NetMail

E-Mail Program for Windows - Client Manual

Installation of NetMail

NetMail is a powerful e-mail system for a local network and/or for mobile clients, consisting of a server and a client component. It supports international character sets and has a built-in spell checking.

Software installation

NetMail can be used with all 32- and 64-bit Windows versions starting with Windows 2000. Please note:

• In a local network the NetMail client is not installed separately on each workstation but only on the gateway PC, please see the gateway manual. The client (autosync.exe) is loaded from the gateway's hard drive over the network. In addition, a link to popup.exe should be created in the Startup folder of Windows to keep you informed about dates and new e-mails; normally this happens automatically.
• In the Windows Firewall (if enabled) file and printer sharing must be allowed even if no sharing is actually used; otherwise refreshing the mail list or the popup programm will not work properly.
• Mobile clients can access the gateway using GSM, GPRS, UMTS, modems, ISDN or via the Internet. The mobile client software is installed with SETUPM (not SETUP). If you got NetMail on a CD, the CDSTART program has a button for installing the mobile client. In Windows NT, 2000, XP you will need administrator privileges for the installation, otherwise e.g. creating the start menu entries will not work.

Installing the fax driver

You can use the NetMail client to send faxes. The NetMail gateway (if equipped with the CapiFax software) will then relay your fax pages to the destination number, creating a short confirmation mail to your account.

To create fax pages, NetMail comes with a special virtual printer driver for 32- and 64-bit Windows versions. It can be installed using the configuration menu in the client program. The printer named NetMail can be used by any application like Word or Excel.

NetMail uses its own Faxview.exe module for viewing fax TIF files. If you prefer a different application for TIF files, simply rename Faxview.exe to something like Faxview.bak.

Standard mail handler

There is a configuration option to use NetMail as the Standard e-mail handler. This means that if you click on a mailto link in Internet Explorer, NetMail will be launched automatically, and the destination mail address is filled in. Example (Test):
mailto:abc@example.com?SUBJECT=Test&BODY=c:\work\test.txt&FILE=c:\autoexec.bat
All parameters after the first question mark are optional (so mailto:abcexample.com could be used, too) and have the following meaning:
SUBJECT= the subject of this mail,
BODY= either the text itself, or a pathname to a textfile,
FILE= an optional attachment (? and * can be used to send more than one attachment),
AUTO can be used if this e-mail should be sent without user interaction. Optionally,
AUTO=username can be used to configure the sender's address for this e-mail.
Within these parameters, spaces must be replaced by %20 and question marks by %3F. International characters must be encoded in the installed Windows codepage as hex digits, e.g. %FC for "ü". Mailedit.exe will be called with these parameters in its command line.

The "standard mail handler" option also allows MAPI-compliant applications like Wordpad, Paint or Acrobat Reader to send e-mails with or without attachments. If you have problems using the MAPI interface under Windows 2000 or later, try to run the Fixmapi.exe program provided with Windows.

Other mail clients

If you are using the NetMail client and a third-party e-mail program in parallel (e.g. Outlook, Thunderbird, or perhaps a smartphone), this dialogue allows to limit the length and types of all transferred attachments: You can enter a comma-delimited list of all file allowed extensions which the external client can display, e.g.:
GIF,JPG,JPEG,PNG,TXT
All other attachments can be viewed either in the NetMail client or in the web mail interface.

Please refer to the NetMail gateway manual for information how to enable SMTP/POP3 access to the NetMail server.

More settings

The Configuration menu also offers these settings:

• Addresses: This is the address book with private and shared addresses.
• Recycle bin: Select if and how long deleted mails should be kept in the trash.
• Tray: Sent and read mails will be moved to a special private archive "Tray" after a configurable number of days.
• 3-pane view: This menu item is only available for monitors with more than 1500 pixels width. If enabled, the text preview is not displayed below the mail list but on the right of it.
• Quote mail in answer: Select if the original mail is cited if you answer an e-mail, and if a '>' should be used to indent lines in it. You can also configure strings where the quotation should end, e.g. -- \n for a line with two dashes and one space (\n=end of line), this is often used as a signature delimiter. Tip: If the shift key is held down while clicking on Answer, the '>' configuration will be inverted.
• Font: You can select a font size for sent and received mails, and also if text should be displayed with a fixed width. If "automatic" is selected, a fixed font is used only if a mail contains multiple consecutive spaces. (Note that this setting does not affect how an email which you have sent is displayed at the recipient; it configures the local font only.)
• Select own name: Select a NetMail username here.
• Absence: This configures the autoresponder and redirection settings for LAN clients.
• Select language: Select the dialogue language. (Unfortunately, this does not translate e-mails!)

