Computer Life 1995 December/Computer Life December 1995.iso/tapcis/other.doc

Text File | 1995-08-13 | 31KB | 754 lines

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                                                               CHAPTER 8

                                                          Other Features





========================================================================

This chapter is the reference for "other features," those options and
commands that are either found under the "Other" menu and are not
specific to reading messages, or that are not described elsewhere in
this manual.

See also:
   Other | Skip All Unread / Skip section--Chapter 4
   Special Actions--8-2
   Address Book and Mailing List Maintenance--8-8
   Update Boxes--8-11
   Macros--8-11
   DOS Command Line/Start-up Options--8-12
































                                                       Other Features   8-1

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Special Actions

Other | Special Actions                                          [Sh+F4]
Action | Add (from Main Menu In/Out Boxes)                  [Ins] or [A]

Special actions let you ask TAPCIS to perform certain activities online
that are not part of a normal Connect | New [N] session. Some of the
things included in such actions are updating the forum section lists,
changing online names, updating library catalogs, and executing scripts
and user commands.

   You can also make special read and scanning requests, such as reading
   all forum messages in the last three days that mention TAPCIS, or you
   can get all messages from your user ID.

   Once a special action is requested, it goes into the Out box where it
   will be executed the next time TAPCIS goes online with Connect menu
   choices New [N], Out box [O], Read Waiting [Ctrl+R], or Mail Waiting
   [Ctrl+M].

   If you want to specify a list of forums in which to perform the
   special action, move to the Forums/Services box on the main menu by
   tabbing to it, by clicking in the box with your mouse, or by pressing
   [Ctrl+F]. Then, select the individual forums with an asterisk [*] or
   by using one of the Select menu commands. Next, choose Other |
   Special actions [Sh+F4], indicate you want to operate on the selected
   items, and pick the action from the list. Leave the forum(s) field in
   the dialog box  showing the entry *Selected*. TAPCIS will generate a
   transaction  in the Out box for each selected forum.

   You can choose all active forums using *Active* in the forum(s)
   field. Press [F2] in that field to show a list of all the defined
   forums. A forum need not be shown in the forums/services box to have
   a special action scheduled.

   Not all special actions can be performed in MAIL. In such cases, MAIL
   will not be offered as a choice in the forum(s) field [F2] picklist.
   No special actions can be used with services.

Update Forum Section Lists ---

For each forum, TAPCIS keeps a list of message and library sections.
This list is gathered automatically the first time TAPCIS 6.0 visits a
forum. After that, you must specifically ask that the list be updated
using this special action. Forums reorganize their sections at times,
and add new sections to meet the changing needs of forum members. Note:
this command is now used to replace the TAPCIS 5.x [Alt+J] command. You
can press [Alt+J] to get to this special action.

You can get an updated list for a single forum that has changed its
structure (or if you have been added to a private section, such as
S9/*Registered users in the TAPCIS Forum). Or, update all forums on a
regular basis, such as every month or so. The easiest way to do that is
to activate all forums you visit regularly, choose Update Forum Section

8-2   Other Features

Lists from the special actions [Sh+F4] list, then choose *Active* in the
forum(s) field. Next time online, TAPCIS will do the update. Updating
the forum section lists will never do any harm, so go ahead and do it if
you even suspect it might be necessary.

Waiting Messages ---

Waiting messages are those messages that are specifically addressed to
your account. Amongst thousands of public messages in a forum, only a
few may be directed specifically to you, usually in reply to messages
you posted on the forum. By default, TAPCIS will pick up waiting
messages during a Connect | New [N] session online, provided the forum
is active. You would not need to use a special action in such cases.

The waiting messages special action is particularly useful when you do
not want the forum as part of the active forum set. It lets you specify
a transaction for the forum that will force TAPCIS to visit it next time
online. After setting it up, you can use Action | Keep [K] on the
transaction to have the action executed online and then returned to the
Out box with a held (H) status. Use Action | Keep [K] again to re-
execute the action. When you want to stop checking, delete the action
from the Out box with [Del].

