FRONTDOOR Mailer User Guide FRONTDOOR Mailer User Guide Copyright 1998, 1999, 2001 Definite Solutions HB; All rights reserved. All Definite Solutions products and trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Definite Solutions HB; with the exception of FrontDoor which is a registered trademark of Joaquim Homrighausen. Other brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. This publication is protected by international copyright laws and treaty provisions. It may only be distributed and used in accordance with those laws and treaty provisions. DEF-E-FDUSER-Z-1/2001-EP Produced in Sweden. To the memory of Catharina Frodin and Alva Gardlund. And to Alexander, Christian, Katja, and Igor Homrighausen. Party on Fred, we miss you. Special thanks to Colin Turner for his help with the production of this document. FrontDoor User Guide TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of contents 4 1. Introduction 7 About this document 7 Version notation 7 Executables 7 Using this document 7 User Interface Level (UIL) 8 2. Waiting for a call or event 9 Startup messages 9 Screen contents 10 Unattended operation 11 3. The WFC menus 12 Programs 12 Utilities 15 Mail 19 Your profile 23 4. Undialable manager 26 Navigating 26 Modifying entries 27 Exiting 27 5. Console services manager 28 Navigating 28 Manipulating multiple entries 30 Changing status 31 Changing destination 31 Removing entries 31 Bundle contents 32 Destination information 32 Forcing a call (poll) 33 Send mail 33 Table of contents Page 4 FrontDoor User Guide Accessing the static queue 33 Exiting 34 6. Static queue manager 35 Navigating 35 Sort order 36 Manipulating multiple entries 36 Status 37 Destination information 37 Verbose 38 Changing status 38 Changing destination 39 Removing entries 39 Exiting 40 7. Transmitting files 41 8. Requesting files 42 Note regarding special characters 42 9. Specifying addresses 44 The userlist browser 44 The nodelist browser 45 NAMES.FD 45 Searching while browsing 46 Selecting 47 Exiting 47 Appendix A: Glossary 48 Appendix B: Keyboard reference 56 Menus 56 Functions 56 Input fields 57 Other 57 Appendix C: Mouse support 58 Table of contents Page 5 FrontDoor User Guide Menus 58 Prompt dialogs 58 Lists 58 Appendix D: Contact information 60 Index 61 Table of contents Page 6 FrontDoor User Guide 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 VERSION NOTATION The following notations are used to indicate where features are supported differently by various versions of the software: [ML] Multi-line version; [SL] Single-line version (Shareware); [DOS] DOS version (see below); [!DOS] Any version other than the DOS version (see below); [OS/2] OS/2 version (see below). 1.2 EXECUTABLES Since this document intends to cover all available platform versions of the software, the following should be noted in regards to the name of the program executables: FD.EXE The name of the DOS executable; FD2.EXE The name of the OS/2 executable. 1.3 USING THIS DOCUMENT This document is intended to be used as a reference guide. It makes the assumption that the reader understands the basics of the FrontDoor mailer ("FD" hereafter). The document does not attempt to explain any configuration issues in detail. For this purpose, the reader is advised to refer to the FrontDoor Administrator Guide. Throughout this document, references to options and menus in various FrontDoor programs, are made by using a reference to a menu path. These paths begin with the name of the top-level menu, followed by one or more menus or options, until the final destination has been reached. A few examples follow: Mailer.File requests.Filenames Editor.Display.Screen size If no reference is given to a specific program, FDSETUP is implied. Introduction Page 7 FrontDoor User Guide 1.4 USER INTERFACE LEVEL (UIL) FD utilizes something referred to as User Interface Level, hereafter "UIL", to hide or make available certain menu choices and commands. There are three UILs: Advanced, Intermediate, and Novice. This user guide makes the assumption that the active UIL is Advanced. When a menu or dialog box choice is restricted to one or two UILs, it is so noted by showing the minimum required UIL, e.g. UIL: Intermediate. FD will start in the UIL of the first user configured in FDSETUP. This can be temporarily changed from within FD, unless this has been disabled by the system administrator; once the program is restarted, it will, however, revert to the UIL of the first user configured in FDSETUP. Introduction Page 8 FrontDoor User Guide 2. WAITING FOR A CALL OR EVENT When FD is started, it will normally clear the screen and display its primary working screen. This screen is often referred to as the waiting for a call or event screen; or WFC for short. If FD does not display its WFC screen, it is typically because of a configuration error, or because it immediately exits to execute an external event. 2.1 STARTUP MESSAGES The following is a list of some common messages issued by FD upon starting: Message FOSSIL driver not detected Description FD could not detect the presence of a FOSSIL driver which is required for FD to be able to communicate with the modem or other communications device attached to the computer. Notes [DOS] Message Unable to initialize communications hardware Description FD could not open or initialize the communications hardware; typically the "COM port". The communications hardware may be in use by other applications or not properly closed by a previously used application. Notes [!DOS] Message Invalid or missing TASK setting Description FD could not retrieve a valid task setting. This is configured through the TASK environment variable. Notes [ML] Message Invalid TZUTC setting Description The TZUTC environment variable has not been specified correctly Notes None Waiting for a call or event Page 9 FrontDoor User Guide Message FOSSIL revision 5 support required Description FD successfully detected the presence of a FOSSIL driver. The FOSSIL driver does not, however, indicate support for the required level of capabilities. Notes [DOS] Message .. path not found - please use FDSETUP to correct.. Description FD has detected an invalid path specification in its configuration. Notes This error must be corrected by using FDSETUP or by creating the directory FD is complaining about. Message Frozen, waiting for semaphore to clear.. Description FD has detected an applicable FDFREEZE semaphore and will remain "frozen" until the semaphore is no longer present. Notes To exit FD immediately, press ALT+Q. Message Waiting (60s) for FDALIVE.NNN semaphore to clear Description FD has detected an FDALIVE.NNN semaphore where nnn is a numerical value corresponding with the contents of the TASK environment variable. This is typically caused by two copies of FD using the same task number setting. FD will wait up to 60 seconds for the semaphore to be updated before resuming operation. If the semaphore is updated within 60 seconds, FD will terminate; if the semaphore is not updated, FD will continue to load. Notes If the detected FDALIVE.NNN semaphore is the result of a system crash, FD can be forced to ignore its presence by pressing the SPACE. To exit FD immediately, press ALT+Q. 2.2 SCREEN CONTENTS When the WFC screen is displayed, FD will display some information about the currently active event, the time remaining until the next event (if any), and possibly information about the last inbound and outbound mail sessions. Waiting for a call or event Page 10 FrontDoor User Guide The WFC screen is divided into seven sections. The size of some of these sections depend on the number of rows available in the current screen mode; the number of columns available does not affect the WFC screen, FD will never use more than 80 columns for its output. The line at the top of the screen contains version and serial number information, along with the primary network address, current task, and finally the current date and time. The next two sections contain the activity messages (left) and messages returned from the communications device (right). The next two sections contain information about the last inbound and outbound mail sessions (left) and information about the current and pending event (right). Immediately before the bottom status line is the semaphore and status indicator section, which is used by FD to indicate certain settings (some of which can be controlled from within FD) based on the current event settings, the presence of certain semaphores, etc. The bottom status line is used to display a brief reminder of how to access the menu system. When the menu system is active the bottom status line is used to display a brief description of the currently highlighted menu option. 