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TOPS-10/TOPS-Cmail/MS Manual
| AA-M840B-TK
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| FIELD TEST D
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| OPERATING SYSTEM TOPS-10 V7.03
| S-20 V6.1
|FTWARE: DECmail/MS V11
| DECnet V4
i
CONTENTS
PREFAC
DECmail/MS Commands
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 YEYBOARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
1.2 ETTING STARTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-6
1.3 DECmail/MS VOCABULARY . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
1.4 OMMAND LEVELS .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-15
MESSAGE SEQUENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17
CHAPTER 2 READING MESS
2.1 READING AND ACTING UPONAGES . . . . . . 2-1
.2 PERUSINGAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
2.3 REATHE "NEXT" MESSAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . 2- 2.4 READING THE SYSTEM "BULLETIND" . . . . . . . 2-6
2.5 DESIGNATING MAIL AS REA UNREAD . . . . 2-7
CHAPTER 3 SENDING MESSAG
3.1SENDING MAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
.1 Continuing Work on an Old Draft . . .. . . 3-7
3.1.2 Editing and Ring a Message . . . . . . . . 3-7
ANSWERING MAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 3-8
3.3 FORWARDING MAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
3.4 SENDING NE MAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
3.4.1 Sending DECnet Mail . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
3.4.2 Correcting Undeliverable DECail . . . . . 3-11
CHAPTER 4 OING INFORMATION
4.1 GETTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
4.2 CHECKING FOR NEW MAIL . . . . .. . . . . . . 4-2
4.3 OBTAINING SUMMARIES OF MESSAGES . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Scanning a Message File . . . . . . . .. . 4-4
4.4 DISPLAYING SYSTEMUSER INFORMATION . . . . . . 4-5
CHAP MANAGING MESSAGE FILES
5 MOVING MESSAGES TO OTHER FILES . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
iii
5.2 RETRIEVING MESSAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
5.3 SAVING OUTGOING MAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
5.4 DISCARDING MESSAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
5.5 PRINTING MESSAGES ON THE LINE PRINTER . . . . . . 5-5
5.6 FLAGGING MESSAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
CHAPTER 6 TAILORING THE DECmail/MS ENVIRONMENT
6.1 DEFINING MESSAGE HEADER ITEMS . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
6.2 ESTABLISHING ALTERNATIVE NAMES FOR ADDRESSES . . . 6-3
6.2.1 Defining Alias Names for Users . . . . . . . . . 6-4
6.2.2 Defining Address Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
6.3 SET COMMANDS - CUSTOMIZING THE DECmail/MS SYSTEM . 6-7
6.4 USING COMMAND FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-12
6.4.1 Initializing the DECmail/MS System . . . . . . 6-13
6.4.2 Processing Command Files . . . . . . . . . . . 6-14
6.5 CLEARING THE TERMINAL SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . 6-15
CHAPTER 7 EXITING
7.1 USING THE EXIT COMMAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
7.2 USING THE QUIT COMMAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
7.3 ISSUING CTRL/C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
7.4 ISSUING CTRL/Z (TOPS-10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2
7.5 LEAVING THE DECmail/MS SESSION TEMPORARILY . . . . 7-2
APPENDIX A ERROR INFORMATION
A.1 ERROR MESSAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1
A.2 REPAIRING DAMAGED MESSAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . A-4
APPENDIX B MESSAGE FILE FORMAT
APPENDIX C TOPS-20 MAIL SYSTEMS
INDEX
FIGURES
B-1 Message File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2
iv
PREFACE
The DECmail/MS mail system allows TOPS-10 and TOPS-20 users to send
messages to, and receive them from, other users. This mail system
also provides users with facilities for filing, retrieving, editing,
and discarding these messages.
| The DECmail/MS system adheres to the Request for Comments 822 standard
| (RFC822). RFC822 is the name of the ARPANET computer network mail
format standard. It is the oldest and most widely-known electronic
mail standard, and forms the basis of many others, which are usually
subsets. While the DECmail/MS system does not implement everything in
the standard, it never generates messages that violate it.
The TOPS-10/TOPS-20 DECmail/MS Manual addresses users at all levels of
expertise, introducing the beginner to the DECmail/MS system, then
describing the DECmail commands in functional groupings. The manual
contains a tear-out reference card as a quick index to the commands.
MANUAL ORGANIZATION
Chapter 1 discusses DECmail/MS and operating system concepts, and
shows the beginner how to use basic DECmail/MS commands.
Chapter 2 describes the various ways of reading messages. It also
tells how to act upon a message that has just been read.
Chapter 3 discusses how to send messages. Included in this chapter is
information on replying to mail, forwarding mail, and sending network
mail.
Chapter 4 presents the DECmail/MS commands for obtaining information.
Chapter 5 discusses managing message files.
Chapter 6 shows how to customize the DECmail/MS system.
v
Chapter 7 explains how to exit from the various DECmail/MS command
levels and from the DECmail/MS system itself.
Appendix A lists error messages and their explanations and shows how
to repair damaged files.
Appendix B shows the message file format.
Appendix C discusses TOPS-20 mail systems.
For supplemental information, refer to the latest copies of the
following manuals:
TOPS-10 Operating System Commands Manual
TOPS-20 User's Guide
TOPS-20 Commands Reference Manual
CONVENTIONS
This manual uses the following conventions and symbols:
n A number.
<RET> or <CR> A directive for you to press the RETURN key.
| <ESC> A directive for you to press the ESC key.
date and time A set of alphanumeric characters that specifies date
and time, for example, 14-JULY-82 12:00:00 or 10/4/82.
Time of day is represented by a 24-hour notation;
17:00:00 means 5:00 P.M.
{ } A symbol indicating that one of the items enclosed
within the braces must be selected.
| [ ] A symbol indicating that items within the brackets are
| optional.
filespec The specification for a file. Refer to the
description of "file" in Section 1.3.
underlining Input that you are expected to type, as opposed to
output generated by the mail system.
vi
DECmail/MS COMMANDS
Command Function Level Section
(Top, Read, Send)
BACKUP Displays the preceding message in sequence R 2.1
BLANK Clears the video terminal screen T,R,S 6.5
CC Adds names to the "carbon copy" list of recipients S 3.1
CHECK Checks mail file for new messages T 4.2
COPY Copies messages to specified file T,R 5.1
CREATE-INIT-FILE Creates an initialization file T 6.4.1
| DAYTIME Displays the current date and time T,R,S 4.4
DEFINE ADDRESS-LIST Creates address lists T,R,S 6.2.2
DEFINE ALIAS Creates aliases to addresses T,R,S 6.2
DEFINE HEADER-ITEM Creates user-defined message header items T,R,S 6.1
DELETE Marks messages for removal from mail file T,R 5.4
| DIRECTORY Displays one-line summaries of messages T,R 4.3
DISPLAY Shows various parts of the message draft S 3.1
EDIT TEXT Allows you to edit the draft with a system text editor S 3.1
ERASE Deletes various parts of the message draft S 3.1
EXIT Returns to system or logs out T,R,S 7.1
EXPUNGE Removes DELETEd messages from mail file T 5.4
FILE Copies messages--either deletes or retains originals T,R 5.1
FLAG Marks messages for future reference T,R 5.6
FORWARD Sends received messages to other users T,R 3.3
GET Retrieves a specified mail file T 5.2
| HEADERS Displays one-line summaries of messages T,R 4.3
HELP Explains briefly various commands and functions T,R,S 4.1
vii
INCLUDE Incorporates user-defined header items S 3.1
| INSERT Appends a file or message to the draft S 3.1
MARK Designates messages as having been read T,R 2.5
MOVE Moves messages to other mail files T,R 5.1
NEXT Displays the next message in sequence T,R 2.3
PRINT Prints messages on the line printer T,R 5.5
PUSH Suspends mail system--enters system command level T,R,S 7.5
QUIT Returns you to previous DECmail/MS command level T,R,S 7.2
READ Enters read level to display messages in sequence T 2.1
| READ Displays messages -- nests read levels R 2.1
REMOVE Deletes names from the "To" or "cc" list S 3.1
**REPAIR Helps fix undeliverable DECnet mail T,R 3.4.2
REPLY Facilitates replying to received mail T,R 3.2
RETRIEVE DRAFT Fetches a previously stored draft T,R 3.1.1
RETRIEVE LAST-MESSAGE Fetches the last message sent T,R 3.1.2
| RETURN-RECEIPT-REQUESTED Requests recipients to acknowledge your messages S 3.1
SAVE DRAFT Stores a copy of an unfinished message draft S 3.1
SAVE OUTGOING-MESSAGES Makes copies of messages you send T,S 5.3
| SEND Lets you compose and send messages T,R 3.1
SEND Sends completed message S 3.1
SET Customizes the mail system T,R,S 6.3
SHOW Gives information about system and job parameters T,R,S 4.4
| SKIM Shows header information -- enters read level T,R 4.3.1
SUBJECT Allows you to retype the message's subject line S 3.1
SYSTEM-MESSAGES Retrieves the public mail file T 2.4
TAKE Executes a file of DECmail/MS commands T,R,S 6.4
viii
TEXT Allows you to continue composing the message S 3.1
TO Adds names to the "To" list of recipients S 3.1
TYPE Displays a sequence of messages without pausing T,R,S 2.2
UNDELETE Reverses the effect of the DELETE command T,R 5.4
UNFLAG Reverses the effect of the FLAG command T,R 5.6
UNMARK Reverses the effect of the MARK command T,R 2.5
VERBOSE-TYPE Displays messages in unsuppressed format T,R,S 2.2
* TOPS-20 systems only
** Systems with network software only
ix
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
You should read all of Chapter 1 if you are unfamiliar with the
DECmail/MS system. This chapter tells you everything you need to know
to get the DECmail/MS system working for you. It discusses your
terminal keyboard, explains DECmail/MS-specific terms, and takes you
through the steps of reading and sending simple messages.
1.1 YOUR KEYBOARD
The keyboard of your terminal is almost exactly like that of a modern
electric typewriter. The major difference is that your terminal has a
few additional keys, and one or two have new functions. These special
terminal keys are described below.
CARRIAGE-RETURN
This key, called RETURN in this manual, has the usual function of
indicating that you are finished with the current line of text and
wish to move on to the next line. It also indicates to the DECmail/MS
system that you are finished typing a command and would now like the
DECmail/MS system to act upon the command. (You must end all
DECmail/MS commands with a carriage-return. The DECmail/MS system
does not act upon a command until you have pressed the RETURN key.)
ESCAPE
This key, called ESC, or ALTMODE on older terminals, is usually found
at the upper lefthand corner of the keyboard. It performs a
particularly useful function called RECOGNITION. With recognition,
you type only the first few characters of a command and then press the
ESCAPE key. By doing this, you are asking the DECmail/MS system to
type the rest of the command for you and to prompt you for any
information that you must supply to this command. The remainder of
this section discusses command abbreviation and recognition.
1-1
INTRODUCTION
Many DECmail/MS commands have long names, and typing an entire name
could be tedious and error prone. In order to save you some typing,
the DECmail/MS system allows you to type only as much of a command
name as is necessary to uniquely specify it. For example, consider
the two commands that begin with the letter F: FLAG and FORWARD. If
you type only F, the DECmail/MS system cannot know whether you mean
FLAG or FORWARD, since both begin with F. If, however, you type FO,
the DECmail/MS system knows you mean FORWARD. Similarly, FL is a
valid abbreviation for FLAG.
NOTE
Exception: For some of the more commonly used
commands, you need type only the first
letter: DELETE, HEADERS, READ, SEND, TYPE. It does
not matter that other commands begin with the same
letter. Likewise, you need type only EX for the EXIT
command.
Using abbreviations at all times can save you typing, but can leave a
trail of obscure-looking characters on your terminal. Also, you
sometimes do not know how much of a command you need to type before
the DECmail/MS system will be able to recognize it, especially if you
are inexperienced.
The ESCAPE key takes care of the problems mentioned above. If you
think you have typed enough of a command name for the DECmail/MS
system to recognize, press the ESCAPE key. If you have typed enough
of the name, the DECmail/MS system finishes typing the name for you.
If you have not typed enough, so that what you have typed is
ambiguous, the DECmail/MS system will ring the terminal's bell. And
if there are no commands beginning with the abbreviation you have
typed, the DECmail/MS system will send you a message telling you so.
Returning to the previous example with the two commands beginning with
F, if you were to type FO and then press the ESCAPE key, the
DECmail/MS system would type the letters RWARD to complete the word
FORWARD.
Using recognition has one additional advantage: if the command whose
name is being typed requires additional information, pressing the
ESCAPE key causes the DECmail/MS system to type guide words in
parentheses which indicate what you are expected to type next. In
this example, if you typed FO<ESC>, you would see this on your screen:
FO<ESC>rward (messages)
The word "messages" is a guide word for the FORWARD command. It
indicates that you are to specify which messages to be forwarded. If
you are unsure of what you should type after a set of guide words,
type a question mark (?) to get a complete list of options. The
question mark feature is described below.
1-2
INTRODUCTION
QUESTION MARK
At any time, if you are not sure of the commands or command arguments
(additional information that you supply to a command) that are
available to you, you can type a question mark, and the DECmail/MS
system lists them for you. For example, when you begin the mail
session, the DECmail/MS system prompts and awaits your first command
as follows:
MS>
You are now at top level. To get a list of the top-level commands,
type a question mark, and they will be displayed similar to the
following:
| MS>? one of the following:
| Blank Check Copy Create-init-file
| Daytime Define Delete Directory
| Exit Expunge File Flag
| Forward Get Headers Help
| Mark Move Next Print
| Push Quit Read Repair
| Reply Retrieve Save Send
| Set Show Skim System-messages
| Take Type Undelete Unflag
| Unmark Verbose-type
You now know what commands the DECmail/MS system will accept at this
time.
To get a list of arguments for a command, use the question mark as
follows:
MS>show (information about) ? one of the following:
Address-list Aliases Daytime Defaults
Header-items Status Version
The DECmail/MS system then retypes the command line up to the point
where you entered the question mark:
MS>show (information about)
Now, you can type one of the available arguments.
You can also type a question mark when you have entered only part of a
command:
MS>s? one of the following:
Save Send Set Show
| Skim System-messages
MS>s
1-3
INTRODUCTION
CONTROL CHARACTERS
Another key on your terminal that is not found on typewriter keyboards
is the CONTROL key, which is usually labeled CTRL. This works much
like the SHIFT key, in that it does nothing by itself, but modifies
the action of any key you press while holding the CTRL key down.
Characters typed while holding the CTRL key down are called control
characters; for instance, the character you generate when you hold the
CTRL key down and type the letter U is called CTRL/U. Control
characters allow you to perform a number of system functions.
The following is a list of control characters that you are likely to
use during a DECmail/MS session:
o CTRL/Z tells the DECmail/MS system that you have finished
typing the text of a message you are sending and that the
DECMAIL/MS system can now send the message. You would not
want to use any ordinary text character for this purpose,
because that character then would not be allowed in the text
of a message you are sending. Since control characters do
not ordinarily print anything on your screen, but simply
instruct the system to do something for you, using control
characters is the only good way to type commands to the
system while you are entering the text of a message. Refer
to Section 3.1 for a description of other control characters
you might want to use while preparing a message.
| On TOPS-10 systems, CTRL/Z aborts the mail session when your
| terminal is at a command level.
o CTRL/C aborts the DECmail/MS session.
o CTRL/U erases all the information you have typed since the
last carriage-return.
o CTRL/O aborts the output of any information that is being
typed on your terminal. A second CTRL/O resumes typing if
the output was long enough not to have completed yet. Thus,
CTRL/O works like a toggle switch that alternately enables
and disables output.
Suppose you gave the HEADERS ALL command:
| MS>HEADERS (MESSAGES) ALL
The DECmail/MS system would begin typing the following kind
of information on your terminal. You could at any point type
CTRL/O when you have seen enough:
| MS>HEADERS ALL
| 1 23-Dec "Phyllis Angers, DTN 2|ALTERED LABOR HOURS (485 chars)
| A 2 20-Dec CSMALL@HYPER |HAPPY HOLIDAYS TY EXT (30156 chars)
1-4
INTRODUCTION
| A 3 20-Dec MEYERS@CLOYD |Re: question (452 chars)
| A 4 20-Dec LIBRARIAN@GNUVAX |RE: files (258 chars)
| 5 20-Dec TUCKER@GIDNEY |Re: test (361 chars)
| 6 20-Dec TUCKER@GIDNEY |test (214 chars)
| A 7 20-Dec Mark Pratt <PRATT@GIDN|Re: task list and bugs l (696 chars)
| A 8 18-Dec Mark Pr O...
o CTRL/S and CTRL/Q are control characters you can use to pause
and continue respectively during the output of information on
your terminal. Using the CTRL/O example above, you could
issue CTRL/S, instead, to temporarily halt output of
information to your terminal. Then, you could issue CTRL/Q
to continue output at the point where you left off. This
differs from CTRL/O, which cancels the current output.