We use this command when we post a message or announcement in a seldom-
visited forum and want to check back over the next few days to make sure
there are not any follow-up questions. In such cases, you may want to
use the Waiting Plus Replies special action (see below).

In CompuServe Mail, all messages are considered waiting messages to your
account. This special action forces TAPCIS to read all messages,
*ignoring the mail setup options*. Therefore, if you have mail setup to
scan new messages or read all messages except binary files, this special
action will ignore those options and read all your mail the next time
online.

Waiting Plus Replies ---

In forums, a waiting message to you may have replies written by other
people. This special action gets your waiting messages plus replies to
them (and replies to the replies), avoiding the frustration that occurs
when you download a message addressed to you and see that someone (but
who?) has written a reply (what did they say?). In CompuServe Mail, this
command does the same thing as the waiting messages special action.

Once offline, before composing your replies to the waiting messages, you
can review what other people have said in response. This helps you to
avoid duplicating the same information in your reply and to incorporate
what others have said into your thoughts.

This special action is a supplement to the normal "Waiting messages"
setup option for forums. Normally, you will not need to use this special
option. You can set your forum options to "PlusReplies", and then go
online with Connect | Read waiting [Ctrl+R] to get waiting messages plus
replies in your active forums. This special action can be used either as
a one-time check for a specific forum (followed by [O] to go online and

                                                       Other Features   8-3

get that information), or as a kept (K) transaction in the Out box to
keep visiting a forum not in the forums/services box.

Scan Waiting Messages ---

Scanning is used to let you know what is waiting for you online. For
example, if you want to see if any messages are waiting, but you don't
want to read them yet, you can scan for waiting messages. The resulting
headers of the waiting messages will go into the announcement message in
the forum message file. You can then use a read waiting special action
or connect menu choice to get the actual messages.

This command is most often used with CompuServe Mail. If you have set up
Mail to read all messages, there may be times you will want to scan the
messages instead--such as when you're in a hurry. You can change the
mail setup, but then you have to remember to change it back. Use this
special action, then go online with [O]. Mark the resulting headers from
the In box, and go back online with [O] to get just the messages you
want to read.

Read/Scan Forum Messages ---

This special action lets you either read messages or scan headers based
upon a specific range and section selection. For example, you may have a
forum set up to read all new messages in sections 2-5. One day, you
decide to have a look at messages in section 10 to decide whether you
want to add it to the sections you read regularly. You can set up a
special action to read all messages in the last 3 days in just section
10 of the forum. Then go online with [N] to get new messages in sections
2-5, along with the special request for messages in S10.

Change the read/scan field to Scan if you want to scan headers and mark
them offline instead. In the range field, specify All to get all
messages, New to get just those that are above your high message count,
select a range or days or messages, or start at a particular CompuServe
message number. Press [F2] in the range field for a list of choices.
After choosing the forum(s) to act upon, choose the sections. Unless you
select a single forum, you will want to use All as the section list. You
can press [F2] for a list of sections that are available.

Selected Forum Messages ---

This special action lets you request messages from a forum based on the
subject, to/from address, or message number. You can then limit the
request by range and section. In each field, you can press [F2] to see a
list of possible choices.

The first field on the Read: line is used to specify the kind of
selection. Use [F2] and pick from one of the following five choices:

   Subject: Find partial match within the subject of messages.

   To or From: Find partial match within the To address or the From
      address of forum messages. You can specify a name such as "Pete"
      or a specific user ID.

8-4   Other Features

   (The following three options ignore the range and section
   specifications since they are based upon a specific CompuServe
   message number.)

   Thread #: Specify a CompuServe message number that is the start of a
      thread. TAPCIS will read that message number and its replies.

   From root #: This is like the thread # option above. It starts at the
      specified CompuServe message number, navigates back to the message
      that started the thread (the root message), and then downloads the
      root message and all its replies, as well as any "replies to the
      replies." If the root message has already scrolled from the forum,
      TAPCIS will get the earliest message still available and use it as
      the starting point.

