@X00
@X38@X3B@X0B
@X38 @X3EHelp: @X3F(R)ead Messages                                                      @X3B@X0B
@X38@X3B@X0E

      The Read messages command permits you to read messages on a bulletin
      board system.  Messages may be addressed to you, or to other people.
      From this command you may also reply to messages you are reading,
      search for text in messages, and get a synopsis of messages that are
      currently on the system.
@X0F
   Selection Subcommands
@X03
      The following is a list of what are called the selection subcommands.
      These commands will determine the criteria for the messages that you
      will read. With the exception of the message #, you may use any
      subcommand in conjunction with any other subcommand.  For example, if
      you wanted to read new mail in all conferences that you have set for
      scanning, enter R;S;A. Likewise, if you wanted to read the same
      messages, but only display those from a user named FRANK CROSS, enter
      R;S;A;USER;FRANK CROSS at the conference command prompt.
          @X0B
          [Message #] Message number to read.
          A           Scan all selected conferences.
          ALL         Scan all conferences that you have access to.
          F           Read messages from current user.
          FROM        Read messages from a user.
          N           New Messages by date.
          S           Read new messages.
          TO          Read messages to a user.
          TS          Search messages for specific text.
          U           Read unread messages.
          USER        Search messages to or from a particular user.
          WAIT        Scan messages in conferences where you have mail waiting.
          Y           Read messages addressed to you.
          YA          Read messages to you or to ALL.
@X0F
   Scan Subcommands
@X03
      These particular subcommands can be used to set the direction that you
      will read mail.  For example, if you wanted to begin reading at the end
      of the current message base, you would enter R;L.
@X0B
          + @X03/@X0B -       Set read direction
          1+          Begin with first message in the message base.
          L           Begin with the last message.
          N           New messages by date.
          RM          Read memorized message.
          RM+         Read memorized message and continue reading forward.
          RM-         Read memorized message and continue reading reverse.
@X0F
   Capture Subcommands
@X03
      One time-saving feature that PCBoard offers is the ability to capture
      messages into one single file which you may download and browse
      off-line. The resulting file is an ASCII file that looks just like what
      you see on the screen when viewing messages.

      Sometimes you may want to download a group of messages or just a single
      message.  These subcommands allow you to capture messages and then
      download them to either a file or printer on your system.
@X0B
          C           Capture messages
          D           Capture messages
          QWK         Capture messages to a QWK packet
          Z           Capture and compress messages
@X0F
   General Subcommands
@X03
      The following commands could be categorized as miscellaneous
      subcommands. Here, you will find commands to perform various functions
      that may not necessarily be directly related to reading messages, but
      are still available for your convenience.
@X0B
          DE          De-select current conference
          G           Goodbye.
          J           Join a conference.
          K           Kill a message.
          LONG        Use the extended message header for displaying.
          NS          Nonstop mode.
          O           Read-only mode.
          Q           Quick scan messages.
          SE          Select current conference for scanning.
          SET         Set the last message read number.
          SHORT       Use the brief message header for displaying.
@X0F
   Description
@X03
      Exchanging electronic mail or messages between users is probably the
      most popular form of communications on bulletin board systems.  Users
      will enter and read messages almost every call. PCBoard has several
      subcommands that allow you to read only those messages that interest
      you.

      While the number of subcommands may overwhelm you at first, you will
      find that you will become familiar with them after a little bit of
      practice.  You may also find that using mnemonics will help you
      remember the commands easier.  By looking at the subcommands described
      earlier you would find that you could enter R;S;A at a conference
      command prompt to read all new messages in the conferences that you
      have selected for scanning. You may find it easier to remember that
      R;S;A means Read mail Since last time in All selected conferences.

      Use the selection subcommands to determine the messages that you will
      read. After you read each message you will be presented with an End of
      Message Command prompt where you can enter other commands that enable
      you to reply to messages and other functions as well.
@X0F
   Combining Read Subcommands
@X03
      Once you understand how you can combine the various read subcommands,
      you will be able to better make use of PCBoard's power.  The following
      section is designed to help you find the right subcommand for the right
      situation.

      If you enter R at a conference command prompt you will see a line which
      shows you the range of the message numbers in the current conference
      message base and will ask you what Message Read Command you would like
      to use.  At this point, choose at least one subcommand from the Read:
      Selection Subcommands section.  For example, if you were to enter a Y,
      you are telling PCBoard to read messages that are addressed to you.
      Now that PCBoard has enough information to go on, it will begin
      scanning with message #1 for any mail that is addressed to you.

