===================================================================== M I N I - H O S T for Microsoft Windows ----------------------------------- Data Management and Mail Processing ----------------------------------- Questions and Answers Copyright (C) 1992, 1993, SuperPhysica Center, St.Petersburg, Russia. ===================================================================== This document is a collection of most probable questions that may occur while evaluating the Mini-Host demo version. We are sure that this document is far from being satisfactory enough to help in all the potential problems. So we would be glad to modify and/or expand it in response to your suggestions and additional questions. Send them please by email to the one of the following addresses: minihost@sph.spb.su yarik@sph.spb.su -------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How can I register a new user of the system? A: If you wish to register a new user of the system you should perform the following actions: 1) run User Server application; 2) choose Users/Registration menu item; 3) fill "User Identifier" and "Login" fields appropriately (the former is your local address the latter is a keyword needed to start a session with the system); 4) specify whether you need to register a human user or an UNIX host; 5) click the "Register" button. Thus a new user is registered in the User Database (of course, if there is no any conflicts between new and existing users). When you register the FIRST USER we strongly recommend to give him the "potmaster" user identifier (it is a common convention for each mail host to have a user with such user identifier). New human user will have an empty password and the highest access level by default. New UNIX host will be of dial-in host only. If you wish to change default settings or to specify additional user's attributes (real name, home directory, etc.) or UNIX host's attributes (out-login, out-password, call-time permissions, etc.), you should choose other items in "Users" popup menu and specify desired parameters. NB! If you forget logins and/or passwords of all users that are authorized to access Users Database (such users should have a highest access level), you'll never be able to access this database. So if such trouble happens, you have to create a new Users Database from scratch. To do this you should delete all the files in the USERS subdirectory of database directory and then run User Server. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How can I create and send my first mail by means of Mini-Host? A: Provided you are already registered in Users Database, you should login to start session with Data Manager. Just as you see a tree of your folders (it is empty if you have not created any folders) you may choose File/Create_new_letter menuitem. After you answer YES to the appeared dialog box, the LETTER SERVER should appear on the desktop. It is a window intended to read and write you messages. Than you may specify destination address (obligatory field) and subject of new message, and enter the text itself. Then you may choose File/Send_letter menuitem (or press the corresponding button on the toolbar). After you confirm the changes made to the message it will be placed into system mail spooler (this guarantees that this message will be sent by mail transport agent (MTA) during the next session with an appropriate remote mailserver. NOTE: In such procedure your message is created outside of context of any folder. This causes the automatic creation of special folder for outbound mail. And actually your new message is placed namely in this folder. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How can I find my new incoming mail? A: Each time you start the new session with Data Manager it checks your input mailbox where MTA places all the received mail addressed to you. If this mailbox is not empty, you will be notified and asked whether to import an arrived mail into database. All this mail will be placed into special inbound folder (the latter is created automatically if needed). If the MTA receives any mail for you during your session with Data Manager, this mail is automatically imported into database and you are notified about this. This mail is placed into inbound folder too. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: What are the date formats ("Preferences" menu) being of? A: These are two formats for data representation in various places of Data Manager's interface. The first is an "input date format" (how you prefer to specify dates), the second is an "output date format" (how you prefer for dates to be displayed for you). Both formats are of control character strings (like standard C-language format strings). They may contain various control sequences (initiated by `%' sign) to describe placement and look of various parts of date. For example, the same date February 15, 1993, 2:00pm would be represented in different ways accordingly to different date format strings: Date format string Date representation ------------------ --------------------------- %$M %D, %Y, %H:%T:%S February 15, 1993, 14:00:00 %W %D-%$sM-%sY %H:%T Monday 15-Feb-93 14:00 Both formats are persistent and are kept in special section of your personal initialization file for Data Manager. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: What are the templates ("Preferences" menu) being of? A: When you prepare mail it is often convenient to include some standard fragments in them (signature, reply quoting marks, etc.). Templates allow you to do this. You may either specify a "constant" templates, or to create more sophisticated "variable" templates. The latter may contain some message-specific details (such as author's name, message's creation date etc.). Templates should contain special control sequences for you to build complex text fragments in your messages. All templates are persistent and are kept in special section of your personal initialization file for Data Manager. ================================================================= END OF DOCUMENT =================================================================