   Message #: Reads just one particular CompuServe message, specified by
      message number, from the forum, provided it is still available.

High Forum Message ---

Each message in a forum is given a unique, sequential message number
when it is posted. When you read messages, CompuServe keeps track of the
highest message number you read in each forum and stores it with your
forum membership information online.

When you return to the forum and ask for "new" messages, CompuServe
retrieves the messages with numbers above the "high message number"
stored online during the previous reading session.

Sometimes you may want to reset this high message pointer. If you want
to go back and read everything on the forum, you can reset the number to
#0 which tells CIS to reset the number to the lowest numbered message on
the forum. Or, if a session was interrupted or you lost a message file
due to a disk problem, you could reset your high message to a specific
CompuServe number like #543981, or -2000 for the most recent 2000
messages, or 3 days for the most recent three days. Press [F2] to see a
picklist of several high message options.

Note: You can set up a forum so that the high message number is also
stored offline in the forum.SET file. That way, if you use the forum
with another program or from another computer, TAPCIS will still know
where to start reading to get "new" messages. The high message setting
described in this section will adjust that locally stored value as well.
See Setup | Forums | Edit, Track High Message Number.

Message statistics ---

Message statistics are generated by TAPCIS by looking at the total
number of messages on the forum (in sections to which you have access)
and the number of messages in the last day--broken down by section. You
get both the counts and the percentages.

This special action lets you ask for those statistics on a one-time
basis. Under forum defaults, you can ask for message statistics to be
generated for all active forums during each New session.

                                                       Other Features   8-5

Library Update ---

When you set up a forum, you can tell TAPCIS the "Catalog library
sections."  You can define a library update frequency to have TAPCIS
automatically get listings of new files that are posted, or leave the
update frequency as "OnRequest". To get an updated listing for OnRequest
forums, use the Library Update special action. It will schedule an
update based on the last time new library file descriptions were
downloaded from that forum.

Remember, you must define the list of library sections to catalog using
forum setup for a library update special action to generate a new file
catalog.

Online Options ---

Mail options set by this special action can tell CompuServe to reject
postage due messages before they appear in your CompuServe Mailbox, and
for CIS to attach a distribution list to all outgoing messages you send.
The default for both these options is "no." To set these options, use
Setup | Mail.

Forum options set by this command are the "replies list" and the "skip
my messages" options under Setup | Forums | Defaults.  Although you may
change these options under setup, they do not take effect online until
you use this Online Options special action for mail and each forum.

Name Change Online ---

You can change the name and address recorded under Setup | User, but
TAPCIS will not change your Mail name and return address unless you use
this special action with MAIL in the forum(s) field.

In forums, TAPCIS employs some "smarts" to detect whether the name needs
to be changed. If your name is set to "Richard Wilkes" and then changed
to "Rick Wilkes" either specifically in one forum's setup or under
Setup | User, TAPCIS sees the change and makes it automatically the next
time you connect to that forum.

In some cases, however, you may not want TAPCIS to change your name. In
this case, you should always make sure that the name you want to use in
the forum is the one specified in the 'Your name in forum' field under
forum setup. TAPCIS will not automatically change a name from "Rick
Wilkes" to "Rick Wilkes [TAPCIS]" or from "Rick W." to "Rick Wilkes"
automatically. It does this to protect you from cases where full names
are not used in the forum. In such cases, use this special action to
force the name change for particular forums.

User Command ---

User commands are only available in forums. They must be commands that
are valid at the Forum! prompt, and they should return to the forum
prompt when they complete. You can use message reading commands, but
most of those are better accessed through the specific special actions


8-6   Other Features

provided for those purposes. All output from the commands go into the
forum message file.

