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Annotation of 43BSD/contrib/notes/doc/2.2, revision 1.1

1.1     ! root        1: .ls 1
        !             2: .se "Other Commands"
        !             3: 
        !             4: .ss "Returning to the Index Page"
        !             5: 
        !             6:        Type ``i'' (``index'') while reading notes or responses
        !             7: to return to the index page.
        !             8: 
        !             9: .ss "Searching Titles for Keywords"
        !            10: 
        !            11:        Notesfiles can search backwards for keywords appearing in note titles.
        !            12: Typing ``x'' (``x is the unknown title'') prompts for the substring to be found.
        !            13: Searching begins
        !            14: at the current note (or from the last note shown on the index page)
        !            15: and proceeds towards note 1.
        !            16: Upper/lower case information is ignored in the search.
        !            17: Use upper case ``X'' to continue the search.
        !            18: The search can be aborted by hitting the RUBOUT (or DELETE) key.
        !            19: 
        !            20: .ss "Searching for Authors"
        !            21: 
        !            22:        The ``a'' command searches backwards for notes or responses written by
        !            23: a specific author.
        !            24: Notesfiles prompts for the authors name. 
        !            25: The ``A'' command continues the search  backwards.
        !            26: The author name may be preceded by an optional `system!'.
        !            27: Abort the search by hitting the RUBOUT (or DELETE) key.
        !            28: 
        !            29:        The entire name need not be specified when searching
        !            30: for articles by a particular author.
        !            31: Author searching uses substring searching.
        !            32: Searching for the author ``john'' will yield articles written
        !            33: by a local user ``john'', 
        !            34: a remote user ``somewhere!johnston'',
        !            35: and any articles from the ``uiucjohnny'' machine.
        !            36: Author searching is case sensitive.
        !            37: 
        !            38: .ss "Stacking Notesfiles"
        !            39: 
        !            40:        Sometimes it is useful to be able to 
        !            41: glance at another notesfile while reading notes.
        !            42: Using ``n'', the user can save (stack) his current place and peruse
        !            43: another notesfile.
        !            44: 
        !            45:        When on the index page or while reading notes/responses,
        !            46: type ``n'' (``nest'')
        !            47: to read another notesfile.
        !            48: Notesfiles prompts for the notesfile to read.
        !            49: If the notesfile exists, the place is marked in the old notesfile
        !            50: and the new one's index is displayed.
        !            51: 
        !            52:        Type any of the standard keys to leave the nested notesfile.
        !            53: Both ``q'' and ``Q'' leave the nested notesfile
        !            54: and return to the previously stacked notesfile.
        !            55: Control-d (``signoff'') causes the notesfile program to exit regardless
        !            56: of the depth of nesting.
        !            57: 
        !            58:        Sequencing is turned off in the new notesfile
        !            59: regardless of its state in the old notesfile.
        !            60: The depth of the stack of notesfiles is limited only by the 
        !            61: amount of memory available to the user.
        !            62: 
        !            63: .ss "Accessing Archives"
        !            64: 
        !            65:        As notesfiles grow, it becomes impractical to keep every discussion.
        !            66: In some cases, the old discussions are deleted;
        !            67: other cases require these old discussions to be saved somewhere.
        !            68: Each active notesfile can have an archive notesfile.
        !            69: An archive notesfile contains the old discussions from the
        !            70: active notesfile.
        !            71: 
        !            72:        The archive of an active notesfile is accessed by explicitly
        !            73: naming the notesfile (/usr/spool/oldnotes/micronotes for example)
        !            74: or through the ``N'' command from the active notesfile.
        !            75: 
        !            76: .ss "Policy Note"
        !            77: 
        !            78:        A notesfile director can write an optional policy note to describe
        !            79: the purpose of a notesfile.
        !            80: Read the policy note by typing ``p'' (``policy'') from the index page.
        !            81: 
        !            82: .se "The Sequencer"
        !            83: 
        !            84:        Most users prefer to scan notesfiles and see only those notes written
        !            85: since their last reading.
