ELECTRONIC MAIL BASIC MANUAL Manufacturers Hanover Leasing Corporation Technical Services February, 1982 Technical Services ii. MM, the Electronic Mail program for TOPS-20, was developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University, and is used with the permission of the developers. Technical Services iii. TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE iv. INTRODUCTION v. A FEW SPECIAL FUNCTION KEYS BEFORE YOU BEGIN 1. What you must know before you begin STARTING MM 2. How to run Electronic Mail TOP LEVEL 3. HOW TO READ AND DELETE TOP LEVEL MESSAGE SEQUENCES 5. TO FOLLOW MM>READ OR MM>DELETE HEADERS 6. What they are; how they help MORE TOP LEVEL MESSAGE SEQUENCES 7. TO FOLLOW MM>HEADERS TOP LEVEL "HELP" 8. Help if you get stuck at Top Level READ MODE 10. Commands for after you've read a message READ MODE "HELP" 11. Help if you get stuck while in Read Mode SENDING MAIL 12. SENDING MAIL FROM TOP LEVEL SENDING MAIL AFTER READING A MESSAGE FORWARDING A MESSAGE 14. REPLYING TO A MESSAGE 15. SEND MODE EDIT KEYS 16. For editing your message while writing it A FEW TIPS 17. EXIT, OR HOW TO GET OUT 18. Exiting MM SECURITY 19. A word about your password WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW 20. A review; test yourself SAMPLE SITUATIONS 21. Technical Services iv. PREFACE This manual is intended to introduce you to Electronic Mail and get you started using it. We anticipate you will be able to use the basic features presented here within minutes after reading about them, and that, moreover, (and perhaps to even your own surprise), you will soon be interested in learning about more. (However, we recommend you become adept at using the basic features presented here before trying to move on.) Electronic Mail is easy; it is a time saver; and it's fun. This manual will cover the few basic steps you need to know in order to read and send mail. In addition, after reading a message, you may want to delete it (to clean out your mailbox), reply to it, forward it to other Electronic Mail users, or flag it for your own special attention. We will show you how to do these simple tasks, too. (If we taught you nothing else, you would find Electronic Mail to be among the most effective time saving devices in your day. Even so, in future manuals, we will show you how to use features of Electronic Mail to stop a mail session and continue where you left off, create special files for saving incoming and outgoing mail, customize the way in which your mail file behaves, and more.) We will show you how even if you get stuck while issuing an Electronic Mail command, there is a built-in "Help" feature that will let you help yourself. We will show you how to leave Electronic Mail in a section called EXIT, OR HOW TO GET OUT. We will discuss briefly the security features built in to this system (safeguards to protect the privacy of your mail). Finally, we will give examples that will simulate the various simple jobs you will be doing with Electronic Mail after reading this manual, so that you can refer to them when you are doing your own work. (You will be surprised, however, at how soon you will be able to work with Electronic Mail on your own, i.e. without this manual.) Technical Services v. INTRODUCTION WHAT IS ELECTRONIC MAIL? (AND WHY DO I NEED IT?) Electronic Mail, (we refer to our version as "MM"), is, on its most basic level, your way of communicating with all other users of Electronic Mail. The next time you want to write a letter to someone who also is an Electronic Mail user, you can send him a message with Electronic Mail. The next time you want to telephone someone who also is an Electronic Mail user, you can send him a message with Electronic Mail (and you need not be concerned with the difficulty of different time zones; the message can be sent during your working hours, and read on the other end during his). The next time you want to communicate some information to more than one person, you can send them a message with Electronic Mail and not have to duplicate the message or type it more than once. On the receiving end, messages tend to be shorter and more to the point, letters will not clutter your work space with paper, and, most significantly, you do not need to be in your office to receive and read your mail! Once you've learned how to do the few simple steps in this manual, you can access your mail file from most any terminal, anywhere in the world. A FEW SPECIAL FUNCTION KEYS Before teaching you how to enter the Electronic Mail System and read and send messages once you're there, we want to bring your attention to a list of Special Function Keys that MM understands. These keys will perform certain functions for you in Electronic Mail. You should read them over and keep them by your side. In short time, you will understand them and know them by heart. TERMINAL KEY FUNCTION ------------ -------- RETURN The key on your keyboard marked RETURN is to be struck after typing commands. It will "enter" the command you have just typed. The RETURN key is also used when you are reading more than one message. When you have finished reading the first message you requested to see, you will see a prompt that looks like this: R>. Striking the RETURN key will allow you to see the next message in a sequence. And so on. Technical Services vi. TERMINAL KEY FUNCTION ------------ -------- ESCAPE The ESCAPE key, labeled ESC on your keyboard, is an "assistance" command. It will (1) finish typing a command if you have already typed enough to distinguish it from any other command (e.g. if you have typed "del" after an Electronic Mail prompt, striking the ESCAPE key will cause "ete" to appear to complete the command "delete"). It will (2) cause a phrase to print out that will advise you about what the computer expects from you next. If the terminal beeps, you have not typed enough to make your intention clear. (In the intermediate manual on Electronic Mail, you will learn that the ESCAPE key is also one of the keys you will use to end the text of a message you want to send. However, you should not be concerned with this function of ESCAPE here.) "CONTROL-keys" All CONTROL keys, such as those listed below, are typed by holding down the key marked CTRL while striking the letter key indicated. CONTROL-U CONTROL-U will erase the line you are working with. If, for instance, you have given a command and change your mind, CONTROL-U will erase that command (given that you have not yet "entered" the command by hitting RETURN). CONTROL-O Typing a CONTROL-O will suppress terminal output. A second CONTROL-O will restore terminal output. This is useful if you want your terminal to print out the next message without waiting for it to print out the current one. The computer can finish with the current one much faster if it doesn't have to mechanically print it out. CONTROL-B If some terminal output takes up more than one screenful, typing CONTROL-B will print out the next screenful. You will know there is more than the current screenful to a message, because the terminal will beep. (Note: Occasionally even messages on paper terminals, where there is no screen limitation, will stop. CONTROL-B will work to give you the rest of the message here, too.) CONTROL-Z Typing a CONTROL-Z after typing in a message, sends it to the people you have named in the To: and CC: lists in your message. Unlike the ESCAPE method of sending your message, however, it does not allow for afterthoughts, such as adding more text to the message, or cancelling the message. For right now, this is the key you should use when you want to send the message you have just typed. Technical Services vii. NOTE In the text, all instructions are printed in red. In the examples: all items you should type are in green; all items the computer will type are in black; all "Notes" are in red. Technical Services 1. BEFORE YOU BEGIN 1. You must know how to make contact with the computer. (Electronic Mail is just another computer program. You must be able to make contact with the computer before you can use it to run Electronic Mail, just as you must make contact with the computer before you can run any other program. See TERMINAL USERS MANUAL for a thorough discussion of accessing the computer.) In all cases you must be at Command level so that you can log in. You know you're at Command level because your prompt looks like this: @. 2. Log in. (A discussion of how to log in for Geonet and Dial-up users, alike, is in your Terminal Users Manual.) 3. You must know the user name (or user I.D.) of those people to whom you wish to send messages. (For a list of user names, type HELP USERS after either the prompt @ or the prompt MM>. Remember, if the list of user I.D.'s is more than one screenful on your video terminal, the terminal will beep. Typing a CONTROL-B will let you see the next screen.) 4. You must have been given a user name (of the form J.JONES). (If you were handed this manual, it is assumed that you were.) Technical Services 2. STARTING MM It is assumed you have gained access to the computer and have logged in. You are presented with the Command level prompt @. The prompt @ awaits your command. You can now run whatever program you want. The program you want to run is called Electronic Mail, or MM. 1. After the prompt @, type this: MM 2. Hit the key marked RETURN You will receive a printout on your terminal that looks like this: MHLC Electronic Mail System MM Version 1H(705) F 4 26-Jan D.SMITH Ribbons (250 chars) N 5 30-Jan J.JONES Cables update (212 chars) Last read: 29-Jan-82 14:44:26, 5 msgs, 2 pages 1 message unseen MM> Now, what have we come upon here? The computer has given you a status report on your mailbox. It begins by telling you that you have entered the Electronic Mail System. The next line tells you that at some time in the past you flagged (F) a message (message #4) which was sent on the 26th of January, from D. Smith on the subject of "Ribbons," and the message was 250 characters long. (You flagged that message, by the way, because you wanted to be reminded of it and you knew -- because we're telling you so here -- that that message, and all other flagged messages, would be displayed every time you entered MM. Incidentally, the flag is removed by either deleting the message or unflagging