PsiCode v1.0 ============ About PsiCode ------------- PsiCode is a UUencode/UUdecode utility for the Psion 3a/3c. Uuencode/decode (UNIX-UNIX encode/decode) is one of the 'industry standards' for attaching files to e-mails, and is found in all common e-mail programs. UUencode/decode, also called UUcode, was developed initially for UNIX machines, where system administrators needed to send files to each other via e-mail. The files are 'UUencoded' by the sender, sent via e- mail, and then 'UUdecoded' by the recipient. PsiCode now brings you the flexibility of UUencode to your Psion. You can easily encode and attach files to an e-mail file in one simple step. PsiCode also lets you UUdecode and detach files from any UUencoded e-mail you may receive (after all, what good is encode without decode?!). If you use your Psion for e-mail, then a UUencode/decode utility is a must! Licence Agreement - IMPORTANT ----------------------------- Before using PsiCode, you must read and agree with the terms of the accompanying file LICENCE.TXT. Features -------- * Very fast. Main encode/decode functions are written in C. * Compatible with most existing UUencode programs. Tested with UNIX UUencode/decode (Sun release 4.1), UUlite for MAC, WinCode v2.7.2g, WinZip v6.2, Netscape v3.0. * Fully automatic decode. UUdecodes files from any source (Psion, MS-DOS, UNIX, MAC), and even decodes files encoded with the older Psion UUcode program. Any invalid Psion filenames (ie: from UNIX systems) are automatically renamed. * Finds up to 50 embedded UUencoded files and allows individual files to be extracted. * Ignores all UNIX directories and always tries to recover the proper file name when decoding. * User-selectable en- and decode filenames. You are prompted to enter a new filename or you can accept the proposed name. * Attaches files to ReadCIS MAILxx.OUT files, automatically UUencoding them in the process. A great feature for sending files with ReadCIS. * Detaches files from ReadCIS *.CIS files (ie: MAIL!.CIS), automatically UUdecoding them in the process. A great feature for receiving files with ReadCIS. * Can append any two files together, regardless of file type or size. * Selectable maximum line length for ReadCIS users who need to limit encoded files line lengths to 50 characters. * Selectable Psion/MS-DOS, UNIX or MAC UUencode file types. Useful when you know what platform the recipient has. * All preferences and last directory accessed are memorised between use. * Psion-compliant menus and dialogs. Uses standard hotkeys and menu layout for easy intuitive usage. * Built-in online help for all menus and dialogs. * Small program size (only ~7 k). Archive Contents ---------------- When you unpacked the archive you should have found these files... LICENCE.TXT User licence agreement README.TXT This documentation file PSICODE.OPA Main application file PSICODE.DYL Library file PSICODE.HLP Help file (optional) Installation ------------ PsiCode will install and run on the Psion series 3a and 3c, and should also run on the Siena (Oct 96: still untested). 1. Create a new directory on any disk to hold the PsiCode files - I recommend an \APP\PSICODE\ directory. 2. Copy 'PSICODE.OPA' and 'PSICODE.DYL' to the PsiCode directory. 3. If you want to install online help, copy 'PSICODE.HLP' to the PsiCode directory. 4. Install PsiCode from the System screen with Psion-I or select "Apps | Install" from the menu (for English Psions). Using PsiCode ------------- Encode file *********** This will UUencode any file (the source file). You are prompted to enter a filename for the UUencoded file. The initial directory displayed is "\" and the prompted filename for the UUencoded file is the same disk/dir/filename as the source file but with a .UUE extension. Decode file *********** This searches through the chosen source file for embedded UUencoded files - up to 50 files can be found. A dialog then appears allowing you to select an individual file to decode. If no embedded files are detected, the error message "No begin line" appears. If a file encountered during the search has an invalid Psion filename then the file will be renamed to BADNAME.xxx, (xxx = 001 to 050, sequentially numbering each invalid file). The preference "Search until" can select whether the source file should be searched through until either "All files found" (all embedded UUencoded files are detected, search goes right to the end of the source file), or "First file found" in which case PsiCode will stop searching as soon as an embedded UUencoded file is detected. Attach file *********** This can attach any file to an e-mail, and has been specifically designed to work with ReadCIS. The file to Attach is first UUencoded and then appended to the selected MAILxx.OUT file. CompuServe will allow up to 2MB per e-mail, so the only constraint with attaching a file is the memory space on your Psion. Required Memory Space: During the attachment process two temporary files are made in the root directory of your default disk: the first file is the UUencoded version of the source file, and the second is a copy of the destination file. Only on a successful attach will the destination file be overwritten, which avoids any partially attached files should you run out of memory space during the attachment. Free space required to attach a file = (2.66 * ) + . Detach file *********** This does exactly the same as "Decode file", but uses \CIS\*.CIS in the initial Decode dialog. This is specifically designed to work with ReadCIS, and allows you to easily select the MAIL!.CIS file to Detach from. The preference "File detection" applies exactly the same way as in Decode. Append file *********** You can append any two files of any type and size together. The Append feature is designed to allow you to append existing UUencoded files to MAILxx.OUT files. No checks on the file content are performed - it is up to you to ensure that the files being appended are compatible with each other (ie: it does not make any sense to append a Sheet file to Agenda). Using With ReadCIS ------------------ If a WRAP80.ON switch is set, CompuServe will download mail messages set with a maximum line length of 80 characters, which is fine for PsiCode. However, if no WRAP80.ON switch is set then ReadCIS normally requests mail with a maximum line length of 50 characters, which can result in corrupted UUencoded files due to CIS thinking the UUencoded data is text and trying to wrap lines. If you are sending a UUencoded file to a ReadCIS user, then you should ensure that the maximum line length is set for no more than 44 characters, otherwise the formatting of the file may be damaged. For this reason, 44 is the default "Maximum line length". Limitations ----------- * Maximum number of text lines that can be read when searching for embedded files = 32767. If the lines average 80 characters this results in a maximum file size of 32767 * 80 = 2621360 bytes. Considering Psion memory size this limitation should not be a problem. * Maximum detectable files when decoding = 50. This limitation is forced by the dCHOICE maximum length of 255 characters. The amount of filenames that can de detected in practice is somewhat less as it is dependent upon the total length of all of the embedded filenames. * Maximum CompuServe e-mail message size is 2MB (for text messages). Considering typical file size and also memory storage constraints of the Psion, this should never be a problem. Change history -------------- v1.0 28 Oct 1996 * Initial release. To Do ----- * Control-Help and maybe even Control- Psion-Help support * Handling of UUencoded files split across multiple or single files, especially with. ReadCIS and ftpmail. * MIME (base64) format encode and decode * Autodetect a ZIP file after Detach and then Unzip it via Unzip.img or Funzip. * Delete UUencode data from source file after a Detach operation. Author ------ Jochen Siegenthaler 100127.3167@compuserve.com Zurich, Switzerland 28 Oct 1996