NOTE
Some terminals do not accept the CTRL/Q and
CTRL/S characters. If your terminal does
not, ask your system manager what the pause
and continue characters are for your
terminal.
o CTRL/H retypes the last command you issued if it resulted in
an error message. This control character must be the first
thing you type after the error. It types the command up to
the point where you made the error, letting you know what
part of the command line you need to correct and saving you
from having to retype the whole command again. For example,
suppose you misspelled part of a command:
MS>show (information about) degaults
The DECmail/MS system sends you the following error message:
?MS command error: Does not match switch or keyword: "degaults"
You then issue CTRL/H:
MS>^H
and the DECmail/MS system retypes the line as follows:
MS>show (information about)
Now type the rest of the command correctly:
MS>show (information about) defaults
1-5
INTRODUCTION
1.2 GETTING STARTED
|
| NOTE
|
| TOPS-20
|
| If your system manager has defined the POBOX: disk
| area to be other than the public structure, you must
| issue TOPS-20 operating system commands to ACCESS or
| CONNECT to your directory on POBOX:.
|
Now that you are familiar with your keyboard, try sending yourself
some mail and reading it.
To begin, start the mail system by typing "MS" after you have
successfully logged onto the computer.
o On TOPS-10 systems, your terminal display looks something
like this:
.MS
| 4 messages (4610 characters), in 8 disk blocks.
Message 1 flagged.
MS>
o On TOPS-20 systems, your terminal display looks something
like this:
| @MS
| Last read: Thursday, December 12, 1985 15:03-EST.
| 131 messages (201417 characters), in 79 disk pages.
| Messages 87, 116, 119 flagged.
| MS>
The lines that appear between the MS command and the MS> prompt give
you the status of your mail file. These lines will appear only if
someone has sent you mail. Refer to the description of the SHOW
STATUS command in Section 4.4 for details on this information.
Notice that the DECmail/MS system is now prompting you for a command.
You give a command by typing the command's name, possibly followed by
additional information (depending upon the particular command), and
then pressing the RETURN key. You are now at top level. (You have
entered another command level if the mail system ever prompts you with
anything other than MS>. The QUIT command always returns you to the
previous level.)
NOTE
The following examples were created on a TOPS-20
system. Any TOPS-10 differences are described where
1-6
INTRODUCTION
applicable.
Sending A Message
To send a message, issue the SEND command from top level. After you
give the SEND command, the DECmail/MS system prompts you for the "To"
and "cc" lists, and for the subject. In the following example,
specify yourself as the recipient by typing a period (.) when the
DECmail/MS system asks you for the "To" list.
MS>SEND
To: .
cc:
Subject: Practicing
Now, the DECmail/MS system types the following help message on your
terminal:
Message (ESC to enter Send level, CTRL/Z to send, CTRL/K to
redisplay, CTRL/B to insert file, CTRL/E to enter editor):
This message lets you know what you can do while typing the text of
your message. You can press the ESCAPE key or issue one of the
control characters to:
o enter send level <ESC>. At send level, you can issue any of
the send-level commands to affect the message, or to perform
a variety of other tasks. If you decide to enter send level,
issue the TEXT command when you are ready to return to your
message text. Or issue the SEND command if you are ready to
send the message when you are at send level.
o send the message as is <CTRL/Z>.
o display the message text <CTRL/K>.
o insert a file in this message <CTRL/B>. This feature is
described at the end of Section 3.1.
o finish preparing the message using your default text editor
<CTRL/E>. When you exit from the editor, you are
automatically placed at send level, which is described above.
Refer to the description of the EDIT TEXT command in Section
3.1 for additional information.
After the DECmail/MS system types the help message, anything you type
(other than ESC and the control characters) is assumed to be the text
of your message.
Type a line of text and issue CTRL/Z to send the message:
1-7
INTRODUCTION
Remember the 10:00 meeting tomorrow.
^Z
The DECmail/MS system types information similar to the following,
letting you know that the message was successfully sent to your mail
file:
Processing mail...
Mail queued for delivery by MX
MS>
There is 1 additional message:
N 132 23-Dec TUCKER@CLOYD |Practicing (230 chars)
Currently at message 1.
MS>
| After the MX program delivers the message to your mail file, summary
| information about this new, "additional" message is displayed. Among
| the items shown are the date of the message, the subject line, and the
message number (132). In this example, the recipient (and sender) is
a user who is known to the system as TUCKER. Refer to the description
of the HEADERS command in Section 4.3 for further information on
message summaries.
You could just as easily have sent this message to any number of other
people by including their addresses (separated by commas) in the "To"
or "cc" list.
Refer to Section 3.1 for further information on sending messages, and
to Section 1.3 for information on the mail file and addresses.
Reading A Message
Now read the message that you just sent to yourself:
MS>READ<ESC>(MESSAGES) NEW
Message 132 (230 chars), received Monday, December 23, 1985 17:23-EST
Sender: TUCKER
Date: 23 Dec 1985 1723-EST
From: TUCKER@CLOYD
To: TUCKER@CLOYD
Subject: Practicing
Message-ID: <"MS11(5062)+GLXLIB5(0)" 12169493415.152.542.84314 at CLOYD>
Remember the 10:00 meeting tomorrow.
--------
MS read>>
This command displays all messages in the current message file that
you have not read. After the READ command displays a message, it
leaves your terminal at read-command level, as indicated by the "MS
read>>" prompt. You can then issue any of the read-level commands to
1-8
INTRODUCTION
affect this "current message." If you do not want to do anything with
the message, press the RETURN key to read the next new message (or to
return to top level if there are no other new messages).
Now remove this message from your mail file:
1. First, mark the message for deletion.
MS read>>DELETE
MS read>>
2. Return to top level and issue the EXPUNGE command. This
command completes the action of the DELETE command--it
removes all traces of a message from your mail file.
MS read>><RET>
MS>EXPUNGE
Expunging deleted messages - OK
MS>
Finish the DECmail/MS session by typing the EXIT command:
MS>EXIT
1.3 DECmail/MS VOCABULARY
This section defines various DECmail/MS terms that you should know.
ADDRESS
An address tells the DECmail/MS system where to send a message. There
are two kinds of address, depending on whether the person you are
sending a message to uses the same computer that you do or a different
one.
| o Local Address - for users on the same computer system or in
| the same TOPS-20 computer cluster. A local address is just a
username. Username is defined later in this section.
o Network Address - for users connected through a computer
network. A network address has two parts: a username (just
like a local address), and a hostname, which identifies the
computer. For example, somebody who uses a computer called
HOST2 and who has a username of Joe would have a network
address of:
Joe@HOST2
| An address can also include a personal name (described later in this
1-9
INTRODUCTION
| section) in the form:
|
| personal name <address>
|
| NOTE
|
| On TOPS-10 systems, you can specify a local address in
| the form of a network address, which gives the same
| effect as the SET NO FORCE-DIRECTORY-LOOKUP command
| (see Section 6.3). Just specify a period (.) for the
| hostname. The period refers to your own
| computer: username@.
CURRENT MESSAGE FILE
Since the DECmail/MS system can handle only one message file at a
time, the one you are currently dealing with is called the current
message file. You can think of the DECmail/MS system as a desk that
is big enough to hold only one file folder. You can change message
files with the GET or SYSTEM-MESSAGES command. Until you give one of
these commands, the current message file is your mail file (described
below). A message file is created the first time someone sends you
mail (mail file), or with the COPY, MOVE, or SAVE OUTGOING-MESSAGES
command.
FILE
Several DECmail/MS commands require that you supply the name of a
file. A file is similar to the contents of an ordinary file folder.
A file has a name, called a filespec (short for file specification).
Although a filespec can have numerous parts, including the device,
directory, name, and extension or type, ordinarily you can ignore
everything but the name and extension. You can set the default
directory for the DECmail/MS session with the SET DEFAULT DIRECTORY
command.
o On TOPS-10 systems, a file name or extension can consist of
any sequence of uppercase letters and numbers. The file name
can be up to six characters long; the extension can be only
three characters long. For example, "MEMO1", "JULY", and
"OPEN" are all valid names; "REPORTS" is not (contains seven
characters), and "JUL-81" is not (the hyphen is neither a
letter nor a number). The extension is separated from the
name by a dot, so that MAIL.TXT is a file whose name is MAIL
and whose extension is TXT. For more information about file
specifications, see the TOPS-10 Operating System Commands
Manual.
o On TOPS-20 systems, a file name or file type can consist of
any sequence of letters, numbers, and hyphens up to 39
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INTRODUCTION
characters long; it must not contain spaces, dots, or other
special characters. For instance, "name1", "budget",
"memo-to-the-president", and "my-letter" are all valid names.
"This is my letter" is not; it contains spaces. The file
type is separated from the file name by a dot, so that
MAIL.TXT is a file whose name is MAIL and whose type is TXT.
For complete information on file specifications, see the
TOPS-20 User's Guide.
The file extension or type is useful for classifying groups of files.
For example, you could assign the same extension or type to many
different files. The DECmail/MS system, for instance, assigns .TXT to
all files you create with the COPY, MOVE, or SAVE OUTGOING-MESSAGES
command if you do not specify otherwise.
MAIL FILE
Every user has his or her own personal message file, called a mail
file. This is just like an "in" basket. All incoming messages go
into your mail file. This file is named MAIL.TXT on TOPS-10 systems,
and MAIL.TXT.1 on TOPS-20 systems. Your mail file is automatically
| created for you in your logged-in directory (TOPS-10) or your
| directory on the POBOX: disk structure (TOPS-20) the first time
| someone sends you mail.
|
| On TOPS-20 systems, if your system manager has defined POBOX: to be
| other than the public structure, you must issue the operating system
| command to either CONNECT to or ACCESS POBOX:.
NOTE
MAIL.TXT must include the generation number of 1 on
TOPS-20 systems. If for some reason you create or
edit your own mail file with an editor, you will have
to rename MAIL.TXT.* to MAIL.TXT.1.
|
| You should not delete the mail file with an operating
| system command. Instead, if the need arises, you
| should DELETE then EXPUNGE the messages. Refer to
| Section 5.4.
MESSAGE
The DECmail/MS system sends, receives, and files messages. Messages
are exactly like office memos; they are sent "To" some people and "cc"
to others. They have a subject and some text. They also have a date,
which is supplied automatically when you send the message.
A message is composed of two parts:
1-11
INTRODUCTION
o The message header, or "header area," which contains such
items as the date, subject, "To", and "cc" lists, and other
identifying information. The message header is further
described below.
o The "text part," which contains the actual text of the
message.
MESSAGE FILE
The DECmail/MS system deals with message files, one at a time. A
message file is a file containing one or more messages. The
DECmail/MS system can handle only one file at a time, but it is easy
for you to put one file away and retrieve another one with the GET or
SYSTEM-MESSAGES command. A message file is created the first time
someone sends you mail (mail file), or with the COPY, MOVE, or SAVE
OUTGOING-MESSAGES command.
MESSAGE HEADER
The first few lines of a message are called the message header, or
header area. The header area is separated from the text of the
message by a blank line. The header area consists of several "header
items." A header item consists of the header item's name, a colon, and
then the data portion of the header item (which may extend over more
than one line). Typical header items that the DECmail/MS system
always includes are the date the message was sent, the subject, "To"
and "cc" lists, and the name of the sender. You can use the DEFINE
HEADER-ITEM command to define your own header items. Here is a sample
message:
Message 176 (775 chars), received Monday, January 27, 1986 09:27-EST
Sender: PRATT
Date: 27 Jan 1986 0927-EST
From: Mark Pratt <PRATT@GREEN>
To: Appellof@GREEN, Appellof@GOLD, JRossell@GREEN,
Mayo@GREEN, Pratt@GREEN, Santee@GREEN, Ned@KL1026,
TGrady@GREEN, Tucker@GREEN, Waddington@GREEN, Hdavis@GREEN
cc: Schmitt@BLUE
Subject: Meeting
Message-ID: <"MS11(5116)+GLXLIB5(0)" 12178581754.213.51.31405 at Green>
I have the Shoebox conference room reserved every monday from 3-4
pm for our weekly status meeting. This room is signed up from
now until the time the product ships.
| In this example, the lines beginning with Sender: and ending with
"Message-ID:", are the header area. Next is a blank line, which
separates the header area from the message text. Finally, there are
three lines of message text and the closing line, which contains a
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INTRODUCTION
string of hyphens. There are seven header items present in this
| message: "Sender:", "Date:", "From:", "To:", "cc:", "Subject:", and
"Message-ID:". The "To:" item in this message illustrates the case of
a header item that is too long to fit on one line. The strings GREEN,
BLUE, and GOLD are names of different computers in a network. To
fully specify an address, you need both the user's name and the name
of the computer that he or she uses.
The "Message-ID:" helps identify a message, and is of concern only to
the DECmail/MS system. The DECmail/MS system automatically inserts
this line in your message. It is unique for every message created.
You can suppress output of this line with the SET SUPPRESSED-HEADERS
or the SET ONLY-HEADERS-SHOWN command.
|
| The prefix line at the top of the message tells when it was received
| and gives the length of the message and its relative position in the
| mail file (176).
MESSAGE NUMBER
Each message in a file has a message number; the messages are numbered
from one up to however many messages there are in the file. You could
use these numbers to let the DECmail/MS system know what messages you
want it to perform some action upon. (Refer to the description of
message sequence below.) Note that messages are renumbered as messages
are deleted from a file--message numbers are based upon the messages'
| relative positions in a file. The HEADERS and DIRECTORY commands,
described in Section 4.3, list the numbers assigned to messages.
MESSAGE SEQUENCE
A message sequence is a keyword or list of message numbers that you
supply to various DECmail/MS commands. This lets the mail system know
what messages are to be handled. Message sequences are further
described in Section 1.5.
|
|
| PERSONAL NAME
|
| A personal name is optional information that accompanies an address.
| It is a more human-readable name. You can specify this information
| for your own and recipient addresses.
|
| The SET PERSONAL-NAME command adds your personal name to all your
| outgoing mail (see Section 6.3).
|
| To give a personal name for recipient addresses, type it, and add
| after it the address enclosed in angle brackets:
|
| Sam Slade <SSLADE@DETEC>
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INTRODUCTION
| Giving a personal name for recipient addresses may be useful in such
| cases where a secretary receives mail and later distributes it to
| others. The personal name could indicate the final intended
| recipient, and the address would be the secretary's. The secretary
| would FORWARD (see Section 3.3) these messages to intended recipients.
|
| The personal name can contain any letter or digit, space, hyphen, or
| dot. By enclosing it in quotes, you can include the comma, colon,
| percent sign, at sign, parentheses, and square brackets:
|
| "Sam Slade, private eye" <SSLADE@DETEC>
|
| Some systems to which you send mail may require all personal names to
| be enclosed in quotes.
USERNAME
You send messages to, and receive them from, users of a computer.
Each user of a computer has a username, which is the name by which the
computer knows that person. This name is often a last name.
On TOPS-10 and TOPS-20 systems, usernames are composed of up to 39
characters of letters, digits, and hyphens. (Note that a period (.)
| is taken by the DECmail/MS system to be your own username in local and
| network addresses. That is, you can include a period, for example, in
the "To" or "cc" list.)
When sending mail to systems that do not run TOPS-10 or TOPS-20,
however, the rules for forming usernames may be different. If you are
sending network mail to a user whose username contains characters not
allowed in TOPS-10/TOPS-20 usernames, then you must enclose the
username inside double quotes (" "). Spaces and the following special
characters are not allowed in TOPS-10 and TOPS-20 usernames:
| ( ) < > @ , ; : " ! % [ ] \
Refer to the descritpion of ADDRESS for related information.
