Copyright: Copyright© 1999 Symantec Corporation.  All rights reserved.
Citation: Copyright© 1999 Symantec Corporation.  All rights reserved.


Advanced QWK Mail Viewer Features

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Using QWK Message Attachments

Sorting Your QWK Messages

Finding a QWK Message

Signatures and Taglines

Using the ANSI Viewer

Using RIME Routing


Checking Your Spelling

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The QWK Mail Viewer includes an integrated spelling checker that you can use to check your messages before you save them!

You can check the spelling of a message at any time during composition. To display the Spelling Checker dialog, select Messages | Check Spelling or click on the Check Spelling Action Bar button. The spell checker immediately begins checking the current message, and it will stop at the first word it encounters that’s not included in either the default dictionary or the user-defined dictionary.

If an unknown word is found, the checker displays it in the edit field at the top of the Spelling Checker dialog. In the scrolling list below, the checker provides possible correct spellings for the unknown word. If one of these spellings is correct, click on the word to highlight it and then click on the Change button to substitute it for the misspelled word. If this is a misspelling that’s likely to occur again within the message text, click on the Change All button to correct all occurrences of the misspelled word with the correct spelling.

If the checker highlights an unknown word that’s actually spelled correctly, click on the Ignore button to continue to the next unknown word without changing the spelling. If this is a word that’s likely to occur again within the message text, click on the Ignore All button to mark all occurrences of the unknown word as correct. The viewer’s spelling checker also provides a user-defined dictionary that can hold words you use often in your messages, such as the name of a BBS or a particular program. To add the unknown word in the edit field to your user-defined dictionary, click on the Add to User Dict button.

The spelling checker will alert you with a message once you’ve checked the entire text. Click on Exit to close the spelling checker window.


Closing and Deleting QWK Packets

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Once you’ve read and replied to all the messages in a QWK packet, you can close the packet by selecting File | Close Window or by clicking on the Close Window Action Bar button. Depending on your configuration, the viewer may display a dialog asking whether you’d like to delete the packet. Click on Yes to delete the packet or No to close the window without deleting the packet.

You can also delete a packet without opening it. To delete a packet, select File | Delete Packet. The viewer displays the Delete Packet dialog.

The File Name pattern defaults to the standard QWK mail extension of .q??. You can specify a different pattern for your search by typing it in the File Name field and pressing <Enter>, or by clicking on the List Files of Type list box to select one of the preconfigured file types.

When you’ve located the file you want to delete, highlight it with the mouse or cursor bar, then click on the OK button to delete it and close the dialog.


Configuring the QWK Mail Viewer

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The QWK Mail Viewer’s Setup dialog allows you to configure the wide variety of options available in the viewer. To open the Setup dialog, select the Setup menu item and select one of the six groups of settings. Each settings group is associated with a Setup menu item in the viewer; to open the dialog, select one of the items:

General

Files

Paths

Replies

Filters

Packers


Creating New QWK Messages

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If you’d like to compose a new message on a new subject, click on the Compose/Edit Message Action Bar button or select Messages | Compose/Edit Message. The QWK Mail Viewer displays the Entry window. The viewer automatically enters your name in the From: field, but you must supply the addressee in the To: field. If this is your first message to this correspondent, type the name as it appears on the bulletin board. If the addressee is in your Message To: picklist, click on the arrow on the right of the drop down list box and click on the desired name. If you’d like to add the name to your Message To: picklist, type the name into the field and click on the Add button.

You can also send carbon copies of your reply to other correspondents. If the names appear in your Message To: picklist, click on the Select... button on the right of the drop down list box. The viewer displays the CC List dialog; from here you can highlight one or more names. Click on OK when you’ve selected all of the names. If the names do not appear in your picklist, you can type the addressee’s name directly into the CC field.

In a similar fashion, you can specify the message topic area where the message will be posted on the BBS. Click on the arrow on the right of the drop down list box and click on the desired Area name.

You can then specify the following optional information:

Subject

If the subject string is in your Subject: picklist, click on the arrow on the right of the drop down list box and click on the desired subject string. To enter a new subject, click within the field and type it. If you’d like to add the current subject string to your Subject: picklist, click on the Add button.

Tagline

To select a tagline from your tagline file, click on the arrow on the right of the drop down list box and click on the desired entry. Of course, you can also type in a new tagline. If you’d like to add the current tagline to your list, type the string into the field and click on the Add button. For more information on taglines, see Signatures and Taglines.

Private

If the message topic area you’ve selected allows private messages, you can mark the message as private by enabling this check box; private messages can be read only by the author and the addressee. Check with the Sysop or System Operator of the BBS to see which message areas allow the posting of private messages.

Most BBS sysops read all of the "private" mail traffic on their systems to monitor for illegal activities. It’s wise, therefore, to remember that so-called private messages may be less than secure!

Once you’ve completed the necessary fields in the header portion of the message window, click in the area under the divider bar to begin typing your text. You can use all of the familiar Windows editing functions to cut, paste and type text in to the mesage entry dialog. If you need to search for a particular string within your text and, perhaps replace it with another string, select Edit | Find and Replace...

Once you’ve completed the composition of your message, click on the Save Message Action Bar button to add it to your .rep packet.


