KRISTOFFERSON@BIONET-20.ARPA (05/09/88)
From: David Kristofferson <Kristofferson@BIONET-20.ARPA> The following tricks that I just sent to a scientist can help all BIONET users get more out of the MM mail program by customizing it to their needs. Dave Kristofferson ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I have always found the default setting of MM (send at the S> prompt by hitting just a <CR>) to be an annoyance. You can customize MM by using the PROFILE and SET commands at the MM> prompt. For example issuing the command SET SEND-RETURN-SENDS 0 will make it necessary to explicitly issue the SEND command after the S> prompt to send. This prevents accidental mailings. After using the PROFILE or SET commands at the MM> prompt it is necessary to save the new settings (to a file called MM.INIT). This is done by entering CREATE-INIT at the MM> prompt when you have customized the program to your liking. A number of very useful things can be done to MM by this means. To explore the options enter HELP SET ? at the MM> prompt to display all of the possiblities and then use HELP SET COMMANDNAME to see how to change each option. For example, I have my MM program set to always go straight into EMACS (with the new Kermit more people may want to explore this option). This is particularly useful when replying to a message like I am doing now. After issuing the REPLY command the mail program in EMACS mode goes into a split screen display. I can read through and excise text from the message to which I'm replying in one window while composing my reply in the second window! The CTRL-X O command (or CTRL-F8 in the new IBM Kermit) in EMACS lets one jump between windows (see also HELP ED-EMACS-REF on BIONET for an EMACS command summary ... this is a HELP ME subtopic). EMACS is an editor that one initially hates compared to PC wordprocessors (for example I would occasionally hold down the Esc key too long and get dumped into the frigging "mini-buffer". If you do this, type Ctrl G once or twice to get out! Ctrl G is the general abort command in EMACS.). However if one regularly uses it in the mail program like I do and learns some of the options, one soon discovers that EMACS is tremendously powerful. Fortunately the accessory files with the new version of Kermit that we are distributing will make it easier to get started with this editor. Hope that this information is of use. Sincerely, Dave Kristofferson BIONET Resource Manager kristofferson@bionet-20.arpa -------
ricko@well.UUCP (Richard J Otter) (05/10/88)
In article <6218@ig.ig.com> KRISTOFFERSON@BIONET-20.ARPA writes: >From: David Kristofferson <Kristofferson@BIONET-20.ARPA> > > > > EMACS is an editor that one initially hates compared to PC >wordprocessors ... > ... However if one regularly uses it in the >mail program like I do and learns some of the options, one soon >discovers that EMACS is tremendously powerful. > I might add that EMACS is available on many different computers and operating systems, from micro to main frame. Once youv'e gotten used to EMACS, you'll be able to edit text & sequences in many differnet computing environments. Richard Otter