Thank you for trying out this freely distributable copy of version 2.3 of Q-Blue. Q-Blue is an offline electronic mail reader which can handle mail packets in QWK format or Blue Wave format. It is shareware. This version may be freely distributed by any means, so long as nothing is changed or removed. If you are already a user of an earlier version of Q-Blue, please review the material below reviewing new features and configuration settings. If you have registered in the past, you may be able to get an upgrade free by uuencoded email; see the "How-to-order" file. This version, since it is freely distributable, is restricted to encourage people to register. The main restriction is that it cannot put more than four new messages into any one upload packet. The registration price is twenty (20) United States dollars. See the file named "How-to-order" for complete information on how to register. If you use shareware programs but do not pay for a registered copy, then in the long run programmers will not be able to offer low cost software that you can try before buying, and we all lose. Q-Blue can be started from a CLI prompt or from the Workbench. Command line and tool type options are described in the manual, "Q-Blue.doc". Commonly, none are needed. When started from a CLI, it automatically detaches itself to run in the background, so you get your command prompt back right away. Before running the program, you should double-click on the included "Install" script icon, especially if you do not have suitable IBM fonts in your FONTS: drawer. It will describe several included fonts and let you select which ones to install. If you are using fonts from an older release of Q-Blue, you should run this script and install the latest set. This release includes some fonts that use the Amiga's regular ISO character set, with the same "look" as the IBM fonts. For each IBM font there is an ISO font of matching size and similar name, except for those IBM fonts that match the built-in topaz 8 and topaz 9 fonts (newcleanibm 8 and wideibm 9). The most complex part of using the program is setting it up for the first time, but even that is, in many ways, easier to do than to describe. The process is explained in complete detail in the user manual. Once Q-Blue is set up, most of its operation is intuitively obvious. Those who are using an older version of Q-Blue should note that many of the default commands for the supported archiving programs have been changed. You may wish to alter your configuration to use the new commands, detailed in sections 5.2 and 5.4 of the user manual. If you have version 1.0 or older of Q-Blue, it is especially recommended that you change the Zip compression command from "Zip -jkr @A @D" to "Zip -k @A *", or if you have a version of Zip older than 2.0, "Zip -k @A @F". If your Zip command is "Zip -k @A @F", as is likely if you have Q-Blue 1.9 or newer, you should change it to "Zip -k @A *", again except in the case of a very old version of Zip. Note also that there are now two Zip command settings: one for normal use, and one for use with outdated software compatible with PKZIP 1.x; the Zip 1.x version uses "Zip -0k @A *" as its compression command, and "50 4B 03 04 0A" as its pattern. (Decompression is identical.) New commands for the LZX compressor have also been added to the default set: the command for decompression is "LZX -m -X0 x @A", for compression is "LZX -X0 a @A #?", and the pattern is "4C 5A 58". If you have been using Q-Blue version 2.0 or 2.1, the most important new features in Q-Blue 2.3 are Internet email and newsgroup handling, and support for new offline configuration features found in Blue Wave 3.x doors. For these new features, see sections 6.10 (on setting up email for QWK packets and systems that use Fidonet gating), 10.8 (on writing email and, with BW 3.x, newsgroup posts), and 11.2 through 11.5 (on BW offline configuration). Some new setup options are discussed in sections 4.1, 6.3, and 6.8; section 6.9 on QWK netmail also reflects some changes, and should especially be reviewed if you want to set up Fido gated email in QWK packets. If you have previously tried the public beta release 2.2, there are no major new features. There are, however, quite a few bugfixes, especially in handling Internet messages. Most of the bugs were found by a single user: Petar "Norge" Cuckovic. If you find Q-Blue useful for email, he gets much of the credit. One feature that is new is that BBS pointer files are now saved automatically in the context directory. This is explained in section 8.3 of the manual. Also, the "save message" command, when used on a bulletin file, now makes an accurate binary copy instead of doing things like adding