Page updated 1 November 2012
The Main Window
On start-up, the Main Window appears. Beneath the standard window components of Title bar, Menu bar and Toolbar, the main part of the window is in two parts, the Mailbox Pane, which is used to select the desired Mailbox and the Mail List, which shows the items in the currently selected Mailbox. At the bottom of the window is the Status Line.
NOTE: The image above is a mix of several images and shows various customisations.
The Title Bar
The Title Bar not only shows the program name but may also show a
message indicating the number of mailboxes with new messages.
The Menu Bar
The menus are described in detail below. Keyboard Shortcuts are listed on a separate page.
The File Menu
-
- New message...
- Starts the New message procedure.
- Address book...
- Opens the Address book.
- Global Options...
- Opens the Global Options dialogue, that controls general program behaviour.
- Enable auto-check
- Allows quick access to enable/disable the auto-check feature, normally configured on the Global Options Check Tab.
- Connection
- Opens the connection sub-menu:
- Dial-up
- Make a dialup connection to the selected account's server.
- Hang up
- Hangs up the current dialup connection (whether initiated by nPOPuk or not)
LAN- When checked:
- Removes the dialup icons from the toolbar and disables the Connect and Disconnect options
- Connection is made via the Local Area Network (even if that is not the defined connection method for an account).
- View log
- If network logging is turned on this option opens a small dialogue, with search facility, that shows the contents of the "nPOPuk.log" file. If network logging is not currently turned on it prompts to turn it on.
- Network logging can be useful for fault finding and similar
technical queries concerning server communication. See the Server
Communication and the nPOPuk.ini
pages for background on the communication logged by this file and
information about the SocLog= entry that controls generation of
the file.
-
- Save All
- Saves all of nPOPuk's data files. This option is especially useful
on hand-held platforms where there is greater a danger of power
failure, but is also be useful if nPOPuk is not exited regularly.
NOTE: The Summary screen, accessed from the Mailbox Menu, may also be useful for saving Mailbox data. - Backup files...
- Saves all of nPOPuk's data files (Mailbox files, Address Book and
nPOPuk.ini) in a user selected folder.
Apart from simple backup, this option is also convenient for transferring current data on a desktop computer to a flash drive, for use "on the road", as will be seen from NOTE 2.
NOTES:
1. In the Save dialogue that appears when this option is selected, a dummy name "nPOPuk files" appears. In fact any file name appearing in the "File name:" field is ignored. However, if a valid folder is entered or selected from the drop-down list, this is accepted and the data files are all saved to that folder. The folder selected is saved to the nPOPuk.ini file and becomes the default folder for future backups.
2. The "DataFileDir=" line of the nPOPuk.ini file is returned to the default blank setting. This is designed to allow a copy of nPOPuk.exe to be copied to the same folder and so enable easy reading of the backed up mail. - Exit
- Exits the program saving all settings and, if the option is set, mail.
The Mailbox Menu
- Next...
- Makes the following Mailbox active.
NOTE: Cycles through the Mailboxes, so the next Mailbox after the bottom one on the list is the Outbox, then the first of the Mailboxes. - Previous...
- Makes the previous Mailbox active.
NOTE: Cycles through the Mailboxes, so the next Mailbox after the first is the Outbox, then the last of the Mailboxes. - Add...
- Opens the "Add mailbox" dialogue. Enter a name and then choose
between an Account or Savebox type, before clicking the "OK" button.
If Account is selected you are taken to a blank Account Settings dialogue where details of the new mail account can be entered.
If Savebox is selected, the new folder is created immediately.
New Mailboxes are inserted below the currently selected Mailbox, but may be moved (See below).
- Edit...
- If the current Mailbox is an Account this opens the Account
Settings Dialogue.
If the current Mailbox is a Savebox, a revised version of the Add Mailbox dialogue opens, that allows the name to be edited.
- Delete
- Removes all information for the currently selected Mailbox.
- Move up
- Moves the currently selected Mailbox up one position in the Mailbox
Pane.
NOTE: The top position in the list is reserved for the Outbox. - Move down
- Moves the currently selected Mailbox down one position in the Mailbox Pane.
- Summary...
