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.noautosubtitle
.title Release Notes for DECmail/MS version 10
.right margin 68
.flags break
.autoparagraph
.flags hyphenate
.blank
.center;Release Notes for DECmail/MS version 10
.blank
.center;Larry Campbell
.center;Internal Software Support Group (DIS/ISSG)
.require "msver.rno"
.blank 2
.header level 1 SUMMARY
DECmail/MS is a pro=duct which pro=vides TOPS-10 and TOPS-20
users with a sophisticated and flexible elec=tronic messaging
ca=pa=bility (such ca=pa=bil=ities are fre=quently called "elec=tronic
mail"). DECmail/MS is the generic name for a soft=ware package which
in=cludes the pro=gram MS along with some ancillary modules which
to=gether pro=vide a com=pre=hen=sive multinode mail service (and, in
the future, will pro=vide gate=ways to other elec=tronic mail
systems).
This docu=ment de=scribes ver=sion 10 of DECmail/MS. This is
the first ver=sion to appear as a sup=ported, unbundled pro=duct of
the Large Systems Pro=duct Line. Earlier versions were developed on
an un=funded basis, largely as a hobby for the developer. DECmail/MS
originated from a similar pro=gram developed at SRI In=ter=na=tional
called MM; the two pro=grams diverged very early on, and today
dis=play only superficial similarities.
.page
.header level 1 Sum=mary of components and environment
.header level 2 Undistributed components
The DECmail/MS doc=u=men=tation may occasionally refer to some
soft=ware components which are not dis=tri=buted with the official
DECmail/MS tape. These components are EMACS, and VMAIL/VMAILR.
.header level 3 EMACS
EMACS is an extremely powerful and sophis=ti=cated editor,
built at MIT on top of a sophis=ti=cated variant of TECO known as
ITSTECO. DECmail/MS has facilities which pro=vide a convenient
inter=face between DECmail/MS and EMACS.
EMACS is dis=tri=buted only by MIT, and sup=ported only at
their convenience. Digital neither distributes nor sup=ports EMACS.
In the opinion of this author, though, it is the best editor in
existence today and well worth get=ting a copy.
.Header Level 3 VMAIL/VMAILR
VMAIL and VMAILR are two pro=grams, analagous to NMAIL and
DMAILR (see sec=tion 2.4.2.1.1), which pro=vide DECmail/MS users with
the ability to ex=change mes=sages with users of VAXmail, the
un=sup=ported (and primitive) mail utility which comes with VAX/VMS.
These components are being used internally at DEC while we develop the
real solution to cross-|systems mail con=nec=tivity. At the present
time, we prefer not to dis=tribute this interim solution, but rather
to concentrate on providing the "correct" and globally acceptable
solution to this problem. Distributing interim hacks runs the risk of
diluting this effort.
.header level 2 Prerequisite software
DECmail/MS ver=sion 10 runs under TOPS-10, ver=sion 7.01 or
later, and under TOPS-20, Release 4 or later. It will run on KS-10/20
or KL-10/20 processors; it will NOT run on KA-10 or KI-10 processors,
and it will NOT run under the TENEX or ITS oper=ating systems.
.subtitle Incompatible changes between versions 4A and 10
.page
.header level 1 Incompatible changes between versions 4A and 10
(This sec=tion is pro=vided for those TOPS-20 sites who may
have obtained a copy of MS ver=sion 4A. Since ver=sion 10 is the first
ver=sion of MS to run under TOPS-10, this sec=tion is naturally of
little in=terest to TOPS-10 users, who will probably wish to skip it.)
.list 1,"."
.list element;The command SHOW HEADERS has been removed.
.list element;The command RESTORE-DRAFT has been replaced by RETRIEVE
DRAFT (note the change from a hyphenated com=mand to a
two-word com=mand).
.list element;The SAVE-OUTGOING-MESSAGES com=mand has been re=placed
by SAVE OUTGOING-MESSAGES (note the change from a hyphenated com=mand
to a two-word com=mand).