2.3 UNATTENDED OPERATION If left alone, FD will go about its business without assistance: events will be executed as scheduled, applicable mail will be delivered and incoming mail calls will be handled. User interaction is typically only required when fatal errors occur. To manually exit FD, press ALT+Q. When FD is terminated, its log file and nodelist database will be closed, the FOSSIL driver will be deinitialized. If ALT+Q was used to terminate FD, it will exit with errorlevel ten (10) to indicate a user break (normal termination). Waiting for a call or event Page 11 FrontDoor User Guide 3. THE WFC MENUS The pull-down menu system is accessed by using the shortcut corresponding to the desired menu. A good starting point is usually the Program menu which is invoked with ALT+P (and ALT+H). To exit the menu system, simply press ESC. Most options available in the pull-down menu system can be directly accessed by using the shortcut listed to the right of the menu option; the options in the Your profile menu are, however, an exception to this. These shortcuts cannot be used while the menu system is displayed/active. The only shortcuts available while the menu system is active are those used to change the current pull-down menu (ALT+P, ALT+U, ALT+M, and ALT+Y). The selection bar in menus is moved with UP and DOWN. Pressing the HOME key will move the selection bar to the topmost (available) field; pressing the END key will move the selection bar to the last (available) field; PGUP and PGDN generally move the selection bar one page up and one page down respectively. If a list or menu contains more entries than will fit on the screen, CTRL+PGUP and CTRL+PGDN can be used to move to the top and bottom, respectively, of the list/menu. To move between the top-level pull-down menus, the LEFT and RIGHT keys are used. * Since FD is primarily intended for automated and unattended operation, the menu system will automatically close when FD does not detect any keyboard activity for a period of time or when data is received from the communications device. 3.1 PROGRAMS The contents of the Programs menu will now be described. The shortcut for the Programs menu is ALT+P (or ALT+H) as mentioned above. It should be noted that FD is suspended when another program is invoked from it; i.e. FD can no longer place outbound calls, execute scheduled events, etc. The WFC menus Page 12 FrontDoor User Guide 3.1.1 Message editor Invokes the message editor (FM); see "Editor User Guide" for more information about using FM. The shortcut for FM is ALT+E. 3.1.2 Terminal Invokes the Terminal (advanced terminal emulator); see "Terminal User Guide" for more information about using the Terminal. The shortcut for the Terminal is ALT+J. 3.1.3 Setup UIL: Advanced Invokes FDSETUP, which is the primary configuration program for the FrontDoor programs. FDSETUP is described in the Administrator Guide. The shortcut for FDSETUP is ALT+S. 3.1.4 Nodelist UIL: Intermediate Invokes FDNC, the FrontDoor Nodelist Compiler/Manager, which is the program used to maintain the nodelist database for the FrontDoor programs. FDNC also contains tools to allow editing of some external configuration files. FDNC is described in the Administrator Guide. The shortcut for FDNC is ALT+N. The WFC menus Page 13 FrontDoor User Guide 3.1.5 User keys UIL: Intermediate Displays the 20/24 (depending on the type of keyboard attached to the system) configurable user keys and allows one to be selected by pressing the desired key. The user keys can be configured to perform a number of functions; including the loading of external programs, forcing FD to terminate with a specific errorlevel, etc. The shortcuts for the user keys are F1 through F10 (F12) and SHIFT+F1 through SHIFT+F10 (F12). The shortcut for the User keys function is ALT+K. 3.1.6 DOS shell UIL: Advanced Invokes a temporary OS shell. From the OS shell, most operating system functions and external programs can be accessed. This function is most useful in pure DOS environments, or similar environments where it is not possible to start other programs without first exiting the currently running program. When the DOS shell function in FD is used, a temporary copy of the OS is loaded and FD is suspended. [DOS] FD can be (and is by default) configured to maximize the amount of memory available in the temporary shell; this is referred to as FD swapping itself out of memory. Once activities in the temporary OS shell have been completed, you must type EXIT and press the ENTER key to return to FD. The DOS shell function is available from just about anywhere in FD: including the various menus, dialog boxes, and input fields. The shortcut for the DOS shell function is ALT+Z. The WFC menus Page 14 FrontDoor User Guide 3.1.7 Quit Terminates FD. When FD is terminated, its log file and nodelist database will be closed, the FOSSIL driver and/or communications hardware will be deinitialized, and the program will exit with errorlevel ten (10) to indicate a user break (normal termination). The shortcut for this option is ALT+Q and is available in most screens, dialog boxes, and input fields. 3.2 UTILITIES The contents of the Utilities menu will now be described. The shortcut for the Utilities menu is ALT+U. 3.2.1 Modem transmit UIL: Intermediate Allows up to two command strings to be transmitted to the communications device. When this function is invoked, FD will by default fill the two fields with the command strings configured to answer an inbound call (Modem.Answer control.Force answer command). The shortcut for the Modem transmit function is ALT+T. 3.2.2 Modem disconnect Disconnects an inbound call in progress and instructs FD to immediately re-initialize the communications device. The shortcut for the Modem disconnect function is ALT+X. 3.2.3 Lock keyboard Allows the keyboard to be locked from unauthorized or accidental access. FD will prompt for a password to be used and require that it is verified before locking the keyboard. Once the keyboard has been locked, the same (case sensitive) sequence used to lock the keyboard must be entered before further keyboard access is allowed. The WFC menus Page 15 FrontDoor User Guide * To "unlock" the keyboard, the sequence used to lock the keyboard should simply be entered. FD monitors the keyboard for this sequence during its operation; including file-transfers, outbound calls, etc. If FD terminates (due to an inbound call, scheduled event, etc) while the keyboard is locked, it will remember the password and re- enable the keyboard lock when it resumes operation. The keyboard can also be locked from the command-line by using the /L: command-line parameter. The shortcut for the Lock keyboard function is ALT+L. 3.2.4 Transmit files UIL: Advanced Allows one or more "transmit file" entries to be placed in the static queue (STQ) for transmission of the specified files to a remote system. Once the Transmit files function has completed, and after a slight delay, FD will restart the current event and process the newly added static queue entries for possible delivery. The slight delay between completion of the Transmit files function and FD restarting the event is intended to allow more files to be added to the static queue before FD restarts the event. * It should be noted that if the files to be transmitted are added to the static queue with Hold status, FD will not restart the event (since it is not required). The shortcut for the Transmit files function is ALT+F1. See "Transmitting files" for more information about this function. The WFC menus Page 16 FrontDoor User Guide 3.2.5 Request files UIL: Advanced Allows one or more entries to be placed in the static queue (STQ) to request files from a remote system. Once the Request files function has completed, and after a slight delay, FD will restart the current event and process the newly added static queue entries for possible delivery. The slight delay between completion of the Request files function and FD restarting the event is intended to allow more requests to be added to the static queue before FD restarts the event. The shortcut for the Request files function is ALT+F2. See "Requesting files" for more information about this function. 3.2.6 Send mail UIL: Intermediate Allows a system to be immediately qualified for mail delivery, disregarding current event restrictions on systems that may be called. Completing this function has nearly the same effect as if the specified system would call to pick-up waiting mail; the primary difference is that the type of messages to include in the immediate delivery can be specified. The shortcut for the Send mail function is ALT+F3. See "Console services manager" for more information about this function. * Note that this function cannot be used to force STQ entries with Hold status to be delivered. The WFC menus Page 17 FrontDoor User Guide 3.2.7 Force poll (dynamic) UIL: Intermediate Allows the creation of a so-called poll bundle, which forces FD to call the specified system. This is typically used to pick-up possible waiting mail. If a bundle already exists for the specified system, its status is modified to force FD to process it the next time FD scans for systems that should be called. * If FD restarts the event for any reason, poll bundles created with this function will be discarded; i.e. FD will no longer be aware of the request to poll the given system. The shortcut for the Force poll (dynamic) function is ALT+F4. See "Console services manager" for more information about this function. 