1X !" gMail 1.0 - May 7, 1991 page -  gMail, version 1.1 a Crosstalk for Windows script to automate PCBoard, MarkMail, and QMail connections Guy J Gallo, CIS 71171,3555 Introduction gMail is a script that can be attached to your Crosstalk for Windows phone book to automate logon and message processing. It was designed for users who regularly download mail packets, or QWK files, from doorways on PCBoard network (InterLink or SmartNet) nodes. However, it can also be used to logon and automatically process any command when logon is complete, such as scanning for or downloading a specific file, opening a specific door, or joining a conference. It has an option to automatically logoff when message or command processing is complete. You can even automatically load your message reader. gMail can be run in several ways: as a script attached to a function key, either online or offline, and as the logon script to a specific phone book entry. These different methods of invoking gMail will be discussed below, after a general discussion of the options available. gMail is distributed as ShareWare. If you continue to use it after a reasonable trial period, please register. You can print a registration from by double clicking on the boxed "Print Registration" paragraph above. Price $10 registration, $5.00 for source code password, and $5.00 if you require a floppy disk. Installation gMail is distributed as a compiled Crosstalk for Windows script (an XWC file; for information on obtaining the source code, please see the registration section of this file). Simply copy it to your XWS directory. As configured, gMail will run without modifications, however you will wish to alter some of it's defaults. some of it's defaults To get an idea of what gMail does, copy it to your directory, execute it from the Scripts menu of Crosstalk for Windows, examine the dialog box, and return to this document for a discussion of the various options. NOTE: before the script can be run properly, you must make sure that the name of the Crosstalk for Windows phone book is the same as the official network name for this board. Every board has a name by which it is known on the net -- for instance, The Invention Factory is known by INV-FAC, and The Executive Network is known by EXECNET. gMail uses the phone book name when it executes a transfer of a message packet, or when it looks in the download directory for replies. The name it assumes is this Network moniker. If you have not named your phone book with the Network name, then uploading replies will not happen (For instance, if the phone book is INVENT, gMail will look for INVENT.REP -- and what will actually be there is INV-FAC.REP.) The Main Dialog Box When you run gMail without any parameters, you will see the following dialog box at the upper left of the Crosstalk for Windows screen: The dialog box has two main sections: Mail Options and Post Mail Options. I will discuss these first. Mail Options The first three Mail Options specify precisely what you wish gMail to do once it logs onto the board. The choices are fairly self-evident: Mail and Replies enters the mail door, download messages, and uploads replies if any. Mail Only downloads messages, and does not upload replies, even if a reply packet exists. Replies Only will upload, if it exists, a REP packet. Configure mail door The third option Configure mail door, if checked, will take you into the mail door, and execute the command found in the edit box below this option, that is, the key sequence specified in the box to the right of /C: /C: [Command] By default this Configure command is simply C. You can, however, create a longer string: for instance C | P | Would invoke the configure screen for Qmail, send a carriage return, and then send a P to invoke the Protocols screen. The upright bar in this string represents the carriage return. (This is a convention in Crosstalk for Windows, not a convention specific to gMail.) No Mail processing This option is the default, and is used if you wish to log onto a PCBoard BBS and do no mail