Creating QWK Carbon Copies

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If you communicate with a large number of people using QWK mail, you’ve probably sent the same message to more than one individual. Although you can compose and save a separate copy of the same message for each addressee, you’ll save a great deal of time and effort by using the QWK Mail Viewer’s powerful Carbon Copy feature.

QWK Mail carbon copies are quite similar to the carbon copies available with most computer electronic mail systems: you select the individuals who will receive a copy of the message you’re currently composing, and the viewer takes care of the rest!

If you often send multiple copies to the same people, you can also create a distribution list. A distribution list is a simple ASCII text file with one addressee name per line. Lists are usually saved in the \program files\procomm plus directory, with an extension of .txt. You can create a list with the ASPECT Editor.

The Carbon Copy function is available only when you’re composing or editing a reply, so you must set up any copies before you save the message!

To display the Carbon Copy dialog while composing a message, click on the Select... button on the right of the CC drop down list box. The viewer displays the CC List dialog, where you can highlight one or more names from the "Message To" picklist. You can also use an existing distribution list; to load a list, click on the Open button. The viewer displays a standard File Open dialog.

Click on OK when you’ve selected all of the names.

If the names do not appear in your picklist, you can type the addressee’s name directly into the CC field.


Deleting a QWK Reply

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One of the advantages of QWK mail is the opportunity to delete a reply before it’s posted. Since your messages are not actually added to the bulletin board’s message base until you upload the .rep file, you can delete a reply at any time!

To delete a previously saved reply, select Areas | Replies (Outgoing Messages) and display the Message List. Highlight the reply you want to edit and click on Delete. The viewer will prompt you for confirmation before deleting the reply.


Editing a QWK Reply

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From time to time, you may reply to a message, save it and then later find you need to update the reply with new text.

To edit a previously saved reply, select Areas | Replies (Outgoing Messages) and display the Message List. Highlight the reply you want to edit and click on Ok. You can also choose Replies from the Area List dialog.

The viewer displays the reply you chose in the message window.

Now select Messages | Compose/Edit Messages or click on the Compose/Edit Message icon on the Action Bar. The viewer displays the reply text in the mesage entry dialog, and you can modify the header fields and message text as needed.

Finally, click on the Save Message Action Bar button to save the message.


Finding a QWK Message

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If you’re searching for a particular message, there’s no need to manually look through every message in a packet! The QWK Mail Viewer can search for you within any combination of:

•	The message text.

•	The To: field.

•	The From: field.

•	The message subject.

To search for a message, select Edit | Find and enable the check boxes for the proper search criteria. The viewer stores the last ten search strings you’ve used, so if this is something you’ve searched for earlier click on the arrow to the right of the drop down list box and click on the desired item. Otherwise, type the search string into the Find What: field and click Ok. The search is not case-sensitive.

If the viewer finds the specified string in more than one message, the messages are marked and displayed to you consecutively. Note that the search routine will only search the current message topic area.


Forwarding a QWK Message

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If you want to forward a message to another user on the same BBS, click on the Reply to the Current Message Action Bar button or select Messages | Reply to Message to open the reply window, just as though you were replying to the message normally. Then, click in the To field in the reply window, and enter the new recipient name.

You can then edit the message or add any additional text before you save the message to the .rep packet.


Navigating QWK Packets

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After you've expanded a QWK packet, you can navigate through the packet contents to view messages.

The Areas List

The Message List

Viewing the Messages

Printing and Exporting Messages


Opening a QWK Packet

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Once you’ve downloaded a QWK packet from a bulletin board, it should be placed in the directory where the viewer expects to find mail packets; by default, the directory is c:\program files\procomm plus\dnload, but you can change that from the Paths panel in the QWK Mail Viewer Setup menu. Learn more about the Paths panel in Paths Options.

To open a packet, select File | Open Packet or click on the Open an Existing Mail Packet Action Bar button. The viewer displays the Open Packet dialog. You can select four types of files from this dialog:

QWK packets

These are packets containing compressed messages and files in the standard QWK format supported by most bulletin boards.

Blue Wave packets

These packets are in an alternate format supported by some bulletin boards.

Mail packets

This combines the QWK and Blue Wave packet types.

All files

All files in the directory, regardless of extension.

The File Name pattern defaults to the standard QWK mail extension of *.q??. You can specify a different pattern for your search by typing it in the File Name field and pressing <Enter>, or by clicking on the List Files of Type list box to select one of the preconfigured file types.

When you’ve located the file you want to open, highlight it with the cursor, click on the OK button to accept it and close the dialog.

Once you’ve selected a packet, the viewer runs another program, pwzip, to expand the message archive; depending on the size of the packet,this may take a few seconds.

After the packet has been expanded, you can navigate through the packet contents to view messages. See Navigating QWK Packets for more information.


Printing and Exporting Messages

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The QWK Mail Viewer provides three ways of saving the contents of a message:

•	Print a copy of the contents.

To print a message, select File | Print... or click on the Print icon on the Action Bar. The viewer displays a standard Windows Print dialog. Click on OK to begin printing.

You can specify a font for the text you print from the viewer by selecting Printer Font from the File menu.

•	Export the contents to a disk file.

Select Messages | Export... The viewer displays a standard Windows Save As... dialog. Specify a path and name for your file and click on OK to save it to disk.

•	Copy the contents to the Windows clipboard and paste the text into a file.

As you would with any Windows application, highlight the message text you want and select Edit | Copy or press <Ctrl><C>. From the clipboard, you can paste the message text wherever needed.


