PowerBBS - Microsoft Mail gateway

Overview	Overview of the PowerBBS - MS Mail gateway E-FORM

Reading mail	Reading a mail message from the BBS

Sending mail	Sending a mail message to the BBS

Receipt for sent mail	Receiving a receipt.

Creating/modify Group	How to create groups for sending a message to multiple recipients

The READER.INI File	What is in the READER.INI File?


Using the BBS Mail gateway
Overview of the PowerBBS - Microsoft Mail gateway

The PowerBBS - MS Mail gateway is an effective way to interconnect the PowerBBS mail system with Microsoft Mail. It is useful for companies that uses PowerBBS for customer support to let their BBS callers send messages directly to the customer support personnel. This will enable the support personnel to, within a few minutes, reply to customer questions. Another use may be as a way to allow personnel that is out of the office to call in to the BBS to read and reply to mail from other people in the office.

By connecting the BBS to Internet via WinNet you may also give an Internet address to each employee. They will then be able to, through the PowerBBS - MS Mail gateway, send and receive Internet e-mail directly from their workstations.

Files may be attached to mail messages, both on sending and receiving, allowing the MS Mail users to send files to customers or Internet and to receive files from customers or Internet.

If you company has one or more mail servers, located in offices in different locations the PowerBBS - Microsoft Mail gateway will work with these too, allowing your customers to call into your support BBS and send / receive mail messages to/from your personnel even if they are in an office located in a different part of the country as well as allowing personnel in remote offices to send / receive Internet mail.

The PowrBBS - MS Mail gateway also support the use of Groups. A group is a user defined collection of up to 15 user names that will receive the same message. Using a group name for both the TO: field and the CC: field allows you to send the same message to up to 30 users/addresses.

The Mail Send e-form support CC (Carbon Copy) that allows you to send a copy of a message to a second user. The second user will receive this message in the same forum as the first user. This means that if you send a message to an Internet user the person you address as CC must also be an Internet user.

The PowerBBS - MS Mail also support FTPMail, a way to automatically request files, stored on the BBS, to be transferred to your workstation. FTP, also known as File Transfer Protocol, is commonly used on Internet. A simpler version, FTPMail, is used when a user does not have a full Internet connection where a user can send a request for one or more files to a server on Internet. The file(s) is then returned as attached files to e-mail messages. The PowerBBS - MS Mail gateway will receive these messages and automatically process the requests as they are received from your Internet connection. This works for MS Mail as well, if you create a mail message in the BBS e-mail form you can receive files from the BBS without having to call in to the BBS.

To send a FTPMail request:

Address the message to FTPMAIL. In the body of the message enter:

chdir forum name

get file name

quit

The first line, chdir forum name, selects the directory (the forums are treated here as a directory), forum name being the name of the forum in which file list the requested file exists.

The second line, get file name, requests that the file with the name file name should be transferred via mail to you.

The last line, quit, informs the gateway that your FTPMail request ended.

Example:

chdir general_forum

get powrnd06.zip

quit

For more information send message to FTPMAIL, with the following lines in the body of the message:

HELP

QUIT

This will return the help information, with the available commands.

Two customization options in the READER.INI file, located in the same directory as the Reader.Exe file, has been added. Both are located under the section [Options] and are used to describe how to quote the original message in a Reply message:

QuoteMark=

By default the original message is quoted by inserting a greater than (>) character in front of each line in the original message. By adding the above line followed by your preferred quote mark you can setup how you would like the quote to look.

Example:

[Options]

QuoteMark=@>

The @ character is converted into the initials of the sender (only one character for Internet addresses, two for normal user names). You may also use IBM Graphical characters like:

QuoteMark=@ ç

However, the use of graphical characters in the quote string is not recommended if you send Internet mail messages or post to newsgroups.

You may use up to 6 characters in this quote line.

The second option allows you to insert a line of text in front of the quoted message. The syntax for this option is:

[Options]

ReplyHeader=On @D @F said on the subject of @S:

Using this option you can create a quote header of your choice. The special variables @<letter> is converted as follows:

@D, the date of the original message. The date will be the date as shown in the header, that is, the date the message was received by your system. For Internet that may not be the actual date of the message since the date is inserted by PowerBBS when the message is imported to your message base.

@F, the name of the original sender.

@T, the name of the original receiver.

@S, the subject of the original message.

@@, insert a single @

Note that the length of the @F and @T is limited to a maximum length of 35 characters, any address longer than that will be truncated. Also note that the total, expanded, line can be up to 128 characters in length but you should try to avoid to have a total length above 72, otherwise the line will wrap to the next line.