Spell check dictionaries

NetMail uses the popular Hunspell module for spell checking. The folder DIC.DIR below NetMail contains English and German spell-checking files. Each language requires an .AFF and a .DIC file. The file name looks like this:
<family>_<country>.AFF
<family>_<country>.DIC
where <family> is e.g. EN for English, and <country> is e.g. US for United States.

You can download additional spelling files e.g. from http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Dictionaries in the ZIP format and unpack the .AFF and .DIC files into the NetMail DIC.DIR subfolder. (Note: The .OXT files as used by Open Office 3.x are renamed ZIP files and can be used alternatively.)

The spell checker will ignore quoted text (">" at the beginning of a line), links, file paths, and words which do not contain lower-case letters.

Mobile client

These settings are not relevant for LAN clients but only for mobile external clients accessing the NetMail gateway remotely. The NetMail server can handle one connection either via modem, ISDN or TCP/IP. Entries in the account management which are not configured as "LAN users" are handled as mobile users, and mails for them are deleted on the NetMail server after they have been retrieved. The transfer uses a very efficient compression and thus costs less money than with conventional mail clients like Outlook.

Connection settings

In the mobile client program, you will find "Account and dial parameters" in the "Configuration" menu. It is used to define how your NetMail server should be accessed.

• Important: If a gateway login has been successful before, accessing this dialogue requires the correct entry of your password. If you forget it, you will have to lookup the registration form of France Telecom Mobile Satellite Communications. After entering the password, it will be valid for 10 minutes or until you exit the program.

Log-in data

• Username: Your username as configured in the gateway. It will become the part of your e-mail address before @.
• Password: Your password as configured in the NetMail gateway. Upper or lower case is irrelevant.
• Dial number: Enter the phone number of the NetMail gateway.
• Port: The serial port to be used for the modem, or ISDN CAPI 2.0. Click on settings to configure the port.

Dial parameters

• Do not send files larger than [...]: This protects you against sending large files unintentionally. The limit applies to every single attached file.
• Manual/Automatic: If manual operation is selected, a dial-out will happen only if initiated in the message list. Otherwise you can enter a list of times when the gateway should be dialled. To avoid conflicts when several users enter the same, the times are rounded down to quarters of an hour, and then a random time (0 to 10 min) is added.

NetMail allows to save the configuration for up to three connection types. A changed setting for one will be saved if you either click on one of the two other configuration types or on the OK button.

Modem configuration

Device: Select the desired serial port. In addition, some modem drivers may appear in the list, if they are compatible with NetMail.

• If possible, a COM port should be selected instead of a Windows modem, since NetMail will work more efficiently with a physical port. Possible exceptions are PCMCIA modems.
• Please make sure that the port used does not conflict with an interrupt used by another port or adapter. For example, you cannot use IRQ4 for COM3 since IRQ4 is already in use by COM1.

Baud rate: This is NOT the physical speed of a modem, but the PC's serial port baud rate which is normally set to a higher value.

If the dial mode is not set to "manual", the transfer program is shown as a small earth symbol in the Windows task bar. By double-clicking on it, a windows opens with a menu item "Port info" with statistical data about errors during the last connection. If you encounter many errors, the reason might be that the selected baud rate is too high for the serial port of your PC, or that the handshake is not configured correctly (must be RTS/CTS, not XON/XOFF).

Modem initialization: If a physical COM port is used, you may enter two lines here. The first one will normally be AT Z to reset the modem to its default parameters.

• Typical for telephone modem: AT &C1 &D2 S0=0 S7=65
  This ensures that the modem handles its DCD and DTR lines correctly (&C1 &D2), that it will not accept calls without being told (S0=0) and that it does not timeout before NetMail during speed negotiation (S7=65). If this does not work, try to add &K3 or \Q3 for hardware handshake (please see modem manual) and \J0 to keep the serial port rate unchanged during a connection.

