Introduction

BulkRate is the only off-line reader for FirstClass® e-mail and  conferences, including full support for Usenet/Internet quoting and attributions.

BulkRate is an offline reader for FirstClass® BBSs.  Using BulkRate, you can quickly capture all new mail and messages, then read and reply to them while "offline," or no longer connected to the BBS.  This minimizes the amount of time you spend online, which has two benefits:  One, if the BBS you call is a toll call for you, you save money.  Two, if the BBS is a busy one, the line is freed up for another's use more quickly.

BulkRate works only with FirstClass® BBSs. You must have an active account on a FirstClass® BBS before using BulkRate with that BBS. 

BulkRate connects to the FirstClass® BBS via FirstClass's CLUI (Command Line User Interface).  Not all FirstClass® BBSs support this, though most do.  If yours doesn't, you cannot use BulkRate with it.

Unlike some offline readers for use with other BBS systems, BulkRate does not compress messages and mail or employ error checking, so it is subject to line noise and random errors.  If, however, you have a relatively clean phone line and/or a modem that supports data compression and error correction, this should not present much of a problem.

BulkRate is © 1991-1995 by Greg Neagle.  Versions prior to 2.0 were free (I asked users to send me a postcard).  They still are, but I have discontinued all support for versions prior to 2.0.  Versions 2.0-2.1 and any subsequent versions of BulkRate are SHAREWARE.  I ask $25 US. 

                                                                   Go To Registration Form

BulkRate 2.1 was created using Zedcor's FutureBasic and Staz Software's PG:PRO.  FutureBasic is a BASIC compiler for the Macintosh, and PG:PRO is a interface designer/application framework/function library rolled into one.

BulkRate document (original, all formats) © 1991-1995 by Greg Neagle
DOCMaker version produced by Wayne Campbell
DOCMaker © 1986-1995 by Green Mountain Software (Mark Wall)

This document was created with DOCMaker v4.1.1.  While Greg Neagle is not a registered user of DOCMaker, Wayne Campbell is, and has created this stand-alone document as a service to Greg Neagle.

DOCMaker Registration ID:  2451

 Using This Document

This DOCMaker Stand-Alone-Document has a few features you should be aware of.  The above icon with the bold-blue text beneath it is a hot button .  This means that you can click on the icon and it will perform the action stated by the text.  In the case above, the action is to jump to the chapter that contains the BulkRate Registration Form.

There are other such icons throughout this document.  Some are there to allow you to jump to a chapter referenced by the text in the chapter, others to allow you to return to the chapter following the one that you jumped from.  An example is the Scripting chapter.  At the end of the chapter is a hot button  that will allow you to jump to the More On Scripting chapter.  The More On Scripting chapter has a hot button  at the end of it that will allow you to jump to the .fcl Logon Scripts chapter (which is the next chapter after Scripting).

Some will allow you to print the document without having to go through menu selections.  A further note about these  icons; they may state 'Print <section>', but they all perform the same function.  DOCMaker sets up printing by having you choose the chapter(s) that you wish to print, but does NOT allow for choosing particular sections of a chapter.  You can specify pages to print from your printer software, but the SAD doesn't provide page numbers in the document window to facilitate page selection.  The Table of Contents chapter in this document is provided to help you decide which pages you want to print.

Sometimes, it is necessary to calculate page numbers for printing specific pages.  This document is paginated beginning with chapter 1 (Title) and ending with the last chapter (BulkRate FAQ).

                                                                           Read This Note

Some chapters are one page, others are longer.  When you want to print only one chapter, the print function will automatically handle page numbering.  When you want to print less than an entire chapter, you may have to calculate the page numbers for the page(s) you wish to print.

As an example, my Stylewriter II won't accept, say, page 37 if I'm not printing the entire document.  To give you an idea of how to select pages for printing, here's an example (assuming use of a Stylewriter II ):

First, I either select Print from the File menu, or I click on one of the Print <section> icons located in the document.  Next I select the Chapter   that the section I want to print is located in and click the OK button.  Depending on whether or not I previously selected Page Setup from the File menu, I'll either be taken to the Page Setup dialog or to the Print dialog.

       I want to print the Address Book window section of the BulkRate Windows chapter.
      The Table Of Contents chapter shows that BulkRate Windows starts on Page 18,
        and Address Book window is Page 23.

     Counting Page 18 as Page 1, Page 23 then becomes Page 6.
     I choose BulkRate Windows as the chapter to print and click OK.
     When I get to the Print dialog, I set the From: page# to 6.
     If I just want to print that one page, I set the To: page# to 6 also.
     If I want to print through Exchange Status window (Page 26), I specify the To: page# to 9.
     Now I click Print, and away we go.

One further note.  This document is paginated so that, even if you have to specify pages as the example above shows, the printed document will reflect the page numbers as shown in the Table of Contents chapter.

The Launch BulkRate icon in the Getting Started chapter looks for BulkRate in the same folder as this document.  If it isn't found, you will be given a standard Open dialog with which to locate your copy of BulkRate.

To use the Hypertext Table-of-Contents , click the current chapter title box in the lower left corner of the window, or select Table of Contents  from the Contents menu.  This table will allow you to quickly go to any chapter or section of the document.  Bold entries are chapters, and indented entries preceded by bullets (•) are hypertext entries that will take you to a section within a chapter.  Chapters may also be selected from the Contents menu, or in sequential order by using the horizontal scroll bar  at the bottom of the window.

You can save the text of this document to a file by selecting Output Text from the File menu.  If you know a part of the text that you want to read, but can't remember where in the document it is, you can find the location quickly by using the Find and Find Again functions in the File menu.  For more information about BulkRate and this document, select About BulkRate… from the Apple menu or click the icon below.