3.2.8 Force poll (static) UIL: Advanced Similar to the Force poll (dynamic) function described above. The primary difference is that instead of creating a poll bundle or modifying an existing bundle, this function adds a poll entry to the static queue (STQ) with the specified status. These poll entries will remain in the static queue until a session with the specified system has been successfully completed, or until the entries are manually removed by using the STQ manager (see "Static queue manager"). Once the Force poll (static) function has completed, FD will restart the current event and process the newly added static queue entries for possible delivery. The shortcut for the Force poll (static) function is ALT+F5. The WFC menus Page 18 FrontDoor User Guide 3.2.9 User exit UIL: Intermediate Allows FD to be terminated with a specific errorlevel. The intended use of this function is primarily to test the batch file used to load FD. The shortcut for the User exit function is ALT+D. 3.3 MAIL The contents of the Mail menu will now be described. The shortcut for the Mail menu is ALT+M. 3.3.1 Static queue UIL: Advanced Invokes the static queue (STQ) manager. If no active entries exist in the static queue, FD will display There are no active entries in the queue. The shortcut for the Static queue function is ALT+F9. See "Static queue manager" for more information about this function. 3.3.2 Console services UIL: Intermediate Invokes the console services manager which allows manipulation of active bundles (if any). If no active bundles exist, the console services manager list will be empty. The shortcut for the Console services function is ALT+C. See "Console services manager" for more information about this function. The WFC menus Page 19 FrontDoor User Guide 3.3.3 Inbound history UIL: Advanced Invokes the mail history manager for the inbound mail history statistics. These statistics contain information about inbound sessions, such as the time and date that the session took place, the amount of data transferred during the session, etc. The mail history manager allows entries to be exported to an ASCII file for use in other applications or to be printed. If no entries exist in the inbound mail history database, FD will display No history. The shortcut for the Inbound history function is ALT+I. 3.3.4 Inbound history (this task only) UIL: Advanced [ML] Similar to the Inbound history function (above) with the exception that the mail history manager will only display entries added by the current task. If no such entries exist in the inbound mail history database, FD will display No history. The shortcut for the Inbound history (this task only) function is CTRL+I. 3.3.5 Outbound history UIL: Intermediate Invokes the mail history manager for the outbound mail history statistics. These statistics contain information about outbound sessions, such as the time and date that the session took place, the amount of data transferred during the session, etc. The mail history manager allows entries to be exported to an ASCII file for use in other applications or to be printed. The WFC menus Page 20 FrontDoor User Guide If no entries exist in the outbound mail history database, FD will display No history. The shortcut for the Outbound history function is ALT+O. 3.3.6 Outbound history (this task only) UIL: Advanced [ML] Similar to the Outbound history function (above) with the exception that the mail history manager will only display entries added by the current task. If no such entries exist in the outbound mail history database, FD will display No history. The shortcut for the Outbound history (this task only) function is CTRL+O. 3.3.7 Recent activity UIL: Advanced Displays the recent activity information. The recent activity window is divided into two section: the current-day (today) statistics and the previous-day statistics. The previous-day statistics do not necessarily have to be the activities of "yesterday" if FD is not operating full-time. The shortcut for the Recent activity function is ALT+R. The WFC menus Page 21 FrontDoor User Guide 3.3.8 Undialable Invokes the undialable manager used to manipulate entries that have been added to the list of undialable systems. The undialable manager can also be used to prevent FD from calling a specific system by manually adding that system to the list. If no entries exist in the undialable database, the undialable manager list will be empty. If the text UnDial is displayed in the semaphore indicator section, the undialable database contains one or more entries. If the UnDial text is not displayed, the undialable database is either empty or does not exist. The shortcut for the Undialable function is ALT+V. See "Undialable manager" for more information about this function. 3.3.9 Active event UIL: Intermediate Displays information about the currently active event. The shortcut for the Active event function is ALT+A. 3.3.10 Restart event UIL: Advanced Restarts the current event. This has the same effect as FD detecting an external request (i.e. a semaphore) for a rescan. FD will discard all current bundles and re-process outbound mail. The shortcut for the Restart event function is ALT+F7. * Note that no actual mail is removed when this function is used. The only files deleted by FD are temporary files, created when FD is processing outbound mail. The WFC menus Page 22 FrontDoor User Guide 3.4 YOUR PROFILE The contents of the Your profile menu will now be described. The shortcut for the Your profile menu is ALT+Y. 3.4.1 Answer UIL: Advanced Toggles the manual answer control setting. This setting can only be changed from within FD if the Modem.Answer control.Manual answer setting is configured as Yes in FDSETUP. If manual answer has been disabled, the text NoAnswer is displayed in the semaphore indicator section; and FD will ignore messages from the communications device that indicate an incoming call (such as "RING"). There is no shortcut for this function. * It should be noted that if the modem has been configured to automatically answer inbound calls (this is not recommended), this setting will not prevent FD from processing the calls. 3.4.2 Printer Toggles the automatic printing of received messages addressed to the local system. This setting can only be changed from within FD if the Printer.Hardware.Disabled setting is configured as No in FDSETUP. If automatic printing of received messages is enabled, the text PrintMsg is displayed in the semaphore indicator section. If enabled, this setting specifies that FD should print NetMail messages received from other systems. Only those messages handled by FD are candidates for printing. This setting does not apply if FD prints fax documents received using the internal fax receiver. There is no shortcut for this function. The WFC menus Page 23 FrontDoor User Guide 3.4.3 Human callers UIL: Advanced Specifies if FD should allow interactive (non-mail) calls. This setting can only be changed from within FD if it has not already been configured as a mail-only system (Mailer.Miscellaneous.Mail- only (no BBS)) in FDSETUP. If interactive callers are not allowed, the text NoUser is displayed in the semaphore indicator section; unless the Mailer.Miscellaneous.Mail-only (no BBS) setting is configured as Yes. * Note that the presence of the FDNOUSER.NOW semaphore can also affect whether or not FD allows interactive callers. There is no shortcut for this function. 3.4.4 Exit on mail UIL: Advanced Specifies if FD should exit when mail has been received (typically used for processing of mail by external applications). If FD has been configured not to exit when mail is received, the text NoExit is displayed in the semaphore indicator section. * Note that the presence of the FDNOEXIT.NOW semaphore can also affect whether or not FD exits when mail has been received. There is no shortcut for this function. 3.4.5 Pickup mail UIL: Advanced Specifies that FD should attempt to pick-up mail when it has established an outbound mail session with a remote system. The WFC menus Page 24 FrontDoor User Guide If FD has been configured not to pick-up waiting mail during outbound mail sessions, the text NoPickup is displayed in the semaphore indicator section. There is no shortcut for this function. 3.4.6 Present all AKAs UIL: Advanced Specifies that FD should present all its configured network addresses, when applicable, during mail sessions with remote systems. There is no shortcut for this function. 3.4.7 Prioritize outbound UIL: Advanced Specifies that FD should prioritize the delivery of outbound mail (if any) over inbound calls. When FD gives priority to outbound calls, it attempts to process (place) them as fast as possible, ignoring retry delay settings, etc. There is no shortcut for this function. 3.4.8 UI level Allows the currently used UI level to be temporarily changed. When FD is restarted, the UI level will be set to that of the first configured user in FDSETUP. There is no shortcut for this function. The WFC menus Page 25 FrontDoor User Guide 4. UNDIALABLE MANAGER The undialable manager is used to manipulate entries in the undialable database. The entries in the undialable database are typically added by FD when it encounters problems while attempting to negotiate or complete a mail session with a remote system. Entries can be manually added to the undialable database to prevent FD from calling specific systems. The undialable database is stored in a file called NODIAL.FD in the SYSTEM directory. 4.1 NAVIGATING The selection bar is moved with UP and DOWN. The HOME key will move the selection bar to the topmost (of those displayed) entry; and the END key will move the selection bar to the last (of those displayed) field. CTRL+PGUP and CTRL+PGDN will move to the first and last entry in the database, respectively. The incremental search function can also be used to move the selection bar. It works by matching text that you type against a system (network) address. It first attempts to search from the current position of the selection bar towards the end of the list. If no match is made, the search is restarted from the top of the list, until the position of the selection bar is reached, in which case no match was made. The search criterion that the incremental search function works with will be displayed to the left on the bottom window frame. 