processing at all. Used in combination with other options, it can automate downloading files, joining conferences, and executing file searches. Post Mail Options There are two options that can be set in order to execute a main PCBoard command either immediately (if No Mail Processing is selected) or after processing mail in the mail door. Do Main Board Command /DO This check box specifies whether or not the command found in the /D: edit box will be executed when mail processing is complete. /D: [Command] This edit box contains the command itself. But default the DO command is "N S U", which is the PCBoard command to scan for new files since the last time you logged onto the board. There are two options that control whether or not gMail will automatically load your mail reader. Launch Mail Reader /LR This is a check box. If it is checked then the program listed below will be loaded when gMail completes execution. By default this is unchecked (off). /R: [ReaderName] The name of the reader to execute. By default this is WINQWK.EXE. Log off when complete /LO If this box is checked, the gMail will log off of the bulletin board after all mail processing (and command processing if /DO is checked) is complete, By default, gMail will not log off. Other options: Board, Door Command, and Iconize This leaves three other options, found outside the two main boxes, to describe. Calling /B: This is the name of the board you are calling. By default this is INV-FAC (my home board). If you do not have a phone book named INV-FAC then you must change this either by entering the name of your mail board manually, or by using the command line parameter (see below). Iconize /I This is a check box that tells gMail whether or not to reduce Crosstalk for Windows to an Icon while processing requests. By default it is off Mail door command /DR: [DoorCommand] This edit box specifies the command required by the host board for opening the mail door. By default this is QMail4 (the mail door on INV-FAC). You must change this to the appropriate command, either by typing the command into the dialog box, or by using the command line parameter (see below). This is particularly important if you home board uses MarkMail instead of Qmail for processing mail packets. Changing Defaults, Changing Options Several of the above options are hard coded into the compiled script for gMail. For instance, the door command is hard coded as "QMAIL4", and the Board name (the default if the script is run while off line), is "INV-FAC", and the default DO command is "N S U". There are two ways to change these defaults without having to type your preferences into the dialog box. One way is to order the source code and make the modifications directly into gMail. This should only be attempted by people comfortable with CASL programming. For instructions on obtaining the source code, please see the README.1ST file, or the registration section of this document. Furthermore, modifying the source code is not necessary to change the defaults. All of the default options can be altered with command line parameters. In the dialog box above you will notice that each of the options has a one or two character command, in capitals, next to the text description: /MR or /DO or /D: These are the command line parameters that gMail can accept when invoked either as the logon script, or as a script attached to a function key, or run directly form the Action.Script menu. What follows is a discussion of each of these command line parameters. Command Line Syntax gMail uses a command line syntax (which you've undoubtedly seen in many DOS programs). It takes the generalized form: gMail [] The "switch character", that is, the character that marks the beginning of a parameter, is "/". This is the only switch character supported. The possible command line options are: Mode (Automatic or Manual) /Auto gMail will process all requests specified on the command line without user confirmation or intervention. /Ask [Default] gMail will present a dialog box listing the current options, and