GCP POST OFFICE Tour and Reference Manual CONTENTS 1. Introduction.................................. 1-1 1.1 Overview.............................. 1-1 1.2 Menus................................. 1-2 1.2.1 Main Menu................... 1-2 1.2.2 Archives Menu............... 1-2 1.2.3 Mail List Menus............. 1-2 1.3 Forms................................. 1—2 1.3.1 Select Form................. 1-2 1.3.2 Send Form .................. 1-3 1.3.3 Name Form .................. 1-3 1.4 Archives................................... 1-3 1.4.1 Current Archive............. 1-3 1.4.2 Private Archives............ 1-3 1.4.3 Public Archives............. 1-4 1.5 Mail Lists............................ 1—4 1.5.1 Private Mail Lists.......... 1-4 1.5.2 Public Mail Lists........... 1—4 2. Tour ......................................... 2.1 Main Menu............................. 2-1 2.1.1 Commands.................... 2-1 2.2 Archives Menu......................... 2-3 2.2.1 Commands.................... 2-3 2.3 Mail Lists Menu....................... 2-4 2.3.1 Commands.................... 2-5 3. Main Menu..................................... 3-1 3.1 Headers............................... 3-1 3.1.1 Select Form................. 3-1 3.1.2 Viewing Headers............. 3-2 3.1.3 Header Format............... 3-3 3.2 Read.................................. 3-4 3.2.1 Select Form................. 3-4 3.2.2 Reading Messages............ 3-5 3.2.3 Message Format.............. 3-6 3.3 Send.................................. 3—8 3.3.1 Send Form................... 3-8 3.3.2 Composing the Message....... 3-9 3.3.3 Unknown Address............. 3-10 3.4 Answer................................ 3-11 3.4.1 Select Form................. 3-11 3.4.2 Composing the Message....... 3-12 3.5 Move.................................. 3-13 3.5.1 Select Form................. 3-13 3.5.2 Name Form .................. 3-14 3.6 Delete................................ 3-15 3.6.1 Select Form................. 3-15 3.7 UnDelete.............................. 3-16 - i - 3.7.1 Select Form................. 3-16 3.8 Keep.................................. 3-17 3.8.1 Select Form................. 3-17 3.9 Upload................................ 3-18 3.9.1 Send Form................... 3-19 3.9.2 Name Form................... 3-20 3.9.3 Unknown Address............. 3-20 3.9.4 Uploading File.............. 3-21 3.10 Download.............................. 3-21 3.10.1 Select Form................. 3-22 3.10.2 Name Form................... 3-23 3.10.3 Downloading Message......... 3-23 3.11 Archives.............................. 3—24 3.12 Mail Lists............................ 3—24 3.13 Forward............................... 3-25 3.13.1 Select Form................. 3-25 3.13.2 Send Form................... 3—26 3.13.3 Composing the Message....... 3-27 3.14 Terminal.............................. 3—27 3.14.1 Name Form................... 3-28 3.14.2 Full Text................... 3-29 3.15 Exit Mail............................. 3—30 4. Archive Menu.................................. 4-1 4.1 List Public........................... 4—1 4.1.1 Name Form................... 4-1 4.1.2 Viewing Public Archives List........................ 4-2 4.2 Goto Public........................... 4-3 4.2.1 Name Form................... 4-3 4.2.2 Unknown Public Archive..................... 4-4 4.2.3 Known Public Archive........ 4-4 4.3 Goto mailbox.......................... 4-4 4.4 List Private.......................... 4-4 4.4.1 Name Form................... 4-4 4.4.2 Viewing Private Archives List........................ 4—5 4.5 Goto Private.......................... 4-6 4.5.1 Name Form................... 4-6 4.5.2 Unknown Private Archive..................... 4-7 4.5.3 Known Private Archive....... 4-8 4.6 Main Menu............................. 4-8 5. Mail List Menu ............................... 5-1 5.1 List Public........................... 5—1 5.1.1 Name Form................... 5-1 5.1.2 Listing Public Mail Lists....................... 5—2 5.2 List Private.......................... 5-3 — ii — 5.2.1 Name Form................... 5-3 5.2.2 Listing Private Mail Lists....................... 5—4 5.3 Edit Private.......................... 5-5 5.3.1 Name Form................... 5-5 5.3.2 Editing Mail List........... 5-6 5.4 Add Self.............................. 5-6 5.4.1 Name Form................... 5-7 5.5 Remove Self........................... 5-7 5.5.1 Name Form................... 5-8 5.6 Delete List........................... 5-8 5.6.1 Name Form................... 5-9 5.7 List On/Off........................... 5—9 5.7.1 Name Form................... 5-10 5.8 Main Menu............................. 5-10 6. Select Form................................... 6-1 6.1 Number Field.......................... 6-1 6.2 Date Field............................ 6-2 6.3 From Field............................ 6-3 6.4 Subject Field......................... 6-3 6.5 Flags Field........................... 6—3 6.6 Msg Size Field........................ 6-4 7. Send Form.................................... 7-1 7.1 To Field.............................. 7-1 7.2 Cc Field.............................. 