If you have problems, try to replace AT Z in the first line by AT &F to use the factory default settings. - For virtual Windows modems, initialization commands are not configured in NetMail but in Windows.

Dial command: If a physical COM port is selected, this command will be used for dialling the gateway number. In most cases, ATDT will work. Within a PBX requiring a 0 to access to external line, ATX3DT0W should be used.

ISDN configuration

a. ISDN CAPI 2.0

For internal ISDN adapters or ones connected to the parallel port, the standardized CAPI 2.0 software interface is used (Common Application Program Interface). NetMail calls a driver named CAPI2032.DLL which should reside in the Windows system directory after a 32-bit CAPI 2.0 driver is properly installed.

To achieve a high throughput, we do not recommend to use virtual modem drivers for ISDN (such as AVM CapiPort) instead of the CAPI interface. Only if you intend to use special ISDN protocols such as V.110 for GSM partners, the CapiPort modem emulation is useful (see CapiPort help file).

• It is not possible to use the ISDN CAPI for connections to analogue modems.

Outgoing MSN: This MSN (multiple subscriber number) is one of your own phone numbers which NetMail should use. The MSN normally does not contain the area code but only the local phone number. It is allowed to use the same number as one already being in use for a telephone, since ISDN distinguishes different service qualifiers, such as speech and data. If the ISDN adapter is connected to a PBX, the MSN is not the external phone number but the internal PBX number instead (42, for instance). Whether an external call is allowed from this internal number has to be configured in your PBX.

Dial exchange: If you are using a PBX, enter the digit(s) required to dial the public exchange. This will be a 0 (zero) in many cases, or sometimes a 9.

b. External ISDN adapters

Modem-like AT commands are used for external ISDN adapters connected to a serial port. Please see the adapter's manual for details about necessary initialization commands, such as setting an MSN or setting the ISDN protocol to HDLC. With ISDN CAPI adapters, NetMail uses the HDLC protocol with a maximum packet length of 2 K. Both sides must always use the same protocol. Set the serial port baud rate to 115,200 bps.

TCP/IP configuration

Mobile clients may use an Internet connection (including GPRS and UMTS) to retrieve and send e-mails from and to the NetMail server. At "Details," the following is configurable for TCP/IP:

• RAS connection: Select "--" if you are using a router. RAS connections must be preconfigured in Windows before being selectable here.
• RAS username: Enter the username required for the remote-access server.
• RAS password: Enter the password required for the remote-access server.
• TCP/IP port: Default is 4710, the setting must be the same for server and client. If using a firewall, it must be opened for incoming connections at the server and for outgoing connections at the client. If the server uses a router, a port-forwarding must be configured to the IP address of the NetMail server PC.

Please make sure that connection retries are disabled in the properties of the RAS connection used by NetMail. - To configure a GPRS or UMTS dial-up connection in Windows (RAS/PPP), please follow the procedure recommended by your mobile network operator.

A dynamic DNS service like selfhost.de or dyndns.org can be used if the NetMail server has a dynamic IP address, e.g. for a DSL or cable modem. Mobile clients can then use an address like yourcompany.selfhost.de to access it.

Using NetMail

Mail list

In Windows' Programs menu you will find a NetMail group with an item NetMail in it. The upper part of the message list window shows unsent, received, and sent mails. Unread received mails appear in bold. A double-click on a line opens the corresponding mail. Using the right mouse button, a context menu appears which offers deleting, opening, or re-sending the file.

The Time column shows when the mail was sent in the European format (day, month, year) according to your local time zone. The Remark column can be edited using the button (_i_) in the icon bar. For received mails, it is automatically set to the sender's organization (if found in the mail header). The Address column either contains a real name (if known) or the e-mail address. Size shows the overall size of a mail including its header and attachments; the existence of attachments is shown by an asterisk (*).

The message list can be sorted by clicking on a column title. Clicking on the same column again reverses the sort order. The default order is by time, with the newest mails on top. Dragging a border line between two columns varies the column width. For each mail you can see whether it was received or sent or is currently sending.

The lower part of the message is a preview window showing the body text of the selected mail. If the text is quite long, it may be truncated, which is shown by "..." at the end.

