Using UQWK with QWKRR128 

          by Gaelyne R. Moranec (gaelyne@cris.com)




 Introduction
One of my first priorities when joining an Internet service was to find a way to utilize the QWKRR128 offline mail and news reader to read Internet email and USENET newsgroups. Like all QWK offline readers, QWKRR128 is commonly used with Bulletin Board Systems (BBS). A user dials into a BBS, selects which groups and what email to download. The BBS program then gathers and compresses the user's requested messages into a file called a QWK packet. The user downloads the resulting packet, and then runs QWKR128 or some other QWK reader on the packet. Thus, users can read email and news offline and reduce connect time. Replies are also handled in much the same way, allowing the user to read and reply to messages without tying up the phone.

What happens when we replace the BBS with the Internet? Well, for a while, making the switch meant shelving QWK offline readers. However, as with all problems that occur on the Internet, this deficiency was soon remedied by Steve Belzack, who wrote the Unix QWK system, called UQWK. It allows Internet users to package up Internet email and USENET newsgroups into QWK packets for use with QWK readers like QWKR128. Like its BBS counterpart, UQWK also handles reply packets from the QWK reader.

Finding UQWK

You can find out if your system already has UQWK by typing any of the following - if one command doesn't work try the next one. 

   where uqwk
   whereis uqwk
   which uqwk
   find uqwk
If your system has UQWK installed, DON'T run the program until after you've read the manual for it. UQWK requires command line switches to work and defaults to emptying your mail box, which isn't nice. To read the manual, type: 

   man uqwk
It's a good idea to create a text file in your home directory with the manual so you can download, print, and review it offline. The command to do this is: 

   man uqwk >> uqwk.manual
Then, to read it you type: 

   more uqwk.manual
To download it with Ymodem, the command is: 

   sb uqwk.manual
If your system doesn't already have UQWK available, you may be able to get the file and compile it for your personal use. Because there are so many versions of Unix to deal with, I cannot help you with compiling it for use on your system. If in doubt, give the file to your system administrator and ask him or her to install it.

The FTP site is: gte.com 

      Directory:  /pub/uqwk/uqwk1.8.tar.Z
Be sure to get both UQWK and the README file. The text file will tell you step by step how to set it up on your account.

Using UQWK

I use two Unix script files when I use UQWK, named "getmail.script" and "sendmail.script". I keep these text files in my home directory. I had to change the permissions on them so Unix would see them as "executable" files. The command for this is: 

   chmod +x filename
or 

   chmod 700 filename
You will need to make changes in the files so that they represent the BBSID used on your system. For instance, CRISINET is the BBSID on my system and is used in the examples below.

When you use the getmail.script the first time, just use an arbitrary name for the name of the .qwk packet, but change your script after you know the correct BBSID to use. Be sure to use proper upper or lower case *exactly* as it appears in your control.dat file for any references to your .REP and .msg files. This may not always work, however, as it depends on your terminal program. Some CBM term programs will maintain the same casing as is used by PETSCII, while others will convert them to ASCII. If yours changes the filename, be sure to change the appropriate lines in your script files so UQWK and other utilities can find it.

Scripts To Get You Started 

   # getmail.script




   rm crisinet.qwk
   uqwk +r +m +n +e
   arc a crisinet.qwk *.dat *.ndx
   sb crisinet.qwk
   rm messages.dat *.ndx
Notes: 

   rm crisinet.qwk  - This removes any previously created .qwk packet.
                      it is in lower case, as since we name this file
                      ourselves, there's no need to make it uppercase.


   uqwk +r +m +n +e - The command to tell UQWK what you want it to do.


                      +r keeps UQWK from deleting your Email and marking
                         your newsgroup messages as read.
                      +m process Email.		       
                      +n process newsgroups
                      +e tells it to create a control.dat file listing
                         ONLY those subscribed newsgroups.


