Articles

ELIST.EXE -
Eudora Mailbox/Message
Extraction utility
Written by Fredric L. Rice, January 1997
The Skeptic Tank, 1:218/890.0 (818) 335-9601

Overview

The ELIST utility displays a list of Eudora mailbox titles and allows the operator to select any of them for extraction.

Upon selection the program displays the subjects of all of the messages within the selected mailbox and allows the operator to select any number of messages for exporting to a straight ASCII file.

In this way messages received and sent using Eudora may be easily extracted from the Eudora mailboxes to an external file which can then be manipulated in any way the operator needs (imported into Word documents, sent to a FidoNet echo, anything you need; use your imagination.)

Who Could Use This Program

Anyone who uses Eudora for sending and receiving mail will most likely employ the "(S)ave-As" menu option to export a single message. This utility allows easier selection and export-to-file of multiple messages from all mailboxes quickly and easily. All of the messages selected are exported to the same file allowing all messages for a specific subject to be selected and then exported to a single file.

When Will This Program Die?

If versions of Eudora come out which allow multiple message selection for export to a file, this program will become obsolete. Further enhancements might be performed in the future which would keep this project alive -- for example, the program could create FidoNet *.MSG type message packets out of selected messages in a future version.

What Is This Program?

This is a DOS program. There was some intention of making it a Windows or OS/2 program but I wanted it to be DOS only.

How To Get The Program

You can FileRequest ELIST.ZIP from 1:218/890.0 24 hours a day or call direct at (818) 335-9601 and download it from (A)rea 1 -- General Files.

If you send a message to frice@stbbs.com or frice@linkline.com and place ELIST.ZIP anywhere within your message text, the file will be automatically sent to you (unless you have an invalid return address in which case the program doesn't even try to send it.)

MagicFile name ELIST will also return the program.

What Limitations Are There?

Currently the program displays the first 40 mailboxes on the screen and asks the operator to select which one to use. If there are more than 40 Eudora mailboxes, the program will refuse to run. Usually if you have that many mailboxes anyway you should create subdirectory folders and logically group your mailboxes within them. ELIST would manipulate only the current folder specified by the ELIST environment variable path.

Another constraint is memory. When a mailbox is selected the program extracts header information from every message in the mailbox if the program hasn't already extracted the information from it. If multiple mailboxes are selected the header information for all mailboxes is maintained in memory. I haven't seen a problem yet however in the event an out-of-memory problem occurs, the operator would need to simply restart the program and work with one mailbox at a time instead of multiple mailboxes.

If it's a problem, contact me and I'll make a version which will discard a mailbox's header information from memory if the memory starts to get full. It's easy; no problem. I should probably do it anyway but I'm a speed maven; if I read something into memory once, I don't like doing it again if I don't need to. I don't _think_ I need to at this time.

Environment Variable

The program looks for the ELIST environment variable. This points to where the *.TOC and *.MBS Eudora mailboxes can be found. Usually this is either the main mailbox folder or a subdirectory containing mailboxes for a secondary folder.

Usually, if it's the main folder, it would look something like this:

set ELIST=C:\EUDORA

A secondary folder containing mailboxes holding mail from a variety of crackpots (I get a LOT of crackpot mail) would probably look something like this:

set ELIST=C:\EUDORA\CRACKPOT

If there is a trailing backslash that's okay, too.

If there is no environment variable set, the program looks in the current default directory for the Eudora mailbox files.

ErrorLevel Values

The program will terminate with an errorlevel value which offers some indication as to why the program failed to run properly. There is a descriptive error message offered by the program yet historically FidoNetters and Internetters have enjoyed batch-file processing even when an application requires operator input.

Toward that end, the following errorlevel values will be issued in the event a problem occurs:

#define EL_No_Problem                    0
#define EL_No_Eudora_Files_Found         10
#define EL_Cant_Open_TOC_File            11
#define EL_Ran_Out_Of_Memory             12
#define EL_Programming_Error_Point_One   13
#define EL_Cant_Find_MBX_File_Now        14
#define EL_Programming_Error_Point_Two   15
#define EL_Programming_Error_Point_Three 16
#define EL_Cant_Create_Report_File       17

Output of Selected Messages

After selecting messages to export to a file, the operator is asked to enter the file name of where to put them. If the operator hits [ENTER] without offering a file name, they are exported to ELIST.OUT as the default.

Operational Details

The operator may select all messages in a mailbox for export as well as toggle individual messages. (There's an option for deselecting all messages if desired.) Selecting all of the messages in a mailbox and exporting them to an ASCII file is quite useful for people who maintain mailboxes for specific subjects (such as having a specific mailbox for company business, another for tax information, one for messages from a mailing list, and another for personal business.)

Selecting and exporting all messages from a mailbox would be an easy way to transfer messages received from a mailling list to a single file which could be bundled-up and sent on to someone else.

What Does This Cost?

The program is being distributed freely at no cost provided it is not used for any commercial venture and is not sold for any reason (or under any pretense.) "Companies" which "sell floppies" with software pulled from what they believe to be the public domain are _not_ allowed to distribute this program (either at swap meets or through the mails or person-to- person.)

If I see this program being distributed at a swap meet, I will take names and start fucking everyone responsible until all the nasty criminals bleed horribly to death.

I'm serious. I've been screwed by these mock "companies" before and Goat help me it's time to screw back some.

Source Code Availability:

The source code for this project is available but costs. The code consists of a single Turbo C++ module and a single header module. The code format and variable naming conventions used conform to IBM's in-house standards. Additionally it should LINT-out cleanly enough.

The cost of the source code is $10.00 George Bush United States Dollars (foreign currency is also okay provided it's around the same ballpark.) The source code is shipped on a 3.5inch floppy, zipped-up, with multiple copies for safety. Checks okay. Will also take any kind of books in trade for the source code.

Fredric L. Rice (frice@stbbs.com or frice@linkline.com)
StarGoat Industries
Care Of E. I. USA.
13000 Pierce Street
Pacoima, California.
91331