Documentation
PC-Pine
Documentation table of contents.
Introduction
PC-Pine is an interactive, easy-to-use email system that features online help, simple menus, and a "what you see is what you get" display. It also comes with its own text editor, pico.
Requirements
PC-Pine requires that you have a UBUnix account from which you may read and send email. If you want to read departmental or node email, see the Computing Contact of your department or node for more information.
Steps for Installing PC-Pine
- Download the files from the University of Washington (the official authors and distributors of Pine).
- Web browser users should go to ftp://ftp.cac.washington.edu/pine/pcpine,
then download the file pm464w32.zip.
- For those using FTP, connect to the site ftp.cac.washington.edu with the username anonymous, and your email address (e.g., UBITName@buffalo.edu) as the password. Change directory (cd) to pine/pcpine. Download the file pm464w32.zip.
- Unzip the file pm464w32.zip.
- Double-click on the Pine icon. The standard icon that comes with PC-Pine is a coniferous tree. For a first time user, it will ask a series of questions. If you make an error at this stage you can fix it later by pressing S, then C from the Main Menu.
Accessing PC-Pine and Using the Main Menu
To access PC-Pine, double-click its icon. You will be prompted for your UBITName and Password. This is a security feature of the mail server.
Any of the Main Menu commands can be executed by moving the colored bar
(by using the arrow keys) to the desired line and pressing Enter,
double-clicking the mouse on the appropriate command, or by entering the
appropriate command letter (?, C,
I, L,
A, S,
Q). You can use either upper or
lowercase letters.
Setting Up PC-Pine for Use
Note
You only have to set up PC-Pine once.
- From the Main Menu, select the Setup option by either double-clicking the Setup option with your mouse, pressing S, or by moving the blue bar over Setup and pressing Enter.
- PC-Pine will ask you to select an option. Press C.
The following screen will appear. You can edit your configuration here. To edit, simply highlight the option you wish to change, then press Enter to bring up an editable text field in which you can change the options. Press Enter again to make the changes.
To illustrate,
suppose John Doe has a UBUnix account with the name of Doe. The following
values apply:
The SMTP-server is always smtp.buffalo.edu, because it is the University at Buffalo's gateway to the world, and all email to any campus platform or LAN must flow through it.
The NNTP-server is always news.buffalo.edu, because it is used for reading and posting messages to the news machine.
The inbox-path defines the exact path where the email will be held. Within the UBUnix system there is a unique machine for this purpose named imap.buffalo.edu. The incoming-archive-folder defines the path(s) where PC-Pine locates its email folders.
To exit the menu, press E. PC-Pine will ask you to save the changes. Press Y for yes or N for no.
Sending Mail with PC-Pine
To send mail, use the Compose command (C) from the Main Menu. The screen shows all fields. They can be filled in any order you choose. The TO field must be filled with a valid email address, the SUBJECT field should be filled as a matter of courtesy to the recipient, and the Message Text should be the text of your email. As you move through the header, the Help Bar at the bottom of the page changes accordingly. Once you enter the Message Text section, you are automatically using pico. The full set of pico commands can be listed by pressing Ctrl g (Ctrl key and g pressed simultaneously). Once the message is composed, enter Ctrl x to send the message. Send Message, like other commands, is a two-stroke command to avoid accidents. If you want to send the message, enter Y at the bottom of the screen to verify. Enter M to return to the Main Menu.
Reading Mail with PC-Pine
PC-Pine organizes individual email messages into folders. The default folder, Inbox, is where new incoming mail is sent.
Select Message Index from the Main Menu by pressing I. Move the cursor up or down until you are pointing to the desired message. New mail has an N flag in the first column. Entering V or pressing Enter allows you to read the current mail message. Enter M to return to the Main Menu.
Saving Mail
Note
The folder names are case-sensitive in PC-Pine. For example, the folder called Sample is a different folder from sample. Be careful when saving to and creating folders.
To save messages in your Inbox to other folders, press S while the desired message is selected in either the index screen or in the message text screen. PC-Pine will ask you the folder in which to save it. The default folder is Saved Messages. To save into other folders, enter the name of the folder you wish to save to in the command prompt that PC-Pine displays. If the folder does not exist, PC-Pine will ask you if you wish to create the new folder. Respond with Y for yes and N for no.
Signature
A signature is text that is automatically appended to the end of each composed email message. To add a signature, select the Setup command (S) from the Main Menu, then select the Signature command (S). Enter the text you would like to have displayed as the signature for your message, such as your name, title, phone number, email address, etc. When you have finished editing, press Ctrl x to save your signature.
Address Book
Select Address Book (A) from the Main Menu to create a convenient email address book for yourself. To add to your address book, select Addrbook and press Enter. To add a new address, press the @ key (hold down Shift and press 2). Only three pieces of data are necessary: full name (last, first), a nickname, and an email address. Press Ctrl x to save the entry. Addresses are viewed one full page at a time.
A campus-wide white directory, UB Online Phone Directory (LDAP), is available to search for email addresses of faculty, staff, and students at UB. To enable the UB Online Phone Directory, select Directory (D) from the Setup (S) menu, available on the Main Menu. Then enter the following information into the corresponding fields:
| Field | Information |
|---|---|
| ldap-server | ldap.buffalo.edu |
| search-base | o=University at Buffalo,c=us |
| port | 389 |
| nickname | UB Online Directory |
After entering the information, press E twice to return to the Main Menu. If you wish to use the UB Online Phone Directory, select Address Book (A) from the Main Menu, press the down arrow key, then press Enter. Enter the search string and then press Enter. To return to the Main Menu from the LDAP screen, press the < key until you return to the Main Menu.
While you are reading mail from a folder, you can enter the option T to take the address from the current mail message and add it to your address book. You will be prompted for the address book information at this point.
Additional Information
To solve most problems with PC-Pine, select Help from the top tool bar.