4.1.1 Verbose The verbose function (ENTER) will display information from the nodelist database about the currently highlighted system. Undialable manager Page 26 FrontDoor User Guide 4.2 MODIFYING ENTRIES To remove an entry from the undialable database, press DEL (Delete). This will clear the three checkmarks ('>') from the entry; the checkmarks are also referred to as the undialable level. When the undialable manager is closed, FD will only write those entries with an undialable level of one ('>') or more. To add an entry (system) to the undialable database, press INS (Insert). FD will prompt you for the system (network) address (see "Specifying addresses"). Manually added entries are always added with an undialable level of three (">>>") which prevents FD from calling the given system. The + (plus) and - (minus) keys can be used to increase and decrease the undialable level, respectively, of the currently highlighted system. A common use for the - (minus) key is to allow FD to place a call to the given system to allow the operator the possibility of seeing what, if anything, fails during a session with the system. 4.3 EXITING Press ESC to return to the WFC screen. Undialable manager Page 27 FrontDoor User Guide 5. CONSOLE SERVICES MANAGER The console services manager is used to manipulate active mail bundles (if any). Mail bundles are created when FD is processing outbound mail. Not all mail will appear in the console services manager list. Which mail appears in the list greatly depends on the type of mail, the current event, and the possible routing configuration for the current event. If no active bundles exist, the list will be empty. The console services manager list is divided into five columns. From left to right, they are: bundle status, destination system (name), destination system address, bundle indicators, and the number of outbound calls placed by FD in an attempt to deliver the mail associated with the bundle. 5.1 NAVIGATING The selection bar is moved with UP and DOWN. The HOME key will move the selection bar to the topmost (of those displayed) entry; and the END key will move the selection bar to the last (of those displayed) field. CTRL+PGUP and CTRL+PGDN will move to the first and last entry in the list, respectively. The incremental search function can also be used to move the selection bar. It works by matching text that you type against a system (network) address. It first attempts to search from the current position of the selection bar towards the end of the list. If no match is made, the search is restarted from the top of the list, until the position of the selection bar is reached, in which case no match was made. The search criterion that the incremental search function works with will be displayed to the left on the bottom window frame. 5.1.1 Status Indicates the status of the bundle; this is one of Sent, Failed, Hold, Priority, Inactive, or nothing (empty). Console services manager Page 28 FrontDoor User Guide Sent indicates that FD has successfully delivered the mail associated with the bundle; "delivered" in this context does not necessarily mean that FD placed an outbound call to deliver the mail (i.e. the destination system may have called to pick-up mail). Bundles with Sent status cannot be modified and are considered to be inactive; they are ignored by FD. Failed indicates that FD failed in its attempts to deliver the mail associated with the bundle. It is likely that the destination system will have been added to the undialable database (see "Undialable manager"). Bundles with Failed status are ignored by FD. Hold indicates that FD will not place an outbound call in an attempt to deliver the mail associated with the bundle; the destination system may, however, pick-up the mail. Priority indicates that FD should prioritize the delivery of the mail associated with the bundle over bundles without Priority status. Inactive indicates an inactive bundle. Bundles with Inactive status are ignored by FD and can be re-used by FD if it needs to create an additional bundle. A bundle without any of the above status flags is considered to be a normal bundle. FD will attempt to deliver the mail associated with the bundle to the appropriate system (see below). Note that bundles with Priority status are favored by FD over bundles without special status. 5.1.2 Destination system The name of the system to which FD intends to deliver the mail associated with the bundle. If the system cannot be located in the nodelist database, FD will display -?- in place of the system name. 5.1.3 Address The network address of the system to which FD intends to deliver the mail associated with the bundle. Console services manager Page 29 FrontDoor User Guide 5.1.4 Indicators (MFRS) The indicators column is divided into four sections: M for Messages, F for Files, R for (file) Requests, and S for Script. They indicate the type of mail associated with the bundle, except in the case of S (script) which indicates that FD will use a script instead of calling the system directly to deliver the mail. 5.1.5 A (attempts) The number of attempts made by FD to establish a connection with the destination system of the bundle. This counter is incremented for each call that fails due to the remote system not answering, a busy line, etc. When the counter reaches the maximum number of allowed retries (Mailer.Miscellaneous.Busy retries), FD will set the bundle status to Hold. The counter can be reset (to zero) with F8. * It should be noted that resetting the counter will not change the status of a bundle that FD has set to Hold. The status must be manually changed before FD will consider calling the destination system of the bundle. 5.2 MANIPULATING MULTIPLE ENTRIES It may be desirable to perform certain bundle modifications on a number of entries instead of modifying each bundle individually. Use SPACE to toggle the selection status of a bundle. If a bundle is selected, a small square symbol appears to the left of the status column. To toggle the selection status on all entries, except those with Inactive status, use F5. Console services manager Page 30 FrontDoor User Guide 5.3 CHANGING STATUS The F2 (Priority), F4 (Hold), and F7 (clear special status) keys can be used to change the status of the selected entries (see above). If no entry is selected, the currently highlighted entry will be modified. If a given entry already has the specified status, the status is removed from that entry (i.e. toggled). 5.4 CHANGING DESTINATION By changing the destination of a bundle, FD is instructed to deliver the mail associated with the bundle to the specified system instead of the original destination system. Changing the destination of a bundle does not affect or in any way modify the mail associated with a bundle. To change the destination of all selected entries, use F6. If no entry is selected, the currently highlighted entry will be modified. This function can also be used to specify that a script should be used (or not used) when FD attempts to deliver the mail associated with the given bundle. * Note that bundles containing references to STQ entries behave differently than bundles that do not contain such references. FD will never allow STQ entries to be sent to a system different from the actual destination system, as indicated in an STQ entry. If the destination is changed for a bundle, only non-STQ entries will be affected and processed for the specified destination system when the session takes place. 5.5 REMOVING ENTRIES When an entry is removed, the bundle is given Inactive status. Removing an entry does not delete or in any way modify the mail associated with the bundle. All applicable bundles can be re-built by restarting the event (see "Restart event"). To delete all selected entries, use DEL (Delete) If no entry is selected, the currently highlighted entry will be deleted. Console services manager Page 31 FrontDoor User Guide 5.6 BUNDLE CONTENTS To view the contents of the currently highlighted bundle, use ENTER (Verbose). Bundles with Inactive or Sent status will not be displayed. This function will always work on the currently highlighted bundle, regardless of the number of selected entries. The verbose display shows messages from the NetMail folder included in the bundle. If a message has one or more files attached to it, or contains a file request, the attached file(s) or files to be requested are displayed, respectively; otherwise the name of the message recipient along with the recipient address is displayed. For bundles that include, or uniquely consist of static queue entries, the text (active STQ entries) is displayed in the bottom right-hand corner of the verbose list. See "Static queue manager" for more information about manipulating and viewing the contents of the static queue. 