.list element;The HEADERS com=mand has been renamed SUMMARIZE.
.list element;The LIST com=mand has been renamed PRINT.
.List Element;The SET HEADERS-PERSONAL-NAME-ONLY com=mand has been
renamed SET SUMMARY-PERSONAL-NAME-ONLY.
.list element;The SET HEADERS-ON-PRINTER-OUTPUT com=mand has been
renamed SET SUMMARY-ON-PRINTER-OUTPUT.
.list element;In the output from the SUMMARIZE com=mand, the "From" and
"Subject" fields are now separated by ver=tical bar "_|"
in=stead of space. This makes the trun=cation of long "From"
fields look less like a bug.
.list element;Ver=sion 4 of MS will not be able to reply to mail sent by
ver=sion 10 if the ad=dress-list feature was used to send the
mail.
.list element;The com=mand LOGOUT-ON-EXIT has been re=placed by SET
LOGOUT-ON-EXIT.
.list element;The name of the "In-reply-to" field has been changed to
"Regarding".
.list element;The SET SHOW-TO-IN-HEADERS-COMMAND has been removed. It
is no longer needed, as its purpose is well served by the
new func=tion=ality de=scribed in sec=tion 5.4 of this docu=ment.
.end list
.subtitle Features added between versions 4A and 10
.page
.header level 1 Features added between versions 4A and 10
.header level 2 Pass-through Support
In con=junc=tion with ver=sion 10 of DMAILR, the DECNET mail
un=spooler, you can now send mail to DECNET hosts which are not in
your local DECNET (in DECNET Phase II this means non=ad=jacent hosts).
DMAILR uses the pass-through service (object type 123 decimal) to do
this. The only change required to MS itself was to accept the new
host table format (PS:<SYSTEM>DECNET-HOSTS.TXT) which now in=cludes
routing in=for=mation; most of the func=tion=ality for this resides in
DMAILR.
.HEADER LEVEL 2 SET SUPPRESSED-HEADERS
This com=mand allows you to specify a list of headers whose
dis=play you wish sup=pressed while MS is dis=playing a mes=sage. This
com=mand and the SET ONLY-HEADERS-SHOWN com=mand are mutually
exclusive; if both are given, the SET ONLY-HEADERS-SHOWN com=mand
rules.
.header level 2 Improved SEND Command
The SEND com=mand may now be followed on the same line by a
list of ad=dresses, which will go into the "To" list. If
you use this flavor of SEND, MS will not prompt for a "cc" list,
on the assumption that you are trying to send a mes=sage quickly.
This means that the fol=lowing type of EXEC com=mand will now work:
.literal
@MS SEND LCAMPBELL
.end literal
Note that if MS is given a com=mand on the EXEC com=mand line
which invoked MS (as in the above example), it will not bother to read
and parse your MAIL.TXT unless the com=mand you gave it (or a command
in your init file) references your mail. This means that, with a very
large mail file,
.literal
@MS SEND LCAMPBELL
.end literal
will be considerably faster than
.literal
@MS
MS>SEND
To: LCAMPBELL
.end literal
since, in the second case, MS must read and parse your en=tire mail
file.
.page
.header level 2 Improved SUMMARIZE (formerly HEADERS) Command
The output from the SUMMARIZE com=mand has been im=proved. If
a mes=sage being listed by the SUMMARIZE com=mand was sent by you (the
user run=ning MS), then in=stead of dis=playing the "From" field of
the mes=sage in the third column, MS will dis=play the "To" field,
pre=ceded by the word "To". For example, consider the fol=lowing
summary output from MS ver=sion 4:
.literal
MS>SUMMARIZE 1:4
1 20-Sep LCAMPBELL This msg is from me (268 chars)
2 20-Sep GRANT This msg is from GRANT (255 chars)
3 20-Sep MILLER This msg is from MILLER (312 chars)
4 20-Sep LCAMPBELL This message is from me (300 chars)
MS>
.end literal
Ver=sion 10 of MS would dis=play the summary like this:
.literal
MS>SUMMARIZE 1:4
1 20-Sep To: GRANT |This msg is from me (268 chars)
2 20-Sep GRANT |This msg is from GRANT (255 chars)
3 20-Sep MILLER |This msg is from MILLER (312 chars)
4 20-Sep To: OSMAN, MURPHY, HA|This msg is from me (300 chars)
MS>
.end literal
The mes=sages marked with "To:" were sent by the current user
(LCAMPBELL) and the field dis=played is the "To" field, not the
"From" field. Mes=sage number 4 illus=trates the case where the
"To" field con=tains more than one name.
