******* THE U-NET MESSAGER ******* (c) Copyright - Challenge Business Systems Burnaby, B.C. Canada March, 1995 All Rights Reserved USER'S GUIDE ******* THE U-NET MESSAGER ******* TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 - Program Overview......................................... 2 2.0 - The U-Net Messager's Main Menu........................... 3 3.0 - Joining A Conference..................................... 4 4.0 - Next Page & Previous Page................................ 4 5.0 - Downloading A List Of UseNet Conferences................. 4 6.0 - Your Setup............................................... 4 6.1 - Last Read Message.................................... 5 6.2 - Enter A UseNet Tagline............................... 5 7.0 - Exiting The Program...................................... 5 8.0 - Using The On-Line Help................................... 6 9.0 - Writing Messages......................................... 6 10.0 - Editing Messages......................................... 7 11.0 - Reading & Downloading Messages........................... 7 11.1 - Unread Messages..................................... 8 11.2 - All Messages In A Conference........................ 9 11.3 - Downloading Messages................................ 11 12.0 - Uploading Messages And Files............................. 12 13.0 - Deleting Messages........................................ 12 14.0 - Acknowledgements And Copyrights.......................... 13 - 1 - ******* THE U-NET MESSAGER ******* 1.0 - PROGRAM OVERVIEW Welcome to The U-Net Messager, a "full-feature" Internet UseNet program for users on Wildcat Bulletin Boards. Now you can browse, read, write all to any U-Net Conference all from within one program. Scan for just new messages in a conference instead having to scroll piles of old ones just to get the latest. Write your messages off-line, saving valuable BBS time for other things (games?). Upload a file and attach it to your mail for transfer. Download "The News" for a permanent record and reading off-line. Ever made a mistake in your message or forgot something and realized it after saving the message? No longer a problem! Now you can quickly go back into your message to make those changes. - 2 - ******* THE U-NET MESSAGER ******* 2.0 - HOW TO USE THE U-NET MESSAGER (THE MAIN MENU) When you enter the U-Net Messager the first 13 conferences in the U-Net database are displayed followed by the program choices available, listed at the bottom of your screen. The main menu is broken into 12 selections. You choose a menu item by pressing the letter highlited in green next to that selection. The Main Menu Selections Are: [J]oin Conf. - Join A UseNet News Conference To Read/Write Messages. [N]ext Page - Show The Next 13 UseNet Group Conferences. [P]rev Page - Show The Previous 13 UseNet Group Conferences. [L]ist D/L - Download A Text File List Of UseNet Conferences To You. [Y]our Setup - Enter A UseNet Tagline, Change Last Read Message For A Conf. [Q]uit - Stop This Program And Return To The UseNet Messages Menu. [H]elp - Explain This Program (This Is Where You Are Now!). [W]rite Msg. - Write A Message For Posting To A Internet UseNet Conference. [E]dit Msg. - Change/Correct A Message You Wrote For Posting to A Conf. [R]ead Msg. - Scan, Select, Read And Download Posted UseNet Messages. [U]pload Msg. - Upload A Text File From You And Post It A UseNet Message [D]elete Msg. - Delete A Message You Wrote For Posting In A UseNet Conf. You will always be returned to the Main Menu after selecting any of these choices. Except for [Q]uit which returns you to the BBS UseNet Menu. Conferences are displayed in proper number order (lowest to highest). - 3 - ******* THE U-NET MESSAGER ******* 3.0 - JOINING A CONFERENCE To read, upload or write messages in the various UseNet groups you must first select ("Join") the one you want. This option is used to do that. From the "Main Menu" or "Read Mess." press the letter "J". You will be prompted at the bottom of the screen to enter a U-Net Conference number. Enter the number shown on the left side of the screen next to the name of the one you want and press the "ENTER" key. To cancel just press "ENTER" by itself. If a valid number is entered the conference number and name will be displayed at the top of the screen. IMPORTANT: Always check to make sure you are in the correct conference BEFORE writing any messages. (See Write Messages Help) 4.0 - NEXT PAGE & PREVIOUS PAGE The next/previous page features of this program are used in two ways. When you are at the "Main Menu" pressing the letters "N" or "P" will display the next/previous 13 UseNet conferences on file. If you select "Edit Messages", "Read Messages" or "Delete Messages" and then press the letters "N" or "P" they will display the next/previous 13 messages posted in the current UseNet conference you selected, using [J]oin Conf. Messages are displayed in reverse order - that is newest to oldest on file in "Edit or Delete Messages". For "Read Messages" they are displayed in proper numerical order. 