Using FirstClass. for Mac OS

Transcription

1 Using FirstClass for Mac OS

2 Copyright 1996 by SoftArc Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the express written permission of SoftArc Inc. FirstClass is a registered trademark of SoftArc Inc. Tampering with a registered trademark is a Federal offense. Stuffit is a trademark of Aladdin Systems, Inc. AppleLink, AppleTalk, Macintosh, and Macintosh Quadra are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc. MacTCP is a trademark of Apple Computer Inc. DigiBoard is a registered trademark of Digi International. Hayes is a registered trademark of Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. ULTRA is a trademark of Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. Microsoft, MS, and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft Windows and Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other product names or brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Version 3.5 First Adobe Acrobat Edition Printed and bound in Canada Part Number: SOF3120-M

3 Table of contents 1 Introduction 11 The server and the client 11 FirstClass features 11 Who should read this guide 12 What s new in this guide 12 Inside this guide 13 Symbols and conventions 15 Choosing commands 15 Entering data 16 Examples and illustrations 17 Viewing the status bar 17 2 Installing FirstClass 19 Assembling the things you need 19 Installing the software 19 Upgrading the FirstClass Client 21 Obtaining software upgrades 22 3 Getting started with FirstClass 23 Preparing to connect to your FirstClass Server 23 AppleTalk connections 23 TCP/IP connections 24 Modem connections 25 Preparing the settings document 25 Creating a settings document 26 Configuring the settings document for an AppleTalk connection 26 Configuring the settings document for a TCP/IP connection 29 Configuring the settings document for a modem connection 31 Configuring a TCP/IP connection 33 Configuring a modem connection 36 4 Connecting to FirstClass 41 Logging into FirstClass 41 Auto-registering 42

4 4 5 FirstClass basics 45 Mailbox, conference, and folder windows 46 Message windows 47 Message symbols 47 Using the toolbar 48 6 Using 51 Reading your messages 51 Finding unread messages automatically 52 Making messages unread 53 Creating new messages 53 Addressing a blind carbon copy 56 Addressing messages to gateways 57 Using other message forms 58 Editing messages 60 Using the spelling checker 61 Checking spelling 61 Setting the spelling checker preferences 63 Dictionary files 63 Requesting special message handling 64 Priority 64 Sensitivity 64 Receipt 64 Sending and unsending messages 65 Sending a message 65 Unsending a sent message 66 Replying to messages 67 Replying to all recipients 67 Replying to the sender only 68 Including quotations in your reply 69 Message threads 71 Forwarding messages 72 Viewing the history of messages 73 Keeping your mailbox tidy 74 Deleting messages 74 Saving messages as text files 74

5 5 Using folders 75 7 Using conferences 79 Viewing conferences 79 Browsing conferences 80 Replying to conference items 81 Replying to the conference 81 Replying to the sender only 82 Following message threads 83 Sending messages to a conference 84 Private conferences 86 8 Transferring files 87 Transferring files to the server 87 Transferring a file by attaching it to a message 87 Transferring a file by uploading it directly 89 Transferring files to your computer 90 Previewing an attached file 91 Transferring a file attached to a message 91 Transferring an uploaded file 93 Resuming interrupted file transfers 94 Resuming a file transfer to the server 94 Resuming a file transfer to your computer 95 9 Searching 97 Searching messages and documents 97 Searching conferences and folders 98 Searching external folders and drives Chatting 103 Initiating a private chat 103 Joining a public chat 106 Responding to chat invitations Personalizing FirstClass 109

6 6 Customizing your Preferences form 109 Changing your password 112 Creating and editing your résumé 112 Using the address book 113 Creating a new personal mail list 113 Creating a new personal address form 116 Customizing your desktop 118 Making an alias of a conference 119 Viewing and changing object information 120 Organizing windows 122 Organizing items within a window 124 Customizing the toolbar 126 Adding buttons 126 Removing buttons 127 Sizing the toolbar buttons 128 Positioning the toolbar 128 Sizing the floating toolbar 129 Using the 3D Look command 129 Using the network notification utility 130 Installing the software 131 Upgrading the Network Notifier 132 Configuring the FirstClass Network Notifier Beyond the basics 137 Access to features and conferences 137 Privileges 137 Permissions 139 Finding out your session status 141 Refreshing your settings document 141 Finding out who s online 142 Searching the FirstClass Directory 143 Accessing external folders and disk files 145

7 7 13 Working offline 147 A typical scenario 148 Installing FirstClass Personal 149 Installing the software 149 Configuring your settings document 151 Starting FirstClass Personal 151 Using 153 Reading and responding to mail 153 Sending mail 154 Using conferences 155 Setting up conference replication 155 Browsing and contributing to conferences 156 Customizing the configuration 157 Connecting to the server 161 Forcing an immediate connection to the server 161 Using alternate settings documents 161 FirstClass Personal post office 162 Backing up the FirstClass Personal post office Troubleshooting 165 Troubleshooting network connections 165 Troubleshooting modem connections 166 No response from the modem (error message 1034) 166 Modem returned an error (error message 1054) 166 No response from the server modem 167 Host does not appear to be a FirstClass Server 167 Communication failures while connected 168 Troubleshooting offline problems 168 Error messages 168 Possible problems 169 Troubleshooting tools 171 Troubleshooting using trace information 171 Offline troubleshooting tools 173 FirstClass error messages 174 Obtaining technical support 189

8 8 A FirstClass folders 193 The FirstClass Client folders 193 The Download folder 193 The FCP folder 193 The Modems folder 194 The Plugins folder 195 The Scripts folder 195 The Settings folder 195 The Tools folder 196 The FirstClass Client log file 197 The Client ReadMe file 197 The MODEMS.TXT file 197 B Standard forms 199 Alternate Message form 199 File Transfer form 199 Phone Call form 200 Picture Message form 201 Quick Message form 201 Request for Information form 202 Requisition form 202 C Shortcuts 205 Double-clicking shortcuts 205 Editable text 206 Shortcut menus 206 Drag-and-drop shortcuts 207 Addressing messages 208 Attaching files 208 Saving attachments 208 Moving text 208 Copying text 208 Transferring picture and sound files 208 Drag-and-drill 208 New Conference menu items 209

9 9 Keyboard shortcuts 209 File menu shortcuts 209 Edit menu shortcuts 210 Message and conference shortcuts 210 Service menu shortcuts 211 View menu shortcuts 211 D Modem concepts and standards 213 Modem concepts 213 Flow control and handshaking 213 Baud Rate or Bits Per Second (bps) 214 Fall Back 214 Hardware carrier detection 215 DTR hangup 215 Modem standards 216 Modulation (speed) standards 216 Error correction standards 217 Data compression standards 217 E Modems: advanced information 219 How FirstClass interacts with your modem 219 Editing a modem connection file (FCP file) 220 F The MDM file format 227 Syntax rules 228 MDM file parameters 228 G Connection scripts 233 Connection script commands 233 SEND 233 WAITFOR 234 DISPLAY 234 DELAY 235

10 10 H Glossary 237 Index 265

11 Introduction FirstClass integrates with group conferencing, access to existing corporate databases, forms processing, real-time discussions, and online communications functions. Its graphical user interface makes FirstClass easy to use. Because FirstClass automatically takes care of modem and file transfer protocols, remote access is as easy as network access. The server and the client FirstClass consists of two pieces of software: the FirstClass Server and the FirstClass Client. Your FirstClass administrator runs the FirstClass Server; you run the FirstClass Client to access the services provided by the server. The client can connect to the server using many communication methods, including modems and local area networks (LANs). FirstClass features The following table describes the features you can use in FirstClass. Exchange with other users. Exchange mail with users on other systems such as the Internet. Engage in electronic conferencing with other users. Depending on how your system is set up, use gateways to exchange mail with users on other systems such as Microsoft Mail and cc:mail. Transfer any number of files quickly using file attachments. Dial in using a modem while retaining the full graphical Macintosh interface.

12 Chapter 1 Introduction 12 Engage in a chat with other users currently connected to the server. Search for specific text in a message or document, or search a conference or folder for all the items that contain specific text. In FirstClass you can read a message in one window, browse a conference in another, compose a message in a third, and chat with another user in yet another window, all while transferring files in the background. Who should read this guide Using FirstClass provides instructions for users running the FirstClass Client for Mac OS software on a computer running on Mac OS. It assumes that you are familiar with terminology such as mouse, drag, open, choose, file, and double-click. For more information about this terminology, refer to your Macintosh documentation. What s new in this guide Welcome to the latest release of the FirstClass Client. Several new features, enhancements, and changes have been added to the FirstClass Client since the last Using FirstClass was printed. Using FirstClass version 3.5, you can: connect to FirstClass using a proxy server. For more information, refer to Configuring a TCP/IP connection on page 33. use the customizable toolbar for many tasks. For more information, refer to Using the toolbar on page 48. use new Directory features to search for names in FirstClass and address messages. For more information on searching the Directory, refer to Searching the FirstClass Directory on page 143. For more information on addressing messages using the FirstClass Directory, refer to Creating new messages on page 53.

13 Chapter 1 Introduction 13 send blind carbon copies. For more information, refer to Addressing a blind carbon copy on page 56. include quoted text when you send a reply to a message. For more information, refer to Including quotations in your reply on page 69. check the spelling in your FirstClass messages and documents. For more information, refer to Using the spelling checker on page 61. use the new address book to create personal mail lists and address forms. For more information, refer to Using the address book on page 113. customize the appearance of your FirstClass account with the 3D Look command. For more information, refer to Using the 3D Look command on page 129. update your settings document while you are working online. For more information, refer to Refreshing your settings document on page 141. work offline, connecting only when you need to send and retrieve messages. For more information, refer to Working offline on page 147. use drag-and-drop shortcuts to perform many tasks. For more information, refer to Drag-and-drop shortcuts on page 207. perform most tasks more quickly using shortcut menus. For more information, refer to Shortcut menus on page 206. FirstClass now automatically refreshes your desktop whenever new files or messages are added to the conferences on it. Inside this guide Installing FirstClass (Chapter 2) explains how to install the FirstClass Client software. Getting started with FirstClass (Chapter 3) explains how to set up the connection to your FirstClass Server.

14 Chapter 1 Introduction 14 Connecting to FirstClass (Chapter 4) explains how to connect to the FirstClass Server. FirstClass basics (Chapter 5) describes the FirstClass windows and the FirstClass toolbar. Using (Chapter 6) describes how to send , and how to read, reply to, and forward you receive. Using conferences (Chapter 7) explains how to browse conferences, reply to conference items, and contribute to a conference. Transferring files (Chapter 8) explains how to attach files to a message, how to upload them directly to a folder or conference, and how to download attached or uploaded files to your own computer. Searching (Chapter 9) explains how to search messages, documents, conferences, and folders. Chatting (Chapter 10) explains how to participate in real-time online conversations. Personalizing FirstClass (Chapter 11) explains how to personalize your FirstClass account to better suit your needs. Beyond the basics (Chapter 12) describes advanced features of FirstClass, including privileges and permissions, how to find out who s online, how to search the FirstClass Directory, and how to access external directories and disk files. Working offline (Chapter 13) explains how to use FirstClass when you are not connected to the FirstClass Server. Troubleshooting (Chapter 14) describes useful troubleshooting tools, explains how to troubleshoot problems with modem connections, explains the error messages that can be generated by FirstClass, and provides instructions for obtaining technical support. FirstClass folders (Appendix A) describes the files and folders created when you install FirstClass.

15 Chapter 1 Introduction 15 Standard forms (Appendix B) lists the standard forms provided with FirstClass. Shortcuts (Appendix C) lists double-click, drag-and-drop, shortcut menu, and keyboard shortcuts you can use in FirstClass. Modem concepts and standards (Appendix D) explains some of the standards and concepts that you should understand when selecting, purchasing, and configuring a modem. Modems: advanced information (Appendix E) explains how FirstClass interacts with your modem. It also provides more detailed information about the fields in the modem connection file. The MDM file format (Appendix F) describes the format of the Modem (MDM) file. Connection scripts (Appendix G) describes how to create a connection script. Glossary (Appendix H) lists and defines terms used in this manual, and other related terms. Symbols and conventions Throughout this document, there are several symbols and conventions of which you should be aware.! Warning: Information that helps you prevent interruptions in service or loss of data. You should watch out for these warnings and make sure you understand them. Note: Information important to the smooth running of your system. Choosing commands For many of the procedures in this manual, there are several different ways you can perform the same task. For example, to save a file attachment, you could select the attachment and then use any of the following methods. On the menu bar, choose File } Save Attachment.

16 Chapter 1 Introduction 16 Double-click the attached file. Drag the attached file from the message window and drop it onto your Macintosh desktop. Click and hold the mouse button, and select Save Attachment from the shortcut menu. For other commands, you may also be able to click a button on the palette or use a keyboard shortcut. In this guide we say: Choose File } Save Attachment. For the more complicated choices that arise from hierarchical menus, we simply extend the form. For example, we might want you to choose Italics using the following menus. In this guide, we say: Choose Format } Style } Italic. Entering data To describe the data you have to enter, we use the following format: where: WAITFOR '<text1>' '<text2>'... T<nnn> Text enclosed by angle brackets represent variables for which you must select a value. In the example, <text1>, <text2>, and <nnn> are variables. When entering variables, do not type the angle brackets. Text not enclosed by angle brackets must be entered exactly as shown. In this example, you must type WAITFOR, the T and the single quo-

17 Chapter 1 Introduction 17 tation marks exactly as shown. An ellipsis (...) indicates that this list of variables can be as long as you need. For example, to instruct the server to wait 20 seconds for the words service, disconnect, or no carrier, you might enter data such as the following: WAITFOR 'service' 'disconnect' 'no carrier' T1200 Examples and illustrations To explain and illustrate the procedures in this manual, we ve created a fictitious company called Veritec Inc. Veritec Inc. is a growing company with headquarters in Boston, a west coast sales office in Los Angeles, and a two-person office in San Francisco. It also has a Canadian sales office in Toronto, and a European headquarters in London. Veritec develops an advanced hardware and software product for the entertainment industry. It uses FirstClass for internal communication and to support its customers. Viewing the status bar The status bar runs across the bottom of your screen. As you move the mouse over menu commands or buttons, the status bar tells you what that command or button is for. To view the status bar, choose View } Status Bar.

18 Chapter 1 Introduction 18 To remove the Status Bar, choose View } Status Bar again.

19 Installing FirstClass The first step in using FirstClass is to install the software on your computer. FirstClass can be installed on almost any Macintosh computer. This chapter describes the hardware and software requirements for the FirstClass Client, and provides installation instructions. To upgrade from an earlier version of FirstClass, follow the installation procedure in this chapter. Assembling the things you need To install the FirstClass Client, you need the following: a computer running Macintosh System 6.04 (or later) 2 MB of memory (RAM) for 68K computers 3 MB of memory (RAM) for Power Macintosh computers at least 8 MB of free space on your hard disk To find out how much disk space is available, open your hard drive folder. The amount of available storage appears in the top right corner of the folder window. In this example, there is MB of free space. Installing the software The FirstClass Client is installed at the root of the volume selected, in a new folder named FirstClass 3.5. (If you have an older version of the FirstClass Client installed, it is not overwritten by version 3.5.) To install the FirstClass Client for Mac OS, follow these steps. 1) Insert the CD-ROM or diskette containing FirstClass 3.5 into a CD-ROM or diskette drive. The FirstClass 3.5 icon appears on your desktop.

