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-- the Labyrinth May 1993 --
Save Trees and Dollars by
Storing Documents Electronically
KnoWare Tech Tips
Alan Levine, MCLI
Here we are in the electronic information age still sending
reams of memos to laser printers and stuffing papers in
bulging file cabinets. How many times has the first page of
your printed memo been a long A-1 distribution list? (refer
to your A-1 manual or call the A-1 help line at 18285 for
steps to avoid displaying long distribution lists...) Here
are tips for storing your information on-line, rather than
printing your messages.
Working with Short Documents
Sometimes, you may want to save and store information that
occupies only one or two screens. If you access your
electronic mail from a Macintosh or IBM PC (running
Windows), use the "Cut & Paste" commands:
- Select the portion of text that you want to save, and use
the "Copy" command.
- Next, use "Paste" to place this text into a word
processor, or the simple text editors such as TeachText
(Mac), or Notepad (Windows).
- To organize and store your information, determine
categories you may wish to save (for example, arranged by
date, project, memos from specific persons).
- If you need a paper copy, print the essential parts of the
document.
Working with Long Documents
You may often want to save a long document Ñ one that takes
up several screens or pages. This is a two-stage process.
Stage 1:
Save the document as a VAX file under your account
**** To save an A-1 message:
- Make sure the "Current Message Block" (top right
corner of A-1 screen) lists the desired document. If not,
use the folder navigation commands (tc= top of file cabinet,
nf= next folder, down arrow= next file in folder) to select
it.
- To transfer the A-1 message to a VAX file, use the
Document Transfer command. Type:
DT SV
- At the "VMS File Name" prompt, designate the name for
the stored file. Type:
<
[yourVAXname]FILENAME.TXT
where yourVAXname is the name you enter when you log
on to the computer. FILENAME must be 8 characters or less
and note that there are no spaces after the right bracket
"]".
- At this point, the A-1 file has now been stored as a VAX
file.
**** To save VAX mail messages:
- When reading a mail message, from the" MAIL>" prompt,
type:
EXTRACT FILENAME.TXT
Stage 2:
Transferring the VAX file to your desktop computer
The method depends on the type of computer you are using as
well as the communication software you are using to connect
to the VAX.
For the Macintosh:
Use the free program "Fetch 2.1". It is available from
the MCLI Public
File/Gopher server in the "Into the Internet" folder. Also,
an explanation on how to configure Fetch is in file
"Fetch from VAX".
For IBM/PC:
If your communication software supports KERMIT
transfers, from the VAX $ prompt type:
KERMIT SEND FILENAME.TXT
The exact command sequence will depend on your software
(i.e. for ProComm it is the PgDn key).
Whatever methods you use, always make back up copies of your
important computer files!
Maricopa Center for
Learning & Instruction (MCLI)
The Internet Connection at MCLI is
Alan Levine
--}
Comments to alan.levine@domail.maricopa.edu