5.0 - DOWNLOADING A LIST OF USENET CONFERENCES By choosing this selection you can download a complete list of all the conferences in the U-Net database to your computer. This file is formatted as a report with date and page numbers ready for printing on 8 1/2" x 11" paper, using a text editor or word processor of your choice. From the "Main Menu" press the letter "L". You will be asked to confirm you want the file downloaded to you. Enter the letter "Y" for YES-download this list to me or "N" for NO-stop, cancel the download. If you have chosen a default download protocol as part of your BBS settings it will be used, otherwise you will be prompted for a protocol. The file will be placed in your normal download directory as "UNETGRPS.TXT" 6.0 - YOUR SETUP With this selection you may enter a tagline (add-on message) for all your outgoing UseNet postings and adjust your last read message number for any UseNet conference. - 4 - ******* THE U-NET MESSAGER ******* 6.1 - LAST READ MESSAGE As you read messages posted in the different UseNet conferences The U-Net Messager keeps track of the last one read. This way you can quickly scan and read new messages posted to your favourite news groups without having to "page thru" the old ones. You can change your last read message for any conference by selecting this option. At "your Setup" menu press the letter "L" you will be prompted to enter the number of the UseNet Conference you wish to change. Enter the number shown to the left of a conference name or press the "ENTER" key to cancel changing the last read message. Upon entering a valid UseNet conference the center of the screen will clear, displaying the name of the conference you selected and your last read message. You will be prompted to enter a new message number. To change your last read message enter a new number (lower or higher) or press the "ENTER" key to cancel the change. NOTE: You may enter any number you wish. If the message number you enter doesn't exist the system will automatically adjust it to the next lowest message on file. If you enter a number higher than the last message on file for the conference the system will set it the highest message on file. 6.2 - ENTERING AN E-MAIL TAGLINE A tagline can best described as message of it's own that is automatically added to the bottom of all your out-going e-mail. For example - if you add the statement "Have a good day" to all your e-mail then use this feature to stick it onto the end of all your mail. This way you don't have to type it every time. (Spelling Mistakes?) A tagline can be up to 5 lines long and contain anything you want to say to everyone reading your UseNet postings. It can be changed or deleted at any time ("Merry Christmas & Happy New Year" would a good use for a tagline in December only). To enter, change or delete a tagline press the letter "T". A screen similar to the edit message used to write or change messages will appear with a heading titled "Add/Change Your UseNet Tagline" displayed at the top. You are limited to a maximum of 5 lines of text. A blank line will be placed between your message and the tagline automatically, so don't leave the first line blank unless you want 2 blank lines between your message and tagline. To delete a tagline press the "SPACE BAR" or "DEL" to erase it and then save it as an empty tagline. Be sure to select the Wildcat spell check option after entering it to avoid having spelling mistakes in all your Usenet postings. 7.0 - EXITING THE PROGRAM Press "Q" at the "Main Menu" of the program and you will be returned to the BBS Mail Menu. This key is also used in "Edit Messages, "Read Messages" and "Delete Messages". Pressing "Q" from these sub-menus will return you to the "Main Menu" of the program. - 5 - ******* THE U-NET MESSAGER ******* 8.0 - USING THE ON-LINE HELP The program's on-line help is broken into topics. When you press the letter "H" from the "Main Menu" or "Read Messages" an overview of the selections available will be displayed. You may obtain further help on each selection by pressing the key shown in green, to the left of each topic. These are the same keys that you would press to actually use that selection. After reading the extended help on the particular topic you will be returned to the main help screen. To exit the on-line help press the letter "X" from the main help screen. 