First, open a telnet session to math (see telnetting to math from a PUCC PC) or get a math xterm window running (see getting a math xterm on a PUCC PC).
Next, type
pine
at a math prompt. The first time pine runs, it might ask you a couple of questions. For example, if the program asks for permission to create a mail subdirectory in your home directory, type y. Type y to any other questions pine might ask the first time.
When pine is up and running, you will see a screen that looks like this:
PINE 3.95 MAIN MENU Folder: INBOX 0 Messages
? HELP - Get help using Pine
C COMPOSE MESSAGE - Compose and send a message
I FOLDER INDEX - View messages in current folder
L FOLDER LIST - Select a folder to view
A ADDRESS BOOK - Update address book
S SETUP - Configure or update Pine
Q QUIT - Exit the Pine program
Copyright 1989-1996. PINE is a trademark of the University of Washington.
? Help P PrevCmd R RelNotes
O OTHER CMDS L [ListFldrs] N NextCmd K KBLock
You can use the arrow keys to move up and down the menu list and then push RETURN to select an item or you can just type the lower case letter to the left of the menu item to select it.
I will now give you step by step instructions on how to send me an e-mail message. Us the UP and DOWN arrows on your keyboard to highlight the
C COMPOSE MESSAGE - Compose and send a message
line and then push the RETURN key to select it. You will see a screen that looks like this:
PINE 3.95 COMPOSE MESSAGE Folder: INBOX 0 Messages To : Cc : Attchmnt: Subject : ----- Message Text ----- ^G Get Help ^X Send ^R Rich Hdr ^Y PrvPg/Top ^K Cut Line ^O Postpone ^C Cancel ^D Del Char ^J Attach ^V NxtPg/End ^U UnDel Line^T To AddrBk
The To: line will be highlighted and the cursor will be to the right of the semicolon. Type bell@perdue.edu and then push RETURN. The cursor will move down to the CC: line. Type RETURN two more times until the cursor is on the Subject: line. Type e-mail test and push RETURN. Now the cursor should be below the ----MessageText----- line and you can type me a message. Just type away. Use the return key when you get near the end of a line. In fact, it is good practice to make your lines rather short in an e-mail message -- not more than 50 characters long. If you make a mistake typing, just use the arrow keys to put the cursor on the character just to the right of the character you want to change. Type BACKSPACE or DELETE to erase the offending character and type the correct one. (You can even erase RETURN characters this way by using the arrow keys to move the cursor to the first character in a line and then pushing BACKSPACE.) When you type a message you are using the pico editor (described more fully in the next section).
Type something like this:
Dear Professor Bell, Thank you very much for teaching this very stimulating and fun-filled course on computers. Sincerely, student number 999-34-0000
When you are ready to send me your e-mail, take a look at the list at the bottom of the screen. Notice the menu item
^X Send
This menu item means that you can SEND the e-mail by typing CONTROL-X (i.e., by holding down the CONTROL key and then pushing a lower case x key). If your message is ready for e-mailing, type CONTROL-X. The bottom of the screen will change to:
Send message?
Y [Yes]
^C Cancel N No
The cursor will appear to the right of Send message? and pine will expect you to type either CONTROL-C to cancel the whole thing or a lower case y to send the message or a lower case n to just say no. (If you select Cancel or No, you will find yourself back using the pico editor on your Message Text where you left off before selecting Send.)
After you select y above, your message will be mailed to me and you will find yourself back in the MAIN menu. (You can usually get back to the main menu by typing m.)
Wait a few seconds to receive my reply ;-).
If you get tired of waiting, just type q to quit pine and answer y when pine asks you if you are sure you want to quit. Or a better idea is to send YOURSELF a message by following the steps above, but use your own math login ID in place of bell. Your message will be delivered to you in a few seconds. To view it, go to the MAIN menu and select the line
L FOLDER LIST - Select a folder to view
You will see a screen that looks something like this:
PINE 3.95 FOLDER LIST Folder: INBOX 2 Messages INBOX sent-mail ? Help M Main Menu P PrevFldr - PrevPage D Delete R Rename O OTHER CMDS V [ViewFldr] N NextFldr Spc NextPage A Add
The mail folder INBOX should be highlighted. If it isn't, use the arrow keys to move between folders until it is highlighted. (Your incoming mail is stored in a file called INBOX that resides in the mail subdirectory of your home directory.) Select INBOX by pushing RETURN. If I were to do this, I would see a screen that looks something like this:
PINE 3.95 FOLDER INDEX Folder: INBOX Message 1 of 9 NEW + N 1 Jul 14 To: Steve Bell (759) e-mail test + N 2 Jul 14 To: Steve Bell (759) e-mail test + N 3 Jul 14 To: Steve Bell (759) e-mail test + N 4 Jul 14 To: Steve Bell (759) e-mail test + N 5 Jul 14 To: Steve Bell (759) e-mail test + N 6 Jul 14 To: Steve Bell (759) e-mail test + N 7 Jul 14 To: Steve Bell (759) e-mail test + N 8 Jul 14 To: Steve Bell (759) e-mail test + N 9 Jul 14 To: Steve Bell (759) e-mail test ? Help M Main Menu P PrevMsg - PrevPage D Delete R Reply O OTHER CMDS V [ViewMsg] N NextMsg Spc NextPage U Undelete F Forward
If I want to view message number 4, I use the UP and DOWN arrow keys to highlight the fourth line and then push RETURN. I will get a screen that looks like this.