a header and stripping out ANSI codes. The above-mentioned changes in the default compression commands are also new since the 2.2 beta release, so they are worth reviewing. The manual is formatted for printing on US letter or European A4 size paper. The margins are set up on the assumption that printing begins up to one half inch (12 mm) below the top edge of the paper. Each page of the document contains 60 lines including headers and footers, so if your printer has vertical margins or a perforation skip feature, the page length should still fit. It is 146 pages long. It contains ANSI underlining codes, so printing it through your regular Amiga printer driver will underline various things if your printer is capable of doing so, as most are. The underlining will also show if it is viewed with most text viewers such as More. The following is a copy of the shareware distribution license from the title page of the user manual in the file "Q-Blue.doc". Read it before using the program. The computer program "Q-Blue, release 2.3" is copyright (c) 1992- 1997 by Paul Kienitz, with all rights reserved except as stated here. Q-Blue 2.3 exists in two forms, an "evaluation" version and a "registered" version. The former may be copied and distributed freely; the latter may not be. Selecting the "About Q-Blue" pull-down menu item when the program is running will display a message that declares whether that copy is registered or not. The evaluation version may be used by any person for occasional use, or for as long as needed to decide whether to use the program routinely. Permission is not granted to use that version routinely for longer than thirty days. Routine use is defined as two or more uses per week. The evaluation version may be copied and distributed by any means, so long as the set of files comprising the software package, including this manual and the file called "How-to-order", is kept complete and unmodified. The registered version may be purchased directly from the author, Paul Kienitz. If you have purchased the registered version, you are licensed to make unlimited use of the software, on one machine at any one time, so long as you abide by the terms of this license. A group of people who share one computer may use a single copy, as may an individual who uses two or more computers, so long as it is not running on two computers at the same time. Copies of the registered version are not to be distributed to other users by any means, except by the author or his designated agents. See the file "How-to-order" for information on how to buy a registered copy. Q-Blue, like most software, is provided "as is", with no warranty of any kind. The author cannot assume liability for any damage caused by the software. Anyone who willfully violates the terms set forth in this license, such as by distributing copies of the registered version to those who have not paid for it, will be deemed to have forfeited all rights and permissions granted here, including the right to make any use at all of Q-Blue. If you cannot abide by the terms of this license, do not use the program. Here is a list of all of the files included in this public beta distribution of Q-Blue, archived inside a drawer called "Q-Blue2.3": Q-Blue the program itself README this file you're reading Install script that installs fonts and taglines How-to-order information on how to buy a registered copy Q-Blue.doc the user manual Taglines sample file for use with the tagline feature Liberal-taglines additional taglines, with a political bias fonts/newcleanibm.font four fonts using the IBM character set fonts/newcleanibm/8 fonts/tallibm.font fonts/tallibm/11 fonts/tallibm/12 fonts/tallibm/14 fonts/stretchibm.font fonts/stretchibm/12 fonts/wideibm.font fonts/wideibm/9 fonts/wideibm/12 fonts/wideibm/14 fonts/talliso.font three fonts using the ISO character set fonts/talliso/11 fonts/talliso/12 fonts/talliso/14 fonts/stretchiso.font fonts/stretchiso/12 fonts/wideiso.font fonts/wideiso/12 fonts/wideiso/14 c/Future a little utility for adjusting file dates c/IsADir four small programs used by Install script c/XSkip c/RequestChoice c/RequestFile Q-Blue.info icons README.info Install.info Q-Blue.doc.info How-to-order.info Taglines.info Liberal-taglines.info fonts.info Also included in the archive, outside of the "Q-Blue2.3" drawer, are the drawer icon "Q-Blue2.3.info" and the file "file_id.diz", which contains a description suitable for BBS file listings. Other files may have been added by distributors of the archive. The "Q-Blue2.3" drawer is temporary and can be deleted after you have run the install script and dragged the program and the user manual (Q-Blue.doc) to the drawers where you will keep them.