it, but don't worry about flagging, unflagging, and deleting now; we'll get to these later.) The next line tells you there is one new (N) message (sent to you since you last started MM). It is message #5, was sent on January 30, by J. Jones, is about cables update, and is 212 characters long. So, whenever you enter Electronic Mail, you will see a "header line" for all messages that are either flagged or new. The next line tells you the last time you started MM (January 29, 1982, at 14:44:26, or 2:44:26 pm, since the computer uses a 24-hour clock), the number of messages in your mailbox (5), and the number of "computer pages" these 5 messages take up, (2). The next line tells you there is one message unseen, which does not mean that it is new. It means it has been there, but you have never read it. Technical Services 3. TOP LEVEL Notice that you have been left with a new prompt MM>. This prompt MM> is the Electronic Mail prompt, because, as we said, you have passed from Command level and are now in Electronic Mail (MM). (Again: you did this when you typed MM after the Command level prompt @ and hit RETURN. Recall the man with the keys in AN ANALOGY TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND.) When you are at MM>, you are at "Top Level" of Electronic Mail. HOW TO READ AND DELETE If, at this time, you wanted to read all your new mail, you could do the following: 1. After MM>, type this: Read 2. Hit the RETURN key You would receive on your terminal the oldest message which is either unseen or new. On a paper terminal, the entire message will print out. On a video terminal, the message will print out one screenful at a time. If a message is more than one screenful long, the terminal will beep. Hitting CONTROL-B (one of your Special Function Keys) will give you the next screenful. For both paper and video terminals, hitting the RETURN key (another Special Function Key) will show you the next message. When you are at the last of your unseen and new messages, hitting RETURN will return you to Top Level, and you will see the prompt MM>. It is important for your further understanding for us to mention here why Electronic Mail gave you your unseen and/or new messages when all you said was "Read." Recall that MM> is your "prompt." It awaits your "command." "Read" was your command. Many commands require what is called an "argument" (the specifics of your command: "Read what?" "Read something"). If you had typed "Read New," (which is to say, "Read My New Messages"), the "New" would have been your argument (the answer to "Read what?"). If a command, such as "Read," requires an argument and you don't give it one (in other words, you default on your responsibility to supply the "argument") the computer will make an assumption about what you meant to say and will fulfill your command based on that assumption. The assumption it makes when you default is called the "default value." The default value for "Read" happens to be "New." So when you type "Read" as your command, and default on giving an argument, the computer assumed you meant "Read New," and that is the command to which it responds: it prints out the messages that are new and/or unseen (messages that have been there but you have never read). Be sure you understand the terms "prompt," "command," "argument," and "default value." Can you give an example of each? Technical Services 4. Suppose, now, you knew precisely what message you wanted to read, (old or new), and you knew its number. (We will show you how you can find out this information on page 6.) You could use the number as the argument. You could do this: 1. After MM>, type this: Read 10 2. Hit the RETURN key You would receive on your terminal message number 10. Similarly, if you knew at this time (having entered Electronic Mail and being at MM>) what message you wanted to delete, and its number, you could use "delete" as the command, (instead of "read"), and again use the number as the argument. You could do this: 1. After MM>, type this: Delete 10 2. Hit the RETURN key You would receive on your terminal confirmation that message number 10 has been marked for deletion. Note: All messages marked for deletion are automatically expunged at the time you log out or exit Electronic Mail. Thus, it is recommended that you consider and mean "erase" when you type "delete." Should you change your mind after typing "delete," type CONTROL-U, instead of hitting RETURN in Step 2, above. (See CONTROL-U under A FEW SPECIAL FUNCTION KEYS, above.) Suppose you wanted to read (or delete) more than one message and you didn't want to call them up one at a time. You could do this: 1. After MM>, type this: Read 10,12,13:15,17 2. Hit the RETURN key Here the argument is "10, 12, 13:15, 17". The messages that would print out would be message numbers 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 17. Note that 13:15 means 13 through 15, inclusive. This argument is called a "message sequence." Not all message sequences are stated numerically. On the following page, for your review, is a list of Message sequences, including those already covered, that may be used as arguments for "Read" and "Delete." Technical Services 5. TOP LEVEL MESSAGE SEQUENCES TO FOLLOW MM>READ OR MM>DELETE Message Sequence MM>Read or MM>Delete For Argument Command Pertains To: ---------------- -------------------- (Default = "Unseen/New" All unseen and/or new messages with MM>read or or "Last") Last message with MM>delete All All messages, old and new (your entire mailbox) Since 5-Jan-82 All messages since the day or date specified, as in examples at left Since Monday Since Today Before 5-Jan-82 All messages before the day or date specified, as in examples at left Before Tuesday Before Yesterday 10 The message whose number is typed after "Read" or "Delete," as message "10," in example to left 13:15 All messages from the left-hand number to the right-hand number, inclusive, as messages "13," "14," and "15" in the example at left 10,12,13:15,17 Any combination of the above two examples. Once again, heed the caution about "delete" in the "Note" above. A QUICK SUMMARY 1. You get into Electronic Mail by typing MM after the prompt @ and hitting the RETURN key. The terminal will print out a mailbox summary and a new prompt MM>. 2. Follow MM> by typing Read and an argument (to read), or Delete and an argument (to delete). There is a list of message sequences that can be used as the argument. The default value arguments for "Read" are "New" and/or "Unseen" and for "Delete" is "Last." Technical Services 6. HEADERS Suppose you are at top level of MM, but you are not sure of what is in your mailbox, or the number of a certain message you would like to read. On command, the computer will create a "header line," or "header," (a brief synopsis), for each message or message sequence in your file. You can locate the desired message and identify its number by examining these headers. The command to create these header lines is called the "Headers" command. 1. After MM>, type this: Headers All 2. Hit the RETURN key (Note that here "MM>" is your prompt, "Headers" is your command, and "All" is your argument.) You will get a printout on your terminal which looks like this: 1 24-Jan J.JONES Cables in LA (216 chars) AD 2 25-Jan N.PETERS Lunch date (480 chars) U 3 26-Jan A.JOHNSON Stamford WP (300 chars) F 4 26-Jan D.SMITH Ribbons (250 chars) N 5 30-Jan J.JONES Cables update (212 chars) MM> Recall that when you first entered Electronic Mail, you received the headers for all messages flagged or new. Now you receive headers for all messages in you mailbox, flagged, new, or old. In addition, you are told if a message has been answered by you by the letter "A" (see message #2), marked for deletion by you by the letter "D" (see message #2), or has never been read by the letter "U" (see message #3). If there are no letters next to a message, it means that you have read it, but never answered it, flagged it, nor marked it for deletion (see message #1). Notice that there is no reason why a message can't have more than one of these code letters, as in message #2. You may also recall the next to last line when you first entered Electronic Mail which made mention of "1 message unseen." When you look at your headers list, you can see (by the "U") that this is message number 3. (Note: If, when you use the "Headers All" command, you receive an excessive number of header lines, it is a good indication that you probably should clean out your mailbox by using the "Delete" command, as discussed earlier.) But you may not need, or want, to see all headers to locate the right one. You may know, for example, that the message you are in search of was sent since January 26. As you did with "Read" and "Delete," you may use "Since 26-Jan-82" as your argument for the command "Headers." In this case, you will get a list of header synopses that looks like the previous list, only it will include only those messages sent since January 26, in other words, message numbers 3, 4, and 5 (but not numbers 1 or 2). Technical Services 7. In fact, any message sequence from the chart of message sequences for "Read" and "Delete," above, can also be used as an argument for the command "Headers." You should go back to that chart now and think about what you would get if after MM> you typed Headers and then each of the message sequences. In addition, the following message sequences can also be used as arguments for "Headers." MORE TOP LEVEL MESSAGE SEQUENCES TO FOLLOW MM>HEADERS Message Sequence MM>Headers Command For Argument Pertains To: ---------------- ------------------ From Jones All messages from a user, as "Jones," in example (Note: This is one case where you need not use the user I.D. The last name, as in "Jones," will do. Certainly, use a first initial if there are more than one.) Subject Ribbons All messages with given word in Subject line, as "Ribbons," in example Text Budget All messages with given word in Subject line or within text, as "Budget," in example You now know how to find, read, and delete any message that's in your mailbox! You've come a long way. Technical Services 8. TOP LEVEL "HELP" Electronic Mail has built into it a feature that will help you to help yourself whenever you get stuck, go blank, or forget what you're