The icons at the top of the message list window and the items in the menu allow fast access to the following functions:

• New e-mail allows writing a new mail (with file attachments, if necessary).
• Send SMS allows sending a short text message to a GSM mobile phone.
• Open shows the marked mail in a read-only text window.
• Forward allows to forward a mail to one or more e-mail addresses.
• Send again allows to edit a sent e-mail and send it to an e-mail address.
• Answer shows a received mail in a text editor window allows answering it.
• Answer all allows sending an answer to the original sender and all other addressees.
• Remark allows adding a short text which will appear in the message list (X-Remark header).
• Open saved email loads a message and its attachments from any folder.
• Save saves a mail to any directory of your PC. Attachments will be saved in a sub-directory.
• Archive moves the selected mail to an archive, or restores an archived mail to the "New" list.
• Delete deletes the marked mail including all of its attachments (or press the Shift+Del keys).
• Search/Continue search searches for a word in the current message list or an archive.
• Addresses allows to edit the address book or to export and import entries. Note that internal addresses appear automatically with the local primary domain if their number does not exceed 30.
• Help shows this manual.

Some functions are available as shortcuts and also in the mail list menu, e.g.:

• Ctrl+F: Searches one or more space-delimited words in an archive branch. To find a phrase, put it in quotes.
• Del: Deletes the selected e-mail. If the Shift key is held down, the mail is not moved to the recycle bin.
• F1: Shows this chapter of the on-line help.
• F2: Marks one or more selected e-mails in the list as read.
• F3: Continues searching.
• F4: Opens a window for writing a new e-mail.
• F5: Updates the mail list manually (this is not required normally).
• F6: Opens a window for answering to all.
• F7: Allows changing the remark text.
• F8: Allows archiving an e-mail by selecting the archive name from a list.
• F9: A mobile (non-network) client can force the mail exchange with this key.
• F11 or menu key: Displays a context menu similar to right-clicking with the mouse.
• F12: Switches between fixed and proportional font if the font is set to automatic.

Sending/Receiving E-mails

You can write mails in the integrated editor and attach any type of file. To view a received mail, simply double-click on the appropriate line in the message list. If the mail contains file attachments, the following security levels apply:

1. Secure files (bmp,rtf,ini,gif,jpg,jpeg,png,tif,wav,pcx,log,pcm,dcf,mp3,mpg,mpeg) can be saved or opened.
2. A warning is issued when opening types like doc, xls, ppt, htm which might contain scripts.
3. For HTML files a warning message is issued if (and only if) the file contains a script.
4. Text and script files like txt, vbs, hta, vcf, bat, js, reg are always opened with the text editor.
5. Unknown file types with no matching application can be opened with the text editor optionally.
6. Executable files like exe, com, scr can be saved, but cannot be launched directly.

The confirmation box which is displayed when opening some file types can be suppressed. To have the original status restored later, the security settings can be reset in the configuration menu.

Note: Since received HTML attachments are local files, the Microsoft Internet Explorer will open them with its lowest security level without a warning, even though they may contain Javascript and VBScript programs. To inform you about this possible risk, NetMail will display a warning window when opening an HTML attachment containing a script. (If you are a mobile user, it depends on the gateway configuration if alternative text formats such as HTML are transferred at all.)

In addition, you can select Learn address from a context menu by clicking on the message list with the right mouse key in order to add the partner's address to the address book.

When writing or answering a mail, the following fields are available:

• From: You can select your own sender address if you have more than one (domains, aliases etc.).
• To: Clicking on the To field opens the address book. You can search for names, or select multiple addresses by holding the Ctrl or Shift keys down.
• Cc: Carbon copy; you can enter additional recipients in this field or select them from the address book.
• Bcc: Blind carbon copy; addresses in this field will not be visible for recipients.
• Subject: Please enter a subject in this field. When answering a mail, "Re: " will be prepended to the original subject.
• Attachments: You can add one or more files to your mail. Please do not send unnecessarily large files.
• Spell check (e.g. EN_US): You can select if and in which language the text you type is checked for typos. Right-clicking words with a curly underlining offers to ignore words, to add them to your user dictionary, or get a proposal.
• Text: Write your text body here. It should never be empty, even if you attach files.