9.0 - WRITING MESSAGES To write a new message for posting to a conference press "W" from the either the "Main Menu" or "Read Mess.". There are 3 parts to writing a message with The U-Net Messager. These are: 1) Select An U-Net Conference - If you have not selected a conference via "[J]oin Conf." you will be prompted to enter the number of a U-Net Conference. Enter the number shown on the left side of the screen next to the one you want or press "ENTER" to cancel writing a message. If you select a valid conference it will be displayed at the top of the screen. Once you "Join a conference" you remain in it until you select another one. 2) Enter The Subject/Topic - The screen will clear and display a message header showing your name (or alias), the conference you selected and a blank subject for this message. There are 2 options here. A) Enter the subject/topic for your message (70 char. Max.). This should clearly explain what you will be writing about and if it is in response to some one else's message that should be noted as well. B) Press the "ENTER" key to leave the message subject blank. This will cancel the message and return you to the previous menu. 3) Write your message - Type in your message (up to 148 lines max.). When finished press the "ESC" key. Press "P" to spell check your message (a good idea), then "S" to save it for posting or "A" to abort saving the message and stop it from being sent. To upload a text file to become part of your message press the "ESC" key and then "U". To upload a file to attach to your message press "ESC" and then the letter "T". Your personal "E-Mail Address" will be automatically added to the message. SOME IMPORTANT RULES TO REMEMBER! 1) Make Sure You Selected The Correct Conference. Posting messages to the wrong conference can get some people very upset. So do be careful on this part or you may find yourself receiving a lot of "Hate E-Mail". - 6 - ******* THE U-NET MESSAGER ******* 9.0 - WRITING MESSAGES (Cont.) SOME IMPORTANT RULES TO REMEMBER! 2) Never Post Advertising Messages. This is surest way to get you and the BBS in big trouble. People get enough junk mail as it is and will seek you out for "Special Punishment" called "Flaming" if you do. This has been known go well beyond "Hate E-Mail", including jamming your company's phone lines, etc. 3) Don't Type Your Message In All Capital Letters. Typing In Upper Case means you are YELLING at the others who will be reading your message. Just use normal grammar, as if you were writing a letter to a friend. 4) "Quoting" from previous messages when you are replying to a particular topic is considered good practise, but don't over do it. Just include the part that you need to make your point. No one wants to read the same thing all over again. 10.0 - EDITING MESSAGES This selection lets you quickly scan and edit any messages you wrote for posting. Messages are displayed in newest to oldest order. All messages written by you will be displayed in "Blue". Press the letter "N" to display another page of messages. Press the letter "P" to re-display the previous page. To edit a message press the letter "E" and enter the message number shown on the left hand side of the screen under "Number" when prompted. Remember there is no point in editing a message unless you just wrote it, since the message will have already been sent for posting to the Conference. See "Write Messages" (above) for help on how to edit/change a message. 11.0 - READING & DOWNLOADING MESSAGES When you select "Read Messages" a list of choices available will appear at the bottom of the screen. There are 9 selections. You choose a menu item by pressing the letter highlited in green next to that selection. The Read Message Selections Are: [U]nread Mess. - Scan And Read NEW Posted Messages In A Conference. [A]ll Mess. - Scan And Read ALL Posted Messages In A Conference. [W]rite Mess. - Write A Message For Posting To A U-Net Conference. [J]oin Conf. - Join A UseNet News Conference To Read/Write Messages. [D]ownload Mess. - Download Messages For Off-Line Reading (One Or A Group). [N]ext Page - Show The Next 13 U-Net Group Conferences On File. [P]rev Page - Show The Previous 13 UseNet Group Conferences On File. [Q]uit - Stop And Return To The Main U-Net Messager Menu. [H]elp - Explain This Program (This Is Where You Are Now!). For information on "Write Mess.", "Join Conf.", "Next Page", "Prev. Page", "Quit" and "Help" please review the preceding sections. - 7 - ******* THE U-NET MESSAGER ******* 11.1 - UNREAD MESSAGES This option lets you quickly scan for any new messages in a conference since the last time you were in it. Using this selection you can follow what is being "posted" on a regular basis without having to page thru piles of old messages to get to the latest ones. The first time you select a conference in The U-Net Messager all the messages in that conference are treated as new and will be displayed. Each time you read messages on-line or download them the highest message number read or downloaded becomes your