QWK Mail Setup: Files Options

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The options on the Files panel of Setup specify the filenames for various data files used by the QWK Mail Viewer:

Taglines Pick List

Enter the name of the ASCII file containing your message taglines - you can access this list from the Tagline header field while writing a message or reply. By default, the viewer uses the file taglines.txt in your Procomm Plus home directory.

You can add, delete and modify taglines from this dialog as well; click on the Edit button to open the taglines file with the ASPECT Editor. Each tagline string should appear on a separate line.

"Message To" Pick List

This field specifies the ASCII file containing the names of your correspondents - you can access this list from the To header field while writing a message or reply. By default, the viewer uses the file msgpick.txt in your Procomm Plus home directory.

You can add, delete and modify recipients from this dialog as well. Click on the Edit button to open the pick list file with the ASPECT Editor. Each name string should appear on a separate line.

Subject Pick List

This field specifies the ASCII file containing the names of your message subjects - you can access this list from the Subject header field while writing a message or reply. By default, the viewer uses the file subjpick.txt in your Procomm Plus home directory.

You can add, delete and modify subjects from this dialog as well. Just click on the Edit button to open the pick list file with the ASPECT Editor. Each subject string should appear on a separate line.

Pick List Editor

This field specifies the filename for your Pick List editor. This program is used to modify the various files within this Setup section when you click on the Edit button. By default, the viewer uses the ASPECT Editor, which is located in the \program files\procomm plus\programs directory, but you can use any Windows text editor.

Enable Sound in Personal Messages

If this check box is enabled, the viewer will play the .wav sound file specified in the Filename for .WAV File field each time you display a message addressed to you in the message window.

Filename for .WAV File

If you’ve enabled sound in personal messages, this field specifies the Windows .wav format sound file to play. If your computer is unable to find or play this file, it sounds a standard beep tone instead.

ANSI File Viewer

This field specifies the filename for your ANSI file viewer. This program is used to display ANSI color graphics and animation in messages and QWK-related files. By default, the viewer uses ansiview.exe, which is located in the \program files\procomm plus\programs directory. You may, however, use any Windows program that displays ANSI graphics.


QWK Mail Setup: Filters Options

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The options on the Filters panel of Setup specify the filenames for the exclusion filters used by the QWK Mail Viewer. An exclusion filter prevents the display of any message containing a matching string in the message’s To:, From: or Subject: field, respectively. For example, if your Message To filter file contains the name Fred Garvin and your packet contained messages addressed to Fred Garvin, the viewer would not display them at all.

Message To

Enter the name of the ASCII file containing the names of addressees whose messages you wish to filter.

You can add, delete and modify names from this dialog as well; click on the Edit button to open the Message To filter file with the ASPECT Editor. Each name string should appear on a separate line, and it must be an exact match with the name as it appears in the To: field.

Message From

Enter the name of the ASCII file containing the names of authors whose messages you wish to filter.

You can add, delete and modify names from this dialog as well; click on the Edit button to open the Message From filter file with the ASPECT Editor. Each name string should appear on a separate line, and it must be an exact match with the name as it appears in the From: field.

Message Subject

Enter the name of the ASCII file containing the subject strings of messages you wish to filter.

You can add, delete and modify strings from this dialog as well; click on the Edit button to open the Message Subject filter file with the ASPECT Editor. Each name string should appear on a separate line, and it must be an exact match with the string as it appears in the Subj: field.


QWK Mail Setup: General Options

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The options on the General panel of Setup allow you to set your preferences for operations performed on every packet:

Show all message areas

Enable this check box if you’d like the QWK Mail Viewer to display all the message topic areas available in a QWK packet, even if those areas are empty.

You can toggle the display of all areas at any time from within the Areas List dialog by disabling or enabling the Show All Areas check box at the bottom of the dialog.

Next/Previous msg spans areas

If this check box is enabled, the viewer moves to the next message area when you’ve reached the last message in your current area and you select Next from the menu, the Action Bar or the keyboard. If this option is disabled, the viewer displays a reminder indicating that you’ve reached the end of the current area and you must manually move to the next area.

Likewise, when enabled the viewer moves to the previous message area when you reach the first message in your current area and you select Previous Message from the menu, the Action Bar or the keyboard.

Areas recycle after last area

If this check box is enabled, the viewer moves to the first message area when you’ve reached the last message in the packet and you select Next Message from the menu, the Action Bar or the keyboard. If this option is disabled, the viewer displays a reminder indicating that you’ve reached the end of the packet.

Always prompt to save replies

If enabled, the viewer will prompt you for confirmation when you save replies. If disabled, replies are saved as soon as you select Messages | Save Message from the menu or click on the Save Message Action Bar button.

Ignore case during spell check

If enabled, the QWK Mail Viewer’s integrated spelling checker will ignore words in all capital letters, such as acronyms like "IBM" or "DOS." If disabled, the checker will check the spelling of words in all capital letters.

Default Sort Option

This option button group specifies which sort criteria is used by default. Select Message Number to sort by ascending message number, Message From to sort by the author’s name, Message To to sort by addressee and Message Subject to sort by the subject string.

Default Packet Type

Click on the arrow at the side of this drop down list box to select the default packet type the viewer will display in the Open Packet dialog. For most bulletin boards, you’ll use the standard QWK format, while some boards may support the Blue Wave offline mail standard. Select the Mail Packets setting to display both QWK and Blue Wave packets. You can also default to All Files, which will display all the files in your Mail Packet directory, regardless of their extension.