20 Chapter 2 Installing FirstClass 20 2) Open the FirstClass Client folder. 3) Double-click FirstClass Client Install. The splash screen appears. 4) Click Continue until the FirstClass Client Install dialog appears.

21 Chapter 2 Installing FirstClass 21 5) If you do not want to install the application in the location that FirstClass suggests, click Switch Disk and select the volume on which you want to install the software. 6) To install all components, click Install. The Installation application installs the FirstClass Client. 7) To install only selected components, select Custom Install, and select the components you want to install. (For information about a component, click the information button beside the component.) Then click Install. The Installation application installs the selected components. The Installation progress dialog appears. 8) When installation is complete, the Installation Complete dialog appears. Click Quit. Upgrading the FirstClass Client To upgrade the FirstClass Client, follow the installation procedure in Installing the software on page 19. When you upgrade your software, your connection setup to the FirstClass Server should remain unaffected. However, if there is a problem, continue

22 Chapter 2 Installing FirstClass 22 with Chapter 3, Getting started with FirstClass to set up the connection to your FirstClass Server again.! Warning: If you are upgrading the FirstClass Client version 2.6 or earlier, this version of FirstClass uses a different settings document format from your previous version. Since version 3.5 is installed into a new folder, your old settings documents are not overwritten. FirstClass automatically converts your old settings documents to work with version 3.5. However, after you convert a settings document, you cannot use it with FirstClass version 2.6 or earlier. Obtaining software upgrades Upgrades of the FirstClass Client are distributed freely on SoftArc Online. To obtain the latest version of the software, log into SoftArc s own FirstClass system, SoftArc Online. Using the FirstClass Client, you can connect to SoftArc Online in two ways: By modem: The FirstClass Client ships with a settings document that is configured to connect to SoftArc Online by modem. The phone number for SoftArc Online is Over the Internet: For customers with connections to the Internet, the FirstClass Client ships with a settings document that is configured to connect to SoftArc Online using the TCP/IP protocol. SoftArc Online uses port 510, and its IP address is You can also connect to SoftArc Online with any VT100- or ANSI-compatible terminal emulator. Configure the application to use 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, and a speed of up to bps. Use the application to dial Although you won t see the friendly FirstClass Client interface, you will be able to obtain the latest version of the software. You can find the latest version of the FirstClass Client application on SoftArc Online in Conferences } Software Libraries } FirstClass Software.

23 Getting started with FirstClass To use FirstClass, you must connect to (or log into) a FirstClass Server. Before you can do so, you must perform the following tasks. Prepare a settings document for the server. You should have a settings document for each FirstClass system to which you connect. Usually, your FirstClass administrator provides you with a settings document. You just need to configure it. Configure a TCP/IP connection to the FirstClass system (if you are connecting by TCP/IP). If you connect to multiple FirstClass Servers using TCP/IP, you must create a different connection file for each one. Configure a modem connection to the FirstClass system (if you are connecting by modem). You must configure FirstClass to work with your modem. You only need to configure a modem connection once. All your settings documents use the same modem configuration. You must change the modem configuration if you install a different type of modem or connect the modem to a different port. Preparing to connect to your FirstClass Server How you prepare for connection to the server on your FirstClass system varies depending on the type of connection you use. The FirstClass Server to which you are connecting might not support all connection types. AppleTalk connections For an AppleTalk network connection, follow these steps. 1) Install a network card or cables for AppleTalk, depending on the version of Macintosh you are using. For more information, refer to your Macintosh documentation. 2) From your Apple menu, choose one of the following control panels. a. If you are running AppleTalk with Open Transport, choose Control Panels } AppleTalk.

24 Chapter 3 Getting started with FirstClass 24 For Connect Via, select Ethernet. b. If you are not running AppleTalk with Open Transport, choose Control Panels } Network. Select either LocalTalk or EtherTalk. For more information on these selections, refer to your Macintosh documentation. 3) Test your network connections before you set up the AppleTalk connection in FirstClass. TCP/IP connections TCP/IP is a cross-platform networking protocol. It is also the protocol used on the Internet. For a TCP/IP connection, you require the following items: MacTCP or Open Transport installed on your computer. Install MacTCP or Open Transport by following the instructions in your Macintosh documentation.

25 Chapter 3 Getting started with FirstClass 25 the IP address or domain name of the server the TCP/IP port number on the server If you are connecting through a proxy server, you need the IP address of the proxy server, and its port number. The FirstClass Server to which you are connecting must be running the FirstClass Server application version 2.6 (or later). Modem connections For a modem connection, you need a 1200 bps (or faster) Hayes-compatible modem. If you are using an external modem, connect the modem to a serial port on your computer, using an appropriate cable. For detailed information about installing your modem and connecting it to your computer, refer to your modem documentation. If you have a high-speed modem, ensure that you are using a cable with hardware handshaking capability. Although FirstClass minimizes the amount of interaction you have with your modem, SoftArc recommends that you read your modem documentation for general information. Preparing the settings document You should have a settings document for every FirstClass system to which you connect. A settings document contains all the information the FirstClass Client needs to connect to the system. For example, if you are connecting by modem, the settings document must contain the phone number of the server. Often, your FirstClass administrator supplies a settings document, and all you need to do is configure it. If your administrator does not supply a settings document, you can create one. For more information, refer to Creating a settings document on page 26. If your FirstClass administrator has supplied you with a settings document, use that document instead of creating a new one. The supplied document might contain customized forms, pictures, and sounds that help you get the most from the system.

26 Chapter 3 Getting started with FirstClass 26 SoftArc supplies several settings documents with the FirstClass Client software. These documents are stored in the Settings folder in the FirstClass Client folder. SoftArc Online Via Internet and SoftArc Online Via Modem are the settings documents you use to connect to SoftArc Online, SoftArc s own FirstClass system. Creating a settings document If you do not have a settings document for a system to which you want to connect, you can create one.the easiest way to create a settings document is to copy, and then modify, one of the generic settings documents Generic Network or Generic Modem provided with FirstClass. If this settings document will also be used with the FirstClass Client for Windows, its new filename must have the extension FC. You can also create a new settings document by choosing File } New Settings while the FirstClass Client is running, but not connected to a FirstClass Server. Configuring the settings document for an AppleTalk connection If you will be connecting to the FirstClass system across an AppleTalk network, you must configure your settings document to find the server on the network. To configure your settings document, follow these steps. 1) Make sure that you have your AppleTalk connection correctly installed and configured on your computer. 2) Double-click the settings document icon in the FirstClass Client Settings folder.

27 Chapter 3 Getting started with FirstClass 27 The Login form appears. 3) Click Setup. 4) For Connect Via, select AppleTalk.FCP. 5) Enter information in the following fields: User ID: Optional. The user ID you use to connect to the server. Enter your user ID if you want to store it in the settings document. If other users have access to your computer, you might want to leave this field blank for security reasons.

28 Chapter 3 Getting started with FirstClass 28 Password: Optional. The password you use to connect to the server. Type your password if you want to store it in the settings document. If other users have access to your computer, you might want to leave this field blank for security reasons. Login Automatically: If you complete both the User ID and Password fields, you can select this option to log into FirstClass as soon as the settings document is opened. If you select this option, FirstClass displays the Login form briefly when you open the settings document, but then proceeds to open the desktop. (If you need to bypass the automatic login, press Option while you open the settings document.) Server: The name of the FirstClass Server. Network: The name of the AppleTalk zone in which your FirstClass Server is located. If you are on a single zone network, or if your server is in the same zone as your Macintosh, you may specify an asterisk (*) for the zone name, meaning my zone. If you do not know what zone your server is in, contact your FirstClass administrator. When you re finished completing step 4 and step 5, the Service Setup form should look something like this. 6) Click Save.

29 Chapter 3 Getting started with FirstClass 29 Configuring the settings document for a TCP/IP connection If you will be connecting to the FirstClass system across a TCP/IP network, you must configure your settings document to find the server on the network. To configure your settings document, follow these steps. 1) Make sure you have your TCP/IP connection correctly installed and configured on your computer. Double-click the settings document icon in the FirstClass Client Settings folder. The Login form appears. 2) Click Setup. 3) For Connect Via, select one of the following options: If you are connecting to the FirstClass Server directly, select TCP-IP.FCP. If you are connecting through a proxy server, select TCP-IP WAN.FCP. 4) Enter information in the following fields: User ID: Optional. The user ID you use to connect to the server. Enter your user ID if you want to store it in the settings document. If other users have access to your computer, you might want to leave this field blank for security reasons.

30 Chapter 3 Getting started with FirstClass 30 Password: Optional. The password you use to connect to the server. Type your password if you want to store it in the settings document. If other users have access to your computer, you might want to leave this field blank for security reasons. Login Automatically: If you complete both the User ID and Password fields, you can select this option to log into FirstClass as soon as the settings document is opened. If you select this option, FirstClass displays the Login form briefly when you open the settings document, but then proceeds to open the desktop. (If you need to bypass the automatic login, press Option while you open the settings document.) Server: The IP address or domain name of the FirstClass Server. Network: Leave this field blank. When you re finished completing step 3 to step 4, the Service Setup form should look something like this. 5) Click Save.

31 Chapter 3 Getting started with FirstClass 31 Configuring the settings document for a modem connection If you will be connecting to the FirstClass system by modem, you must configure your settings document to use the modem. To configure your settings document, follow these steps. 1) Make sure that your modem is correctly installed and configured on your computer. 2) Double-click the settings document icon in the FirstClass Client Settings folder. The Login form appears. 3) Click Setup. 4) For Connect Via, select MODEM.FCP.

32 Chapter 3 Getting started with FirstClass 32 5) Enter information in the following fields: User ID: Optional. The user ID you use to connect to the server. Enter your user ID if you want to store it in the settings document. If other users have access to your computer, you might want to leave this field blank for security reasons. Password: Optional. The password you use to connect to the server. Type your password if you want to store it in the settings document. If other users have access to your computer, you might want to leave this field blank for security reasons. Login Automatically: If you complete both the User ID and Password fields, you can select this option to log into FirstClass as soon as the settings document is opened. If you select this option, FirstClass displays the Login form briefly when you open the settings document, but then proceeds to open the desktop. (If you need to bypass the automatic login, press Option while you open the settings document.) Retry Login and Retry Delay: Select these options to retry the call if the line is busy. Specify how many times to retry, and how long to wait between retries. The maximum number of retries is 15. Server: The name of the FirstClass Server.

33 Chapter 3 Getting started with FirstClass 33 Phone #: Type the telephone number of the FirstClass Server. Be sure to include any prefixes such as 9 or 1, as well as any necessary area codes. When you re finished completing step 4 and step 5, the Service Setup form should look something like this. 6) Click Save. If you have not already done so, you must configure the modem connection. Refer to Configuring a modem connection on page 36. Configuring a TCP/IP connection Before you connect to your FirstClass Server, ensure that the TCP/IP connection is configured correctly. You can configure the TCP/IP port through which you connect to the server and the size of the TCP/IP buffer. As well, if your network is protected by a firewall, you can connect to a FirstClass Server on an external network through a proxy server that supports the SOCKS4 protocol. A proxy server relays data from your computer to the FirstClass Server outside your firewall. Thus, it prevents users on the external network from accessing or gathering information about the computers on your network. The TCP/IP connection configuration is stored in the files TCP-IP.FCP and TCP-IP WAN.FCP. Both are located in the FCP folder. TCP-IP.FCP is config-

34 Chapter 3 Getting started with FirstClass 34 ured to connect to a FirstClass Server directly, using port 510; TCP-IP WAN.FCP is configured to connect through a proxy server. To change the configuration for the TCP/IP connection, follow these steps. 1) Open the settings document, as described in Configuring the settings document for a TCP/IP connection on page 29. 2) Click Setup. 3) For Connect Via, select either TCP-IP.FCP or TCP-IP WAN.FCP. (You may have already done so when you configured your settings document in Configuring the settings document for a TCP/IP connection on page 29.) 4) Click Setup.

35 Chapter 3 Getting started with FirstClass 35 5) Click the arrow beside Advanced Settings. 6) Modify the following Advanced Settings options as required: TCP Buffer: A value between 6000 and A larger buffer increases download performance but requires more memory to be allocated to the client application. The default is 10000, which should be sufficient under most circumstances.

36 Chapter 3 Getting started with FirstClass 36 TCP Port: The TCP/IP port on the server. However, keep in mind that if you change the port for this connection file you also change it for every settings document that uses this file. Proxy IP Address: If you connect to the FirstClass Server through a proxy server, specify the IP address of the proxy server. Proxy Port: If you connect to the FirstClass Server through a proxy server, specify the port you use to connect to the proxy server. This is usually The remaining fields do not apply to TCP/IP connections. 7) Click Save. 8) Click Save on the Service Setup form. Configuring a modem connection Before you start using FirstClass with a modem, ensure that you have set up FirstClass and your computer so that they work together correctly with your particular modem. To do this, you must configure the modem connection file. The modem connection file provided with FirstClass is named MODEM.FCP, and is in the FCP folder. All settings documents connecting to FirstClass using MODEM.FCP use the same modem configuration. You only need to change the modem configuration if you install a different type of modem or connect the modem to a different serial port. To configure the modem connection, follow these steps. 1) Make sure you have connected your modem to your computer as specified in the modem documentation. 2) Open the settings document, as described in Configuring the settings document for a modem connection on page 31. 3) Click Setup.

37 Chapter 3 Getting started with FirstClass 37 4) For Connect Via, select MODEM.FCP. (You may have already done so when you configured your settings document in Configuring the settings document for a modem connection on page 31.) 5) Click Setup. 6) Set up the Connection options. Modem: The type of modem installed on your computer. If your modem does not appear in the list, select a compatible modem with the same speed as your modem. (For example, if your modem is a V.32bis modem, select Hayes-Compatible )

38 Chapter 3 Getting started with FirstClass 38 If you cannot find a suitable modem type in this list, you may be able to find one in the Other file. This self-extracting archive, located on the installation disk, contains additional modem configuration files. Double-click to create an Other Modems folder which contains the additional modem configuration files. To install an individual file from this folder for use by the FirstClass Client, drag it from the Other Modems folder into the Modems folder. Drag only the file you require, or the client will take a long time to produce the pop-up list of available modems. If you cannot find a suitable modem type in the Other Modems folder, contact your FirstClass administrator for assistance. Port: Select the port to which your modem is connected (for example, Modem Port). Phone: Select Pulse if you have a dial phone, Tone if you have a touch tone phone. Speaker: Optional. Turn your modem speaker on or off, if you want. Some modems are not affected by this selection. Script: Optional. If you require a special connection script to connect to the FirstClass Server, select the appropriate connection script. For more information, refer to Appendix G, Connection scripts, or contact your FirstClass administrator. 7) In the Cable Options section, select On in the H/W Handshake field if your modem supports hardware handshaking, and if it is recommended in the Comments field on this form. Do not change any other Cable and Speed options unless instructed to do so by your FirstClass administrator, or by SoftArc Technical Support. When you select a modem, the Cable and Speed options are automatically set to the value appropriate for that modem. For more detailed information about this form, refer to Appendix E, Modems: advanced information.

