X-Acknowledge-To: <YAKLEINE@PLKRCY11>
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.mailbook
Date:         Tue, 14 Apr 1992 12:53:25 MET
From:         Adam Kleiner <YAKLEINE@PLKRCY11.BITNET>
Subject:      Re: PREvious subcommand

On Thu, 9 Apr 92 10:46:58 EDT Fran Hensler said:
>            The PREvious subcommand would be perfect except that it goes
>back to the previous UNDISCARDED mail.  I've never had a case when I wanted
>to do this.
>
>Richard, would you consider an option on the PREvious subcommand to go back
>to the absolute previous mail?  Or maybe a SETMAIL option for the PREVious
>subcommand?
>
>Maybe the list would respond with how useful the PREvious subcommand is in
>it's present form.
>
(To avoid reading this wordy letter in whole, see the paragraph index
at the bottom; the present paragraph treated as 0).

I would be glad if such a change would be introduced - esspecially if
optional (e.g. PRIOR). Instead of discarding I try to disperse my mail
into several notebooks (e.g. FUTURE, LOWIMPORtance, ...). Still I often want
to go back to absolutely previous mail (MOVEd mail is also marked a '-').

By the way, it would be of use to keep track (during a single session), where
the particular letters were moved/copied - and allow to query for it.

It would also be of use, to have a feature in MAILBOOK to add a comment to
the subject - which might be more informative to the reader than the subject
itself. Of course there is the problem of room on the screen - the user might
decide to display his comments INSTEAD the subject. The comment should be
'add-able' both while working with a single notebook, and while moving mail
from one mailbook (esspecially from MAIL command) to another.

Or at least make it possible to edit the subject field AND the 'To:' field
which is rather unimportant in most cases in the archieved incoming mail. The
user might then decide to use this field in the mentioned meaning.
(It does not matter, that the saved mail will not be equal to the received
one: if sb wants to make a false copy, it is sufficient to XEDIT the notebook).

And it would be great, if such a comment once typed could be available
at least for the next mail item, entered by the NEXT subcommand.

By the way - one more general suggestion: would it be possible to allow
defining a PF key while in the 'ReadMail' context, so that it would
retain the assigned value after 'NEXT'. It would e.g. help
to define many PFs as 'MOVE name' during the session, and
thus to have it easier to move items, as well as to keep track
of what notebooks were used (or even created) during the session.

Of course it is not a solution to edit the MAILUSER XEDIT file: it would
start to work after reentering MAIL/MAILBOOK - is it right?
What I ask for, is a convenient usage of a notebook, created when a necesity
arised (without leaving MAIL).

Adam Kleiner

(A system analyst in Academic Computer Center 'CYFRONET', Cracow, Poland)

Paragraph index of this letter (2-7 are wishes, not solutions):
1: 'Absolutely PREVious' subcommand - I'd appreciate
2: Keeping track of MOVEs in MAIL/MAILBOOK
3,4,5: Adding a comment (changing subjects) to incoming mail
6,7: Holding PFxx definitions after 'NEXT' subcommand
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU