[unix-history] / share / doc / usd / 11.notes / 2.1

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.\"	from: @(#)2.1	6.2 (Berkeley) 4/17/91
.\"	2.1,v 1.2 1993/08/01 07:37:36 mycroft Exp
.\"
.ls 1
.ch "Using Notesfiles"

	The notesfile system is invoked with a single command line.
Most notesfile commands require only a single character (like the vi editor).
Those that require more than one character are terminated by a carriage
return.

.se "Invocation"

	Invoke the notesfile system with:

	notes [ -sxi ] [-a subsequencer] [ -t termtype ] [ -f nfile ] [ topic1 ] [ topic2 ... ]

The topic list (e.g., topic1) specifies the notesfiles to read.
Invoking the notes system with NO arguments yields a list of some
available topics.
When more than one topic is specified, the user encounters each topic
sequentially (i.e., topic2 is entered upon completion of topic1).

	The -s switch activates the ``notesfile sequencer'' which is discussed
in section 2.8.
Specify  ``-x'' to use the extended sequencer.
The ``-i'' flag selects yet another sequencing mode.
The ``-a'' option specifies a particular subsequencer.
This allows several users sharing a signon to maintain their
own sequencing timestamp information.

	The -t option directs the notesfile system to use  ``termtype'' as the user's
terminal type, overriding the TERM shell variable.

	The -f option directs the notesfile system to read the contents
of the file ``nfile'' for a list of notesfiles to read.
See section 2.3 (``The -f Option'')
for more information on the format of this file.

.se "Notesfile Names and Wildcards"

	Notesfiles can be specified in several ways.
The most common way is to merely give the name of the notesfile,
such as ``general''.
These notesfiles typically reside in the directory
``/usr/spool/notes''.
Notesfiles may also be specified by their complete pathname;
thus you could also refer to ``general'' by its full
pathname ``/usr/spool/notes/general''.
Using complete naming, notesfiles can be placed anywhere in
the filesystem.
This allows ``private'' notesfiles to be
stored in personal directories.

	The notesfile system supports pattern matching for names in
the same manner as the shell.
By using the shell meta-characters ``*'', ``?'', ``['' and ``]'', the user
can specify a number of notesfiles with a single entry.
To read all the notesfiles that pertain to
unix, enter the following
line (the quotes are required to protect the metacharacters from interpretation
by the shell):

	notes ``*unix*''

There are several ways to read the notesfiles
test1, test2, test3 and test4:

	notes test1 test2 test3 test4
.br
	notes ``test?''
.br
	notes ``test[1234]''

	Entries can also be eliminated from the list of notesfiles to
look at.
By prefixing a notesfile name (possibly containing wildcard characters)
with a `!', the notesfiles are excluded from the list 
to be examined.
If one wished to look at all of the ``test'' notesfiles except
test3, one could specify:

	notes ``test?'' !test3

If you use the c shell, you will have to escape the `!', the history character:

	notes ``test?'' \\!test3

	These features are available from
the normal entry (notes) and
the automatic sequencer entry (see section 2.8).
Most notesfile programs recognize this format. Among those
which do not are programs which must receive exactly one
notesfile name.

.se "The -f Option"

	The ``-f'' option of the notesfile system
specifies a file of notesfile names to read.
The file consists of lines containing notesfile names:

.ne 4
.nf
	nfgripes
	net.unix-wizards
	net.general
	fa.telecom
.fi

The names start at the left margin; they are indented here
for readability.
Wildcard characters (``*'', ``?'', ``['', and ``]'')
are acceptable in this context.
Full names such as ``/usr/spool/notes/general'' 
are also accepted.
Notesfiles can be eliminated through the ``!'' feature
as described in section 2.2.
The sequencer mode can be changed (see section 2.8)
by inserting a line of the form:

	-s

	Again, this starts at the left margin.
The ``s'' can be any of: ``s'', ``x'', ``i'', or ``n''.
When a line of this form is read from the file, the sequencer mode
is set to the corresponding mode: The normal ``s''equencer,
the e``x''tended sequencer,
the ``i''ndex sequencer,
and
``n''o sequencer.

	To always enter nfgripes, micronotes, and bicycle
while only entering the networked notesfiles ``net.*'' when new notes
are present, one might use ``notes -f myfile''
with this ``myfile'':

.ne 6
.nf
	-x
	nfgripes
	micronotes
	bicycle
	-s
	net.*
.fi

.se "General"

	Almost all notesfile commands consist of exactly one character
(no carriage return).  Only commands that are longer than one character
require a terminating carriage return (currently, choosing a note to read
is the only non-single character command).