This feature, when used in con=junc=tion with the com=mand
SAVE-OUTGOING-MESSAGES (IN FILE) MAIL.TXT (so that mes=sages you send
are filed in your mes=sage file) is par=tic=u=larly helpful in keeping
records of mail con=ver=sa=tions. You can keep both in=coming and
out=going mail in the same file, and by scanning for the word "To:"
before user names, can quickly see which mes=sages are in=coming and
which are out=going. Since replies generated auto=ma=tic=ally by the
REPLY com=mand have the same sub=ject string as the orig=inal
mes=sage, it is easy to col=lect all mes=sages pertaining to a given
con=ver=sation to=gether.
.page
.header level 2 SET TEXT-SCROLL-REGION
There is a new dis=play option which can be activated with the
SET TEXT-SCROLL-REGION com=mand. When reading mes=sages with this
option activated, only the mes=sage text portion of the mes=sage will
be scrolled. The header area will remain on the screen with=out
moving for easy reference. If the header area is too large, though,
this is annoying, as your text scrolls through an ex=ces=sively small
window. Thus, if the header area is "too big", MS will scroll the
en=tire screen. "Too big" cur=rently means that fewer than eight
lines would be left in which to dis=play the mes=sage after
dis=playing the headers. You can change this parameter by giving the
SET TEXT-SCROLL-REGION com=mand with a numeric argument.
.header level 2 Video Display Now Optional
A new command, SET NO VIDEO-MODE, disables all video
dis=play handling, such as clearing the screen and setting scroll
regions. The de=fault is SET VIDEO-MODE.
The SET VIDEO-MODE com=mand has a useful side effect. It
forces MS to reinitialize all its know=ledge of your terminal
para=meters. Thus, if you detach from a job run=ning MS and later
attach to it with a dif=ferent terminal, if you give the monitor
com=mand:
.literal
TERMINAL <terminal-type>
.end literal
then con=tinue MS and give MS the SET [NO] VIDEO-MODE com=mand, MS
will be able to con=tinue to do its video dis=play properly because it
now knows that you've changed terminal types.
.header level 2 Support For New Local Mailer (MAILEX)
The old local mailer, MAILER, is being re=placed by an
im=proved ver=sion called MAILEX. MS sup=ports both mailers, but if
MAILEX exists on a system MS uses it. MAILEX pro=vides the fol=lowing
advantages over MAILER:
.list 1,"."
.list element;Personal names now go in the "From" field, just as with
net=work mail, and not in a sep=a=rate "From-the-terminal-of"
line.
.list element;In mes=sages addressed to both local recipients and
recipients on foreign hosts, all local mail is delivered
locally. Previously it all had to go via the net=work
mailers.
.end list
.page
.header level 2 User-defined Header Items
A "header-item" is a key=word known to MS which serves to
iden=tify a specific piece of in=for=mation in the header area of a
mes=sage. A header-item consists of an al=pha=num=eric string, which is
the name of the header-item, a colon, and some text which is the
data as=soc=iated with the header-item. The "To" field is an example
of a header-item which has ad=dresses in its data field.
MS has seven header-items wired into it: Date, To, cc,
From, Subject, Reply-to, and In-reply-to. The DEFINE HEADER-ITEM
com=mand allows users to define their own, new header items.