39 Chapter 3 Getting started with FirstClass 39 The modem selected for this example is Hayes Ultra. 8) Click Save. 9) Click Save on the Service Setup form.

40 Chapter 3 Getting started with FirstClass 40

41 Connecting to FirstClass Before you can use any FirstClass features, you must connect to a FirstClass system and supply a user ID and password to identify yourself. This process is known as logging in. If you don t have a user ID, contact your FirstClass administrator. You might also be able to auto-register with the FirstClass system. For more information, refer to Auto-registering on page 42. Logging into FirstClass To log into a FirstClass system, follow these steps. 1) Double-click the settings document for your FirstClass system. The Login form appears. The following example includes a customized splash screen that shows you which system you are connecting to. The Service field shows the name of the settings document you are using. If you clicked login Automatically in your settings document, as described in Preparing the settings document on page 25, you log in automatically. If the login is successful, your FirstClass desktop appears. 2) For User ID, type the user ID you use to log into the FirstClass Server. If you have forgotten your user ID, contact your FirstClass administrator. (If your user ID was saved in the settings document, as described

42 Chapter 4 Connecting to FirstClass 42 in Preparing the settings document on page 25, your user ID appears automatically in this field.) If you have not logged into this FirstClass system before, and auto-registration is permitted, you may auto-register. For more information, refer to Auto-registering on page 42. 3) For Password, type the password you use to log into the FirstClass Server. If you have forgotten your password, contact your FirstClass administrator. (If your password was saved in the settings document, as described in Preparing the settings document on page 25, your password appears automatically in this field.) To change your password you must be logged into FirstClass. For instructions, refer to Changing your password on page ) Click Login to start the connection to the FirstClass Server. Auto-registering Note: If the login was not successful, check that you have configured your settings document correctly. If your settings document is configured correctly for the protocol you selected, and you still cannot log in, your FirstClass system may not support the protocol you selected. For assistance, contact your FirstClass administrator. Your FirstClass administrator determines whether the system will allow auto-registration. If you do not have a user ID, you might be able to register yourself on the FirstClass system. To auto-register, follow these steps. 1) Double-click the settings document for the FirstClass system. The Login form appears. The following example includes a customized splash screen that shows you which system you are connecting to.

43 Chapter 4 Connecting to FirstClass 43 The Service field shows the name of the settings document you are using. 2) On the Login Form, for User ID, type the user ID you would like to use on this system. 3) Click Login. FirstClass tries to connect to the server. If the connection is successful, and if auto-registration is permitted, a form such as the following appears.

44 Chapter 4 Connecting to FirstClass 44 The user ID you typed on the Login form appears in the Requested User ID field. 4) Complete the form. 5) Click Register. A dialog confirms your user ID and password. 6) Write your user ID and password down for future reference. 7) Click OK. Your FirstClass desktop appears, and you are ready to use FirstClass. For information about the desktop and other FirstClass basics, refer to the next chapter.

45 FirstClass basics This chapter describes the FirstClass desktop and the basic operation of the FirstClass system. The way FirstClass works is the same whether you connect by modem or by network. Once you have logged in, your FirstClass desktop appears. The standard FirstClass desktop looks like this. Your FirstClass administrator may have customized the standard desktop. For example, let s look at the desktop of Veritec Inc., the company used in the examples throughout this manual. The Veritec desktop is customized with a background picture of the company s corporate logo and some useful information to guide people through the system. This user has also been given aliases of two of Veritec s private conferences Customer Support and Useful Software. The following table describes the icons that may appear on your desktop.

46 Chapter 5 FirstClass basics 46 Mailbox: A folder that stores your incoming and outgoing messages. (For more information about your mailbox, refer to Chapter 6, Using .) News: A public area to which everyone on FirstClass has access. It usually contains general announcements about the FirstClass system to which you are connected. Conferences: A folder containing public conferences. Public conferences are usually accessible by all FirstClass users. They are set up and maintained by your FirstClass administrator. (For more information, refer to Chapter 7, Using conferences.) Help: A folder containing documents with instructions for using the FirstClass system to which you are connected. Each of these icons represents a folder or conference, which in turn can contain additional files, folders, conferences, and messages. There may also be other icons on your desktop. Mailbox, conference, and folder windows When you open any item in FirstClass, its contents appear in a new window. The window for a mailbox, conference, or folder icon is a summary list. The following is the summary list for a mailbox.

47 Chapter 5 FirstClass basics 47 A split bar ( ) divides the window into two panes. To move the split bar, position the mouse on the bar, press the mouse button, and drag the bar to the desired location. The upper pane contains folders or conferences, while the lower pane contains files, documents, or messages. If either pane is not large enough to display all its contents, you can move the split bar to enlarge the area, or use the scroll bar to scroll through the contents. Message windows When you open a message, it appears in a message window. A split bar ( ) divides the window into two panes. The upper pane contains envelope information, such as the From, Subject, and To fields. It can also contain the time and date the message was created, the postmark, and sometimes an attachments field. The lower pane contains the body of the message. You can move the split bar or scroll through each pane as you can with a summary list. If you resize the message window, the next message you read is opened in a window of the new size. Message symbols The following table explains the symbols that appear beside certain messages in a mailbox, folder, or conference. The unread flag also appears

48 Chapter 5 FirstClass basics 48 beside a conference in a summary list, if that conference contains an unread message. ƒ Ï å Unread flag: A red flag indicating that the message is unread; that is, you have not yet opened it. Unsent flag: A white flag indicating that the message is unsent; that is, you have created the message, but not yet sent it. File icon: An icon indicating that the message has one or more attached files. (For more information about attachments, refer to Chapter 8, Transferring files.) bold Bold type: A type style applied to the subject of a message in a mailbox or conference, indicating urgency. In the following example, the first message in the mailbox is unread. The second message contains an attachment but remains unsent. Using the toolbar As described in Choosing commands on page 15, there are often several ways you can perform many of the procedures in this manual. For simplicity s sake, we provide only one alternative in a procedure, usually the menu command. To perform a task more quickly, you can often click a toolbar button instead of using the menu command. To display the toolbar, choose View } Toolbar.

49 Chapter 5 FirstClass basics 49 For example, if you are editing a message and would like to italicize some of the text, you can do so using the toolbar. 1) Choose View } Toolbar, if you have not already done so. 2) Select the text that you wish to italicize. 3) Click the Italic button on the toolbar. For information on customizing the toolbar, refer to Customizing the toolbar on page 126.

50 Chapter 5 FirstClass basics 50

51 Using The FirstClass system allows you to send messages to any other user on your FirstClass system. You may also, through a FirstClass gateway, be able to send messages to users all over the world. Contact your FirstClass administrator to find out if your system has a gateway to the Internet. Note: Your FirstClass administrator determines the FirstClass functions that you can use in your system. You might not have the privileges and permissions to perform all the procedures described in this chapter. For more information, refer to Access to features and conferences on page 137. Reading your messages To read your messages, follow these steps. 1) Double-click the Mailbox icon. The top pane of the window contains any subfolders you have created to help organize your mailbox. (For more information, refer to Organizing windows on page 122.) The lower pane contains a list of your incoming private mail and the messages you have composed. For each message, the list displays the name of the sender or recipient, the size, the subject, and the date the message was composed or received. 2) To read an individual message, double-click it. The message appears in a new window.

52 Chapter 6 Using 52 3) To close the message window, click the close box in its upper left corner. After you have read all the unread messages in your mailbox, the Unread flag beside the Mailbox icon disappears. Finding unread messages automatically Using the procedure in Reading your messages on page 51, you can read each unread message in your mailbox by scrolling through the list, and opening and closing each message individually. You can also use FirstClass to find and open any unread messages automatically. To find and read your unread messages automatically, follow these steps. 1) Double-click the Mailbox icon. 2) Choose Conference } Open Next Unread. FirstClass opens the oldest unread message in your mailbox. 3) Choose Open Next Unread again to read the next unread message. 4) Continue choosing this command. When there are no more unread messages in your mailbox, FirstClass notifies you with a beep. After you have read all the unread messages in your mailbox, the Unread flag beside the Mailbox icon disappears.

53 Chapter 6 Using 53 Making messages unread As you have learned, before you read a message, an Unread flag ( ƒ ) appears beside it in the folder or conference list. After you read it, the Unread flag disappears. If you want, you can reset the Unread flag beside the message. You might find this feature useful, for example, if you read a message, but want to restore the Unread flag so that it will attract your attention the next time you log in. To make a message unread, select the message, and choose Message } Unread. The Unread flag ( ƒ ) reappears beside the message. Creating new messages In addition to reading mail sent to you, you can also compose and send messages. You can use a custom form or the standard message form. To use a custom form, refer to Using other message forms on page 58. To use the standard message form, follow these steps. 1) From your FirstClass desktop or mailbox, choose Message } New Message. Your name appears automatically in the From field on the envelope of the new message. 2) Optional. For Subject, type a subject for the message and press Tab.

54 Chapter 6 Using 54 3) To address the message manually, type the names of the recipients in the To, Cc, or Bcc fields and skip to step 5. 4) To use the FirstClass Directory to address the message, follow these steps. a. Choose Service } Directory. b. Find and select the name of the person to whom you are sending the message. For more information on searching the FirstClass Directory, refer to Searching the FirstClass Directory on page 143.

55 Chapter 6 Using 55 c. Click To, Cc, or Bcc to insert the name into the message. For more information on blind carbon copies, refer to Addressing a blind carbon copy on page 56. d. Repeat step b and step c until you have finished addressing the message. This method of addressing a message is convenient if you are sending a message to several recipients. 5) Click below the split bar and type your message. To edit the text or the appearance of your message, refer to Editing messages on page 60.

56 Chapter 6 Using 56 6) To send the message, refer to Sending and unsending messages on page 65. Addressing a blind carbon copy When you address a message, you may be able to include a blind carbon copy (Bcc). This option is available if the FirstClass Server to which you connect is version 3.0 (or later). Consult your administrator to find out if this option is available to you. A blind carbon copy is a copy of a message sent to a hidden recipient. Other recipients cannot see the addresses you specify in the Bcc field. For example, Harold Lass, Accounts Receivable clerk at Veritec, reviews overdue accounts every week. When he discovers an account that is a week overdue, he sends a reminder letter to the customer, with a Bcc to the Collections Conference.

57 Chapter 6 Using 57 This is the reminder letter as it appears to the customer. The customer can t tell that the Collections conference has received a copy of the reminder letter. Although the names of Bcc recipients can be viewed in the message history by the sender and the Bcc recipients themselves, they are not visible to anyone else. (For more information about the message history feature, refer to Viewing the history of messages on page 73.) To display the Bcc field (which is normally hidden directly below the Cc field), choose Message } Show Bcc. When the field is visible, you can enter a user name into it. If you want to hide the Bcc field again while you are editing the message (for privacy reasons, perhaps), choose Message } Hide Bcc. Addressing messages to gateways If your FirstClass administrator has installed a gateway on your FirstClass Server, you can send mail through the gateway. Through a gateway, you can communicate with users on other FirstClass Servers, users on other systems, and other devices such as printers or fax machines. To address a message to a user on another system, type the user s address in the To field of the message window in the following format. <user name>,<gateway name>

58 Chapter 6 Using 58 where: <user name> is the user name or address of the person on the other system <gateway name> is the name of the gateway to the other system Note: Make sure that you enter the comma between the two parameters, with no spaces on either side. Do not type the angle brackets. For example, to send a message to Amanda Ho through the Veritec Toronto gateway, you would enter: Amanda Ho,Veritec Toronto To find out if any gateways are available to you, contact your FirstClass administrator. Using other message forms In addition to standard office memo-style messages, you can send messages using other types of forms. You compose and send forms just like you do normal messages, but forms might contain additional fields, checkboxes, list boxes, and other features. Each FirstClass system has standardized forms to choose from. For a complete list, refer to Appendix B, Standard forms. Your FirstClass administrator can also customize forms and make them available to you. To use a different message form, follow these steps. 1) Choose Message } New Form, and choose the form you want to send from the submenu. For example, to send a phone message form, choose Message } New Form } Phone Call.

59 Chapter 6 Using 59 2) Complete the address and other fields on the form as you would for any message. 3) Send the form as you would any message.

60 Chapter 6 Using 60 Editing messages Once you have created a new message and addressed it, type the body of the message. To do so, click in the bottom pane of the message window and begin typing. When you type a message, you use the FirstClass editor. The FirstClass editor provides a full-screen WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) interface that supports all the standard editing functions (Cut, Copy, Paste, and Clear). FirstClass offers a powerful Undo/Redo function. To undo the last change in any text field, choose Edit } Undo. Continue choosing Edit } Undo to undo previous changes. Choose Edit } Redo to redo a change you have just undone. You can continue to undo and redo changes in a field as long as you do not tab out of it. FirstClass also allows you to vary the appearance of your text in several different ways. First, select the text you want to change. To select a word, double-click it. To select the entire body of the message, choose Edit } Select All. To set the font, choose Edit } Font, and choose one of the listed fonts. To set the font size, choose Edit } Size, and choose one of the listed sizes, or choose Smaller, Larger, or Other. If you choose Smaller, the text is automatically reduced in size by one point. If you choose Larger, the text is automatically enlarged by one point. If you choose Other, you can specify the exact point size in a dialog. To set the font style, choose Edit } Style, and choose Bold, Italic, Underline, Outline, Shadow, or Quoted. You can also combine font styles, if you want. To set the font color, choose Edit } Color, and choose one of the listed colors, or choose Color Picker and select the exact color you want. The available colors will vary, depending on your setup in the Monitors control panel.

61 Chapter 6 Using 61 The body of the message is saved to the server as you type it. If a problem (such as a communications failure or a power failure) occurs, the message is preserved in your mailbox on the server, and you can resume editing it when you reconnect. Using the spelling checker You can use FirstClass to check the spelling in your FirstClass messages and documents. This section provides instructions for checking and correcting your spelling and setting the spelling checker preferences. Checking spelling To check the spelling in a message or document, follow these steps. 1) Open the message or document whose spelling you want to check, if it is not already open. 2) Optional. Select the text that you want FirstClass to check. If no text is selected, FirstClass checks the spelling in the entire document. 3) Choose Edit } Check Spelling. When the spelling checker encounters a word not found in one of its dictionaries, it displays the word in the Replace field. In the Suggestions field, FirstClass displays a list of alternative words, the first of which is also displayed in the With field. 4) For each unknown word, select one of the following options.

62 Chapter 6 Using 62 To allow this occurrence of the word, click Skip. To allow any repeated occurrences of this word in this document, click Skip All. To allow repeated occurrences of this word in this, and future FirstClass documents, you must add the word to your personalized dictionary. To do so, click Add Word. To replace only this occurrence of the reported word with the word in the With field, click Replace. To replace any further occurrence of the reported word in your document with the word in the With field, click Replace All. To replace the word with one of the alternatives in the Suggestions field, click on the alternative to move it into the With field. Then click Replace or Replace All. To replace the word with an alternative not suggested by FirstClass, select the word in the With field. In its place, enter the alternative. Then click Replace or Replace All. When the spelling checker has reported every unknown word, the Spelling Check Complete dialog appears. At the end of an automatic spelling check, the following dialog appears.