- Opens the Mailbox Summary dialogue. The dialogue shows the number of new, unread, and the total of messages in each Mailbox, the size and name of each Mailbox file and whether there is data still to be saved to the file. It can also be used to add, edit and delete Mailboxes, as well as save pending Mailbox data to disk.
- Mailbox Pane
- This option is checked by default. If unchecked, the Mailbox Pane is replaced with a drop-down list, sited under the Toolbar.
- Preview Pane
- This option is unchecked by default. If checked, the Preview Pane will show the contents of the selected message.
- Sort by
- Sorts mail items by:
- Number:
- the order in which the messages appear in the file
- Icon:
- according to the following four tests:
- 1. Priority (High/Normal/Low):
- All high priority messages sort before any normal-priority message.
- 2. Status/Mark:
- Unread messages (downloaded or not) sort before read
messages.
NOTE: Messages marked for downloading or deletion sort after read messages. - 3. Download:
- Partially-downloaded messages sort after fully-downloaded
ones.
NOTE: Earlier version of nPOPuk sorted partially downloaded mail first. - 4. Replied/Forwarded:
- After all the other tests have run, messages with no reply/forward sort first, then replied, then forwarded, then replied and forwarded.
- From/To:
- the sender in all mailboxes but the Outbox, where they are sorted by recipient
- Subject:
- the subject
- Date:
- date on the message
- Size:
- message size (note that the size column reports the size on the server; only a fraction may have been downloaded)
- Thread:
- groups related messages (replies)
Selecting the option again reverses the sort order. "New Mail" overlays on the icons are not relevant to the sort order.
- Initialise...
- This opens the Initialise dialogue which is used to control retrieval of messages.
The Connect Menu
- Check account
- Starts Checking the Server for new mail on the currently selected account.
- Check all accounts
- Starts Checking the Server for new mail on the default account, followed, in order, by all the others.
- Update account
- Starts the Update of all marked mail (Deletions, Downloads and mail to be Sent) on the currently selected account.
- Update all accounts
- Starts the Update of all marked mail (Deletions, Downloads and mail to be Sent) on the first account, followed, in order, by all the others.
- Stop
- Severs any dial-up connection and stops the check or update.
The Mail Menu
- Open
- Opens the Mail View window showing the contents of the currently selected message.
- Reply...
- Starts the Reply process, opening the Property dialogue.
- Reply to all...
- Starts the Reply process, opening the Property dialogue with all addresses from the original message in the To: line.
- Forward...
- Starts the Forward process, opening the Property dialogue.
- Redirect...
- Brings up a dialogue to redirect the message, making it look like it was sent by the original sender to the new recipient. Unfortunately, this feature does not work with all mail services; GMail in particular does not allow this "forging" of the sender.
- Flag for Follow-up
- Toggles the appearance of a flag icon beside the selected item(s). The flag overlays the read/unread icons and does not affect their status.
- This option has no special function within the program and is intended only as a way to make it easy for the user to identify important messages or those which require some further action before reply.
- Mark to Send (Only on Outbox menu)
- Adds the Send icon to the currently selected item(s).
- Mark to download (Only on Account menus)
- Adds the Download icon to the currently selected item(s).
- Mark to delete (Only on Account Menus)
- Adds the Delete icon to the currently selected item(s).
- Cancel mark
- Clears any send, download, delete or flag icons from the currently selected item(s).
- NOTE: Does not clear forward or reply arrowhead overlays.
- Mark as read
- Places a Read icon against the currently selected item(s).
- Mark as unread
- Places an Unread icon against the currently selected item(s).
- TIP: Marking as unread will remove any "Reply" or "Forward" marker overlaying a read icon. Use this option then "Mark as read", to remove a misleading marker introduced when a Reply was started in error.
- Copy to / Move to
- These two options allow one or more selected messages to be copied or moved to a Savebox from another Savebox or Account.
- NOTE: If a message is to be moved from an account, the original message will not be deleted immediately. Instead it is marked for deletion and will be removed from the account at the next server update.
- If no Saveboxes have been created, the cascading menus show only a "(New)" option that opens the "Add Savebox" dialogue. This works in the same way as the Add mailbox dialogue, described on the Mailboxes page. Once a Savebox has been created it is added to the cascading menus that appear for either the Copy to or Move to menu option.
