Subject: Re: UNIX to PC

From: Kathleen <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 05 Oct 1996 16:13:01 -0700

I am also trying to learn how to download my mail from PINE mail.
If I click on export, it does not allow me to save it to my hard drive.  
If I go to setup, config, and enter, local instead of remote, it doesn't 
work.  The host computer (UNIX) only sees my DOS computer as an extension 
of itself.  I am trying to help a blind man who uses a braille reader and 
needs DOS.  Our ISP only has windows support, although we can log in with 
DOS (Procomm).  I looked in UNIX for Dummies but I still don't get it.

Can someone tell me what to type in the config setup to allow 
downloading/saving to my own computer?

Kathleen

John Mellon wrote:
> 
> Is there any simple way to transfer all of the files from an INTEL based
> UNIX operating system to a DOS/Windows operating system?  I know nothing
> about UNIX but I need to access the files on a UNIX machine.  Any help
> or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
> 
>                                          John Mellon

---

From: Paul O Bartlett <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 6 Oct 1996 17:16:07 -0400

On Sat, 5 Oct 1996, Kathleen wrote:

> of itself.  [...]

    One thing you need to be aware of is that, as such, the computer
running Un*x and the PC are completely independent machines which
happen to be connected to each other with a communications link of some
kind and both of which have software programs at eash end of that link
which can talk to each other, providing the interfaces to each machine.

    Now Pine, running on the Un*x machine, knows nothing about your PC. 
It has never heard about such an animal.  However, there are ways for
programs on the Un*x box to talk to similar programs on the PC box via
the communications interface in order to get a file from Un*x to PC,
and fortunately there are ways for Pine to talk to those other
programs, thus closing the loop.  Unfortunately, it is not always
immediately obvious, and depending on the version of Pine, you may
well not be able to use the Export command.

    You did not provide which version of Pine is running on the Un*x
machine.  That information is very important.  I do not recall when the
new feature came in, but I know it is present in at least 3.94, which I
am using.  There is a direct interface between Pine's Export command
and a program, such as zmodem, xmodem, or kermit, which can do the real
downloading to the PC.  Of course, you must have a compatible program
running simultantously on the PC.  Commonly, it is built in to the PC
communications software.  If your version is Pine is current, or nearly
so, go into Setup and Config and scroll down to the 'download-command'
section (or some similar name) and read the online help files.

    If your version of Pine is older, you can still transmit files
directly from Pine.  In the configuration, enable the Un*x pipe
command.  Take this shell script:

#!/bin/sh
umask 066
trap "rm -f $HOME/tmp/$$download" 0
cat > $HOME/tmp/download.$$$
sz -a $HOME/tmp/download.$$$
rm -f $HOME/tmp/download.$$$
umask 077

and put it in some directory in the PATH.  Mark it executable.  Then,
when you want to download a message from Pine, just enter the pipe
symbol (|) and answer the prompt with 'sendz'.  (This assumes that
zmodem is on the PC and can be automatically invoked.  Otherwise you
might have to adjust the script some.)  Be aware that this script
creates a file on the PC with name 'download.nnn' where 'nnn' is the
first three digits of the Un*x process number.  You might want to shell
out to the PC and rename the file if you are going to download several
in quick sequence.

    If this seems a little complicated, well, unfortunately not every
single task we sometimes want to do in life is transparently easy.

Paul                             <[email-masked]>
----------------------------------------------------------
Paul O. Bartlett, P.O. Box 857, Vienna, VA 22183-0857, USA
Finger, keyserver, or WWW for PGP 2.6.2 public key 
Home Page:  URL: http://www.access.digex.net/~pobart

---

From: Paul O Bartlett <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 20:27:43 -0400

> or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

    Your question has nothing to do with Pine as such, which is what
this newsgroup is all about.  If you don't get any useful answers, I
would suggest that you try one of the Unix newsgroups.