UPDATE TO EMAIL PROGRAMS FOR ALPHA BASE COMPATABILITY

			      MICHAEL SPALDING
			NORTHVIEW LABORATORIES, INC.
				312-564-8181


Several changes were made to the AMUS EMAIL system to make it function 
properly in an Alpha Base environment.  This document describes those 
changes and how to implement the updated EMAIL system.

The EMAIL programs were changed to check whether or not Alpha Base is active,
so they should be compatable with non-AB systems (I say "should be"- I haven't
actually tested them).  The new hash totals and version numbers are contained
in the file EMAIL.DIR (created using dir/v/h/d, so you can use the VERIFY
program to check for the proper hash totals and version numbers).  We are
running AB version 4.8D on our system with FLIP, so be careful if you are
running an earlier version.  You should have no problems if you're running
a fairly recent version, but I won't make any guarantees.


The following programs were modified:


MAILON - This program now grabs the user ID from the GINDTA.SV module (if
	 it exists).  If that user ID is not a valid EMAIL user, the user
	 is prompted for manual entry of ID.  The new mail notification
	 routine is also skipped if the program is run by an Alpha Base 
	 user because of the changes to the EMAIL program's notification
	 routine (see below).

EMAIL - The new mail notification routine was modified to support the Alpha
	Base message system.  Rather than beeping a user who receives new
	mail, an AB message is sent which contains the sender's name and
	the title of the new mail message.  AB messages are only transmitted
	if a user is on line; otherwise the message is held until the next 
	time the user logs on.  This is why the new mail notification routine
	was removed from the MAILON program.  These changes were also 
	necessary for compatability with FLIP because the way the EMAIL 
	program was initially written will cause a system crash if a user
	is FLIPping while they are receiving a new mail notification message.


The following programs were added:

			   
E.LIT -	This program is a simple program that calls the MAILON program and
	the Alpha Base STRMEN program.  It is used in the AB User File as
	the "Menu # or .CMD" (field 10) with the following format:

			E {Menu #}

	The menu # is the top (starting) menu for this user.  If no Menu #
	is specified, the Alpha Base System Menu (1010) will be used as
	a default.  This program was called `E' because a short name was
	necessary for the 6 character field in the User File.  You can rename
	this program to any single letter if there is a conflict with another
	program on your system.

	It would have been possible to use a simple DO file in place of
	E.LIT, but DO files without explicit file specifications and the
	use of the DO.LIT program take much longer for the operating system 
	to locate.  They also cannot be loaded into system memory (which is
	recommended for this program for faster execution.)


LOGIN - This program was created to replace the AB LOGIN program.  It simply
	executes the MAILOF program, then chains to the AB LOGIN program.
	To use this program, you must first rename the AB LOGIN.LIT program to 
	LOGINE.LIT.  When this program is assembled, it will have an extension
	of .EML to guard against accidently copying over the AB LOGIN program
	before renaming it to LOGINE.  You must rename this program to 
	LOGIN.LIT before using it, and copy it to the SYS account.  Usage 
	of this program is identical to the AB LOGIN program.  It is 
	recommended that you place both LOGIN.LIT and LOGINE.LIT in system
	memory for faster execution.

	NOTE:  Usage of this program is optional.  You could also replace
	the LOGIN command string on all menus with "MAILOF\LOGIN", but
	if you have as many menus as we do, that is a major undertaking!
	Also, users logging off from the command mode with the AB LOGIN 
	program would have to remember to execute MAILOF.  This program will
	operate correctly even if the user was never logged onto the EMAIL
	system.


To use this new version of EMAIL you need to do the following:


	1 - Add all Alpha Base users to the EMAIL user file (see EMAIL.OPR).

	2 - Rename the AB LOGIN.LIT program to LOGINE.LIT (in the SYS account).

	3 - Rename the LOGIN.EML program to LOGIN.LIT and copy it to the
	    SYS account.  (Also make sure you copy E.LIT and the updated
	    versions of EMAIL.LIT and MAILON.LIT to the SYS account).

	4 - Modify your AMOSL.INI file (work on a copy of course!) to place
	    E.LIT, LOGINE.LIT, LOGIN.LIT, MAILON.LIT, and MAILOF.LIT in
	    system memory.  You may also want to place EMAIL.LIT in system
	    memory.  (If you use the AB configurator, you must make these
	    changes there.)  NOTE:  This step is optional, but recommended.

	5 - Change field #10 (Menu # or .CMD) in the Alpha Base User File
	    to use the E.LIT program (see above) for each user who will
	    be accessing EMAIL.

	6 - Add the EMAIL command to all menus (you may also add it to the
	    FLPCTL.DIR file if you have FLIP and want to make it a FLIP
	    executive function).

	7 - Call Michael Spalding at 312-564-8181 if you have problems.