ask for user confirmation. This dialog box will appear either 1) once logon is complete (if gMail is the Logon script and you used Action.Dial or Action.Connect to begin dialing) or 2) before the connect attempt begins if you ran gMail while offline (examples will follow). NOTE : if you do not specify /ASK or /AUTO or /NM (see below), then the default will be /ASK. Options /MR Specifies that you wish to do both waiting mail and to send any reply packets found on your disk. MailReplies. /MO Specifies that you wish to do only waiting mail. MailOnly. /RO Specifies that you wish to do only replies (if they exist). RepliesOnly. /NM [Default] Specifies that you do not want to do any mail processing at all. This can be used in conjunction with the /X: parameter to process files (see below). NoMail. /DR:DoorCommand This parameter is required if you are doing mail. It specifies the command you would issue to open the mail door. For example /DR:OPEN 8 /DR:QMAIL4 /O Specifies that after processing all requests, gMail should terminate the connection automatically. LogOut. /DO Specifies that after processing all mail requests, gMail should remain connected and process the command listed in the /D: parameter. /D:Command Specifies the PCBoard command to be executed under either of two conditions: 1) you have specified /NM and /DO on the command line (or the dialog box). In this case the command will be executed as soon as logon is completed 2) you have specified /DO on the command line in conjunction with one of the mail options (/MR,/MO,/RO) For example, the command line-- /MR /DO /D:Z WINDOWS U /O /DR:OPEN 8 --logon onto the current phone book, open door 8 and process both waiting mail and waiting replies, remain online, return to PCBoard, execute a search for all files containing "windows" in the description in the upload directory, and then logoff. The command: /NM /D:D GMAIL.ZIP /O --would connect to the current phone book, download the file GMAIL.ZIP, then logoff. It would do no mail processing. "N S U" is the default ExecCommand /LR Specifies whether or not you wish gMail to automatically load your mail reader at the end of the session. Default is off. /R:ReaderCommand Specifies the command line required to load your mail reader. For example: D:\ARC\WINQWK C:\WIN\PIF\EZ.PIF Default is "WINQWK.EXE" Note: if the full path to your reader is longer than the available space in gMail's edit box, it is recommended that you place it in a directory on your PATH, in which case you can call it simply with the program name rather than the full path plus the program name. /CO This option allows you to re-configure the mail door. If this option is on the command line, gMail will open the mail door and go directly to the configure screen. It will continue executing until you return to the mail prompt (by manually selecting Q after configuring). When you return to the mail prompt, you will be presented with the main gMail dialog box for further instructions. /C:ConfigureCommand This parameter allows you to specify the command required to access the configure section of the mail door. By default it is "C". /I This option tells gMail to iconize the Crosstalk for Windows application window after making a connection (or after the dialog box has been closed if you logged on in /ASK mode). Default is off. /B:BoardName This option specifies the name of the phonebook to load and call if you execute the script directly while offline. That is, if you have the following command attached to a function key in your NORMAL.XWP @gMail /ASK/MR/O/B:INV-FAC/DR:OPEN 8 And then execute it, gMail will first load the phone book INV-FAC.XWP, then present you with the main dialog box before attempting a connection. Default is "INV-FAC" (my home board). As a Session.Script (Online operation) gMail can be used as the logon script. It makes the following assumptions about the organization of your phone book: -- UserID contains both your first and last name. -- Password contains your password for this board. -- NetID is not used. For example, below