5.7 DESTINATION INFORMATION To view verbose information about the destination system of a given bundle, use TAB. No verbose information about the destination system for bundles with Inactive status will be displayed. This function will always work on the currently highlighted bundle, regardless of the number of selected entries. Console services manager Page 32 FrontDoor User Guide 5.8 FORCING A CALL (POLL) Allows the creation of a so-called poll bundle, which forces FD to call the specified system. This is typically used to pick-up possible waiting mail. If a bundle already exists for the specified system, its status is modified to force FD to process it the next time FD scans for systems that should be called. Note that bundles with Priority status are favored by FD over bundles without special status. Bundles created with this function are not given any special status. * If FD restarts the event for any reason, poll bundles created with this function will be discarded. Use ALT+F4 to create a poll bundle. 5.9 SEND MAIL Allows a system to be immediately qualified for mail delivery, disregarding current event restrictions on systems that may be called. Completing this function has nearly the same effect as if the specified system would call to pick-up waiting mail; the primary difference is that the type of messages to include in the bundle to be created can be specified. If a bundle to the specified system already exists, applicable mail is added (associated) to that bundle, otherwise a new bundle is created. Use ALT+F3 to use the send mail function. * Note that this function cannot be used to force STQ entries with Hold status to be delivered. 5.10 ACCESSING THE STATIC QUEUE The static queue can be accessed from the console services manager with ALT+F9. See "Static queue manager" for more information about the static queue. Console services manager Page 33 FrontDoor User Guide 5.11 EXITING Press ESC to return to the WFC screen. Console services manager Page 34 FrontDoor User Guide 6. STATIC QUEUE MANAGER The static queue manager is used to manipulate the contents of the static queue database; STQ for short. Unlike the functionality provided by the console services manager, the actions performed in the STQ manager are permanent. If an entry is deleted, it cannot be recovered or automatically recreated by FD. The STQ provides quite sophisticated functionality to aid in delivery and retrieval automation. It is designed with flexibility and reliability as the two primary concerns. FD contains a number of functions which allow basic interaction with the STQ functionality; it does not, however, allow the full potential of the STQ to be realized by interactive use. The STQ manager can be used to modify and view the contents of the STQ. The functions "Transmit files", "Request files", and "Force poll (static)" can be used to add entries to the STQ. All of these are available from the WFC screen. The STQ manager list is divided into three columns. From left to right, they are: status, destination, and file. Some brief statistics are displayed near the bottom of the window, indicating the number of total entries, the number of locked entries, and the number of selected entries. 6.1 NAVIGATING The selection bar is moved with UP and DOWN. The HOME key will move the selection bar to the topmost (of those displayed) entry; and the END key will move the selection bar to the last (of those displayed) field. CTRL+PGUP and CTRL+PGDN will move to the first and last entry in the list, respectively. The incremental search function can also be used to move the selection bar. It works by matching text that you type against either the Destination field or the File field, depending on the current Sort order. It first attempts to search from the current position of the selection bar towards the end of the list. If no match is made, the search is restarted from the top of the list, until the position of the selection bar is reached, in which case no match was made. Static queue manager Page 35 FrontDoor User Guide The search criterion that the incremental search function works with will be displayed to the left on the bottom window frame. 6.2 SORT ORDER Entries in the STQ manager list can be arranged in three different ways: o Physical order (no sorting); o Destination system; o Filename. Physical order means that the entries will appear in the list in the order that they are physically stored in the STQ database. Destination system means that the entries will appear in the list sorted by which system the entry is addressed to. Filename means that the entries will appear in the list sorted by the File field. The initial sort order is determined by the Mailer.Miscellaneous.Default sort order in STQ list setting in FDSETUP. Use F9 to change the sort order and redisplay the list. * When the sort order is Physical, the incremental search function attempts to match entered text with the contents of the Destination system field. 6.3 MANIPULATING MULTIPLE ENTRIES It may be desirable to perform certain modifications on a number of entries instead of modifying each entry individually. Use SPACE to toggle the selection status of an entry. If an entry is selected, a small square symbol appears to the left of the status column. Static queue manager Page 36 FrontDoor User Guide Alternatively, the Select address function (F4) can be used to select all entries destined to a given address; use of this function can be repeated to select entries destined to several addresses. Using the Select address function does not toggle the selection status. To toggle the selection status on all entries, except those with DEL (deleted) status, use F5. 6.4 STATUS The left-most column indicates the status of each entry. The information is divided into two primary sections: entry type and entry status. Entry type is one of Spool (spool entry), File (file attachment), FReq (file request), or no special type (empty). Spool entries are special entries used to simplify automated transmission of files to a given system; a Spool entry points to a path and a filemask in that path, instructing FD to activate the entry as soon as there are matching files the next time the STQ is processed. Entry status is one or more of Lock, Imm (immediate), Crash, Hold, DEL (deleted), After, and/or Until. Entries with Lock status are ignored by FD. Imm and Crash indicates high-priority entries, with Imm being the highest priority. Hold indicates that the entry will never be delivered to the destination system during an outbound mail session. After indicates that the entry will be ignored by FD until a specific time and date. Until indicates that FD will only process the entry until a specific time and date. Some additional status can be displayed with the Verbose function (see below). 6.5 DESTINATION INFORMATION To view verbose information about the destination system of a given entry, use TAB. This function will always work on the currently highlighted entry, regardless of the number of selected entries. Static queue manager Page 37 FrontDoor User Guide 6.6 VERBOSE To view additional information about the currently highlighted entry, use ENTER (Verbose). This function will always work on the currently highlighted entry, regardless of the number of selected entries. The verbose display shows information about the destination system (if it can be located in the nodelist database) as well as some additional information about the status and contents of the entry. Additional status information not shown in the STQ manager list includes KFS, TFS, KFS!, TFS!, ARCmail, NoPickup, and Xmit!. KFS indicates that the associated file(s) will be removed after successful transmission. TFS indicates that the associated file(s) will be truncated (to zero length) after successful transmission. KFS! and TFS! (note the exclamation mark) are similar to KFS and TFS but typically used by external applications. * In the case of KFS and TFS, the file(s) will not be removed/truncated if there are other messages or STQ entries with the same file attachments. ARCmail indicates a special type of file used to transport compressed conference mail. NoPickup indicates that the entry will only be processed during outbound mail sessions and cannot be picked up by the destination system calling to retrieve mail. Xmit! is typically used in conjunction with ARCmail and indicates that FD has started transmission of the file(s) associated with the entry. 6.7 CHANGING STATUS The Change status (F8) and Clear status (F7) functions can be used to change the status of one or more entries. If no entry is selected, the currently highlighted entry will be modified. When the status of a single (i.e. no selected entries) entry is modified, the status menu will indicate the present status of the entry. When there are selected entries, no such information is provided. Static queue manager Page 38 FrontDoor User Guide If a given entry already has the specified status, no action is taken. To remove all priority status (Crash, Imm, and Hold), use the Clear status (F7) function. The Lock status forces FD to ignore the entry. Entries with Hold status will never be delivered during an outbound session. Entries with No pickup status will only be delivered during an outbound session. Entries with Erase after sending (KFS) status instructs FD to remove (after successful transmission) the physical file referred to by the entry, provided no other attachments exist for the same file. Entries with Erase after sending, no check (KFS!) instructs FD to remove the physical file referred to by the entry after successful transmission. 