Last Msg Pointer

This group of option buttons determines whether the QWK Mail Viewer will automatically save the last message you’ve read in each area of a packet.

If you often read large packets or you frequently reopen a packet, this is a convenient feature, as it lets you return to your reading right where you left off. However, if last read pointers are saved the viewer actually re-archives the packet with the last read data when you close the program, so it does take the viewer a few seconds to close if this feature is set to Always Save.

You can also select Never Save to turn this feature off, or even specify that the QWK Mail Viewer Ask whether last read pointers should be saved each time you close a packet.

Delete Packet when Closing

This group of option buttons determines whether the viewer will automatically delete a packet as you close it.

If you always read an entire packet in one sitting, you’ll probably want to set this option to Yes, especially if you download packets every day from the same bulletin boards.

You can also select No to ensure that you never lose a packet, since you can also delete packets from the File menu. Finally, you can specify that the QWK Mail Viewer Ask whether a packet should be deleted as you close it.

Old Reply Packets

This option button group specifies whether the viewer will automatically open or delete an existing .rep reply packet when you open a corresponding QWK mail packet.

If you often read large packets or you frequently reopen a packet, you’ll probably want to set this field to Always Open. Any additional messages you write will then be added to your existing reply packet. However, it does take the viewer a few seconds to unarchive the reply packet.

If you always read an entire packet in one sitting and send your reply packet immediately, you’ll probably want to set this option to Always Delete, especially if you download packets every day from the same bulletin boards.

You can also specify that the QWK Mail Viewer Ask whether a reply packet should be opened or deleted as you open the QWK packet.


QWK Mail Setup: Packers Options

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Finally, the options on the Packers panel of Setup allow you to specify which archive programs to use to compress and uncompress your QWK mail packets, as well as which command line parameters they should take:

ZIP Open

This template specifies the formatted command line for uncompressing ZIP format packets. Use %F to indicate the mail packet and %D to indicate the temporary directory; these values are automatically substituted by the viewer.

ZIP Close

This template specifies the formatted command line for compressing ZIP format reply packets. Use %F to indicate the mail packet and %D to indicate the temporary directory; these values are automatically substituted by the viewer.

By default, the viewer uses the pwzip program, so you should only need to change these templates if you’re using an external ZIP archive utility.

Create TBBS compatible reply packets

Some versions of the TBBS bulletin board program accept only reply packets that have been created with PKZIP version 1. Enable this check box to compress your replies so that they can be read correctly by these bulletin boards.

Note that enabling TBBS compatible packets may result in larger .rep packet sizes and longer transfer times.

ARJ Open

This template specifies the formatted command line for uncompressing ARJ format packets. Use %F to indicate the mail packet and %D to indicate the temporary directory; these values are automatically substituted by the viewer.

ARJ Close

This template specifies the formatted command line for compressing ARJ format reply packets. Use %F to indicate the mail packet and %D to indicate the temporary directory; these values are automatically substituted by the viewer.

LHARC Open

This template specifies the formatted command line for uncompressing LHARC format packets. Use %F to indicate the mail packet and %D to indicate the temporary directory; these values are automatically substituted by the viewer.

LHARC Close

This template specifies the formatted command line for compressing LHARC format reply packets. Use %F to indicate the mail packet and %D to indicate the temporary directory; these values are automatically substituted by the viewer.

Almost all bulletin board systems use the ZIP format, and you should rarely need to change any of the default settings. However, some QWK doors and BBS programs offering QWK features may not support the newer PKZIP version 2.0x compression format; if your packets are not accepted by a particular BBS, check with the sysop of that system to see what compression program and command line switches you should use.


QWK Mail Setup: Paths Options

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The options on the Paths panel of Setup specify the directories where various data files used by the QWK Mail Viewer are stored:

QWK viewer path

Specifies the path where the viewer can find various resources, including the ANSIview program. By default, the viewer uses the \program files\procomm plus\programs directory.

Mail packet path

This field determines where the viewer looks for incoming mail packets you’ve received. By default, the viewer uses the \program files\procomm plus\dnload directory, since downloaded files are stored there.

Replies path

Specifies where the viewer stores outgoing reply packets. By default, the viewer uses the \program files\procomm plus\upload directory, since you’ll be uploading the reply packet from there as well.

Export message path

This field determines the default directory where the viewer stores messages you export with the Messages | Export... menu item. Since the Export command displays a Save As dialog box, you can change this directory, if necessary, when you save the message.

Spelling dictionaries path

Specifies the path where the viewer can find the dictionaries used by the integrated spelling checker. By default, the viewer uses the \program files\procomm plus directory.

Temp directory path

This field determines the directory used by the viewer to store temporary work files; these files are erased when you close the viewer.


QWK Mail Setup: Replies Options

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The options on the Replies panel of Setup allow you to specify how the viewer will format quoted lines and your signature:

Quote Line Prefix

This template specifies the formatted prefix added at the beginning of each line of quoted text when you reply to a message. Use %F to indicate the first initial of the original author’s name, and %L to indicate the last initial. These values are automatically substituted by the viewer. For example, if the original message was written by Mark Twain, the default prefix template %F%L> would insert the string MT> in front of each line of quoted text.