Normally, user commands are executed prior to other forum actions such
as reading, scanning, and sending. You can turn off the "Execute command
before other actions" checkbox if you want the command executed after
all other actions in the forum; only then will the command have any
effect on the forum high message number. Otherwise, TAPCIS protects the
high message number from commands executed at the beginning of the
visit.  Here are some example user commands:

   UST            Get a list of users on the forum at the time the
                  command is issued
   WHO uid        Find out the name and last forum visit date associated
                  with a particular user ID
   ANN;n;T        Get forum announcement #n. You can also specify a
                  series of announcement numbers separated by
                  semicolons, as in ANN;1;2;6;T. The ;T at the end is
                  important. Announcements are numbered:

                     1 News flash   5 Library
                     2 General      6 Membership
                     3 Messages     7 Sysop roster
                     4 Conference

Execute Script ---

A script is a programmed set of instructions TAPCIS is to perform when
online. A script can be used to get weather reports, stock quotes, news,
weather maps, and much more. Scripts can also be used in a forum to
perform special procedures.

Most users will not program their own scripts. They will use scripts
defined for them by other people. They may change some of the "input"
for the script, such as indicating for which city and state they want
the weather. That is likely the limit of what most people will need to
know about script programming. For those that want to know more,
download the file SCRIPT.T6N from the forum.

To use a script, you use the "Execute script" special action. You will
want to "associate" the script with MAIL by using MAIL in the forum(s)
field unless the script is forum-specific.

Enter the name of the script to execute including its file extension
(usually .SCR). If the script or "script information file" is not found
in the Scripts directory, enter the full pathname. If a description is
found inside the script, it will be displayed. Otherwise, you can enter
your own description.

If you use a forum other than MAIL in the forum(s) field, the script
will be executed as part of that forum. For example, you might have a
script that enters your information into the member directory. This
script would need to be associated with forum(s) other than MAIL (since
MAIL does not have a member directory).


                                                       Other Features   8-7

Most of the time you want the script to execute after other actions for
the same forum/service. Check the 'Execute script before other actions'
box in the select cases where you want it the other way around.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address Book & Mailing List Maintenance

Other | Address                                               [Alt+O][A]

   The address book is what you use to look up electronic addresses for
   people with whom you regularly correspond. This is a book you amend
   and maintain yourself. TAPCIS does not automatically add any entries
   into the address book, other than the initial set of names and user
   IDs supplied with the program. The addresses are stored in the disk
   file USERID.CIS, found in the Addresses directory.

   If you are adding to the address book while reading a message, you
   can press the [A] hotkey. This hotkey is not available from other
   parts of the program; you have to use [Alt+O][A] to get to the
   Other | Address dialog.

Adding Addresses to the Address Book ---

Choose Other | Address from the menu. If you are reading a message when
you choose this, a small pop-up window will appear showing you the
addresses found in the message. Choose the one you want to add and press
[Enter].

TAPCIS quickly searches to see if this user ID is already in the address
book. If it is, the top of the maintenance dialog will show that
information under "Current entry:". If the current entry is blank, this
will be a new addition to the book.

You can edit the address in the New entry: field. Then [Tab] to the New
comments field. Here you can type a few notes to identify the address.
These comments are not part of the address, but they are searchable when
you are trying to find someone in the book.

Especially useful are "aliases." Put a word in parentheses in the
comments field and that word becomes the address' alias. When you type
an alias at a To: prompt, TAPCIS automatically fills in the
address--without prompting you for confirmation. Aliases are shortcuts,
and you should consider adding them to the entries of all the people to
whom you send messages regularly. For example, my address could be "Rick
Wilkes 76701,23". Put "(Rick) TAPCIS Publisher" in the comments, and
typing "Rick" when addressing a message will pull up my full name and
user ID.

TAPCIS stops searching the address book when it finds the first alias
match. So be careful not to use the same alias for more than one
address.

When you have finished entering the name, address, comments, and alias,
press [Alt+A] or click on [Add] to add the address to the book.

8-8   Other Features

Changing an Address Entry ---

From the new entry field, type in part of the name or the user ID for
the entry you want to change and press [Alt+S] to [Search] for the
address. You'll see a picklist of matching addresses. Choose the right
one and press [Enter]. The current entry field will be filled in with
the address and comments.