	The commands were chosen to be easy to remember.
Upper case forms of commands usually function
like their lower case counterparts but with some additional
feature or power \14(i.e., ``w'' writes a response, ``W'' includes the current
displayed text in the response).

	Some commands are available almost everywhere in the notesfile
system.  These include those for help, exiting, forking a shell,
and making a comment for the suggestion box.

.ss "Help"

	Typing ``?'' anywhere will list the available options in
an abbreviated format.

.ss "Exiting"

	Type ``q'' (``quit'') to leave the current notesfile.
Capital ``Q''
leaves the current notesfile and refrains from entering your
last entry time into the sequencer table (see section ``The Sequencer'').
The notesfile system
proceeds to the next topic in the invocation list.
The ``k'' and ``K'' keys function exactly as ``q'' and ``Q''.

	Use control-D (``signoff'')
to leave the notesfile system completely (without updating
entry time information).
The ``z'' command (which functions only when reading notes or responses
or when on the index page)
behaves similarly to control-D:
the user exits the notesfile system immediately, but unlike control-D,
updates the
entry time information for the current notesfile.


.ss "Shells"

	Fork a shell at any time by typing ``!''
(just like many other Unix programs).

.ss "Comments & Suggestions"

	Type capital ``B'' (``suggestion Box'')
while on the index page or reading notes
to make a comment or suggestion about the notesfile program.
Your suggestion will be stored in another
notesfile reviewed frequently by the notesfile system manager.

.se "The Index Page"

	When the notes system is invoked without the -s option,
the user sees an index
of the most recent notes.
A sample page is shown below:

.KS
.nf
.in +10
Workstation Discussion                     2:03 pm  Jan 4, 1982

.ta .75i 3.0i 3.25i
12/9/81	2 Stanford SUN	4	horton
	3*WICAT 68000		kolstad
	4 M68000	1	horton
	5 Dolphin	3	duke!johnson
12/10	6 CDC Standalone	1	smith
	8 IBM Personal Computer		henry
	9 Personal computers harmful?	8	Anonymous
	10 Ethernet interfaces 3 mhz?	23	essick
	11 Requirements for uiucdcs	10	botten
1/1/82	12 Happy New Year!	5	mjk


.TA
.in
.fi
.KE
	The upper left corner shows the notesfile's title.  In this
example, the notesfile discusses personal workstations.
The current time and date are displayed in the upper right corner.
Approximately ten note titles are displayed (if available).
More notes are displayed on longer
screens (such as the Ann Arbor Ambassador).
Each note is displayed
with its date (if different from the previous date), note number,
title, number of responses (if any), and author.  The first note above
was written by user ``horton'' on December 9th, is entitled ``Stanford
SUN'' and has four responses.  Note 7 has been deleted for some reason
(by either its author or a notesfile director).  Note 5 was written
by user ``johnson'' whose signon resides on the ``duke'' system.
Note 9 was written by an author who preferred to remain unidentified.
Notes with director messages (sometimes denoting importance) are displayed
with a ``*'' next to the note number (see note 3 above).

	From the index page the user may:

.br
.bx
.ix
Scroll the index forward or backward.
.ix
Read a note.
.ix
Write a note.
.ix
Go to the next unread note.
.ix
Search for notes or responses after a specific date/time.
.ix
Search for keywords within notes' titles.
.ix
Search for notes/responses by a specific author.
.ix
Go to another notesfile.
.ix
Consult the notesfile's archive.
.ix
Read the policy note.
.ix
Check on anonymous and networked status.
.ix
Register a complaint/suggestion about notesfiles.
.ix
Fork a shell.
.ix
Exit the notes program.
.ix
Invoke notesfile director options (if the user is a director).
.ex

.ss "Scrolling the Index Page"

	Scroll the index page by:

.nf
.ls 1
	+, <return>, <space> 	forward one page
	*	forward to the most recent page (* is multiple +'s)
	-	backward one page
	=	backward all the way (= is multiple -'s)
.br
.ls
.fi

.ss "Choosing Notes & Responses"

	While on the index page, choose a note to read by typing its number
followed by a carriage return.
(This is the only command that requires a carriage return after it.)
Usually the space bar is used to scan text.
To skip to a particular note or response, use the features below.

	While reading a note, ``;'' or ``+''
advances to the
first response of the note.
The next note is displayed if there are no responses.
The number keys (``1'', ``2'', ... , ``9'') advance that many
responses.
If there are fewer responses, the last response is displayed.
The return key skips the responses and goes to the next note.
Press ``-'' or backspace to see the previous page of the current note;
if the page currently displayed is the first, the notesfile program
displays the first page of the previous note.

	While a response is on the screen, the ``;'' and ``+'' keys
display the next response.
As with reading a note, if there are no further responses these
keys advance to the next note.
The number keys (``1'', ... , ``9'') will advance the appropriate number
of responses.
If there are fewer responses, the last response is displayed.
The ``-'' or backspace keys display the previous page of the current
response. If the current page is the first page of the response,
these keys display the first page of the previous response.
Enter ``='' to see the base note of the current note string.
Press the return key to proceed to the next note.

.se "Notes & Responses"

.ss "Reading Notes"

	After selecting a note from the index page (or entering the
notesfile with your ``sequencer'' on), the note is displayed.  A sample
display is shown below:

.KS
.nf
Note 15                   Workstation Discussion                2 responses
horton                         WICAT 150              4:03 pm  Dec 11, 1981

Wicat System 150

8 MHz 68000, Mem. mgmt, Multibus architecture, 256k to 1.5 Mb RAM,16/32/64Kbyte EPROM, 
10 ms interval timer, 2 RS232 (19.6k async, 56k sync), 16 bit parallel intelligent disk controller,
10 Mbyte winchester (5.25", 3600 rpm, access: 3 ms trk-trk, 70 avg, 150 max),
960Kb floppy (5.25", 300 rpm, access 10 ms trk-trk, 267 avg, 583 max)
Options: battery backed clock, graphics with touch panel, video disk control,
High Speed Serial Network Interface
Unix/V7 avail, Pascal, C, APL, ADA, Cobol, Fortran, Lisp, Basic, Asm

.fi
.KE

	This is note number 15 in the ``Workstation Discussion'' file.
User ``horton'' wrote this note at 4:03 pm on December 11th, 1981.  Two
responses have been written.  The note's title is ``WICAT 150''.  If a
director had written the note, the ``director message'' might have been
displayed beneath the note's title.  Director's notes sometimes contain
important information or new policies.

	Since notes and responses can each be up to 3 Mbytes long, 
the display routine breaks text into pages automatically.
For all but the last page of a long note or response,
the lower right corner of the display  shows the percentage of the
note that has been shown.
For all but the first page of long text, the message ``[Continued]''
appears in the upper left portion of the display.
Use the space bar to see the next page of a long note or response.
When the last page is displayed, the space key functions as the ``;'' 
key: it proceeds to the next response.
The ``-'' and backspace keys back up the display to the previous page.
Only the first 50 pages of text are managed this way;
typing ``-'' from the fifty-second page will return to the fiftieth page.
The ``='' key returns to the first page of the note.

	While reading a note, it is possible to:
.br
.bx
.ix
Display the next, previous, or first page of the note.
.ix
Write a response to the displayed note.
.ix
Read next note or previous note.
.ix
Read next unread response or note.
.ix
Return to the index page.
.ix
Skip to a given response.
.ix
Delete the note (if you are its author or a file director).
.ix
Edit the note's title (if it is yours).
.ix
Edit the note (if it is yours and there are no responses).
.ix
Copy the note to another notesfile.
.ix
Save the note in your file space.
.ix
Mail the note to someone.
.ix
Talk (``write'') to the author of the note.
.ix
Search for keywords in note titles.
.ix
Search for notes/responses by a particular author.
.ix
Toggle the director message (if privileged).
.ix
Fork a shell.
.ix
Go to another notesfile.
.ix
Make a comment or suggestion about notesfiles.
.ix
Exit the notesfile program.
.ex

.ss "Reading Responses"

	Response displays are similar to those of main notes with the exception that
``Response x of y'' replaces the note's title.
The first response to note 15 is shown below:

.KS
.nf
Note 15                   Workstation Discussion                
koehler                      Response 1 of 2         11:53 pm  Dec 11, 1981

Does anyone have any insight about the relative speeds of the Winchester disks available 
on these systems?  The previous disk seems to have track to track response times commensurate 
with reasonably fast 8" floppies.  I wonder if some of the manufacturers are using disks that
will not meet reasonable specifications for response time for these kinds of applications.

On the other hand, with intelligent layout of file sectors, the I/O system
could romp and stomp on often used files...
                ======================================
.fi
.KE

	The commands for manipulating the text of a long response
are the same as those for looking at long notes.
Typing space will move to the next page.
Typing ``-'' or backspace will display the previous page, within the
same limitations as for reading notes (only 50 pages are kept).
Press ``='' to go back to the first page of the text.

