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e*Mail: a replacement for the built-in Mail application of Palm OS devices

e*Mail includes very minor enhancements to the built-in Mail application of Palm OS devices. It can be used as replacement for built-in Mail. You can use e*Mail free of charge. `e*' means `e + wildcard'. So `enhanced', `essential', `elementary', 'enchanted', 'electric', 'elegant (!)', 'enjoyable'etc.

Index

• Introduction
• Features
• FAQ
• Known problems
• System requirements
• Compatibility
• Download
• Mailing list
• History
• ToDo (including dreams)
• Acknowledgements
• Notice
• Disclaimer

Introduction: How e*Mail began

I had been using the built-in Mail application for reading and writing e-mail while I'm going out. The built-in Mail is a useful application, on the other hand it's a quite simple application. I was beginning to think that I wanna some features it lacks... So I decided to make a replacement for myself.

Features

• Fully compatible with the built-in Mail application. (of course!)
• User interfaces are not drastically changed. And I will not change as much as possible in the future.
• You can reverse the sort order on the list view.
• You can ignore 'Re:', 'RE:', 're:', 'Fw:', 'FW:', 'fw:', 'Aw:', 'AW:', 'aw:' at the head of Subject: when sorting.

  

• You can leave an opened, ie. read, message unread.

  

• You can set the default BCC address.

  

• Time-stamp sent messages:
  You can record date and time when you put an outgoing message in Outbox, i.e. you tap the 'Send' button. This feature was suggested by Roger Sondermann <r.so@b...>.
• Purge deleted messages completely:
  You can purge the deleted messages completely from device. By default entries of deleted messages remain until next HotSync. With this option you can erase both entries and data of deleted messages immediately. This will break normal HotSync operation. Use this with caution.
• Adjustable Clipboard limit for the message view:
  You can configure clipboard limit from 1000 to 32767 bytes. The default is 1000 bytes which is the same amount as built-in Mail.
  This feature affects the message view only. You don't need any system extensions to use this feature.
  (For the edit view or new message view, you need system extensions to expand clipboard size.)
  This feature may push PalmOS to its limit. You should make sure the copied text is pasted to the destination correctly. Things like silently truncated pasted text might happen. (although I haven't experienced this.)
• You can set a maximum of 32000 bytes for the HotSync truncation size. (new feature of version 0.1.6)

  

• You can delete messages in Inbox according to certain criteria, read flag, and/or message fields: From, Subject, To, Cc. (new feature of 0.2.0)

  

• You can preserve original linefeed when composing a reply message.

  

• Use Reply-To header:
  You can honor Reply-To header of original message.
• Can edit the comment prefix characters.
• Can omit the first linefeed at the top of quoted body of reply message.

FAQ

• What is e*Mail?
  e*Mail is an enhanced version of the built-in Mail application. 'e*' means 'e' + '*' (wild card character:-). It can match 'enhanced', 'essential', 'elementary', 'enchanted', 'electric', 'elegant (!)', 'enjoyable', etc...
• What is 'enhanced'?
  Please look at Features section of this page.
• Are there known limitation or bugs?
  Please check Known Problems section of this page.
• e*Mail can work with m100, m105?
  It should work. To HotSync messages you should install MailStub (a stub application to enable e-mail HotSync for m10X), too. BE SURE TO LAUNCH e*Mail AT LEAST ONCE BEFORE FIRST HotSync AFTER INSTALLATION. And you might need Mail conduit on your desktop PC or Mac.
• Can I delete built-in Mail from ROM?
  Yes. But HotSync no longer works. e*Mail needs built-in Mail for HotSync with desktop. (Technically speaking, you need a PalmOS database which has `appl' type and `mail' creator id.) You can install MailStub as the substitute for built-in Mail. MailStub was made for Palm m10X series, but it also works with other Palm OS devices for this purpose.
• Which information is shared with built-in Mail?
  1. Mail database (which contains messages themselves)
  2. HotSync options
  3. Signature text
• Sometimes the truncation size revert to 4000 characters why?
  Did you launch built-in Mail and open the HotSync Options -> Truncate... dialog? The built-in Mail changes the truncation size to default 4000 characters if the value is over 8000 characters.
• I've found a problem. Where and whom should I report? What kind of information should be provided?
  You should send a report to me via e-mail. It should contain the following information:
  • Version number of e*Mail. You can see the version number on About e*Mail screen.
  • The model of your Palm OS device on which you use e*Mail
  • Operating system version of your Palm OS device on which you use e*Mail
  • Other email softwares you use with e*Mail, e.g. Top Gun Postmain , standard Mail conduit etc.
  • Problem details and how to repeat it
  • Other relevant information

  In short, exact procedure to reproduce the problem is helpful to hunt down the cause of the problem.

