Shareware Breakthrough: Utilities & Productivity/SharewearBreakthroughUtil_ProdCol.cdr/util/windmail/windmail.txt

Text File | 1990-08-21 | 13KB | 304 lines

                                Wind-Mail
                              by NickleWare


     Wind-Mail is an E-Mail and Bulletin Board system that is designed to
keep you and your network users informed.  With Wind-Mail you can send
messages directly to another Wind-Mail user or post a bulletin on the
Wind-Mail bulletin board for all users to read.

     Wind-Mail is not public domain, nor is it free software.  You are
granted a limited license to use this product on a trial basis.  You are
also granted a license to copy Wind-Mail, along with the documentation,
for the trial use by other users.  If you wish to continue using the
product, you must send $25 per workstation to:

                            NickleWare ⌐
                      c/o Bradley Nicholes
                       15817 130th PL. S.E.
                       Renton, WA.  98058

     We encourage you to copy Wind-Mail and share it with anyone who
might be interested in better network user communication.



                             Getting Started

     REQUIREMENTS -
         Microsoft Windows 2.1 or 3.0
         Local Area Network configured with a shared disk drive
         IBM compatible PC 286/386
              (network server and workstations)

     SERVER SETUP - Wind-Mail's data files must reside on a disk drive
that can be accessed by all of your network users.  To the workstations, this
server drive must appear as if it were another local disk drive.
     Before proceeding make sure that you have Microsoft Windows correctly
installed on the server.  Next create a directory called WINDMAIL on the
server's shared disk drive and copy the Wind-Mail Administrator software
into this directory.  Add the following entry into the WIN.INI file which
is probably in the same directory where windows is installed.

    [WINDMAIL]
    DBPath=[drive]:[path]

     The key word DBPath is set equal to the [drive] and full [path]
including the trailing backslash, where the windmail data file will reside.
For example:

    [WINDMAIL]
    DBPath=C:\WindMail\

This drive and path must be a shared device on your network as mentioned
above.  A similar entry to the one above, will also have to be added to
the WIN.INI file on each workstation.

     When the above steps have been completed, Wind-Mail Administrator is
ready to be started.  Simply start up Wind-Mail Administrator by double
clicking on the WMADMIN.EXE file from the Windows MS-Dos executive.
Wind-Mail Administrator will then create all of the data files it needs
to run, and place them on the drive and path that was specified in the
above entry.


     WORKSTATION SETUP - The workstation setup is much the same as the
server setup with the exception that the Wind-Mail data files will
reside on server's shared disk drive.
     First make sure that Microsoft Windows is correctly installed on the
workstation.  Copy the Wind-Mail executible file into the same directory
where Windows is installed.  Make the following entry into the WIN.INI
file:

    [WINDMAIL]
    DBPath=[drive]:[path]

     The key word DBPath is set equal to the [drive] and full [path]
including the trailing backslash, of the shared network server drive where
the windmail data files reside.  For example:

    [WINDMAIL]
    DBPATH=G:\WindMail\

G: is the name of the share drive and \WindMail\ is the full path name to
where the Wind-Mail data files reside.  After these steps have been
completed on the workstation and the data files have been created on the
shared server drive, Wind-Mail is ready to be used.


     STARTING WIND-MAIL FOR THE FIRST TIME - The first time Wind-Mail
Administrator is started, all of the necessary data files will be created.
At this point the data files are emtpy and Win-Mail Administrator knows
nothing about who will be using the application.  An address will have to
be established for each Wind-Mail user, so that Wind-Mail Administrator
will know where to deliver their mail.
     The first window to appear after starting Wind-Mail Administrator or
Wind-Mail, is the LOGON window.  A user ID and password are required to
access the Wind-Mail application.  To enter Wind-Mail Administrator for
the first time, you will be required to enter the temporary user ID which
is SCOOB (no password is required).  With this temporary user ID, you are
granted limited access to create user addresses.  Once you have created at
least one user address and Wind-Mail Administrator is exited, this
temporary user ID is no longer valid.
     Each user will be required to have a user ID and password.  The first
time a new user logs on to Wind-Mail, they will enter their user ID, leave
the PASSWORD field blank and enter a new password in the NEW PASSWORD
field.  The user will then be prompted to confirm the new password.  From
this point on the user will be required to log on with their user ID and
password.


     CHANGING A PASSWORD - At any time when a user logs on to Wind-Mail,
they may change their password.  To change a password, simply enter the
user ID and current password, then enter the new password in the NEW
PASSWORD field.  Wind-Mail will then prompt for the user to re-enter the new
password to confirm what was entered the first time.  Once the new password
has been entered and confirmed, the old password is removed.



                             Getting Around


     All of Wind-Mail's functionality is accomplished by selecting an
ACTION and an ITEM to act on.  For example, to create a new topic, you would
select CREATE from the ACTIONS menu and TOPICS from the ITEMS menu.  This
will present the TOPICS entry window.  Once all of the data has been entered
into the appropriate fields, pull down the ACTIONS menu again and select
SAVE/SEND.  This action will cause the data to be saved in the database.  When an
UPDATE or READ action is combined with an item, a list box will be displayed
that contains all of the currently defined records for the selected item.
After making a selection from the list box, the record is retrieved from the
database and presented in an entry window.

     BULLETIN / MAIL WINDOWS - The BULLETIN and MAIL entry windows contain
two push buttons which allow the user to relate a bullentin or mail message
with one or more topics or addresses respectivly.  The ADD button will
present another list box that contains all of the valid selections for
current item.  The user may choose one or more selections from the list
box to relate to the current item.  These selections will then appear in the
item's display box at the top of the entry window.  To close the selection
list box, simply click on the system menu icon in the left-hand corner of
the selection list box window and choose CLOSE.  The selection list box
may be displayed and closed as necessary.  Any one of the selections that
are displayed in the item's display box, may be removed by highlighting the
selection and clicking on the REMOVE push button in the entry window.