6.8 CHANGING DESTINATION To change the destination of all selected entries, use F6. If no entry is selected, the currently highlighted entry will be modified. Note that when the destination of an entry is modified, FD copies the original entry to the end of the STQ and the removes the original entry; effectively moving the entry. If the current Sort order is Physical, the modified entry will appear at the end of the STQ list. 6.9 REMOVING ENTRIES When an entry is removed, it is given DEL (deleted) status. FD will ask for the delete action to be confirmed prior to actually marking entries as deleted. * Once an entry is deleted, it cannot be recovered or automatically recreated by FD. Static queue manager Page 39 FrontDoor User Guide When the STQ manager is used to remove one or more entries from the list, it does not physically delete the entries. Instead, the entries are marked as described above and will remain in the STQ, with deleted status, until the STQ is packed by FD during its midnight maintenance. Entries with KFS, TFS, KFS!, or TFS! status will be honored; i.e. FD will remove or truncate the associated files, if applicable, when it packs the STQ. 6.10 EXITING Press ESC to return to the WFC screen. Static queue manager Page 40 FrontDoor User Guide 7. TRANSMITTING FILES The Transmit files function (ALT+F1) in the Utilities (ALT+U) menu is used to transmit one or more files to a given system. The specified files are added as STQ entries (see "Static queue manager"). Once the STQ entries have been created, FD will process them, as applicable, each time it is processing outbound mail. FD will first prompt for the destination system (see "Specifying addresses"). When one is specified, FD will display the transmit files entry screen; some details about the specified (destination) system are also displayed. The transmit files browser can be invoked by pressing ENTER in the entry field if it is empty, or by specifying a filemask containing wildcards (? and *). The top section of the browser shows the currently selected directory and the files contained in it. This section is used to select the files to transmit. The bottom section of the browser shows a list of files that have been selected for transmission; entries can be removed from the bottom section. TAB is used to switch between the two sections. To select the currently highlighted file from the top section, press the SPACE key. The selected file should immediately appear in the bottom section. If the file does not appear, it is an indication that there is insufficient memory available to add the file; should this happen, you can either switch to the bottom section and remove some files, or restart FD and then attempt to use this (Transmit files) function again. If you press the ENTER key on a directory entry (indicated by a trailing \) in the top section, the browser will switch to that directory. If you press the ENTER key on a drive entry (indicated by [- and -] surrounding the drive letter) in the top section, the browser will switch to that drive. When the desired files have been selected, press F10 from the browser window (either the top section or the bottom section). To abort the function, press ESC. Before FD adds the selected files to the STQ, it will prompt for the status to be used for these entries. See "Static queue manager" for more information about the various status settings. Transmitting files Page 41 FrontDoor User Guide 8. REQUESTING FILES The Request files function (ALT+F2) in the Utilities (ALT+U) menu is used to request one or more files from a given system. The specified file requests are added as STQ entries (see "Static queue manager"). Once the STQ entries have been created, FD will process them, as applicable, each time it is processing outbound mail. FD will first prompt for the destination system (see "Specifying addresses"). When one is specified, FD will display the request files entry screen; some details about the specified (destination) system are also displayed. The request files entry screen input is divided into two columns of fields. The left column is used to specify filenames, and the right column is used to specify passwords. The password field does not have to be filled-in unless the files being requested are protected with a password on the remote system. To move between the two columns, use TAB. To move the entry field in the current column, use the UP and DOWN keys. Use ESC to abort the function. When the desired files to request have been specified, press ENTER when the entry field is empty and in the left column, or press ENTER when the entry field is on the last (third) line. Before FD adds the specified files to request to the STQ, it will prompt for the status to be used for these entries. See "Static queue manager" for more information about the various status settings. 8.1 NOTE REGARDING SPECIAL CHARACTERS When requesting files from certain systems supporting non-DOS filename characters (such as space characters), special characters can be entered by using an extended syntax as described below. The extended syntax is then translated by FD at the time it makes the request from the remote system. All extended syntax sequences start with the ~ (tilde, ASCII 126) character. The following extended syntax is supported: Requesting files Page 42 FrontDoor User Guide ~~ translates to a single ~ (tilde, ASCII 126) ~_ translates to a single space (ASCII 32) ~} translates to a single / (forward slash) ~{ translates to a single \ (back slash) ~$ translates to a single : (colon) ~' translates to a single ; (semi-colon) Requesting files Page 43 FrontDoor User Guide 9. SPECIFYING ADDRESSES For certain functions, FD will prompt for an address to be specified; e.g. a destination address. There are a number of ways to provide FD with this information. The most obvious way is to specify the address manually; this is also the fastest method, but requires that you know the address. The FrontDoor nodelist database is much like a phone directory listing. FD can be instructed to look-up systems in the database, and then copy information from the database to the input field in which the address should be entered. These look-ups can be made by providing partial or complete search criteria to FD. When you provide partial search criteria to FD, something called a browser is invoked. There are two primary browsers in FD: The nodelist browser and the userlist browser. The former is used to browse the nodelist sorted on the various components of an address (Zone, Net, Node, and Point), the latter is used to browse the nodelist sorted on names (last names) of users (typically, system operators). 9.1 THE USERLIST BROWSER The userlist browser is invoked by entering a partial system operator name when prompted to specify an address. For example, to invoke the userlist browser, you could type AN (or an, case is not important) and then press the ENTER key. If FD could locate one or more system operators in the nodelist with a last name starting with the letters AN, it will display these in a list for you to choose from. If you want to change the search criteria - for example to make it more specific - when FD has displayed its list, simply press the ESC key and change AN to something else, and press ENTER again. Specifying addresses Page 44 FrontDoor User Guide 9.2 THE NODELIST BROWSER The nodelist browser can be invoked by simply pressing ENTER when the entry field is empty or by specifying an address search mask. An address search mask is made up of one or more address components, followed by a question mark (?). The only effect the address search mask has is to determine where in the nodelist database FD starts displaying from. 9.2.1 Address search masks :? Starts by displaying all zones in the nodelist Z:? Starts by displaying all nets in zone Z; e.g. 255:? Z:N/? Starts by displaying all nodes in zone Z, net N; e.g. 255:3046/? Z:N/D.? Starts by displaying all points of the server/boss system Z:N/D; e.g. 255:3046/10.? ? Starts by displaying all nodes in the net of your address. This is the same as pressing ENTER in an empty field. 9.3 NAMES.FD This is the name of a text (ASCII) file located in the FrontDoor SYSTEM directory that, if present, allows you to maintain a list of frequently used names and (optionally) addresses. This file is not required for FD to function, but if used properly it can save a lot of typing and time. Specifying addresses Page 45 FrontDoor User Guide Depending on how your system is configured, you may not have sufficient access to edit this file. But if you do, it can be edited by using a normal text editor. The format of the file is described in the Administrator Guide. To invoke the NAMES.FD browser, simply type an asterisk (*) in the address entry field and press ENTER. If you append data after the asterisk, that data will be used as the initial search criteria for the incremental search (described below). The first field in this file is used as a tag (description); i.e. if the first entry.s tag is "doe", and you enter *doe in the recipient name field, FD will find a match on the first line and immediately exit. If there is more than one line starting with the same text, FD will position the selection bar on the first match and expect you to choose an entry from the list. * Unlike when you invoke the userlist browser, FD will not limit the list to only contain those entries matching the text entered in the recipient name field. 