NOTE
Although brackets cannot be part of a username, on
TOPS-10 systems, you can specify PPNs within square
brackets instead of a local username: [30,5701]. The
mail system translates the PPN to the corresponding
username. You can also include a personal name
(described earlier) with such usernames. It is
recommended that you use usernames whenever possible.
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INTRODUCTION
1.4 COMMAND LEVELS
The DECmail/MS system has three command levels: top level, read
level, and send level. Each command level has a different prompt, and
each level has its own set of commands. Top Level, which is the level
you see when you begin a DECmail/MS session, has commands for dealing
with message files as a whole, or for manipulating entire groups of
messages at once. Read Level is in effect after you have selected
| messages to read, and has commands for dealing with the current
| message or, optionally, other messages. Send Level contains commands
for composing, editing, and filing drafts of messages, and for sending
the message once it is complete.
At all levels, the QUIT command always returns you to the previous
level; thus, typing QUIT at top level causes you to exit from the
DECmail/MS session. Also, typing EXIT from any level ends the
DECmail/MS session, and executes the EXPUNGE command unless you
specify otherwise with the SET AUTO-EXPUNGE command.
TOP LEVEL
When you first run the mail system, you are at top level. At this
level, the DECmail/MS system prompts you for a command by typing:
MS>
To get a list of top-level commands, type a question mark to the
top-level prompt.
NOTE
You can issue top-level commands from operating system
command level also. For example, to read the first
two messages in your mail file, you can type:
.MS TYPE 1:2 (TOPS-10)
or
@MS TYPE 1:2 (TOPS-20)
After the messages are displayed, you are returned to
operating system command level. Issuing DECmail/MS
commands from this level saves you time and
keystrokes. This manual, however, discusses issuing
commands from the three DECmail/MS command levels
only. It assumes that you are issuing the various
commands while in the middle of a DECmail/MS session.
READ LEVEL
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INTRODUCTION
When you issue the READ command, the DECmail/MS system places you at
read level. The read-level prompt is:
MS read>>
You give the READ command a message sequence, which tells the
DECmail/MS system which messages you want to read. The system then
types the first message in the sequence, and prompts you for a
command. You can now type a read-level command to do something with
that message, or press the RETURN key to go on to the next message in
the sequence. When there are no more messages to read, the DECmail/MS
system returns to top level. For more details on read level, refer to
Section 2.1.
Most top-level commands are also available at read level.
To get a list of read-level commands, type a question mark to the
read-level prompt:
| MS read>>? one of the following:
| Backup Blank Copy Daytime Define
| Delete Directory Exit File Flag
| Forward Headers Help Mark Move
| Next Print Push Quit Read
| Repair Reply Retrieve Send Set
| Show Skim Take Type Undelete
| Unflag Unmark Verbose-type
SEND LEVEL
Send level is invoked in one of the following ways:
o You ask the DECmail/MS system to put you there, by pressing
the ESCAPE key while entering the text of a message you are
sending.
o You use the RETRIEVE DRAFT command to continue working on a
draft which you had previously saved with the SAVE-DRAFT
command.
o You use the RETRIEVE LAST-MESSAGE command to retrieve the
draft of the last message you sent.
o The DECmail/MS system puts you there automatically, because
it encountered some problem while sending a message.
The send-level prompt is:
MS send>>
The commands available at send level allow you to modify any part of a
1-16
INTRODUCTION
message that you are in the process of sending. You can add or delete
users in the "To" or "cc" lists, change the subject line, edit the
text of the message, and so forth. If the DECmail/MS system
encounters any difficulties in sending the message, it automatically
puts you into send level, so that you have a chance to fix the part of
the message that caused the problem. At send level, you can return to
the previous level without sending the message by giving the QUIT
command; or you can give the SEND command, which sends the message and
then returns to the previous command level.
To get a list of send-level commands, type a question mark to the
send-level prompt:
| MS send>>? one of the following:
| Blank cc
| Daytime Define
| Display Edit
| Erase Exit
| Help Include
| Insert Push
| Quit Remove
| Return-receipt-requested Save
| Send Set
| Show Subject
| Take Text
| To Type
| Verbose-type
1.5 MESSAGE SEQUENCES
Many of the DECmail/MS commands require you to specify a "message
sequence." A message sequence is a keyword or a list of message
numbers that indicate the messages upon which an action is to be
performed. For example, if you give the TYPE command, you are
expected to indicate the messages to be displayed. To get a complete
list of all the possible ways to select messages, type a question mark
when you are prompted for a message sequence, as follows:
PR<ESC>INT (messages) ?
You can specify a message sequence by means of message numbers and
special characters, as follows:
o a single message number - (7)
o a list of message numbers - (7,18,75,...)
o a range of message numbers - (3:30)
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INTRODUCTION
o the current message number - (.)
o the last message in the file - (%)
o any combination of ranges and single messages in a list -
(.,9,17:51,...,%)
| (Note that the HEADERS and DIRECTORY commands list the numbers
| assigned to messages.)
In addition, you can give one of the following keywords for the
message sequence:
ALL refers to all messages in the mail file.
ANSWERED refers to messages that you have answered
| with the REPLY command; the HEADERS and
| DIRECTORY commands display an "A" in the left
margin for all answered messages.
BEFORE date and time refers to messages dated prior to the
specified date and time.
CURRENT refers to the current message, that is, the
one you most recently accessed with a
DECmail/MS command; it is the first message
in the file if you have not yet given any
commands. This is the default message
sequence for most commands. The SHOW STATUS
command displays the current message number.
DELETED refers to all messages that you have
| specified in a DELETE or MOVE command but
| have not yet erased with the EXPUNGE command;
| the HEADERS and DIRECTORY commands display a
| "D" in the left margin for all deleted
| messages.
FIRST n refers to the first n messages in the mail
file. If you do not specify n, the first
message is accessed.
FLAGGED refers to all messages that you have
| specified in a FLAG command; the HEADERS and
| DIRECTORY commands display an "F" in the left
margin for all flagged messages.
FROM string refers to messages in the file containing the
specified string in the "From" line of the
header. The string can contain blanks.
INVERSE displays messages in the file in the order of
1-18
INTRODUCTION
last-numbered to first-numbered.
KEYWORD string refers to all messages that contain the
specified string within the header or text
portion of the message. The string can
contain blanks.
LARGER n refers to all messages having more than the
specified number (n) of characters; the
| HEADERS and DIRECTORY commands report the
number of characters in a message.
LAST n refers to the last n (decimal number)
messages in the file, beginning with the last
message. If you do not specify n, the last
message is accessed.
NEW refers to all messages that have not been
read or specified in a MARK command; also,
all previously read messages that you have
specified in an UNMARK command. NEW is the
default argument for the READ command when
| issued from top level. The HEADERS and
| DIRECTORY commands display an "N" in the left
margin for all "new" messages.
| NEXT n refers to the next n messages from the
| current one. For example, MOVE 5, followed
| by HEADERS NEXT 4 would summarize messages 6,
| 7, 8, and 9.
OLD refers to all messages that you have read or
that you have specified in a MARK command.
| RELATED-TO message refers to all replies to the specified
| sequence messages that are contained in the current
| file.
| SAME refers to the messages you last specified in
| a command. Message numbers may be different
| if you issued an EXPUNGE command in the
| interim; however, the same messages are
| retrieved.
SINCE date and time refers to all messages dated after the
specified date and time.
SMALLER n refers to all messages having fewer than the
specified number (n) of characters; the
| HEADERS and DIRECTORY commands report the
number of characters in a message.
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INTRODUCTION
SORTED displays messages in the file in the order of
first-dated to last-dated.
SUBJECT string refers to all messages containing the
specified string in the "Subject" line of the
header. The string can contain blanks.
TO string refers to all messages containing the
specified string in the "To" line of the
header. The string can contain blanks.
UNANSWERED refers to messages that you have not answered
with the REPLY command.
UNDELETED excludes messages that have been specified in
a DELETE command.
UNFLAGGED refers to messages that you have not
specified in a FLAG command.
EXAMPLES
The simplest sequence is a message number, or list of numbers
separated by commas. For instance, the following is a message
sequence that specifies the first six messages in a file:
1,2,3,4,5,6
To read the first six messages in a file, you can type:
| MS>READ 1,2,3,4,5,6
A shorthand way to specify the same thing is "1:6". You can mix
these: the message sequence "1:4,7:10" means the same as
"1,2,3,4,7,8,9,10".
You can also select messages based on their contents. For instance,
the message sequence below selects all messages in the current file
with the word "budget" in the subject:
Subject Budget
Likewise, the following command can be used to read all messages with
the word "monthly" in their subject:
| MS>READ SUBJECT monthly
And the following command lets you read the first nine messages in
your current message file:
| MS>READ FIRST 9
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INTRODUCTION
One particularly useful message sequence is the word "same". This
directs the DECmail/MS system to use the same message sequence you
used in your last command. For instance, suppose you want to delete
all messages from a user named Jones. However, before deleting them
you would like to check to be sure that they are the correct messages.
To do this, you might first give the following command to get a
one-line summary of each message from Jones:
| MS>HEADERS FROM Jones
Once you are satisfied that you really want to delete all these
messages, you can then type:
| MS>DELETE SAME
1-21
2-1
CHAPTER 2
READING MESSAGES
Chapter 2 describes the DECmail/MS commands that allow you to display
messages on your terminal or copy messages on a line printer.
2.1 READING AND ACTING UPON MESSAGES
To read a message and subsequently perform some action on that
message, use the READ command. This command displays messages,
stopping at read level after each one. This allows you to manipulate
messages as you read them. The READ command is available at both top
and read levels.
Command format:
MS>READ (MESSAGES) message sequence
or
| MS READ>>READ (MESSAGES) message sequence
where:
message sequence specifies the messages you want to read. At top
level, NEW is the default message sequence. At read level,
CURRENT is the default message sequeunce.[1]
After each message is displayed, the DECmail/MS system is at read
level and prompts with:
MS read>>
| You can then issue one of the following read-level commands.
|
| [1] At read level, it is advisable to use the TYPE command instead
| of the READ command for the current message. Refer to the description
| of the READ read-level command, below.
2-1
READING MESSAGES
| READ-LEVEL COMMANDS
BACKUP
Displays the previous message in the sequence you specified
with the READ command. The BACKUP command is the same as
the PREVIOUS command.
BLANK
Clears the video terminal screen. Section 6.5 discusses the
BLANK command.
COPY filespec
Copies the current message to another file, retaining the
original. Refer to the full description of the COPY command
in Section 5.1.
| DAYTIME
| Displays the current date and time.
ADDRESS-LIST
DEFINE ALIAS
HEADER-ITEM
Allows you to create address lists, alias names for users,
or new message header items. Refer to Chapter 6 for
descriptions.
| DELETE message sequence
| Marks messages for removal from the mail file. Refer to the
full description of the DELETE command in Section 5.4.
| DIRECTORY message sequence
| Gives a one-line summary of messages. The DIRECTORY command
| is the same as the HEADERS command. Refer to the full
| description of the DIRECTORY command in Section 4.3.
EXIT
Ends your DECmail/MS session; returns you to operating
system command level or logs you off the system. Refer to
Section 7.1 for details on the EXIT command.
FILE filespec
Copies the current message to another file and gives you the
option to delete the original. Refer to the full
description of the FILE command in Section 5.1.
FLAG message sequence
Marks messages for future reference. Refer to the full
description of the FLAG command in Section 5.6.
FORWARD message sequence
Sends received messages to other users. Refer to the full
description of the FORWARD command in Section 3.3.
2-2
READING MESSAGES
| HEADERS message sequence
| Gives a one-line summary of messages. The HEADERS command
| is the same as the DIRECTORY command. Refer to the full
| description of the HEADERS command in Section 4.3.
HELP topic
Provides short explanations of various DECmail/MS commands
and functions. Refer to the full description of the HELP
command in Section 4.1 for the list of topics you can
request with the HELP command.
| MARK message sequence
| Designates messages as having been read. Refer to the full
| description of the MARK command in Section 2.5.
MOVE filespec
Copies the current message to another file and deletes the
original. Refer to the full description of the MOVE command
in Section 5.1.
NEXT
Displays the next message in the sequence you specified with
the READ command. This is the default command at read
level. That is, if you press the RETURN key, this command
is executed. Section 2.3.1 discusses the NEXT command.
PRINT
Prints the current message on the line printer. Section 5.5
discusses the PRINT command.
PUSH
Suspends the DECmail/MS system and enters operating system
command level. Refer to the full description of the PUSH
command in Section 7.5.
QUIT
Returns you to the previous DECmail/MS command level. Refer
to the full description of the QUIT command in Section 7.2.
| READ message sequence
| Displays a new message sequence on your terminal. This
| command, at read level, is useful for leaving the current
| message sequence in order to look at a new set of messages.
| For example, you may want to read new messages that were
| just sent to you, and respond to those messages or delete
| them. You may then need to look at yet another set of
| messages. The DECmail/MS system helps you to keep track of
| message sequences by attaching a number to the read prompt
| [MS read(1)>>] and incrementing that number every time you
| issue the READ command at read level. That number is
| decremented when you leave a message sequence and return to
| the previous level.
2-3
READING MESSAGES
| To simply reread the current message, use the TYPE command.
| REPAIR numeric file identifier
Allows repair of undeliverable network mail. Refer to
Section 3.4.2 for details on the REPAIR command.
REPLY ALL
SENDER-ONLY
Facilitates replying to the current message. Refer to
Section 3.2 for a full description of the REPLY command.
RETRIEVE DRAFT
LAST-MESSAGE
Fetches the last message sent or a draft previously stored
in a file, and enters send level. Sections 3.1.1 and 3.1.2
discuss the RETRIEVE command.
| SEND
| Lets you compose and send a message. Refer to Chapter 3 for
| a full description of the SEND command.
SET parameter
Gives you control over many DECmail/MS operations. Refer to
the description of the SET command in Section 6.3 for the
list of parameters you can specify.
SHOW parameter
Displays a variety of information about the DECmail/MS
environment. Refer to the full description of the SHOW
command in Section 4.4 for the list of parameters you can
specify.
| SKIM message sequence
| Gives a one-line summary of messages and after each summary
| leaves your terminal at the equivalent of read level. Refer
| to Section 4.3.1 for complete information on the SKIM
| command.
TAKE filespec
Executes a file of DECmail/MS commands. Refer to the full
description of the TAKE command in Section 6.4.
| EVERYTHING
| TYPE HEADER-ITEMS
| TEXT
Displays the current message on your terminal. Refer to the
full description of the TYPE command in Section 2.2.
UNDELETE message sequence
Reverses the effect of the DELETE command.
UNFLAG message sequence
2-4
READING MESSAGES
Reverses the effect of the FLAG command.
UNMARK message sequence
Reverses the effect of the MARK command. The specified
messages become "new".
| EVERYTHING
| VERBOSE-TYPE HEADER-ITEMS
| TEXT
| Displays the current message on your terminal. Refer to the
| full description of the VERBOSE-TYPE command in Section 2.2.
When you have finished reading all the messages in the sequence,
typing carriage-return or QUIT to the MS READ>> prompt returns you to
the previous command level.
Related Commands
The following commands are related to READ. Refer to Section 6.3 for
information on these commands.
SET BRIEF-ADDRESS-LIST-DISPLAY
SET ONLY-HEADERS-SHOWN
SET SUPPRESSED-HEADERS
2.2 PERUSING MESSAGES
There may be times when you want to read messages without pausing
between them at read level. The TYPE command, available from all
three DECmail/MS command levels, allows you to do this. It displays
messages and leaves your terminal at the command level you issued it
from.
Command format:
| MS>TYPE (MESSAGES) message sequence
|
| EVERYTHING
| MS READ>>TYPE HEADER-ITEMS
| TEXT
|
| MS SEND>>TYPE (MESSAGES) message sequence
where:
|
| o EVERYTHING, HEADER-ITEMS, and TEXT refer to the part of the
| current message you want to display.
2-5
READING MESSAGES
| o message sequence specifies the messages you want to display.
|
Unlike READ, the TYPE command does not clear the screen before
displaying messages.
The VERBOSE-TYPE command also allows you to read messages quickly. It
is identical in format and function to the TYPE command, except that
it displays messages literally. That is, it ignores any of your SET
command directives to suppress header output. Messages are displayed
in their entirety.