supposed to do next. Should this happen to you at top level, (you're staring at MM> and don't know what to do next), the following list will help. (Note: Wherever, in the instructions below, you are told to type a question mark, ?, you should not follow it by hitting RETURN; you should only type the question mark.) 1. You remember the command you want begins with a certain letter, say "A," but you can't remember the command. Following MM>, type this: A? (You will get a list of commands beginning with "A.") 2. You can't remember the command, or even it's first letter. Following MM>, type this: ? or Following MM>, type this: help ? (You will get a list of commands or "help" topics) 3. You have drawn a blank and forgotten everything. Following MM>, type this: help review (You will get a short review of Electronic Mail.) 4. You have found the command you want, say "Read," but can't remember, or you are not sure what it's going to do. Following MM>, type this: help read (You will get a short explanation about "Read.") 5. You know what command you want, say "Read," and what it's going to do, but once you have typed in the command word, you are not sure what has to be typed after it. Following MM>, type this: Read ? (You will be told what should follow "Read.") Technical Services 9. 6. You know you are going to be sending mail to someone, but you can't remember his user name (user I.D.), the only name the computer will understand when sending mail. Following MM>, type this: help users (You will be instructed about how to get a list of user names.) After giving you help, all help commands will return you to where you were before you called for help. Thus, once helped, you are back in position to move on. (For example, if you type "Read ?," the help for the "Read" command will print out. Below this printout, the "Read" command will be retyped for you by the computer, this time without the question mark at the end. Now you can finish typing the rest of the command, for example, you can type "Since Monday" after "Read.") Note: If, at any time while working at Top Level (MM>), you forget the above list, you can get it by typing HELP after MM> and hitting RETURN. Technical Services 10. READ MODE As you will recall, when you were in top level (your prompt was MM>), and you decided you wanted to read, you did so by typing "Read" after MM> and including an argument (or letting the argument be the default). You then began to read your messages one at a time (bringing each new one up by hitting RETURN). You may have noticed that after each message printed out, your prompt was no longer MM>. Once you began to read, your prompt was R>. This is because, once you began to read, you passed from Top Level into Read Mode. The prompt for Read Mode is R>. The reason the prompt has changed, besides telling you you are in a different mode, is because the computer expects a different set of commands. Following are the commands you can type after the prompt R>. Remember, after typing each command, you must hit the RETURN key (one of your Special Function Keys) to enter each command. COMMANDS TO FOLLOW R> RESULT --------------------- ------ RETURN As stated before, hitting the RETURN key will cause the next message (if you've commanded more than one) to print out. Or else, if you just read the last message in the message sequence, hitting RETURN will bring you back to Top Level and the prompt MM>. Delete Same as delete in Top Level, only here it will mark for deletion only the message you just read. Flag The message you just read will be flagged. Recall, this will bring it to your attention each time you enter MM. Forward This will forward the message you just read. See FORWARDING A MESSAGE, below. Reply You will be replying to the message you just read. See REPLYING TO A MESSAGE, below. Type The message you were currently reading will be redisplayed. Quit You will be returned to Top Level and the prompt MM>. Remember, on a video terminal, when the terminal beeps, there is more in the message to be read. Hitting CONTROL-B will give you the next screenful. Remember, too, that no command is entered without hitting RETURN. (Note: There is no reason why you can't use more than one of the above commands (for example, "Flag" and "Reply") after the same message. At the conclusion of one command, you will be returned to R>, at which time you can enter whichever command you want next.) Technical Services 11. READ MODE "HELP" Just as there were ways you could help yourself if you got stuck at the prompt MM>, likewise there are ways you can help yourself if you get stuck at the prompt R>. Below is a list that will help: 1. You have forgotten the commands (such as the ones in the list given above) that you can use in Read Mode following R>. Following R>, type this: ? (You will get a list of the commands that can follow R>.) 2. You think you know which command you want, say "Reply," but you're not sure. Following R>, type this: help Reply (You will get a short explanation of what will happen if, after R>, you type "Reply.") 