[mod.computers.vax] Inadequacies of VMS mail

DHASKIN@CLARKU.BITNET.UUCP (04/03/87)

Alan Sutter (ALAN@FANDM.BITNET) asks:

> When you do a PRINT in VMS mail, it sends the current message you are
> looking at out to the printer.  What it doen't do is put a flag page on the
> front of it, even if the print queue is set up for DEFAULT=FLAG.  Is there
> anyway to fix it so that I get a flag page? Half page mail messages without
> a flag page have a tendancy to get left with printout that printed before
> it on that printer and then get sent to the wrong office.

It's not only annoying, it's dangerous.  Our administrative and academic
users share system printers, and more than once a printed mail message
from an undergraduate has gone happily along to an administrative office.
Which isn't that bad, except when the undergrad's mail message is, uh,
shall we say mildly offensive?  Not good.

> The problem is that MAIL doesn't seem to honor this symbol definition,
> which isn't too suprising.  What does MAIL use to initiate the print, and
> is there any good way to get a hook in there to do a redirection to some
> queue other than SYS$PRINT?

Again, MAIL is pretty stupid.  I'd like it to default to SYS$PRINT unless
something like MAIL$PRINT is defined, or you could do
MAIL/PRINTER=<queuename>.

DEC, are you listening?

In reality, I suggest anyone who has problems with items like this to
SPR them to DEC.  Squeaky wheel and all that, what?


% Denis W. Haskin                             Manager, Technical Services %
% ----------------------------------------------------------------------- %
% DHASKIN@CLARKU.BITNET   Office of Information Systems     (617)793-7193 %
% Clark University               950 Main Street      Worcester MA  01610 %
%                                                                         %
% "Anyone who _moves_ before Most Holy comes back out will spend the rest %
%  of eternity sipping lava through an iron straw."        - Cerebus      %

carl@CITHEX.CALTECH.EDU.UUCP (04/05/87)

I'm having a bit of trouble understanding what all the shouting's about
with regard to mail allegedly not being reasonable about printing files.
The complaints were that it 1) Wouldn't let you decide which queue your
files were to be printed in; and 2) Doesn't print appropriate separation
pages.  The following is a log of a terminal session which gives the lie
to both of those allegations.  Did I get a unique version of VMS 4.5, or
hasn't anybody else tried the obvious expedient of redefining SYS$PRINT?
I for one have no desire to be able to log in using the username string  
"CARL/CLI=MAIL", which seems to be what some of these people envision as
the appropriate future of the mail utility.
							-Carl J Lydick
************************************************************************
Caltech HEP VMS VAX (Physics VAX [CITHEX])

Username: CARL/NOCOM
Password: 
Welcome to VAX/VMS version V4.5 on node CITHEX
    Last interactive login on Sunday,  5-APR-1987 07:13
    Last non-interactive login on Sunday,  5-APR-1987 05:33
		   You have 2 new Mail messages.
$ show queue lca0/full
Printer queue LCA0, paused, mounted form DEFAULT
    /BASE_PRIORITY=5 /DEFAULT=(BURST=ONE,FEED,FLAG,FORM=DEFAULT,TRAILER=ONE) 
    /NOENABLE_GENERIC /OWNER=[SYSTEM_MANAGEMENT,SYSTEM] /PROTECTION=(S:E,O:D,
    G:R,W:RW) /SEPARATE=(FLAG)
$ show queue sys$print/full
Generic printer queue SYS$PRINT
    /OWNER=[SYSTEM_MANAGEMENT,SYSTEM] /PROTECTION=(S:E,O:D,G:R,W:RW)
$ define/job sys$print lca0
$ define/job sys$print lca0
$ show queue sys$print/full
Printer queue LCA0, paused, mounted form DEFAULT
    /BASE_PRIORITY=5 /DEFAULT=(BURST=ONE,FEED,FLAG,FORM=DEFAULT,TRAILER=ONE) 
    /NOENABLE_GENERIC /OWNER=[SYSTEM_MANAGEMENT,SYSTEM] /PROTECTION=(S:E,O:D,
    G:R,W:RW) /SEPARATE=(FLAG)
$ mail

You have 2 new messages.

MAIL> dir test

                                                                            TEST
    # From                 Date         Subject
 
    1 CITHEX::CARL          5-APR-1987  TEST PRINT FILE

MAIL> read 1

    #1           5-APR-1987 06:40:36                                        TEST
From:	CITHEX::CARL         "Carl J Lydick"
To:	CARL
Subj:	TEST PRINT FILE
THIS IS THE TEST.

MAIL> print
MAIL> exit
Job MAIL (queue LCA0, entry 605) pending

$ show queue/fu sys$print
Printer queue LCA0, paused, mounted form DEFAULT
    /BASE_PRIORITY=5 /DEFAULT=(BURST=ONE,FEED,FLAG,FORM=DEFAULT,TRAILER=ONE) 
    /NOENABLE_GENERIC /OWNER=[SYSTEM_MANAGEMENT,SYSTEM] /PROTECTION=(S:E,O:D,
    G:R,W:RW) /SEPARATE=(FLAG)

  Jobname         Username     Entry  Blocks  Status
  -------         --------     -----  ------  ------
  MAIL            CARL           605       1  Pending
    Submitted  5-APR-1987 07:14 /FLAG=ONE /PRIORITY=100 /TRAILER=ONE
      _DRB7:[]MAIL.LIS; /DELETE
$ eoj
  CARL         logged out at  5-APR-1987 07:14:28.03