last read message. Remember, you can always go back thru old messages by selecting "[A]ll Mess." from the "Read Messages Menu". From the "Read Messages Menu" press the letter "U". If you haven't selected a conference yet you will be prompted to enter a U-Net Conference number (see "Join Conf. Help"). The new messages will be displayed and a choice of options will appear at the bottom of the screen. These are: [R]ead Mess. - Press the letter "R" to read messages on-line. You will prompted to enter the starting message number. Enter the number of the one you want and press the "ENTER" key. To cancel at this point just press the "ENTER" key without entering a number. After reading each message you will be offered 3 choices. These Are: [N]ext Message - Press the letter "N" to read the next one or "Q" to Quit. [R]eply - Press the letter "R" to write a message for posting. As most people choose this option to write a message based on what they just read The U-Net Messager will let you "Quote" lines from this message in your new message. Enter the starting & ending line numbers you want. To skip adding "quote" line just press the "ENTER" key twice. To add only one line enter it as the starting number and the press the "ENTER" key twice. For a range of lines enter the starting line number, the "ENTER" key once and then ending line number followed by "ENTER". [R]eply (cont.) - After writing your reply (message) you will be returned to the same point to let you continue reading messages. For information on how to write a message please review "Write Messages Help". [D]ownload - Press the letter "D" if you want to immediately download the message you just read, to your own computer. If you have chosen a default download protocol as part of your BBS settings it will be used, otherwise you will be prompted for a protocol. It will be placed in your normal download directory. The file will be given a name using the conference and message numbers with the extension .MSG (i.e. 5-123.MSG). [W]rite Mess. - To write a message press the letter "W". This selection is same one as located on the "Main Menu". For details on how to write a message for posting please review "Write Messages Help". [D]/L Mess. - To download a single message or a group of messages to your computer press the letter "D". As this selection has several features, a separate on-line help section is available. Please read the "Download Messages Help" for information how to use this selection. - 8 - ****** THE U-NET MESSAGER ******* 11.1 - UNREAD MESSAGES (Cont.) [T]ag Mess. - This option lets you select "tag" specific messages for reading on-line or downloading. By selecting it you can follow a specific topic/discussion within a conference without having to read unrelated messages. You may enter up to 100 messages. Press the letter "T". You will be prompted to enter a message number. Enter the number of the message of the one you want to add to your "Tag List" and press "ENTER". To cancel adding a message to your "Tag list" just press the "ENTER" key when prompted for a message number. Once you have "Tagged" all the messages you want press "R" to read them on-line and/or "D" to download these messages to your own computer. For information on reading messages on-line please see "Read Messages Help". For information on downloading messages to your own computer please review "Download Messages Help". NOTE: Once you tag messages, the list you created remains in effect until you exit "[U]nread Mess.", "[A]ll Mess." or clear them after reading or downloading. Until then only your tagged messages will be available to you. [N]ext Page - Press the letter "N" to display the next 13 messages. [P]rev. Page - Press the letter "P" to display the previous 13 messages on file. [Q]uit - Press the letter "Q" to return to the main "Read Messages Menu". Pressing the key twice takes you back to the "Main Menu". [H]elp - Press the letter "H" to display the on-line help for all of the choices available in "Read Messages". 11.2 - ALL MESSAGES IN A CONFERENCE This option lets you scan all the messages currently "posted" in a conference. This is useful to find old messages on a favourite topic or to reference older material for new messages you write. As new messages arrive the older ones must be deleted on a regular basis to save disk space. The more active conferences with a lot of "postings" will be purged more frequently than others. Therefore, you should always download important messages you want to save for later reference. Please read "Download Mess. Help" for information on how to do this. From the "Read Messages Menu" press the letter "A". If you haven't selected a conference yet you will be prompted to enter a U-Net Conference number (see "Join Conf. Help"). The first 13 messages will be displayed, in oldest to