        !            86: The notesfile ``sequencer'' provides this capability.
        !            87: It is activated by the ``-s'' option (``sequencer'') on the
        !            88: command line.
        !            89: When the sequencer is activated, the notesfile system automatically remembers
        !            90: the last time the user read notes in each notesfile.
        !            91: Subsequent entries to the
        !            92: notesfile can use the ``last time'' information to show only new notes and
        !            93: responses.
        !            94: If there is nothing new in a notesfile, 
        !            95: the sequencer proceeds to the next notesfile specified in the command line.
        !            96: 
        !            97:        The normal sequencer does not give the user a chance to read
        !            98: the notesfile if there are no new notes or responses;
        !            99: sometimes it is desirable to be able to do so.
        !           100: Use the ``-x'' option
        !           101: to enable the sequencer and enter the  notesfile 
        !           102: even if there are no new notes.
        !           103: 
        !           104:        No keys need be pressed if there are no new notes in the entire list
        !           105: and the normal (``-s'') sequencer mode is selected.
        !           106: With the extended (``-x'') sequencer,
        !           107: the user must type ``q'', ``Q'', or control-d
        !           108: for each notesfile regardless of whether
        !           109: there are new notes.
        !           110: 
        !           111:        The ``-i'' mode of sequencing is similar to the ``-s'' mode. 
        !           112: Using the ``-i'' mode, notesfiles with no new entries are passed over.
        !           113: The user starts reading
        !           114: on the index page of notesfiles which contain new notes.
        !           115: 
        !           116: .ss "Seeing New Notes and Responses"
        !           117: 
        !           118:        The sequencer always shows the base note of a
        !           119: modified note string,
        !           120: whether or not is has been shown before,
        !           121: in order to establish the context of the new response(s).
        !           122: The ``j'' command skips to the next modified text (note or response).
        !           123: 
        !           124:        If the rest of a particular note string seems uninteresting,
        !           125: skip to the next modified note string with the ``J'' (``big Jump'')
        !           126: command.
        !           127: This skips any new responses on the current note string.
        !           128: It is common to follow in detail only a few note strings and
        !           129: skip others with the ``J'' command.
        !           130: 
        !           131:        The ``last time'' information is kept in a special file for
        !           132: each user.
        !           133: When the sequencer is enabled, the time for the notesfile
        !           134: is loaded into
        !           135: a variable and used to specify which notes and responses are new.
        !           136: If the sequencer is not enabled, this variable is initialized to
        !           137: January 1, 1970.
        !           138: The ``j'' and ``J'' keys use this variable to determine which
        !           139: notes and responses are ``new''.
        !           140: 
        !           141:        If the sequencer is enabled,
        !           142: after exiting a notesfile
        !           143: the ``last time'' information 
        !           144: is updated to the time that the user entered this notesfile. The
        !           145: entry time is used rather than the exit time to ensure that all
        !           146: notes are seen, including ones written during the just completed
        !           147: session.
        !           148: If the sequencer is disabled, the ``last time'' information is
        !           149: not modified.
        !           150: The ``last time'' information for a particular notesfile is updated
        !           151: as that notesfile is exited;
        !           152: using ``Q'' or control-D later will have no effect on the sequencer
        !           153: information for notesfiles already read.
        !           154: 
        !           155:        The ``o'' and ``O'' commands allow the user to modify the
        !           156: variable used to determine whether notes and responses are ``new''.
        !           157: The ``o'' command allows the user to set this variable to any 
        !           158: date he wishes.
        !           159: Use the ``O'' command to set this variable to show
        !           160: only notes and responses written that day.
        !           161: The ``last time'' file kept for each user is never modified by
        !           162: the ``o'' and ``O'' commands.
        !           163: 
        !           164:        When no more new notes or responses exist, both the 
        !           165: ``j'' and ``J'' commands will take the user to the index page.
        !           166: To exit the notesfile, use the ``q'' command.
