1. Introduction11. Introduction1.1. What is Laurel?Laurel is an Alto-based, display-oriented, computer mail system interface. It provides facilities toretrieve mail and present it for delivery, and to display, forward, classify, file, and print messages.Additional features include facilities to read, write and copy files, run programs, and a whole lotmore. Laurel is a component of a distributed message system that has been in operation forseveral years in the Xerox Research Internet. Laurel executes on an Alto (or Dolphin orDorado emulating an Alto) and uses the display, keyboard and mouse in a fashion befitting Alto-based software.1.2. What is this manual?This manual is a reference document for Laurel. The Laurel team believes that most of the basicfacilities of Laurel are self-explanatory, and that you can use Laurel quite competently afterreading only this introductory section and taking the interactive tutorial using Laurel itself (seeHow to obtain Laurel below). Laurel also has features that are not immediately obvious, andafter becoming acquainted with the system, you will want to read about those facilities in thismanual.Sections 3, 4, and 5 describe features of Laurel in detail. On first reading, you may read theintroductory portion of each of these sections, quickly skim the rest, and return to them later togain understanding of their finer points. Section 6 describes proper message system behavior, andshould be read by every message system user, new or old. Section 7 contains advice that is usefulafter gaining some familiarity with Laurel through the earlier sections. Sections 8 and 9 may beskipped on first reading as their titles imply. Appendices A, B, and C give detailed informationon a variety of topics, and may be read later as their information becomes relevant to your usageof Laurel. Appendix D has important information if you currently use MSG. Appendix E is ashort summary of the differences between Laurel 6 and previous versions of Laurel.If you have the time, it is perfectly all right to read this manual from beginning to end. Many ofthe functions provided by Laurel are interdependent; extensive cross-indexing is used throughoutthis manual to avoid repeating information in several places.The Laurel team will be very happy to hear any suggestions you may have, and is particularlyinterested in your experiences in using the system. Comments should be sent toLaurelSupport.PA (using the facilities provided by Laurel!)The version of Laurel described in this manual is Laurel 6. It replaces all previous versions ofLaurel (those with smaller numbers and LaurelX). Previous versions of Laurel are no longersupported. It is in your best interest to update now to Laurel 6, as previous versions may stopworking in the future due to changes in the message transport system.%fpXG?f g^q gZCr gVpb gUN gS<W gQq< gO M gM"= gL gGr gDpI gBI3+ g@~W g>sp? g<A g; g7B g5/3 g4E g2L T g06+ g.a g,01 g+"3tp g)WR g%T g$4, g"P= g.. gU3V gI; g8) g :! gBE gwE  g0=U LAUREL MANUAL21.3. How to obtain LaurelWe strongly recommend that new users obtain a Non-Programmer's disk to be used primarily forprocessing and managing messages (see section 7 for the reasons behind this recommendation).Two Alto command files are available on most file servers for obtaining Laurel. If you are a newuser, you should issue the following commands to the Alto Executive:>Ftp FileServer Retrieve LaurelNewUser.cm CR>@LaurelNewUser CRwhere FileServer should be replaced by your local file server's name. This obtains Laurel andstarts it up in a tutorial mode. If you are a new user, you should do this now, before reading therest of this manual. What follows will be much easier to assimilate once you have a passingacquaintance with Laurel. After you have finished the tutorial, please do read the rest of thismanual, especially section 6.If you are already familiar with Laurel, you should issue the following commands to the AltoExecutive:>Ftp FileServer Retrieve Laurel.cm CR>@Laurel CRwhich merely retrieves the files necessary to run Laurel.Fine point: Laurel 6 is a Mesa 6 program set up as a run file. It requires no other parts of the Mesa environmenton the local disk. This one version of Laurel 6 adapts itself to your machine; no special extended memory version isnecessary.1.4. How to run LaurelTo invoke Laurel, type>Laurel CRto the Alto Executive. This is the default method of invoking Laurel. Command line options are discussed inAppendix A.To invoke the Laurel tutorial (after obtaining it with @LaurelNewUser), type>Laurel Tutorial CR$fptpXt gfp g_r g[p+1 gY< gVg$= gTD]Qs p#t]P4pt gMps p6 gKR gJR gH6)7 gFk gB\ gA. ]>s pt] gVD E gTyY gR= gPR gOR gMO) gIG gH%> gFH@ gD}R gA B g?A0" g><)LAUREL MANUAL4 $fptpXt gfp g_ g^ < TIMESROMAN  TIMESROMAN  TIMESROMAN  TIMESROMAN  TIMESROMAN@ yj/laurel6-1.bravoBrotzJuly 22, 1981 3:23 PM