newest order with a choice of options at the bottom of the screen. [R]ead Mess. - Press the letter "R" to read messages on-line. You will prompted to enter the starting message number. Enter the number of the one you want and press the "ENTER" key. To cancel at this point just press the "ENTER" key without entering a number. After reading each message you will be offered 3 choices. These Are: - 9 - ******* THE U-NET MESSAGER ******* 11.2 - ALL MESSAGES IN A CONFERENCE (Cont) [N]ext Message - Press the letter "N" to read the next one or "Q" to Quit. [R]eply - Press the letter "R" to write a message for posting. As most people choose this option to write a message based on what they just read The U-Net Messager will let you "Quote" lines from this message in your new message. Enter the starting & ending line numbers you want. To skip adding "quote" line just press the "ENTER" key twice. To add only one line enter it as the starting number and the press the "ENTER" key twice. For a range of lines enter the starting line number, the "ENTER" key once and then ending line number followed by "ENTER". [R]eply (cont.) - After writing your reply (message) you will be returned to the same point to let you continue reading messages. For information on how to write a message please review "Write Messages Help". [D]ownload - Press the letter "D" if you want to immediately download the message you just read, to your own computer. If you have chosen a default download protocol as part of your BBS settings it will be used, otherwise you will be prompted for a protocol. It will be placed in your normal download directory. The file will be given a name using the conference and message numbers with the extension .MSG (i.e. 5-123.MSG). [W]rite Mess. - To write a message press the letter "W". This selection is same one as located on the "Main Menu". For details on how to write a message for posting please review "Write Messages Help". [D]ownload Mess. - To download a single message or a group of messages to your computer press the letter "D". As this selection has several features, a separate on-line help section is available. Please read the "Download Messages" section for information how to use this selection. [T]ag Mess. - This option lets you select "tag" specific messages for reading on-line or downloading. By selecting it you can follow a specific topic/discussion within a conference without having to read unrelated messages. You may enter up to 100 messages. Press the letter "T". You will be prompted to enter a message number. Enter the number of the message of the one you want to add to your "Tag List" and press "ENTER". To cancel adding a message to your "Tag list" just press the "ENTER" key when prompted for a message number. Once you have "Tagged" all the messages you want press "R" to read them on-line and/or "D" to download these messages to your own computer. For information on reading messages on-line please see "Read Messages Help". For information on downloading messages to your own computer please review "Download Messages Help". NOTE: Once you tag messages, the list you created remains in effect until you exit "[U]nread Mess.", "[A]ll Mess." or clear them after reading or downloading. Until then only your tagged messages will be available to you. [N]ext Page - Press the letter "N" to display the next 13 messages. - 10 - ******* THE U-NET MESSAGER ******* 11.2 - ALL MESSAGES IN A CONFERENCE (Cont) [P]rev. Page - Press the letter "P" to display the previous 13 messages on file. [Q]uit - Press the letter "Q" to return to the main "Read Messages Menu". Pressing the key twice takes you back to the "Main Menu". [H]elp - Press the letter "H" to display the on-line help for all of the choices available in "Read Messages". 11.3 - DOWNLOADING MESSAGES As "Reading The News" can sometimes take a while this option lets you download messages for off-line reading, using your favourite wordprocessor or text editor. This saves your valuable BBS time for other things. (Games?) You may download one message or a group of messages. From "All Mess." or "Unread Mess." Press the letter "D". You will be prompted to enter the starting and ending numbers for the message(s) you want. To download just one message enter the number as the starting number and then press the "ENTER" key twice to skip the ending number. To enter a range of numbers (lowest to highest) enter the starting number and press "ENTER" once. Then enter the ending number and press "ENTER" again. When choosing a range of numbers you do NOT have to enter valid starting and ending numbers. The U-Net Messager will automatically select the next highest and lowest numbers for you. For example, you enter 150 - 200 but the messages 150 and 200 do not exist. The U-Net will get the next highest message number after 