Related Commands
The following commands are related to TYPE and VERBOSE-TYPE. Refer to
Section 6.3 for information on these commands.
SET BRIEF-ADDRESS-LIST-DISPLAY
SET ONLY-HEADERS-SHOWN
SET SUPPRESSED-HEADERS
2.3 READING THE "NEXT" MESSAGE
To read succeeding messages in a mail file, you can issue the NEXT
command from top or read level.
Command format:
MS>NEXT (MESSAGE)
or
MS READ>>NEXT (MESSAGE IN SEQUENCE)
The NEXT command has different effects according to the level from
which it is issued. From top level, it displays the message following
the current one in the file. From read level, it displays the next
message in the sequence you specified with the READ command. The NEXT
command is the default command at read level.
|
| You can also display succeeding messages with the READ, TYPE, or
| VERBOSE-TYPE command followed by the NEXT message sequence.
2.4 READING THE SYSTEM "BULLETIN BOARD"
A DECmail/MS bulletin board is a message file of general interest to
2-6
READING MESSAGES
users. As an unprivileged user, you can perform such activities as
reading, printing, and copying messages from the file. However, only
privileged users can send messages to it or delete them.
The operator or system manager may send messages to this file (that
is, to SYSTEM) to inform you of an upcoming system shutdown, and so
on.
You access this file with the SYSTEM-MESSAGES command to make it your
current message file.
Command format:
MS>SYSTEM-MESSAGES
When new messages are sent to this file, the following line appears on
your terminal:
[<system> <time> New SYSTEM mail available]
where:
o system is the name of your system.
o time is the time of day.
On TOPS-20 systems, messages that were sent to this file after you
logged off the system are automatically displayed on your terminal (or
in your batch log file) when you log in.
To return to your mail file, give the command:
MS>GET
2.5 DESIGNATING MAIL AS READ AND UNREAD
When the DECmail/MS system first starts up, it displays a summary line
for each message that you have not yet read. (An "N" appears in the
left margin of the line for each of these "new," or unread, messages.)
When you read a message using the READ, TYPE or VERBOSE-TYPE command,
the DECmail/MS system executes a MARK command for the message; and the
message is then designated as an "old," or read, message. (Note that
you can specify NEW or OLD as the message sequence argument for
DECmail/MS commands.)
You may occasionally want to "mark" messages yourself. Assume, for
example, that you receive large volumes of mail and cannot read it
right away. You could issue the MARK command for any messages you
want to postpone reading. Then these messages would not be included
when you or the DECmail/MS system initiated any action on "new"
2-7
READING MESSAGES
messages. This command is available from top and read levels.
Command format:
MS>MARK (MESSAGES) message sequence
or
| MS READ>>MARK (MESSAGES) message sequence
where:
message sequence indicates the messages you want to mark. The
current message is the default.
The UNMARK command removes the "read" mark from a message, putting it
back into the "new" category. Its format is identical to that for the
MARK command.
2-8
CHAPTER 3
SENDING MESSAGES
Chapter 3 describes the DECmail/MS commands that allow you to send
messages. Commands in this category include those for composing and
editing messages, for forwarding copies of messages you receive, and
for replying to messages.
3.1 SENDING MAIL
To compose and send a message, use the SEND command, from any command
level.
Command format:
SEND (MESSAGE)
From top and read levels, the SEND command prompts you for the
required information, such as the "To" list, the "cc" list and the
subject. (The "cc" list and the subject can be blank.) It then
prompts you for the text of the message. When you have completed the
text of the message, type CTRL/Z, which will cause the message to be
sent immediately.
If, at some point while you are typing the text of the message, you
realize that you have made a mistake in the header or text, you can
easily correct it. Press the ESC key. This puts you at send level,
which prompts with "MS Send>>". You can use send-level commands to
alter the current draft of the message.
From send level, the SEND command causes the message you have just
prepared to be sent immediately.
SEND-LEVEL COMMANDS
BLANK
Clears the video terminal screen.
3-1
SENDING MESSAGES
CC
Allows you to add to the list of people receiving "carbon
copies" of the message. Refer to the description of the SET
DEFAULT CC-LIST command in Section 6.3 for related
information.
| DAYTIME
| Displays the current date and time.
ADDRESS-LIST
DEFINE ALIAS
HEADER-ITEM
Allows you to create address lists, alias names for users,
or new message-header items. Refer to Chapter 6 for
descriptions.
ALL
CC
DISPLAY SUBJECT
TEXT
TO
Shows the part of the message that you specify: the entire
message, the recipient lists, the subject line, or the
message text. The default value is ALL.
EDIT TEXT
Sends your message text to your default text editor, for
example, TV, SOS, or EDIT. You can then use any of the
editor commands to modify your message. After exiting from
the editor, you are returned to send level.
|
| NOTE
|
| If you periodically copy your files to disk while
| using an editor, you may need to give the command:
| INSERT FILE MSG.TMP to retrieve the message text
| after returning to send level.
|
| On TOPS-10 systems, the default editor is TECO unless you
| created a logical name EDITOR: that points to another
| editor.
On TOPS-20 systems, the default editor is the same one that
is invoked when you give the EDIT or CREATE operating system
command. Refer to the TOPS-20 Commands Reference Manual for
details on default editors.
ALL
CC
HEADER-ITEM keyword
ERASE REPLY-INFORMATION
SUBJECT
3-2
SENDING MESSAGES
TEXT
TO
Erases the part of the message that you specify:
o the entire message
o the recipient lists
o any particular message header item that you established
with the DEFINE command
o reply-related header information such as the
"References" and "In-reply-to" fields (applicable if you
entered send level by way of REPLY)
o the subject line
o the message text
To delete individual names from the "To" or "cc" list, use
the REMOVE command instead.
EXIT
Ends your DECmail/MS session; returns you to operating
system command level or logs you off the system. Refer to
Section 7.1 for details on the EXIT command.
HELP topic
Provides short explanations of various DECmail/MS commands
and functions. Refer to the full description of the HELP
command in Section 4.1 for the list of topics you can
specify with the HELP command.
INCLUDE keyword
Incorporates optional or required user-defined header items
in the header portion of the message. Refer to the
description of the DEFINE HEADER-ITEM command in Section 6.1
for details.
| INSERT FILE filespec
| MESSAGE message sequence
| Appends a file or messages to the message you are preparing.
The default directory is the one you specified with the SET
DEFAULT DIRECTORY command. The INSERT command is useful for
sending reports and other lengthy material that you may have
created with one of the system text editors.
PUSH
Puts your terminal at operating system command level. Refer
to the full description of the PUSH command in Section 7.5.
3-3
SENDING MESSAGES
QUIT
Returns you to the previous DECmail/MS command level. Refer
to the full description of the QUIT command in Section 7.2.
REMOVE username(s)
Erases addresses from either the "To" or "cc" list,
depending upon the list in which the addresses appear. To
delete the entire "To" or "cc" list, use the ERASE command
instead.
| RETURN-RECEIPT-REQUESTED
| Requires recipients to acknowledge the message before
| reading it. The command prompts you for the address where
| the acknowledgement is to be sent:
|
| MS send>>RETURN-RECEIPT-REQUESTED
| Return-receipt-requested-to:TUCKER
|
| If you specify a period (.), the acknowledgement is returned to
| your own address.
|
| When recipients try to read the message, they are prompted as
| follows:
|
| MS>READ
| N 108 6-Dec TUCKER@GREEN |Final Plan (238 chars)
| Sender of message 108 has requested return receipt.
| Send it ? YES
| Processing mail...
| Mail queued for delivery by MX
|
| After a YES response, the message is displayed, and an
| acknowledgement is returned to the sender:
|
| Message 109 (394 chars), received Friday, December 6, 1985 15:29-EST
| Sender: MEYERS
| Date: 6 Dec 1985 1529-EST
| From: MEYERS@GREEN
| To: TUCKER@GREEN
| Subject: Re: Final Plan
| References: Message from <TUCKER@GREEN> of 6-Dec-85 1529-EST
| In-reply-to: <"MS11(2506)+GLXLIB5(0)" 12165016134.225.542.65609 at GREEN>
|
| This is a RETURN RECEIPT for your message.
|
| ========
|
| A NO response displays the message without returning a receipt.
SAVE DRAFT filespec or carriage-return
Stores the draft you are working on in the specified file. On
TOPS-10 systems, the default file extension is .DRF. On TOPS-20
3-4
SENDING MESSAGES
systems, the default file type is .DRAFT, and the default
directory is the one specified in the SET DEFAULT DIRECTORY
command. The draft includes the "To" and "cc" lists, the
subject, and the text of the message. You can later issue the
RETRIEVE DRAFT command to pick up where you left off. (Refer to
Section 3.1.1 for a discussion of the RETRIEVE DRAFT command.)
The SAVE DRAFT command leaves you at send level. If you wish to
send the draft as is, give the SEND command (and the draft is
still saved in the file you specified). If you wish to leave
send level without sending the draft right away, give the QUIT
command.
Note that, if you give a carriage-return instead of a filespec,
the DECmail/MS system gives you a message and returns you to send
level without having stored the draft anywhere. This gives you a
last-minute chance to change your mind about saving the draft for
later. You can then continue composing the message.
NOTE
If you specify the name of an existing file, its
contents are erased and replaced with your draft.
SAVE OUTGOING-MESSAGES filespec or carriage-return
Stores copies of messages that you send. Refer to Section 5.3
for details.
SEND
Sends your message and returns you to the previous DECmail/MS
command level.
SET parameter
Gives you control over many DECmail/MS operations. Refer to the
full description of the SET command in Section 6.3 for the list
of parameters you can specify.
SHOW parameter
Displays a variety of information about the DECmail/MS
environment. Refer to the full description of the SHOW command
in Section 4.4 for the list of parameters that you can specify.
SUBJECT
Allows you to retype the subject line of the message.
TAKE filespec
Executes a file of DECmail/MS commands. Refer to the full
description of the TAKE command in Section 6.4.
TEXT
Returns you to text mode so that you can continue composing the
message. Text mode is further described below.
3-5
SENDING MESSAGES
TO
Allows you to add to the list of recipients for the message.
TYPE message sequence
Displays the specified messages on your terminal. Refer to the
full description of the TYPE command in Section 2.2.
VERBOSE-TYPE message sequence
Displays the specified messages on your terminal. Refer to the
full description of the VERBOSE-TYPE command in Section 2.2.
If you are at send level and decide that you do not want to send the
message, use the QUIT command, which returns you to the previous
level.
After giving a send-level command, you can return to DECmail/MS text
mode by issuing the TEXT command to add text to the draft of the
message. Or you can give the SEND command to send the completed
message.
In DECmail/MS text mode, you can manipulate lines of text by pressing
the DELETE key or issuing one of several control characters:
DELETE Deletes the previous character.
CTRL/W Deletes the previous word.
CTRL/U Deletes the current line.
CTRL/R Redisplays the current line.
Note that you can delete across line boundaries. That is, you can
continue deleting lines, characters, and words until you have erased
the entire message.
The following characters allow you to manipulate the entire message
when you are in DECmail/MS text mode:
CTRL/B Inserts a file in the message you are preparing.
This commonly used control key is useful for
sending reports and other lengthy material that
you have previously prepared with a system text
editor. The system prompts you for the name of
the file. Note that the default directory for the
file is based on the SET DEFAULT DIRECTORY command
setting.
CTRL/K Redisplays the entire message text.
ESC Enters send-level command mode.
CTRL/E Enters your default text editor.
3-6
SENDING MESSAGES
CTRL/Z Sends the message.
| Related Commands
|
| The following commands are related to SEND. Refer to Section 6.3 for
| information on them.
|
| SET AUTO-FILL
|
| SET CLOSING-TEXT
3.1.1 Continuing Work on an Old Draft
While at send-command level, you can store the unfinished draft of a
message you are composing by issuing the SAVE DRAFT command. The
RETRIEVE DRAFT command, available at top and read levels, fetches the
message when you are ready for it.
Command format:
MS>RETRIEVE DRAFT (FROM FILE) filespec
or
MS READ>>RETRIEVE DRAFT (FROM FILE) filespec
where:
filespec specifies the file that contains the draft. The file
specification is the same one that you used for the SAVE DRAFT
command. The default directory for the file is based on the SET
DEFAULT DIRECTORY command setting.
This command retrieves the draft, displays the draft on your terminal,
and leaves you at send level. You can then give any of the send-level
commands to manipulate the draft; most commonly, you would give the
TEXT command to add message text to the draft.
3.1.2 Editing and Resending a Message
After sending a message, you may realize that you forgot to include
someone in the address lists. Or you may want to modify a message and
send the new version to another list of addressees. In these and
similar situations, you can issue the RETRIEVE LAST-MESSAGE command to
fetch a copy of the last message you sent in the current DECmail/MS
session, so that you can edit and resend it.
3-7
SENDING MESSAGES
Command format:
MS>RETRIEVE LAST-MESSAGE (AND ENTER SEND LEVEL)
or
MS READ>>RETRIEVE LAST-MESSAGE (AND ENTER SEND LEVEL)
This command, available at top and read levels, displays the message
and puts you into send level. You can then use any send-level command
to add or delete users in the address lists, to edit the text of the
message, and then to send the message again.
NOTE
This command does NOT retract mail; that is, if you
have sent a message to someone and then changed your
mind, this command does not remove the message from
the recipient's mailbox. Once a message has been
sent, it has been sent. This command simply retrieves
the draft of the message so that you need not type it
in again.
3.2 ANSWERING MAIL
To reply to messages that other users send you, use the REPLY command.
REPLY command format:
MS>REPLY (MESSAGES) message sequence
or
MS READ>>REPLY (TO) ALL
SENDER-ONLY
where:
o ALL sends the reply to the sender and to everyone on the
recipient lists.
o SENDER-ONLY sends the reply only to the sender. This is the
default action.
o Message sequence specifies the message(s) to be answered.
At read level, it is assumed that you wish to reply to the current
message. This is also true at top level if you do not specify a
message sequence.
3-8
SENDING MESSAGES
When you use this command at top level, the DECmail/MS system prompts
you as follows:
Reply message number n to:
where:
n indicates one of the messages in the message sequence you
specified. You can respond with ALL or SENDER-ONLY.
REPLY works just like the SEND command; except that, since the
DECmail/MS system knows whom to send the message to, it does not ask
for the "To" or "cc" list. The DECmail/MS system determines from the
message being answered who the sender was, and thus whom the reply
should go to, so that you need not type in the name of the recipient.
Likewise, if you choose to send replies to people who received copies
of the message, the DECmail/MS system can easily determine the
addresses. In addition, the DECmail/MS system does not prompt you for
the subject of the message. It takes the subject line from the
message you are answering.
Related Commands
The following commands are related to REPLY. Refer to Section 6.3 for
information on these commands.
SET DEFAULT REPLY-TO-ALL
SET DEFAULT REPLY-TO-SENDER-ONLY
SET [NO] INCLUDE-ME-IN-REPLIES
SET [NO] REPLY-TO
3.3 FORWARDING MAIL
To send copies of mail you receive, issue the FORWARD command from top
or read level.
FORWARD
Command format:
MS>FORWARD (MESSAGES) message sequence
or
| MS READ>>FORWARD (MESSAGES) message sequence
3-9
SENDING MESSAGES
where:
message sequence specifies the message(s) to be forwarded.
After you issue the command, the DECmail/MS system prompts you for the
"To" and "cc" lists. It does not prompt you for the subject line of
the message, however, but takes this line from the last forwarded
message in the sequence you specified.
So that you can add your own comments about the messages, the
DECmail/MS system prompts you for text, which is inserted in front of
the package. If, while at text level, you type ESC to get to send
level, and later issue the TEXT command to continue the text you want
to insert, everything you type after issuing the TEXT command appears
after the messages you are forwarding. This is useful if you want to
add text after as well as before the forwarded messages.
3.4 SENDING NETWORK MAIL
NOTE
Section 3.4 and its subsections are applicable only if
DECmail/MS network software is installed on your
system.
The DECmail/MS system handles two kinds of mail: local mail, which
goes to and from users of the same computer, and network mail, which
goes to and from users of different (remote) computers. Ordinarily,
the only difference that is important to you is that, when you send
mail to remote users, you must identify the computer that they use.
