============================================================================== Oct'01 v2.0 (c) Heimo Claasen REVOBILD 35 Rue du Marteau B-1000 BRUXELLES ============================================================================== A short guide to setup Marc Ressl's NETMAIL FOR DOS with Revobild's pre- and post-prossessors, Mail-to-Netmail (M2NM) and Netmail-to Mailbag (NM2BAG): Netmail is run after dial-in connection is established and a packet driver has been loaded. Netmail works fine with a packet driver for a network card too.[1] NETMAIL has its own manual and its specific configuration utility, NMSETUP.exe - use this to configure Netmail accordingly for the sendmail and mailbox (POP3) servers you want to use. "Netmail /send" needs, in an outgoing (sub)directory for each mail to send (this is taken into the Netmail configuration), one "raw" mail file with the extension *.TXT (which contains the header of the mail, followed by an empty line, followed by the body/text of the mail); and one *.WRK file with the "From:" eMail address to use in the mail, and the destination(s); several if there is a /CC or a destination list. M2NM creates this pair of files from the original mail-item file, which in turn just needs the destination in its first line, the subject in its second line, and then one empty line before any body/text starts. "Netmail /receive" will store all mails fetched as a pair of single files - starting with 00000000.TXT and 00000000.WRK - in the (sub)directory for incoming mail defined in its setup. NM2BAG discards of the *.WRK files whoich are normally not used for offline readers in DOS, and puts all *.TXT files into a folder which corresponds to the stream of incoming "raw" mail items from the POP3 server separated by the standard "dot-line" (CR LF . CR LF) which signals the end of a specific mail. (NM2BAG changes "lost single dots on a line" inside any mail to a standard double dot so that offline readers are not confused.) With just one mailbox in use the setup is straightforward: - run "M2NM m2nm.cfg [switches]" to put the *.TXT and *.WRK files from the original edited mails into the outgoing (sub)dirrectory - run the dialler (Chat), then load the packet driver (LSppp) - run "Netmail /send" if you have outgoing mail - run "netmail /receive" to fetch mail from a POP3 account - unload the packet driver and close the telco line - run "NM2BAG [switches]" to put the mails in a folder - run ReRead (or any other offline reader using the standard "raw" mail stream, like Nescape Mail) to read, order, reply to, or trash the mails. You can easily set this up in one DOS batch file. Certainly it's useful to put in stops/switches there - "Holdit.com" is a practical small tool for this - if you just need to send-off mail, or only want to fetch mail. If a mail to send has not gone out (e.g., because of a typo in an address) it stays in the outgoing (sub)directory; otherwise, Netmail deletes these pairs of *.txt/*.wrk files there. I have a check in my batch to look for left-over *.txt files there - and a break-out switch at this point too -, before the batch deletes the original files too. The following describes some steps for sending off mail with just one dial-up connection from multiple own (apparent) mail addresses, and to fetch mail from any number of mailboxes, in just one go: SENDING: This would use the Netmail /send configuration NM.CFG with the right entry for the SMTP to use (almost certainly the one available at the dial-in Access/Service provider), but different configurations for the "preprocessor" M2NM - Netmail uses the entries in the "*.WRK" files ("OUT-nnnn.WRK") to write the "apparently-from" From: address into the finally to send mail header - i.e. that which is visible for the receiver (e.g., and importantly, for a name-checking mailing lists), but negotiates (and sends) through this SMTP server with the "real" address. i.e. the one which is checked/authenticated with dialling-in/PPP negotiation. Thus if you want to write "from different addresses" (the names of your different mailboxes) you need (a) different M2NM-"configs", and (b) different original-mail filename templates, i.e., those looked for by M2NM according to the template given in the first line of M2NM-xyz.CFG (or "ISP-1.ini" or whatever you name it; the config-filename which must appear as a command line argument with M2NM. See the doc there.) You can have the series of mails with different "apparently-From:" worked out in one stretch, before going online _if_ all are to be sent via a same SMTP server. M2NM checks for the upnumbered out-files in the outgoing-mail subdir; but it's reasonably fast, if those mails are not tens of megabytes, to do it online after