Quote Header

This template specifies the formatted header string added at the beginning of the quoted text when you reply to a message. The header helps identify the original message, which makes it easier to read and follow long conversations with many replies. The following template characters are available, and will be substituted with the actual values by the viewer:

%F to indicate the full name of the original message’s author.

%FF to indicate the first name of the author.

%FL to indicate the last name of the author.

%T to indicate the full name of the original message’s addressee.

%TF to indicate the first name of the addressee.

%TL to indicate the last name of the addressee.

%S to indicate the message subject.

%D to indicate the date the original message was posted.

%N to force a new line (as if you had typed a carriage return).

For example, if the original message was written by Mark Twain to Thomas Edison on 08/01/95, and the subject header was "Procomm Plus," the following template:

On %D, %F was talking to %T %N about %S:

would produce the corresponding quote header at the top of the message:

On 08/01/95, Mark Twain was talking to Thomas Edison

about Procomm Plus:

Signature

This template specifies the signature string added at the end of each message you write. You can use the %N template character to force a new line (as if you had typed a carriage return).

If you would like the viewer to automatically add this signature to the end of every message you write, enable the Auto Sign Messages check box. If the check box is disabled, you must manually add the signature by clicking on the Insert Signature Action Bar button.


Responding to QWK Messages

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Replying to a message is very similar to composing a new message, but the QWK Mail Viewer provides some of the message header information automatically.

For more information, see the following topics:

Step-by-Step: Creating a QWK Mail Reply

Forwarding a QWK Message

Editing a QWK Reply

Checking Your Spelling

Creating QWK Carbon Copies

Deleting a QWK Reply


Running the QWK Mail Viewer

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There are three methods of opening the viewer:

•	By clicking on its icon in the Procomm Plus Utilities group on the Start menu.

•	By selecting the Tools | QWK Mail Viewer menu item in the Terminal window.

•	By clicking on the QWK Mail Viewer button in the tool-related Action Bar included with Procomm Plus.

When you first run the QWK Mail Viewer, most of its Action Bar buttons are disabled.


Signatures and Taglines

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As a matter of personal preference, some QWK mail users like to end each message they write with a standard signature line. The viewer allows you to append a signature, either automatically or by clicking on the Insert Signature Action Bar button. You can specify the format of this signature string within Setup. See Replies Options.

Taglines are a trademark of QWK mail. A tagline is a single line of text that’s automatically added to the end of your message by the viewer. Unlike your signature, however, a tagline is usually humorous, often making light of computers, bulletin boards and cyberspace in general. Many callers use taglines to advertise a business or service as well.

If you use QWK mail often, you’re likely to have a large number of favorite taglines. If you wish, you can specify a file containing your taglines in Setup. You can select a different tagline for each message you write, or the viewer will randomly select a tagline from the list. For details on the tagline file, see File Options.

The QWK Mail Viewer also allows you to copy taglines you like from existing messages in your packet; these messages are automatically added to your tagline file. To copy a tagline into your file, select Messages | Get Tagline. Since taglines vary in size, position, and starting character, the viewer takes a best guess at which string is the tagline and inserts that string into the field. You can also type a new tagline directly into the field. Finally, click on Search to continue searching through the message text for the tagline.

When the string in the tagline field is correct, then click the OK button to append it to your tagline file and close the dialog.


Sorting Your QWK Messages

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By default, the QWK Mail Viewer sorts your messages by their message number, but this may not always be the most convenient arrangement. For example, you might wish to follow a complete "conversation" or thread.

To change the sort order throughout the current packet, select Messages | Sort. You can choose to sort messages by message number, by the message recipient or sender, or by the message subject.


Step-by-Step: Creating a QWK Mail Reply

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To reply to a message you’ve received, follow these steps:

1.	Open the viewer’s Reply window.

Click on the Reply to the Current Message Action Bar button or select Messages | Reply to Message to open the window. Note that the viewer automatically enters certain information, such as the addressee and the message subject. Additionally, the text of the original message is automatically included at the top of your message. Each line is prefaced with the quote characters you specified in the Replies section of the viewer Setup dialog. For more information, see Replies Options.

2.	Enter your message text.

You can use all of the familiar Windows editing functions to cut, paste and type text into the mesage entry dialog. If you want to search for a particular string within your text and, optionally, replace it with another string, select Edit | Find and Replace...

3.	Save your reply.

Click on the Save Message Action Bar button to add your message to the .rep packet. The viewer automatically closes the Reply window.


The Areas List

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While you’re reading the messages in a packet, you may wish to quickly switch topic areas, perhaps to reference a message in another area, or skip ahead. The viewer’s Areas List dialog allows you to jump directly to any area within the current packet.

To display the dialog, select Areas | List... or click the List Areas in Packet Action Bar button. The dialog displays the following information for each area in the packet:

•	The topic area number and name, as supplied by the BBS.

•	The total number of messages in the area.

•	The number of messages in the area addressed directly to you.

By default, the dialog only displays the areas that actually contain messages. If you’d like to display all the areas, enable the Show All Areas check box at the bottom of the dialog. You can also change the default mode by enabling or disabling the Show All Areas check box in the General section of the viewer Setup.

To jump directly to a specific area, double click on the corresponding entry.

You can also instruct the BBS QWK mail service to Add or Drop message areas from future packets. To add an area that you don’t currently receive, highlight it and click on Add. To drop an area you’re currently receiving, highlight it and click on Drop.

The Add and Drop functions may not be supported by all QWK mail doors. Check with the sysop of a system to see if that BBS supports these functions.

The viewer automatically gathers all messages addressed to you in all of the areas and places them in a special area named Personal. Click on the Personal Messages button to display this area.

You can also navigate to the previous area or the next area from the Action Bar, or by selecting Areas | Previous and Areas | Next, respectively.


The Message List

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In the same manner as the Areas dialog, the viewer Message List dialog makes it easy to jump directly to any message within the current area. To display the dialog, select Messages | List... or click on the List All Messages button on the Action Bar:

The dialog displays the following information for each message in the area:

•	The message number.

•	The author of the message.

•	The addressee of the message.

•	The message subject.

If you’ve already read a message, the entry is marked with an asterisk to the left of the message number. If you’ve replied to a message, it’s marked with a tilde "~".

To jump directly to a specific message, double click on the corresponding entry.

If you’d like to export the contents of the message window to a disk file, click on Export; the viewer displays a standard Save As dialog. You can also export the current message by selecting Messages | Export... or by pressing <F9>.

To help in organizing the display of the messages in an area, you can sort them with the same criteria as the Messages | Sort menu item. To change the display, click on the sort criteria you want.

The viewer allows you to "select" a message in the Message dialog by clicking on the message entry. You can also use the standard Windows <Shift> and <Ctrl> key procedures for selecting multiple entries. Once you’ve marked one or more entries, you can read them sequentially by clicking on the Read Selected Messages button. The title bar changes to indicate that you’re reading selected messages.

The selection feature is convenient if you’re only interested in certain messages in the packet, but it’s not necessary to select messages if you simply want to read your messages sequentially!

You can also navigate to the previous message or the next message from the Action Bar, or by selecting Messages | Previous and Messages | Next, respectively.


The QWK Mail Viewer Action Bar

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The Action Bar offers easy access to the program functions you’ll use most often in the QWK Mail Viewer. Each Action Bar button and menu item is covered in detail in The QWK Mail Viewer's Menus and Action Bar.


The QWK Mail Viewer Message Window

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This is the window where the viewer displays the text of your messages. The message window can be resized, moved or minimized, and the viewer can load more than one packet and display more than one message at a time. The title bar for each message window indicates which packet it’s displaying.

You’ll note that the message window is divided into two areas by a moveable bar. The top portion of the window contains the message header information. From left to right, the header fields are:

•	The topic area number and name, as supplied by the BBS.

•	The date and time the message was posted.

•	The message number, as supplied by the BBS.

•	The author of the message.

•	The current message number in this area, and the total number of messages in this area.

•	The addressee for this message.

•	The message status flags. Depending on the type and status of the message, you might see:

PVT

This is a private message.

RCVD

The message is marked received on the BBS.

READ

You have read this message within the QWK Mail Viewer.

ATTACHMENT

A file is attached to this message

REPLIED

You have replied to this message within the QWK Mail Viewer.

•	The message subject line.

Below the divider bar, the QWK Mail Viewer displays the contents of the message.


The QWK Mail Viewer Status Line

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The Status Line appears as the last line of the QWK Mail Viewer. It’s used to display status messages and help text. You can toggle the Status Line by selecting View | Status Line from the menu bar.


The QWK Mail Viewer Window

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The QWK Mail Viewer window consists of three parts:

•	The title bar, menu bar and Action Bar. See The QWK Mail Viewer Action Bar.

•	The main display area, or Message Window.

•	The Status Line. See The QWK Mail Viewer Status Line.


The QWK Mail Viewer's Menus and Action Bar
The QWK Mail Viewer’s Menus and Action Bar

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Action Bar Button	Menu | Item	Description
	File | New Packet...	Opens a new empty reply packet for one of the bulletin boards recognized by the viewer. <Ctrl><N> is the keyboard shortcut.
	File | Open Packet...	Displays a standard File Open dialog, allowing you to select and open an existing mail packet. <Ctrl><O> is the keyboard shortcut.
	File | Close Window	Closes the current window. Depending on your Setup choices, if you have replied or composed new messages the viewer may prompt you before closing.
	File |  Request File...	Requests the downloading of one or more files when the reply packet is uploaded. This command is only available with Blue Wave packets.
	File | Print Font...	Opens a standard Printer Font dialog, where you can specify a new font for the viewer to use while printing messages.
	File | Print...	Prints the message currently displayed in the message window. <Ctrl><P> is the keyboard shortcut.
	File |  1, 2, 3 or 4	The viewer remembers the filenames of the last four packets you’ve edited. To reload one of them, simply select it from the File menu.
	File | Exit	Exits the QWK Mail Viewer. Depending on your Setup settings, the viewer may prompt you if you’ve replied to or composed any messages. You may also be asked whether to delete the packet or save the message pointers.
	Edit | Undo	Reverses the effect of the last action you performed. This command is useful if you happen to make a mistake and want to restore deleted text. <Ctrl><Z> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Edit | Cut	Deletes the selected text from a message and places it in the Windows clipboard. <Ctrl><X> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Edit | Copy	Copies the selected text from a message and places it in the Windows clipboard. <Ctrl><C> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Edit | Paste	Copies text from the Windows clipboard and places it in the active message window. <Ctrl><V>is the keyboard shortcut.
	Edit | Paste  from File...	Inserts the contents of a disk file at the current cursor position.
	Edit |  Delete	Deletes the highlighted text in the active window. <Delete> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Edit |  Select All	Highlights the entire contents of the message window for an upcoming command.
	Edit | Find...	Opens a dialog where you can search for a text string within all of the messages within the current area. The search is not case-sensitive, and you can specify search criteria to limit the search to the message text and three fields in the header.
	Edit | Find  and Replace...	Opens a standard Windows Find and Replace dialog where you can specify a string of characters to be searched for and replaced with another string you specify. The search is performed in the active message window from the current cursor position. You can force a case-sensitive search within the dialog. If your search string is found, you can choose to Find Next, Replace or Replace All by clicking the appropriate buttons.  This command is only available when you’re composing a message.
	View |  Screen Font...	Opens a standard Screen Font dialog, where you can specify a new font for the viewer to use for displaying messages.
	View | Use  ANSI Viewer...	Opens the QWK Mail Viewer’s ANSI file viewer for ANSI pictures and animations embedded in messages and packets. <F5> is the shortcut key.
	View |  Action Bar	Toggles the display of the viewer Action Bar.
	View |  Status Line	Toggles the display of the Status Line.
	View |  ToolTips	Toggles the display of the Action Bar ToolTips.
	View |  Large Action Bar	Toggles the display of the viewer Action Bar between large and small buttons.
	Areas |  List...	Opens the Area List dialog, allowing you to select a message topic area within the current packet. <Ctrl><A> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Areas |  Next	Jumps to the first unread message in the next area. <Ctrl><Right Cursor> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Areas |  Previous	Jumps to the previous message area. <Ctrl><Left Cursor> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Areas |  Personal Messages	Opens a new window containing messages in the current packet addressed to you.
	Areas | Replies (Outgoing Messages)	Opens a new window containing your replies and and the new messages you’ve written in the current packet.
	Messages |  List...	Opens the Message List dialog, allowing you to select a message within the current message area. <Ctrl><L> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Messages |  Next	Jumps to the next message in the current area. The right cursor key is the shortcut key.
	Messages |  Previous	Jumps to the previous message in the current area. The left cursor key is the shortcut key.
	Messages |  Export...	Saves the contents of the current message to a disk file. The header information is included. <F9> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Messages |  Sort	Sorts the messages throughout the current packet by the criteria you select.
	Messages |  Compose/Edit Message	Opens a message window for the composition of a new message. <Ctrl><E> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Messages |  Reply to Message	Opens a message window for a reply to the current message. <Ctrl><R> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Messages |  Get Tagline	Saves the tagline from the current message to your tagline file. <Ctrl><T> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Messages |  Extract Attachment	Saves a file attached to the current message to disk. This command is active only if the current message contains an attachment.
	Messages |  Check Spelling	Check the current message text for spelling errors. This command is only available when you’re composing a message.
	Messages |  Insert Signature	Add the signature text defined in Setup at the current cursor position. <F8>  is the shortcut key. This command is only available when you’re composing a message.
	Messages |  Attach File...	Attach a binary file for uploading with this message. This command is only available when you’re composing a message.
	Messages |  RIME Routing	Specifies that this message should include RelayNet RIME routing information. This command is only available when you’re composing a message.
	Messages |  RIME Routing w/Receipt	Specifies that this message should include RelayNet RIME routing information and requests a return receipt from the destination BBS. This command is only available when you’re composing a message.
	Messages |  Save Message	Saves the current message and closes the window. <Ctrl><S> is the keyboard shortcut. This command is only available when you’re composing a message.
	Setup |  (section...)	Opens the corresponding section of the viewer Setup dialog. See Configuring the QWK Mail Viewer for more information.
	Window |  New Window	Opens another message window for the current packet.
	Window |  Cascade	Displays all of the open message windows in the familiar overlapping style used often in the Windows 3.x Program Manager.
	Window | Tile	Displays or "tiles" all of the open message windows within the viewer window. The windows are displayed horizontally. You can switch the active focus to another window by clicking once anywhere within it.
	Window |  Arrange Icons	Arranges all of the message windows you’ve minimized to icons neatly in the lower left hand corner of the viewer window.
	Window |  1,2,3 ...	The viewer lists all of the open file windows at the bottom of the Window menu. To make an open window the active window, simply select it from the list.
	Help | Contents	Opens the QWK Mail Viewer on-line help window.
	Help |  Search for Help on...	Opens the help utility to a Search dialog where you can search for viewer help topics.
	Help | How to Use Help	Opens the How to Use Help on-line help.
	Help |  About...	Displays the version number and copyright information for the QWK Mail Viewer.


The QWK Mail Viewer

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The Procomm Plus QWK Mail Viewer gives you a convenient way to read and reply to messages and electronic mail from many bulletin board systems.

If the BBS you’re calling offers QWK mail services, you can download messages and electronic mail as a single compressed file, usually ending in the extension .qwk. After you’ve logged off the BBS, the QWK Mail Viewer will expand the QWK packet and you can read and reply to your messages at your leisure. Once you’ve finished reading and replying to all of the messages, the QWK Mail Viewer will compress your replies into another compressed file ending in the extension .rep, which you can upload to the BBS. The BBS will automatically insert your replies into its message base.