The Read Message e-form no longer wraps the message lines by default. This makes it easier to read messages. However, some messages, especially in news groups, does not contain any line breaks and the lines may therefore continue outside the message window. You may scroll the window sideways by simply moving the cursor using the left/right arrow keys.

You may also setup your own wrap column by creating the following entry under the [Options] section in the READER.INI file, located in the directory where the READER.EXE file is installed:

ReadWrapLength=nn

where nn is the column you would like the message lines to wrap at.

The Send Message e-form still wraps, as you type a message, at column 72.


Creating and modifying groups

Version 1.6 and higher of the PowrBBS - MS Mail gateway support the use of groups for addressing mail to more than one recipient. To create a new group or modify an existing one click the Create Group button in the Send e-form.

To create a new group enter a name for the new group in the Group Name entry. After you entered the name simply select the name from the Available users list box, either by selecting the user and clicking the Add button or by double clicking the name in the Available users list box.

To remove a user from a group select the user in the Member list box and click the Remove button or double click the name in the Member list box.

All the members in the group must be of the same type, either all Internet addresses or all BBS user names, you can not mix user names and Internet addresses, an error message will be shown if you try to add the wrong type.

To modify an existing group double click on the group in the available user list box or type in the name of the existing group into the Group Name entry. You will be asked if you want to modify the group, select Yes to modify or No to enter a different name.

You can delete a group by removing all members of the group. You may add up to 15 users / addresses to a group. You can not add another group to a group.

All groups are shown in the local address book as groupname:Group, simply select a group from the local address book in the TO: entry and / or CC: entry to send a message to all members of the group.


Reading a message
Reading a received BBS mail message

When a MS Mail user receives a message from the BBS it will show up in the inbox just like any other message. The PowerBBS - MS Mail gateway actually uses two formats for the message, the standard MS Mail format and a E-FORM format. The first format allows the user to read the message even if he/she does not have the READER E-FORM installed.

Since the gateway will need more address information than the standard MS Mail information the user can not reply to or send new messages to the gateway without the READER E-FORM installed.

Once the E-FORM is installed the user has the ability to read, reply to and print the received messages from this E-FORM. The user can also forward the message as a standard MS Mail message to other MS Mail users.

The Read Message form is shown below. Click on the items on the form for more information.


Sending a message to the BBS
Sending a message

Sending a message to the BBS is as easy as sending a standard MS Mail message. Instead of selecting the compose button select the 'BBS Mail' option from the Mail menu.

If you want to reply to a previously received BBS Mail message simply click the Reply button in the Read form or select the message in your MS Mail inbox and click the Reply button in MS Mail.

Any of these actions will bring up the Send form. In the case of reply the form will already show the correct user name and forum, as well as a copy of the original message in the message edit window which you may use as a quote and edit as you see fit.

If this is a new message select the BBS user to send the message to, select the BBS forum, select the message options, enter a subject and the message and you are done.

You may select the TO user name from either the Local or the Global address book. The Global address book is similar to the MS Mail Postoffice address book, it contains all current BBS user names and may be set to be updated continuously by the gateway. The Local address book is similar to the MS Mail Private address book and is originally empty. You may save user names and Internet addresses in this for your own use. You may also enter the user name or Internet address manually in the TO entry field. After entering a new name you may want to click the Save address button so that you don't have to enter it manually again.

You may also select to create a Group of addresses to send the same message to several users. To do this click on the Create Group button (not shown in the picture below).

There are two mail options that can be changed, Private and Receipt request. The first default to Private, to make the message public to all BBS users uncheck the Private check box. The second option allows you to request that a receipt is returned to you when the gateway has received the message and transferred it to the BBS mail data base. Note that the gateway may be set to always send a receipt even if you do not check this option. Also, if the gateway is unable to transfer the message a receipt is always returned, indicating the error.

To send the finished mail message click the Send button. You can cancel the message by clicking on the Close button, if you have already entered information in the message you will be given the option to save it in the MS Mail inbox so that you later may continue editing and sending the message.


Receipt
Receipts

You may select the Request receipts option when sending a mail to the BBS. In addition your system administrator may have setup the PowerBBS - MS Mail gateway to always send a receipt.

If the gateway detect an error that prevents the mail message to be transferred to the BBS mail data base it will also send a receipt indicating the type of error.

The receipt is shown in the form shown below.