63 Chapter 6 Using 63 Click Cancel to return to your message and continue editing it, or Send to send the message. For more information on automatically checking the spelling of FirstClass messages and documents, refer to Setting the spelling checker preferences on page 63. Setting the spelling checker preferences To set the spelling checker preferences, choose Edit } Check Spelling. You can set the following preferences in the Spelling Checker form: Check Spelling on Close/Send: To start the spelling check automatically whenever you close or send a FirstClass message or document. If you want to check the spelling in all FirstClass documents that you create, you should select this option. Note: The spelling checker only runs if the document has been edited since the last spelling check. Enable Suggestions: Whether FirstClass displays a list of suggested spellings for the unknown words it reports to you. If you deselect this option, the spelling checker will run faster. Ignore Words with Numbers: Whether FirstClass reports words with numbers (such as 3D) as unknown. When this option is selected, the spelling checker will ignore any word that contains one or more digits. Ignore Words in UPPERCASE: Whether FirstClass reports words in uppercase (such as CD-ROM) unknown. When this option is selected, the spelling checker will ignore words that are in uppercase. Dictionary files All of the dictionaries supplied with the FirstClass Client are stored in the Tools folder. The spelling checker refers to these dictionaries whenever you check the spelling in a FirstClass document or message. You can use as many dictionary files as you need.

64 Chapter 6 Using 64 If you need to check spelling in a language other than English, contact your FirstClass administrator. He or she can provide you with the appropriate dictionaries, which you can then copy into the Tools folder. The Tools folder is created at the time of installation. If you delete or rename it, the spelling checker will not run. Do not create any subfolders in the Tools directory. Requesting special message handling Although the default method that FirstClass uses to handle messages should be fine for most of your messages, you can request special handling, if necessary. You can change the way FirstClass handles an urgent or personal message, and you can generate message receipts. Priority By default, all messages in FirstClass are assigned Normal priority. If your message is important, you can assign it Urgent priority. An urgent message appears in bold in the folder or conference list, and also invokes special gateway handling, if applicable. To designate a message as urgent, choose Message } Priority } Urgent. If you are sending the message through a gateway, you may be able to set its priority to Bulk if the message is of low priority. Consult your administrator to find out if this option is available to you. To designate a message as bulk, choose Message } Priority } Bulk. Sensitivity By default, all messages in FirstClass are assigned Normal sensitivity. This setting has no effect on the way the message is handled in FirstClass. It is provided as information for the recipient, and could be used by third-party gateways. To designate a sensitivity other than Normal, choose Message } Sensitivity and then choose Personal, Private, or Company. Receipt By default, messages in FirstClass do not generate receipts for the sender.

65 Chapter 6 Using 65 If you want a receipt when the recipient reads the message, choose Message } Receipt } on Read. If you want a receipt when the message is delivered to the recipient (useful when the recipient is on another server), choose Message } Receipt } on Delivery. If you want a receipt at each stage of the delivery of multi-hop mail (useful for detecting problems in multiserver mail systems), choose Message } Receipt } on Route. To prevent the generation of non-delivery notices (NDNs), choose Message } Receipt } Suppress NDN. Sending and unsending messages This section provides instruction on sending and unsending messages. You might want to unsend a message, for example, if you detect an error in a recently sent message and want to correct it. Sending a message When you are ready to send the message, choose Message } Send. If you close the message without sending it, the following dialog appears. Click one of the following buttons: Cancel: To return to the message window and continue editing. Send Now: To send the message. Don t Send: If you don t want to send the message (perhaps you want to work on it later). The message stays in your mailbox with an Unsent flag beside it.

66 Chapter 6 Using 66 When you send a message, FirstClass stamps a postmark on the top right corner of the envelope. The postmark indicates that the FirstClass Server has received the message and has begun delivery to the recipients. Unsending a sent message You can retract a sent message by using the unsend feature. To unsend a sent message, select or open the message and choose Message } Unsend. An unsent flag appears beside the message in your mailbox and the message history indicates the date and time that you unsent it. Be aware, however, that the recipient may have already read the message. To see whether a recipient has read the message you want to unsend, open the message and choose Message } History. For more information, refer to Viewing the history of messages on page 73. A message that has been deleted or moved by a recipient cannot be completely unsent. For example, a message that has been filed (that is, moved into a folder) by a recipient before being unsent by the sender can still be opened and read by the recipient. If, after unsending a message, you receive a warning from the post office that indicates that the message has been deleted, routed, or moved, be aware that the message cannot be completely unsent.

67 Chapter 6 Using 67 Replying to messages You can respond to a message in your mailbox in several different ways. For example, if the original message was sent to other users at the same time it was sent to you, you can choose to reply to all recipients, or to the sender only. You can include all or part of the text of the original message in your reply, if you want. If you do not choose special handling for your replies, FirstClass automatically handles them according to system defaults. If you want, you can change your personal reply preferences. For more information, refer to Customizing your Preferences form on page 109. The procedures in this manual assume that the reply preference on your Preferences form has been set to Automatic. Replying to all recipients To send your reply to all recipients of the original message, follow these steps. 1) Open or select the message. 2) Choose Message } Reply Special } Reply All. FirstClass creates a new, unsent message in your mailbox.

68 Chapter 6 Using 68 The Subject field contains Re: and the subject of the original message. The name of the sender of the original message appears in the To field. The names of the other recipients of the original message, along with the names of recipients of carbon copies of the original message, appear in the Cc field of the reply. 3) Optional. Add names to, or delete names from, the To, Cc, and Bcc fields. To delete names, select them and press Delete. 4) Type the body of the message. 5) Send the message. Replying to the sender only If the message was addressed to more than one person or conference, you might want to send your reply to the sender only. To do so, follow these steps. 1) Open or select the message. 2) Choose Message } Reply Special } Reply Sender. FirstClass creates a new, unsent message in your mailbox. The Subject field contains Re: and the subject of the original message. Your name appears in the From field, and the name of the original

69 Chapter 6 Using 69 sender appears in the To field. None of the other original recipients will receive this reply. 3) Optional. Add names in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields. 4) Type the body of the message. 5) Send the message. Including quotations in your reply If you want, you can quote some or all of the text of the original message in the body of your response. When you use the quoting feature, FirstClass also identifies the name of the person you are quoting. Including a total quotation To include the entire text of the original message in your reply, follow these steps. 1) Open the message. 2) Choose Message } Reply with Quote.

70 Chapter 6 Using 70 FirstClass creates a new, unsent message in your mailbox. The Subject field contains Re: and the subject of the original message. FirstClass completes the From, To, and Cc fields based on your preferences (or the conference reply preference, if you are replying to a message in a conference). The name of the person who sent the message from which the quote was taken appears, in bold, at the top of the lower pane. Immediately below, the text of the original message appears on a gray background. 3) Optional. Add or delete names from the To, Cc, and Bcc fields. 4) Type the body of your reply within or below the quoted text. 5) Send the message. Including a partial quotation If you want to include only part of the original message in your reply, follow these steps. 1) Open the message. 2) Select the text you want to quote. 3) Reply, following the procedure in Replying to all recipients on page 67 or Replying to the sender only on page 68.

71 Chapter 6 Using 71 The Subject field contains Re: and the subject of the original message. FirstClass completes the From and To fields of the new message (refer to Replying to all recipients on page 67 or Replying to the sender only on page 68). It also quotes the text of the original message, on a gray background, at the top of the lower pane. 4) Optional. Add names in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields. 5) Type the body of your reply within or below the quoted text. 6) Send the message. Message threads The original message and the reply can be referred to as a message thread. Some message threads consist of an original message and a long series of replies. In a message thread, the first reply has the subject Re: followed by the original subject; replies to the reply have the subject Re(2): followed by the original subject; and so on. For more information about message threads, refer to Following message threads on page 83.

72 Chapter 6 Using 72 Forwarding messages If you receive a message that should be seen by another user, you can easily forward it to that user. To forward a message, follow these steps. 1) Open or select the message. 2) Choose Message } Forward. FirstClass creates a new message a copy of the selected message (including attachments). The Subject field contains Fwd: and the subject of the original message. Your name, and the name of the original sender of the message, appear in the From field. The To and Cc fields are blank. The text of the original message appears in the lower pane. 3) Address the message by adding at least one name in the To field, and (optionally) one or more names in the Cc and Bcc fields. 4) Optional. Type any additional comments above or below the existing text in the forwarded message.

73 Chapter 6 Using 73 5) Send the message. Viewing the history of messages In FirstClass, you can view the history of a message that is, the date it was created, the time and date that recipients read it, and other details. You might find this feature useful, for example, if you were waiting for a reply, and you wanted to know whether the recipient had read the original message yet. To view the history of a message, open or select the message and choose Message } History.

74 Chapter 6 Using 74 The History window displays details on when the message was created and sent, and when other users read, forwarded, or replied to it. The names of Bcc recipients do not appear in the message history, except to themselves, and to the sender of the message. Keeping your mailbox tidy To keep your mailbox tidy, you can delete messages you no longer need or organize them in folders. Deleting messages If you send and receive many messages, your mailbox can quickly become cluttered. To delete messages from your mailbox, follow these steps. 1) Select the message. (To select multiple messages, press Shift while clicking each one.) 2) Choose File } Delete. Before deleting messages, FirstClass prompts you for verification. 3) Click Delete. Messages expire and are deleted from your mailbox automatically after a period configured by your FirstClass administrator. For more information about expiry dates, refer to Viewing and changing object information on page 120. Saving messages as text files You might want to save a message before you delete it or before it expires. You can save it as a plain text file on the hard disk of your computer to ensure that you have a permanent copy. To save a message as text, follow these steps.

75 Chapter 6 Using 75 1) In the Message list of your mailbox, open the message you want to save. 2) Choose File } Save. 3) Specify where you want to save the message. If you want, you can change the name of the new file, or create a new folder in which it will be saved. 4) Click Save. Using folders To organize your mailbox, you might want to move some of your messages to folders. When you move a message to a folder, it is removed from the summary list of your mailbox but it is still available if you need to refer to it later. To create a folder in your mailbox, follow these steps. 1) Open your mailbox.

76 Chapter 6 Using 76 2) Choose Conference } New Folder. 3) Select the New Folder icon. 4) Choose File } Get Info. 5) For Name, type the name of the new folder.

77 Chapter 6 Using 77 In this example, we have chosen the name Document Library. 6) Close the form and save the changes. 7) To move a message into the folder, select the message and drag it to the folder. To move multiple messages, press Shift while clicking each one, and then drag all the selected messages to the folder. When you move a message to a folder, you change its expiry date to that of the conference in which the folder is located. This may be different from the original expiry date for the message. For more information about expiry dates, refer to Viewing and changing object information on page 120. You can create multiple folders in your mailbox. You can also create folders within folders.

78 Chapter 6 Using 78 Deleting folders You can delete a folder in much the same way you delete a message. Follow these steps. 1) Select the folder. 2) Press Delete. Before deleting folders, FirstClass prompts you for verification. 3) Click Delete. 4) When you delete a folder, you also delete all contained messages, files, and subconferences. To ensure that you really want to do this, FirstClass prompts you for verification again. Click Delete Original to delete the folder, or Cancel to cancel deletion.

79 Using conferences Conferences are user forums usually focused on a single topic. For example, your administrator might create a conference devoted to discussions of a particular type of software or product. By monitoring a conference, you can stay abreast of information in the areas it covers. A conference consists of a list of messages, just like the list in your mailbox. With conference messages, you can perform most of the tasks described in Chapter 6, Using . This chapter provides an introduction to the concept of conferences, and describes the tasks that differ from those in the previous chapter. Note: Your FirstClass administrator determines the FirstClass functions that you can use in your system. You might not have the privileges and permissions to perform all the procedures described in this chapter. For more information, refer to Access to features and conferences on page 137. Viewing conferences Let s look at the conferences created by Veritec Inc., the company used in the examples throughout this manual. The Conferences folder contains all the public conferences available on your system. Public conferences are conferences usually accessible by all FirstClass users. (You may also have access to private conferences. For more information, refer to Private conferences on page 86.) To view your public conferences, open the Conferences folder on your desktop. If you have subscriptions to private conferences, you can open them

80 Chapter 7 Using conferences 80 from your desktop. If a conference contains items you haven t read, an Unread flag appears beside the conference icon. To find out about the scope or purpose of a conference, select the conference and choose Conference } About Conference. If your FirstClass administrator has created a description for the conference, it appears when you choose this command. The list of specific conferences available on your system depends on the interests in your user community. If you think there is a need for a conference that your server does not have, ask your FirstClass administrator to create it. Browsing conferences If the conference contains unread mail, an Unread flag appears beside the conference icon. To browse a conference, follow these steps. 1) Double-click the conference icon. The conference summary is similar to the display in your mailbox. Items you have not read are marked with an Unread flag ( ƒ ) and those with file attachments are marked with an attachment icon ( å ). For more information about attachments, refer to Chapter 8, Transferring files. 2) To read an individual conference item, double-click it.

81 Chapter 7 Using conferences 81 3) To close the message window, click the close box in its upper left corner. After you have read all the unread messages in the conference, the Unread flag beside the conference icon disappears. You can find and open each unread item in a conference in the same way as you do in your mailbox. For more information, refer to Finding unread messages automatically on page 52. Note: Your FirstClass administrator may have set up your system so that some messages must be approved before you can read them. If a message has not yet been approved, it appears in italics in the summary list. You cannot read the message until the moderator of the conference has approved it. Replying to conference items While browsing through a conference, you might see an item to which you want to respond. You can respond to a message in a conference in several different ways. Replying to the conference When you read an item in a conference, you might want to send a reply that all users who subscribe to that conference can read. To send your reply to the conference, follow these steps.

82 Chapter 7 Using conferences 82 1) Open or select the message. 2) Choose Message } Reply Special } Reply Conference. (Depending on the reply preferences for the conference, if your reply preferences are set to Automatic, you might also be able to simply choose Message } Reply. For more information, refer to Customizing your Preferences form on page 109.) The Subject field contains Re: and the subject of the original message. Your name appears in the From field, and the name of the conference appears in the To field. 3) Optional. Add names in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields. 4) Type the body of the message. 5) Send the message. Replying to the sender only When you read an item in a conference, you might want to send a reply that only the original sender can read. To send your reply to only the original sender of a message, follow these steps. 1) Open or select the message. 2) Choose Message } Reply Special } Reply Sender.

83 Chapter 7 Using conferences 83 The Subject field contains Re: and the subject of the original message. Your name appears in the From field, and the name of the sender appears in the To field. FirstClass delivers the message to the sender, not to the conference. 3) Optional. Add names in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields. 4) Type the body of the message. 5) Send the message. At times, you may want to reply to the conference, the sender, and all other recipients of the message. To do so, for step 2, choose Message } Reply Special } Reply All. Following message threads As users discuss various topics in a conference, the original message and the set of replies comprise a thread of messages on a particular topic. Every time a user replies to a message, he or she is adding another message to the thread. The Customer Support conference in the following illustration contains several messages all on the topic of Problems with XOX.