150 and the next lowest number below 200. If there are no messages in between the numbers you entered The U-Net Message will advise you and stop the download. When entering a single message number for download (not a group) you must enter a valid message number or the download will be cancelled. After making your selection choice(s) The U-Net Message will retrieve the file(s) and: A) If you are downloading a single message ask you if you wish to proceed with the download. Enter "Y" for YES-start the download or "N" for NO -cancel the download. B) If you are downloading a group of messages you will prompted for one of 3 choices. Enter: "O" to download all the messages as ONE text file. "I" to download the messages as individual text files. "Q" to quit and cancel the download process. - 11 - ******* THE U-NET MESSAGER ******* 11.3 - DOWNLOADING MESSAGES (CONT.) If you selected group of messages to download as individual files or just one message the name of the file(s) will determined by the conference number and the message number(s). I.E. Message 150 in Conference with be 80-150.MSG. For a group of message files to be downloaded as one text file the name of the file will the conference number and the word batch.msg (I.E. a batch download file for conference 80 will be called 80BATCH.MSG.) If you have chosen a default download protocol as part of your BBS settings it will be used, otherwise you will be prompted for a protocol. The file(s) will be placed in your normal download directory. For group downloads you may log off from the BBS after finishing. This choice is not available when downloading a single message. 12.0 - UPLOADING MESSAGES & FILES Choosing this selection you can upload a pre-written TEXT file (148 lines max.) to the BBS to post as a message to a UseNet Conference. This lets you write messages off-line saving valuable on-line time for other things (games?). You may also upload and attach a file of any size and type to your message for transfer. There are 3 steps to uploading a message. These are: 1) Uploading your message text file to the BBS. 2) Uploading a file to attach to the message (if any). 3) Editing your message, adding the subject/topic. A maximum of 12 characters is allowed for each file name. 8 characters, a period and a 3 letter extension. If you have chosen a default upload protocol as part of your BBS settings it will be used, otherwise you will be prompted for a protocol. Press "Y" to upload your TEXT file. To cancel an upload after pressing "Y" leave the TEXT file name blank and press the "ENTER" key. After uploading your text file you will asked by the program if you wish to upload a file to attach to the message. Press "Y" and you will be prompted for the file name. The procedure for this step is the same as uploading the text file. To cancel the upload leave the file name blank and press "ENTER". Cancelling an upload for an attached file does not abort your message. After uploading the program will automatically create a message from your TEXT file, attach any file transferred and let you edit or add to the message. When finished press the "ESC" key. Press "P" to spell check your message (a good idea), then "S" to save it or "A" to abort saving and sending it. 13.0 DELETING MESSAGES Choosing this selection you can quickly scan for any message you wrote to select for deletion. All messages written by you will be displayed in "Blue". Press the letter "N" to display another page of messages. Press the letter "P" to re-display the previous page of messages. - 12 - ******* THE U-NET MESSAGER ******* 13.0 DELETING MESSAGES (Cont.) To delete a message press the letter "D" and enter the message number shown on the left hand side of the screen under "Number" when prompted. You will asked to confirm the deletion - enter "Y" to delete it or "N" to cancel deleting the message. Any deleted messages will have the letter "D" displayed in red next to their number. Deleted message(s) remain on file until the normal BBS purge of deleted items is run. Remember there is not much point in deleting a message unless you just wrote it, as the odds are it has already been sent for posting. NOTE: Once you delete a message you can NOT access it again and any file attached to it is erased. 14.0 - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND COPYRIGHTS What a pain in the butt writing this stuff. Everybody knows who owns what. What are we stupid and think MS-DOS, Mustang Software and Wildcat are our trademarks. But to ensure the lawyers don't get upset we state the following: We acknowledge all trademarks and copyrights of all third parties mentioned in any of the documentation provided with this program. This includes but is not limited to Microsoft, MSDOS, Mustang Software, Wildcat, Wccode, Wcdraw, Makemenu, & Makewild. - 13 -