OpenVMS (VAX
or Alpha) version 6.0 or greater
TCP/IP stack
MAILBOX has been tested on the following
configurations : OpenVMS VAX and Alpha, versions 7.1, 7.1-2,
7.2-1, with Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS 4.2 and 5.0.
Download
MAILBOX 0.7 from the Download
page.
Unzip
MLB007.ZIP
$ MC UNZIP MLB007.ZIP
Note that this step requires that the UNZIP
utility is installed on your system. The UNZIP is utility is
free software available from COMPAQ Freeware CD, or from the
Web at the OpenVMS
home page.
Use VMSINSTAL
to install MAILBOX
$ @SYS$UPDATE:VMSINSTAL MLB007 dir_name
where dir_name is the directory where
MLB007.A resides.
If VMSINSTAL returns an error (eg. invalid
backup save set format), you may need to use the
RESET_BACKUP.COM DCL
command procedure in order to restore the MLB007.A backup
save set properties :
$ @RESET_BACKUP MLB007.A
Edit your
system startup procedure
Add the following line :
$ @SYS$STARTUP:MLB_STARTUP.COM
to either the SYSTARTUP procedure, or the
SYSMAN STARTUP base.
Launch
MAILBOX
Full-screen version : $ MLB_CMD
/Interactive
Command-line version : $ MLB_CMD
The actual name of the command depends on the
MLB_CMD_SYNTAX.CLD file. You may edit this file at your
convenience.
You may need to load the .CLD file using the following
command :
$ SET COMMAND MLB_CMD_SYNTAX.CLD
You can launch the full-screen version of MAILBOX without
using the .CLD file, by entering :
$ MC MLB_MAIN
Or define a symbol to help the users launch
MAILBOX.
Upgrade
instructions
The MAILBOX.EXE executable is not used
anymore. You may remove it safely. The MC MAILBOX command
does not start MAILBOX anymore.
Note that
MAILBOX is up and running after it has been installed. The
following steps are not mandatory.
Many steps
involve defining logical names. You may want to add the required
definitions to the SYS$STARTUP:MLB_STARTUP.COM file.
Choosing
the default language
MAILBOX supports changing the user interface
language on the fly. Users may select their preferred
language using the Settings menu item.
By default, the user interface uses English
as long as the user has not set his or her preferences.
The default language may be defined using
the MLB_DEFAULT_LANG logical name :
Other languages may be provided easily ;
please report to the FAQ.
Selecting
the editor
MAILBOX calls an editor of your choice to
enable users writing their messages.
By default, MAILBOX calls EVE/TPU, the
standard OpenVMS editor. This editor is easy to use, however
some key combinations might be tricky. Some users do not
find their way out - F10 is not obvious.
You may override the default behavior and
have MAILBOX use the editor of your choice by setting the
logical name MLB_EDITOR to a valid DCL command that
calls your editor. Note the following restrictions :
Examples :
$ DEFINE MLB_EDITOR "$ LSE %s"
$ DEFINE MLB_EDITOR "$ pico -s %s"
Note that the ability to select the editor
is considered as experimental. If you encounter a bug,
please submit a report.
Blocking
dangerous attachments
MAILBOX gives the ability to define a list
of dangerous attachments that should be blocked. Attachments
may be selected upon their MIME type (eg.
APPLICATION/X-ZIP-COMPRESSED) and/or their extension (eg.
.DOC).
When a user tries to extract a blocked
attachment, a warning message is displayed and the request
is aborted.
Controlling attachments is a two-step
process.
Step 1 : Create a configuration file
The configuration file is a plain text file
that can have any name and may be stored in any place.
The following is an a sample configuration
file ; the syntax is self-explanatory.
!
MAILBOX 0.7 for OpenVMS
! MLB_MIME_RULES.DAT Sample file
! Specify the extensions and mime types to block.
!
! Syntax :
! REJECT EXTENSION extension
! REJECT MIME_TYPE mime_type
REJECT MIME_TYPE application/msword
REJECT EXTENSION EXE
REJECT EXTENSION COM
REJECT EXTENSION VBS
REJECT EXTENSION JS
REJECT EXTENSION SCR
REJECT EXTENSION DOC
REJECT EXTENSION XLS
REJECT EXTENSION PPT
Step 2 : Define the logical name
MLB_MIME_RULES
Define MLB_MIME_RULES as the full path to
your configuration file.
Example :
$ DEFINE MLB_MIME_RULES
"DISK$SYSTEM:[CONF]MLB_MIME_RULES.DAT"
To disable attachment filtering, deassign
MLB_MIME_RULES. By default, no attachment is blocked.
Forcing
the use of SMTP
Forcing the use of SMTP prevents any message
to be sent by VMSMail within MAILBOX.
Set MLB_FORCE_SMTP to either
"true" or "TRUE".
If this logical name is not set or has any
other value, the default behavior occurs : MAILBOX selects
the best transport protocol to use depending on the message
to send.
-
Simple messages are transported by
VMSMail, as messages sent with the OpenVMS MAIL utility.
-
Complex messages with BCC recipients
and/or attachments are sent using the SMTP protocol.
Defining
the SMTP server DNS and port
Two logical names may be used to set the
SMTP server that is used by MAILBOX.
By default, MAILBOX uses localhost on
port 25. These settings should be acceptable in most
cases, but may be overridden using the following names :
Note that setting one of these names does
not interfere with your TCP/IP stack configuration.
Moreover, MAILBOX only uses SMTP if a message has BCC
recipients or attachments. Otherwise, messages are
transported by VMSMail. Should VMSMail need to use SMTP,
these symbols have no effect.
These logical names may be placed in system
or process tables. The process table has precedence over the
system table. Therefore, systems administrators may define
common settings, while users may set their own
configuration.