84 Chapter 7 Using conferences 84 To follow a message thread, you can use the thread commands. To view the next most recent message in a thread, open or select the message and choose Conference } Open Next in Thread. To view the previous message in the thread, choose Conference } Open Previous in Thread. For example, consider the thread of messages with the subject Problems with XOX in the Customer Support conference illustrated above. If you open the original message from Norman Dealey and then choose Open Next in Thread, FirstClass opens the next message, from Roy Allen. If you continue to choose Open Next in Thread, the messages from Norman Dealey and Joan Smith appear. When there are no more messages in the thread, FirstClass notifies you with a beep. If you open the message from Joan Smith, and want to see the previous message, choose Conference } Open Previous in Thread. The message from Norman Dealey appears. Continue to choose Conference } Open Previous in Thread, to view the messages from Roy Allen and Norman Dealey. When there are no previous messages in the thread, FirstClass notifies you with a beep. Sending messages to a conference To send a message to a conference, follow these steps. 1) Open the conference.

85 Chapter 7 Using conferences 85 2) Choose Message } New Message. Your name appears automatically in the From field, and the name of the conference appears in the To field. 3) For Subject, type a subject for the message. 4) Type and edit the body of the message.

86 Chapter 7 Using conferences 86 5) Send the message. FirstClass delivers the message to the conference. You can also use custom forms for messages you send to conferences. For more information about custom forms, refer to Using other message forms on page 58. Private conferences Your FirstClass administrator might have given you the permissions to view certain private conferences. For example, on the Veritec desktop on page 45, Customer Support and Useful Software are private conferences, made accessible to this user by the FirstClass administrator. If you have access to any private conferences, their icons, or a special folder, also appear on your desktop.

87 Transferring files Using FirstClass, you can transfer files in both directions from your computer to the server, or from the server to your computer. When you transfer files, you don t need to worry about the type of file transfer being used. FirstClass handles the file transfer whether it is over a modem connection or a network connection. File transfers occur in the background. While FirstClass is transferring a file to your computer or to the server, you can perform any other FirstClass activity, such as creating and sending mail. You can start a second file transfer without waiting for the first one to finish. FirstClass handles multiple simultaneous file transfers, in both directions. Only one transfer occurs at a time, but as soon as the active transfer finishes, the next one begins. Note: Your FirstClass administrator determines the FirstClass functions that you can use in your system. You might not have the privileges and permissions to perform all the procedures described in this chapter. For more information, refer to Access to features and conferences on page 137. Transferring files to the server You can transfer files to other FirstClass users in two different ways. You can attach an unlimited number of files to any message you send. Depending on your conference permissions, you may also be able to upload files directly to a folder or conference. When you transfer a file, you don t need to know what kind of computer the recipient is using. FirstClass makes sure that the recipient can receive the file. Note: To be able to use a transferred file, the recipient must have the appropriate application. For example, if you send an Excel spreadsheet, the recipient must have Excel or another application that can open an Excel document. Transferring a file by attaching it to a message To send a message with an attached file to the FirstClass Server, follow these steps.

88 Chapter 8 Transferring files 88 1) Create a new message as usual. 2) Choose File } Attach File. 3) Select the file you want to attach to your message. 4) Select Open and press Return. FirstClass begins transferring the file to the server. The status of the file transfer appears in the File Transfer Progress display. When the transfer is complete, the File Transfer Progress display disappears and the file appears in the Attachments field near the bottom of the message envelope. The time required for the transfer varies depending on the size of the file and the speed of your connection. If you can t see the Attachments field, move the split bar ( ) downward by positioning the mouse on the bar, pressing the mouse button, and dragging the bar downward.

89 Chapter 8 Transferring files 89 5) Repeat this procedure for each file you want to attach to the message. 6) Send the message. You cannot send the message until all transfers are complete. To terminate a file transfer before it is complete, close the File Transfer Progress display. If you terminate the file transfer and do not send the message, you can resume it later. For more information, refer to Resuming a file transfer to the server on page 94. To remove an attachment from your message, select the attachment and press Delete. You cannot delete attachments after you send a message. If you are using a modem connection, or if the users who will be downloading the file are using a modem connection, consider compressing the file before you attach it. Compressed files can be transferred faster, reducing the length of your phone calls. Transferring a file by uploading it directly If you want, you can upload a file directly into a folder or conference on the FirstClass Server, without attaching it to a message. However, it is usually preferable to enclose the file in a message as an attachment, so that you can include descriptive information in the message body. For more information, refer to Transferring a file by attaching it to a message on page 87.

90 Chapter 8 Transferring files 90 To upload a file directly to a folder or conference, follow these steps. 1) Open the folder or conference to which you want to transfer the file. 2) Choose File } Upload. 3) Select the file you want to transfer. The file appears directly in the list for the folder or conference, rather than within a message. 4) You can change the wording Uploaded File in the list to make it more descriptive. To do so, choose File } Get Info, and change the description in the Subject field. To terminate a file transfer before it is complete, close the File Transfer Progress display. If you terminate the file transfer, you can resume it later. For more information, refer to Resuming a file transfer to the server on page 94. Transferring files to your computer The method you use to transfer a file to your computer depends on whether it was attached to a message, or uploaded directly to a folder or conference. To be able to use a transferred file, you must have the appropriate application. For example, if you download an Excel spreadsheet, you must have Excel or another application that can open an Excel document.

91 Chapter 8 Transferring files 91 Note: Your FirstClass administrator may have set up your system so that some messages and uploaded files must be approved before you can transfer them to your computer. For example, your FirstClass system may require approval for all messages containing attachments, and all uploaded files. This option allows files to be checked for viruses before they are made publicly available. If a message with an attachment, or an uploaded file, has not yet been approved, it appears in italics in the summary list. You cannot transfer the file to your computer until the moderator of the conference has approved it. Previewing an attached file You might want to preview an attached file before transferring it to your computer. You can preview text files, pictures, and sound files. To preview the attachment, press Option while double-clicking the attachment. Transferring a file attached to a message If a file has been attached to a message by the sender, an attachment icon ( å ) appears beside the message in the summary list. In the following summary list, the first message contains attachments. The envelope for this message contains an Attachments field. The following message has two attached files.

92 Chapter 8 Transferring files 92 To transfer an attachment to your computer, follow these steps. 1) Open the message containing the attachment. 2) If you can t see the Attachments field, move the split bar ( ) downward by positioning the mouse on the bar, pressing the mouse button, and dragging the bar downward. 3) Double-click the attachment, or select the attachment and choose File } Save Attachment. 4) Select the folder in which you want to save the file (the default folder is Download in the FirstClass Client folder). 5) Click Save.

93 Chapter 8 Transferring files 93 FirstClass begins transferring the file to your computer. The status of the file transfer appears in the File Transfer Progress display. When the transfer is complete, the window disappears. The time required for the transfer varies depending on the size of the file and the speed of your connection. To terminate the file transfer before it is complete, close the File Transfer Progress display. If you terminate the file transfer, you can resume it later. For more information, refer to Resuming a file transfer to your computer on page 95. If you try to disconnect from the server or quit FirstClass while a file transfer is in progress, the following message appears. Click Disconnect Now to disconnect from FirstClass immediately, or click Cancel to stay connected. If you disconnect from FirstClass, the file transfer terminates. (If you do nothing, you will disconnect from the server automatically when the transfers are complete.) Transferring an uploaded file If a file has been uploaded directly to a folder or conference, without being attached to a message, the file appears in the summary list. Unless the sender has changed the description, the file appears with the description Uploaded File. In the following summary list, the first item is an uploaded file.

94 Chapter 8 Transferring files 94 To transfer an uploaded file to your computer, select the file, choose File } Download, and select the folder in which you want to save the file, as described in Previewing an attached file on page 91. To terminate the file transfer before it is complete, close the File Transfer Progress display. If you terminate the file transfer, you can resume it later. For more information, refer to Resuming a file transfer to your computer on page 95. Resuming interrupted file transfers If a file transfer is interrupted for some reason (for example, as a result of a connection failure), you don t need to transfer the entire file again. You can instruct FirstClass to transfer only the part of the file that was not successfully transferred. This feature is especially useful if you are using a slow or expensive connection to the FirstClass Server. Resuming a file transfer to the server If a file transfer is interrupted while you are transferring a file to the server (either by attaching it to a message, or by uploading it directly), a special icon ( Å ) next to the filename indicates that only part of the file was transferred. You can resume the transfer to the server at any time. To do so, simply repeat the transfer procedure you followed originally. Be sure to select the file with the icon ( Å ) before you click Open.

95 Chapter 8 Transferring files 95 For more information, refer to Transferring a file by attaching it to a message on page 87 or Transferring a file by uploading it directly on page 89. The file transfer resumes where it left off. Resuming a file transfer to your computer If a file transfer is interrupted while you are transferring a file to your computer (whether attached to a message, or uploaded directly), a special icon ( Å ) next to the filename indicates that only part of the file was transferred. You can resume the transfer to your computer at any time. To do so, follow these steps. 1) Repeat the transfer procedure you followed originally. For more information, refer to Previewing an attached file on page 91 or Transferring an uploaded file on page 93. If you select the same destination this time as you did originally, a confirmation message appears. 2) Click Replace. The file transfer resumes where it left off.

96 Chapter 8 Transferring files 96

97 Searching FirstClass provides a Search feature you can use to search for specific text in a message or document, or to search a conference, folder, external directory, or external drive for all the items that contain specific text. Searches occur in the background. While FirstClass is performing a search, you can create and send mail, read mail or conference items, or perform any other FirstClass activity. Note: Your FirstClass administrator determines the FirstClass functions that you can use in your system. You might not have the privileges and permissions to perform all the procedures described in this chapter. For more information, refer to Access to features and conferences on page 137. Searching messages and documents To search for text in a message or document, follow these steps. 1) Open the message or document. 2) Choose File } Search. 3) Type the text you want to find. 4) Click Find.

98 Chapter 9 Searching 98 FirstClass scrolls to the first occurrence of the text, and highlights it. 5) To scroll to the next occurrence of the text, choose File } Search Next. Searching conferences and folders To search a conference or folder for the items containing specific text, follow these steps. 1) Open the conference or folder you want to search. 2) Choose File } Search. 3) For Search For, type the text you want to find. 4) Specify the parameters of your search by selecting any of the following options.

99 Chapter 9 Searching 99 Search Subject/File Name: Searches for the text in the subject of the message, or in the name of an uploaded file. Search Sub Conferences & Folders: Searches all items, subconferences, and subfolders in all subconferences and subfolders of the current window. Selecting this option can increase the search time significantly. Search Content of Documents: Searches for the text in the body of the messages and documents. Selecting this option can increase the search time significantly. Search Attachment Names: Searches for the text in the message attachments. This option is useful when you have seen an attached file you want, but have forgotten where it is. For example, suppose you remember seeing a copy of a new settings document for your FirstClass system, but you forget what conference it was in. Open the Conferences folder, choose File } Search, and select Search Sub Conferences & Folders and Search Attachment Names. To search for all messages with attachments, select this option and leave Search For blank. Search From Name: Searches for the text in the From field on the message envelope. Use this option if you want to search your mailbox for every message sent by a specific user. Search To/CC Names: Searches for the text in the To and Cc fields on the message envelope. Note: If you are logged into a large system, you should restrict your search as much as possible. Searching through many large conferences can be time-consuming.

100 Chapter 9 Searching 100 In this example, we are searching the subjects and contents of documents in the Document Library folder for the text modem. We are also searching all subconferences and subfolders in this folder. 5) Click Search. As items are found that match the search criteria, they appear in the search summary window. As the search progresses, the name of the conference or folder currently being searched appears in the top right corner of the window. In this example, the Document Library folder is being searched. 6) To open an item in the list summary window, double-click it. You don t have to wait for the search to finish before you open items you can open items as soon as they appear in the search summary window. When the search is complete, FirstClass notifies you with a beep. You can cancel a search at any time by closing the search summary window.

101 Chapter 9 Searching 101 Searching external folders and drives Your FirstClass administrator can create links from FirstClass to external folders, on a hard disk or CD-ROM. These links appear as folders on your desktop, and you can search them just as you search any other folders or conferences. To search an external folder, follow these steps. 1) Open the folder. 2) Choose File } Search. Note: Only the checkboxes on the left apply to searches on external folders. FirstClass ignores the checkboxes on the right. 3) For Search For, type the text you want to find. 4) Specify the parameters of your search by selecting any of the following options. Search Subject/File Name: Searches for the text in the subject of the message, or in the name of an uploaded file. Search Sub Conferences & Folders: Searches all items, subconferences, and subfolders in all subconferences and subfolders of the current window. Selecting this option can increase the search time significantly. Search Content of Documents: Searches for the text in the body of the messages and documents. Selecting this option can increase the search time significantly.

102 Chapter 9 Searching 102 5) Click Search. A search summary displays the matching items. 6) To open an item in the search summary window, double-click it. For more information on external folders, refer to Accessing external folders and disk files on page 145.

103 Chatting Through FirstClass, you can engage in private or public chats. Chats are real-time conversations or group discussions with other users currently connected to the server. You can initiate private chats, or you can participate in public chats set up by your FirstClass administrator. Private chats are usually impromptu conversations. Public chats often pertain to a specific topic. The FirstClass Client ships with one type of chat (text chat). However, there may be other chat types available to you. To find out if there are any other chat types available to you, contact your FirstClass administrator. You can participate in multiple private chats, public chats, or both simultaneously. To switch from one chat to another, just click in the window of the chat you want to make active. Note: Your FirstClass administrator determines the FirstClass functions that you can use in your system. You might not have the privileges and permissions to perform all the procedures described in this chapter. For more information, refer to Access to features and conferences on page 137. Initiating a private chat A chat is an impromptu, real-time conversation with other users. To start a private chat, follow these steps. 1) From the main menu, choose Service } Private Chat } Text Chat (or any other type of chat available to you).

104 Chapter 10 Chatting 104 You are the only person in the chat. To include others, you must invite them. 2) Click Invite. The Directory dialog displays the names of all users currently logged in. (Only users who are logged into FirstClass can participate in a chat.) Users whose names appear in italics cannot be invited to join a chat. These users do not have the Chat privilege, or they have selected the Don t Accept Chat Invitations option in their Preferences form. For more information on preferences, refer to Customizing your Preferences form on page ) Double-click the name of the user you want to invite to the chat. To invite multiple users, press Shift while clicking the name of each user.

105 Chapter 10 Chatting 105 The selected users receive chat invitations unless they are already engaged in a chat, or have set their Preferences forms to automatically decline chat invitations. They can choose to accept or decline the invitation. If they accept, a message appears in the lower pane of your chat window (the chat transcript) announcing that they have joined the chat. If they decline, no response appears. FirstClass maintains the list of chat participants. When users join the chat, their names are added to the Participants list. When users leave the chat, their names are removed from the list. 4) To contribute to a chat, type your message and click Send. After several participants have sent messages to the chat, it looks something like this.

