From: fairfield@slacvx.slac.stanford.edu
Subject: Re: Another VMS Mail oddity
Organization: Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 20:35:08 GMT

In article <1ej8t8INNh44@gap.caltech.edu>, carl@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU (Carl J Lydick) writes:
> In article <m0msJ36-00004EC@seciu.uy>, molnar@ort.edu.uy (Andres Molnar - CECOM) writes:
> =
> =I've been receiving info-vax on my MV3100 (VMS 5.4-2) for 20 days, and
> =yesterday I decided to organize the stuff into folders in a subdirectory
> =mail file. I selected some mails which were related to DCL, and I moved
> =them all to a new folder named "DCL":
> =
> =MAIL> mov/all dcl
> =Folder DCL does not exist.
> =Do you want to create it (Y/N, default is N)? y
> =%MAIL-I-NEWFOLDER, folder DCL created
>
> Are you sure you didn't:
> 	MAIL> mov/all "dcl"
> If that's what you did, it explains everything else.

[...]

> You probably quoted "dcl" in the original command.  You have to quote it in any
> subsequent commands or else mail will convert it to upper case.   I take it
> you're new to VMS?

    That _could_ be the anwser, it's clear that the above "MAIL> mov/all dcl"
command is _not_ a verbatim transcript.  Here's another hypothesis:

    I'll guess that what he did was to create the folder from the Decwindows
or DECwindows/Motif MAIL interface.  I ran into this quite some months ago 
with one of my users (a fairly sharp fellow, even if he _is_ my elder :-),
who used the Motif interface on his workstation while at work, but used
the DCL interface when he'd dial up from home in the evenings.  He brought
this very problem to my attention: having a lowercase or mixed-case folder
name and not being able to access the folder (apparently) from home (while
using the DCL MAIL interface).

    Just to further elucidate the point, here's a MAIL> DIR/FOLD from
one of the graduate students who uses the Motif interface exclusively:

        SLACVX::Hegonski> mail

        MAIL> dir/fold
        Listing of folders in DISK$TPC_USR0:[HEGONSKI.MAIL]MAIL.MAI;1
             Press CTRL/C to cancel listing
        Announcements                           Friends
        MAIL                                    Shotokan Karate
        Stafnord Roleplayers                    Technical
        Umass

        MAIL>

Notice that some of these folder names even include embedded spaces.  I think
the point is that these mixed-case folder names look "nice" when displayed
via DECwindows, so the interface supports them (or, more correctly, omits
upcasing them as DCL does).

    Is my hypothesis correct?  Only Andres can answer.  However, the moral of 
this story may be that if you frequently use the DCL interface in addition 
to the DECwindows interface, choose upper case folder names.  Otherwise, be 
prepared to quote your folder names...

		Cheers, Ken
--
 Dr. Kenneth H. Fairfield    |  Internet: Fairfield@Slac.Stanford.Edu
 SLAC, P.O.Box 4349, MS 98   |  DECnet:   45537::FAIRFIELD (45537=SLACVX)
 Stanford, CA   94309        |  BITNET    Fairfield@Slacvx
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 These opinions are mine, not SLAC's, Stanford's, nor the DOE's...
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms