** 1 page regular NeST / 856 words **

On the NeST

Semper is more than a simpler Mailer - Harry Sideras delves deeper into its workings and discovers more time-saving tips...

Semper is a deceptively simple program but an in-depth foray into the documentation reveals hidden tricks which allow the user to take control of messaging so it does what we want rather than the other way around.
The method used is a combination of two menus in Semper's 'Config' menu - 'Functions' - which we met last month, and a new one called 'Events'.

The main event
Semper is driven by events and uses a default 24-hour event if none other is specified - this should be disabled in the "Events" menu before we add our own.

** EVNTMENU.GIF here **

Last month's introduction required us to export our messages and dial the BBS by pressing keys manually, but basic functions of this type are ideally suited to automation. Our first choice of event will be one that calls our home BBS, so choose a suitable label for it and set about deciding the days and times to call.
Telephone charges vary during the day and between weekday and the weekend, so we may decide to call at cheap rates during the week and at different times on Saturday and Sunday. Another variation might be to delay a Friday call until after midnight to catch the weekend rates and to dial on Sunday night rather than at Monday's higher weekday rates. If we also restrain ourselves from requesting files until the weekend we can easily keep our costs below our target of £10 per quarterly bill.
Beware though - unless the ST and modem have a separate room, the combined hum of hard-drive fan and screech of modem in the night can wreck marriages and lead to sleepless nights! Alternatively, it can be used as a back-up alarm clock!

** EVNTDEFN.GIF here **

To configure a daily call, double-click on the line labelled 'On:', as shown in the screenshot, where a pop-up menu gives us the choice of individual days, weekdays or weekends. For the example discussed earlier we need to enter the days directly onto the line, with each one separated by a vertical line (Shift-backslash on the keyboard) - such as 'Tue|Wed|Thu'.
Start and End times need to be set, in case of interruptions by screensavers or telephone calls, and also set the 'Dynamic' and 'Force' check boxes to ensure the event is carried out at the first opportunity after the interruption, even if that's after the end time we decided upon.
To the right of the 'Start' field configure the event to take place on a certain day of the month, only within a certain month, or a combination of the two for once-a-year events. That may be useful for other functions you may decide upon.
Finally, 'Cost' should be set to '-1' to match the delimiter used in Semper's COSTS.DAT file.

Functional behaviour
Having chosen the parameters to be met for the event to take place, the operation to be carried out must first be set up.
Mark the check box titled 'Start event with:' and select the 'Function' radio button. Double-clicking on the 'Name/Cmd:' line reveals the Functions we set up last month, so choose the one that dials the BBS and click on OK to complete the event setup. The main Semper dialog will show the label for this event as the next one to be carried out.
Up to 20 functions can be created in Semper, each of which can set off several programs or dial different BBS's. Further examples include a daily event which ensures all messages we've written have been exported, or a weekly run to trim the size of LED's messagebase.
Operations like this remove the drudge of remembering simple file maintenance. If you haven't already experimented for yourself, try extending your Aftermail function so LED is loaded as a program after importing your new messages.
A whole host of support utilities are available for Semper and a more detailed diary of events and functions will be looked at later in the series.

** Start of Boxout 1 **
BBS Update
New to the NeST list since issue 1 are:
LETS Forum    Falmouth          Rob Follett      01326 378717
Meon Valley   Portsmouth        Si Gardner       01705-632199
OASES User    Westerham, Kent   Rory Street      01959 563 968 17:00-22:00
Paul Seed's PMT BBS has changed its name to Phoenix and has a new number: 01253 342628. Times remain restricted to 6pm-9am.
BBS closures include SySTem BBS and, sadly, AdLib BBS run by Andy Curtis and Frank Charlton. Please ensure you remove these numbers from your diallers.
However, the AdLib message base has been recreated by Andy and Frank as an Internet Email mailing list.
To subscribe, send an email to majordomo@adlib.co.uk with a blank subject and the following in the body of the message:
subscribe mbase [first name] [last name]
Example: subscribe mbase andy curtis
** End of Boxout 1 **

** Captions **
** EVNTMENU.GIF **
Connecting to the BBS and system maintenance can be timed for maximum convenience and minimum cost

** EVNTDEFN.GIF **
The regularity of processing each event can be controlled in great detail