• Please explain what the 'Purge deleted messages completely' option does
  When you do 'Purge Deleted...' on the built-in Mail application the data of messages themselves deleted but the header information of messages won't be deleted. Usually these entries are deleted when you do HotSync. But if you never use Mail conduit, these invisible entries will accumulate. This can affect performance. With this option you can delete these entries without HotSync. This option is useful for who exclusively use Top Gun Postmain .
  This option will break normal HotSync operation. (e.g. Messages deleted on device reappear after next HotSync.) So if you use standard Mail conduit regularly you should not set this option.
• And what 'Time-stamp sent messages' does?
  With this option you can record date and time for sent messages. Date and time are recorded when you `save' an outgoing messages, i.e. when you tap `Send' button in message edit view. This option is meant for sorting messages by date and time in Outbox, Draft and Filed.
• I found weird expression in documentation and messages of program itself.
  Because I am not a native speaker of English. So if you find mistakes or typos please let me know. Any suggestions and corrections, better expressions are welcome.
• I wanna remove e*Mail. Can I go back to built-in Mail easily?
  Yes. Just delete e*Mail using the application launcher. Your data is intact. If you installed MailStub, don't use the default application launcher, instead you should use database management software like Filez, Zcatalog or your mail data will be lost.
• I want the feature which deletes all messages in Inbox in one fell swoop.
  A Tip. Enter `@' at From: field of Delete Messages dialog then tap OK. If you do this often, be sure to check `Save as default'. If you live in the UUCP or MHS world it may not work, though :-)
• What `clipboard limit' can affect?
  With this option, You can configure clipboard size from 1000 to 32767 bytes. The default is 1000 bytes which is the same amount as built-in Mail.
  This feature affects the message view only. You don't need any system extensions to use this feature.
  (For the edit view or new message view, you need system extensions to expand clipboard size.)
  You should make sure the copied text is pasted to the destination correctly. Things like silently truncated pasted text might happen. (although I haven't experienced this.)
• Which is your first name?
  `Shigeru' is my first name. :-)

Known problems

currently none.

System requirements

PalmOS 3.1 or greater.

Compatibility

For m100 and m105 you need MailStub (a stub application to enable e-mail HotSync for m10X). YOU MUST LAUNCH e*Mail AT LEAST ONCE BEFORE FIRST HOTSYNC AFTER INSTALLATION of MailStub!

Tested on the following configurations:

• IBM WorkPad30J PalmOS3.1J (PalmIIIx Japanese edition)
• TRGpro US version PalmOS 3.5.3 AutoCF 1.1
• Visor (2M model, Visor Solo package, English PalmOS3.1H3)
• Visor Deluxe Japanese PalmOS3.1H3
• PalmDesktop 3.1H on Windows NT4.0 Workstation SP6a with Hotfixes
• Outlook 2000 SP2 with various security fixes

And I tested on various debug ROMs with POSE, tortured it with various Gremlin Hordes.

I've got reports that e*Mail also works fine with the following devices:

• Handspring Visor Deluxe
• PalmIIIxe, PalmOS3.3
• Handspring Visor Platinum
• Palm m505
• Palm m105
• Palm m100
• Sony CLIE S320
• Handspring Visor Prism
• Sony CLIE S300
• Sony CLIE T415
• Palm m130: reported by Kenneth Davis <davis@c...>
• Handera 330: Scale to fit mode, reported by ...
• Palm m130 & e*Mail on SD card, MailStub on RAM: reported by Jeffery <collegea@y>
• PalmIIIxe, PalmOS4.1: reported by Jeferson Martinho
• Sony CLIE TH-55: reported by Nora Flaherty
• PalmOne Treo 600 & 650: reported by Michael Rothstein

I'd be happy to receive your reports.

Some people use ProxiMail with e*Mail.
BUT you can no longer download ProxiMail. You can use the precursor to this program, Top Gun Postmain instead. Thanks, Mr Wayne S. Mery @ Lehigh University for the info. (2003-08-06)

I'm using and pilot-mail (with my local modification) which comes with pilot-link.

And recently I'm syncing with OutLook 2000. (2001-10-16)

I've got a report from a user of Dataviz Mail. e*Mail works fine with it. (2002-02-22)

Download

The latest stable release is 1.5.9. (If you are using m100 or m105 you need MailStub for e-mail HotSync. AND YOU MUST LAUNCH e*Mail AT LEAST ONCE BEFORE FIRST HOTSYNC AFTER INSTALLATION of MailStub!)