dialling-in too. FETCHING mails from different boxes: Here, it's Netmail's Config which must be different, as each time it has to talk to different POP3 addresses with their different passwords. The mails dowloaded from different boxes must go into different (sub)directories too - the respective entries are needed in the pertinent NM.CFGs likewise - as Netmail is a bit rigid in its output, starting always with a file pair of "00000000.TXT|WRK" and thus would overwrite gracelessly what's left with such number(s). Thus you have (a batch) to do, respectively, (1.) to copy the specific NM-POPxx.CFG's over onto a "NM.CFG" to use, and (2.) to call "Netmail /receive" for the respective POP3 you want to check. The "postprocessor" NM2BAG then puts the single-item *.TXT files, with adding a "dot-line" end-of-item marker, from an incoming (sub)dir into a folder or mailbag in the format like the one used by Nettamer ("*.DLU"); dafault is a filename of four letters given and the MMDD daystamp, and a running number as extension. Like "mailMMDD.1"; but it can get whatever you ant. It then simply deletes the *.wrk files which are useless further (except in an unixish setup like uka_ppp or Yan; but there you need no "postprocessing" as the offline readers work with those single- item files [and maybe _huge_ numbers of them in the subdirs].) Mails are always appended to the folder-file, so you can assemble all in one continuously used "inmail"-folder, or in different ones depending on the POP3-source. (The built-in default naming with the date-stamp is simply to override with another target sepcification as argument on the command line for NM2BAG.) This sounds more complicated verbosely than it is in practice - I use just two very straight batches, one with the dialler + packet driver (CHAT and LSppp) and a check if there are mails to send off, then a pause/switch - I might want to stay online to do other things or/and then to fetch mail -, then another batch to close the line and "post- process", offline, whatever mails there are in the Netmail-inboxes. This procedures seems optimal for conditions - like in Europa or worse elsewhere - where each dial-in already costs a forfeit for telco fees, and where online time then is metered. The "post-processor" NM2BAGS since v.2 has a built-in character remapping which is ON by default, and translates Windoze 8bit chars to the IBM/CP437/PC8-charset, _IF_ it finds a line with the keywords "Content-Type:...; charset=8859-1" in an incoming nnnnnnnn.TXT mail's header, and _IF_ the joined "Eurowin$.lst" (this name is hardwired as a default) is present in the directory (from) where it is run. If that win$.lst charlist is not there, it does nothing of that. This remapping can be switched off, when the char list is present, with a command line switch, "/-c" with NM2BAG (note the syntax ! different from the enabling/forcing switch for a remapping list, "/c-". [1] When used from inside a LAN, Netmail needs a _specific_ local address in the WATTCP.CFG file, and the values for gateway and netmask have to be set accordingly to those for the router, so it uses the router for external connections. The usual my_IP=DHCP line would not work. ============================================================================ Heimo Claasen / REVOBILD 80 Av. Emile Zola B-1030 BRUXELLES t. (+32) 02 217 86 07 HomePage of ReRead - and much to read ==> http://www.revobild.net ============================================================================ Last updated Mar'10 (c) COPYRIGHT NOTE: The program, "NM2BAG.exe" in all its versions - and since v.2+ including the joined "eurowin$.lst" file - is free for individual and non-commercial use. "Commercial" would mean either the use as a business tool set up in any organisational context by that organisation's administrator or on his or anyone else's instigation for use of any member of that (business or other) organisation. (Thus singular, personal use inside an "organistion" does not fall into this category.) "Commercial" would mean too any distribution of the program and all joined or connected material which would demand any compensation above the sheer - and to be _PROVEN_ ! - costs of reproduction. The program source, subject to the same conditions, is available upon simple request from the author. The program(-package) contains all basic information as to the use of it, in its functionality described there. The additional, extensive and explicative notes, the file: "NM2BAGS.TXT" is an author's TEXT subject to legal (c) COPYRIGHT rules. A one-time reproduction licence may be obtained against a honorary fee (not subject to wares taxes/VAT e.a.) from the author. 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