Answers to things people Frequently Ask

Questions

1. How do I get an e-mail attachment into Word/WordPerfect etc. on the PC?
2. How do I download a file from my Unix account (e-mail) to my PC?

Answers

How do I get an e-mail attachment into Word/WordPerfect etc. on the PC?

Steps to get the attachment

1. From within Pine:
   1. use the V command to select View Attachment
   2. then use S to Save the attachment
   3. Pine may suggest a name for the file, otherwise give it a name of your own choosing. Remember this name, write it down if you are too dim to remember it for five minutes.
2. Download the file to your PC.
3. Open the file in whatever application it is meant to be opened in.

Problems you are going to have

1. You don't know what application to open the document in:

   This is a problem between you and the person who sent you the attachment. If you suspect the file is for a wordprocessor, but don't know which one, open the file in whatever wordprocessor you usually use. The wordprocessor may detect what type of file it is, and attempt to convert it to its own native format.

2. You think you know what type of file it is, but it doesn't work:

   The file may have appeared to download correctly to your PC, but when trying to open it, the application you are opening it with blows up, or doesn't read it correctly. Make sure you are reading it with the right application. Wordperfect may open some Word files, but not others.

   You could have made a mistake downloading the file. Check back in the downloading section and make sure you properly chose binary or text type.

   If you are sure you chose the correct type, and have downloaded the file again just to make sure, then it is possible the person sending you the attachment made some mistake. Ask the person to send it again, and try to get it right this time. Make sure you have downloaded the file correctly, because this step could make you look awfully foolish if the other person sent the file correctly.

3. You have forgotten the name of the file:

   File names in Unix are case sensitive. If the file was saved as Paper.doc (for example), then you must access the file as Paper.doc.

   If you are familiar with the Unix shell, you might try a command like ls to list the files in the directory. ls -tlr will sort the files backwards, by date, so the most recent files will be at the bottom of the screen.

   Go back into Pine and resave the attachment. This time remember the name the file is saved under.

How do I move a file between my Unix account (e-mail) and my PC?

Steps to login to ibgftp using ftp

1. Use ftp to connect to the machine ibgftp.

   Using a DOS computer (you get a C: prompt), type ftp ibgftp at the C: prompt.

2. You should then see a prompt that reads Username:. At this point type your username (the name you use to login) and press <enter>.
3. There will then be a prompt which reads Password:. At this prompt type your password and press <enter>.
4. You should now be at a prompt which reads ftp>.

Downloading a file

For our purposes, downloading a file is defined as moving a file from your Unix account to your PC.

1. Decide if the file you want to move is binary or text, and type binary or ascii to put ftp into the proper mode.
2. Do any movement to get to where the file is located.

   If you saved the file into your root directory (or you don't know where you saved it) then you probably don't have to do any movement. If you have to move to a different directory in your Unix account, use the cd command.

3. Use the ftp command get to move the file to your PC (get Paper.doc, get humor.txt).
4. You can now move more files, or logout.

Uploading a file

For our purposes, uploading a file is defined as moving the file from your PC to your Unix account.

1. Decide if the file you want to move is binary or text, and type binary or ascii to put ftp into the proper mode.
2. Do any movement to get to where the file is located.

   You may have started the ftp program in the directory that contains your file, then no movement is necessary. If you have to move to a different directory on your PC you can use the lcd command (lcd a:, lcd \wp51\saves, etc.).

3. Use the ftp command put to move the file to your Unix account (put Paper.doc, put humor.txt).
4. You can now move more files, or logout.

Deciding if you are moving a binary or text file.

If the file you are moving is one specific to a particular wordprocessor, such as Word or WordPerfect, or another application, like Excel, then you are probably moving a binary file. At the ftp> prompt, type binary. ftp should answer by replying 200 Type set to I..

If the file you are moving is plain text, such as an e-mail you saved (not an e-mail attachment) or saved as text from a wordprocessor, then the file is text. At the ftp> prompt, type ascii. ftp should answer by replying 200 Type set to A..

If you are unsure, then try the binary type. If when looking at your file after moving it, you see ^M at the end of every line or the entire file seems to only contain a single, long line of text, then the file is text and you should retransfer it using the ascii option.

Logging out of ftp

Type bye.