                             MultiMail FAQ v1.3
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   Some frequently asked questions about the MultiMail Offline Reader,
   and my answers.
   
  Topics covered in this FAQ:
  
    1. I get the error message "Packet type not recognized"
    2. How do I set up my spell checker in MultiMail?
    3. Is MultiMail Y2K compliant?
    4. What are the differences between the MS-DOS and Win32 versions?
    5. There are only eight colors to choose from in the color file.
    6. I downloaded MMAIL030.ZIP, but there are no .EXE's in it.
    7. I see by your tear line that you're using version 0.31...
    8. I haven't actually tried MultiMail yet, but I have lots of
       questions
    9. How about adding X feature?
   10. Will you port MultiMail to the XYZ system?
   11. Did you know that "MultiMail" is also the name of a commercial...
   12. I notice your accouncements say "Sorry, no Fidonet addresses...
   13. I'm a programmer. How can I collaborate with you?
   14. Is there an Internet mailing list for MultiMail?
     _________________________________________________________________
   
    1.1: I get the error message "Packet type not recognized" when I try to
    select a packet from the menu. But I know that the packets are OK.
    
   Are you using the Win32 version of MultiMail?
   
    1.2: Why yes, I am.
    
   The most likely explanation is that you haven't set up the command
   lines for your ZIP archiver. When your MMAIL.RC was created, the
   default commands for ZIP-compressed packets were set up to use
   InfoZip. Odds are, you're trying to use the MS-DOS version of
   PKZIP/PKUNZIP instead. So you need to alter the commands a little.
   (Take out the "-j" and "-L" options, and make the commands "pkunzip"
   and "pkzip".)
   
   Another possibility is that you're using 4DOS as your command shell.
   For some reason, it appears to be incompatible with the system()
   command in RSX/NT (the compiler used for the Win32 version). You can
   set the COMSPEC variable to point to COMMAND.COM for just the
   MultiMail session.
   
    1.3: Why the misleading error message?
    
   It should be saying "Could not uncompress packet". However -- again,
   due to a problem with the system() call in RSX/NT -- it doesn't
   recognize that the attempt to uncompress failed, and it only reports
   an error when it tries to look at the (nonexistent) resulting files.
   
    1.4: So why didn't you make PKZIP the default archiver for the Win32
    version? You did for the MS-DOS version.
    
   Because, until recently, PKZIP was only available as an MS-DOS
   program. (The new Win32 versions would require a different command
   line, in any case.) It's suboptimal to use an MS-DOS archiver with a
   Win32 program -- though this confusion has surfaced so often that I've
   considered changing the default. Unlike the other platforms MultiMail
   is available for, in Win32, there's no clear winner among command-line
   Zip-compatible archivers; the only de facto standard is the GUI
   WinZip. So I just carried over the InfoZip settings, since InfoZip is
   the de facto standard on Unix and OS/2, and is also available for
   Win32.
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    2.1: How do I set up my spell checker in MultiMail? There's no option for
    it in MMAIL.RC.
    
   There won't be a separate option for spell checkers. But there are two
   ways you can handle it:
   
   Call the spell checker from your text editor. This is what I
   recommend.
   
   or
   
   Create a batch file that calls both the editor and the spell-checker,
   and set the "editor:" keyword in mmail.rc to point to this batch file.
   
   I can't tell you exactly what the batch file should look like, since I
   don't do this myself. (Anyone who uses one of the popular spell
   checkers, feel free to flesh this answer out a bit.) But the general
   idea would be something like this:
   
 editor %1
 spell %1

   (For Unix, substitute '$' for '%'.)
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    3.1: Is MultiMail Y2K compliant?
    
   No. On January 1st, 2000, MultiMail will self-destruct, wiping out
   your hard disk in the process. However, it will only do this to people
   who ask if it's "Y2K compilant".
   
    3.2: Aw, c'mon, I'm serious.
    
   Hey, so am I. ;-) "Y2K compliant" is a meaningless phrase. But OK; you
   want to know what will happen to MultiMail next year. The short and
   incomplete answer is, "nothing special". The more accurate, yet less
   satisfying answer is "it depends".
 
   The source code of MultiMail itself contains no date-related bugs. It
   achieves this, in part, by having rather simple-minded date handling.
   :-) No message-sorting-by-date is available, for example.

   Anyway, even though the source of MultiMail itself is OK, there's an
   extremely remote possibility that one of the standard library date
   functions it gets linked to when compiled will, on some platform, have
   a bug. I consider this not worth worrying about, and so should you;
   but there's always a chance. The MS-DOS binary has been specifically
   tested and found to be OK. I haven't bothered testing the others,
   because I trust the standard libraries; and because frankly, it's a
   pain.
   
