Technical Support Frequently Asked Questions

This area under constant construction as new questions come up

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FAQ's about Using Pine

Pine's Main menu ?
Menu items ?
Commands ?
Sending mail ?
Reading mail ?
Using folders ?
Adding a .signature ?
Address book ?
Setup ?
Troubleshooting ?
For more information ?

Q. Pine's Main menu ?

A. When you open Pine, the main menu appears.

The upper right corner tells you how many messages are in your INBOX folder.

Q. Menu items ?

A. The main body of the screen contains six menu items. Use the up and down arrows or the "P" and "N" commands to select a menu item, then press return. 
   ? - Help - Opens Pine's help.
   C - Compose Message - Opens a new message window.
   I - Opens the Index folder. The Index folder is the most recently open 
       folder.
   L - Folder List - Opens a list of folders.
   A - Address Book - opens the address book.
   S - Setup - Opens the Setup menu. Please do not change any settings.
   Q - Quit - Exits Pine.

Q. Commands ?

A. Commands are listed at the bottom of the screen. Some of these are the same as the commands in the menu. 
   ? - Help
   O - OTHER CMDS     - Changes the command list to show other commands.

       Q - Quit       - Closes Pine.
       C - Compose    - Opens a new message window.
       G - GotoFldr   - Lets you go directly to a particular folder.
       I - Index      - Opens the Index folder.
       S - Setup      - Opens the Setup menu (please do not change the 
                        setup).
       A - AddrBook   - Opens the address book.
       B - Report Bug - Opens a new  message window, addressed to the Pine 
                        Developers.

   L - ListFldrs      - Lists folders.
   P - PrevCmd        - Selects the previous command in the menu list.
   N - NextCmd        - Selects the next command in the menu list.
   R - RelNotes       - Shows release notes.
   K - KBLock         - Locks your keyboard (this is a safety feature).

Q. Sending mail ?

A.
  1. Type "C" for "Compose."

  2. Complete the header, using the tab key or arrow keys to move from field to field. You must type the recipient's email address, but the other lines are optional.

    a) "Cc" sends a carbon copy of the letter to whomever you specify.
    b) "Attachments" lets you attach a file by typing the file name.

    For example, to attach the file "odd.news" type "odd.news" on the "Attchmnt" line. Pine expands that to include the location of the file in your home directory.

    c) At the subject line, you may type a short title or subject of the letter.

  3. The "^R Rich Hdr" command expands the header.

    a) "Bcc" is "blind carbon copy", meaning the primary recipient will not know you sent a copy of the letter.
    b) We recommend that you not use the "Newsgrps" option, but use your newsreader to post articles.
    c) "Fcc" files a carbon copy of the message in the designated folder.

    You can override the default folder by typing another folder name. (For more information on folders, see below.)

  4. Move the cursor into the Message Text section, and write your message.
  5. Use the text editing commands to make changes: 
       ^K   - remove the line
   ^U   - paste in whatever line was most recently cut
   ^T   - check spelling
   ^D   - remove the selected character
   ^V   - page down
   ^Y   - page up

  6. Send the letter.

    a) Type "^X".
    b) Pine asks if you want to send the letter. Type "y" for "yes".

Q. Reading mail ?

A. Pine places all new mail into a folder called the "INBOX". To read mail

  1. From the main menu, choose "L" to open the Folder List.
  2. Tab to select the INBOX folder.
  3. Press return or use ^V to open the INBOX.

    The upper right corner tells you how many unread and total messages you have. In this example, three of the seven messages are new. The message list gives information about each message - status, sender, etc.

    - "N" means it is a new, unread message
    - "A" means you answered the message using the "R)eply" command (see below).
    - "+" means the message was sent directly to you (i.e., it was not forwarded, is not a carbon copy, etc.)
    - it does not have a "+" next to the number, and the subject line says "(fwd)" at the end.

  4. Use the up and down arrow keys to select a message, then press return or type "V".
  5. The message header contains a line telling you if there is an attachment, and how long it is. To read an attachment, use the "ViewAttch" command.
  6. You can use the "TakeAddr" command to add the sender's name directly to your address book. The address book is explained below.
  7. You can save the message, reply to it, forward it to someone else, or delete it.

    a) To save a message, type "S".

    You are prompted to type a folder name. You can type an existing folder name, create a new folder by typing a new folder name, or select from a list of existing folders using the ^T command.

    b) To reply to the message, type "R". If the message was sent to more than one person, the "Reply" command sends a response to everyone who received the original message.
    c) To forward the message type "F" and address the new message.
    d) To delete the message type "D".

Q. Using folders ?

A. Pine has three default folders: the INBOX folder, the sent-mail folder, and the saved-messages folder. You can create more folders, arrange them, and display them, using the Folder Index and Folder List.

The Folder List shows a list of folders. To open a folder, select it and type "V" or press return. Use the "Add" command to add a new folder. Use the "Delete" command to delete a folder. You cannot delete the INBOX folder.

The Folder Index opens whatever folder is current (the folder that was last open). Use the "L" and "I" commands to move between the Folder List and Folder Index.

Q. Adding a .signature ?

A. A signature is a few lines of text that is appended to the end of every email message you send.

Your signature is a way to let people know who you are. People use a signature to give their address, their business' name, their real name, their philosophy of life... Some people use their signature to add a disclaimer to their mail, stating that the opinions included are their own and not their employer's. Others create pictures using text characters. Signatures should not be longer than four lines.

To create a signature:

  1. If you are in Pine, quit Pine and return to a prompt.
  2. Type "cd" and press return. This returns you to your home directory, if you are not already in it.
  3. Type "pico .signature". This opens your ".signature" file if you have one, and creates one if you do not.

    Note: You must type the period before the word "signature". The period is part of the file name.

  4. Use Pico to create, delete, or edit text in the ".signature" file.

  5. When you are done, hold down the control key and type "x" to exit Pico.

When you send mail, the text you typed in the ".signature" file added to the end of the message.

Q. Address book ?

A. The address book provides two convenient shortcuts. Once you put someone into your address book you no longer have to type their entire address each time you send them mail - simply use the nickname you entered in the address book, and pine fills in the address.

To create nicknames:

  1. Choose Address Book from the main menu.
  2. Type "A" for "Add".
  3. Type the person's full name and press return.
  4. Type the nickname you want to use.

    For example, for "jdoe@accesscom.com" you could type "jdoe".

  5. Press return.
  6. Type the person's email address.

    For example, "username@domain.com".

  7. Press return.

You can also create groups in Pine's address book. To create a group list, use the "Create List" command instead of the "Add" command, then follow the steps given here.

Q. Setup ?

A. Please do not change anything in the Setup unless you are very familiar with pine and with your system. If you have questions, email or call technical support.

Q. Troubleshooting ?

A. You may get mail saying: "Warning: cannot send message for 4 hours."

This message means the location you are trying to send mail to is very busy and has not accepted this mail for four hours. It does not mean the message will not be delivered, and it does not mean you should send the message again. Our server will keep trying to send the mail until the other location is able to receive it.

Q. For more information ?

A. For more information about Pine, please see the Pine User's Guide

  1. From Access's Main menu, type "3" and press return. This opens the Docs menu.
  2. Type "1" and press return. This opens the Pine User's Guide.
  3. Use these commands to move up and down in the User's Guide 
       space bar   - page down
   q           - exit User's Guide
   b           - page up
  4. When you are done reading the file, type "q" to close the User's Guide.