- When there are more than 10 Saveboxes the Copy to/Move to options show an ellipse, indicating the Transfer dialogue will appear, rather than the cascading menu. (Shown here is the "Copy to:" Transfer dialogue. Only the legend changes on the "Move to:" Transfer dialogue)
- NOTE: The point at which the switch is made from cascading menu to Transfer dialogue can be controlled through a setting in the nPOPuk.ini file.
- Delete Attachments (Only on Mailbox menus)
- Removes attachments from inbound mail.
- nPOPuk can slow to unacceptable levels if very large Mailbox files are loaded on slow media (e.g. flash drives). One way to speed up operation of the program is to save any attachments outside nPOPuk and then reduce the size of the Mailbox file by using this option. For another approach see the Advanced tab of the Global Options dialogue.
- Edit as new (Only on the Outbox menu)
- Produces a copy of the currently selected message and opens this in a Mail Edit window. Where more than one message is selected all are copied but only the first opens in a Mail Edit window.
- Delete from list
- Clears the currently selected item(s) from the list. A warning dialogue appears noting that this action does NOT delete the item from the server.
- Select all
- Selects all items in the mailbox.
- Find...
- Opens the currently selected message overlaid with the Find dialogue.
The Help Menu
- About...
- Opens the About dialogue which shows the Program version number and includes a button that will launch the default web browser and open this site, so providing an nPOPuk Help facility.
- About SSL...
- Opens the About dialogue with SSL information, showing the version of source code used. The button will launch the default web browser and open the web site where the source code can be found.
- On-line docs...
- Launches the default web browser and opens this site.
The Toolbar
As is conventional, the toolbar buttons act as shortcuts to items available on the menus. The button images vary depending on whether the Resource folder is installed or the native buttons built into the program are used. Fuller descriptions of the actions are provided under the related menu item descriptions:
| Resource Folder |
Native | Description |
 |
 |
Check active Account (Inactive in Saveboxes and Outbox) |
 |
 |
Check all Accounts |
 |
 |
Update active Account (Inactive in Saveboxes) |
 |
 |
Update all Accounts |
 |
 |
Stop Server Activity (Inactive in when not connected) |
 |
 |
Create a New Message |
 |
 |
Mark selected item(s) to Download (Inactive in Saveboxes) |
 |
 |
Mark selected item(s) to Send (Replaces Download button in Outbox) |
 |
 |
Mark selected item(s) to Delete (Only available in Accounts) |
 |
 |
Delete selected item(s) (Replaces Mark to Delete in Saveboxes and Outbox) |
 |
 |
Mark selected item(s) as Read |
 |
 |
Mark selected item(s) as Unread |
 |
 |
Toggles the selected item(s) as Flagged |
 |
 |
Find Text |
 |
 |
Find Next Occurrence of Text |
 |
 |
Address Book |
 |
 |
Connect to Server (Only available when LAN not enabled) |
 |
 |
Disconnect from Server (Only available when LAN not enabled) |
The Mailbox Pane
On the left of the main part of the window is the Mailbox pane. Immediately after installation this will show two items, the first is the [Outbox] used to hold draft (saved) messages, waiting (marked to send) and sent mail, the other is the Mailbox for the newly created account account. If no account has been created the second item will show as "Untitled". Selecting either of these show the contents of that item in the Mail List to right of the Mailbox pane. (Keyboard: Tab moves focus between Mailbox Pane and Mail List. Use the Cursor keys to select the Mailbox/Message.)
The Mailbox pane will show an asterisk (*) against any Mailbox with new
mail, i.e. mail that has been received in the current nPOPuk session and
which has not yet been opened. Similarly, the Outbox will show an
asterisk (*) if there is mail marked to be sent. Any Mailbox that
contains mail marked as flagged will show a tilde (~).
When there are Move filters in place both the original account and the Savebox will show as having new mail. This happens as a Move filter only marks the original message to be deleted but doesn't actually remove it from the account until the next server update. It is possible to minimise this issue by setting the Global Option to force an "Update after Check".