Edit the new entry and new comments fields to contain what you want, and
then press [Alt+R] to replace the current entry with the new
information.

If you want to delete an entry, find it (using the same technique),  so
that it shows in the current entry field, and then press [Alt+D] or
click on [Delete] to remove the entry.

Changing A User ID ---

The easiest way is to add the new name and user ID and then delete the
old one. Otherwise, you need to find the old one in the list, manually
edit the user ID shown on the New entry: line, and use the [Replace]
button.

[Use] Button ---

This is only applicable when you select address maintenance by using
[F3] while actually addressing a message. [Use] will take the new entry
and put it in the To: field.

Mass Editing of the Address Book ---

If you are going to be making many changes, additions, and deletions,
you may want to use an external editor that can handle wide lines to
edit the USERID.CIS file directly. It is a plain ASCII text file in the
format:

   Name and Electronic Address |(Alias) Comments

The space before the vertical bar [|] is required. Also, each entry must
be on one line, so if some of your lines are longer than one line when
imported into the editor, do not save the file; use an editor that has
wider margins.

Other | Mailing list                                          [Alt+O][L]

The Other | Mailing list function lets you edit existing mailing lists
to add, edit, or delete entries. When you first choose the function,
TAPCIS pops up a list of existing mailing lists with *.ML file
extensions that are in your addresses directory. Select one and press
[Enter].

   If the mailing list file does not yet exist, you can create it using
   Write | Write new [W], pressing [F4-Multiple addresses] in the To:
   field, entering one or more addresses, and then using the [saVe as]
   button to save it as a maillist.ML file in the addresses directory.

                                                       Other Features   8-9


    The dialog used for mailing list maintenance is the same as that used
   for address book maintenance. Refer to those instructions for
   additional details.

Adding an Entry ---

Type the name and electronic address on the New entry line. Put comments
on the next line. Then use [Alt+A] to [Add] the entry. If you want to
add an address found in the address book, type in a partial name and
press [F2] from the New entry: field. TAPCIS will locate the address and
put it in the New entry: field. If you want to add an address from the
current message's to/from fields, press [Sh+F2] in the New entry: field
and select the item you want.

You can also use Write | Write new [W], and the multiple address [F4]
function from the To: field. The [Save as] button adds to the end of an
existing mailing list; it is a way to add multiple addresses.

Editing or Deleting an Entry ---

Enter a partial name in the new entry field and press [Alt+S] to
[Search] the mailing list for matches. If there is a match, a picklist
will appear. Choose the one you want to edit/delete and press [Enter].
That entry will appear at the top under "Current entry". Make changes to
the address or comments, if necessary, and then choose the [Replace]
button with [Alt+R] if you want to save the edited information. Choose
the [Delete] button with [Alt+D] if you no longer want the current entry
on the mailing list.

Using Mailing Lists ---

Enter the list name starting with an equals sign [=]; it is not
necessary to enter the .ML file extension. Mailing lists can contain
addresses for any destination reachable by CompuServe Mail except postal
addresses. They can also include references to other mailing lists.

Mailing lists use the same file format as the address book (USERID.CIS),
with one entry per line.

















8-10   Other Features

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update Boxes

Other | Update boxes                              [Ctrl+U] or [Alt+O][U]

   This command refreshes the In and Out boxes based upon the files that
   are found on disk. It is used most often when transactions are added
   by third party applications, such as files to send that are placed
   into the SEND\ subdirectory. This command will check to see if there
   are new files in that directory and add the transactions to the Out
   box. (It is preferable for third party applications to add the
   transactions directly.)

   This command also checks to make sure accompanying files for the
   transactions already listed in the boxes still exist on disk.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Macros

Macros are used to record a sequence of keystrokes that can be played
back over and over again. Different macros sets can be created for the
main menu, reading messages, library catalogs, the message editor, and
online.

