Updated: 24 May 2001

OpenVMS User's Manual

The following commands are used for exiting Mail or transferring control:

• ATTACH [process-name]
  Permits you to switch control of your terminal from your current process to another process in your job. For example, while you are editing a file, you can use the SPAWN command to move to a subprocess (Mail) to read a new mail message. Then, you can enter the ATTACH command to move back to the editing session.
• EXIT
  Exits from Mail. When you enter the EXIT command, any messages in the WASTEBASKET folder are deleted unless you have issued the command SET NOAUTO_PURGE. You can also exit from Mail by pressing Ctrl/Z.
• QUIT
  Exits from Mail without emptying the WASTEBASKET folder (deleted messages are not destroyed unless you enter the EXIT command or press Ctrl/Z). The QUIT command performs the same function as Ctrl/Y.
• SPAWN [command]
  Creates a subprocess of the current process. You can use the SPAWN command to leave Mail temporarily, perform other functions (such as displaying a directory listing or printing a file), and then return to Mail.

The following command is used for compressing mail files:

• COMPRESS [filespec]
  Makes an indexed mail file smaller. If you do not specify a file name, Mail compresses the mail file that is currently open. If there is no open mail file, Mail compresses the default mail file (MAIL.MAI).

The following commands are used for system management:

• REMOVE user name
  Removes a user record from the system's mail profile, data file SYS$SYSTEM:VMSMAIL_PROFILE.DATA. Requires SYSPRV privileges.
• SHOW FORWARD
  Displays the name of a user's current forwarding address.
• SHOW PERSONAL_NAME
  Displays the text string that a user has established with the SET PERSONAL_NAME command.

The Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (MIME) is the standard used to attach nontext files to mail messages. The MIME utility allows you to compose and read MIME-encoded mail messages. With MIME, nontext files, such as graphics or sound files, are encoded and sent as plain text, although that text may not be readable. The MIME utility decodes MIME files to their original form and allows you to create MIME-encoded files, which can be sent as mail messages using the OpenVMS Mail utility.

The system manager may have already set up the foreign command for MIME, but if not, you can do so by adding the following line to your LOGIN.COM:

$ MIME ::=,= $SYS$SYSTEM:MIME.EXE

6.15.1 Invoking the MIME Utility

MIME will only open text files. Extract the MIME-encoded message into a text file using Mail first. (See Section 6.6.3 for instructions.)

To invoke the MIME utility from the DCL prompt, enter the following:

$ MIME file-name.TXT

The file name qualifier is optional. If the file specified exists, two possible qualifiers for the file are available:

• /READ_ONLY indicates that the file is the contents of a message received by the user who intends to decode it.
• /DRAFT indicates that the file contains a message that was created in a previous session and was intended for delivery at some later time.

If the file specified does not exist, a new MIME-formatted file is created with that name.

The MIME utility does not construct any header information such as the To: or From: fields. It creates only the body text of the message, saving the text in a file to be sent by Mail later. If the file specified to be opened contains such recognizable headers or any RFC822 headers, the default is /READ_ONLY.

6.15.2 Extracting MIME-Encoded Files Using the MIME Utility

To extract a MIME-encoded file using the MIME utility, first, open the file you want to decode. You can open the file in one of two ways: by invoking the MIME utility specifying the file name (as explained in Section 6.15.1) or by opening the file in the MIME utility.

To open a file in the MIME utility, enter the following command:

MIME> OPEN file-name

To extract the attachment, enter the following command:

MIME> EXTRACT destination-file-name

If you are working with a file with multiple attachments, you can extract all the attachments by appending the /ALL qualifier to the command. Or, you can specify a single attachment by appending the /ATTACHMENT=n qualifier, which specifies the number of the attachment to be extracted. The numbers for the individual attachments are displayed with the READ command.

See Section 6.15.5 for a complete list of commands used in the MIME utility.

6.15.3 Encoding Files Using the MIME utility

To encode files to be sent as attachments, you must first create a new file by invoking the MIME utility and specifying the new file name:

$ MIME new-file-name

Or you can use the OPEN command in the MIME utility to create a new message file:

MIME> OPEN/NEW new-file-name

To open a file that you created in a previous session, specify the qualifier /DRAFT in the command.