If more than one Mailbox has been set up it is possible to re-order them. Either open the MAILBOX menu and select "Move up" or "Move down" to move the currently selected Mailbox up or down the list one position, or use the Summary option to open the Mailboxes dialogue and manage the Mailboxes there. Mailboxes cannot be moved above the "Outbox", which always remain at the top of the list. The Mailbox shown highest in the list becomes the default Mailbox on start-up.
An option on the Mailbox menu allows the contents of the Mailbox pane to be shown instead as a Drop-down List under the toolbar. This option may be preferred by those with small screens. (The List can be opened by clicking anywhere on its length and not just the button to the right.)
The Preview Pane
The preview pane allows a quick preview of the text of a message in a
section of the main window. It lacks some facilities of the Mail
View window. For example, URLs do not work as links.
The Mail List
The bulk of the window displays the list of headers in the active Mailbox arranged in columns showing the Subject, Sender, Date (Sent) and Size.
To open an item to read it, double-click on the desired mail item. (Menu: MAIL > OPEN. Keyboard: Cursor keys to select message. Enter to open.)
Columns in the Mail List can be re-sized by dragging on the divisions between the column headings. A double-click while the resize pointer shows auto-sizes the column to be just wide enough for the longest entry in the column.
The position of the first two columns in the mail list and the order in which mail is initially displayed, is controlled through the Global Options dialogue. By default, accounts will be sorted in the order that mail was delivered from the server, typically the order of receipt from other servers and the contents of the Outbox are listed in order of the date of first saving.
The sort order of any Mailbox or the Outbox can be changed by clicking on a column heading to sort on that column. Clicking again on the same heading will reverse the sort order. This order is not preserved when returning to the Mailbox after looking at another.
The Mail List Icons
In the Subject column, each mail item may be accompanied by an icon. This varies depending whether the Resource folder is installed or the native icons built into the program are used. The icons indicate the following conditions:
| Resource Folder |
Native | Description |
 /
 |
/ |
An unread/read item that because of the
settings specified in the Global
Options dialogue has not been fully downloaded. NOTE: A read item is one that has been viewed in a Mail View Window |
 /  |
/ |
An unread/read item that has been fully downloaded (retrieved). |
 |
|
An item, retrieved during the current nPOPuk session, that has not been read. This "New" overlay can appear on both fully or partially retrieved messages. |
 /  |
/ |
A message that has been replied to /
forwarded. NOTE: A message may have both these icon overlays attached to it. |
 /  |
/ |
Mail marked by sender as High / Low priority. |
 |
 |
An item that includes a content type header "multipart/alternative". This is usually used for mail that includes an HTML formatted version of the text and no other kind of attachment. |
 |
|
A multi-part item. This may identify an attached file, a "Rich Text"/HTML message, a mail digest, etc. |
 |
 |
An item marked for download (full
retrieval). (Only available in Accounts.) |
 |
 |
A mail item that has been marked for
deletion from the server. (Only available in Accounts.) |
 |
 |
A mail item that has been marked for
sending. (Only available in the Outbox.) |
 |
|
A mail item that has been sent (Only available in the Outbox.) |
 |
 |
A mail item that has suffered an error
during communication with the server. In the Outbox if a server error occurs, the send is aborted and the item must be re-marked for sending. In an Account Mailbox the icon represents an incomplete download because connection was lost while downloading a message. |
The Status Line
The Status Line is divided into two variable sized sections.
On the left it shows the total number of messages in the selected Mailbox and the approximate disk space used (View xx (xx KB/MB)). For accounts, it additionally shows the total held on the server and disk space used (Server xx (xx KB/MB)).
The View/Server figures for mail items can differ for a number of reasons, e.g. mail is not set to be saved, items have been deleted from the list, a filter has been applied, and messages have not been retrieved from the server. (Open the Initialise dialogue, accessed from the Mailbox Menu, to equalise these numbers.)
The right side of the Status Line is used to display the numbers of new and unread items in the active Mailbox and, if applicable, the number of items marked for sending in the Outbox. Whilst server activity is in progress, this display changes and it may show server messages, or the progress of mail transfer, together with a simple progress bar.