                      *  Also you can use -m or -n so UQWK won't process
                      *  mail or newsgroups.  UQWK defaults to doing
                      *  Email, but not newsgroups. (+m and -not)
                      *  The +e switch is a must for QWKRR users, as
                      *  this list gets loaded into memory and reduces
                      *  the amount available for reading messages.


   arc a crisinet.qwk *.dat *.ndx  - This creates an ARC archive of the
                                     files UQWK has created. QWKRR users
                                     don't need to include the *.ndx
                                     files, but it's included here for
                                     those who use other offline mail
                                     readers.  ... Heathens! :-)


                                     As mentioned previously, although
                                     the BBSID is "CRISINET", since
                                     we are creating the archived file,
                                     we can leave it in lower case for
                                     our own convenience.


   sb crisinet.qwk -  This begins a Ymodem download of your QWK packet. You
                      have to start the transfer with your terminal
                      program manually.


   rm messages.dat *.ndx - This removes the messages.dat and *.ndx files
                           from your directory.  If you have sensitive
                           Email you don't wish others to view, this
                           prevents anyone from reading it.






   # sendmail.script




   rb
   unzip CRISINET.rep
   uqwk -m -n -Rcrisinet.msg
   rm CRISINET.rep
Notes: 

   rb - This begins a Ymodem upload so you can upload your Reply packet.
        You have to start the upload with your term program manually.


   unzip CRISINET.rep - If you've ipped your reply packet, this is the
                        command to unzip it.  When QWKRR creates the file,
                        it honours the case of the BBSID, so the filename
                        is in upper case.


   uqwk -m -n -Rcrisinet.msg - This is UQWK command to process a reply
                               packet.  The -m and -m switches tell it
                               NOT to process your Email or newsgroups into
                               a new batch of mail to download. This file
                               (crisinet.msg) is within the "REP" packet.
                               It is lower case.


   rm CRISINET.rep - This deletes the .rep file from your directory.
                     UQWK automatically deletes the *.msg file.
You can also create these scripts with your term program. Either way works.

When you review the UQWK manual, you'll see the commands and should be able to follow the script file and make adjustments to suit your needs. You can have UQWK create QWK packets for Email, newsgroups, or both. Also, you can have one script file that sends your replies then creates the next batch of QWK mail for you.

Safeguarding Your Email

On one system I use UQWK with, I can back up my Email file, something I recommend especially when you first start using the program. To back up my mail file, I copy the mail spool file to a local temp directory. The actual path string for this varies depending on the type of Unix system you are using. For me, this works: 

   cp /var/mail/username ~/temp/filename
On another system, I can't make a backup of my Email file, as the system doesn't allow users to move or copy mail files. However, I can use a command for UQWK that tells it not to erase my mail or newsgroup articles. If you use the read-mode only command, you have to delete Email manually, and mark newsgroup articles as read.

NOTE WELL:

UQWK uses your .newsrc file to find what groups you are subscribed to. ALWAYS upload and process your current Replies before subscribing or unsubscribing to newsgroups, or else you will have your replies going to the wrong newsgroups.

The Files UQWK Creates

UQWK only creates the base QWK mail files, which are "control.dat", "messages.dat" and files that end with "*.ndx" (*.ndx files are not needed for use with QWKRR). If you want to you can archive the files QWKRR needs, or you can download the *.dat files uncompressed. The getmail script file covers creating the arc file and beginning a Ymodem download.

I compress my mail using arc, as I have a program that will automatically dissolve my QWK mail and start QWKRR. The program is called QPE, and can be found in the archive NZP12817.SFX. If you arc your mail packet, you will need an ML program found in the archive CSX01.SDA. I could use Zip, but my ISP's Zip program creates only PKZip 2.4g files, and Commodore users don't yet have a program that will unzip these.

Replying To Email

By default, QWKRR doesn't display any data after an "@" symbol in the headers. To be able to see the complete Email addresses (a must for Internet use), first load but don't run QWKRR. Type: 

   poke 49169,255
Then save the program using a different name (such as qwkrrinet), just in case you've made an error when entering the values.