If you agree with the notice and disclaimer which described later of this page, you can get e*Mail from here.

MD5 (eMail-1.5.9.zip) = 019b9755313f6bcc34caad6076c9c89b
      

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Mailing list

mailing list for announcement of updates, new release and other important information about e*Mail from me. To join, just send an empty message to [email protected] .

History

• 0.1 (2000-11-20)
  • Initial release.
• 0.1.1: (2000-11-25)
  • Changed ROM version check code.
• 0.1.2: (2000-11-27)
  • Added mark unread on close feature.
• 0.1.3: (2000-11-29)
  • Share preference with built-in Mail.
• 0.1.4: (2000-11-30)
  • Redesign of handling of Preferences.
  • Fixed the bug: could not enter characters except numbers on signature edit field.
• 0.1.5: (2000-12-01)
  • Added New Message with BCC option.
  • Improved efficiency of sorting on list view.
• 0.1.6: (2000-12-02)
  • Added 16000 bytes and 32000 bytes to truncation option.
• 0.1.7: (2000-12-03)
  • Added some more details on Truncation help text.
• 0.2.0: (2000-12-04)
  • Delete messages in batch manner feature.
  • Fixed a display problem of list view: the right side of date field is truncated when no scroll bar shows.
• 0.2.1: (2000-12-05)
  • Fixed the size mismatch of field on Delete messages dialog code.
• 0.2.2: (2000-12-08)
  • Fixed the bug, The field which is once edited and all characters deleted was interpreted as non-empty string.
• 0.2.3: (2000-12-09)
  • Fixes and tweaks on Truncation option help text.
• 0.2.4: (2000-12-23)
  • Added standard edit menu commands to Delete messages dialog.
• 0.2.5: (2000-12-24)
  • Added the 'Delete...' button on List view.
• 0.2.6: (2000-12-25)
  • Expanded the size of fields to maximum 20 bytes.
  • Adjusted the position of bitmap and strings.
• 0.2.7: (2000-12-26)
  • Added menu shortcut command for batch deletion.
• 0.2.8: (2001-02-04)
  • Updated copyright notice, contact information.
• 0.2.9: (2001-03-28)
  • Fixed typo and grammer.
• 0.3: (2001-04-02)
  • Applied 'indent --gnu-style' on all source files.
• 0.3.1: (2001-04-04)
  • Rewrited the code of batch deletion.
• 0.3.2: (2001-04-06)
  • Source code tweaks.
• 0.3.3: (2001-04-21)
  • Added the workaround for the problem of display of label on top of message view screen.
• 0.3.4: (2001-04-23)
  • Ignore certain prefix when sort by subject: add 'FW:', 'Fw:', 'fw:', 'AW:', 'Aw:', 'aw:' to the list.
• 0.3.5: (2001-04-26)
  • Sort messages at startup if Mail database has been modified since the last launch of e*Mail.
• 1.0: (2001-05-02)
  • Changed application name from eMail to e*Mail.
  • Added an option that preserve original linefeed when replying.
• 1.1: (2001-05-05)
  • Added option: can hide address column.
  • Minor tweaks and fixes.
• 1.2: (2001-05-10)
  • Added an option which purge deleted message completely (both record data and record entry) from MailDB.
  • Time-stamp sent message feature.
  • Minor fixes.
• 1.3: (2001-05-17)
  • Reply Options dialog: comment prefix is configurable.
  • Added option, honor Reply-To header when replying if it exist in original message.
• 1.3.1: (2001-07-12)
  • Fixed the bug inherited from built-in Mail: Crash (DataMgr.c, Line 4627) after purging deleted messages.
  • Updated contact information.
• 1.3.2: (2001-07-19)
  • Added workaround for the ellipsis display bug of latin PalmOS 3.1.
  • Switched from SDK 3.5 to SDK 4.0.
• 1.4: (2001-07-21)
  • Removed New message with BCC feature and added default BCC address feature.
  • A bug fix imported from SDK 4.0 example
  • Corrected typos.
• 1.5: (2001-08-05)
  • Expanded comment prefix to 2 characters.
  • Added 'Save as default' checkbox to Delete messages dialog.
• 1.5.1: (2001-08-17)
  • Fixed occasional crash on Reply options dialog on PalmOS 3.5 and PalmOS 4.0 devices.
  • Fixed the crash problem: use of Find function while composing a new message.
  • Eliminated the UI Manager memory access warnings when running on POSE.
  • Color and grey scale icons.
• 1.5.2: (2001-08-19)
  • Fix for the error on POSE when pushing clear button on Delete Messages dialog while all or portions of the text of the field is selected.
  • Some source code tweaks.
• 1.5.3: (2001-10-15)
  • E*Mail won't run on PalmOS 3.0, modified ROM version check to reflect this.
  • Replaced bullet marks with 'o's on help text for non-latin devices.
• 1.5.4: (2001-10-22)
  • Resource fix for m100 and m105 compatibility and workaround for the API (FntWordWrap) bug (Entering characters like per mille sign as comment prefix. Then opening and closing software keyboard will go into infinite loop inside PalmOS.).
• 1.5.5: (2001-10-26)
  • Fixed the flash ROM compatibility problem. Now can launch from flash ROM and Flash module springboard.
• 1.5.6: (2002-02-09)
  • Fixed handling of high priority messages when reversed sort order is selected.
  • Expanded size of fields of Delete messages dialog.
• 1.5.7: (2002-05-12)
  • New feature: Clipboard limit of message view is adjustable.
  • New feature: Ignore priority when sorting.
• 1.5.8: (2002-08-10)
  • Bug fix: Clipboard limit could have any value.
  • And other minor corrections: typo on help text, resouce fix.
• 1.5.9: (2003-02-11)
  • Bug fix: fix for the crash on a hard reset if e*Mail is moved to flash ROM using flashpro, jackflash etc.
  • Typo fix: help text of Preferences diallog.