7-1 7.3 Subject Field......................... 7-1 7.4 Msg Type Field........................ 7-1 7.5 Send Form Examples.................... 7-2 8. Wild cards.................................... 8-1 8.1 *..................................... 8—1 8.2 ?..................................... 8—2 8.3 !..................................... 8—2 8.4 [range]............................... 8-3 8.5 [^range].............................. 8—4 9. Message Flags................................. 9-1 9.1 Message Flags Examples................ 9-1 10. Downloading/Uploading......................... 10-1 10.1 Where are Public Domain Pro grams?................................ 10-1 10.2 Changing archives..................... 10-2 10.3 Listing Programs...................... 10-2 10.4 Downloading Public Domain Pro grams................................. 10-3 10.5 Uploading Public Domain Pro grams................................. 10-4 —iii — 11. Keyboard Editing Functions.................... 11-1 11.1 Keys.................................. 11—1 - iv - PostOffice April 15,1986 1. Introduction This manual is laid out in 11 sections. Section 1 is the introduction, which contains a brief overview of the PostOffice and terms which will be used in other sections. You should at least skim over this section before attempting to use the PostOffice. Section 2 section is a tour of the PostOffice, intended to be used while you are connected to GCP and in the PostOffice so that you can watch the screen as you follow the steps. Its purpose is to quickly familiarize you with the different menus used in the PostOffice. Section 3 is the detailed explanation of the Main Menu. Section 4 is the detailed explanation of the Archives Menu. Section 5 is the detailed explanation of the Mail Lists Menu. Section 6 is a detailed explanation of the Select Form. Section 7 is a detailed explanation of the Send Form. Section 8 is a detailed explanation of the Wildcards. Section 9 is a detailed explanation of the Message Flags. Section 10 is an example of how to download/upload public domain programs using the GCP PostOffice. Section 11 lists the editing keys that may be used in the PostOffice. 1.1 Overview The PostOffice is a menu driven interface to the GCP mail system. PostOffice commands are selected through a combination of menus and forms. You move the cursor with your joystick to a menu selection. There you press the button and a form appears. You fill out the form (or leave it blank) and press START. You now see the results of the command. 1—1 PostOffice April 15,1986 1.2 Menus There are three menus used in the PostOffice: Main Menu, Archives Menu, and Mail Lists Menu. It is through these menus you use the functions of the Pos- tOffice. 1.2.1 Main Menu When you first arrive in the PostOffice you are in the Main Menu. This menu has the basic functions you need to read and send mail. It is here that you delete old mail. When aborting a command that you have started you will return to this menu. To exit the postoffice and return to the Mailroom you select Exit Mail. 1.2.2 Archives Menu This menu deals with Public and Private Archives. To access the messages in a archive you must first be in that archive. This is done through the Archives Menu by selecting Goto Public or Goto Private. You can find out what archives there are by selecting List Public or List Private. 1.2.3 Mail List Menu This menu deals with Public and Private Mail Lists. To subscribe to a public mail list you would select Add Self. To create a private mail list you use Edit Private. You can find out what mail lists there are by selecting List Public or List Private. 1.3 Forms The PostOffice uses forms to make selections and to get input. Each form can be completed with some, all or none of the lines blank. In most cases leaving a form blank will match everything. 1.3.1 Select Form This form is for selecting messages in the current archive. If you wanted to read only the new messages you would fill out the Select Form so that only new 1—2 PostOffice April 15,1986 messages would match it. If you wanted to read all your mail, new and old, you would leave the select form blank. 1.3.2 Send Form This form is used to send, answer, and forward mes- sages. You fill out who the message is to and what the subject of the message is. 1.3.3 Name Form This form is used for inputting archive names, mail list names, terminal commands and files on your disk. 1.4 Archives All message in the GCP Mail System are stored in archives. Your mailbox is an archive. Archives are storage places for messages. Usually each archive contains messages dealing with a particular subject area; for instance, your mailbox is an archive that contains messages sent to you. Atari is an archive that contains messages sent to the Atari Mail List. To list archives and goto them you use the Archives Menu. To read messages in an archive you use the Main Menu. 1.4.1 Current Archive The name of the archive you are currently in is displayed in the upper left box. When you enter the PostOffice you are placed in your mailbox. If you goto another archive then its name will be in the box. +---------------+ |mailbox +---------+ ++------------+Main Menu+--------------+ 1.4.2 Private Archives Your mailbox is a private archive. Only you have access to the messages in your private archives. You can not access the messages in another user’s private archive. Anyone can create private archives. 