106 Chapter 10 Chatting 106 You can use the scroll bars to scroll up and down through the text of the chat. To prevent the chat from scrolling down as new messages are added, click the Scroll Lock checkbox. 5) If you want, you can turn off chat sounds (such as the sound that indicates another user has joined the chat). To do so, click the Sounds checkbox to remove the check mark. 6) When you are finished, leave the chat by closing the chat window. You can copy text from a chat onto the clipboard, or you can save a transcript of the chat session to a text file. To copy text to the clipboard, select the text and choose Edit } Copy. To save a chat transcript, choose File } Save as Text. Joining a public chat Your FirstClass administrator can set up public chats. These chats usually pertain to a specific topic and appear as icons inside a folder or conference.

107 Chapter 10 Chatting 107 In this example, the Sales & Marketing conference contains a public chat named Sales Discussion. A red chat balloon (like the following) beside a public chat indicates that the chat has active participants. Chat balloon To join a public chat, double-click the chat icon. The chat window opens. You can invite people to join a public chat, and you can contribute to public chats, just as you can with a private chat. For more information, refer to Initiating a private chat on page 103. To leave a public chat, close the chat window. Responding to chat invitations If you are invited to a private or public chat, a dialog such as the following appears.

108 Chapter 10 Chatting 108 To join the chat, click Accept. The chat window opens, and your name is added to the Participants list on the screens of all other participants. To refuse the chat invitation, click Decline. The chat invitation window disappears. FirstClass does not notify the participants that you have declined the invitation. If you are already engaged in a chat, you will not receive any invitations extended to you. If you do not want to receive chat invitations, you can set your Preferences form to automatically decline invitations to chat. For more information, refer to Customizing your Preferences form on page 109. Note: Before you respond to an invitation, or while you are participating, you might want to know something about the person who invited you or the other participants. This information appears in the person s résumé. You can view a participant s résumé by double-clicking his or her name.

109 Personalizing FirstClass Every user has a FirstClass account. You can set up some of the features of your account to meet your own needs and preferences. This section describes how to perform the following tasks: customizing your Preferences form changing your password creating and editing your résumé using personal mail lists customizing your desktop customizing your toolbar using the 3D Look command using the Network Notification utility Customizing your Preferences form FirstClass allows you to set preferences for your mailbox and for the chat feature. You can also set up auto-forwarding and auto-reply in your Preferences form. To change your Preferences form, follow these steps. 1) From the main menu, choose Edit } Preferences.

110 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 110 2) In the Mailbox Preferences section, enter information in the following fields: Show Items in Conferences in Reverse Order: Whether you want messages in conferences to be sorted with the newest item at the top and the oldest item at the bottom. This option is selected by default. Show Only Unread Items in Conferences and Mailbox: Whether you want only items with Unread flags to appear in conferences and in your mailbox. This option is useful if you connect by modem, because it reduces the time required to transfer a conference or mailbox. Reply Preference: How you want FirstClass to address replies to a message. Select one of the following options: Automatic: Select this option to address replies to a private message to the original sender (and any other recipients in the Cc field), or to address replies to a conference message to the conference. Reply All: Select this option to address replies to all recipients, for both private messages and conference messages.

111 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 111 Reply Sender: Select this option to address replies to the sender only, for both private messages and conference messages. 3) In the Chat Preferences section, enter information in the following fields: Don t Accept Invitations: Whether you want to prevent other users from inviting you to chat. If you set this option, your name is italicized in the FirstClass Directory. Sounds During Chat and Invite: Whether you want to turn on sounds during chats. You can override this option for individual chat sessions, if you want. For more information, refer to Initiating a private chat on page ) In the Mail Rules section, enter information in the following fields: Forward My Mail: Whether you want mail sent to your mailbox to be automatically forwarded to another user or to a conference. This option is useful, for example, if you go on vacation and you want your mail answered by someone else. If you select this option, also type the name of the user or conference to whom you want your mail forwarded. To use this feature, you must have the automatic forwarding and reply privilege. For more information, refer to Privileges on page 137. Reply Automatically: Whether you want FirstClass to send a reply automatically to every message received in your mailbox. This option is useful, for example, if you go on vacation and you want to notify other users of your return date. To use this feature, you must have the automatic forwarding and reply privilege. For more information, refer to Privileges on page 137. Reply Text: If you selected the Reply Automatically option, type the body of the message you want to send. 5) Close the form and save the changes.

112 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 112 Changing your password To change your password, follow these steps. 1) Choose Service } Change Password. 2) Enter information in the following fields: Old Password: Your old password. New Password: Your new password. Use a maximum of twelve characters. To make it hard for someone to guess your password, try to mix numbers and letters. Don t use your own name or user ID, or any other easily-guessed word, such as your birthdate, or the name of a family member or pet. Retype Password: Your new password. Retype it to verify it. 3) Click OK. Creating and editing your résumé Each user can have a résumé. The résumé contains information about the user, and is visible to anyone able to view résumés. To edit your résumé, choose Edit } Résumé.

113 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 113 In the top right corner of the résumé, type your name. In the top left, you can paste a picture, if you want. To do so, save a picture to the clipboard in uncompressed PICT format, and then choose Edit } Paste. In the bottom pane of the résumé, type any information that you think would be useful to other users. For ideas about what to write, view the résumés of other users on your system. You can view a résumé by doubleclicking a user s name the FirstClass Directory, a Who s Online list, the To, Cc, and Bcc fields of a message envelope, or the Participants list in a private or public chat. Using the address book You can use personal mail lists to make it easier to send mail to groups of users. For example, if you often send mail to the three members of the Training Task Force, you can create a personal mail list for this group. Then, when you want to send mail to the group, instead of typing three addresses, you only need to type the name, or the first few letters of, the personal mail list ( Training Task Force ). You can use personal address forms to store phone numbers and addresses of users on your FirstClass system. Creating a new personal mail list To create a new personal mail list, follow these steps. 1) Choose Service } Address Book. 2) Click New Personal Mail List.

114 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 114 3) For Name, enter the name of the mail list. 4) To add names manually, type the names of the group members in the Members field. Skip to step 6. 5) To use the FirstClass Directory to insert names into the mail list, follow these steps. a. Click Dir.

115 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 115 b. Select the name of the person you want to add and click Select. c. Close the FirstClass Directory. 6) Close the mail list and save your changes.

116 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 116 FirstClass inserts the name of the mailing list, and the first person in the list, into the Address Book folder. Creating a new personal address form To create a new personal address form, follow these steps. 1) Choose Service } Address Book. 2) Click New Personal Address.

117 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 117 3) For Name, type the name of the person for whom you are making the form. 4) For Phone, enter the telephone number of the user. 5) To add the address of the user manually, type the address of the user in the field. Skip to step 7. 6) To use the FirstClass Directory to insert names into the Address form, follow these steps. a. Click Dir. b. Select the name you want to add and click Select. c. Close the FirstClass Directory. 7) For Detail, enter the address, or any other appropriate information.

118 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 118 8) Close the address form and save your changes. When you have finished creating your first mail list or address form, FirstClass adds an icon for the address book to your desktop. Customizing your desktop You can customize your desktop so that it contains the conferences that you use most often.

119 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 119 Making an alias of a conference If you monitor a particular conference frequently, you might want to put an alias of it on your desktop. Making an alias of a conference has several advantages. You can open the conference more easily. Instead of navigating through various conferences and subconferences, you can just double-click the alias on your desktop. You can see from your desktop whether the conference contains unread mail. To make an alias of a conference, select the conference and choose Conference } Make Alias. FirstClass places a copy of the conference icon on your desktop. You can move the icon anywhere on your desktop by dragging it to the desired location. For finer placement, select the conference, and hold the Option key while adjusting the icon s position with the arrow keys. For example, the Customer Support conference on the Veritec FirstClass system is located in the Conferences folder. Roy Allen, in Veritec s Customer Support department, regularly monitors this conference. So, he has placed the conference on his desktop.

120 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 120 When Roy Allen logs into FirstClass, he can see immediately whether the Customer Support conference contains unread items. He can also see when new mail arrives in the conferences on his desktop. You can delete an alias from your desktop by selecting the alias and choosing File } Delete. Deleting the alias has no effect on the original conference. Viewing and changing object information You can view and change some information about messages, documents, and folders, including their expiry date, icon, and subject. To be able to change object information, you must have the necessary privileges. For more information, refer to Privileges on page 137. To view or change object information, follow these steps. 1) In the summary list, select the item. 2) Choose File } Get Info.

121 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 121 3) Modify information in the following fields as necessary. (Depending on your permissions for a particular conference, you may not be able to change items in some conference messages.) Name: To change the object name, type the filename or, in the case of a message or conference item, the sender or recipient of the message. Subject: To change the subject of the file or message. Icon: To change the icon, double-click the icon in this form. A list of available icons appears. Double-click the one you want to use. Kind: Display only. The classification of the object. Objects classified as Message, Conference Item, or Text can be viewed in FirstClass. Objects classified as File cannot be viewed, but they can be uploaded, downloaded, or attached to other messages. Size: Display only. The size of the file, in kilobytes. Where: Display only. The path to the object s location in FirstClass. Creator: Display only. The name of the person who created the object. Created: Display only. The date and time the object was created. Modified: Display only. The date and time the object was last modified.

122 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 122 Expires: Display only. The date and time the object will be automatically deleted. To change the expiry date and time, edit the Expire In field. Expire in: All messages and files on FirstClass are assigned an expiry date when they are created. (This date is set by your FirstClass administrator and is often 60 days from the date of creation.) The system automatically deletes the message or file on its expiry date. Expiry dates keep mailboxes and conferences tidy and remove old messages that could otherwise fill up the server s hard disk. To change the number of days that the item will be retained before automatically being deleted, select a time period from the list, or type the number of days in the field. If you don t want an item to be deleted, select Never from the list. Unsent: Display only. Indicates that the object has not been sent. To unsend a sent message, choose Message } Unsend. Unread: Display only. Indicates that the object has not been read. Protected: If this option is selected, the object is protected, and it cannot be deleted or changed by other users. To change the Protected status of the object, click the checkbox to insert or remove the check mark. Auto Open: If this option is selected, the object is set for auto open, and if it is unread, it opens automatically. For example, if you set this option for a conference item, the item opens every time a user enters the conference. This option is useful for important announcements that you want everyone to see. To change the Auto Open status of an object, click the checkbox to insert or remove the check mark. 4) Close the form and save the changes. Organizing windows When you have several windows open at once, you can cut and paste information between different messages, upload and download files in the background, and conduct chats in other windows. To help organize your windows, FirstClass provides two options: tiling and stacking.

123 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 123 When your screen becomes cluttered, you can choose View } Tile. Each open window is resized and displayed on the screen. When your screen becomes cluttered, you can also choose View } Stack. The windows are stacked so that all the title bars are visible.

124 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 124 The advantage in stacking over tiling is that stacking takes up less room on your screen. Tiling windows uses up almost every available portion of the screen to display all the windows. To cycle between windows, choose View } Next Window. This command cycles through each FirstClass window, making it active. Organizing items within a window Just as you can organize the windows on your desktop in several different ways, you can also organize the items within a window. By default, list windows are organized by date, and windows containing icons only (such as the desktop) are organized by icon. However, often, you can change the organization to suit your needs. In the following example, the items in the message list are organized by date. If you wanted to find a very large message quickly, you could choose View } by Size and View } Reverse Order, thereby bringing the large messages to the top of the list.

125 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 125 To display entries in the current window using icons, choose View } by Icon. To display entries in the current window as a list sorted in date order, with the oldest item at the top, choose View } by Date. To display entries in the current window as a list sorted in alphabetical order by sender s name, choose View } by Name. To display entries in the current window as a list sorted in alphabetical order by subject, choose View } by Subject. To display entries in the current window as a list sorted in order of increasing size, choose View } by Size. To display entries in the current window as a list sorted by status, choose View } by Status. The list is sorted as follows: outgoing messages are displayed first, sorted first into normal and urgent messages, and then by date. Incoming messages are displayed last, also sorted into normal and urgent messages, and then by date. To reverse the sort order, choose View } Reverse Sort. Lists sorted by date are displayed with the latest message first; lists sorted alphabetically are displayed in reverse alphabetical order (starting with z ); lists sorted by size are displayed with the largest item first; and lists sorted by status are displayed with the newest urgent messages at the top.

126 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 126 To arrange icons neatly on a grid, select the icons and choose View } Clean Up Icons. If a message window is not large enough to display the entire message, you can scroll through the message. You can also enlarge the window manually by moving the resize box, or automatically by choosing View } Zoom. Customizing the toolbar You can customize the FirstClass toolbar by adding and removing buttons, changing the size of the buttons, moving the toolbar to the most convenient location on your screen, and, if you choose a floating toolbar, sizing the toolbar using the mouse. Adding buttons To add a button for a command that you use frequently, follow these steps. 1) Choose View } Customize Toolbar. 2) Locate the button you want by choosing the appropriate menu category. For example, to find the New Message button, choose the Message category.

127 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 127 As you place the cursor over each button, a description of the command appears in the lower left corner of the form. 3) Click the button you want and drag it to the desired location on the toolbar. In this example, we are adding the Message History button. The new button is added to the toolbar. Removing buttons To remove a button from the toolbar, follow these steps. 1) Choose View } Customize Toolbar. 2) On the toolbar, click the button that you want to remove. 3) Drag the button to the Buttons section of the Customize Toolbar dialog. The button is removed from the toolbar.

128 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 128 4) Close the Customize Toolbar dialog. Sizing the toolbar buttons You can change the appearance of the toolbar buttons to best suit your needs. Choose View } Customize Toolbar. Select a button type from the Button Type menu. You can choose from large and small buttons, with text or icons, or both (large buttons only). Positioning the toolbar You can change the position of the toolbar on your desktop. The default position for the toolbar is across the top of the screen, but you can move it to the bottom, right side, or left side of the screen. Or, you can leave the toolbar floating on your screen that is, you can drag it to any location that is convenient for you. To change the position of the toolbar, choose View } Customize Toolbar.

129 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 129 Choose Top, Bottom, Left, Right, or Floating from the Position menu. Sizing the floating toolbar To change the size and shape of the floating toolbar, position the mouse at the bottom right corner of the toolbar so that the cursor changes to a sizing arrow. Drag the border of the toolbar until it is the desired size and shape. Using the 3D Look command You can use the 3D Look command to customize the appearance of your FirstClass account. By default, screens in the FirstClass Client for Mac OS are displayed without the 3D Look. Choosing the 3D look will change the appearance of most of the forms in FirstClass; in the following example we show how the Preferences form will change. To apply the 3D look, choose Edit } 3D Look.

130 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 130 To disable the 3D look, choose Edit } 3D Look again. Using the network notification utility The FirstClass Network Notifier tells users connected by an AppleTalk network of new incoming mail when they are not logged into the FirstClass

131 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 131 Server. The FirstClass Network Notifier can only be used over an AppleTalk compatible network. This section explains how to install and configure the FirstClass Network Notifier. Installing the software If you chose a Typical install when you installed the FirstClass Client, the FirstClass Network Notifier was automatically installed. If you didn t install the FirstClass Network Notifier when you installed the FirstClass Client, follow these steps to install it now. 1) Double-click FirstClass Client Install. The splash screen appears. 2) Click Continue. 3) If you do not want to install the application in the location that FirstClass suggests, click Switch Disk and select the volume on which you want to install the software. 4) Select Custom Install.