Add "@hostname" to their usernames, where "hostname" is the name of
the computer they use. For example:
MS>SEND
To: Marotta@KL2137
When you send mail, it is not delivered immediately but is queued for
| later transmission ("Mail queued for delivery by MX"). Within a short
period of time the system will transmit this mail, provided the
destination system is up and receiving mail. Otherwise, it remains
| posted for up to fourteen days awaiting delivery.
| Section 1.3 discusses network addresses in detail. Note that mail
| within a TOPS-20 computer cluster is considered to be local, so you do
| not need to specify a hostname. Your system manager will know whether
| or not your system is part of a cluster.
3-10
SENDING MESSAGES
3.4.1 Sending DECnet Mail
When you send a message, the DECmail/MS system creates the following
file in your directory:
| MSnnnn.MX
where:
| nnnn is a four-digit file identifier.
The DECmail/MS system places your message in the file. A copy of this
| file is transmitted to the destination hosts and is copied as many
| times as necessary for the number of recipients. After a successful
send, the file is deleted from your directory. But if there are
problems during transmission, this file is renamed to:
| MSnnnn.RPR
| You can then correct the message by using the REPAIR command. In
addition, the DECmail/MS system sends you mail when one of your DECnet
messages is undeliverable. The message you receive looks something
like this:
| Message 149 (308 chars), received Monday, February 10, 1986 16:06-EST
| Sender: POSTMASTER
| Date: 10-Feb-86 16:06:01-EST
| From: Postmaster <POSTMASTER@GOLD>
| To: TUCKER
| Subject: Undeliverable Mail
|
| MX1(124) was unable to deliver some (or all) of the mail contained in the
| file POBOX:[TUCKER]MS7007.RPR because:
|
| ?MX %MAIL-E-NOSUCHUSR, no such user CPERLMAN at node GREEN
|
| You may use the command "REPAIR 7007" to repair the message.
The following section describes how to correct messages.
3.4.2 Correcting Undeliverable DECnet Mail
Messages that you send across computer networks are returned to you
for correction if they contain wrong addresses: an intended recipient
may not have an account on the destination host, or the hostname that
you specified may have been unrecognizable. To correct the message,
issue the REPAIR command from top or read level.
Command format:
3-11
SENDING MESSAGES
| MS>REPAIR (UNDELIVERABLE MAIL IN .RPR FILE) n
or
| MS READ>>REPAIR (UNDELIVERABLE MAIL IN .RPR FILE) n
where:
| n is the four-digit file identifier from the .RPR file. The
| Postmaster message explains the problem and gives the full name
| of the file. If the message was sent to an address list, all
| other users received copies of the message.
Once you have successfully identified a "dead letter" to the
DECmail/MS system, the message is displayed on your terminal, and you
are placed at send level. You can then use any of the send-level
commands to correct the problem with the message and try to send it
| again. At the end of a repair session, the .RPR file is deleted from
| your directory.
|
| Repaired messages are resent to all recipients, with the following
| line inserted at the beginning of the text:
|
| [THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN REMAILED WITH A CORRECTED DISRIBUTION LIST]
3-12
CHAPTER 4
OBTAINING INFORMATION
Chapter 4 presents the various commands you can use to get
miscellaneous information on the DECmail/MS system, your message file,
and the parameters in effect for your job.
4.1 GETTING HELP
The DECmail/MS system can give you information on any top-level
command, as well as on a variety of DECmail/MS features. To get the
assistance you need, use the HELP command at top, read, or send level.
This command types the information you request on your terminal. For
the list of HELP command topics, type HELP ? as follows:
MS>HELP ? confirm with carriage return
or one of the following:
Answer Bad-format Blank Check
Command-levels Copy Create-init-file Define
Delete Echo EMACS Exit
Expunge File Flag Forward
Get Headers Init-file Introduction
Mark Message-sequence Move Net-mail
Next Novice Print Push
Quit Read Repair Reply
Retrieve RFC733 Save Send
Set Show System-messages Take
Type Undelete Unflag Unmark
Verbose-type Version Vocabulary
MS>HELP
To get help with one of these topics, type HELP followed by the name
of the topic.
4-1
OBTAINING INFORMATION
4.2 CHECKING FOR NEW MAIL
The DECmail/MS system periodically checks the current message file to
see if any new messages have arrived. Every time the DECmail/MS
system updates your message file (because you have deleted a message,
for example), and every time it returns to the top-level prompt from
some other level, it makes this check. If new messages have arrived,
the DECmail/MS system notifies you by displaying a one-line summary of
each new message.
To force the DECmail/MS system to check immediately for new messages,
give the CHECK command at top level. If new messages have arrived,
the DECmail/MS system displays the new state of the message file,
along with a one-line summary of each new message.
4.3 OBTAINING SUMMARIES OF MESSAGES
| The HEADERS and DIRECTORY commands provide an index to the messages in
| a mail file. These commands have the same function and format.
Command format:
| MS>HEADERS (MESSAGES) message sequence
or
| MS READ>>HEADERS (MESSAGES) message sequence
where:
message sequence specifies the messages for which you want
summary information. At read level, the default message sequence
is CURRENT. At top level, the default message sequence is NEW.
These commands, available from both top and read levels, give you a
one-line summary of each message specified. The line looks something
like this:
NFAD 1 12-Jul GUINEAU@OFFICE-3 |This Monday's meeting (549 chars)
o The letters at the beginning of the line are called the
message flags. Each letter has a meaning, and appears only
when it applies to the specified message. The letters'
meanings are:
- N - the message is new; that is, you have not seen it
yet. It has not been specified in a READ, TYPE or
VERBOSE-TYPE command. The N also appears for messages
that were specified in an UNMARK command.
4-2
OBTAINING INFORMATION
- F - the message is flagged; it was specified in a FLAG
command.
- A - the message has been answered; it was specified in a
REPLY command.
- D - the message is deleted; it was specified in a DELETE
or MOVE command.
o The next column is the number assigned to the message. Every
message in the file has a unique number, determined by its
relative position in the file. You can specify this number
for the message sequence argument for DECmail/MS commands.
Note that message numbers change when a file is updated, for
example, when messages are deleted and expunged.
o The next column is the date of the message.
o Next is the name of the user who sent the message, in this
case, GUINEAU@OFFICE-3. If the user's name is so long that
it would overrun its allotted area, it is truncated.
If the message was sent by you, the DECmail/MS system
displays the "To" field of the message. For example:
NFAD 1 12-Jul To: GUINEAU@OFFICE-3 |This Monday's meeting (549 chars)
This situation reflects the fact that you are saving your
outgoing messages in your mail file, or that you explicitly
sent a copy to yourself. Ordinarily, the "from" field is
displayed in the third column.
o The next column, beginning at the vertical bar (|)
character, is the subject of the message. The subject is
also truncated when necessary.
If the message was sent with a REPLY command, the subject
field begins with "Re:".
o And last, in parentheses, is the length of the message, in
characters.
Related Commands
| The following commands are related to HEADERS and DIRECTORY. Refer to
the table of commands preceding Chapter 2 for information on these
commands.
SET SUMMARY-PERSONAL-NAME-ONLY
|
| SKIM
4-3
OBTAINING INFORMATION
| 4.3.1 Scanning a Message File
|
| With the SKIM command, you can scan message summaries and stop to
| perform some action at the desired messages. SKIM combines the
| features of HEADERS and READ. It executes the HEADERS command then
| leaves your terminal at the equivalent of read level after each
| message summary. At this level, you can then issue a command to
| immediately act upon the message.
|
| Command format:
|
| MS>SKIM (MESSAGES) message sequence
|
| or
|
| MS READ>>SKIM (MESSAGES) message sequence
|
| where:
|
| message sequence specifies the messages you want to scan. At
| read level, the current message is the default.
|
| This example shows how you might skim a message file and act upon some
| of the messages you encounter:
|
| MS>SKIM 15:20 <RET>
| 15 28-May David D'Antonio |Re: FINAL review of -20 (490 chars)
| MS skim>>DELETE <RET>
| MS skim>> <RET>
| A 16 29-May MEYERS@KL2137 |Re: FINAL review of -20 (431 chars)
| MS skim>>MOVE 20.TXT
| MS skim>> <RET>
| 17 30-May CPERLMAN@KL2102 |[GETTENS at KL2137: FYI (10744 chars)
| MS skim>>DELETE <RET>
| MS skim>> <RET>
| A 18 3-Jun GRANT@MARKET |Manual Review (285 chars)
| MS skim>>TYPE <RET>
| Message 18 (285 chars), received Monday, June 3, 1985 06:57-EDT
| Sender: GRANT
| Date: 3 Jun 1985 0657-EDT
| From: GRANT@MARKET
| To: tucker@MARKET
| Subject: Manual Review
|
| Can we get together today? I have some minor comments, nothing very
| serious at all.
| ========
| MS skim>> <RET>
| 19 3-Jun GRANT@MARKET |Re: Manual Review (395 chars)
| MS skim>>TYPE <RET>
| Message 19 (395 chars), received Monday, June 3, 1985 10:59-EDT
| Sender: GRANT@MARKET
4-4
OBTAINING INFORMATION
| Date: 3 Jun 1985 1054-EDT
| From: GRANT@MARKET
| To: Brenda
| Subject: Re: Manual Review
| References: Message from Brenda <TUCKER@KL2102> of 3-Jun-85 1012-EDT
| In-reply-to: <"MS11(2407)+GLXLIB5(0)" 12116188646.100.542.4931 at KL2102>
|
| ok, 1:30
| --------
|
| MS skim>> <RET>
| 20 5-Jun CAISSIE at KL2137 |SPRING CLEAN UP DAY (874 chars)
| MS skim>> <RET>
| MS>
|
| The first command specifies that messages 15 through 20 are to be
| skimmed. Message 15 is deleted; message 16 is moved to the file
| 20.TXT; message 17 is deleted; messages 18 and 19 are displayed; and
| message 20 is simply summarized. The HEADERS command, below, shows
| that messages 15, 16, and 17 were deleted. This is indicated by the D
| in the left margin.
|
| MS>HEADERS 15:20 <RET>
| D 15 28-May David D'Antonio |Re: FINAL review of -20 (490 chars)
| AD 16 29-May MEYERS@KL2137 |Re: FINAL review of -20 (431 chars)
| D 17 30-May CPERLMAN@KL2102 |[GETTENS at KL2137: FYI (10744 chars)
| A 18 3-Jun GRANT@MARKET |Manual Review (285 chars)
| 19 3-Jun GRANT@MARKET |Re: Manual Review (395 chars)
| 20 5-Jun CAISSIE@KL2137 |SPRING CLEAN UP DAY (874 chars)
| MS>
|
| You can issue SKIM and READ commands while at skim-command level to
| retrieve additional message sequences. The prompt shows your level of
| recursion [SKIM (1)>>]. For further information on this topic, refer
| to the description of the READ read-level command in Section 2.1.
4.4 DISPLAYING SYSTEM AND USER INFORMATION
| This section describes the information you can obtain with the SHOW
| and DAYTIME commands. These commands are available from all command
| levels.
SHOW Commands
SHOW ADDRESS-LISTS
Displays all currently defined address lists that you or the
system manager may have established with the DEFINE ADDRESS-LIST
command.
SHOW ALIASES
4-5
OBTAINING INFORMATION
Displays all currently defined aliases that you or the system
manager may have established with the DEFINE ALIAS command.
SHOW DAYTIME
| Displays the current date and time. Same as the DAYTIME command.
SHOW DEFAULTS
Shows the defaults (assumptions that the DECmail/MS system makes)
that are currently in effect. For example:
MS>SHOW (INFORMATION ABOUT) DEFAULTS
set default directory (to) connected-directory
set default protection (for created files) 777777
set default reply-to-sender-only
set no text-scroll-region
set personal-name Nelda F. Harris
set auto-expunge (on) exit-command-only
save-outgoing-messages (in file) PS:<HARRIS>MAIL.TXT.1
You can use the SET command to change most of the defaults
displayed by the SHOW command.
SHOW HEADER-ITEMS (DEFINED BY USER)
Displays all currently defined header items and their types
(optional, predefined, or required); and, for predefined header
items, displays the currently defined value. You define header
items with the DEFINE HEADER-ITEM command.
SHOW STATUS (OF CURRENT MESSAGE FILE)
Shows you the name and status of the current message file. This
includes:
o the filespec for the current message file.
o the date and time the file was last read (TOPS-20 systems
only).
o the number of messages in the file.
|
| o the number of new messages in the file.
|
| o the size of the file in characters and disk blocks for
| TOPS-10 systems; each block contains 640 characters.
|
| o the size of the file in characters and disk pages for TOPS-20
| systems; each page contains 2560 characters.
o the number of deleted (but not yet expunged) messages.
o a list of numbers for flagged messages (those previously
specified in a FLAG command).
4-6
OBTAINING INFORMATION
o the current message number.
For example, on a TOPS-20 system:
| MS>SHOW STATUS
| Current message file is PUBLIC:<TUCKER>MAIL.TXT.1
| Last read: Wednesday, November 20, 1985 10:17-EST.
| 94 messages (1 new) (141468 characters), in 56 disk pages.
| (You have 2 messages deleted.)
| Messages 89:90 flagged.
| Currently at message 1.
|
| Most of this information is displayed when you start up the
| DECmail/MS system, unless the SET NO TYPE-INITIAL-SUMMARY command
| is in effect.
SHOW VERSION
Displays the version of the DECmail/MS system currently running,
and a list of optional features that are supported by this
version (such as network mail).
|
|
| DAYTIME Command
|
| DAYTIME
| Displays the current date and time. Same as the SHOW DAYTIME
| command.
4-7
5-1
CHAPTER 5
MANAGING MESSAGE FILES
Chapter 5 discusses the various ways you can manipulate message files
as well as the individual messages contained within them. It
describes moving messages in and out of files and moving entire mail
files in and out of your range of influence.
5.1 MOVING MESSAGES TO OTHER FILES
You can move a message to a new or existing file and either retain or
delete the original copy. You might want to move messages in order to
collect a set of related messages in one place. The commands that
allow you to move messages are COPY, MOVE, and FILE.
o The COPY command, available from both top and read levels,
places a copy of a message into a different file.
Command format:
MS>COPY (MESSAGES) message sequence
or
MS READ>>COPY (INTO FILE) filespec
where:
- filespec is the name of the file in which to place
the message. From top level, the DECmail/MS system
prompts you for the filespec after you issue the
command. The default file type (or file extension)
is .TXT. The message is then appended to the
specified file; any existing contents of this file
are preserved. If the file does not exist, it is
created.
5-1
MANAGING MESSAGE FILES
- message sequence indicates the messages you want to
copy. At read level, it is assumed that you want to
copy the current message.
Example
MS>COPY (MESSAGE SEQUENCE) 1
Into file: NEW.TXT
Copied: 1
o The MOVE command, available from both top and read levels,
moves a message into another file and deletes the original.
It works exactly as if you had used the COPY command to copy
the message into the other file, and then used the DELETE
command to delete the original copy.
The MOVE and COPY command formats are identical.
o The FILE command is a combination of the MOVE and COPY
commands. It allows you to copy a number of messages (at top
level) or the current message (at read level) into another
file, and to optionally delete the original message(s).
After copying the message(s) into the specified file, the
DECmail/MS system asks whether you wish to delete the
original(s). You reply either YES or NO; NO is the default
and is assumed if you give no reply.
Example
MS>FILE (MESSAGES) 1
Into file: NEW.TXT
Filed: 1
Delete from current message file the message(s) just filed? YES
Use the GET command to examine and manipulate the contents of the
message files you create with the COPY, MOVE, and FILE commands.
Related Commands
The following commands are related to COPY, MOVE, and FILE.
GET
SET DEFAULT DIRECTORY
SET DEFAULT PROTECTION
5-2
MANAGING MESSAGE FILES
5.2 RETRIEVING MESSAGES
There are many ways to retrieve messages. For example, Chapter 3
discusses the use of the RETRIEVE and REPAIR commands. Also, with the
message sequence arguments, you can select messages in a seemingly
infinite variety of ways. This section describes how to retrieve an
entire message file. Once you have accessed the desired file, you can
then use any top-level command to manipulate the messages contained
within it.
To retrieve a message file, use the GET command from top level.
Command format:
MS>GET (MESSAGES FROM FILE) filespec
where:
filespec is the designation for the message file you want to
retrieve. The default file extension is .TXT. The default
filespec is your mail file. The default directory is your
| logged-in directory (TOPS-10) or your directory on
| POBOX: (TOPS-20), regardless of the SET DEFAULT DIRECTORY command
setting.