To add attachments to the file, enter the command:

MIME> ADD file-name

For a complete list of optional qualifiers for this command, see Section 6.15.5.

To write the current information to the file, use the SAVE command. Once saved, the MIME-encoded file can be sent as a file by the OpenVMS Mail utility.

To exit the MIME utility, enter the QUIT or EXIT command.

See Section 6.15.5 for a complete list of commands used in the MIME utility.

6.15.4 Preamble and Epilogue Text

MIME-encoded messages are indecipherable without a MIME interpreter or MIME-compliant mail clients. Thus, the MIME utility allows the inclusion of plain text at the beginning (preamble) and end (epologue) of such messages. This text is used to indicate that the message is MIME-encoded. Normally these preamble and epilogue fields are not displayed by MIME-compliant mail clients; however, they are useful nevertheless.

6.15.5 MIME Utility Commands

The following list contains descriptions of the commands, parameters, and qualifiers available in the MIME utility. Examples follow each description.

ADD --- Adds a new body part or attachment to the message being edited. The ADD command requires the name of the file you want to attach as a parameter. The optional qualifiers are:

• /AUDIO --- The attachment is an audio file.
• /CONTENT-TYPE=type --- Overrides the default content-type with a specified string.
• /ENCODING={7Bit|8Bit|Base64|Quoted-Printable} --- Overrides the default encoding with a specified encoding type.
• /IMAGE ---- The attacment is an image file.
• /MESSAGE --- The attachment is a message file.
• /NAME=file-name --- Overrides the input file name and specifies this file name in the component header.
• /TEXT --- The attachment is content-type text.
• /VIDEO --- The attachment is a video file.

MIME> ADD file-name/VIDEO

CLOSE --- Closes the current message file. If you have not saved your most recent changes, the MIME utility will prompt you to save before closing. If the file is /READ_ONLY, the file is left unchanged.

MIME> CLOSE

EDIT --- Invokes the user's default text editor for the specified attachment. The file name is optional with this command.

MIME> EDIT file-name

EXIT --- Exits the MIME editor, saving any work in process.

MIME> EXIT

EXTRACT - Extracts the specified message component into its native file format. Again, the file name is optional. You can specify a single component (/ATTACHMENT=n) or all the components to be extracted (/ALL).

MIME> EXTRACT file-name/ALL

HELP --- Displays a help file for the MIME utility.

MIME> HELP

LIST --- Displays information about the current message including a list of body parts and attributes. For a full list of all details, append the qualifier /FULL.

MIME> LIST/FULL

OPEN --- Opens the message with the specified file name. The qualifiers available are:

• /DRAFT --- The message file is a draft created in a previous session.
• /NEW --- Creates a new message (default if no file name is specified).
• /READ --- The message is read-only and cannot be updated.

MIME> OPEN file-name/NEW

QUIT --- Aborts the current MIME editing session without saving the current message.

MIME> QUIT

READ --- Displays the current message as readable text with attachment markers.

MIME> READ

REMOVE --- Deletes a specified attachment from the current message.

MIME> REMOVE/ATTACHMENT=1

SAVE --- Writes the current message to a file. If a file name is specified, it will be used.

MIME> SAVE file-name

6.15.6 Error Handling

Error conditions are reported using the OpenVMS signaling subsystem, specifically lib$signal() and lib$stop(). Three levels of severity exist for error conditions: Fatal, Error, and Warning. These levels indicate what results you can expect from a condition. The severities and corresponding results are described in the following list:

• Fatal (-F-) results in the immediate termination of the program.
• Error (-E-) results in the termination of the currently active command while retaining the existing message context.
• Warning (-W-) results in the completion of the current command, without interupting the MIME editing session. However, this does not mean that the command accomplished all its tasks successfully. Check the results for errors.

The OpenVMS Phone utility (PHONE) is a communication program designed to allow users to "talk" to each other via their terminals, computers, or computer networks. This chapter includes information about:

• Using Phone
• Entering Phone commands
• Customizing your Phone viewport
• Summary of Phone commands

For additional information about the commands described in this chapter, refer to online help.