Besides the editing options in the menu of the mail text window, some key combinations are available. However, when viewing a received or already sent message, the text cannot be altered but selected and copied only:

• Ctrl+F: Searches one or more space-delimited words in the displayed mail. To find a phrase, put it in quotes.
• Ctrl-F2: Defines macros for F2, such as fyi = for your information, or ys = yours sincerely.
• F2: Expands a macro (or double-click!); when viewing e-mails with external images, toggles these links.
• F3: Continue searching (see Ctrl+F).
• F6: Activates the BCC (blind carbon copy) field when writing a message.
• F7: Switches the spell-check language.
• F9: Inserts the current date and time.
• Shift+Cursor key: Selects a text area (or drag with the left mouse key held down).
• Alt+C: Copies the selected text to the clipboard without deleting it.
• Del: Deletes one character or the selected text without copying it to the clipboard.
• Ctrl+X: Copies the selected text to the clipboard and deletes it.
• <- Backspace, above the Enter key: Deletes one character left of the cursor.
• Ctrl+V: Pastes a text from the clipboard to the current cursor position.
• You will find more common key combinations in the Windows online help.

You may double-click on an Internet link in the text area beginning with www. or http:// in order to open that page in the web browser. Double-clicking on an e-mail address in the text area opens another NetMail window allowing to write a message.

Macros accelerate your work. If you often write "For your information", simply press Ctrl-F2 in the mail editor and define a new macro "fyi" with "For your information" as text. From now on, all you have to type are the three letters fyi and F2. If you name one macro "std" (for standard), then this text is automatically inserted if you write a new e-mail. Note that it is common to use two minus signs and one space as a delimiter line above any signature lines.

When viewing a received or sent mail, you can also print it. The line width (possibly with line wraps inserted) is the same as on the screen. For this reason, you should not drag the window too wide. It opens with a default width of 80 characters which should fit for most printers.

• When you write a mail but want to pause your work and continue later on, select "Save" in the mail editor's File menu, and "Open" to reload it later. This function is also suitable for reusing a text body and one or more destination addresses in the future.

Spam mail senders typically write all destinations into the BCC part of the header which is not visible in received mails normally. To protect you from unwanted spam and junk, the gateway will not forward mails to you if your address cannot be found in the "To:" or "CC:" header lines. In spite of this, you should be careful giving your mobile mail address to others: Never publish an e-mail address if retrieving your mail is expensive.

While transferring a large file, you will see its name in the transfer window. If you feel that this mail or file is probably unsolicited, simply click on the button "Reject file". The transfer is aborted and the file will also be deleted from the gateway, so there will be no further attempt to transfer it. NetMail will then continue with the reception of other mails or data.

Creating Archives

Left from the message list you see a tree with shared and private archives. The New folder holds all e-mails which you received or wrote recently. To avoid that the list gets slower and slower, you should move older e-mails to archives frequently.

To create a new archive, right-click on the folder under which it should appear, e.g. on "Shared archives". Then select "New archive" from the context menu. Enabling the option "This archive as main folder" in the context menu will cause this archive to open after program start, instead of the another one with unread mails: This may be useful if received emails are automatically archived using an alias function in the gateway configuration. (Hoiwever, even then the "new mails" folder will appear if there are unread mails in it.)

To move e-mails from the mail list to an archive, either click on the Archive symbol in the symbol bar, simply drag an e-mail from the mail list to an archive while holding the left mouse button down. When clicking on an archive, its content is displayed in the mail list. You can also drag an archive to another place in the tree. It is even possible to create subarchives: For instance, if you have a "Customers" archive, you can create an archive "Smith" below that. However, if at least one user was given the administration privilege in the NetMail account management, others cannot move shared archive in the tree.

You can alternatively archive mails using the F8 key or Archive in the Message menu. In this case it is also possible to create a new archive without losing the existing mail selection. Use a slash "/" in archive names for folder structures, e.g. "Customers/Smith". An asterisk behind an archive name in the list marks a shared archive. NetMail tries to preselect an archive whose name is part of the address or the subject; you may also use the "Category" field of the address book to fine-tune this feature.