1-3 PostOffice April 15,1986 1.4.3 Public Archives Anyone can access the messages in a public archive. Only GCP can create a new public archive. Public Archives are collections of messages that have been sent to one of the Public Mail Lists or Public Domain Programs for downloading. 1.5 Mail Lists Mail Lists are a compilation of names of users who share an interest in a particular subject. People who subscribe to the Atari Mail List share an interest in the 8bit Atari home computers. When a message is sent to a Mail List each person on that list gets a copy of the message. To list mail lists and subscribe to them you use the Mail List Menu. To send mail to one you use the Main Menu option Send. 1.5.1 Private Mail Lists You may create private mail lists. Only you will be able to send mail to your private mail lists. You can not use another user’s private mail list. Anyone can create private mail lists. 1.5.2 Public Mail Lists Anyone can send mail to a Public Mail List. Only GCP can create public mail lists. Each public mail list is used for discussions about a general topic. 1—4 PostOffice April 15, 1986 2. Tour This selection is written assuming that you are con- nected to GCP and in the PostOffice so that you can compare what you see with the directions given below. Please follow along with these instructions as we give you a quick run through of the PostOffice. Do not make a selection from a menu until instructed to do so. 2.1 Main Menu When you first enter the PostOffice you will be the Main Menu. +---------------+ |mailbox +---------+ ++------------+Main Menu+--------------+ |o Headers o Delete o Archives | |o Read o UnDelete o Mail Lists| |o Send o Keep o Forward | |o Answer o Upload o Terminal | |o Move o Download o Exit Mail | ++-------------------------------------++ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ++-------------------------------------++ START: -- SELECT: -- OPTION: -- 2.1.1 Commands This is a list of the commands found on the Main Menu. Do not make any selections at this time. Headers Gives a brief description of the messages in the current archive. 2—1 PostOffice April 15,1986 Read Reads the messages in the current archive. Send Use to send mail to another user of a mail list. Answer Used to answer a message in the current archive. Move Used to move messages from current archive into a private archive. This is how you create private archives. Delete Allows you to select which messages in the current archive you wish to mark for delet- ing. In a public archive you can only delete messages that you posted. The mes- sages will not be deleted until you exit the PostOffice. UnDelete Allows you to undelete the messages you just marked for deletion. Keep You may mark a message to be kept. This will prevent it from being deleted when old mail is expired. Upload This allows you to upload text or binary message and send them to other users. Download This allows you to download a message from the current archive. Archives Takes you to the the Archives Menu. Do not select this at this time. Mail Lists Takes you to the the Mail Lists Menu. Do not select this at this time. Forward Allows you to forward, from the current archive, a message to another user. 2—2 PostOffice April 15,1986 Terminal Allows you to use some of the terminal com- mands as found in the GCP city. Exit Mail Exits the PostOffice and returns you to the Mailroom. 2.2 Archives Menu Please select the Archives option on the Main Menu. +---------------+ |mailbox +---------+ ++------------+Main Menu+--------------+ |o Headers o Delete o Archives |<<======= |o Read o UnDelete o Mail Lists| You will now be in the Archives Menu. +---------------+ |mailbox +-----------+ +----+--------+Archive Menu+-------+ |o List Public o List Private| |o Goto Public o Goto Private| |o Goto Mailbox o Main Menu | +----+-----------------------------+----+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ++-------------------------------------++ START: -- SELECT: -- OPTION: -- 2.2.1 Commands This is a list of the commands found on the Archives Menu. Do not make any selections at this time. 2—3 Post0ffice April 15,1986 List Public This is how you can find out what pub- lic archives there are in the PostOf- fice. Goto Public This is how you move from your current archive to a public archive. Goto mailbox This returns you to your mailbox archive. List Private This lists the private archives you have. Goto Private This moves you from your current archive to one of your private archives. Main Menu This returns you to the Main Menu. Please select the Main Menu option on the Archive Menu. +---------------+ |mailbox +-----------+ +----+--------+Archive Menu+-------+ |o List Public o List Private| |o Goto Public o Goto Private| |o