Presto!Mail(tm)
Frequently Asked Questions

New Additions to the FAQ (8/10/96)

When ever I send mail from my Magic Cap communicator to some of my associates, but they get a blank message with an attachment which they can't read. Why?

When sending message's via Presto!Mail from a Magic Cap communicator to a non-Magic Cap e-mail program such as Eudora on a Macintosh, or Microsoft Mail on PC, the message is blank and the body of the message is converted to an attachment because the stationary font is set to something other than the default font of "Book 12". Change the stationary's default font back to "Book 12".

I have my provider card setup correctly for my ISP, but I can not connect to my e-mail, I can only connect to the Web. What is wrong?

Some ISP's may require special symbols or characters for the PPP Login name, but not for the Mail Login name.

Examples:

Netcom requires the #

The Well (UUNET access numbers) requires WEN1/

These characters need to be removed from the POP Login stamp. Just tap on the stamp and remove the special symbols and/or characters. You should be able to connect now.

I keep getting the message "PPP authentication failure". Why?

Your provider's DNS server may also be experiencing heavy traffic. Try an alternate DNS number or try back durning non-peak hours.

Make sure your provider infromation is enter correctly.

You may require a script. See "Connecting to your ISP/Scripting" FAQ for known required scripts.

I'm unable to connect to my ISP, but I have all the provider information set up correctly. What can I do?

See "Connecting to your ISP/Scripting" FAQ for known required scripts. This is not a complete list of required scripts. If your ISP is not listed, please contact Technical Support at 1-888-CONJURE.

The Presto!Mail "rules" stamp has disappeared from my provider card after a cleanup which occurred while I was collecting mail. Why?

This is a known problem. Replace the rules stamp, or create another Provider Card. Use a unique provider name, rather than one used previously (e.g. use Starnet1, after having used Starnet).

Is there a way to connect with a service provider not using PPP?

It can be done with a login script modification, but the results can be chancey. You should contact your ISP for help in modifying your script. (See our web page at www.genmagic.com/PrestoLink/ScriptingReadMe.html for general scripting instructions.)

I attempted to collect a mail summary and the progress bar stalled. What should I do?

Cancel the mail collection and turn your communicator off, then on. Your mail summary should be collected normally.

My PPP and/or Dialup stamps on my provider card have disappeared, and when I went to the "Connections" drawer in the Stamper, it was empty! Why?

You need to reset the PPP package in the Storeroom. Go to the Storeroom, tap the Magic Lamp, and tap on "reset package" or "delete changes". The stamps will appear in the Stamper "connection's" drawer.

Is Presto!Mail and Presto!Links compatible with MCI?

Yes. Presto!Mail Presto!Links with PPP ver. 1.106. This new PPP version is now compatible with CHAPS which is requried by MCI. If you are running an older version of the PPP package, you can download PPP version 1.06 from our General Magic Software Upgrades web site at www.genmagic.com/MagicCap/Upgrades. To find out what version you are running, go to the Storeroom and tap on the PPP package. It will show you what version you are running. If you require the new version, copy of ALL of your provider cards information down (this information will be deleted when you throw away the PPP package), then drag the PPP package into the trash and empty it. Then download the new PPP package and recreate your provider cards.

Why can't I receive an e-mail message that is 64K? I have 130K available in Main Memory and 356K free on my memory card.

You may not have enough transiant memory to receive the message. Try doing a forced cleanup from the Storeroom and then try to collect the message again. Also, check to see if you have a mail rule set on your provider card Mail Rule stamp that limits the size of message that can be collected.

Previous Listed FAQ's (6/24/96)

My provider card doesn't have a mail rules stamp on it, but Presto!Mail is acting like rule 1 is on (it's only collecting unread messages).

By default, the rule to "collect only unread messages" is enabled since it is the most common way people want to use the product. In the future, a mail rules stamp will always be a part of the provider card. If you need to collect a message that you have already read, use a mail summary.

I just pressed the reset button on my device, and now it's collecting mail from Presto!Mail. What's up?

You've got a rule set to indicate automatic mail collection. When you reset your device, the clock's notion of the time was changed, and the communicator collected mail according to your rules for automatic mail collection.

Is the Presto!Mail application copy-protected?

Our software initially checks the personalization of your device and registers itself with that name when you install. Later, if the software is re-installed this registration information is displayed again. However the function of the applications is not inhibited in any way.

Can Presto!Mail and Presto!Links be used at the same time?

Yes, Absolutely! The two applications share the same phone connection. You can check your mail, send and receive messages at the same time that you are engaged in downloading a series of web pages automatically.

When you start an operation in either application a status window is displayed to give you information about its progress. That doesn't mean you have to wait around. For example, when you tap on one of the "View Image" icons a progress bar showing the download of a GIF or JPEG image is displayed. This can take a while, and after you've done it a few times you realize that it's silly to sit and watch the process. Instead you could tap the Desk icon to begin composing a telecard to a friend, or pop over to the Presto!Diner in downtown to request a summary of your mail messages.

How can I find out the progress of the simultaneous Presto!Mail and Presto!Links activities?