   But wait; there's more. Part of what I mean when I say "it depends" is
   that MultiMail has to interact with other programs: QWK, Blue Wave and
   OMEN doors, as well as SOUP handlers. And some of them are definitely
   going to have problems, though I can't give you a list of which will
   do what. (I'll only vouch for the correctness of my own QWK door,
   Valence -- preferably version 1.6.) SOUP will probably be the least
   affected.
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    4.1: What are the differences between the MS-DOS and Win32 versions? They
    look the same.
    
   They're quite different internally; but yes, they function nearly
   identically. (So do the Unix and OS/2 versions.) The MS-DOS version is
   a 32-bit DPMI client, so (depending on your settings) it can read
   messages and packets just as large as the Win32 version. It even
   understands long filenames under Windows 9x. About the only advantages
   of the Win32 version are better multitasking with other Windows apps,
   and support for long filenames under Windows NT.
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    5.1: There are only eight colors to choose from in the color file. Why is
    it so limited?
    
   No, there are really 16 foreground colors, and 8 background. The high
   bit of the foreground color is set by using the "Bold" attribute in
   the color file. These are all the colors available to you in text mode
   on a standard PC-type display, with the exception of a special mode
   (not supported by MultiMail) which lets you swap the "blinking"
   attribute for 16 colors in the background, too.
   
    5.2: So why is it called "Bold", anyway?
    
   That's the ANSI name for it, and also the curses name (A_BOLD). On
   some displays (e.g., an xterm), it actually boldfaces the text,
   instead of (or in addition to) affecting the color.
   
    5.3: What's the purpose of the "Reverse" attribute? Why not just switch the
    colors around? Isn't that the same?
    
   On a monochrome terminal, no. The "Reverse" and "Bold" attributes are
   the only way to get highlighting on such a terminal. The color schemes
   I've made (though not the contrib schemes) make use of these
   attributes to ensure that they look OK when the program is run on a
   monochrome screen.
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    6.1: I downloaded MMAIL030.ZIP, but there are no .EXE's in it.
    
   That's a source code archive. Look under "Binaries" on the web page
   for a pre-compiled version for your platform. (If you're coming in via
   FTP, they're in:
   ftp://ftp.clark.net/pub/wmcbrine/bbs/offline/mmail-bin/)
     _________________________________________________________________
   
    7.1: I see by your tear line that you're using version 0.31, but your web
    site only has 0.30. Where can I get 0.31?
    
   You should always ignore my tear lines. One of the first things I do
   after releasing a new version is to increment the version number; so
   I'm often using a version that's just ahead of the released one. It
   doesn't mean that a new release is imminent, either. My web site will
   always have the most current version.
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    8.1: I haven't actually tried MultiMail yet, but I have lots of questions
    about it.
    
   Try it first, then get back to me. That goes for individual features,
   too. Don't ask me what will happen if you do something -- find out for
   yourself.
     _________________________________________________________________
   
    9.1: How about adding X feature?
    
   Please read the TODO file before asking for new features. If X is
   listed there, you need not write me about it. (Otherwise, I don't
   mind.)
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    10.1: Will you port MultiMail to the XYZ system? [Where XYZ = 16-bit
    MS-DOS, BeOS, etc.]
    
   Send me a C++ development system for XYZ, and I'll be happy to try.
     _________________________________________________________________
   
    11.1: Did you know that "MultiMail" is also the name of a commercial
    POP/IMAP/SMTP client for the Palm OS?
    
   Yes.
   
    11.2: So, couldn't you get in trouble for that?
    
   Actually, as far as I can tell, the subject of this FAQ predates the
   Palm OS program. (Version 0.1 came out in January 1996.) There are a
   number of other programs and products which also go by the name.
   
    11.3: Wow, 1996. Shouldn't you have hit version 1.0 by now?
    
   Yes. But bear in mind that MultiMail has had four maintainers (in
   three groups), and essentially lain fallow for long periods in
   bewteen. Also, none of us are getting paid for this. :-)
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    12.1: I notice your accouncements say "Sorry, no Fidonet addresses at this
    time." Would you like to make my BBS your official Fidonet F'REQ site?
    
   Thanks for the offer, but it's problematical for me. I don't feel that
   I have adequate control over the process to ensure that new versions
   will be promptly available. I'm still mulling over this, though. What
   I might do is make a list of "unofficial" sites. ;-)
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    13.1: I'm a programmer. How can I collaborate with you? I'm full of ideas.
    
   Use the source, Luke. Show me some actual code patches first, and
   document them. Then we'll talk.
     _________________________________________________________________
   
    14.1: Is there an Internet mailing list for MultiMail?
    
   Yes. Write to me to subscribe or unsubscribe to the discussion list.
   (The process is not automated.) I'll then tell you the list address to
   use. (To avoid spam, I won't put it here.)
   
   I also have an announce list; I automatically add anyone who writes to
   me about MultiMail to that list, unless you ask otherwise.
     _________________________________________________________________
   
    FAQ by William McBrine <wmcbrine@clark.net>. Last updated: Sep 29 1999