3. You know which command you want, say "Reply," but you're not sure what you're supposed to do after you type it in. Following R>, type this: Reply ? (You will get an explanation of what to do next.) Again, after giving you help, all help commands will return you to where you were before you asked for help. Thus, once helped, you are back in position to move on. Note: If, at any time while working in Read Mode (R>), you forget the above list, you can get it by typing HELP after R> and hitting RETURN. Technical Services 12. SENDING MAIL When you want to send a message, you can do so from either of two places: (1) Top Level, when you are originating mail; or (2) Read Mode (that is, immediately after reading a message) when you want to forward or reply to the message you have just read. (Note: Before you can send someone mail, you must know his user I.D. You can find a user I.D. by typing "Help Users" after MM>. You should anticipate this if you are going to send mail; i.e. find any user I.D.'s you don't know before entering Send Mode.) SENDING MAIL FROM TOP LEVEL You are at Top Level (your prompt is MM>) and you want to send mail. 1. Following MM>, type this: Send 2. Hit the RETURN key You will be prompted for the user name (user I.D.) of the person(s) to whom you want your message sent. 3. Type in the user I.D. for the user to whom you want the message sent Note: If you are sending the message to more than one person, separate their user I.D.'s with commas (for example, "J.JONES,S.SMITH,J.DOE") 4. Hit the RETURN key You will be prompted for any CC:'s. 5. Type in any CC:'s, again using user I.D.'s Note: If their are to be no CC:'s, do not type anything here; continue with Step 6. 6. Hit the RETURN key You will be prompted for your message's subject 7. Type in the subject, preferably no more than a few words 8. Hit the RETURN key You will be prompted for the text of your message. Technical Services 13. 9. Type in your text Note: You will soon be shown some SEND MODE EDIT KEYS. See below. 10. Hit the RETURN key If you are satisfied and want to send your message: 11a. Hit CONTROL-Z to send Or, if you are not satisfied and want to nullify your message or start over: 11b. Hit CONTROL-N If you hit CONTROL-N, you will be given a choice of typing "Y," for "Yes" (you do want to nullify your message), or "N," for "No" (you do not want to nullify your message). If you type "Y," your work will, indeed, abort, and you will be returned to MM> and can start over by typing "Send" again. If you were satisfied and hit CONTROL-Z, it will be confirmed that the message has been sent by a printout of each recipient's name and the message "ok." You will be returned to MM>. Technical Services 14. SENDING MAIL AFTER READING A MESSAGE (WITH "FORWARD" AND "REPLY") Recall from the list of commands (p.10) that can be used after R> (the Read Mode prompt) that two of them are for the purpose of sending messages. They are "Forward" and "Reply." If you think about what they mean, it makes sense that if you are going to forward a message, you are sending it to someone else, and if you are going to reply to a message, you are sending a new one. Thus, after reading a message, you have an opportunity at the R> prompt (at the bottom of that message) to Forward it (with a cover letter), or Reply to it. FORWARDING A MESSAGE After reading a message, you want to forward it to someone else with a cover letter. 1. Following R>, type this: Forward 2. Hit the RETURN key You will be prompted for the text of your cover letter. 3. Type in your text. 4. Hit the RETURN key If you are satisfied with your cover letter: 5a. Hit CONTROL-Z Or, if you are not satisfied and want to nullify what you have done or start over: 5b. Hit CONTROL-N If you hit CONTROL-N, you will be returned to R>, and can start over by typing "Forward" again. If you were satisfied and hit CONTROL-Z, you will be prompted for the user name of the person to whom you want to send the cover letter and message you just read. 6. Type in the user I.D.'s 7. Hit the RETURN key to send You will know the message and cover letter have been sent, because each recipient's name will print out with the message "ok." You will be returned to R>. Technical Services 15. REPLYING TO A MESSAGE After reading a message, you may decide that it merits a reply: 1. Following R>, type this: Reply (Note: Your reply will go to the person who sent you the message. Should you decide you want your reply to go to that person plus all those who received CC's of his original message -- in other words, everyone else who received the message you are replying to -- then instead of typing Reply in Step 1. above, type this: Reply All.) 2. Hit the RETURN key You will be prompted for the text of your reply. (The intended recipient and subject are automatically typed in.) 3. Type in your reply 4. Hit the RETURN key If you are satisfied with your reply: 5a. Hit CONTROL-Z Your reply message has been sent. This will be confirmed, because you will receive a printout of the recipient's name and the message "ok." You will be returned to R>. Or, if you are not satisfied and want to nullify what you have done or start over: 5b. Hit CONTROL-N You will be returned to R>, and can start over by typing "Reply" again. Remember, there is no reason why, after forwarding or replying to a message, you cannot then also flag that message, or delete it (to clean out your mailbox). Technical Services 16. SEND MODE EDIT KEYS While typing the text of your message, you may decide you want to make a change, or fix a typo, without starting over. The following edit keys will help. (If you are using a paper terminal, your printout may look like a mess. Do not be concerned. If you have used these edit keys properly, the copy received will look right. You can practice and prove this by sending a few messages to yourself.) KEY FUNCTION --- -------- DELETE The key marked DELETE will delete the character you just typed. CONTROL-W Will delete the word you just typed CONTROL-U Will delete the current line of text. It can be used more than once to delete several lines of text. CONTROL-R Will retype the current line on your terminal. This is useful if you have made several deletes, or if a message from the system intrudes while you are typing. It will not duplicate the line in your output; only on your terminal, for you, so you can see where you are. CONTROL-L Will retype the entire message on your terminal, another way of showing yourself what will be sent out after you have finished with your corrections. CONTROL-N An abort key to be used while typing in your text. After typing a CONTROL-N, you will be asked if you really want to abort what you were doing, and given a choice of typing Y for "Yes" or N for "No." If you type N, you will be returned to where you left off before you typed the CONTROL-N. If you type Y, your work will, indeed, abort, and you will be returned to Top Level. (Your prompt will be MM>.) Note: If by any chance you accidentally hit the key marked ESCAPE while typing in your text, and produce a prompt S>, you can type TEXT after the prompt S> and hit RETURN and be returned to where you left off. You may continue typing in text from there. (Typing CONTROL-L will give you a fresh display of your message up to where you left off. You can also type CONTROL-L when you're done, but prior to typing the CONTROL-Z which sends the message, to see the message that will go out.) (Note: The edit keys listed above will work with all MM commands. For instance, if after R> you typed Reply, you can delete that command by typing CONTROL-W.) Technical Services 17. A FEW TIPS 1. If, at any time, your terminal seems "stuck", try typing CONTROL-B. If typing CONTROL-B does not seem to help, try typing CONTROL-C a few times. If your terminal is still stuck, refer to your TERMINAL USERS MANUAL. 2. If you are sending messages using a paper terminal, try to keep your message lines less than about 80 characters wide so the lines will fit unbroken on the screen of anyone reading them on a video terminal. This will help legibility. 3. When you type in your commands, the computer will not distinguish between uppercase and lowercase. Thus, for example, you can type your command "READ" or "read" or "Read". 4. When typing in a message you want to send, it will help legibility if you type it as you would on a typewriter, that is, uppercase and lowercase, rather than all one or the other. You can use the SHIFT key on your keyboard to create uppercase and lowercase characters, just as you would use this key on a typewriter. Be sure, however, that the key marked CAPS LOCK is up, or you will be stuck with all uppercase. If the CAPS LOCK key is down, hitting it once will bring it back up. Technical Services 18. EXIT, OR HOW TO GET OUT At MM> 1. Following MM>, type this: exit 2. Hit the RETURN key You will be returned to Top Level. Your prompt will be @. From here, if you want, you can log out. At R> 1. Following R>, type this: quit 2. Hit the RETURN key You will be returned to MM>. Follow instructions above for exiting from MM>. One final reminder. Before exiting from MM>, be sure you meant to delete what you said you wanted to delete. Once you exit MM, those messages are forever gone ("expunged"). Technical Services 19. SECURITY We mentioned earlier we would say a word about the security that is built into the system. Just as you wouldn't want everyone to have access to your regular mail, similarly, you don't want just anyone looking at messages received through MM. Your password is your way of protecting your privacy. Keep it a secret. We encourage you to change your password right away and to continue to change it often and at will. The procedure for doing this is a separate document that we have given you when we gave you your TERMINAL USERS MANUAL. REMEMBER YOUR NEW PASSWORD. CHANGE IT OFTEN. IF YOU FORGET YOUR PASSWORD, GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR DIVISION HEAD. Technical Services 20. WHAT YOU SHOULD NOW KNOW Following is a review of the points you should know to function on the basic level of Electronic Mail. Use it as a review. If there is something you don't understand, go back and read that section again. When you understand all the items on this list, rest assured, you can use MM. 1. The meaning of "prompt," "command," "argument," "message sequence," and "default value." (p.3) 