Whenever either application is performing an operation, a small indicator is displayed in the upper status bar of Magic Cap, just to the right of center. Activities associated with Presto!Links are indicated by a small globe of the world, while Presto!Mail operations are shown by means of a tiny postcard. If both applications are active, then tapping on the combined icon will present a dual list, which can be tapped again to display the status of the process you're interested in.

One of my packages seems like it's messed up. Can I just reset it?

That's not a very good idea. Often, if you reset one package, you would have to reset all of them. And note that resetting the data manager package will cause you to lose all of your provider data.

You should reset your packages only under the direction of technical support.

It took me a really long time to copy the 'messages' icon in the Diner. Why?

In the process of copying the icon, the system needs to copy other details about Presto!Mail. This is why copying and moving this stamp can seem so slow.

What are the steps to reset the packages to their initial state?

Go to the storeroom and tap on each package in the following order, Links, Mail, PPP, Diner, and Data. Using the Magic Lamp in Magic Cap's tool bar, tap "reset package" for each software component. It's worth checking to see if things get back to normal again after resetting each package in turn, but our experience indicates that it's usually necessary to reset all of them.

Troubleshooting

I can't check the mail in my Netcom account.

Be sure that you've correctly set up your provider information for Netcom; most importantly, be sure that there is a # sign in front of your PPP login, but not before your POP login. Netcom uses different login names for PPP and POP.

I tried to send a fax while I was sending and receiving mail, and now my communicator is repeatedly telling me that the phone line is in use. Why?

This is a known problem. Once the current mail collection completes, the announcements will stop, and you can send your fax.

After performing an action on a mail summary, it doesn't update to reflect the new state of my mailbox.

This is a known problem. Always discard Mailbox summaries after using them.

Why can't I send a very large package or message using Presto!Mail?

Presto!Mail currently has a limitation of approximately 100K for sending or receiving a single mail message.

I received an e-mail from a friend using her ISP account, and when I went to reply to it the reply stamp shows as America Online. Why?

When addressing a reply message, Magic Cap uses the e-mail stamp that appears first on the recipient's name card. So if the America Online stamp appears before the ISP account stamp on your friend's name card, the delivery stamp will default to America Online. To avoid this in the future, simply switch the order of the stamps on the name card by touching the change button and sliding the America Online stamp first into the tote bag and then back onto the name card. The stamp will then appear at the bottom of the addresses.

At times when I attempt to collect mail from my ISP, I get a POP timeout error. What's going on?

If your ISP is very busy, their POP server may be overloaded and unable to complete your request for mail. You should wait a little bit, and try again later, or contact your ISP about the problem. If on the other hand, you can never collect your mail, check your ISP settings to ensure that they're correct, and then contact technical support if you're still having problems.

When I tried to collect mail from my ISP, I get a POP timeout error, and now my communicator looks hung - it doesn't do anything when I touch the screen. What should I do now?

In very rare cases, Presto!Mail may get confused about the state of things when the POP server times out. If you see this behavior, flip the power switch. You'll hear the traditional power-on beep, and nothing else will happen. Wait about fifteen seconds, and hit the switch again. Your communicator will turn off. When you turn it on, it will do a clean-up to restore itself from the state it was in, and then operate normally.

I'm still having problems. What can I do?

General Magic provides 30 days of free support for the Presto!Mail/Presto!Links product. The toll-free support telephone number is 888-CONJURE. For International call's, dial 00-1-408-774-4298.

My communicator won't connect to my ISP any more. What can I do?

Occasionally the complex interaction between Presto!Mail and Presto!Links, the ISP and the physical telephone line contribute to place the software in a state where one or both of the applications does not register the status of the telephone line correctly. The following hints will be of value in troubleshooting such an event if it occurs.

If the problem is that Presto!Links will not perform a retrieval even though the telephone icon is shown as being off-hook, try resetting things by tapping "hang up" and then "connect". Note that you should first check for any on-going retrieval by tapping on the globe in Magic Cap's top status bar, and check for any pending retrievals by option-tapping the "go to" button.

Go to the Desk scene and attempt to use the phone there to manually dial a number. This will tell you if the application still has control of the line. If it does, then try to collect a mail message or a mail summary.

If the mail collection succeeds, the Presto!Links problem will usually be fixed. If neither application works, however, remove the telephone line from your communicator. This will terminate any ongoing call and prevent any further phone charges. Unfortunately the next step is to reset the packages, which removes all Provider card information as well as whatever web pages are stored in memory.

I have a RAM card in my communicator and I have set "new items go here" to it, but I still seem to be running out of memory?

At present all downloaded web pages and graphics are stored in the same package as the application itself. To make the best use of your RAM card, move the Presto!Links application there.

My provider card doesn't have a mail rules stamp on it, but Presto!Mail is acting like rule 1 is on (it's only collecting unread messages).

By default, the rule to "collect only unread messages" is enabled since it is the most common way people want to use the product. In the future, a mail rules stamp will always be a part of the provider card. If you need to collect a message that you have already read, use a mail summary.