would enter the following: @X0E R;TS;HARD DRIVE @X03 At this point, PCBoard would ask you what message you wished to begin the scan with. If you enter L it will begin with the end of the message base and search backwards. If you want to scan with the beginning message and search forward, you would enter 1+. @X0F Subcommands: Alphabetical Listing @X03 For your convenience, the following is a detailed alphabetical list of subcommands that are available with the R command. Even the subcommands that are available at the End of Message Command prompt are listed. @X0B[Message #] Message number to read. @X03 This number indicates the number of the message that you wish to read. If you wish, you may also append either a + or a - to the message number to read in the forward or reverse direction, starting with the message number specified. For example, to read message #3236 and every message afterwards, you would enter 3236+ instead of just 3236. You may also specify a range of message numbers by adding a dash between the low message number and high message number. For example, to specify messages between 3000 and 4000 , enter 3000-4000. @X0BENTER Read next message in current direction.@X03 When pressed at the End of Message Command? prompt, the next message is displayed in the direction that you are reading. @X0B+ @X03/@X0B - Set read direction. @X03 When appended to a message number or used by itself, PCBoard displays all messages in forward-numerical or reverse-numerical order respectively from that point. You can always tell what mode you are in by looking at the Read Type at the top of the message you are reading. In that field you will see either a + or a - to denote which direction you are reading. @X0B1+ Begin with first message in the message base. @X03 If you want to specify the first message in the message base you would specify this subcommand. @X0B A Scan all selected conferences. @X03 Messages are read from all conferences that have been selected for scanning. You may choose which conferences you wish to scan for messages by using the SE command at the conference command prompt or by using DE or SE with the R user command. @X0B ALL Scan all conferences that you have access to. @X03 Messages are read from all conferences that you have access to whether you have selected them for scanning or not. @X0B C Capture messages. @X03 The messages displayed by the current command are captured, placed in a file, and prepared for download. You are given the choice to continue with the download, abort the transfer, or hangup after the transfer. @X0B D Capture messages. @X03 The messages displayed by the current command are captured, placed in a file, and immediately prepared for download. @X0B DE De-select current conference. @X03 If a particular conference is chosen for scanning, the conference is de-selected. This has the same effect as using the Select command from the main menu and de-selecting the conference by pressing the corresponding number for the conference. This would cause the "X" flag in the flags column from the SELECT command (executed from a conference command prompt) to be removed. @X0B E Enter a message. @X03 See the E user command for more details. @X0B F Read messages from current user. @X03 The message base is scanned for all messages from you. @X0B FROM Read messages from a user. @X03 If you wish to read mail that is only from a particular user, use this subcommand. When you use this subcommand, PCBoard will prompt you for the user you wish to read mail from. @X0B G GoodBye. @X03 (See the G user command for more details.) @X0B J Join a conference. @X03 You may join another conference. (See the J user command for more details.) @X0B JUMP Jump to the next conference. @X03 If you read all conferences (R;A or R;ALL), you may jump to the next available conference for message base scanning by using this command. The last message read pointer is not advanced to the last message when you jump a conference. Next time you scan for new mail in that conference, all of the messages you jumped over will be shown in the scan. This subcommand is only available at the End of Message Command prompt. @X0B L Begin with the last message. @X03 The current message base is read backward from the last message to the first. @X0B LONG Use the extended message header for displaying. @X03 Displays the extended message header. All message header fields are displayed, but the extended header uses 7 lines as opposed to the 5 lines used by the short header display. @X0B N New messages by date. @X03 The first message that is read is the one that matches the date that you specify. This enables you to read only messages that were left after a certain date. @X0B NS Non-stop mode. @X03 Messages are displayed in non-stop mode, thus eliminating More? prompts from the display. @X0B O Read messages in read-only mode. @X03 When you want to read messages and do not want your last message read updated as you read the mail, read the mail in what is called read-only mode. Additionally, if you have sufficient security, he message read status will not be updated. This means that even though you have read the message, it will not be shown as having been read and your last message read pointers will not be updated. @X0B Q Quick scan messages. @X03 See the Q user command for more information. @X0B QWK Capture message in QWK format.@X03 One of the most popular off-line message format is the QWK format. With what is called a QWK packet you can load it into an off-line mail reader and read and reply to messages off-line saving time and money. If you use this subcommand, any message that would have normally been displayed to your screen will be sent to a QWK packet that you may download and read off-line. @X0B RM Read memorized message.@X03 The message previously memorized is re-displayed. @X0B RM+ Read memorized message and continue reading forward.@X03 The message previously memorized is re-displayed and the message base is placed in forward mode for further reading. @X0B RM- Read memorized message and continue reading reverse. @X03 The message previously memorized is re-displayed and the message base is placed in reverse mode for further reading. @X0B S Read new messages. @X03 All messages in the current conference that have not already been read will be displayed. You may specify the A or ALL subcommand to scan for new mail in other conferences besides the current conference. @X0B SE Select current conference for scanning.@X03 While reading a message you may select the current conference to scan for messages. This has the same effect as if you executed the Select command from the main menu and placed an "X" in the flags column. Using this command you may select the conferences you wish to scan for mail on-the-fly. @X0B SET Set the last message read number. @X03 PCBoard stores last message read pointers for each conference. These pointers contain the last message number that you read in any particular conference. By looking at this value, PCBoard is able to determine which messages you have not read yet. As you read messages, this number will be automatically updated. If you need to manually update this value, use this command. When executed, you will be asked to enter the highest message number that you have read. Enter any valid message number into the field. If the number you enter is higher than the highest message in the conference, your last message read will be set to the highest number in the conference. @X0B SHORT Use the brief message header for displaying. @X03 Displays the four line version of the message header. This means that not all of the fields in the header are displayed so that more of the message will be displayed on the screen. @X0B SKIP Skip current conference. @X03 While executing an R;ALL or an R;A command, you may use SKIP to bypass the remaining messages in the current conference and to set the last message read pointer to the last message. In the R;A case, however, invoking SKIP will act just as it does with the R;A command only it moves you to the next available conference and permits you to continue reading messages in the next conference. @X0B TO Read messages to a user. @X03 If you wish to read mail that is addressed to a particular user, use this subcommand. When you do, you will be prompted for the username that PCBoard will use to search the TO: field of each message. @X0B TS Search messages for specific text. @X03 Each message is scanned for the text that you indicate. You may perform complex text searches by using Boolean text searches. For more information on Boolean text searches, access the online help available at the @X0EEnter the Text to Scan for@X03 prompt. @X0B U Read unread messages. @X03 Anytime that you want to read messages that have not been read, you can use this subcommand. If a message has been read by the recipient, PCBoard will display the date and time that the message was read in the message header. Messages to ALL will always be considered as unread. @X0B USER Search messages to or from a particular user. @X03 When executed you are prompted to enter the name of the user you would like to search for. After you enter a valid user name, the message base is scanned for messages both for a specified user and those left by a specified user. @X0B WAIT Scan messages in conferences where you have mail waiting. @X03Messages are read only from conferences that you currently have personal mail waiting to be read. For example, if you login and see that you have mail waiting in conferences 2,3, and 25 you could read all new messages in only those conferences by entering R;WAIT at the conference command prompt. @X0B Y Read messages addressed to you. @X03 The message base is scanned for all messages addressed to you. @X0B YA Read messages to you or to ALL. @X03 The message base is scanned for all messages addressed to you or to ALL. @X0B Z Capture and compress messages. @X03 As with the D command, the messages displayed by the current command are captured and placed in a file. The file, however, is compressed before it is downloaded and therefore may not be sent to your local printer. @XFF