      You may be wondering what you would do if you did not want to begin
      scanning at message number one -- Maybe you only wanted to scan any new
      mail that is addressed to you.  What you would do in this case is use
      both the Y and the S subcommands.  Simply enter both subcommands at the
      Message Read Command prompt putting either a space or a semicolon
      between each command.  The following is a sample scenario:
@X0E
          (@X0C50@X0E min. left) Main Board Command? @X07R
          @X0E
          (H)elp, (3523-5032), Message Read Command?@X07 Y;S
@X03
      At this point, PCBoard would begin scanning all new mail in the current
      conference for any messages that are addressed to you.
@X0F
   The Difference Between LONG and SHORT Message Headers
@X03
      The message header is the information that you are displayed regarding
      who the message is from or to, the subject of the message, etc.
      PCBoard supports two different message headers -- long and short.

      The long message header closely resembles the message header of
      previous versions of PCBoard with the exception that the, TO, FROM, and
      SUBJECT fields all take one line a piece.  The long message header
      displays the following information:
@X0B
          Date
          Message number
          Reference number (if message is a reply)
          Who the message is address to
          Who the message is from
          The subject of the message
          If the message has been read or not
          The current conference (name and number)
          The status of a message (has replies, message security, etc.)
          Type of message read you are using
@X03
      All in all, this format takes a hefty 7 display lines on the screen
      including the blank line between the header and the message text.  This
      amounts to nearly one third of the entire display area on the screen.
      The short header, on the other hand, uses only 5 display lines
      including the blank line.  This amounts to less than one quarter of the
      display screen enabling you to fit more message text on the screen.
      The short message header displays the following information:
@X0B
          Date and time the message was entered
          Message number
          If the message has replies (displayed as an R on the top line)
          If the message has been read (displayed as an * on the top line)
          Who the message is addressed to
          Who the message is from
          The subject of the message
@X03
      The following shows the long message header style:

@X1FDate: 07-12-93 (17:53)              Number: 71303 of 71372 (Refer# 71235)@CLREOL@
@X3F  To: STEVE HOWLETT@CLREOL@
From: DARRELL FARMER@CLREOL@
Subj: Security Levels@CLREOL@
@X3ERead: NO                            Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE@CLREOL@
Conf: Chatter (1)                Read Type: MAIL FOR YOU (+)@CLREOL@
@X03
      The following illustrates the short message header style

@X1FDate: 07-12-93 (17:53)              Number: 71303 of 71372 (Refer# 71235)@CLREOL@
@X3F  To: STEVE HOWLETT@CLREOL@
From: DARRELL FARMER@CLREOL@
Subj: Security Levels@CLREOL@
@X03
      As you can see two lines of information really does make a difference.
      The default header that is used is determined by how you answered the
      following question using the W user command:
@X0E
          Use long headers when reading messages? (@X07Y@X0E)
@X03
      You can also switch between long and short headers by typing either
      LONG or SHORT at the End of Message Command prompt.  In addition, you
      may also use these words when using the R user command.  For example:
@X0E
          R;A;LONG
          R;Y;S;SHORT
@X0F
   Examples
@X03
      If you do not like to read a lot of mail when you login to a system,
      you may want to only read new messages that are addressed to you in
      all conferences that you are able to join. To do this, you would enter
      the following at the conference command prompt:
@X0E
          R;Y;S;ALL
@X03
      If you wanted to read the same messages but instead you wanted to
      capture them to a file that you could download, you would enter the
      following instead:
@X0E
          R;Y;S;ALL;C
@X03
      Sometimes you may want to search for messages that only have certain
      text in either the message header or the actual message body.  For,
      example, if you wanted to search all of the messages in the current
      message base for HARD DRIVE you would enter the following:
@X0E
          R;TS;HARD DRIVE
@X03
      At this point, PCBoard would ask you what message you wished to begin
      the scan with.  If you enter L it will begin with the end of the
      message base and search backwards.  If you want to scan with the
      beginning message and search forward, you would enter 1+.
@X0F
   Subcommands: Alphabetical Listing
@X03
      For your convenience, the following is a detailed alphabetical list of
      subcommands that are available with the R command.  Even the subcommands
      that are available at the End of Message Command prompt are listed.

      @X0B[Message #]     Message number to read. @X03 This number indicates the
                      number of the message that you wish to read.  If you
                      wish, you may also append either a + or a - to the
                      message number to read in the forward or reverse
                      direction, starting with the message number specified.
                      For example, to read message #3236 and every message
                      afterwards, you would enter 3236+ instead of just 3236.

                      You may also specify a range of message numbers by
                      adding a dash between the low message number and high
                      message number. For example, to specify messages
                      between 3000 and 4000 , enter 3000-4000.

      @X0BENTER           Read next message in current direction.@X03  When pressed
                      at the End of Message Command? prompt, the next message
                      is displayed in the direction that you are reading.

      @X0B+  @X03/@X0B -          Set read direction. @X03 When appended to a message number
                      or used by itself, PCBoard displays all messages in
                      forward-numerical or reverse-numerical order
                      respectively from that point.  You can always tell what
                      mode you are in by looking at the Read Type at the top
                      of the message you are reading.  In that field you will
                      see either a + or a - to denote which direction you are
                      reading.

      @X0B1+              Begin with first message in the message base. @X03 If you
                      want to specify the first message in the message base
                      you would specify this subcommand.

     @X0B A               Scan all selected conferences. @X03 Messages are read from
                      all conferences that have been selected for scanning.
                      You may choose which conferences you wish to scan for
                      messages by using the SE command at the conference
                      command prompt or by using  DE or SE with the R user
                      command.

    @X0B  ALL             Scan all conferences that you have access to. @X03 Messages
                      are read from all conferences that you have access to
                      whether you have selected them for scanning or not.

    @X0B  C               Capture messages. @X03 The messages displayed by the
                      current command are captured, placed in a file, and
                      prepared for download.  You are given the choice to
                      continue with the download, abort the transfer, or
                      hangup after the transfer.

    @X0B  D               Capture messages. @X03  The messages displayed by the
                      current command are captured, placed in a file, and
                      immediately prepared for download.

@X0B      DE              De-select current conference. @X03 If a particular
                      conference is chosen for scanning, the conference is
                      de-selected.  This has the same effect as using the
                      Select command from the main menu and de-selecting the
                      conference by pressing the corresponding number for the
                      conference.  This would cause the "X" flag in the flags
                      column from the SELECT command (executed from a
                      conference command prompt) to be removed.

@X0B      E               Enter a message. @X03 See the E user command for more
                      details.

@X0B      F               Read messages from current user. @X03 The message base is
                      scanned for all messages from you.

@X0B      FROM            Read messages from a user. @X03 If you wish to read mail
                      that is only from a particular user, use this
                      subcommand.  When you use this subcommand, PCBoard will
                      prompt you for the user you wish to read mail from.

@X0B      G               GoodBye. @X03 (See the G user command for more details.)

@X0B      J               Join a conference. @X03 You may join another conference.
                      (See the J user command for more details.)

@X0B      JUMP            Jump to the next conference. @X03 If you read all
                      conferences (R;A or R;ALL), you may jump to the next
                      available conference for message base scanning by using
                      this command.  The last message read pointer is not
                      advanced to the last message when you jump a
                      conference.  Next time you scan for new mail in that
                      conference, all of the messages you jumped over will be
                      shown in the scan.  This subcommand is only available
                      at the End of Message Command prompt.

@X0B      L               Begin with the last message. @X03 The current message base is
                      read backward from the last message to the first.

@X0B      LONG            Use the extended message header for displaying. @X03
                      Displays the extended message header.  All message
                      header fields are displayed, but the extended header
                      uses 7 lines as opposed to the 5 lines used by the
                      short header display.

@X0B      N               New messages by date. @X03 The first message that is read
                      is the one that matches the date that you specify.
                      This enables you to read only messages that were left
                      after a certain date.

@X0B      NS              Non-stop mode. @X03 Messages are displayed in non-stop mode,
                      thus eliminating More? prompts from the display.

@X0B      O               Read messages in read-only mode. @X03 When you want to read
                      messages and do not want your last message read updated
                      as you read the mail, read the mail in what is called
                      read-only mode. Additionally, if you have sufficient
                      security, he message read status will not be updated.
                      This means that even though you have read the message,
                      it will not be shown as having been read and your last
                      message read pointers will not be updated.

@X0B      Q               Quick scan messages. @X03 See the Q user command for more
                      information.