Header-items come in three flavors: optional, required, or
pre=defined. An optional header-item is one which MS will not prompt
for when sending, but which may be entered by giving the send-level
com=mand INCLUDE. A required header-item is one which MS will
prompt you for, and require that you supply before allowing you to
send the mes=sage. A pre=defined header-item is one which you've
sup=plied in the DEFINE com=mand, and will be inserted into the
mes=sage auto=ma=tic=ally.
Here is an example of a user defining the header-item
"Telephone" as a pre=defined header-item con=taining his tele=phone
number:
.literal
MS>define header-item Telephone predefined text-string 223-8457
.end literal
There are cur=rently six types of header-items which may be
de=fined: ad=dresses, dates, date-times, times, text strings, and
key=words. The syntax required to define a header-item is:
.literal
define header-item <name> <flavor> <type> <optional-value>
<name> := any alphanumeric string
<flavor> := optional | predefined | required
<type> := date | date-and-time | time | address | text-string | keyword
<optional-value> := value of predefined header-item, or list of
keywords for keyword header-items
.end literal
To delete the de=fi=ni=tion of a header-item, give the com=mand
DEFINE HEADER-ITEM <name> with no arguments. To delete all
header-item de=fi=ni=tions, give the com=mand DEFINE HEADER-ITEM *
(this is similar to the EXEC's DEFINE com=mand).
The SHOW HEADER-ITEMS com=mand will dis=play all cur=rently
de=fined header-items (except, of course, for those seven wired in to
MS). The INCLUDE com=mand is used at send level to in=clude a
header-item which has been declared optional. The ERASE
HEADER-ITEM com=mand may be used at send level to erase a
header-item from the current draft.
.page
.header level 2 Aliases
Users may define aliases for fre=quently-used ad=dresses with
the DEFINE ALIAS com=mand. The syntax is as follows:
.literal
MS>define alias foo (to be) Long-unwieldy-name at 1031
MS>send
To: foo
cc:
Subject: Hi there
Message:
Just testing...
^Z
.end literal
As with all other commands, the DEFINE com=mand may appear
in your MS.INIT file. To delete an alias, just define it with a
null ad=dress (much like the EXEC's DEFINE command). The com=mand
DEFINE ALIAS * will remove all alias de=fi=ni=tions.
An alias may consist of either a single ad=dress, or a list
of ad=dresses separated by commas. The com=mand SHOW ALIASES will
dis=play a list of all cur=rently de=fined aliases and their
expansions.
.header level 2 Address Lists
You may define ad=dress lists with the DEFINE ADDRESS-LIST
com=mand. This works almost exactly like DEFINE ALIAS, with one
ex=cep=tion: The name of the list is shown in the mail you send. For
example:
.literal
MS>define address-list Small-group (to be) Smith, Jones, Chuck
MS>define address-list Whole-group (to be) Small-group, Fred, Joe
.end literal
Now, sending mail to "small-group" will produce the fol=lowing "To"
field:
.literal
To: Small-group: Smith, Jones, Chuck;
.end literal
and sending mail to "whole-group" will produce the fol=lowing "To"
field:
.literal
To: Whole-group: Small-group: Smith, Jones, Chuck;, Fred, Joe;
.end literal
To delete an ad=dress-list de=fi=ni=tion, give the com=mand
DEFINE ADDRESS-LIST <name> with no argument. To delete all
ad=dress-list de=fi=ni=tions, give the com=mand DEFINE ADDRESS-LIST *.
.header level 2 SET BRIEF-ADDRESS-LIST-DISPLAY
This command causes MS
to only dis=play the outer=most name of any ad=dress list in the "To"
or "cc" fields of mes=sages being dis=played. This com=mand may be
tem=po=rarily overridden with the VERBOSE-TYPE com=mand, much like
the SET ONLY-HEADERS-SHOWN com=mand.
.header level 2 RETRIEVE LAST-MESSAGE
It some=times happens that you send a mes=sage, MS transmits
it suc=cess=fully, and then you realize belatedly that some=thing was
amiss; perhaps you forgot to in=clude some=one in the ad=dress lists.
The RETRIEVE LAST-MESSAGE com=mand retrieves a copy of the last
mes=sage suc=cess=fully sent and places you at send level, so that you
can correct the problem and try again.