2. The purposes for all Special Function Keys. (p.v) 3. How to enter Electronic Mail from the Command level prompt @. (p.2) 4. The meaning and purpose of the commands "Read," "Delete," and "Headers." (pp.3,4,6) 5. The various message sequences, their purposes, and how to use them with the commands "Read," "Delete," and "Headers." (pp.5,7) 6. How to find the number of a message you want to read and how to call it up so you can read it. (p.6,4) 7. The Read Mode commands "Delete," "Flag," "Forward," "Reply," "Type," "Quit," and RETURN, and how and when to use them. (p.10) 8. How to find out a user name (user I.D.) (p.1) 9. How to send messages from Top Level and with Forward and Reply in Read Mode. (pp.12,14,15) 10. The various edit keys you can use when typing a message to send and what each of them does. (p.16) 11. How to use the "Help" feature at Top Level or Read Mode. (pp.8,11) 12. How to get out of Electronic Mail. (p.18) 13. How to change your password. (see CHANGING YOUR PASSWORD) Technical Services 21. SAMPLE SITUATIONS Following is a demonstration of various situations intended to simulate what you will be doing with Electronic Mail. Examining them should complete your education for using Electronic Mail on its most basic level. You will gain experience and confidence if you use these examples as a blueprint and try to duplicate them. Remember, you can always send mail to yourself to practice. In all situations to follow, it will be assumed you have already logged in and have entered Electronic Mail by typing MM> after your Command level prompt @. (If you do not understand the previous sentence, you should refer to the Terminal Users Manual, and STARTING MM, earlier in this document.) I WANT TO READ A MESSAGE (AND THEN DELETE IT) MM>read 10 (Note: I typed read 10 and hit RETURN) Msg 10 (161 chars) -- Date: 8 Jan 1982 1216-EST From: J.DOE From John Doe Subject: status report To: R.PETERS cc: A.JONES-A Please send me your weekly status report by Wednesday. ------- R>delete (Note: The R> you are left with tells you you are in Read R> Mode and awaits your new command, such as Quit, Reply, etc. In this case, I decided to delete the message that I just read. So, after R>, I typed delete and hit RETURN. I got a new prompt R>. I could now type another command, such as Quit.) (Note: If you had wanted to read more than one message at a time, you'd have typed read followed by a message sequence, such as Since 5-Jan-82, or 10:15, instead of just 10. You'd have gotten messages one at a time, each followed by R>. You could then issue a command, as explained in the note above, or you could hit the RETURN key to see the next message.) Technical Services 22. I WANT TO SEND A MESSAGE MM>send (Note: I typed Send and hit the RETURN key) To: J.JONES (Note: I'm prompted for recipient. I type his user I.D.) cc: R.SMITH,J.DOE (Note: I'm prompted for CC's. I type user I.D.'s) Subject: staff meeting (Note: Prompted for subject. I type it in) Message (Enter the text of your message...... hit the CONTROL-Z key to send it, or hit ESCAPE to return to Send command level, or hit CONTROL-N to quit.): Tomorrow's staff meeting has been cancelled. (Note: I type my message) ^Z (Note: I hit CONTROL-Z to send the message) Processing local mail... (Note: My message is being sent) J.JONES -- ok R.SMITH -- ok (Note: The message has been sent to Jones, Smith, J.DOE -- ok and Doe) MM> (Note: I am returned to MM> for a new command) I WANT TO LOCATE A MESSAGE (ABOUT BUDGET UPDATE) FROM JONES MM>headers from jones (Note: I typed headers from jones and hit RETURN) A 1 4-Jan J.JONES budget (535 chars) F 5 6-Jan J.JONES lunch date (350 chars) 9 7-Jan J.JONES budget update (324 chars) MM> (Note: Jones's messages are numbers "1," which I answered, "5," which I flagged, and "9," which I only read. The one I wanted to find was number 9. I was returned to MM>. I can now give the command "Read 9.") (Note: I could have used any message sequence, such as Since 5-Jan-82, or 5:15, or Subject Budget Update, to follow Headers, instead of From Jones.) Technical Services 23. I WANT TO DELETE MESSAGES SENT TO ME BEFORE 1 JAN 82 MM>Delete Before 1 Jan 82 (Note: Type Delete Before 1 Jan 82 and RETURN) 1:5 (Note: Messages 1 thru 5, dated before 1 Jan 82, have been deleted) MM> (Note: I am returned to MM>) I WANT TO FLAG A MESSAGE I JUST READ MM>read 4 Msg 4 (250 chars) -- Date: 26 Jan 1982 1216-EST From: D.SMITH From Donald Smith Subject: Ribbons TO: R.PETERS cc: A.JONES-A The ribbons you ordered for your LA120 paper terminals were sent today. ------- R>flag (Note: I typed flag and hit RETURN) R> (Note: I was returned to R>. I could type quit to get back to MM>, or hit RETURN to see the next message, or continue with any other command that can follow R>, as described in the chart on page 10. (Note: If you want to see what flagged message #4 will now look like after using the "Headers" command, turn to page 6. Thus, not only are you reminded of all flagged messages each time you enter MM, but you can also find them easily by using the "Headers" command and noticing all flagged messages, which are so designated by the letter "F.")