@X0B      QWK             Capture message in QWK format.@X03  One of the most popular
                      off-line message format is the QWK format.  With what
                      is called a QWK packet you can load it into an off-line
                      mail reader and read and reply to messages off-line
                      saving time and money.  If you use this subcommand, any
                      message that would have normally been displayed to your
                      screen will be sent to a QWK packet that you may
                      download and read off-line.

@X0B      RM              Read memorized message.@X03  The message previously
                      memorized is re-displayed.

@X0B      RM+             Read memorized message and continue reading forward.@X03
                      The message previously memorized is re-displayed and
                      the message base is placed in forward mode for further
                      reading.

@X0B      RM-             Read memorized message and continue reading reverse.  @X03
                      The message previously memorized is re-displayed and
                      the message base is placed in reverse mode for further
                      reading.

@X0B      S               Read new messages. @X03 All messages in the current
                      conference that have not already been read will be
                      displayed.  You may specify the A or ALL subcommand to
                      scan for new mail in other conferences besides the
                      current conference.

@X0B      SE              Select current conference for scanning.@X03  While reading
                      a message you may select the current conference to scan
                      for messages.  This has the same effect as if you
                      executed the Select command from the main menu and
                      placed an "X" in the flags column.  Using this command
                      you may select the conferences you wish to scan for
                      mail on-the-fly.

@X0B      SET             Set the last message read number. @X03 PCBoard stores last
                      message read pointers for each conference.  These
                      pointers contain the last message number that you read
                      in any particular conference.  By looking at this
                      value, PCBoard is able to determine which messages you
                      have not read yet.  As you read messages, this number
                      will be automatically updated. If you need to manually
                      update this value, use this command. When executed, you
                      will be asked to enter the highest message number that
                      you have read.  Enter any valid message number into the
                      field.  If the number you enter is higher than the
                      highest message in the conference, your last message
                      read will be set to the highest number in the
                      conference.

@X0B      SHORT           Use the brief message header for displaying. @X03 Displays
                      the four line version of the message header.  This
                      means that not all of the fields in the header are
                      displayed so that more of the message will be displayed
                      on the screen.

@X0B      SKIP            Skip current conference. @X03 While executing an R;ALL or an
                      R;A command, you may use SKIP to bypass the remaining
                      messages in the current conference and to set the last
                      message read pointer to the last message.  In the R;A
                      case, however, invoking SKIP will act just as it does
                      with the R;A command only it moves you to the next
                      available conference and permits you to continue
                      reading messages in the next conference.

@X0B      TO              Read messages to a user. @X03 If you wish to read mail that
                      is addressed to a particular user, use this subcommand.
                      When you do, you will be prompted for the username that
                      PCBoard will use to search the TO: field of each
                      message.

@X0B      TS              Search messages for specific text. @X03 Each message is
                      scanned for the text that you indicate.  You may
                      perform complex text searches by using Boolean text
                      searches.  For more information on Boolean text
                      searches, access the online help available at the
                      @X0EEnter the Text to Scan for@X03 prompt.

@X0B      U               Read unread messages. @X03 Anytime that you want to read
                      messages that have not been read, you can use this
                      subcommand.  If a message has been read by the
                      recipient, PCBoard will display the date and time that
                      the message was read in the message header. Messages to
                      ALL will always be considered as unread.

@X0B      USER            Search messages to or from a particular user. @X03 When
                      executed you are prompted to enter the name of the user
                      you would like to search for.  After you enter a valid
                      user name, the message base is scanned for messages
                      both for a specified user and those left by a specified
                      user.

@X0B      WAIT            Scan messages in conferences where you have mail
                      waiting. @X03Messages are read only from conferences that
                      you currently have personal mail waiting to be read.
                      For example, if you login and see that you have mail
                      waiting in conferences 2,3, and 25 you could read all
                      new messages in only those conferences by entering
                      R;WAIT at the conference command prompt.

@X0B      Y               Read messages addressed to you. @X03 The message base is
                      scanned for all messages addressed to you.

@X0B      YA              Read messages to you or to ALL. @X03 The message base is
                      scanned for all messages addressed to you or to ALL.

@X0B      Z               Capture and compress messages. @X03 As with the D command,
                      the messages displayed by the current command are
                      captured and placed in a file.  The  file, however, is
                      compressed before it is downloaded and therefore may
                      not be sent to your local printer.
@XFF