.header level 2 Host Synonyms (applicable Only To DECNET Systems)
System ad=min=is=tra=tors may elect to pro=vide synonyms for
hosts by altering the DECNET-HOSTS.TXT file on SYSTEM:. To define a
synonym, enter the synonym name, and equals sign (=), and the "real"
host name. The real name must already have been de=fined. For
example, to define the synonym "Gus" for host KL2137,
SYSTEM:DECNET-HOSTS.TXT would contain:
.literal
KL2137
Gus=KL2137
.end literal
For more in=for=mation in the format of
SYSTEM:DECNET-HOSTS.TXT, refer to the sec=tion titled "Installation
Instructions".
.header level 2 System MS.INIT
If SYSTEM: con=tains an MS.INIT, the commands in it will be
processed by MS upon startup if the user does not have a private
MS.INIT. This is especially useful for defining system-wide
aliases, ad=dress-lists, and header-items.
.page
.header level 2 New Message-sequence Selectors
The way you specify a mes=sage or mes=sages to MS is by using
a construct called a "mes=sage se=quence". This can be a list of
mes=sage numbers, or a phrase des=cri=bing a group of mes=sages by
content (e.g., "from smith", "since April 1"). MS ver=sion 10 has
several ad=di=tional facilities for constructing mes=sage sequences.
.header level 3 Select based on keywords in the message
.break
You can now specify mes=sage sequences based on key=words
within the text of the mes=sage by saying KEYWORD <text>. For
in=stance, to read all mes=sages con=taining the word "foobat", you
would say:
.literal
MS>read keyword foobat
.end literal
.header level 3 Sort Based On Date And Time
.break
The message se=quence SORTED (BY) DATE-TIME selects mes=sages
in ascending date-time order.
.header level 3 Mixed Numbers And Keywords
.break
Previously, if you spec=i=fied any mes=sage numbers explicitly
in a mes=sage se=quence, you were restricted to only numbers and could
not specify any key=words on the same line. Now you can form mes=sage
sequences like:
.literal
MS>read 1,5,12:14,flagged
.end literal
.header level 3 First N Messages -
You can also select the first n mes=sages by saying:
.literal
MS>read first n
.end literal
.page
.header level 2 Nested Command Files
Command files and init files may now be nested. This means
that you may use the TAKE com=mand inside an init file, or a com=mand
file used by the TAKE com=mand.
.header level 2 Multiword usernames
MS will now properly handle user=names com=posed of mul=tiple
words. Of course, this is not par=tic=u=larly relevant to TOPS-20
users since TOPS-20 does not allow spaces in user=names. It is useful,
though, when sending mes=sages to other systems (such as MULTICS)
which do allow spaces in user=names.
.header level 2 Extended host specifications (path specs)
An "extended host spe=ci=fi=ca=tion" has the form:
.literal
HOST1 at HOST2 at HOST3
.end literal
These are used either to de=scribe a path in a
store-and-forward messaging en=vi=ronment, or to de=scribe a path
which crosses gate=ways. MS now sup=ports extended host
specifications in the fol=lowing manner:
.list
.list element;If you wish to reply to a mes=sage whose "From:" field
con=tains an extended host spec, the REPLY com=mand works. No special
actions are required.
.list element;Because MS validates hostnames (to allow re=cog=ni=tion
and to pre=vent spelling errors), and because making the names of all
hosts in the world avail=able to MS for validation is impractical, the
fol=lowing re=stric=tion exists when typing in an extended host spec:
the en=tire ad=dress, EXCEPT for the last hostname and the word "at"
im=me=di=ately preceding it, must be en=closed in double quotes. For
example:
.literal
To: "Fred Smith at MULTICS-HOST at ARPA-GATEWAY" at MARKET
.end literal
MS will remove the quotes before sending the mail, but you must type
them to pre=vent the com=mand scanner from trying to parse
MULTICS-HOST (which MS's host table has most likely never heard of).
.end list
.blank 3
[End of MS.DOC]