The GET command causes the DECmail/MS system to read in a new message
file. Once the DECmail/MS system reads the file, it types a couple of
lines of status information about the file, for example:
MS>GET <BROWN>NEW.TXT
Last read: 11-Apr-82 21:52. 14 messages, 4 pages.
Messages 1:2, 10 flagged.
This file is now considered to be the current message file. To return
to your mail file, type:
MS>GET
Related Commands
The following commands are related to GET.
COPY
FILE
MOVE
SAVE OUTGOING-MESSAGES
SET DEFAULT DIRECTORY
5-3
MANAGING MESSAGE FILES
SYSTEM-MESSAGES
5.3 SAVING OUTGOING MAIL
To keep a record of all messages you send, give the SAVE
OUTGOING-MESSAGES command from top or send level.
Command format:
MS>SAVE OUTGOING-MESSAGES (IN FILE) filespec or carriage-return
or
MS SEND>>SAVE OUTGOING-MESSAGES (IN FILE) filespec or carriage-return
where:
o filespec is the name of the file that will contain the
messages.
o carriage-return indicates that you want to erase the previous
setting for this command; outgoing messages are no longer
saved.
Once you give this command, every message you send is copied into the
file you named. You could give MAIL.TXT as the filespec, which would
cause all outgoing mail to go to your mail file. Then, all your
incoming and outgoing mail would be collected in one place. (The
HEADERS command highlights the messages you sent so that you are not
confused by having the two types of messages in one file.) Saving
incoming and outgoing mail in one file provides a handy log of message
transactions. For example, the output from the following HEADERS
command shows that a message was sent from Tucker to Tamburri on April
3rd; Tamburri replied to this message on April 5th; and so forth.
| MS>HEADERS (MESSAGES) ALL
| 1 4-Feb COTE@KL2102 |mail system improvements (1579 chars)
| 2 15-Mar To: MURDY@KL2102 |test (182 chars)
| 3 23-Mar To: tucker@KL2102 | (169 chars)
| 4 23-Mar To: murdy@KL2102 |test (210 chars)
| 5 3-Apr To: TAMBURRI@KL21 |INFO BATCH (294 chars)
| 6 5-Apr TAMBURRI@KL2102 |Re: INFO BATCH (851 chars)
| 7 6-Apr To: TAMBURRI@KL21 |Re: INFO BATCH (367 chars)
| 8 8-Apr TAMBURRI@KL2102 |Re: INFO BATCH (361 chars)
You could read these messages to reacquaint yourself with the
correspondence:
MS>READ SUBJECT INFO BATCH
5-4
MANAGING MESSAGE FILES
If you choose to store your outgoing messages in a separate message
file, you would issue the GET command to examine the contents of this
file.
SAVE OUTGOING-MESSAGES is most commonly placed in an initialization
file, rather than repeatedly typed at the terminal. (Refer to Section
6.4.1 for information on initialization files.)
The SAVE OUTGOING-MESSAGES command saves all messages that you send;
however, the SET INCLUDE-ME-IN-REPLIES command, described in Section
6.3, saves only the messages that you send with a REPLY command.
5.4 DISCARDING MESSAGES
To delete messages from the current message file, give the DELETE
command from either top or read level, as follows:
MS>DELETE (MESSAGES) message sequence
or
| MS READ>>DELETE (MESSAGES) message sequence
where:
| message sequence indicates the messages you want to delete. The
| current message is the default.
Messages you delete do not disappear immediately, but are marked as
| deleted. (The HEADERS and DIRECTORY commands show a "D" in the left
margin for these messages.) They remain in your file until you give
the EXPUNGE command or exit from the mail session. (See Chapter 7.)
If you accidentally delete a message, you can use the UNDELETE command
to get it back, unless an expunge has occurred. Once you have
expunged a message, you cannot get it back.
The DELETE and UNDELETE command formats are identical.
The EXPUNGE command, available from top level, does not require any
arguments. It erases all messages that were specified in a DELETE
command and renumbers the remaining messages. The SET AUTO-EXPUNGE
command determines when your messages are automatically expunged.
Refer to the description of the SET AUTO-EXPUNGE command in Section
6.3 for details.
5.5 PRINTING MESSAGES ON THE LINE PRINTER
To produce a line printer listing of messages, give the PRINT command
5-5
MANAGING MESSAGE FILES
from top or read level.
Command format:
| MS>PRINT (MESSAGES) message sequence
or
MS READ>>PRINT (ON LINE-PRINTER)
where:
message sequence specifies the messages you want to print. From
read level, it is assumed that you want to print the current
message. This is also true at top level if you do not specify a
message sequence.
Related Command
The SET SUMMARY-ON-PRINTER-OUTPUT command is related to the PRINT
command. It is described in detail in Section 6.3.
5.6 FLAGGING MESSAGES
The FLAG command, available from both top and read levels, allows you
to mark messages for future reference. You may wish, for instance, to
read all your mail quickly and flag the important messages, so that
you can later type READ FLAGGED to reread all the flagged messages.
| An "F" appears in the left margin of the HEADERS and DIRECTORY command
output for all flagged messages. Also, when you start up the mail
system, the message numbers for flagged messages are displayed.
Command format:
MS>FLAG (MESSAGES) message sequence
or
| MS READ>>FLAG (MESSAGES) message sequence
where:
message sequence indicates the messages you want to flag. The
current message is the default.
The UNFLAG command turns off the flag on a message.
5-6
CHAPTER 6
TAILORING THE DECmail/MS ENVIRONMENT
Chapter 6 discusses how you can customize the DECmail/MS system to
suit your particular needs and work habits.
6.1 DEFINING MESSAGE HEADER ITEMS
The message header is that portion of the message that appears before
the blank line preceding the text. It contains such items as the
date, sender, and message recipients. A header item consists of an
alphanumeric string which is the name of the header item, a colon, and
some text which is the data associated with the header item. The "To"
item is an example of a header item which has addresses for its data.
The DECmail/MS system has seven predefined header items: Date, To,
cc, From, Subject, Reply-to, and In-reply-to. To define your own
items, use the DEFINE HEADER-ITEM command from any DECmail/MS command
level, as in:
DEFINE HEADER-ITEM name type subtype optional value
where:
o name is any alphanumeric string. Note that you must enclose
the name in quotes if it contains any of the special
characters listed in the description of "username" in Section
1.3.
o type is OPTIONAL, PREDEFINED, or REQUIRED.
o subtype is DATE, DATE-AND-TIME, TIME, ADDRESS, TEXT-STRING,
or KEYWORD.
o optional value is the value for a predefined header item, or
a list of keywords for keyword header items, separated by
commas.
An optional header item is one that you can elect to include in an
6-1
TAILORING THE DECmail/MS ENVIRONMENT
outgoing message, but is not required. The DECmail/MS system does not
prompt you for it; so, to include it, you must use the send-level
command INCLUDE.
A predefined header item is one whose data is defined in advance. The
DECmail/MS system does not prompt for it, but the predefined header
item will be included in all outgoing messages. An example of a
predefined header item might be your telephone number or postal
address.
A required header item is one whose data is not supplied in advance,
but which you must supply before sending any message. The DECmail/MS
system prompts you for these header items every time you send a
message. You can give the INCLUDE command to later change a value
that you have given for a required item.
You can qualify these header item types with the six subtypes listed
above. Note that, when defining a keyword header item, you must
supply a list of legal keywords for that header item. Then, at the
time you send a message, you must supply one of the applicable
keywords to the DECmail/MS system. (See the second example below.)
Predefined keyword header items would not make much sense, and thus
are not allowed.
Your defined header items are inserted alphabetically just above the
Subject: line.
To delete a header item definition, give the command:
DEFINE HEADER-ITEM name
where:
"name" is the name of the header item. To delete all header item
definitions, give the command DEFINE HEADER-ITEM *.
The SHOW HEADER-ITEMS command displays all your currently defined
header items. Also, you can give the ERASE HEADER-ITEM command at
send level to erase one of your header items from the current draft.
NOTE
You should put the DEFINE HEADER-ITEM command in a
command file so that the DECmail/MS system will
remember your definitions permanently. Refer to
Section 6.4 for details.
EXAMPLES
1. Define your department name so that it is always included in
messages you send:
6-2
TAILORING THE DECmail/MS ENVIRONMENT
MS>DEFINE HEADER-ITEM (NAME) Department (TYPE) PREDEFINED TEXT-STRING Publica
tions
Messages that you send will now look something like this:
Date: 17-MAY-86 15:33
From: SEN@KL2137
To: ANDERSON@GREEN
cc: PORADA@KL2137
Department: Publications
Subject: Newsletter Ideas
2. One possible use for keyword header items is illustrated in
the following example:
MS>DEFINE HEADER-ITEM Priority REQUIRED KEYWORD urgent,high,medium,low
When you send messages, the DECmail/MS system prompts you for
one of these keywords.
3. To optionally specify that responses are required or not
required to your messages, give the following command:
MS>DEFINE HEADER-ITEM Response OPTIONAL KEYWORD Requested, Not-required
To include this optional header item in a message, give the
INCLUDE command at send level:
MS SEND>>INCLUDE (HEADER-ITEM) Response
Response: Requested
MS SEND>>
Messages you send will then look like this:
Date: 8 Apr 1986 1446-EST
From: PORADA@KL2102
To: MURDY@KL2102
Response: Requested
Subject: Monthly Meeting
Related Commands
The following command relates to DEFINE HEADER-ITEM.
SHOW HEADER-ITEMS
6.2 ESTABLISHING ALTERNATIVE NAMES FOR ADDRESSES
The following sections describe how to assign new names to standard
addresses and how to create named address lists.
6-3
TAILORING THE DECmail/MS ENVIRONMENT
6.2.1 Defining Alias Names for Users
NOTE
You should put the DEFINE ALIAS command, described
below, in your DECmail/MS initialization file if you
want the DECmail/MS system to remember your
definitions permanently. Refer to Section 6.4 for
details.
If you frequently send mail to someone with a long or unusual address,
or to someone whom you refer to by nickname, you may want to define an
alias name for that person. The DEFINE ALIAS command, available from
any DECmail/MS command level, allows you to do this.
Command format:
DEFINE ALIAS (NAME) alias name (TO BE) long-unwieldy-address
where:
o alias name is the new definition for the address. Note that
the alias name must be enclosed in quotes if it contains any
of the special characters listed in the description of
"username" in Section 1.3.
o long-unwieldy-address is a standard address.
For example, the following command identifies the name John with the
address Purretta at KL2102:
| MS>DEFINE ALIAS John (TO BE) Purretta@GREEN
You can give the alias name in any address specification, such as a
"To" or "cc" list. The DECmail/MS system converts it to the full
address for you.
If you are a system administrator, you may find this command useful in
defining mailbox names that refer to subjects. For instance, rather
than expecting users to know who maintains a particular program, you
could put a command similar to the following in the system
initialization file, as described in Section 6.4.1:
MS>DEFINE ALIAS editor-bugs Admin@GREEN
Users could then send mail to editor-bugs when they encounter problems
with the word-processing software.
6-4
TAILORING THE DECmail/MS ENVIRONMENT
6.2.2 Defining Address Lists
NOTE
You should put the DEFINE ALIAS and DEFINE
ADDRESS-LIST commands, described below, in your
DECmail/MS initialization file so that the DECmail/MS
system will remember your definitions permanently.
Refer to Section 6.4 for details.
There are three ways for you to implement address lists:
1. An alias can represent a list of addresses, as in:
| MS>DEFINE ALIAS Doria (TO BE) WDoria@GREEN, VDoria@GREEN
Here, all mail that you send to Doria goes to both addresses.
To delete an alias definition, give the command:
DEFINE ALIAS name
*
where:
o "name" specifies the alias definition to be deleted.
|
| o * specifies that all definitions are to be deleted.
2. You can also use the DEFINE ADDRESS-LIST command to assign a
name to a group of people. This command is identical in
format and function to the DEFINE ALIAS command, except that
it causes the alias name to appear in the "To" field of the
message header. For example, define the following address
list:
MS>DEFINE ADDRESS-LIST Task-force (TO BE) LCampbell, King, Jones, Dickson
Then, if you send mail to "Task-force", the mail received has
a "To" field which looks like:
To: Task-force: LCampbell, King, Jones, Dickson;
You can also create nested address lists (an address list
within an address list), as in this example:
MS>DEFINE ADDRESS-LIST Dept (TO BE) Production-group, Task-force,...
To delete an address list, give the command:
DEFINE ADDRESS-LIST name
6-5
TAILORING THE DECmail/MS ENVIRONMENT
*
where:
o "name" specifies the address list definition to be
deleted.
o * specifies that all definitions are to be deleted.
|
| 3. You can create a standalone file of addresses with an editor.
| This is useful when several people need to access an address
| list. For example, members of a committee may frequently
| send mail to all other members. Rather than have each person
| define an address list and update it as the committee
| changes, all members can access one file.
|
| A sample file of addresses:
|
| PRATT,
| SANTEE,
| MAYO,
| DAVIS,
| TUCKER@GREEN,
| ROSSELL,
| WADDINGTON@GOLD
|
| Note that a comma follows each address except the last.
|
| To send mail to this kind of address list, type @filespec in
| response to the TO: and CC: prompts, where "filespec" is
| the file specification for the address list. An alternative
| is to include this specification in a DEFINE ADDRESS-LIST
| command in your init file:
|
| DEFINE ADDRESS-LIST Committee @COMM.LST
|
| Then, whenever you send mail to "Committee," the DECmail/MS
| system will access the addresses in COMM.LST.
Related Commands
The following commands relate to DEFINE ALIAS and DEFINE ADDRESS-LIST.
SHOW ALIASES
SHOW ADDRESS-LISTS
SET BRIEF-ADDRESS-LIST-DISPLAY
SET PERSONAL-NAME
6-6
TAILORING THE DECmail/MS ENVIRONMENT
6.3 SET COMMANDS - CUSTOMIZING THE DECmail/MS SYSTEM
This section of the manual describes the SET commands. Most of these
commands affect the behavior of one or more of the DECmail/MS commands
described elsewhere in this manual. Where appropriate, the SET
command descriptions refer to these other commands. The many SET
commands are listed here alphabetically. You can give these commands
from any DECmail/MS command level. You might want to put SET commands
in your DECmail/MS initialization file so that the DECmail/MS system
will remember your settings permanently. Refer to Section 6.4 for
details.
In the following descriptions, the word NO enclosed in square brackets
denotes an optional negative version of the command, for example:
SET [NO] VIDEO-MODE
This command indicates that the word NO is optional, and, if
specified, reverses the effect of the SET VIDEO-MODE command. Note
that you do not type the square brackets.
SET Command Descriptions
ANY-EXIT
SET AUTO-EXPUNGE (ON) EXIT-COMMAND-ONLY
NEVER
Controls automatic expunging of deleted messages in the current
message file. ANY-EXIT causes deleted messages to be expunged
when you give the EXIT command, or the QUIT command from top
level; EXIT-COMMAND-ONLY expunges messages only when you issue
the EXIT command; and NEVER limits expunges to those times when
you issue the EXPUNGE command.
Default - EXIT-COMMAND-ONLY
| SET [NO] AUTO-FILL (AT COLUMN) n
| When set, automatically inserts carriage-return/line-feeds while
| you type in text mode. In composing a message, if you type
| beyond the column specified by n, the next space character causes
| the beginning of a new line.
| Default - SET NO AUTO-FILL
SET [NO] BRIEF-ADDRESS-LIST-DISPLAY
When set, causes the contents of address lists to be eliminated
from messages that you display. Only the names of the address
lists appear in the "To" and "cc" lists. This facilitates
reading messages that have been sent to very long address lists.
If a message contains a nested address list, only the name of the
outermost list is displayed. Refer to Section 6.2.2 for
information on address lists.
Default - SET NO BRIEF-ADDRESS-LIST-DISPLAY
6-7
TAILORING THE DECmail/MS ENVIRONMENT
| SET CLOSING-TEXT (TO) text string
| Lets you specify a single line of text that is automatically
| added to the end of each message you send.
SET [NO] CONCISE-MODE
Shortens or eliminates some of the messages that the DECmail/MS
system types, such as instructions at the end of the header
prompts in a send-level session. You should set this command
only if you are an experienced user.