Long Email Addresses

If the Email address of the recipient doesn't fit in the "To:" field, you must use other addressing methods. Erase the name in QWKRR's header and substitute the person's first and last names, or any two words with a space between them. Do NOT have a "." or "@" here if the full Email address is too long to fit in the field. If you do, UQWK assumes it's a valid Email address. The reason you want two words instead of one is so the program doesn't assume you're sending local mail on your ISP.

On the first line of the message, type:

To: user.name@anywhere.com

Begin your message on the following line.

Hint: Type "To: " on the first line. Quote enough of the message so the 

      Email address is on the screen, and then move the address so it
      is in place after the "To: ".
There is a space between the colon and the Email address.

Sending Newsgroup Articles

The only thing different from Email you'll need to do is make sure that your articles have the word "all" or "ALL" in QWKRR's "To:" field.

Messages from almost any QWK offline mail reader do not conform to Internet standards for newsgroup articles, as QWK was originally designed for Fidonet only. You can still post articles with these programs using the above method of placing "all" in the "To:" field.

For those who want their articles to conform to the Internet specs, you can have UQWK look to the body of your message for the header information by using the +X switch. This will let threaded newsreaders properly add the article into an existing thread. This is only for those who are well experienced with RFC-1036, the "Standard for Interchange of USENET Messages" and RFC-822, the standard for Internet Text Messages. http://www.internic.net/rfc. In the future, I'll be adding information to QWKRR's web site on how to create articles that do conform to this standard.

QWKRR has a known bug when it comes to quoting lines that are over 255 characters long. This bug often appears when replying to newsgroup articles, as the "Path:" line often exceeds this. The next version of QWKRR will not have this problem. To reply to a newsgroup article that has a long pathline, export the article as a temporary text file, then import it into the message. eport is a function only available to registered QWKRR users.

A known UQWK Quirk for QWKRR users

When importing text that has a "message" header on it (i.e., all the To, From, Subject etc.), UQWK makes the assumption that a new message has started. To avoid having your message split at this stage, indent the To/From info in the imported text about 4 columns.

Sending Your Replies

Most Unix systems can unzip reply packets that have been Zipped by QWKRR. It can also handle files that are ARC'ed if you use the QPA program. UQWK doesn't require this. All UQWK knows about is the *.msg file within the .REP file. It is possible to choose ink within QWKRR and upload the resulting *.msg file, BUT if you do this, you may have problems with Xmodem padding (also Ymodem) added to the end of the file by your term program. This extra padding will cause you to receive an Email bounce as UQWK tries to interpret the padding as a message. It's easier to ip the replies then let your script file unzip them.

UQWK and Signatures

When posting articles to newsgroups, UQWK will append your .signature, but if it doesn't like the length of your signature, it will not post the article. (I don't know the length it will accept). You may want to change the filename from .signature to .sig and use a QWKRR macro for your signature instead. (Be sure to change your settings for other programs like Pine so it will look for a file called .sig, though).

UQWK and Newsgroup Subjects

There is a UQWK version that doesn't accept newsgroup articles created with QWKRR and complains that the subject line is incomplete or incorrect. So far the only cure I've found is to use an older version of UQWK that my system has online. UQWK version 1.8 does not have this problem, and after checking FTP sites, it appears my current ISP is using a customized version. If I find others have similar problems and find a cure, I'll post info regarding it on QWKRR's WWW site. http://www.msen.com/~brain/guest/Gaelyne_Moranec/qtoc.html

Conclusion

While reading BBS news and email offline is a blessing, it is almost a necessity on the Internet, where the level of email and news can be overwhelming to the online reader. UQWK and QWKR128 make a powerful combinations that help you manage your time effectively yet still enjoy the pleasures of keeping current on all the Internet has to offer.

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Last Updated: 1997-03-11 by Jim Brain