9.4 SEARCHING WHILE BROWSING You can also move the selection bar in the various browsers to the desired entry by using the incremental search function. Once you have become familiar with this function, it is usually the fastest way to select an entry while browsing. The incremental search function works by matching text that you type against a name (last name) or an address. It first attempts to search from the current position of the selection bar towards the end of the list. If no match is made, the search is restarted from the top of the list, until the position of the selection bar is reached, in which case no match was made. The search criteria that the incremental search function works with will be displayed to the left on the bottom window frame. If you enter a digit (0-9) as the first character, the incremental search function attempts to match it to an address. Note that in the nodelist browser, the entire recipient address is not displayed in the list. FD will attempt to match your incremental search criteria with what is displayed in the list. Specifying addresses Page 46 FrontDoor User Guide If you enter any non-digit as the first character, the incremental search function attempts to match it against a name in similar way to that described above. Keep in mind that the incremental search function attempts to match the criteria you provide with the last name of the recipient. It may sometimes be necessary to correct a typing mistake in the search criteria; if you are trying to locate a system operator with the last name Johansson but have typed johant, simply press Backspace once to erase the t character and then resume typing. Note that if no matches could be made with johant, FD will have reset the search string to the last character entered, in this case a t, making it impossible to correct the mistake by using Backspace. If there are several entries in the list with a similar recipient name or address, you can force the incremental search to display the next match without further typing; if you are trying to locate a recipient with the last name Johansson and there are several recipients in the list with that last name, simply type johansson and then use TAB to move to the next match. 9.5 SELECTING Press ENTER to select the currently highlighted address and return to the address entry field. 9.6 EXITING Press ESC to abort the browser and return to the address entry field. Specifying addresses Page 47 FrontDoor User Guide APPENDIX A: GLOSSARY Active field Certain input screens, such as the message header dialog box, contain a number of input fields where you enter data. The active field is the field that is currently being used to store the data that you enter. Address The unique combination of Zone:Net/Node.Point, identifying an individual site (system). AKA Alternative address ("Also Known As"). ARQ Automatic Repeat Request; a general term for error control protocols which feature error detection and automatic retransmission of defective blocks of data. ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange; used to represent letters, numbers, and special characters such as $, !, and /. Auto Answer A feature of most modems, allowing them to answer inbound calls automatically, without the intervention of software or other hardware. AVATAR A flexible and extremely fast terminal emulation protocol designed by George A. Stanislav. The FrontDoor Terminal supports the AVATAR/0+ (AVT/0+) level of this protocol. AVATAR stands for Advanced Video Attribute Terminal Assembler and Recreator. BBS See Bulletin Board System Bit rate The number of binary digits or bits transmitted per second (BPS). Communication channels using telephone links are established at set bit rates, commonly 9600, 14400, 28800, and 33600 BPS. BPS The bits (binary digits) per second rate. Bulletin A Bulletin Board System, or BBS for short, is a system Board System to which users can connect via a dial-up connection, a Local Area Network or via the Internet. It often consists of different areas, e.g. message groups, file Glossary Page 48 FrontDoor User Guide areas, on-line games, and chat rooms. Caller ID Information identifying the calling party. This is typically generated by the communications/telephony network for use by devices and applications. Carrier A control signal line of the RS-232C standard detect interface typically used to indicate that two devices (such as modems) have established a connection. Forced carrier is the term used to describe the case when a communications device has been configured to always assert carrier detect, regardless of the true state of the connection; this is not desirable when using the device in conjunction with FD. CD See Carrier detect Clear to send A control signal line of the RS-232C standard interface indicating that the communications device (such as a modem) is ready to receive data from the data terminal (computer). The clear to send signal is used to implement hardware flow control between the data terminal and the communications device (CTS/RTS handshaking). CnfMail See Conference Mail Conference A conference is a discussion forum where a certain topic is discussed, for instance Cooking, Computer programming, Politics, Product support, etc. A conference can either be open to everyone, or restricted to a closed group of participants. All messages in a conference are public, even if they are addressed to a specific recipient. This means that all participants of the conference are able to read all messages. To send a private message, use the NetMail folder. All messages in a conference are stored together in a folder. Conference Mail that is sent from one person and then distributed Mail by means of a conference with more than one Glossary Page 49 FrontDoor User Guide participant (see Conference). Conference An external application used to process conference Mail mail. It is responsible for placing conference Processor messages received from remote systems into their proper folders and for exporting messages written locally in Conference-type folders. The Conference Mail Processor creates files, which are delivered by FD to the appropriate remote systems. Confirmation A confirmation receipt is an indication that the Receipt recipient of a message has read it. Not all systems support or allow confirmation receipts, which means that the recipient may have read the message, even if you have not received a confirmation receipt. ConfMail See Conference Mail CPS Characters per second; an expression used to measure the speed of file and data transfers. Crossposting The process of saving ("posting") a message to more than one folder. CTS See Clear to send Data terminal A control signal line of the RS-232C standard ready interface indicating that the data terminal (computer) is ready to use a communications device. This signal is often used to instruct a communications device to terminate a connection (hang-up). DCD See Carrier detect DTR See Data terminal ready EchoMail See Conference Mail E-Mail Electronic mail. EMSI Electronic Mail Standard Identification. A standard describing a method by which two mailers (such as FD) determine which features should be used to exchange Glossary Page 50 FrontDoor User Guide mail and files; EMSI is a very flexible handshake protocol favored by FD over FTS-1 and FTS-6 to negotiate mail sessions with other systems. Flow control A mechanism that compensates for differences in the flow of data input to and output from a device, such as a modem. FOSSIL An acronym for Fido, Opus, SEAdog Standard Interface Layer. This refers to a driver, or an interface to a driver, providing some basic functions based around communications and the IBM PC interrupt 14H vector. FTS-1 FidoNet Technical Standard #1. A standard describing a method by which two mailers (such as FD) determine which features should be used to exchange mail and files; this is often called the FTS-1 handshake protocol. FTS-6 FidoNet Technical Standard #6. A standard describing a method by which two mailers (such as FD) determine which features should be used to exchange mail and files; this is often called the FTS-6 or YooHoo handshake protocol. FTS-6 is more flexible and faster than the FTS-1. Hardware flow Flow control implemented by means of using hardware control signals such as CTS and RTS. IEMSI Interactive EMSI. Used to automatically logon with a Terminal program to an interactive service such as a BBS. ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network; ISDN is an application of digital technology that provides end- to-end digital service over the public communications network. ISDN was designed to integrate the transmissions from a variety of devices (computers, telephones, and fax machines) into one digital network. LAN Local Area Network. A LAN is often used to connect a number of computers at an office with each other, to make it possible to Glossary Page 51 FrontDoor User Guide share resources such as disk drives, modems, and printers. Mail packet A mail packet, or bundle, is a collection of one or more messages combined into one file for transmission. Mailer A program responsible for sending, receiving, storing, and forwarding of mail. FD is the mailer in the FrontDoor package. Modem MODulator/DEModulator; a device that transmits and receives data through a communications channel such as radio or telephone lines. It modulates, or transforms, digital signals from a computer into the analog form that can be carried successfully on a telephone line. It also demodulates signals before passing them on to the receiving computer. NetMail Mail that is sent from one person to another person, i.e. person-to-person correspondence. Network See Address Address Origin line Messages in a Conference Folder normally have an ending identification line, called Origin Line. An example of an origin line: * Origin: Definite Solutions (255:3046/1) The text in the origin line can contain any (or no) text, but it must be followed by the address of the system where the message originated. Some examples of text in an origin line: Definite Solutions - Stockholm, Sweden XYZ Corporation - Green Valley, CA, USA XYZ Corporation - John Doe in the field Parity An error-detection method that checks the validity of a transmitted character. Parity checking has been surpassed by more reliable and efficient forms of block-checking, including Xmodem-type protocols and the ARQ protocol. The same type of parity must be used by two communicating computers, or both may omit Glossary Page 52 FrontDoor User Guide parity. When parity is used, a parity bit is added to each transmitted character. The bit's value is 0 or 1, to make the total number of 1's in the character even or odd, depending on which type of parity is being used (Odd, Even, Mark, Space, None, etc). Primary The first address configured in FDSETUP Address (Global.Address.Address.Main). Primary AKA See Primary Address Protocol A system of rules and procedures governing communications between two or more devices or programs. Protocols vary, but communicating devices and programs must follow the same protocol in order to exchange data. The format of the data, readiness to receive or send, error detection, and error correction are some of the operations that may be defined as protocols. Request to A control signal line of the RS-232C standard send interface indicating that the data terminal (computer) is ready to receive data from the communications device (such as a modem). The request to send signal is used to implement hardware flow control between the data terminal and the communications device (CTS/RTS handshaking). RTS See Request to send SEAlink A sliding-windows 8-bit only file transfer protocol based on Xmodem, developed by System Enhancement Associates (SEA). Software Flow See XON/XOFF Control Start/Stop The signaling bits attached to a character before the bits character is transmitted during asynchronous transmission. Static queue A single-file database containing entries that specify files to send and fetch, as well as systems to call. By using external software, such as conference mail processors, that supports the static queue, the speed Glossary Page 53 FrontDoor User Guide of mail processing can be improved considerably. STQ See Static queue Tear line The tear line is a line located at the end of the messages, just before the origin line, and begins with three dashes (---), sometimes followed by a short program notice. This line is added by most message editors, such as FM, but is not required. Undialable A system which is listed in the FD undialable manager with three check marks (">>>") is said to be undialable; i.e. FD will not call such a system. The concept of undialable systems is intended to protect against repeated failures to establish a successful mail session with a given remote system. WAN Wide Area Network. A WAN is used to connect computers at different locations to each other. Word length The number of bits in a data character other than parity, start, or stop bits. XC See Crossposting Xmodem The first of a family of error control software protocols used to transfer files between computers. Xmodem is in the public domain and was originally designed by Ward Christensen in 1977. XON/XOFF Standard ASCII control characters used to tell an intelligent device to stop/resume transmitting data. This is often referred to as Software Flow Control. YooHoo See FTS-6 ZedZap A variant of the Zmodem file-transfer protocol. Zmodem A full streaming file-transfer protocol with optional 7-bit transparency and variable size data frames, designed and placed in the public domain by Omen Technologies, Inc. under contract for Telenet Glossary Page 54 FrontDoor User Guide Corporation. Glossary Page 55 FrontDoor User Guide APPENDIX B: KEYBOARD REFERENCE This section is intended to be a keyboard reference for FD. Some keys have corresponding menu options, while others do not. B.1 MENUS Function Keyboard sequence Programs ALT+P Utilities ALT+U Mail ALT+M Your profile ALT+Y B.2 FUNCTIONS Function Keyboard sequence Active event ALT+A DOS shell ALT+Z Keyboard, lock ALT+L Keyboard, user keys ALT+K Mail history, Inbound ALT+I Mail history, Inbound (this task only) [ML] CTRL+I Mail history, Outbound ALT+O Mail history, Outbound (this task only) [ML] CTRL+O Manager, Console services ALT+C Manager, Static queue (STQ) ALT+F9 Manager, Undialable ALT+V Modem disconnect ALT+X Modem transmit ALT+T Poll, dynamic ALT+F4 Poll, static ALT+F5 Program, Message editor ALT+P Program, Nodelist ALT+N Program, Setup ALT+M Program, Terminal ALT+U Quit ALT+Q Recent activity ALT+R Request files ALT+F2 Restart event ALT+F7 Keyboard reference Page 56 FrontDoor User Guide Send mail ALT+F3 Transmit files ALT+F1 User exit (errorlevel) ALT+D B.3 INPUT FIELDS Function Keyboard sequence Clear entire field CTRL+Y Clear field from cursor to beginning of field CTRL+HOME Clear field from cursor to end of field CTRL+END Delete character under cursor DEL (Delete) Delete word to right of cursor CTRL+W TAB AND Field navigation (multi-field entry) SHIFT+TAB Insert/Overtype mode toggle INS (Insert) Move cursor left LEFT Move cursor left one word CTRL+LEFT Move cursor right (cannot move past text) RIGHT Move cursor right one word CTRL+RIGHT Move cursor to beginning of field HOME Move cursor to end of field END B.4 OTHER Function Keyboard sequence DOS shell ALT+Z TAB AND Field navigation (multi-field entry) SHIFT+TAB Leave mailer (exit program) ALT+Q Keyboard reference Page 57 FrontDoor User Guide APPENDIX C: MOUSE SUPPORT Most commands and functions are accessed by using the keyboard. FD does, however, feature limited mouse support as outlined below. C.1 MENUS The mouse can be used to select a menu option and to move the selection bar. In the menu system, you can move between menus by clicking the LEFT mouse button when the mouse pointer is on the menu heading. Use the RIGHT mouse button to close the menu system (this is identical to pressing the ESC key). To select a menu option, double-click the LEFT mouse button when the mouse pointer is on the desired option; if the mouse pointer and selection bar are already on the desired option, a single click on the LEFT mouse button should be used. To invoke the menu system, use the LEFT and RIGHT mouse button simultaneously. If you have a 3-button mouse, you can also use the CENTER button to invoke the menu system. C.2 PROMPT DIALOGS The mouse can be used to choose a response when you are prompted by FD. Simply move the mouse pointer to the desired response and double-click the LEFT mouse button; if the mouse pointer and selection bar are already on the desired response, a single click on the LEFT mouse button should be used. If there is a Cancel option displayed in the dialog box, clicking the RIGHT mouse button will choose it and close the dialog. C.3 LISTS In other lists such as the console services manager, undialable manager, and static queue manager, the mouse can be used to select entries much like you would select a menu option using the mouse. Typically, clicking on an item in the list that is not highlighted will first highlight it, while clicking on an already highlighted item will select it. Mouse support Page 58 FrontDoor User Guide If there is a scroll bar to the right of the list, you can either click the LEFT mouse button when the mouse pointer is positioned somewhere on the actual bar, or when it is positioned on one of the arrows at the extreme ends of the bar. Mouse support Page 59 FrontDoor User Guide APPENDIX D: CONTACT INFORMATION Definite Solutions can be reached at: Postal address: Definite Solutions HB Mailbox 1012 S-112 73 Stockholm SWEDEN Telephone: +46 8 6505087 (0800-1800 CET, Mon-Fri) Fax: +46 8 6505071 BBS: +46 8 4410010 (V.34 8N1, X.75 ISDN) +46 8 4410011 (V.34 8N1, X.75 ISDN) FidoNet: 2:201/329 2:201/330 Internet: sales@defsol.se http://www.defsol.se/ Please refer to our website (above) for additional information such as the FrontDoor Developer.s Kit (FDDEV), the FrontDoor Frequently Asked Questions (FDFAQ) document, and more. Contact information Page 60 FrontDoor User Guide INDEX A Active event 22 C Conference Origin line 52 Console services 19, 28 Contact information 60 D Definite Solutions 60 DOS shell 14 F Forcing a rescan See Restart event H History See Mail history K Keyboard reference 56 Functions 56 Input fields 57 Menus 56 Other 57 L Lock keyboard 15 M Mail history 20, 21 Menus Functions 56 Keyboard reference 56 Mail 19 Index Page 61 FrontDoor User Guide Mouse support 58 Programs 12 User Interface Level 8, 25 Utilities 15 WFC 12 Your profile 23 Mouse support 58 N NAMES.FD 45 Notations FDSETUP options 7 Version 7 O Origin line 52 P Polling 18, 33 Prompt dialog Mouse support 58 R Recent activity 21 Request files 17, 42 Restart event 22 S Semaphore indicators 11 NoAnswer 23 NoExit 24 NoPickup 25 NoUser 24 PrintMsg 23 UnDial 22 Send files See Transmit files Send mail 17, 33 Specifying addresses 44 Static queue 19, 32, 35, 41, 42 Polling 18 Index Page 62 FrontDoor User Guide T Transmit files 16, 41 U UIL 8 Undialable 22, 26 User keys 14 W Waiting for a call or event 9 WFC 9 Menus 12 Z ZedZap 54 Index Page 63