MailMaint - Readme File for Release 2.0 - 30th April 1999
=========================================================

MailMaint for Windows 95/98 and NT 4.0 is a simple POP3 Mailbox
Maintenance application that supports multiple POP3 mailboxes, allowing
headers to be accessed, and messages to be read and deleted. Old headers
are stored on the PC to minimise access time, but this application is not
designed as an offline mail reader.  

MailMaint's main purpose is deleting messages that have become stuck in
the POP3 mailbox and are not being properly deleted by your normal email 
application.  This typically happens when the mail headers are corrupted
or deliberately wrong (not uncommon with spam email).

MailMaint is dial-up networking (RAS) aware, will open a connection if
required, indicates which connection is being used, and will ensure it is
closed down when the program is exited. 

MailMaint is freeware, developed by Magenta Systems Ltd, in England.
Please note that while any major problems will be fixed, Magenta Systems
does not propose to make any enhancements to MailMaint nor provide any
further documentation than this readme file.  MailMaint was designed
solely to delete messages from POP3 mailboxes that other email
applications left behind, and we do not see any point in developing it
further when there are so many other 'proper' email applications
available. 


Installation
------------

MailMaint comprises merely a single program file MAILMAINT.EXE (about 340
Kbyte in size, with no extra DLLs or other run time supporting files.
Installation will therefore not effect any other Windows applications.  No
files will be installed in the Windows directory.  The only prerequisite
is Windows 95 (any version), Windows 98, or Windows NT 4.0, with TCP/IP 
networking and Dial-Up Networking (Remote Access Services) installed, and 
a web browser to check site details. 

MailMaint is distributed as a ZIP file which should first be unzipped into
a temporary folder.  If you do not already have it, the Winzip application
from http://www.winzip.com/ (or from most magazine cover CD-ROMs, Tucows
archives, etc) is strongly recommended. 

The program SETUP.EXE should then be run to install MailMaint.  About 
500 Kbytes of disk space is required for the software and some files that
will be created when mailboxes are accessed, but this can increase
depending on how many messages are left on the POP3 server.  


Usage - Define Servers
----------------------

When first accessed, one or more POP3 mail servers need to be specified. 
Click 'Define Servers', then 'New' and details completed as follows:

Connection - is there is no Dial-Up Networking/Remote Access Services 
connection when the mail server is opened, this option specifies which
of the available connections should be used.  Leave as <None> for a mail
server accessible via a network.  When selected for a new server, the 
description, user name and password will be take from the connection 
details, since often they are the same. 

Description - a display name for the mail server.

Address - the internet address of the POP3 mail server, for example 
mail.cix.co.uk.  

Server Port - usually this is left as the default of 110, but can be 
changed to accommodate non-standard servers.

User Name and Password - the logon details for the POP3 server.  These 
are usually the same as the internet account.  If a dial-up connection
is specified, the user name and password will also be used for 
authentication. 

Maximum Body Lines - the maximum number of a message body lines to
download when viewing a message.  Setting this to something reasonable,
like 300 lines, will prevent large binary attachments being retrieved from
the POP3 server. If a longer message is subsequently needed, this setting
can be changed.


Usage - Viewing the Mailbox
---------------------------

Select the predefined POP3 mailbox server, and click 'Open Mailbox'.  If 
there's an existing DUN connection, the mailbox should open immediately, 
otherwise a connection will be started if so defined.  

Once the mailbox has been opened, the current size in Kbytes and the
number of mail items will be displayed, and MailMaint will then download
any new headers since the last time the mailbox was accessed, at a rate of
a few messages per second.  If this is the first time the mailbox has
been accessed and it has hundreds of messages, it may take a few minutes
to download all the headers.  However it will be much faster the next
time.

Once the headers have been retrieved, the list view window shows the
message size (in Kbytes), date, and the from, subject and to headers. 
Double clicking on a header line (or clicking 'Read Message' will retrieve
the message body up to the maximum number specified for the server.
Double clicking on the message will restore the headers view again.  There
is no means of storing or printing the message in MailMaint, however the
text may be selected and copy/pasted into another application.  The
MailMaint window is fully resizable, so may be adjusted to view more
headers or longer messages, screen size permitting.  Clicking the column
headers allow columns to be sorted. 

Messages to be deleted from the mail server should be checked, one at a
time, and then click 'Close Mailbox'.  A prompt will appear confirming the
number of messages about to be deleted, and allowing cancel at this point. 
If 'yes' was clicked, the selected messages are deleted from the mailbox
and it is then closed.

IMPORTANT - the POP3 mailbox may only be accessed by a single application
at a time.  It can not receive mail while it is held open, nor can other
applications access it to view mail.  So don't leave the mailbox open
any longer than necessary.    


Changes Since Release 1.0
-------------------------

1 - the code used to read the mailbox has been totally changed, to be more 
reliable and offer improved performance.  Error handling should be much
improved as well.

2 - the file format (and file name) used for caching mail headers has 
changed, and the files are now self maintaining so that old headers are
removed whenever the mailbox is accessed.  

3 - The lists of mail servers and DUN connections are now sorted.  

4 - When creating a new server, after selecting a DUN connection the logon
details are copied for the server, since most ISPs use the same details 
for both access and mail. 

5 - The debug window size and position are now saved between sessions. 

6 - A new option 'Faster Update' has been added, which stops updating of 
the list view window with headers to reduce the windows overhead 
displaying the new data.  This is likely to be more useful when the POP3
mailbox contains several hundred messages or on slow PCs. 

7 - MailMaint now scales correctly for use with windows 'large fonts' 
without captions being truncated.

8 - A new 'Define Font' option has been added which allows the font used
for viewing mail bodies to be specified, perhaps larger the normal system
font. 


Distribution
------------

MailMaint may be freely distributed via web pages, FTP sites, BBS and
conferencing systems or on CD-ROM in unaltered zip format, but no charge
may be made other than reasonable media or bandwidth cost.  Any
notifications must state that MailMaint is freeware, but copyrighted by
Magenta Systems Ltd.  Please email Magenta Systems Ltd if you distribute
MailMaint in some way, so you can be notified of upgrades or other
important changes. 


Other Magenta Applications
--------------------------

While MailMaint is free, Magenta Systems offers applications for Windows
95, 98 and NT 4:

'CamCollect' is designed to download, display and save images from the
many web cams available on the internet.

'DUN Manager' is designed to simplify and enhance Dial Up Networking and
Remote Access Services. 

Delphi developers information and components for developers using Borland
Delphi 

and Comparison Publications: 

'UK Telecom Tariff Comparisons' of the residential and business telephone
tariffs charged by various operators in the United Kingdom.

'Intel Motherboard Comparisons' of the features and capabilities of the
different Pentium, Pentium II, Celeron, Pentium Pro and 486 Motherboards
sold by Intel Corporation.

Please visit the Magenta Systems web site for more information:
http://www.magsys.co.uk/


Copyright Information
---------------------

MailMaint is copyright Magenta Systems Ltd, England, 1999.

Magenta Systems Ltd
9 Vincent Road
Croydon 
CR0 6ED
United Kingdom

Phone 0181-656 3636, International Phone +44 181 656 3636
Fax 0181-656 8127, International Fax +44 181 656 8127

From 1st June 1999 (all London numbers change)
Phone 020 8656 3636, International Phone +44 20 8656 3636
Fax 020 8656 8127, International Fax +44 20 8656 8127

Email: mailmaint@magsys.co.uk
Web: http://www.magsys.co.uk/apps/
Download: http://www.magsys.co.uk/apps/mailmt20.zip