Shared archives are accessible for all network users, private archives for the specified user only (they are stored on the network server, too, but they are encrypted with the username). Archives containing unread e-mails appear with a special icon color in the tree. - Some archive names are reserved:

• New: All received and sent e-mails which have not been archived yet. You can split it into Outbox, Received and Sent by right-clicking the New archive and selecting "Split view". Later on, you can join these three archives into one again by right-clicking one of them and selecting "Unify view". (In a local network, the outbox is normally empty because the server instantly takes over outgoing e-mails.)
• Drafts: When you have written a new e-mail but did not send it yet, you will be asked if you want to save it as a draft. Later it is possible to right-click on a mail in the draft archive and select "Send copy" in order to edit and send it. Note that attachments are only saved as path references, not with their current content. Edited mails are also saved as drafts when the computer is switched to standby or suspend state.
• Pinboard: With a right-click you can create text files (or other file types) which can be seen and edited by all users. The NetMail editor ensures that only one user edits a file at one time. If there are NetMail accounts with administration privileges, only these are allowed to delete such files.
• Recycle bin: Deleted e-mails are saved here temporarily. In the Settings menu, you can select if and how long this will happen.

Folders with unread e-mails appear yellow. Folders with e-mails younger than 30 hours are displayed with a red stamp.

Fax and SMS transmission

If your Internet gateway supports sending SMS messages, you can send short text messages to mobile phones using the Message menu in the message list. Please use the international number format, such as +4917... for a German GSM number. The + sign is optional. A confirmation mail is returned later showing if the message could be delivered to the mobile network's SMS center.

If you have installed the fax printer driver and your Internet gateway supports faxes, you are able to send faxes using any Windows application. The fax file will be sent to the gateway using the secure and compressed NetMail protocol. The gateway will then transmit the fax to its destination number and send you a short confirmation mail. This two-stage delivery is cheaper and much more reliable than directly sending a fax from a GSM transceiver.

To send a fax, simply start the appropriate application (MS Word, for instance), load the document you want to send, select "NetMail at SFAX:" as a printer, and then print the document. A dialogue will appear where you may either enter the destination number directly or select it from a preconfigurable phone book. Click on "Send" to create a mail file which will be sent when the gateway is dialled next time.

In order to send documents from several applications to one destination, simply print all pages before clicking on the "Send" button of the fax driver.

Clicking on "Preview" allows to view the fax file on the screen and also to print it. If you do not want to use the FaxView program which was installed with NetMail but the application which is registered for TIF files in Windows, simply rename FaxView.exe to FaxView.bak. Otherwise FaxView is also used for received SFF and fax-compatible TIF files.

Diary and popup window

These functions are available for LAN clients only.

Diary in the icon bar of the NetMail client shows a list of all dates. Add a date by clicking on "New". When the given time minus the is reached, the popup window (see below) will show the date on all addressed workstations. If no year is given, the date is valid for all years, and without a month it is valid for the same day in all months. In the field for the user name (who will be notified) several names can be entered with spaces as delimiters. If a date is declared as "private," only the users in the notify list can read the text. Optionally an automatic notification by e-mail is possible, too.

All dates within the next 24 hours including those without an explicit time are also displayed when the popup program is started or after the day changes, typically when the workstation is booted. A minus sign in the list under "?" marks done tasks. You can use a right-click in the list to opern a context menu and mark a task as done or undone.

The diary is also transmitted to mobile user if the option "Pinboard local only" is deactivated in the gateway configuration, but they cannot change it.

The popup program informs you about diary dates and new e-mails even if the NetMail client does not run currently. On all workstations, simply create a link from the Windows Start-up folder to Popup.exe in the server's NetMail folder, so the popup program is loaded automatically each time a PC is rebooted. (It is also loaded when the NetMail client is launched.) If you wish that you are also informed about e-mails or dates for other users or a group, simply add their names in the commandline behind popup.exe in the Start-up link:
POPUP.EXE info postmaster vertrieb

After popup.exe is loaded, it shows up as a small symbol in the task bar. Click on it to open it as a window and to chat with others. There is an input field for the network destination address (use * for all), and a text input field. In the text box above, sent and received messages appear; a right-clock opens a context menu.