Reply button

Use this button to reply to the message currently shown in the Read message form. The Send message form will be displayed, with all information filled in from the Read message form, that is, it is addressed to the sender of the message you were reading, the same forum is selected and the original message is copied into the Send message form message editor, ready for you to quote or edit as needed.

You can also use the Reply button in the MS Mail application to reply to a BBS message when it is selected in the inbox.


Delete button

Use the Delete button to delete the message currently displayed message. The message is deleted from the mail system (or moved to the Deleted folder if you have the MS Mail setup to do so).

You can also use the Delete button in MS Mail to delete the message when it is selected in the current folder, just like any other message.


Close button

The Close button closes the e-form. If you click the Close button in the Send form and you have started to edit a new message or a reply you will be given the option of saving the message in the MS Mail inbox so that you later may continue working with the message.


Forward button
Forward button (Forward a message to other MS Mail user)

This button allows you to forward a received BBS mail message to other MS Mail user(s) as a standard MS Mail message. Useful if you would like to share a message, received from a customer or other BBS caller, with your co-workers.

When you click on this button a copy of the message is created and shown in a standard MS Mail edit window, ready to be addressed to one or more MS Mail users.


Help button

This button shows you this help.


Address Info

This part of the Read form shows you information about the sender of the message. This includes the senders name, time and date, the forum and the subject of the message.


Message number

This part of the e-form shows the message number from the BBS Mail data base. If the message was a reply to a previous message the previous message number is also shown.


Message options

This area show you the options for a received message. The option of most interest is the Private option. If this option is checked the message was sent from the BBS as a private message. The other options indicate if the message has been previously read on the BBS or if it is non-active.


Save address

The Save address button may be used for saving the address currently shown in the TO window (on the Send form) or the FROM window (on the Read form). This option saves the name in the local address book. The BBS Mail system keeps two address books, one Global address book that contains all user names on the BBS which is updated when new users call into the BBS (if that option is selected on the gateway). This address book is kept in the MS Mail postoffice. The second address book is the Local address booklocal address book, kept on each MS Mail users workstation. When receiving a message you may save the address (or user name) of the sender, useful for mail received from Internet. Likewise, you may save the address (or user name) when manually entering it while sending a message, again useful when sending an Internet message to someone you have not sent to before.


Enclosed file

The PowerBBS - MS Mail gateway also support enclosed files (or, in MS Mail terms, attached files). If you receive a mail message that contains an enclosed file the original name of that file will be shown in this field. In this case the Extract file button will be enabled, clicking on this button will display the Save file dialog, allowing you to select the directory to save the file to as well as change the name of the saved file. If no enclosed file exist this button is disabled.


Send button

Use the Send button to send the mail message to the BBS. The Send form will validate the message, check that all fields are entered correctly, the TO address match the type of forum you are sending the message to and so on. If any errors are detected a message will be shown and you are returned to the Send form, allowing you to correct the errors.


Address TO field
Address / user name field (TO:)

Enter the user name or Internet address here. You may select the user name from the Local or the Global address book or, if the address / user name is not in the address books yet, enter it manually in the TO field. In this case you may want to click the Save address button to keep the address / name in your local address book for future use.


Global address book

The global address book is similar to the MS Mail Postoffice address book. It is stored in your MS Mail postoffice directory and can be set to be automatically updated by the PowerBBS - MS Mail gateway. This address book contains all the user names of your BBS callers. It also contains a current list of all available forums on the BBS.

This list is only available when you are connected to your MS Mail postoffice, if you are using MS Mail off-line (that is, if you are a remote user) only your local address book as available. The Send form automatically disables the Global option in this case.


Local address book

The local address book is stored on your local workstation, therefore it is always available, even if you are working with MS Mail and the BBS Mail off-line. The local address book is initially empty, you may add addresses by clicking the Save address button either when reading a received mail message or after you have selected an address / name in the Send form.


Message area

The message area is where you enter the message text  to send or read the message text of a received message. You may use the scroll bars to move through the message.


Forum List

This contains all available forums on the BBS. From the list select the forum you want to send the message to.


Reply number

If you select to reply to a received message the original message number is shown here.


Private Option

This option, when checked, will send the mail message as a private message to the user you selected. This option is by default checked. If you want to send the message as a public message that can be read by all BBS users simply uncheck this option.


Active option
Active message option

This option is for information only and is always checked. Since it would make no sense to send a message that is not active you can not change this option.


Read option

This option is for information only and is always unchecked in the Send form. Since it would not make sense to send a message that is already marked as read this option can not be changed.


File enclose

The PowerBBS - MS Mail gateway allows you to send Enclosed files (in MS Mail know as Attached files) with your mail messages. The caller reading the message will be able to download the enclosed file. Only one file can be enclosed per message.

If a file has been selected the name of that file is shown in this window.


Enclose file button

To enclose a file click on the Enclose file button. This will show the Select file button, allowing you to find and select the file to enclose.

Only one file may be selected per message. To change the file to enclose simply click on the Enclose file button again, a new selection replaces the previous selected file. To remove a file click on the Enclose file button and then select Cancel in the Select file dialog.


Receipt
Receipts

The top part of the receipt dialog is showing information about the message, e.g., the name of the forum the message was sent to, the user name or Internet address and the date and time the message was received by the gateway.

The lower part contains information about the status of the message, either that the message was successfully transferred and the message number in the BBS mail data base or that the message could not be transferred and the reason.


Request receipt on sent mail
Request receipt option

This option will request the gateway to send a receipt back when a sent mail message has been received by the gateway and successfully transferred to the BBS mail data base.

This option is not needed if your system administrator has setup the gateway to always send receipts.

The gateway will always send a negative receipt if the message could not be transferred to the BBS mail data base. Such a receipt will also contain information on the type of error that occurred.


Print button

This option will print the message currently shown in the Read form. You will be given the option to select a printer or use the current default printer. You can also change the setup of the selected printer.

You may also use the print option in the MS Mail file menu. If the currently selected message is a BBS mail message it will automatically be printed as such.


Message subject

Here you would enter the subject for the message. If you make a reply to another message the subject field is automatically filled with the subject of the original message, pre-pended with RE:. A check is in this case made to make sure that only one RE: is present in the subject to avoid repetition if the message is a reply to a reply.

Note: Even though the Send form allows you to type more than 25 characters in the subject field the BBS mail data base is limited to 25 characters and the subject will be truncated when transferred.


CC, Carbon Copy

This new option allows you to send a copy of a message to a second user. From the CC list box simply select the user to send to. Note that both users must be of the same type, Internet address or user name. The two messages will be sent to the same forum. Leave the CC entry blank if you don't want to send a copy.


Reader.ini

What is in the READER.INI File?

The READER.INI file, located in the same directory as the READER.EXE, contains information that controls how the READER e-form will work. Most of the contents of the file is updated by the reader itself. However, there are some options that you can change or add yourself.

[BBSUsers]

BBSUser001=Ronny Brodin

This section contains all your BBS User names, updated automatically from the gateway if you have set the gateway to automatically add new users/forums.

[BBSForums]

BBSForum000=General Forum

BBSForum001=LifeNet Forum

BBSForum002=FlexBase Tools

BBSForum003=Internet

This section contains a list of all available forums on the BBS. As with the above user section tis is automatically updated from the gateway.

[Options]

QuoteMark=@>

ReplyHeader=On @D @F said on the subject of @S:

ReadWrapLength=nn

The first option, QuoteMark=, allows you to select the way the quoted part of a message you reply to will be shown. The @ character is converted into the initials of the sender (only one character for Internet addresses, two for normal user names).

You may use up to 6 characters in this quote line.

The second option, ReplyHeader=On @D @F said on the subject of @S:, allows you to insert a line of text in front of the quoted message. Using this option you can create a quote header of your choice. The special variables @<letter> is converted as follows:

@D, the date of the original message. The date will be the date as shown in the header, that is, the date the message was received by your system. For Internet that may not be the actual date of the message since the date is inserted by PowerBBS when the message is imported to your message base.

@F, the name of the original sender.

@T, the name of the original receiver.

@S, the subject of the original message.

@@, insert a single @

Note that the length of the @F and @T is limited to a maximum length of 35 characters, any address longer than that will be truncated. Also note that the total, expanded, line can be up to 128 characters in length but you should try to avoid to have a total length above 72, otherwise the line will wrap to the next line.

The last option, ReadWrapLength=, allows you to define the maximum numbers of characters to show on each line while reading a message. By default the reader shows a received message as it was originally received, that is, if the message has lines that is longer than can be shown in the reader window they will not be shown. You can put the cursor on such a line and scroll sideways by moving the cursor using the right/left arrow keys to read the text that is outside of the window. However, by inserting this option into the READER.INI file you can define how many characters to show before automatically wrapping to the next line, allowing you to see the entire message in the window.

Note that the Send message window allways wrap at position 72 to be compatible with PowerBBS (and most other QWK/Internet software).