The type of macro is determined by the place where the macro recording
begins. For example, if you have a macro that starts from the main menu
and loads the TAPCIS.MSG file for reading, it is a "main menu" macro and
won't be available in the editor or when reading messages. It will only
work from the main menu.

Macros are stored in the file MACROS.TAP. The best way to edit macros is
generally to re-record them or use an external editor that does not
reformat lines.

Other | Macro Recording                         [Ctrl+F10] or [Alt+O][M]
Other | Macro Playback                           [Alt+F10] or [Alt+O][Y]

   To record a macro, press [Ctrl+F10]. Note the warning that only
   keystroke events are recorded, not mouse clicks.

   Carefully type each command. If you are using a menu choice, press
   [Alt+letter] and then the highlight letter (rather than using the
   up/down arrows). In dialogs, position from field to field using [Tab]
   or [Alt+letter]. Press the buttons at the bottom of the dialog with
   [Alt+letter].

   When you have completed the keystrokes you want to record, press
   [Ctrl+F10] again to stop recording, and assign the macro to 0-9 or A-
   Z, and press [Enter].






                                                      Other Features   8-11

Macro Key Assignments & Playback ---

When you save a macro you are asked to assign it to a number 0-9 or a
letter A-Z. Macros assigned to a number 0-9 can be played back by
holding [Alt] and pressing the corresponding number on the keyboard (you
may not use the numeric keypad to play back macros).

For A-Z macros, you play back the macro by pressing [Alt+F10] followed
by the letter of the macro, followed by [Enter].

Online Macros ---

Online macros are "recorded" in a slightly different way. When you use
[Ctrl+F10], a small editor window is presented to you. Type the text you
want to send to CompuServe as part of the macro, and then use [Ctrl+F10]
again to end the text. You cannot record [Alt] and [Ctrl] key functions
in an online macro (nor is there any need to do so).

Macro Ideas ---

   *  A main menu macro to open a specific message file through the
      Read | Read messages or Read | Quick read menus.
   *  A macro to do an Other | Special action, Execute script, from the
      main menu.
   *  An editor macro to sign your name and release the message.
   *  A macro when reading messages to forward the message to a
      particular account.
   *  A macro when reading messages to save a message in a specific
      file.
   *  A macro when reading messages or viewing catalogs to load a view.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOS Command Line/Start-up Options

The expression "command line" refers to the place in the operating
system where you specify the program to execute and the options that are
to be passed to the program. Under DOS, the command line is the DOS
prompt itself, which usually looks like C> or [C:\TAP]. Under Windows,
the command line field is available under File | Properties when you
highlight the TAPCIS icon in Program Manager.

The TAPCIS program is called TAPCIS6.EXE. Typing "TAPCIS6" at the DOS
prompt from the TAPCIS directory will start the program without any
command line options. If you want to use one or more command line
options, you enter them on the command line after TAPCIS6, as in:

   [C:\TAP] TAPCIS6 /CMD:N /TIME:08:00 /CONFIG:"Early Morn"

The above command would load TAPCIS, wait until 8:00 a.m., and execute
the Connect | New [N] command, using the Setup | Configuration [Ctrl+G]
called "Early Morn." In the command line options which follow, where
quotes ("") are shown, they are required if the option includes any
spaces.


8-12   Other Features

/CMD:x        Executes the corresponding "Connect" menu choice upon
              initial execution of TAPCIS. Choices: N, O, R, V, M, or
              Y.

/DOS          Return to DOS (or a batch file) after the first Connect
              menu choice is executed.  Used most often with the /CMD
              option.

/TIME:HH:MM   Start time in "military" format (e.g., /TIME:22:30). Used
              with /CMD option to delay execution until a set time.

/CONFIG:"x"   Specify a Setup | Configuration to load (otherwise, the
              configuration called "Default" is loaded). The
              configuration must have been previously defined.

/PASS:"x"     Specify the CompuServe login password. Entry will not be
              stored on disk.

/REFRESH      Perform an Other | Update_boxes command while
              initializing.




































                                                      Other Features   8-13