        !           167: Exiting with ``q'' will update the user's
        !           168: ``last entry'' time.
        !           169: Exiting with capital ``Q'' will NOT modify the 
        !           170: ``last entry'' time for that notesfile
        !           171: (neither will control-D).
        !           172: 
        !           173:        The ``l'' and ``L'' command behave similarly to ``j'' and
        !           174: ``J''.
        !           175: The difference is that while ``j'' and ''J' take the user to
        !           176: the last index page when no more new notes or responses
        !           177: exist, the ``l'' and ``L'' commands will leave the notesfile
        !           178: as if a ``q'' had been typed.
        !           179: Thus when no more new notes exist, the ``l'' command is
        !           180: like typing ``jq''.
        !           181: 
        !           182: .ss "Alternate Sequencers"
        !           183: 
        !           184:        If several people share a signon,
        !           185: it is convenient for each to have his own set of sequencing
        !           186: timestamps.
        !           187: This is accomplished through the use of the 
        !           188: subsequencer option of notesfiles.
        !           189: 
        !           190:        Specifying the -a option and a subsequencer name
        !           191: causes notes to use a different sequencing timestamp file.
        !           192: Many different subsequencer names can be used with
        !           193: each signon.
        !           194: Two different users using the same subsequencer name will not
        !           195: conflict.
        !           196: It is recommended that all the subsequencer names for a given
        !           197: user be unique in the first 6 characters.
        !           198: 
        !           199:        The main sequencer file for a given user is distinct from
        !           200: each of its subsequencer files.
        !           201: Each of the subsequencer files is normally distinct.
        !           202: If the subsequencer names are not distinct in the 
        !           203: first 6 characters, subsequencer files may collide.
        !           204: 
        !           205: .ss "Automatic Sequencing"
        !           206: 
        !           207:        An alternate entry to the notes program
        !           208: allows the user to invoke notes with the sequencer enabled and a list
        !           209: of notesfiles to be scanned with a single,
        !           210: simple
        !           211: command.
        !           212: The ``autoseq'' command is invoked by typing
        !           213: 
        !           214:        autoseq
        !           215: 
        !           216: and reads the environment variable ``NFSEQ'' to find the names of all 
        !           217: notesfiles to be scanned.
        !           218: On some systems, the ``autoseq'' command
        !           219: may be known as ``readnotes'', ``autonotes'' or some similar
        !           220: variant;
        !           221: substitute the appropriate name in the following paragraphs.
        !           222: The ``NFSEQ'' variable should be defined in .profile for
        !           223: Bourne shell users as follows:
        !           224: 
        !           225: .nf
        !           226: .ls 1
        !           227:        NFSEQ=``pbnotes,micronotes,helpnotes,works''
        !           228:        export NFSEQ
        !           229: .ls
        !           230: .fi
        !           231: 
        !           232: For users of the C shell, the following line should be
        !           233: added to the .login file:
        !           234: 
        !           235: .nf
        !           236:        setenv  NFSEQ   ``pbnotes,micronotes,helpnotes,works''
        !           237: .fi
        !           238: 
        !           239:        With NFSEQ assigned this value,
        !           240: a call to autoseq will process the notesfiles 
        !           241: ``pbnotes'',
        !           242: ``micronotes'',
        !           243: ``helpnotes'',
        !           244: and
        !           245: ``works''
        !           246: with the sequencer turned on.
        !           247: 
        !           248:        The full naming conventions,
        !           249: pattern matching capabilities,
        !           250: and `!' exclusion 
        !           251: described in section 2.2
        !           252: (``Notesfile Names and Wildcards'') are available in autoseq.
        !           253: To read all notesfiles with ``unix'' in their names, and the
        !           254: four test notesfiles (``test1'' though ``test4''), the NFSEQ 
        !           255: variable might be defined as:
        !           256: 
        !           257:        NFSEQ=``*unix*,test[1234]''
        !           258: 
        !           259:        If the first character of an entry in the NFSEQ list is ``:'',
        !           260: the notesfile system reads the file name following for a list of
        !           261: notesfiles. 