is a screen shot of a phone book that would use gMail to log on, process mail automatically through door 8, and then log off. As a Function Key Script (OffLine and OnLine operation) gMail can also be used as an script attached to a function key (via Setup.Session.Function Keys). There are two ways in which a function key might be used. OffLine: If you execute gMail from a function key offline, be sure that it contains a /B:BoardName parameter. The reason for this is that gMail automatically loads the phone book named in the /B: parameter if it is not already online. If you don't specify this parameter, gMail will attempt to load the default (INV-FAC.XWP) before doing anything else. OnLine: If you are already online, then the /B: parameter is ignored. This allows you to create any number of specifically tailored function key calls to gMail to perform various tasks after you are online. For example, below is a screen shot of the Setup.Session.Function Keys dialog box with several different usages of gMail: When invoked by a function key before logging in, the script will prompt for options and dial a specified bbs. If already online, the script can be used to automate the mail collection and distribution process. Examples Here are some example command lines and a description of what they will do: gMail /ASK or gMail Since the command line does not begin with @, this command line only makes sense installed as the logon script attached to a specific phone book. As a result it does not require /B:BoardName. After making a connection to the board, it would log on, sending your UserID (first and last name), your Password, and then prompt you for further instructions. @gMail /MR /O /B:EXEC /I Since this command line is prefaced with a @, it is an offline command attached to a function key. It would load the phone book named "EXEC", dial the number, iconize Crosstalk for Windows once connected, open door 8 (the default since no /DOOR:DoorCommand was specified), and process all mail, then log off. @gMail /Auto /Do /D:z windows u This is a function key use of the script. Since it does not specify a board name (with /B:) it would call INV-FAC (the default) if executed OffLine, or, if Online already, it would automatically go to the main board prompt and search for all windows files in the upload directory. Since /O is not specified, it would not log off when done. @gMail /NM /D:D GMAIL.ZIP /O /B:EXEC /I Another function key command, this one would load the phone book "EXEC", Iconize upon connect, download the file GMAIL.ZIP, and then log off. NOTE: In order for the above command to work properly the transfer protocol on EXEC must already be set to one of the batch protocols (Zmodem or Ymodem/Batch). This is because the /X:ExecCommand does not explicitly issue a Send or Receive command. By contrast, mail processing will use whatever protocol you wish, since it is explicitly sending and receiving files of a specified name. gMail /AUTO /RO /DO /D:D NEWFILE.ZIP /O /DR:OPEN 2 This command is a Session Script (so it does not need a /B: specification). It would call the current phone book, automatically go to door 2 and upload a reply packet (if one exists), stay online and return to PCBoard, download the file "NEWFILE.ZIP", and then log off. Mail Packet Management Location Assumptions gMail assumes that all QWK and REP files are stored in the DirFil directory. This directory is specified in the Setup.System.Transfers and Captures edit box (and is stored in WIN.INI under [XTALK] next to the DirFil= keyword: [XTALK] DirFil=D:\ARC Phone book naming assumptions It is assumed that the name of the phone book is the same as the official mail packet name. For instance, The Invention Factory is known, on the networks, as INV-FAC. Therefore, the phone book entry used to call The Invention Factory must be named INV-FAC. The Executive Network's phone book must be named EXECNET. This board name/phone book name is used by gMail when it downloads messages or uploads replies. When gMail initiates a download, it gives the