Default - SET NO CONCISE-MODE
SET DEFAULT CC-LIST address list
Causes the users named in the address list to be copied on all
your outgoing messages. Refer to Section 6.2.2 for information
on defining address lists.
CONNECTED-DIRECTORY
SET DEFAULT DIRECTORY (TO) directory name
LOGGED-IN-DIRECTORY
Sets the default directory for the DECmail/MS session. The
exception is that the GET command always defaults to your
directory on POBOX:. For more information on directories, see
| the TOPS-20 User's Guide or the TOPS-10 Operating System Commands
| Manual.
Default - CONNECTED-DIRECTORY
SET DEFAULT PROTECTION (FOR CREATED FILES) protection code
Sets the protection code for files you create with such commands
as COPY and MOVE. This command is for TOPS-20 users only. For
more information on file protection, see the TOPS-20 User's
Guide.
Default - the default for all files in your directory
SET DEFAULT REPLY-TO-ALL
REPLY-TO-SENDER-ONLY
Sets the default recipient list for the REPLY command. SET
DEFAULT REPLY-TO-SENDER-ONLY causes replies to go to the
addressees named in the "Reply-to" field of the message you are
answering, or to the sender of the message, if no "Reply-to"
field exists. (Refer to the SET REPLY-TO command description for
information on the "Reply-to" field.) SET DEFAULT REPLY-TO-ALL
causes replies to be sent to all users in the "To" and "cc" lists
of the message you are answering.
Default - REPLY-TO-SENDER-ONLY
| SET [NO] DIRECTORY-LOOKUP-CONFIRMATION
| Same as the SET FORCE-DIRECTORY-LOOKUP command. This command is
| for TOPS-20 users only. (See the description of ADDRESS in
| Section 1.3 for related TOPS-10 information.)
| SET EXPERIENCE-LEVEL (TO) EXPERT
| NOVICE
6-8
TAILORING THE DECmail/MS ENVIRONMENT
| Establishes you as either an expert or novice user. Expert users
| may use all of the available facilities of the DECmail/MS system.
| Novice users are limited to the following commands: DELETE,
| EXIT, EXPUNGE, FILE, HEADERS, HELP, PRINT, READ, SEND, SET,
| SYSTEM-MESSAGES, UNDELETE. If no argument is specified on the
| command line, NOVICE is assumed.
| Default - EXPERT
|
| SET [NO] FORCE-DIRECTORY-LOOKUP
| Verifies local addresses in the To: and cc: lists and in address
| list definitions after you press the RETURN key. You immediately
| receive an error message if an address is invalid. This command
| is for TOPS-20 users only. (See the description of ADDRESS in
| Section 1.3 for related TOPS-10 information.)
|
| Example:
|
| Your initialization file (see Section 6.4.1) defines a very long
| address list that rarely changes. To speed processing of this
| file so you can begin the mail session, turn off the verify
| feature. In your init file:
|
| .
| .
| .
| SET NO FORCE-DIRECTORY-LOOKUP
| DEFINE ADDRESS-LIST VERY-LONG-LIST address1,address2,...
| SET FORCE-DIRECTORY-LOOKUP
| .
| .
| .
|
| The default is SET FORCE-DIRECTORY-LOOKUP.
SET [NO] INCLUDE-ME-IN-REPLIES
Controls whether you receive copies of your replies to messages.
These copies are saved in your mail file. This command has no
effect if you have already given the command SET DEFAULT
REPLY-TO-SENDER-ONLY. The SAVE-OUTGOING-MESSAGES command saves
all messages that you send, including replies.
Default - SET NO INCLUDE-ME-IN-REPLIES
SET LOGOUT-ON-EXIT
Logs you off the computer when you issue the EXIT command or the
QUIT command from top level. This feature is usually employed
for users who wish to use only the DECmail/MS system. The system
administrator puts the following command in such a user's
LOGIN.CMD file:
MS SET LOGOUT-ON-EXIT
This command causes the users to start a DECmail/MS session
6-9
TAILORING THE DECmail/MS ENVIRONMENT
immediately upon logging in, and forces them to stay in this mode
for the duration of the computer session. This command is for
TOPS-20 users only. For more information on LOGIN.CMD, see the
TOPS-20 User's Guide.
SET ONLY-HEADERS-SHOWN (TO) header name, header name,...
Restricts the amount of header information displayed by the READ
and TYPE commands. If you give this command, only the specified
header items are displayed. For instance, the following command
causes only the "To", "Subject", and "From" fields to be shown:
SET ONLY-HEADERS-SHOWN to, subject, from
SET ONLY-HEADERS-SHOWN is particularly useful when reading
messages with large headers. The VERBOSE-TYPE command
temporarily overrides the effect of this command and shows the
entire message literally. A less restrictive, and somewhat more
flexible way of reducing the amount of header information
displayed is to use the SET SUPPRESSED-HEADERS command.
SET [NO] PERSONAL-NAME (USED IN OUTGOING MAIL) name
Causes the DECmail/MS system to add a personal name to the "From"
field of your outgoing mail (in addition to your username). Bear
in mind that certain special characters, including most
punctuation characters, are allowed only within quoted strings
(text enclosed by double quotes). For a list of these special
characters, refer to the description of "personal name" in
Section 1.3. SET NO PERSONAL-NAME deletes your personal name
setting.
Example:
User Caissie might use this command as follows:
SET PERSONAL-NAME Donna M. Caissie
The "From" field of all her outgoing mail would look like this:
From: Donna M. Caissie <CAISSIE@KL2102>
SET [NO] REPLY-TO (TO) address list
Causes replies to your messages to go to the specified address
list rather than to the sender (you) and the recipients of the
message. This command causes the following line to be inserted
into every message you send:
Reply-to: <address list>
When the recipient of such a message uses the REPLY command to
compose a reply, the reply goes to the addresses specified in the
"Reply-to" line.
6-10
TAILORING THE DECmail/MS ENVIRONMENT
You might want to use this feature if you send messages for
someone else (for example, if you are a secretary) who is
responsible for replies. Or, vice-versa, you might want replies
to your messages to go to your secretary. Also, you might send
messages whose replies would interest a group of people other
than the recipients of the messages.
Default - Sender
SET [NO] SUMMARY-ON-PRINTER-OUTPUT
When set, causes the first page of any line printer listing of
messages created by the PRINT command to contain a one-line
summary of each message listed. This information is the same as
that given by the HEADERS and DIRECTORY commands.
Default - SET NO SUMMARY-ON-PRINTER-OUTPUT
SET [NO] SUMMARY-PERSONAL-NAME-ONLY
When set, causes the HEADERS and DIRECTORY commands to display
only personal names, rather than the full "From" or "To" field.
For messages without personal names, the entire field is
displayed. For additional information on personal names, refer
to the description of SET PERSONAL-NAME.
Default - SET NO SUMMARY-PERSONAL-NAME-ONLY
SET [NO] SUPPRESSED-HEADERS (TO BE) header name, header name,...
When set, eliminates the named header items from messages you
display.
Example:
You could use this command to eliminate the message-id line from
message displays:
SET SUPPRESSED-HEADERS message-id
Then, lines similar to the following no longer appear when you
display messages:
Message-ID: <"MS11(5116)+GLXLIB5(0)" 12178581754.213.51.31405 at Green>
The SET ONLY-HEADERS-SHOWN and VERBOSE-TYPE commands override the
effect of this command.
Default - SET NO SUPPRESSED-HEADERS
SET [NO] TEXT-SCROLL-REGION (TO) n (LINES)
In read mode, scrolls only the text of messages being displayed,
while leaving the headers in place. This command applies only to
terminals capable of defining scroll regions, such as VT100 and
VT200 series terminals. The header area remains on the screen
for your easy reference; but, if this area is too long, there
will be an annoyingly small number of lines for display of the
message text. Therefore, the SET TEXT-SCROLL-REGION command
instructs the DECmail/MS system to scroll the text of the message
6-11
TAILORING THE DECmail/MS ENVIRONMENT
only if the specified number (n) of lines is available in which
to scroll the text. If the header area is too big to leave this
number of lines available for text, then the header is scrolled
as well as the text.
SET NO TEXT-SCROLL-REGION displays messages in the usual manner,
that is, with the header area appearing at the top of the first
full screen of information, and the message text filling all
subsequent screens until the entire message has been displayed.
Default - SET NO TEXT-SCROLL-REGION
SET [NO] TYPE-INITIAL-SUMMARY
Controls whether the DECmail/MS system prints status information
about your mail file when you begin the mail session. The SHOW
STATUS command prints much of this same information. Unread
messages in the file are indicated by an N in the left margin.
Default - SET TYPE-INITIAL-SUMMARY
SET [NO] VIDEO MODE
Turns on or off the DECmail/MS system's video display features.
Examples of these features are clearing the screen (BLANK
command) and setting scroll regions (SET TEXT-SCROLL-REGION
command).
SET VIDEO-MODE also forces the DECmail/MS system to refresh its
knowledge of your terminal characteristics. Thus, if you issue
an operating system command to detach from a job running the
DECmail/MS system and later attach to the job on a different type
of terminal, you would give the operating system command:
TERMINAL terminal type
Then, continue the mail session and give the SET VIDEO-MODE
command. The DECmail/MS system is able to continue to do its
video display properly, because it now knows of your new terminal
characteristics.
Default - SET VIDEO-MODE
6.4 USING COMMAND FILES
A command file is a file that contains a group of commands, placed one
after another and executed in that order. The DECmail/MS system
allows you to create command files that contain almost any DECmail/MS
command. At any time, you can issue a command that causes the
DECmail/MS system to process one of your command files. In this way,
you can change environments or execute procedures whenever you like,
without having to repeatedly type the corresponding commands. One
type of command file, called an initialization (init) file, is
executed automatically when you begin the mail session.
6-12
TAILORING THE DECmail/MS ENVIRONMENT
The following sections discuss initialization and ordinary command
files.
6.4.1 Initializing the DECmail/MS System
Every time the DECmail/MS system starts up, it executes commands
contained in the MS.INI file on TOPS-10 or the MS.INIT file on
TOPS-20. By putting such commands as SET and DEFINE into this file,
you can make sure that the DECmail/MS system permanently remembers
your options. You can create this initialization file either with an
editor such as EDIT or TECO, or with the DECmail/MS command
| CREATE-INIT-FILE, which requires no arguments. On TOPS-20 systems,
| MS.INIT should go in your directory on the POBOX: disk structure.
The CREATE-INIT-FILE command, available only at top level, causes the
DECmail/MS system to enter create-init mode. Instead of prompting
with the standard prompt,
MS>
the DECmail/MS system prompts as follows when you issue the
CREATE-INIT-FILE command:
MS Create-init>>
While in this mode, every command you type goes into the
initialization file, with the exception of the HELP and TAKE commands.
The HELP command is excluded so that you can get help during your
create-init session without cluttering up your init file with HELP
commands. The TAKE command is executed on the spot and need not be
stored in the file. (Refer to the Note below and to Section 6.4.2 for
information on TAKE.) Note that the DECmail/MS system assumes you want
the init file commands to be in effect immediately, so it executes
each command as it stores the command in the command file.
If during create-init mode you decide you really do not want to create
or change your init file, give the QUIT command. Or, when you are
finished typing commands and wish to return to normal mode (top
level), give the FINISH command.
CAUTION
When adding to your existing init file, it is
important that you give the following command at some
point during your create-init dialogue:
TAKE (COMMANDS FROM) filespec
where filespec is MS.INI on TOPS-10 and MS.INIT on
TOPS-20.
6-13
TAILORING THE DECmail/MS ENVIRONMENT
This command incorporates your existing init-file
commands in the new command file. If you do not enter
this command, the existing init-file commands are
erased when you finish the create-init session, and
only the new commands remain.
If you update the init file with an editor, there is
no need for this use of the TAKE command.
Example
Create an init file on a TOPS-20 system:
MS>CREATE-INIT-FILE (FOR SETTING PERMANENT DEFAULTS)
Give commands whose effects you wish to have remembered as permanent
defaults (for example, SET PERSONAL-NAME, SET CONCISE-MODE, etc.).
Commands which cause actions (READ, HEADERS NEW, etc.) will be executed
every time MS starts up. Give the QUIT command to leave this mode
without changing anything, or the FINISH command to make your
changes permanent.
MS Create-init>>TAKE MS.INIT
MS Create-init>>SET PERSONAL-NAME Meryl S. Steele
MS Create-init>>SET SUMMARY-ON-PRINTER-OUTPUT
MS Create-init>>DEFINE ADDRESS-LIST All (TO BE) Managers, Groups
MS Create-init>>FINISH
MS>
SYSTEMWIDE INITIALIZATION FILE
There may be a systemwide initialization file on your system, which
contains the defaults, options, and commands specified by your system
manager. For example, the file may contain address-list definitions
that are useful for many people on the system.
The system init file is called STD:MS.INI on TOPS-10 and
SYSTEM:MS.INIT on TOPS-20.
| When you begin a mail session, the system init file is processed after
| your own init file. If you do not have one, then only the system init
| file is processed.
6.4.2 Processing Command Files
You may want to change the existing set of DECmail/MS definitions and
options. You are not confined to the init file specifications, but
can override them by issuing the appropriate commands with new
settings. An easy way to change environments, though, is to use a
command file.
6-14
TAILORING THE DECmail/MS ENVIRONMENT
To create a command file, use any editor on your system, and enter one
command per line. For information on editors, refer to the
appropriate operating system manual. Command files can be nested;
that is, a command file can contain TAKE commands. By nesting command
files, you can prevent having to retype commands that another command
file contains.
You can insert comments in your command files that do not appear on
your terminal. They simply remain in the files, providing you with
documentation when you look at the files. You precede these comments
with an exclamation point:
!This command file is for setting new definitions.
DEFINE ADDRESS-LIST All (TO BE) Writers, Artists, Typists !Setting new address definitions
SET NO VIDEO-MODE
SET SUPPRESSED-HEADERS message-id
SET PERSONAL-NAME Tim Grady
!End of this command file
Once you have created a file, issue the TAKE command from any
DECmail/MS command level to execute the commands:
TAKE (COMMANDS FROM) filespec
where:
filespec is the specification for the particular command file.
The default file type or file extension is .CMD. The default
directory is the one specified in the SET DEFAULT DIRECTORY
command.
6.5 CLEARING THE TERMINAL SCREEN
If you are working on a video terminal and have not previously given a
SET NO VIDEO-MODE command, you can clear your screen by issuing the
BLANK command from any DECmail/MS command level:
BLANK (SCREEN)
Some people place this command into their init files so that when they
begin the mail session, they start with a clear screen.
6-15
7-1
CHAPTER 7
EXITING
Chapter 7 explains how to exit from the various DECmail/MS command
levels as well as from the DECmail/MS system itself.
7.1 USING THE EXIT COMMAND
You use the EXIT command to leave your DECmail/MS session and to
return to the program that invoked it. This program ordinarily is the
monitor on TOPS-10 or the command language processor (EXEC) on
TOPS-20. Be aware that, unless you have given an overriding SET
AUTO-EXPUNGE command, the EXIT command EXPUNGEs those messages for
which you have given the DELETE command.
TOPS-20
If the SET LOGOUT-ON-EXIT COMMAND is in effect, the
EXIT command logs you off the system.
7.2 USING THE QUIT COMMAND
You use the quit command to leave the current command level and return
to the level that invoked the current level. At top level, then, the
QUIT command functions as the EXIT command. If the SET AUTO-EXPUNGE
ANY-EXIT command is in effect, a QUIT command issued from top level
expunges your deleted messages.
7.3 ISSUING CTRL/C
CTRL/C causes you to leave the DECmail/MS session abruptly. On
TOPS-10 systems, you may have to type CTRL/C twice.
| On TOPS-20 systems, if the SET LOGOUT-ON-EXIT command is in effect,
7-1
EXITING
| CTRL/C has no effect.
|
|
|
| 7.4 ISSUING CTRL/Z (TOPS-10)
|
| On TOPS-10 systems, CTRL/Z performs the same function as the EXIT
| command. It works only at command level. For example, you cannot use
| CTRL/Z to exit from the mail session while in the middle of reading a
| long message.
|
|
|
| 7.5 LEAVING THE DECmail/MS SESSION TEMPORARILY
|
To temporarily leave your DECmail/MS session so that you can perform
ordinary operating system activities, issue the PUSH command. This
command puts your terminal at operating system command level, at which
point you can run programs or issue any operating system command.