ToDo (including dreams)

• fill-region like emacs.
• More source code clean up.
• sort by GMT. (Because no information about time zone is not in Mail database this is impossible.)
• Make flags of a message (read or unread, priority) editable.
• Switch to other application, especially MRA like POPJ.
• l10n. Localization of menus, dialogs, folder names etc.
• PGP signing, encryption.
• Add the date to the deletion criteria.
• Import the feature of Mail4.0. (mailto: URL)
• Handle prevFieldChr and nextFieldChr at forms.
• Handle `Aw:' and others when add the prefix to subject field.
• Add option: remove CR at the 1st line of body when replying.
• Color icons. (implemented in 1.5.1 with gray scale icons.)
• Add scroll bar at signature text of Preference dialog.
• Support HotSync without built-in Mail (I've made MailStub for this. 2001-10-22)
• External Keyboard support

Acknowledgements

Firstly I thank Palm, Inc. and its subsidiaries very very much. To allow the modification of SDK examples and the release of the modified application.

And of course, many thanks go to the contributers of gcc, binutils, prc-tools, POSE, OpenBSD, NetBSD, pilrc.

And here is the people who sent me valuable suggestions and bug reports. I appreciate very much. Thanks.

• Anthony Schellenberg <aschell2000@...> who suggested increased truncation size.
• Roger Sondermann <r.so@...> who sent me many suggestions and bug reports.
• Tim Huege <tim@...> who suggested the default BCC address feature and reported the ellipsis display problem on Visor Deluxe.
• Matt Dawson <mdawson8@...> who suggested using e*Mail with Bookmark DA.
• Jeferson Martinho <jcsm@...> who reported the crash bug on OS 3.5 or later.
• Wayne Kao <kaotao@...> who suggested color icons.
• J.Carlis <unpower@...>who tested color and gray scale icons on real color device and reported the transparency problem of color icons.
• Roger Sondermann <r.so@...> & Robert J. Malo <rmalo@...> who suggested enlarged clipboard limit.
• C. Shamis <cshamis@...> who suggested `ignore priority' feature.
• Nora Flaherty <nflaherty@...> who tell me about compatibility with AddressPlus.
• And many others.

Notice

• You can use e*Mail free of charge. Beaming, copying and distribution without charge is granted.
• The source code of e*Mail is based on the code of Mail example of PalmOS SDK3.5.
• The author retains the copyright of e*Mail. And portions of e*Mail copyrighted by Palm, Inc. or subsidiaries.
• The author is not responsible for any damages caused directly or indirectly by the use of e*Mail . Use e*Mail at your own risk.
• Reverse engineering and modification without consent of author is strictly prohibited.

Disclaimer

This software is provided by the author ``as is'' and any express or implied warranties, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose are disclaimed. In no event shall the author be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, or consequential damages (including, but not limited to, procurement of substitute goods or services; loss of use, data, or profits; or business interruption) however caused and on any theory of liability, whether in contract, strict liability, or tort (including negligence or otherwise) arising in any way out of the use of this software, even if advised of the possibility of such damage.

Comments, suggestions and donations are welcome.

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Copyright (c) 1999-2003 IKEDA Shigeru. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Last modified $Date: 2005/07/23 04:30:54 $