	The options available while reading responses include:
.bx
.ix
Display the next, previous, or first page of the response.
.ix
Go to a different response (usually the next one).
.ix
Go to the next unread note/response.
.ix
Reread the base note.
.ix
Reread the previous note.
.ix
Return to the index page.
.ix
Copy the response to another notesfile.
.ix
Mail the response to someone.
.ix
Save the response in your file space.
.ix
Talk to the response's author.
.ix
Write another response to the note.
.ix
Search for keywords in note titles.
.ix
Search for notes/responses by particular authors.
.ix
Delete the response (if you are its author or a file director).
.ix
Edit the response (if it is yours and there are no later responses).
.ix
Fork a shell
.ix
Go to another notesfile.
.ix
Register a suggestion or complaint about the notesfile program.
.ix
Exit the notesfile program.
.ex


.ss "Writing Notes & Responses"

	Write new base notes by hitting ``w'' while reading the index page.
The notesfile system will then invoke an editor
(
``ed'' by default; use either of the shell variables NFED or EDITOR to change it).
After the prompt,
compose the text you wish to enter, then
write the text to the disk and leave the editor.  The system will prompt
you for various options if they are available:  anonymity, director
message status, and the note's title.

	To write a response to a note type ``w'' while that note or any of
its responses is displayed. 
The same steps used to write a base note
should then be followed.

.ss "Mailing Notesfile Text"

	Both notes and responses can be mailed to other users (with
optional appended text).
The capital ``M'' (``mail'') command gives you the opportunity to edit the text then send
it to anyone.  Its inferior counterpart, ``m'', allows you to mail a message to
anyone.
To mail to the author of the text,
use capital ``P'' (``Personal comment'') to send the text
and your comments; use ``p'' for a simple letter.

	To use a specific mail program, set the environment variable
MAILER. If this is not set, a standard mail program is used.

.ss "Forwarding Text To Other Notesfiles"

	There are several methods for forwarding text from one notesfile
to another.
Single notes or responses can be copied with the ``c'' or ``C'' command
while entire note strings can be forwarded with the ``f'' and ``F''
commands.

	The ``f'' (``forward'') command is given when a base note
is displayed on the screen.
When given, the ``f'' command causes the base note and all of its
responses to be copied to another notesfile.
The user is prompted for the destination notesfile.
The copied note and all of the copied responses contain header
information detailing their origin.
Where ``f'' copies the note string without change, the ``F''
command allows the user to edit the text of the note and each
response before inserting it into the target notesfile.

	The ``c'' (``copy'') command prompts for a destination notesfile
then
copies the currently displayed note or response to the target notesfile.
The user is allowed to choose between forwarding the note as a response
or as a new base note.
The ``c'' command does not give the user a chance to edit the text
before inserting it in the new notesfile.
The extended copying command ``C''
allows editing of the note text before it is copied to the other notesfile.

	Both the ``c'' and ``C'' commands provide for
the forwarded text to be entered as either a new note or as a response
to an existing note.
In the latter case, an index page is given to the user for
choosing the appropriate note to which to respond.

.ss "Saving Text in Local Files"

	The ``s'' (``save'') command appends the current displayed text to a
file of your choice (which is created if not present).
Notesfiles prompts for the file name;
typing only a carriage return aborts the command -- no text is saved.
Capital ``S'' appends
the base note and all its responses. The number of lines saved and the name
of the file written are printed when the command completes.

.ss "Deletion"

	Capital ``D'' (``delete'') deletes a note or response if it is yours and
has no subsequent responses.  Notes already sent to the network can not be
deleted by non-directors.
Directors can delete any note or response with the ``Z'' (``zap'') command.


.ss "Online Communication"

	Typing ``t'' (``talk'') attempts to page the author of the current displayed
text.  The Unix ``write'' command to him/her is issued
if the author is local and non-anonymous. If the environment variable WRITE 
is defined, the program it specifies is used to write to the author.

.ss "Editing Note Titles"

	While reading a base note, type ``e'' (``edit'') to
change the note's title
(provided you are the author of the note or a notesfile director).

.ss "Editing Notes/Responses"

	``E'' allows editing of the text of a note or response.
It is not permitted to edit an article if it has subsequent responses or
if it has been sent to the network.
If the ``later responses'' are deleted, it is possible to edit the
original text.