     READ/BULLETIN - After choosing READ from the ACTIONS menu and BULLETIN
from TOPICS menu, the TOPICS list box is presented with all of the currently
defined topics.  Choose a topic by highlighting the selection and clicking
on the SELECT push button.  The BULLETINS list box will then be presented
with all of the bullentin titles that currently have the selected topic
assigned to them.  Choose a bulletin in the same manner as described above
for TOPICS.  The complete bulletin will then be displayed in the BULLETIN
display window.  At any time the TOPICS list box or BULLETINS list box may
re-displayed by clicking on the LIST or BULLETIN on the menu bar.

     NEW MAIL - Whenever mail is sent to a user,  the receiver's
Wind-Mail application title bar will begin to flash.  They can read the mail
by selecting READ from the ACTIONS menu and MAIL from the ITEMS menu.  The
NEW MAIL list box will be displayed with the most recent mail
displayed first.  To read or reply to the mail, highlight a selection by
clicking on it, and then click on a READ or REPLY push button.
     If the READ push button is selected, the READ MAIL display window will
be presented.  This window will display the mail message as well as who sent
it and the time and date the mail was sent.  The REPLY push button will
present the CREATE/MAIL window with the ADDRESS list box containing reply
address and the RE: field containing the mail subject.  The may then enter a
reply and send the reply mail message as described above.



                           Advanced Features


     CLIPBOARD - The CLIPBOARD is a convienent way of transfering data
between WIND-MAIL and other Windows application or between different
WIND-MAIL windows.  To use the CLIPBOARD functions simply highlight any text
that is displayed in an entry field, pull down the CLIPBOARD menu and choose
COPY or CUT.  The COPY function will place a copy of the highlighed text on
the Windows clipboard.  The CUT function also places the highlighed text on
the clipboard and also removes it from the entry field.  To restore text
from the clipboard, place the I-beam cursor at the position inside an entry
field where the clipboard text should be inserted or appended.  The pull
down the CLIPBOARD menu and choose PASTE.  The clipboard text will then be
placed in the entry field and the cursor position.

     BULLETIN CROSS REFERENCE - WIND-MAIL's ability to assign more that one
TOPIC to a BULLETIN allows the user to cross reference the bulletins for
easier access and greater information availability.  For example, the
following BULLETIN/TOPIC assignments could be made:

     BULLETIN #1 ---> TOPIC #1
                      TOPIC #2
                      TOPIC #3

     BULLETIN #2 ---> TOPIC #2
                      TOPIC #3

     BULLETIN #3 ---> TOPIC #1

Selecting READ/BULLETINS, as described above, will present the TOPICS list
box containing TOPIC #1, TOPIC #2 and TOPIC #3.  If TOPIC #2 is choosen from
the list box, both BULLETIN #1 and BULLETIN #2 will be displayed in the
BULLETINS list box.  If BULLETIN #1 is choosen for reading, the complete
bulletin will then be displayed including all of the other topics that have
been assigned to it.  Notice above that BULLETIN #1 and BULLETIN #3 have
TOPIC #1 assigned to them.  This means that further information could be
found by reading all bulletins (which includes BULLETIN #3) that are related
to TOPIC #1.



                                 Actions

     CREATE - Select CREATE to create a new Topic, Bulletin, Mail Message
or User Address.

     UPDATE - Select UPDATE to update an existing Topic, Bulletin, Mail
Message or User Address

     READ - Select READ to read an existing Topic, Bulletin, Mail Message or
User Address.

     SAVE/SEND - Select SAVE/SEND to save a newly created or already existing
Topic, Bulletin or User Address, or to send a mail message.

     DELETE - Select DELETE to delete an already existing Topic, Bulletin,
Mail Message or User Address.

     CLEAR - Select CLEAR to clear all of the window entry fields during a
CREATE selection or restore the original values during an UPDATE selection.

     CLOSE - Select CLOSE to close an entry window.

     PRINT - Not implemented in this release.

     RE-INDEX - Select RE-INDEX to recreate the Wind-Mail indexes.

     EXIT - Select EXIT to exit Wind-Mail.

     ABOUT - Select ABOUT for more information about Wind-Mail.



                           Bulletin Board

     TOPICS - Topics are used to categorize all of the bulletins placed on
Wind-Mail's bulletin board.  A user can create as many different topics as
necessary.

     BULLETINS - Bulletins are public messages that are posted for all users
to read.  Each bulletin is assigned one or more topics.  By relating a
bulletin to more than one topic, the bulletin's topic list can be used as a
cross reference to other bulletins.



                                  Mail

     MAIL - MAIL messages are private messages sent to a
particular user address or group of addresses.  These messages can only be
read by the addressee.

     ADDRESSES - User addresses describe each Wind-Mail user and tells
Wind-Mail where to send the user's mail.



                               ClipBoard

     UNDO - Select UNDO to undo user input.

     CUT - Select CUT to cut the selected text from an entry field to the
clipboard.

     COPY - Select COPY to copy the selected text from an entry field to
the clipboard.

     PASTE - Select PASTE to paste clipboard text at the current cursor
position.

     CLEAR - Select CLEAR to clear the selected text from an entry field.

     SELECT ALL - Select SELECT ALL to select all of the text in an entry
field.



                            Other Selections

     LIST - Select LIST during an UPDATE or READ operation to return to the
selection list box.

     BULLETINS - Select BULLETINS during a READ/BULLETINS operation to
return to the bulletins selection list box for a particular topic.


This documentation must accompany the Wind-Mail software.

NickleWare
Copyright (C) 1990 Bradley Nicholes