132 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 132 5) Select the FirstClass Network Notifier. (Make sure the other options are not selected.) 6) Click Install. Upgrading the Network Notifier If you are upgrading an existing version of the FirstClass Network Notifier, in your hard drive folder, follow these steps. 1) Find the old FirstClass Notification from your Apple Menu Items folder, the old FirstClass INIT from your Extensions folder, and the old FirstClass Notify Prefs file from your Preferences folder, and drag each to the trash. 2) Log into SoftArc Online using FirstClass. For more information, refer to Obtaining software upgrades on page 22. 3) Download the compressed archive file FirstClass notify.sea from SoftArc Online (Conferences } Software Libraries } FirstClass Software } FirstClass Macintosh Client). 4) Using Stuffit Expander, extract the files from the notify.sea archive.

133 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 133 5) Drag and drop the FirstClass Notify folder on your System folder. 6) Click OK. Configuring the FirstClass Network Notifier To configure the FirstClass Network Notifier, follow these steps. 1) Log off from FirstClass. 2) From the Apple menu, choose the Chooser. 3) Click the FirstClass Notify icon.

134 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 134 4) For AppleTalk Zones, select the zone in which your FirstClass Server is located. 5) For Select a FirstClass Server, select your server from the list. If you do not see your FirstClass Server in the Chooser, or if you do not know the name of your server, contact your FirstClass administrator. 6) Click Setup. 7) Enter information in the following fields: UserID: The user ID you use to log into the server. Password: The password you use to log into the server. 8) Optional. FirstClass Notify is set, by default, to notify you of mail by displaying a popup window and by beeping. You can make any or all of the following selections:

135 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 135 Sound: Select this option if you want FirstClass to play a ping sound when new mail arrives. Flashing menu bar icon: Select this option if you want FirstClass to display a flashing mail icon on the menu bar when new mail arrives. Popup window: Select this option if you want FirstClass to display a small window showing the sender and subject when new mail arrives. 9) Click OK. 10) Close the Chooser window. 11) If you are running System 7.5 (or later), ensure that the FirstClass Notify extension is selected in the Extensions manager. 12) Restart your Macintosh. If the Popup window option is selected, the following popup window will appear on your computer screen whenever a message arrives in your mailbox. FirstClass notifies you of mail whenever you are connected to your network, even if you are not logged into FirstClass.! Warning: If you are using a screen saver program which requires a password when reactivating your screen, turning on the popup window option in FirstClass Notify may cause your computer to freeze up. To avoid this potential problem, turn off the popup window option in FirstClass Notify, or turn off password protection in your screen saver program.

136 Chapter 11 Personalizing FirstClass 136

137 Beyond the basics This chapter discusses advanced topics of interest to users familiar with basic FirstClass features. It explains how privileges and permissions work, and describes how to perform the following tasks: finding out your session status, including how long you have been connected refreshing your settings document finding out who else is currently logged in searching the FirstClass Directory accessing external subfolders and files Access to features and conferences As described in this guide, there are many features available for use in FirstClass. However, you may not be able to use all possible features. The features that you can use are determined by your privileges. Similarly, for each conference within your FirstClass system, a wide range of activities can be performed. However, the activities that you can perform in any individual conference are determined by your permissions within that conference. Privileges When you use FirstClass, many features may be available, as displayed in menus and in dialogs. However, depending on your requirements, security restrictions, and other factors, you may not be able to use all possible features. The features that you can use are determined by the privileges assigned to you by your FirstClass administrator. For some features related to conferences, you need both a privilege and a corresponding permission. For more information on conference permissions, refer to Permissions on page 139. Depending on your assigned privileges, you may be allowed to perform some or all of the following tasks:

138 Chapter 12 Beyond the basics 138 sending and receiving private mail accessing conferences (the level of access you have for each conference is determined by the conference permissions) chatting with other users searching uploading files or attachments (transferring files to the server or attaching files to messages you send) downloading files or attachments (transferring files to your computer, or saving files attached to conference items or messages you receive) creating new conferences unsending mail making messages urgent forwarding messages changing the expiry date on messages and files you send to other users and conferences Even if you do not have this privilege, you can change the expiry date on messages in your own mailbox. viewing résumés viewing unlisted users viewing user information editing user information editing your Preferences form connecting to the server using a terminal or terminal emulator

139 Chapter 12 Beyond the basics 139 connecting to the server using a graphical interface (FirstClass Client for DOS, FirstClass Client for Mac OS, or FirstClass Client for Windows) turning off the unread flag for a message or conference requesting receipt notifications for messages you send setting up automatic forwarding and reply creating and using address books If you need a privilege you don t have, contact your FirstClass administrator. Permissions As described in Chapter 7, Using conferences, conferences are user discussion groups set up by your FirstClass administrator. For each conference within your FirstClass system, a wide range of activities can be performed. However, depending on your requirements, security restrictions, and other factors, you may not be able to perform all the possible activities in a particular conference. Your FirstClass administrator assigns permissions for each conference. For some conference activities, you need both a permission and a corresponding privilege. For more information on privileges, refer to Privileges on page 137. Depending on your assigned permissions for a particular conference, you may be able to perform some or all of the following tasks: editing the Permissions form for the conference, including adding new users and groups to the Permissions list deleting any item from the conference (even those sent by other users) and dragging items into subfolders creating folders and files within the conference and dragging items into the conference editing all items in the conference, even items sent by other users

140 Chapter 12 Beyond the basics 140 editing text documents in the conference, modifying stationery, and moving folders and subconferences within the conference moving and resizing the conference window, moving the split bar, changing the default view, and changing the sort order These changes are saved and will appear whenever any other user opens the conference. opening unapproved items in the conference and approving them deleting and changing the properties of items you have sent to the conference displaying the list of files in the conference If you do not have this permission, you cannot open the conference. searching within the conference You must also have the privilege that allows you to search conferences. sending to this conference You must also have the privilege that allows you to access conferences. opening messages and files in the conference creating subconferences within this conference You must also have the privilege that allows you to create conferences. downloading files and attachments from this conference You must also have the privilege that allows you to download files and attachments. looking at the Permissions form for the conference looking at the history of items in the conference

141 Chapter 12 Beyond the basics 141 Finding out your session status Depending on the way your connection to the FirstClass Server is set up, you might have a daily time limit. The daily time limit is set up and maintained by your FirstClass administrator. To check how long you have been connected and how much time is remaining, choose View } Session Status. The name of the system to which you are currently connected also appears in the Session Status display. Refreshing your settings document While you are logged into your FirstClass Server, you might find that a newer version of your settings document has been posted. (It might be attached to a mail message, or uploaded directly to a conference.) For example, Deborah Braun, Veritec s FirstClass administrator, has sent an updated version of the staff settings document to the Veritec Staff conference.

142 Chapter 12 Beyond the basics 142 If you want, you can begin using the new settings document immediately. To do so, follow these steps. 1) Hold down the Option key and double-click the settings document. The FirstClass Client saves the settings document to a temporary file. After saving the file, it displays the following dialog. This dialog indicates the number of forms, pictures, icons, and sounds in the updated settings document. 2) To integrate these forms, pictures, icons, and sounds into your current settings document, click Update. Finding out who s online You can determine who is currently connected to the server at any time by choosing Service } Who s Online. This command produces a list of FirstClass users who are currently logged into the system.

143 Chapter 12 Beyond the basics 143 Users whose names appear in italics either do not have the Chat privilege, or have selected the Don t Accept Invitations option in their Preferences form. You cannot invite them to chat. For more information, refer to Customizing your Preferences form on page 109. Searching the FirstClass Directory You might want to search the FirstClass Directory to find out the name of a user, conference, or gateway. To search the Directory, follow these steps. 1) Choose Service } Directory. The FirstClass Directory lists all remote and local users and conferences on the FirstClass system. 2) If you do not want to view all of these objects, deselect the Local, Remote, or Conferences checkboxes. For example, to view only Conferences, deselect Local and Remote.

144 Chapter 12 Beyond the basics 144 3) For Pattern, type all or part of the name you want to find. For example, to find a user or conference whose first or last name is Roy, type roy. FirstClass displays all the FirstClass Directory objects whose names contain the specified text (in this case, roy ). Your FirstClass administrator can limit the number of names displayed in the list. 4) To view the résumé of any conference, user, or gateway in the Directory, select the name and click Résumé.

145 Chapter 12 Beyond the basics 145 The following table describes the icons associated with objects in the Directory. ˆ Remote c Conference: G l Public Regular user: A user connected to the FirstClass Server through a network (also known as a network user). user: A user connected to the FirstClass Server by modem (also known as a telecom user). A user forum usually focused on a single topic. Gateway: A piece of software that allows your server to exchange information with other communication systems. mail list: A folder containing the names of users or conferences, or both. This list is created by your FirstClass administrator for easy addressing. Accessing external folders and disk files Your FirstClass administrator can make subfolders and files on hard disks and CD-ROMs available to you. These subfolders and files appear as folders on your FirstClass desktop or in a conference. Folders are listed in the top pane of the file window. When you double-click a folder, each file in it appears as a document in the lower pane of the file window. To download a file from a folder, follow these steps. 1) On the desktop or in the appropriate conference, double-click the external folder.

146 Chapter 12 Beyond the basics 146 In this example, the folder is in the Useful Software conference. 2) Double-click the file you want. 3) Select the folder in which you want to save the file. 4) Click Save.

147 Working offline With the standard FirstClass Client, you must be logged into your FirstClass Server to compose mail, read mail, or perform any other FirstClass activities. If you connect to the FirstClass Server using an expensive communications link, like a long-distance telephone connection, keeping in touch can become costly. That s why SoftArc now provides the optional FirstClass Personal component, which allows you to work offline. When you work offline, you can perform many of the same activities that you can perform when you are logged into the FirstClass Server: composing messages reading messages and conference items attaching files to messages or saving files attached to messages searching your mailbox or offline conferences You can even use all the same forms you use when you are connected to the server. You can also configure FirstClass Personal to connect to the server to send the messages that you have composed, and retrieve new messages. However, when you are working offline, you cannot perform the following tasks: participate in chats upload or download files directly to a folder or conference This chapter illustrates how Veritec Boston s staff use FirstClass Personal to work offline. It explains how to perform the following tasks: installing FirstClass Personal starting FirstClass Personal using using conferences

148 Chapter 13 Working offline 148 customizing the configuration connecting to the FirstClass Server This section also describes the files and folders used by FirstClass Personal. A typical scenario Veritec s sales staff spend much of their time on the road. While they are out of the office, they use FirstClass to keep in touch with their colleagues and customers. Veritec management has noticed a significant increase in telephone costs as its sales staff rely more and more on FirstClass in their dayto-day tasks. To reduce telephone costs, Veritec management is encouraging the sales staff to work offline. Brian Welch, one of Veritec s sales staff, uses FirstClass. When he is in the office, he works online (that is, he logs into the FirstClass Server). Brian s Offline Conferences folder contains all the conferences that Brian wants to be able to access when he is working offline. When Brian is on the road, he works offline.

149 Chapter 13 Working offline 149 His offline desktop is almost identical to his online desktop. The main difference is in the Conferences folder. On his online desktop, the Conferences folder contains all public conferences. On his offline desktop, the Conferences folder contains only the conferences he wants to monitor while working offline. For information on how to select conferences for this folder, refer to Setting up conference replication on page 155. With FirstClass Personal, Brian is able to keep in touch with his colleagues and customers, even when he is on the road, at a significant savings in longdistance costs. Installing FirstClass Personal This section explains how to install and configure the FirstClass Personal software, to allow you to work offline. Installing the software If you chose a Typical install, FirstClass Personal was automatically installed. If you didn t install FirstClass Personal when you installed the FirstClass Client, follow these steps to install it now. 1) Double-click FirstClass Client Install. The splash screen appears. 2) Click Continue.

150 Chapter 13 Working offline 150 3) If you do not want to install the application in the location that FirstClass suggests, click Switch Disk and select the volume on which you want to install the software. 4) Select Custom Install. 5) Select FirstClass Personal and FirstClass Personal Post Office. (Make sure the other options are not selected.) 6) Click Install.

151 Chapter 13 Working offline 151 Configuring your settings document Before you start FirstClass Personal, you must configure the connection to your FirstClass Server. You configure a connection just like you do with the FirstClass Client. (Refer to Chapter 3, Getting started with FirstClass for detailed instructions.) Starting FirstClass Personal To begin working offline, follow these steps. 1) Double-click the settings document you use to connect to your FirstClass Server. 2) If you haven t entered your user ID and password in your settings document, enter them here. Note: The first time you work offline, the user ID and password you enter here should be your user ID and password on the FirstClass Server. If you change your password while you are working offline, you should enter the new password next time you work offline. To change your password while working offline, choose Service } Change Password. 3) From the FirstClass Client menu, choose Service } Work Offline.

152 Chapter 13 Working offline 152 If this is the first time you have started FirstClass Personal, the Registration form appears. Ensure that the settings document specified is correct. If it is not correct, select the correct settings document. (If the user ID or password are incorrect, click Cancel. Choose Service } Disconnect, and then choose Service } Connect. Repeat step 1 and step 3.) 4) Click OK. Note: The first time you work offline, FirstClass Personal transfers Directory information from the FirstClass Server. This can take several minutes, especially if the Directory is large. Your FirstClass administrator can filter the Directory to limit the amount of information that is transferred.

153 Chapter 13 Working offline 153 Your offline desktop appears. Using FirstClass Personal begins copying unread messages from the server to your computer. This section explains how using offline differs from using online. For detailed instructions about using , refer to Chapter 6, Using . Reading and responding to mail Reading and responding to mail offline is almost identical to reading and responding to mail when you are connected to the server, except that you receive new mail only when FirstClass Personal connects to your server. For example, Brian is on the road and wants to check his mail. He starts FirstClass Personal, which he has configured to automatically connect to Veritec Boston on startup. (To find out how to configure the FirstClass Personal schedule, refer to Customizing the configuration on page 157.) An unread flag indicates that new mail has arrived in his mailbox.

154 Chapter 13 Working offline 154 Brian opens his mailbox to view the new mail. The message icon is different from the icon seen by users who are working online, because these messages are copies of the original message in Brian s mailbox on the FirstClass Server. Brian can now read, save, print, forward, or reply to these messages. He can also delete the copy of the message from his offline mailbox. Sending mail Sending mail offline is almost exactly like sending mail when you are connected to the server. The only difference is that the mail is not delivered until the next connection to the server. For example, Brian needs to send a message to Roy Allen. He chooses Message } New Message, just as he would with the FirstClass Client. He completes the message form.