7.1 Using Phone

Phone (sometimes referred to as the Phone facility) provides features that are similar to actual telephone communications, such as the hold button, conference calls, and telephone directories. You can use Phone to communicate with other users on your system or with any other system connected to your system by DECnet for OpenVMS networks.

To invoke Phone, enter the PHONE command at the DCL prompt and press Return. You can specify the user name of the person with whom you want to communicate before or after you enter Phone. When you invoke the Phone utility, Phone takes control of your terminal and displays the Phone viewport.

The following figure shows the Phone viewport:

$ PHONE (1) OpenVMS Phone Facility 11-DEC-1996 % (2) --------------------------------------------------------- TAURUS::SMITH (3) ---------------------------------------------------------- GEMINI::PETERS (4) ----------------------------------------------------------

The fields on the viewport are as follows:

1. The command that is used to enter the Phone utility.
2. The Phone prompt, also known as the switchhook. This is where you enter Phone commands. You can get to the Phone command line by pressing the switchhook (%) character at any time during your conversation. The switchhook character is the percent sign (%) on your keyboard.
3. The top part of the viewport is where the conversation text that you type appears.
4. The lower part of the viewport is where the conversation text that other participants type appears. You can have up to six participants in a phone conversation.

The viewport contains information regarding the user's name, the text of the conversation, and various status indicators, such as who is on hold. User names of people that you have on hold can be temporarily eliminated from the screen to make room for new participants.

7.1.1 Help on Phone

You can obtain information about Phone by invoking the HELP command at the DCL prompt as follows:

$ HELP Topic? PHONE

You can also enter Help from within the Phone utility by entering the HELP command at the switchhook (%) prompt.

7.2 Entering Phone Commands

To enter Phone commands, you must first press the switchhook character (%). If you are using the Phone utility but are not currently engaged in a conversation, the switchhook character is optional because there is no ambiguity between a command and conversation.

You can press Ctrl/W at any time during your current conversation to refresh the screen.

The DIAL, DIRECTORY, MAIL, and PHONE commands accept logical names. To prevent Phone from treating a parameter to these commands as a logical name, prefix the parameter with an underscore.

When you are engaged in a conversation, most of the characters that you type are considered part of that conversation and are sent to each participant. The exception is the percent sign (%), which signals that you want to enter a Phone utility command. You can enter any Phone utility command during a conversation. See Section 7.4 for a list of available Phone commands.

7.3 Customizing Your Phone Viewport

When entering the DCL command PHONE, you can supply the following qualifiers that modify the characteristics of the simulated telephone:

/SCROLL	Determines how new lines of text are displayed on the screen when the viewport becomes full.
/SWITCH_HOOK	Specifies the character to be used for the switchhook prompt. The switchhook character must be entered before each Phone utility command that is entered during a conversation.
/VIEWPORT_SIZE	Specifies the maximum number of lines in a viewport, including the heading line and the bottom line of dashes.

For complete descriptions of Phone qualifiers, enter HELP PHONE at the DCL prompt.

7.4 Summary of Phone Commands

The following table summarizes all of the Phone commands available. There are no qualifiers associated with the commands in this table.

Command	Description
ANSWER	Answers the phone when you receive a call.
DIAL	Places a call to another user.
DIRECTORY	Displays a list of those users with whom you can talk on your system or on any other system in the network.
EXIT	Exits from the Phone utility.
FACSIMILE	Allows you to include the contents of a file in your conversation.
HANGUP	Hangs up your phone. This disconnects all current links---the current conversation, anyone you have on hold, and anyone who has you on hold.
HELP	Enables you to obtain online information about the Phone utility.
HOLD	Enables you to put on hold other users who are currently participating in a conversation with you.
MAIL	Allows you to send a brief message to another person.
PHONE	Is synonymous with the DIAL command.
REJECT	Allows you to reject a call from another user while you are using Phone.
UNHOLD	Reverses the most recently entered HOLD command.

For complete descriptions of Phone commands, invoke Phone and enter the HELP command.

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