        !           262: To have the automatic sequencer read the file ``/usr/essick/.nfseq''
        !           263: for a list of notesfiles to scan, define NFSEQ as:
        !           264: 
        !           265:        NFSEQ=``:/usr/essick/.nfseq''
        !           266: 
        !           267:        For this feature to work, the  file must have group read
        !           268: privileges.
        !           269: The notesfile program runs ``set-uid'' and 
        !           270: can not read files which are readable only by the owner.
        !           271: 
        !           272:        The following definitions are also valid.
        !           273: The first one reads the notesfiles specified in the file ``/usr/essick/.nfseq''
        !           274: and then reads the notesfiles pbnotes and micronotes.
        !           275: The second definition will read the notesfile pbnotes, those specified in
        !           276: ``/usr/essick/.nfseq'', micronotes and the ones specified in
        !           277: ``/usr/essick/.other''.
        !           278: If the notesfile program is unable to read the file specified, it
        !           279: skips to the next entry.
        !           280: For a description of the format of these files, see the section 2.3,
        !           281: ``The -f Option''.
        !           282: 
        !           283:        NFSEQ=``:/usr/essick/.nfseq,pbnotes,micronotes''
        !           284: 
        !           285:        NFSEQ=``pbnotes,:/usr/essick/.nfseq,micronotes,:/usr/essick/.other''
        !           286: 
        !           287: 
        !           288:        The automatic sequencer uses the ``-s'' mode of sequencing,
        !           289: the user does not enter notesfiles which have no new text.
        !           290: By specifying ``-x'' or ``-i'' on the command line, the user can
        !           291: use the appropriate sequencer mode.
        !           292: 
        !           293:        The subsequencer option of notes is available from the
        !           294: autoseq program by specifying ``-a name'' on the command line.
        !           295: The semantics of this option are identical to those when
        !           296: invoking notes.
        !           297: 
        !           298: .se "Environment Variables"
        !           299: 
        !           300:        The notesfile program reads several environment variables to
        !           301: tailor the system to the user's preferences.
        !           302: Below is a list of the variables,
        !           303: their purpose,
        !           304: and
        !           305: their default values.
        !           306: These defaults are for UNIX 4.1bsd and may be slightly different 
        !           307: for other versions of UNIX.
        !           308: 
        !           309: .bx
        !           310: .ix
        !           311: ``NFED'' specifies which editor will be invoked when the user writes a
        !           312: note or response. 
        !           313: If this variable is not specified, the notesfile system looks for
        !           314: the environment variable ``EDITOR'' (which many other programs use).
        !           315: If neither ``NFED'' nor ``EDITOR'' are defined, a default editor is
        !           316: used (/bin/ed).
        !           317: .ix 
        !           318: ``NFSEQ'' is a list of notesfiles that the user wishes to scan using the
        !           319: automatic sequencing entry to notesfiles.
        !           320: The use of this variable is described in the section on sequencing.
        !           321: If unspecified, the system uses a standard set which usually includes
        !           322: ``general'' and ``net.general''.
        !           323: .ix
        !           324: ``PAGER'' is the paging program (``more'', ``pg'') which is used for scrolling
        !           325: the help files.
        !           326: The default paging program is /usr/ucb/more.
        !           327: .ix
        !           328: ``MAILER'' determines the mail program to use. If undefined, this defaults
        !           329: to /usr/ucb/mail.
        !           330: .ix
        !           331: ``WRITE'' is used to specify the program for communication between users.
        !           332: If undefined, the Unix program ``write'' is used.
        !           333: .ix
        !           334: ``TERM'' determines the type of terminal in use. This must be set
        !           335: for notes to know what screen addressing conventions to use. In most
        !           336: cases the value will be correctly initialized by the system at login
        !           337: time.
        !           338: .ix 
        !           339: ``SHELL'' specifies which shell the user is running.
        !           340: This will almost always be set by the operating system.
        !           341: .ex

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