QWKmail has proven extremely popular among BBS users who enjoy reading messages on several bulletin boards, as well as those who must call long-distance to connect with a favorite system!

For more information, see the following topics:

Running the QWK Mail Viewer

The QWK Mail Viewer Window

Opening a QWK Packet

Navigating QWK Packets

Responding to QWK Messages

Creating New QWK Messages

Closing and Deleting QWK Packets

Advanced QWK Mail Viewer Features

Configuring the QWK Mail Viewer

The QWK Mail Viewer’s Menus and Action Bar


Using QWK Message Attachments

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Most bulletin board programs available today allow a caller to "attach" a binary file to a new message or a reply, which the addressee can then retreive by downloading. The QWK standard also supports the transfer of attached files. It may be necessary for you to enable the attachment option on the bulletin board’s QWK mail menu before attachments will be included in your .qwk packets or before you can include them in your .rep packets. Check with the sysop of the BBS if you’re not sure how to enable QWK attachments.

When sending a file attachment, note that the BBS must support attachments in the area that will contain the message. File attachments are configured on the BBS, so check with the sysop of the bulletin board to find out which areas allow attachments.

You can also attach a binary file to a message you compose. Before you save a message, select Messages | Attach File. The viewer opens a standard selection dialog, where you can browse for the file you want. When you’ve chosen the file, click on OK to add it to the .rep packet. You can only attach one file to a message. If you select multiple files, only the last file you selected will be attached to the message.

To extract and save a file attached to the message you’re currently viewing, select Messages | Extract Attachment. The viewer displays a standard Windows Save As... dialog. By default, the viewer supplies the name stored in the message, but you can specify any valid path and filename you like. Click on OK to save it to disk.

Finally, the QWK Mail Viewer allows you to request specific files from bulletin boards offering Blue Wave format packets. Files you request are included in the next packet you receive from that system. Some bulletin boards send a list of available download files if you request it, and you can request one or more of these files.

The File List and File Request options are configured on the BBS, so check with the sysop of the bulletin board to find out whether these functions are available and how you can use them. These functions are only available when you’re using a Blue Wave packet.

If you do have the option of requesting files, select Messages | Request Files from the menu while you’re composing a message. You can either type the filename directly into the File Name field or paste it in from the Windows Clipboard by clicking on the Paste button. Once the name is correct, click on the Add button to add it to the list. To delete a filename from the list, highlight it and click on Remove.

Once you’ve added all the filenames you’d like to request, click on OK to add them to the .rep packet.


Using RIME Routing

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If you call a BBS that offers RelayNet International Message Echo RIME messages, you can use automatic RIME routing to send a message to a specific BBS, as well as request a return receipt. The QWK Mail Viewer checks the last line of the original message when you compose your reply; if that line contains a RIME BBS number and you specify routing, the number is inserted as the first line in the reply and your message will be routed accordingly. To specify RIME routing with or without a return receipt, select Messages | RIME Routing or Messages | RIME Routing w/Receipt, respectively.

The RIME Routing functions are available only when you’re composing a reply. Also, note that these menu items will be enabled only if the packet was generated by a BBS offering RIME support.


Using the ANSI Viewer

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Although the messages you’ll be reading in the QWK Mail Viewer will predominately contain ASCII text, some QWK messages can contain ANSI color sequences, or even animation. Also, a QWK standard packet can contain file lists, a welcome screen, bulletins, a news file and a session log, depending on the sysop’s configuration, and all of these files may also contain ANSI codes.

You can display these files with the QWK Mail Viewer’s ANSIVIEW.EXE program. To run ANSIview, open a mail packet and select View | Use ANSI Viewer:

The ANSIview window looks much like the Procomm Plus Terminal window, with scroll bars to allow the viewing of larger files. You can also resize the ANSIview screen by clicking and dragging the lower right corner of the window.

There are three ways to display a file:

•	Run ANSIview while displaying a message in the QWK Mail Viewer.

The program automatically displays the contents of that message. This is a convenient way to view an ANSI animation or ANSI graphic embedded in the body of a message.

•	Select a file from a packet.

To open one of the preconfigured file types that may be included in a QWK packet, select the Packet menu and then pick one of the file types:

Welcome

This is an ANSI screen prepared by the sysop of the BBS identifying the name of the system and some of its features. The Welcome screen usually includes the BBS logo as well.

Files

A list of download files available by request from the BBS. For more information on requesting files, see Using Message Attachments.

Bulletins

This is a series of system bulletins prepared by the sysop of the BBS, usually announcing new features or system improvements.

News

The latest news and announcements from the BBS sysop; the same news file is often displayed when you logon to the BBS.

Session

The contents of the Session file vary from system to system, but it usually includes statistics for the current packet - such as how many messages were included, highest message number read, and so on.

•	Select File | Open from the ANSIview menu.

The program displays a standard File Open dialog; once you’ve selected the desired file, click on OK to load it.

To exit the ANSIview program, select File | Exit.


Viewing the Messages

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Once the packet has been successfully expanded, the QWK Mail Viewer displays the first message contained in the packet within the message window. The QWK Mail Viewer makes it easy to move forward and backward through the messages in the current area:

To Do This...	Do This...
Move to the next message.	Select the Next Message Action Bar button, select Messages | Next from the menu bar or press the right cursor key.
Move to the previous message.	Select the Previous Message Action Bar button, select Messages | Previous from the menu bar or press the left cursor key.