18 How Do I Use Kermit with Pine?

Here's a tip sheet we use at Columbia University - thanks to Joe Brennan.

SCREEN FORMATTING

Make sure that your UNIX terminal type agrees with Kermit's terminal emulation. For example, if Kermit is emulating a VT320, tell UNIX:

  export TERM=vt320

  setenv TERM vt320

PRINTING

Pine's print command, letter Y, is known to work with MS-DOS Kermit and Mac Kermit. With MS-DOS Kermit, if the printer is directly attached, it should make the printer print the selected email message. With Mac Kermit, it should send the selected email message into the printer buffer, which can be seen in the Printer window, and which can be printed using the print command in the pulldown File menu.

The command ''pcprint'' on UNIX (*), which prints any text file, does the same thing as Pine's Print command. It may be easier to debug problems by running a command like ''pcprint .profile'' at the UNIX shell ($ prompt).

(*) pcprint is a UNIX shell script:

---(cut here)---
echo -n '<ESC>[5i'
if [ $# -eq 0 ]; then
  cat
else
  cat $*
fi
echo -n '<ESC>[4i'
---(cut here)---

DOWNLOADING FROM PINE TO THE PC

Use Pine's command letter E, Export, to copy a message into a file. This file will be created in your home directory on UNIX. Then it can be downloaded to your PC or Mac using Kermit. After you finish, remember to remove the now-unneeded file on UNIX, using the ''rm'' command at the $ prompt.

If you View a MIME-encoded message, Pine will ask whether to save it to a file with a name of your choice. Pine will decode the message and create the file in your home directory on UNIX. It can then be downloaded to your PC using kermit. MIME-encoded files are often binaries rather than plain text, so you should set kermit to transfer a binary file.

UPLOADING FROM THE PC TO PINE

Send email in plain text if possible. Save the document as plain ASCII text with the PC application that created it. Use Kermit to upload it to UNIX. Run Pine, choose letter C, Compose, and address your message as usual. Move the cursor to the Message Text area and choose control-R, Read File, and type the name the file (the copy on UNIX) to insert. You will see the file on screen, as if you had typed it. If it looks strange, it's not plain text, so start over. After you finish, remember to remove the now-unneeded file on UNIX, using the ''rm'' command at the $ prompt.

If you want to send a PC document, use Kermit to upload it, setting Kermit to transfer a binary file. Run Pine, choose letter C, Compose, and at the Attchmnt: header, type the name of the file (the copy on UNIX). Pine will encode it using MIME, and attach it to the end of any text you choose to type in the message. *Note*: with MIME or any form of encoding, you should determine whether the recipient of your message will be able to decode it. Plain text email (previous paragraph) can be read on any email system.