Giving the POP command returns you to your DECmail/MS session.
Example
Enter TOPS-20 command level to connect to a different directory.
Then, return to the mail session and indicate that the default
directory for the rest of the mail session should be your connected
directory.
MS>PUSH
TOPS-20 Command processor 6.1(273)
@CONNECT (TO DIRECTORY) <BROWN.SUB>
@POP
MS>SET DEFAULT DIRECTORY CONNECTED-DIRECTORY
NOTE
The default directory setting is in effect until you
reissue the SET DEFAULT DIRECTORY command. That is,
if you connect to a different directory without giving
another SET DEFAULT DIRECTORY CONNECTED-DIRECTORY
command, the default remains as it was on the last
setting.
7-2
APPENDIX A
ERROR INFORMATION
Appendix A describes some of the error messages you might receive
during a mail session. Many error messages are self-explanatory and,
therefore, are not included here.
On TOPS-10 systems, a general file-operation error may occur. The
format of this error message is:
%File Operation Failed: name of error code, number, text
This line, which gives the name of the error, its number, and some
text, is followed by a one-line explanation. If you receive one of
these messages, you should refer to the appropriate TOPS-10
documentation.
Note that messages preceded by a question mark (?) indicate "fatal"
errors; whereas those preceded by a percent sign (%) are warnings.
A.1 ERROR MESSAGES
%Cannot expunge deleted messages - another reader exists
The DECmail/MS system cannot expunge messages while another copy
of the mail system has the current message file open. This other
copy could be another process in your job, or a process in some
other job.
%Cannot expunge deleted messages - mail is arriving
The DECmail/MS system cannot expunge messages at the same time
that someone is sending you mail.
?Cannot find mailer flags because: <reason>
Problems were encountered with one of the following files in the
<SYSTEM> directory.
A-1
ERROR INFORMATION
DECNET-MAILER.FLAGS
MAILER.FLAGS
XMAILR.FLAGS
This file was possibly installed incorrectly. See your system
manager.
?Cannot open mailer flags because: <reason>
The explanation for this error is the same as that for "?Cannot
find mailer flags."
%Cannot tell whom message is from
You cannot use the REPLY command for this message because the
"From" field contains undecipherable data. If the message came
from someone on another computer, perhaps the host name is
undefined. See your system manager.
%Can't find "To" field in draft
You tried to retrieve a draft from a nonmail file.
%Can't update message bits--another reader exists
More than likely, you are the other reader, and you forgot to
issue the POP command before reissuing the MS command.
?Command files nested too deeply, detected in opening <filespec>
You have entered too many nested TAKE commands in this command
file. The limit is 15 decimal.
%Duplicate address list purged - <address list>
You have previously given this address list for either the "To"
or "cc" list. The most recent specification is not honored.
%Duplicate name purged - <name>
You have previously given this name for either the "To" or "cc"
list. The most recent specification is not honored.
?Expunge failed due to insufficient memory
Your job could not acquire enough memory for the expunge.
?Expunge failed--message file busy
Another person is accessing the mail file; therefore, deleted
messages will not be expunged.
A-2
ERROR INFORMATION
%Header-item is predefined; use DEFINE command to change
You can issue the INCLUDE command only for optional or required
header items. Predefined header items are automatically included
in the message.
%Incorrectly formatted header for message <message number>
This error message would more than likely result because the mail
was sent from a foreign host system that does not conform to
DECmail/MS specifications.
%Keyword header-item cannot be predefined
You cannot predefine a header item in the keyword category. With
keyword items, you must be able to choose among options.
%No current mail file
| There is no mail file in your logged-in directory (TOPS-10) or
| your directory on POBOX: (TOPS-20). The mail file is MAIL.TXT on
TOPS-10, and MAIL.TXT.1 on TOPS-20.
%No messages match this specification
You did not specify a message sequence, or there is no message
for the sequence you specified.
%No previous sequence exists
You have not specified a message sequence yet.
%There is an overriding "SET ONLY-HEADERS-SHOWN" command in effect
The SET ONLY-HEADERS-SHOWN command takes precedence over the SET
SUPPRESSED-HEADERS command.
%There is no previous message draft
You can issue the RETRIEVE LAST-MESSAGE command only for messages
that you send during the current DECmail/MS session.
?Too many header items given
You can specify up to 32 items in the SET ONLY-HEADERS-SHOWN
command.
A-3
ERROR INFORMATION
A.2 REPAIRING DAMAGED MESSAGES
Occasionally, a message file gets damaged, either by a bug in the
DECmail/MS system, a bug in the computer on which the DECmail/MS
system runs, or a hardware problem. If this happens, you will see one
of the following DECmail/MS messages.
?File has bad format - last message has no size field
?File has bad format - cannot find start of last message
?File has bad format - message nn has no receive date
If you give a HEADERS ALL command, you will most likely see some
peculiar looking headers. Usually they have no Subject, From, or Date
field, and the length of the message is either zero or ridiculously
large.
You can repair almost any kind of damage to a message file by using
the appropriate DECmail/MS commands:
o Make a copy of the damaged file using the COPY command with
the ALL keyword. When the DECmail/MS system creates a
message file (with either COPY or MOVE), it always writes a
correctly formatted file. If the file being copied is
damaged, the DECmail/MS system is forced to make some
assumptions about its format; but in all cases the new file
is correctly formatted.
o Use the GET command to retrieve the copy you have just made.
You should see no error messages, but you may still have some
peculiar looking headers.
o Read the messages with these headers; and, if they contain
only system-generated "garbage", you can delete them with the
DELETE command. If they contain fragments of real messages,
you may want to keep them, rather than lose the fragments.
Once you have made a good copy of the damaged file, you should delete
the contents of the damaged file to save space. Return to the damaged
file (using the GET command), delete all the messages, and give the
EXPUNGE command.
If the damaged file was your mail file, be aware that your mail file
is now empty (although you have a good copy of your old mail in
another file). If you wish to put the good copy back into your mail
file, use the GET command to get the good copy; then use the MOVE
command to move all the messages back into your mail file. The file
specification of a mail file is MAIL.TXT on TOPS-10 systems and
MAIL.TXT.1 on TOPS-20 systems. Be sure to give this file
specification completely on the MOVE command line. On a TOPS-20
system, this latter sequence of commands looks like:
MS>GET (MESSAGES FROM FILE) GOOD-COPY
A-4
ERROR INFORMATION
Last read 25-Sep-80 15:22, 53 messages, 12 pages
| MS>MOVE (MESSAGES) ALL
Into file: MAIL.TXT.1
1:53
MS>
Always report instances of damaged message files to the system manager
so that the cause can be eliminated.
A-5
B-1
APPENDIX B
MESSAGE FILE FORMAT
MAIL.TXT is a message file. The DECmail/MS system can create other
| message files with the COPY, MOVE, SAVE OUTGOING-MESSAGES, and FILE
commands. The GET command reads a message file and makes it the
current message file.
A message file is an ASCII text file that follows certain conventions.
If you must edit a message file using an editor, you must follow these
conventions.
A message file contains one or more messages prefixed with prefix
lines. Each message contains a message header and the message text,
which are separated by (at least) one blank line. Figure B-1 shows
the format of a message file:
+--------------+
| Prefix Line |
|--------------|
| Header |
|--------------|
| Blank Line | Message 1
|--------------|
| Text |
|--------------|
| Prefix Line |
|--------------|
| Header |
|--------------|
| Blank Line | Message 2
|--------------|
| Text |
|--------------|
= =
|--------------|
| Prefix Line |
|--------------|
| Header | Message n
|--------------|
B-1
MESSAGE FILE FORMAT
| Blank Line |
|--------------|
| Text |
+--------------+
Figure B-1: Message File
Each message conforms to the ARPANET message format standard, known as
| RFC822. This standard is publicly available and so is not described
here.
The remainder of this section describes the format of the prefix line.
The prefix line is a single line of text, terminated by a
carriage-return/line-feed. It contains:
o The date and time the message was received
o A comma
o The length of the message, in characters (this length does
not include the prefix line)
o A semicolon
o 12 octal digits, representing 36 message bits.
Example
12-Oct-81 16:56:28,323;000000000001
This prefix line describes a message received on Oct. 12 at 4:56 PM
which is 323 characters long. All the message flags except the
rightmost, bit 35, are off.
The following message bits are currently defined:
Bit Meaning Name
35 Message has been seen M%SEEN
34 Message is deleted M%DELE
33 Message is flagged M%ATTN
32 Message has been replied to M%RPLY
The remaining 32 bits are reserved for future use.
The prefix line is not considered to be part of the message proper.
The mail system creates this line as an incoming message and is added
to a mail file.
B-2
APPENDIX C
TOPS-20 MAIL SYSTEMS
If you are a TOPS-20 user, you may also use the MAIL and RDMAIL
programs to send and read mail. The following table compares commands
and arguments for these programs to those for the DECmail/MS system.
Refer to the TOPS-20 User Utilities Guide for more information on the
MAIL/RDMAIL system.
MAIL/RDMAIL DECmail/MS
MAIL SEND
RDMAIL READ, TYPE, VERBOSE-TYPE
date and time SINCE, BEFORE Keywords
/ALL ALL Keyword
/HELP HELP
/LIST PRINT
/MESSAGE-OF-THE-DAY SYSTEM-MESSAGES
/PERUSE HEADERS
/STOP READ
Note that the DECmail/MS system considers all messages to be unread or
"NEW" unless you have read them using the READ, TYPE, or VERBOSE-TYPE
command, or have specified them in a MARK command. The DECmail/MS
system does not change the status of any messages for which you have
given the RDMAIL command.
Also, the TOPS-20 command, INFORMATION MAIL, does not examine your
mail file for "NEW" messages. It merely compares the last-read
date/time with the last-written date/time of the file. If the
last-written date/time is more recent than the last-read date/time,
the INFORMATION MAIL command reports that there is new mail. When you
C-1
TOPS-20 MAIL SYSTEMS
run the DECmail/MS system, your mail file is read. So, if you receive
new messages, and then begin and end a DECmail/MS session without
reading the messages, and later type INFORMATION MAIL, the system will
report that you do not have any new messages.
Thus, output from the INFORMATION MAIL command could conflict with
information obtained from the DECmail/MS system.
C-2
INDEX
. DELETED message sequence, 1-18
your address, 1-7 Deleted messages, 1-18
your hostname, 1-10 Directories, 6-8, 7-2
@ DISPLAY command, 3-2
network addresses, 1-9
EDIT TEXT command, 3-2
Abbreviations, 1-2 ERASE command, 3-2
Address lists, 6-5 Errors, A-1
Aliases, 6-4 Escape key, 1-1, 3-6
ALL message sequence, 1-18 EXIT command, 7-1
ANSWERED message sequence, 1-18 Expert user, 6-9
Arguments, 1-3 EXPUNGE command, 5-5, 6-7, 7-1
BACKUP command, 2-2 FILE command, 5-2
Batch jobs, 2-7 Files, 1-10
BEFORE message sequence, 1-18 command files, 6-12
BLANK command, 6-15 current message file, 1-10
Bulletin boards, 2-6 damaged, A-4
deleting, 1-11
CC command, 3-2 format, B-1
cc: list, 3-1, 6-8 initialization file, 6-13
CHECK command, 4-2 LOGIN.CMD (TOPS-20), 6-9
Cluster, 1-9 mail file, 1-11
Command files, 6-12 message files, 1-12, 5-2, 5-3,
Command levels, 1-15 B-1
Control characters, 1-4, 3-6, 7-1 MS.INI (TOPS-10), 6-14
COPY command, 5-1 MS.INIT (TOPS-20), 6-14
CREATE-INIT-FILE command, 6-13 protection codes for (TOPS-20),
CTRL/B, 3-6 6-8
CTRL/C, 1-4, 7-1 status information, 6-12
CTRL/E, 3-6 Filespec, 1-10
CTRL/H, 1-5 FINISH command, 6-13
CTRL/K, 3-6 FIRST message sequence, 1-18
CTRL/O, 1-4 FLAG command, 1-18, 1-20, 5-6
CTRL/Q, 1-5 FLAGGED message sequence, 1-18
CTRL/R, 3-6 FORWARD command, 3-9
CTRL/S, 1-5 FROM message sequence, 1-18
CTRL/U, 1-4, 3-6 From:, 1-21
CTRL/W, 3-6
CTRL/Z, 1-4, 3-7, 7-2 GET command, 1-10, 5-3, 5-5
Current message, 1-18 Guide words, 1-2
Current message file, 1-10
CURRENT message sequence, 1-18 Header items, 1-11, 6-1
displaying, 2-5, 4-2, 4-6
DAYTIME command, 4-7 suppressing from displays, 6-10,
DECnet mail, 3-11 6-11
DEFINE ADDRESS-LIST command, 6-5 HEADERS command, 4-2
DEFINE ALIAS command, 6-4, 6-5 personal names and, 6-11
Index-1
DEFINE HEADER-ITEM command, 6-1 HELP command, 4-1
DELETE command, 1-18, 1-20, 5-5,
7-1 INCLUDE command, 3-3, 6-3
Index-2
INFORMATION MAIL command READ command, 1-19, 2-1, 2-3, 2-6
(TOPS-20), C-2 Read level, 1-16
Initialization file, 6-13 Reading messages, 1-8, 2-1
INSERT command, 3-3 Recognition, 1-1
INVERSE message sequence, 1-19 RELATED-TO message sequence, 1-19
REMOVE command, 3-4
Keyboard, 1-1 REPAIR command, 3-12
KEYWORD message sequence, 1-19 REPLY command, 1-18, 1-19, 1-20,
3-8, 6-8, 6-10
LARGER message sequence, 1-19 RETRIEVE DRAFT command, 3-7
LAST message sequence, 1-19 RETRIEVE LAST-MESSAGE command,
Local address, 1-9 3-8
LOGIN.CMD file (TOPS-20), 6-9 RETURN-RECEIPT-REQUESTED command,
Logout upon exiting, 6-9 3-4
MAIL program (TOPS-20), C-1 SAME message sequence, 1-19
MARK command, 2-8 SAVE DRAFT command, 3-5
Message, 1-11 SAVE OUTGOING-MESSAGES command,
Message file 5-4
creating, 5-2 Screen, 6-12
retrieving, 5-3 clearing, 6-15
Message header, 1-12, 6-1 scrolling, 6-11, 6-12
Message number, 1-13 SEND command, 3-1
Message sequence, 1-17 Send level, 1-16
Message-ID, 1-13 Sending messages, 1-7
MOVE command, 5-2 SET command, 6-7
MS.INI file (TOPS-10), 6-14 SHOW command, 4-5
MS.INIT file (TOPS-20), 6-14 SINCE message sequence, 1-19
MSG.TMP file, 3-2 SKIM command, 4-4
MX program, 1-8 SMALLER message sequence, 1-19
SORTED message sequence, 1-20
Name validation, 6-9 SUBJECT command, 3-5
Network address, 1-9 SUBJECT message sequence, 1-20
Network mail, 3-10 Subject:, 1-20, 3-1, 5-4
NEW message sequence, 1-19 System mail, 2-7
New messages, 1-19, 2-7 SYSTEM-MESSAGES command, 1-10,
NEXT command, 2-6 2-7
NEXT message sequence, 1-19
Novice user, 6-9 TAKE command, 6-13, 6-15
TEXT command, 3-5, 3-6, 3-7
OLD message sequence, 1-19 Text mode, 3-6, 6-7
Old messages, 1-19, 2-7 TO command, 3-6
TO message sequence, 1-20
Personal name, 1-13, 6-10, 6-11 To: list, 3-1
POBOX:, 1-6, 5-3 Top level, 1-15
PPN (TOPS-10), 1-14 TYPE command, 2-4, 2-5
Prefix line, B-1
PRINT command, 5-6, 6-11
Privileged users, 2-7 UNDELETE command, 5-5
PUSH command, 7-2 UNFLAG command, 5-6
UNMARK command, 2-8
Question mark, 1-3 User
Index-3
QUIT command, 7-1 Expert, 6-9
Novice, 6-9
RDMAIL program (TOPS-20), C-1 Username, 1-14
Index-4
VERBOSE-TYPE command, 2-6 Video mode, 6-12
Index-5