If you are using the CapiCall or CapiFax software from Shamrock, the popup program will also show calls (including their number and name, if found in the phone book) and faxes. With the freeware CapiDog on the server, the state of both ISDN b-channels is displayed on each workstation as coloured task bar symbols.

If you do not want the window to pop into the foreground while working with another application, simply disable the "Foreground" option. In this case, a balloon text appears in the system tray for each new message; clicking on it opens the popup window. Alternatively you can define Alt+Enter as a global hotkey for opening it; simply create a line PopupHotKey=1,D in shamrock.ini below [Common]. Note that the balloon text is not displayed if this function is disabled e.g. by the TweakUI utility from Microsoft.

It is also possible to exchange popup messages externally with other NetMail servers over the Internet. The HTTP server must be activated in the Mailer program, and the own domain (typically a DynDNS domain) must be entered in the gateway configuration at "External programs." For sending messages to external popup users, the addressing scheme is <user><domain>, e.g. smithexample.dyndns.org. On each workstation, the proxy configuration of the Windows control panel is used (Internet settings) for transmitting messages. For reception, the mailer relays popup messages to the local-area network.

More information

Absence

When you leave the office for some days, it is possible to either enable a mail redirection to another user, or an autoresponder. The redirection option shows a list with other users but ecludes those who have a redirection enabled to you.

The autoresponder is a gateway function, but it can be configured from any network client (not by mobile clients). It allows automatic answers to incoming e-mails. Depending on keywords, different answers can be sent. - We recommend to activate the autoresponder only if you will not be able to answer e-mails for more than 24 hours. Autoresponder messages are often disliked because their benefit is limited.

If you view an e-mail for which the autoresponder has sent an automatic answer, you will find this answer e-mail as a new attachment autoresp.eml to the received mail.

NetMail avoids endless e-mail loops in cases where autoresponders on both sides are involved, or if return mails are received. An autoresponder e-mail is only created if:

• The autoresponder has been activated by the user.
• The sender's address does not contain the words Daemon, Postmaster, .fax@ or .sms@.
• The subject does not contain the word "Autoresponder" (as created by the autoresponder).
• No autoresponder mail is sent to the same sender if one was sent before from the same user, except this mail was deleted in the mail list.

Each entry in the autoresponder list can have one or more keywords. If the received e-mail contains one of them in the sender, in the subject or in the mail body, the appropriate text is sent back. If the text field is empty for certain keywords, no autoresponder mail is created in this case. If the last entry does not contain keywords (standard answer), the text is used only if none of the keywords of the entries above are matching the received mail.

The autoresponder e-mail is created and sent when the gateway dials the Internet provider.

Backing up archives

"Backup archives" in the File menu copies all public and private mail archives into a selected folder, using the current date (yyyy-mm-dd) as a subfolder, keeping the original directory structure. Of course this structrure can be copied to a CDROM.

"Open archives from backup" allows to read archived mails without copying them back. Select a path with the intended date (yyyy-mm-dd). Archived mails are treated as read-only even if they are on a writeable medium. The selected path is displayed in the archive tree instead of "Private archives" and "Shared archives". To switch back to the current archives, simply refresh the mail list (e.g. by pressing F5).

Drag & drop, Send to

You can drag a file from the Windows explorer to a "new mail" window of NetMail by holding down the left mouse key and drop it here (drag & drop).

You may also call the executable file mailedit.exe with one or more filenames as command line parameters. You will then be asked for a destination address, and the files are sent as an e-mail.

And here is one more way to send a file: In the Windows explorer, click on a file with the right mouse button. A context menu with "Send to" will appear. If NetMail is the standard e-mail handler, the "Send to" submenu will contain NetMail. When selecting this, you will get a list of all available destinations.

Address book export

The address book can be exported in a CSV format which is compatible e.g. with Outlook address import:

Name,Company,Mail,Fax,Mobile

Please note that each line either contains Mail address, or Fax, or Mobile number, not all these types together.

Address book import

It is sometimes useful to import addresses in a comma-delimited format (CSV = comma-separated values). For this purpose, the address book has an "Import" button. In the source file, each address must be in one line. The following formats are valid:

Name,Address
Name,Company,Address
Name,Company,Mail,Fax,Mobile

Quotation marks around the fields are allowed. In addition, a semicolon (;) may be used instead of the comma. In the first two firmats, fax numbers must be preceded by "FAX:" and SMS numbers by "SMS:", all other entries are treated as email addresses; multiple entries with the same name are not allowed. The third format (as used by the export function) does not uses these prefixes, and the same name can be used for different address types.