command "receive BoardName+"QWK"; similarly, when it looks for a reply packet, it looks in the DirFil directory for a file named BoardName+"REP". gMail creates this name from the currently loaded phone book, and appends the appropriate file extension. Reply files If you select either MailReplies (/MR) or RepliesOnly (/RO), then gMail will enter mail processing, search the DirFil directory for any REP files, and upload them. If the upload is successful, the REP packet will be deleted. If the upload is not successful, the REP file will remain on disk. NOTE: selecting /RO or /MR when you do not have any reply files to send to the board will have no ill affect. Message Packets When gMail processes new message packets, it first searches the DirFil directory to determine if a QWK file from the current board already exists. If it does, it renames the current QWK file. This way you always have two generations of QWK files. For instance, if the board you are calling is named INV-FAC, the last mail packet you downloaded will be named INV-FAC.QWK. If you call a second time, the current INV-FAC.QWK will be renamed 1NV-FAC.QWK before downloading the new packet. When you open you mail reader you will see two INV-FAC.QWK files: 1NV-FAC.QWK INV-FAC.QWK If you already have two generations of QWK files and begin a transfer of a third packet, the first generation will be renamed (temporarily) and then deleted when the transfer is successful. If the transfer of the new packet (third generation in this example) is aborted or fails, the temporary file will be preserved, and your original two generations of QWK files will remain on disk. Mail Transfer Protocols gMail will use whichever protocol you currently have set in the Setup.Session.Protocol screen. It does not need to be a "batch" protocol for the transfer of mail packets to proceed automatically. This is because mail processing is done with explicit Send and Receive commands. File Transfers Protocols You can specify a file download as the ExecCommand (using the /X:ExecCommand parameter). But you should be aware that unlike a mail packet transfer, this file transfer will NOT be controlled by gMail. Therefore, you must have your protocol set, on both the host board and in Crosstalk for Windows, to one of the batch protocols. These protocols begin the transfer automatically, without requiring you to enter the name of the file being downloaded. Automatic file uploads will be supported in a later version of gMail. Qmail Options Below are the settings for Qmail4 assumed by gMail: Options 1. D/L your replies................ ON 9. Send the DeLuxe menu...... ON 2. D/L packets without msgs........ OFF 10. Send SESSION.TXT.......... OFF 3. Logoff after uploading replies.. OFF 11. Use extended prompts...... ON 4. Send the WELCOME screen......... OFF 12. Delay prompts one second.. ON 5. Send the system NEWS............ OFF 13. Clear keyboard buffer..... OFF 6. Scan for new BULLETINS.......... OFF 14. Enable "QwikStart"........ ON 7. Scan for new FILES.............. ON 15. Repeat scanning........... OFF 8. Send the GOODBYE screen......... OFF 16. Replace @variables........ OFF The significant options as far as gMail is concerned are 3, 9, 11, 12 and 14. they must be set to ON. Support Electronic addresses I can be reached on the following electronic services: CompuServe, via E-Mail. 71171,3555 The Invention Factory Main Board The SmartNet or InterLink Windows conferences Bug reports gMail originated as a script for MarkMail. It still contains the necessary navigational commands for MarkMail doors. However, this latest version was most rigorously tested on a QMail4 board. If you encounter problems using gMail with either MarkMail or QMail3, please capture a session of your normal mail procedure to disk and mail either the disk or hard copy to the address below (or upload to CIS), with a description of the problems you encounter. I will try to incorporate accommodations in future releases. Release History 1.0 - May 6, 1991 First public release. 1.1 - May 13, 1991 Added additional support for customized PCBoards Removed the /NA: command. It should no longer be necessary Minor bug fixes: Fixed logic for logging off after completing a /Do/D:ExecCommand Changed SOURCE.ZIP to SOURCE.EXE. This self extracting zipfile is encrypted and requires a password. The password is available for an additional $5.00 registration fee Registration gMail is not free. If you continue to use it after a reasonable trial period, you must register. Pricing: 10.00 for registration 5.00 for the password needed to unlock the source code zip file 5.00 for shipping of a disk, if you require one. gMail 1.1 Registration Guy Gallo 219 East 69th New York, NY 10021 [ ] Registration only (no disk) 10.00 [ ] Request password for source code 5.00 [ ] Request disk of latest version [ ] 5.25 [ ] 3.25 5.00 NYS Sales Tax (if appropriate) Total enclosed: NAME: COMPANY: STREET: CITY: STATE, ZIP: Electronic address: Where did you get gMail? COMMENTS: gMail is copyright 1991, by Guy J. Gallo. No portion of this document or gMail may be modified, copied, distributed or otherwise altered without the express written permission of the author. This includes, but is not limited to, distributing the package for a fee. set in the Setup.Session.Protocol screen. It does not need to be a "batchwrnjf7bG^LZVRpN<>@ puwsokgc_[WSD OY K Y h wm s o k g c, _? [ W S O K w5s okgc_[WSOrK rws o kg=cU_[WSOIK Idwso kg'c[_[WSOK wqso5k\gc_[#W]SbO>K >UwZsokY g] c _ [ W S6!OH!K H!M!w!s!oC"kI"gp"cu"_"[ #W#S#O#K ##w#s$o($k$g$c]%_}%[%W%S%O%K %&&w+&sz&o&k'g$(c.)_G)[)W)S)O)K ) *w*sg*o{*k*g*cV+_[+[,W,S{,O,K ,x-w}-s-o-k?.gE.cW._\.[ /W/S/O0K 0'0w,0s0o0k0g0c1_1[1W92S>2O2K 22w3s3o3k3g3c24_84[4W4S 5O5K 55w5s5o5kT6gY6cn7_z7[7W7SV9Or9K r9:w:s%<oP<k<g<c;=_B=[g>W>S?O?K ??w?s@o@kAg.Ac9A_:A[[AW]ASnBOsBK sBBwBshComCkCgCc$D_)D[EWESEOEK EGwGsfIoIkIgJcJ_zK[KWLSLOLK LLwMsMo MkOgOcO_O[PWPSPOPK PPwQsQoRkRgTcT_T[UWUSUO VK  VVwVrVnViWeW`JW\LWXcWTeWOyWK VK  yW~WwWsWnWjWfWbW^XZcWTeWOyWK VK   X5"P!" P!"<P!XX5%55575E5G5"P!"@ P!GXXXXXXX5"P!"P!X55s5u5L5N5 5"P!"P! \ X^ 5B "P!"=P!"P!B D XY 5[ "P!"P!"P![ X X X" X X X 5!"8P!"P! X* X, X? 5 X X 5!"P!"P!? X X 5? 5 X X 5!"P!"pP! X X 5? 5 X X 5!"P!"pP! X X55? 5 X X 5!"P!"pP!5XX5? 5 X X 5!"P!"pP!XXXX5 X 5!"P!"pP!XXX55 X 5!"8P!"pP!pXrX555 X 5!"P!"P!XX 555 X 5!"P!"pP! XX;5=55 X 5!"P!"pP!=UX55=55 X 5!"pP!"P!XG5I5=55 X 5!"pP!"P!IdX55#5%5'5 5!"pP!"P!'YX[X5#5%5'5 5!"P!"8P!XX55%5'5 5!"pP!"P!Xo5q55%5'5 5!"pP!"P!qX)5+5553555!"pP!"P!57X\Xc5e55555"P!"P!X0X2XXX:X<X>X"P!"P!>SXUX55X:X<X>X"P!"P!XX{ 5} 5 5 5<X>X"P!"@ P! X X 5} 5 5 5<X>X"P!"8P! 6!X8!5H!5} 5 5 5<X>X"P!"pP!H!"X"X"X#5 #5 5<X>X"8P!"pP! # #X#X#5#5 #5 5<X>X"pP!"P!##X#X#5#5 #5 5<X>X"pP!"P!##X#X$5$5 #5 5<X>X"pP!"P!$($X$5$"P!"pP!"P!$$X]%5_%"@ P!"pP!"P!_%k%Xw%Xy%5}%5@ P!"P!"@ P!}%%X%5%5}%5@ P!"P!"pP!%z&X|&5&5}%5@ P!"P!"pP!&&X&5n'5p'5'5P!"phP!"pP!''X'X'X$(X&(X)X )X.)X0)XG)XI)X)X)X!"@ P! ))X)Xg*5$(X&(X)X )X.)X0)X"pP!"P!g*i*X{*X*5$(X&(X)X )X.)X0)X"pP!"P!**X*X*X*X+X +X,X,50)X"P!"@ P!,,X-5-"P!"pP!"P!--X?.5A."P!"pP!"P!A.E.X /5 /"P!"pP!"P! //X/5/"@ P!"pP!"P!/0X0X0X0X0X050505"P!"@ P!00X%1X'1Xv1X15151505"pP!"P!11X2X2X2X2X251505"P!"P!23Xd3Xf3X3X35351505"8P!"P!3 5X 55553X35351505"8P!"pP!55X55\65^656565n7505"P!"pP!n7p7Xz7X|75756565n7505"P!"8P!77X7X758585V95n7505"pP!"P!V9X9Xr9Xt9595:5V95n7505"pP!"P!::X:X%<595:5V95n7505"pP!"P!%<'<XP<X<5<5g>5V95n7505"pP!"P!g>i>X>X?5<5g>5V95n7505"pP!"P!??X?X?X?5?5V95n7505"8P!"P!??X@X@5@5?5V95n7505"@ P!"P!@@XAX]A5_A5AB5CB5B505"P!"8P!BBXC5C"8P!"P!"P!CCXD5D5D5D5 E5E5E5"P!"8P!EEXEXUF5WF5G5G5G5E5"P!"8P!GGXGXG5H5H5fI5G5E5"P!"@ P!fIhIXIXGJ5IJ5J5fI5G5E5"P!"8P!JJXJX|L5~L5L5fI5G5E5"P!"8P!LLXLX M5~L5L5fI5G5E5"P!"P! MMXfM5M5N5QN5N5N5=O5"0P!"=P!=OOXO5O5N5QN5N5N5=O5"P!"0P!OOXPXP5N5QN5N5N5=O5"P!"P!POPXtPXPXPXP5P5N5=O5"P!"P!PQXQXRXR5R5P5N5=O5"P!"P!RSXSX0SXbSXSXSXSXTX"P!"P!TTXT5T5T5SXSXSXTX"P!"=P!TTXT5U5U5%U5SXSXTX"P!"P!%U,UXHUXQUXUXUXUXU5TX"@ @ P!"pP!UUXU5U5 V5UXUXU5TX"P!"pP! V"VXIVXKVXwVXyVXVXVXVXVXP!"P! VVXWX WXWXWX*WX,WX;WX=WXLWXNWXeWXgWXWX"P!WWXWXW5W5W5W5W5W5=WX"P!"P!WWXWXWXWXWXXXXXW5=WX"P!"P!f=/2!;(P!6X7X585V95n7505"pP!"P! & "V(/6 c? H Q YUP!"P! Tms Rmn Helv 0CourierV95n7505"pP!"P!