Goto Mailbox @ Main Menu |<<====== You will now be back in the Main Menu. 2.3 Mail Lists Menu Please select the Mail Lists option on the Main Menu. +---------------+ |mailbox +---------+ ++------------+Main Menu+--------------+ |o Headers o Delete o Archives | |o Read o UnDelete o Mail Lists |<<====== You will now be in the Mail Lists Menu. 2-4 PostOffice April 15,1986 +---------------+ |mailbox +-----------+ +----+--------+Mail List Menu+-----+ |o List Public o Remove Self| |o List Private o Delete List| |o Edit Private o List On/Off| |o Add self o Main Menu | +----+-----------------------------+----+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ++-------------------------------------++ START: -- SELECT: -- OPTION: -- 2.3.1 Commands This is a list of the commands found on the Mail Lists Menu. Do not make any selections at this time. List Public This lists the public mail lists that you can send mail to. To receive mail sent to a list you must first sub- scribe to the list. List Private This lists any private mail lists you may have created. Edit Private To create a private mail list you select this option. Add Self This allows you to subscribe to a pub- lic mail list. Once you have added your name you will receive any mail sent to the list. 2—5 PostOffice April 15,1986 Remove Self When you do not wish to receive mail sent to a public mail list you can remove you name from the list using this option. Delete List This deletes a private mail list that you do not want. List On/Off If you have a private mail list that you don’t want to use, but do not want to delete, this option makes it inac- tive. Main Menu This returns you to the Main Menu. Please select the Main Menu option on the Mail List Menu. +---------------+ |mailbox +-----------+ +----+--------+Mail List Menu+-----+ |o List Public o Remove Self| |o List Private o Delete List| |o Edit Private o List On/Off| |o Add self @ Main Menu |<<====== You will now be back in the Main Menu. This completes the tour of the PostOffice. The next sections will go into more detailed on how to use the selections on the menus. 2-6 PostOffice April 15,1986 3. Main Menu The Main Menu is where you enter and exit the PostOf- fice. It is also the menu you will use the most. Most of the Main Menu commands deal with messages: reading, sending, deleting, uploading and downloading messages. Through this menu you can access the Archives and the Mail Lists Menus. You can also use some terminal commands from here. When you first enter the PostOffice you are in the Main Menu. The current archive is your mailbox. 3.1 Headers This command allows you to quickly scan the contents of the current archive. It lists the headers for the messages that match the Select Form. A header is a two line description of a mail message. When you select Headers you will be placed in the Select Form. 3.1.1 Select Form You may fill this out to select which headers you wish to view. Leave the form blank to view all the headers in the current archive. Here is an example that will list the header(s) of any new message(s) in the current archive. See Section 9 for a detailed explanation of how to fill out the Select Form. 3-1 PostOffice April 15,1986 +---------------+ |mailbox +---------+ ++------------+Main Menu+--------------+ |o Headers o Delete o Archives | |o Read o UnDelete o Mail Lists| |o Send o Keep o Forward | |o Answer o Upload o Terminal | |o Move o Download o Exit Mail | +-------------------------------------+-+ | | +---------------------------------------+ |SELECT FORM | |----------- | |Number : | |Date : | |From : | |Subject : | |Flags : N | |Msg Size: | +---------------------------------------+ | | | | ++-------------------------------------++ START:Done SELECT: -- OPTION:Abort START Press START when you are ready to view the headers. You will then be placed in full text. OPTION Press OPTION to ABORT this command. You will be returned to the Main Menu. 3.1.2 Viewing Headers Any headers that match the Select Form will be listed. The joystick will move the window allowing you to view the last 50 lines of headers. Below is an example of the headers that matched a select form that was filled out to only match on new messages. The mailbox contained 5 messages. Messages 1 and 2 have been read and therefore are not new. Messages 3, 4 and 5 have not been read and are new. 3-2 PostOffice April 15,1986 +---------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +---------------------------------------+ | 3 N CtM 03/30/86 16:27| |Online Signup 315| +---------------------------------------+ | 4 N EotU 03/30/86 17:30| |PostOffice Docs 1254| +---------------------------------------+ | 5 N HtG 03/30/86 19:21| |Testing Read in PostOffice 89| +---------------------------------------+ | | | END of mailbox HEADERS | +---------------------------------------+ START:Pause SELECT: -- OPTION:Abort START Press START to Pause the listing of the headers. Press START to Resume the list- ing. OPTION Press OPTION to ABORT the listing. You will be returned to the Main Menu. 3.1.3 Header Format There are seven parts to a header: , , , ,