Gateway options

Depending on the sort of gateway used, your provider may offer some additional settings for your mail account. If you are interested in one of the following functions, please contact your provider:

• Size limit for received mails: Protects you from long, possibly unwanted and expensive mails by stripping off large attachment files. The limit can be set in several steps.
• Notification about new mail: Instead of polling for mails every few hours, you may find it to be more convenient to get a message via SMS on your GSM mobile phone.
• Subject password: All e-mails to your account that do not contain a special word in the subject line can be barred. This also protects you from unwanted and unsolicited mails.

Popup.exe: Playing individual WAV files

Open the file SHAMROCK.INI in the folder where Popup.exe is located (typically the NetMail folder on the server) with a text editor or create it, and add the following lines (these are just examples, see explanations below):

[Common]
Popup-Sounds=rbs
Popup-Dir=c:\wavefiles

[Popup-Sounds]
blocked&spam=c:\work\spam.wav!
blocked=blocked.wav
Anruf=ringin.wav

Popup-Sounds= defines for which messages special sound files should be played: r=red (diary dates), b=blue (system messages from NetMail, CapiCall, CapiFax), s=black (messages from other popup users). Default is "rbs".
Popup-Dir= defines a path for WAV files which will be used if the file name does not contain a backslash.
The keywords below [Popup-Sounds] are case-sensitive and define which sound is to be played if they occur in a popup message. The ampersand character & allows to enter several words; the sound is played only if all of them occur in one message. If an exclamation sign is behind the wav filename and the message was created automatically (e.g. by the NetMail gateway), only the sound is played without displaying a text.

Technical details

Folder structure

NetMail uses a simple folder structure for transferring mails. A mobile client uses this structure:

• Received: All received files from the gateway. The subfolder names match the e-mail addresses.
• Send_To: All files which will be sent to the gateway. After sending, they are moved to the Archive folder.
• Archive: Sent e-mails which have been moved here from the Send_To folder.
• For_All: Pinboard files (typically .TXT) which are available to all other users of your NetMail gateway. They can be transferred to mobile users automatically if they change.

For LAN clients, the folders Received and Send_To are reversed.

Using this structure, it is very easy to send e-mails from own programs by simply creating an appropriate folder and placing a text file or binary attachment into it.

Runtime DLLs in a LAN

With Windows XP and later, you can speed up the client start in the network by installing the "Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package (x86)" from
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=a5c84275-3b97-4ab7-a40d-3802b2af5fc2
on all workstations. The files
mfc90u.dll, msvcr90.dll, Microsoft.VC90.CRT.manifest, Microsoft.VC90.MFC.manifest
are then loaded from the local hard disk instead of the network which makes start-up a bit faster. It is not required to delete them in the NetMail folder on the server. (These files are only required by the client, not by the NetMail server software.)

Commandline options

You may launch the client program Mailedit.exe with a filename in the commandline (which should include the full path information). In this case you will be asked for a destination address, and the file is sent as an e-mail. Alternatively, these commandline parameters are possible:

Furthermore, the file Autosync.exe can be started with /U:username in order to force a specific own identity in a LAN.

License agreement

The NetMail suitability in a specific operating environment, for specific other programs, or for specific applications is not guaranteed. Shamrock is not liable for any damage or loss of profit caused by the usage of this software.

A hotline telephone number is offered for customers using the commercial NetMail-XL version only. However, e-mail requests will be answered even for the free NetMail version. Distribution of this software on the Internet or on other media is only allowed with an explicit permission from Shamrock. It is not allowed to use NetMail over satellite connections, e.g. Inmarsat, Iridium, Thuraya. There is a special variant for these, called SkyFile.

This software includes the Hunspell spell checker by Kevin Hendricks (MySpell) and Németh László (Hunspell) published under the LGPL. Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" basis, without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. Portions are Copyright (C) 2002-2005 by the initial developers; all rights reserved.

By installing this software the above agreement is silently accepted.

© Shamrock Software GmbH