155 Chapter 13 Working offline 155 FirstClass Personal replicates Veritec s FirstClass Directory on Brian s computer, so he can use the Directory to address his messages, just like he can when he s working online. When he is finished composing the message, he chooses Message } Send. The next time FirstClass Personal connects to the FirstClass Server, the message is delivered. Using conferences When you are working offline, you can browse and contribute to conferences just like you can when you work online. This section explains how to set up conference replication and the differences between using conferences online and using conferences offline. For detailed instructions about using conferences, refer to Chapter 7, Using conferences. Setting up conference replication To save disk space, FirstClass Personal does not automatically replicate all the conferences configured on your server. You must let FirstClass Personal know which conferences you want to have access to when you are working offline. To access one or more conferences online, follow these steps. 1) Log into your FirstClass Server. (For detailed instructions, refer to Chapter 3, Getting started with FirstClass.) 2) From the FirstClass Client menu, choose Service } Offline Conferences.

156 Chapter 13 Working offline 156 3) Select a conference you want to be able to access offline. 4) Choose Conference } Make Alias. An alias of the conference appears on your FirstClass desktop. 5) Drag the alias onto the Offline Conferences icon. 6) Repeat step 3 to step 5 for each conference you want to be able to access offline. Next time you work offline, any unread messages in any of these conferences will be replicated to your offline client. When unread messages arrive for a conference that isn t defined in your Conferences folder on your offline desktop, FirstClass Personal creates that conference. Note: Files uploaded to conferences are not replicated. However, FirstClass Personal does replicate files attached to messages. Browsing and contributing to conferences Brian browses conferences just like he would if he were connected to the server. However, he does not receive new conference messages until FirstClass Personal connects to the server. To view a conference, Brian double-clicks the conference icon.

157 Chapter 13 Working offline 157 To view a conference message, he double-clicks the message. Brian can now save, print, forward, or reply to conference messages. He can also contribute messages to the conference or delete his copy of a conference message. Conference messages he sends are not delivered until the next connection to the server. Note: To deliver a message to a conference immediately, choose Service } Replicate Now. Brian has the same access to conferences offline as he does when he is online. If, for example, he doesn t have permission to contribute to a conference when he is working online, he won t be able to do so when he is working offline. Customizing the configuration When you install FirstClass Personal, it has default options for scheduling, replication, and message cleanup. To customize these options, follow these steps. 1) From the FirstClass Personal menu, choose Service } Configure Offline.

158 Chapter 13 Working offline 158 2) Modify the connection options as needed: Main Settings Document: The name of the settings document configured to connect to your FirstClass Server. Secondary Settings Document: The name of a secondary settings document configured to connect to your FirstClass Server. If FirstClass Personal cannot connect to the server using the settings document specified in the previous field, it uses this one. You might use a settings document configured for a network connection in the previous field, and a settings document configured for a modem connection in this field. Host User ID: Your user ID on the FirstClass Server. FirstClass Personal uses this user ID to log into the server.

159 Chapter 13 Working offline 159 Host Password: Your password on the FirstClass Server. FirstClass Personal uses this password to log into the server. If you change your password when you are working online, be sure to update this field the next time you work offline. 3) The scheduling options control how often FirstClass Personal connects to the server. To change the connection schedule, set up the scheduling options: Connect When Mail is Waiting to Be Sent: Select this option to connect to the server whenever you send mail. Connect When FirstClass Personal Starts Up: Select this option to connect to the server when FirstClass Personal starts. Connect When FirstClass Personal Shuts Down: Select this option to connect to the server just before FirstClass Personal shuts down. Connect Every: Select this option to connect to the server at regular intervals while FirstClass Personal is running. Specify the unit of measurement (minutes or hours), and the number of units. For example, you can enter 15 minutes or 2 hours. 4) The replication options control how FirstClass copies conferences and the FirstClass Directory to your computer. To change these settings, set up the replication options: Get My Private Unread Messages on Each Connection: Select this option to pick up unread mail from your mailbox whenever FirstClass Personal connects to the server. Replicate Offline Conferences on Each Connection: Select this option to replicate conferences every time FirstClass Personal connects to the server. Update My Directory Information: Select to enable or disable FirstClass Directory replication. Select one of the following options: None: Select this option if you don t want to replicate Directories.

160 Chapter 13 Working offline 160 Routes Only: Select this option to replicate only routes to other servers. Routes and Names: Select this option to replicate both user names and routes to other servers. Do Not Replicate Messages Over: The largest size of message you want replicated. Display Replication Status Window: When to display the Replication Status Window. Select one of the following options: always during replication never 5) The message cleanup options manage the amount of disk space used by FirstClass Personal. To change your disk space requirements, set up the message cleanup options: Leave Mail on Host Server after Reading: Select this option to keep a copy of your mail on the FirstClass Server. Private Mail Expires After: Select this option to delete old mail from your mailbox after a specified number of days. (This option does not affect your mailbox on the server. It only affects the mailbox on your computer.) Conference Items Expire After: Select this option to delete conference items after a specified number of days. (This option does not affect conference items on the server. It only affects the copies of these items on your computer.) Write Protect When Disk Space Drops Below: Select this option to prevent FirstClass Personal from using up all the free space on your disk. Specify the minimum amount of free disk space required on your server. When the amount of free space on your disk falls below this number, you will be unable to send mail, and FirstClass Personal will

161 Chapter 13 Working offline 161 no longer accept incoming mail or conference items. This option prevents problems which can occur if the disk runs out of space. 6) If you have chosen not to replicate the entire FirstClass Directory from the server, you might need to address messages to users who are not defined in your personal Directory. Modify the advanced addressing options to allow unknown users and servers in addresses: Automatically Append Host Site Name: Select this option to be able to enter user names that are not in your personal Directory. FirstClass Personal will address them to the FirstClass Server, which will validate them. Validate Site Names on the Host Server: Select this option to be able to enter server names that are not in your personal Directory. These server names will be validated on the FirstClass Server. 7) Close the form and save the changes. Connecting to the server You can configure FirstClass Personal to connect to your server automatically (see Customizing the configuration on page 157). If you don t want to wait for an automatic connection, you can force an immediate connection. You can also terminate a connection to the server. Forcing an immediate connection to the server To force an immediate connection, choose Service } Replicate Now. FirstClass Personal connects to your FirstClass Server. (To configure FirstClass Personal to connect to your FirstClass Server automatically, refer to Customizing the configuration on page 157.) Using alternate settings documents FirstClass Personal allows you to specify a secondary settings document, as well as a main settings document in your offline configuration (see Customizing the configuration on page 157). This feature is useful if you need to connect to the FirstClass Server using different connection methods at different times. For example, when Brian

162 Chapter 13 Working offline 162 Welch is in the office, he works online (that is, he logs into the FirstClass Server). Gillian Royce, however, prefers to work offline all of the time, even when she is in the office. When Gillian is on the road, like Brian, she uses a modem. Her main settings document is configured for a network connection. Her secondary settings document is configured for a modem connection. When she connects to the FirstClass Server, FirstClass Personal tries to use the main settings document first. If Gillian is in the office, this settings document is used. When Gillian is on the road, FirstClass Personal cannot find the network to connect to the server, so it uses the secondary settings document, configured to connect using a modem. FirstClass Personal post office The Personal Post Office folder contains the FirstClass Personal data, including your personal Directory and messages.! Warning: It is vital that you maintain the integrity of the FirstClass Personal post office. Do not rename it. Do not move it to a different volume unless you also move the FirstClass Client folder to the same volume. Do not change, delete, or move anything in the Personal Post Office. Do not add files to any subfolders of the Personal Post Office folder unless instructed to do so by the FirstClass administrator or SoftArc Technical Support. If you make changes to the post office, FirstClass Personal may not start, or it may lose data. To start FirstClass Personal, reverse the changes. If you change or delete files in the post office, or if you add any files, the post office might be damaged. Should this happen, restore or reinstall FirstClass Personal.

163 Chapter 13 Working offline 163 Backing up the FirstClass Personal post office Be sure to back up your FirstClass Personal post office on a regular basis. SoftArc recommends that you back up the Post Office folder at least once each week. This is a safeguard against losing your messages and FirstClass Directory in the event of a hardware failure or data corruption. The easiest way to back up your data is to copy the Post Office folder from your computer to a diskette. If you need to restore the post office, simply copy the latest backup from the diskette using File } Duplicate. Replace the damaged or missing post office with the copy from your backup.

164 Chapter 13 Working offline 164

165 Troubleshooting This chapter describes problems you might encounter while running FirstClass, and suggests some solutions to these problems. The first part of this chapter explains how to troubleshoot network and modem problems, as well as problems that you might encounter while working offline. If you can t solve a problem with the tips and tools described in this chapter, try checking SoftArc Online in Conferences } Technical Support } Support Questions and Answers or Tech Notes. The next part of the chapter describes tools available to help in troubleshooting, and lists and explains error messages you might see while using the FirstClass Client. You can also find this list of error messages on SoftArc Online, sorted by error message number, in Conferences } Technical Support } FAQs. If you still cannot solve your problem, contact your FirstClass administrator, or SoftArc Technical Support, as described in the last section of this chapter. Troubleshooting network connections Inability to establish a network connection to the FirstClass Server can have the following causes. AppleTalk.FCP is missing from your FirstClass Client } FCP folder. Contact your FirstClass administrator to obtain a copy of this file. The server is not running. Contact your FirstClass administrator. The settings document is incorrectly configured (for example, the server name is wrong). To configure your settings document, refer to Chapter 3, Getting started with FirstClass. The network interface card (NIC) is configured incorrectly, or the NIC or cable is defective. To find out how to configure the NIC, refer to the documentation provided with it. All sessions are in use. When your FirstClass administrator configures the server, he or she determines how many users can connect at one time. Try again later. If you are still unsuccessful, contact your administrator.

166 Chapter 14 Troubleshooting 166 Troubleshooting modem connections This section lists modem errors that might be reported by the FirstClass Client and, for each one, gives possible causes and recommends appropriate actions. No response from the modem (error message 1034) This problem occurs if FirstClass did not receive an OK response from the modem after sending the modem a command. This problem may occur for any of the following reasons. The modem is not turned on. The modem is not connected to the serial port specified in the modem connection (FCP) file. For more information, refer to Configuring a modem connection on page 36. The modem and another device have been assigned the same Interrupt ReQuest (IRQ) number. The modem cable is not connected properly, is defective, or does not support hardware handshaking. The speed specified in the Baud Rate field is inappropriate for this modem type. Hardware handshaking is enabled, but your serial cable does not support hardware handshaking. Select a modem without hardware handshaking, or obtain the correct cable. The modem has stopped working and needs to be reset. Turn the modem off and on again. Modem returned an error (error message 1054) This problem occurs if you have selected the wrong modem type for your modem. If you can t find your modem in the list, try selecting a compatible modem with the same speed. For example, if your modem is a V.32bis modem,

167 Chapter 14 Troubleshooting 167 select Hayes Compatible If you can t find a suitable modem type, check the Other Modems folder, as described in step 6 on page 37. If you still can t find it, you can create an MDM file for your modem. For information about the MDM file format, refer to Appendix F, The MDM file format. No response from the server modem This problem may occur for any of the following reasons. The modem at the other end is not connected to a FirstClass system. Make sure the phone number is correct, including any prefixes such as 9 or 1, as well as any necessary area codes. The server and client modems are incompatible. This error is especially common on modems that offer high speeds or advanced protocols. Try connecting at a speed of 1200 or 2400 bps. Almost all modems will work at these speeds. A poor telephone line is resulting in line noise. This problem is common on long distance connections. Try the call again. The modem type specified in the Modem field is incorrect. If you can t find a suitable modem type, contact your FirstClass administrator. Alternatively, you can create an MDM file for your modem. For information about the MDM file format, refer to Appendix F, The MDM file format. The value of the connect timeout register (S7) is too short. Refer to your modem documentation and use a text editor to open the Modem (MDM) file you are using. Change the value for this register (try S7=60). Host does not appear to be a FirstClass Server This problem occurs if the modem answered the call and the two modems negotiated, but the system at the other end did not respond to the FirstClass login request. This problem may also occur if the modem at the other end is not connected to a FirstClass system. Make sure the phone number is cor-

168 Chapter 14 Troubleshooting 168 rect, including any prefixes such as 9 or 1, as well as any necessary area codes. Communication failures while connected This problem occurs if the modem connection failed while a call was in progress. The cause of this type of problem can be difficult to identify. It may occur for any of the following reasons. A poor telephone line is resulting in line noise. This problem is common on long distance connections. Try the call again. Another application (such as a screen saver, graphics application, or file compression utility) running on your computer is using up available system resources. Terminate the application and try again. If you have a high-speed modem and are also connected to a network, the network packets might be interfering with the serial port. Disable the network connection and try again. The speed specified is too high. Reduce the rate and try again. If you have problems connecting, you might need to change your modem s configuration. For more information, refer to your modem documentation. Troubleshooting offline problems This section describes how FirstClass Personal notifies you of errors. It also describes problems that can occur while you are using FirstClass Personal, and suggests solutions. Error messages If an error occurs, FirstClass Personal reports the error in a message sent to your mailbox.

169 Chapter 14 Troubleshooting 169 For more detailed information about the error message, refer to FirstClass error messages on page 174. Possible problems Following are some problems that might occur when you are using FirstClass Personal. For each problem, we provide possible causes and suggested solutions. You can t work offline This error might occur under the following condition: if FirstClass Personal has not been installed correctly Make sure that the FirstClass Personal application is in the FirstClass Client folder. Make sure that the Personal Post Office is in the FirstClass Client folder. FirstClass Personal does not connect to the server This error might occur under the following conditions: if your settings document is not configured correctly For detailed instructions, refer to Chapter 3, Getting started with FirstClass. Make sure you can use the settings document to log into FirstClass.

170 Chapter 14 Troubleshooting 170 if FirstClass Personal is not configured correctly Make sure that the user ID and password defined in your Offline Configuration are correct. For detailed instructions, refer to Customizing the configuration on page 157. if a modem error occurs No matching names found in the Directory When you are trying to address a message, this error might occur under the following conditions: if you enter the address incorrectly if you don t have a copy of the FirstClass Directory or if your copy of the FirstClass Directory is out of date Ensure that the Update My Directory Information field is correctly configured (refer to step 4 on page 159). If you don t want to replicate the Directory, configure FirstClass Personal to accept unknown names and server names (refer to step 6 on page 161). You do not have access to a conference This error might occur under the following conditions: if conference replication is not set up correctly In the Offline Conferences folder on your online desktop, you must create an alias for each conference to which you want offline access. Refer to Setting up conference replication on page 155. if automatic conference replication is disabled You can force conference replication manually (refer to Forcing an immediate connection to the server on page 161). To enable automatic conference replication, refer to Customizing the configuration on page 157. if you don t have a subscription to the conference

171 Chapter 14 Troubleshooting 171 Contact the FirstClass administrator to find out whether you have been granted a subscription to the conference. if you don t have the necessary permissions You have the same access to conferences offline as you do when you are online. If, for example, you don t have permission to contribute to a conference when you are working online, you won t be able to do so when you are working offline. Contact the FirstClass administrator for more information. Troubleshooting tools This sections describes tools available to help in troubleshooting. Troubleshooting using trace information Trace information is information about how your FirstClass connection is operating. The information can be as simple or as detailed as you want. You can use this information to identify and solve any problems on your own, or with the help of SoftArc Technical Support. You can configure your AppleTalk, modem, or TCP/IP connection to log any of the available levels of trace information. To do so, follow these steps. 1) On the Login form, click Setup.