Version 16.0 of LISTSERV has several new features and enhancements for Web Interface users and list owners. This section gives you detailed information about the following new features:
A major new feature in LISTSERV 16.0 is the implementation of the first phase of Unicode support. LISTSERV's Unicode support is based on UTF-8 encoding. The long-term goal is for everything in LISTSERV to be a UTF-8 encoded string unless explicitly tagged otherwise. Because this is not a simple implementation, and because going to UTF-8 will undoubtedly break some customer scripts and applications, the road to full support for UTF-8 will be an ongoing, careful journey.
The first phase of the implementation revolves around these areas: the template processor, the message (job response) code, archive searches, and individual commands with support for UTF-8 (for now, only the LIST command is affected). The next phases will continue to roll out with the upcoming versions of LISTSERV.
LISTSERV 16.0 now has UTF-8 archive searches. The new UTF-8 archive indexer is now the default indexer.
Important: All archives will be automatically reindexed the first time LISTSERV 16.0 starts. Please be aware that this process may take awhile.
An index must be either entirely in ASCII or entirely in Unicode. When appending to an existing index, the corresponding indexer is chosen regardless of configuration. To switch to Unicode, you have to re-index. There is no way around that - your old ASCII index doesn't have the entries for base64 messages and so on.
Unicode indexes have a *FLAGS* line in the DBNAMES file. This is the only way to tell them apart because the index format hasn't had significant changes. In addition, do not be surprised if the index is smaller than before. For many lists, this will be the case. Lastly, take note that searches may be faster than they were before these changes.
In Expert Mode, you can now see what character set is being used for the displayed page. For instance, if the screen is UTF-8, then a small
UTF-8 symbol will be displayed in the upper right corner, next to
Expert Mode. This may be useful when trying to solve any obscure character set problems that may arise at your site.
If no character set symbol is shown, then no specific character set has been designated for the page; in which case, the browser’s auto-detect feature will choose an appropriate character set.
LISTSERV 16.0 debuts a new "plaintext" digest format that will properly display UTF-8-encoded messages in the body of the digest. The old "plaintext" digest was limited to 7-bit ASCII text, and as such, was only able to display UTF-8 messages as received, that is, in their non-human-readable UUencoded or Base-64-encoded form.
This new feature produces a digest that looks exactly like an RFC1153-compliant digest. In reality, it is a MIME message, and it can handle any character set. For each message in the digest, LISTSERV locates the most pertinent text part, decodes it, and uses that as the text of the message in question. The format is no longer formally RFC1153, but it looks as close to RFC1153 as possible while still being useful for non-ASCII messages.
Note: These are single-line templates; therefore, they are not suitable for a complex explanation of what happened. Any edits to these templates should be kept short and to the point.
Setting Misc-Options= OLD_NOMIME_DIGEST in the list header will force LISTSERV to revert to the original RFC1153 format, if for some reason this is required. Normally it should not be; however, even if you can guarantee that every posting is 7-bit ASCII text and nothing else, the new format has the downside of using Unicode. While this of course is identical to ASCII for pure ASCII input, the message may be marked as Unicode in people's mail clients.
With the addition of unicode support in LISTSERV 16.0, all newly created lists will now include
Misc-Options= UTF8_HEADER in the list header by default. This means that all newly created lists will have a UTF-8 compatible header.
The new DEFAULT_BOTTOM_BANNER and DEFAULT_BOTTOM_BANNER_HTML templates are now available and are automatically enabled when a new list is created. These bottom banners contain the SIGNOFF link. For this unsubscribe link to work, the Mail Merge site configuration keyword must be set to Yes.
You can now create professional-looking HTML newsletters with or without HTML coding experience. LISTSERV comes with ready-to-use newsletter templates that contain placeholders that, when selected in the template designer, will let you fill in predefined areas with your own text and/or images.
To access the Newsletter Template wizard, go to the List Archives screen, the Archives Index screen, or the Archive Browsing screen for the list you want to post the newsletter to, and then click on the
Newsletter Template option.
To select a newsletter template, click the [Select] button associated with the template you want to use as your content. The Select Template screen will refresh with the selected template displayed in the
Template Selected box.
To edit a template, click the Easel icon. The Edit Newsletter Template screen opens, which is where you can make any changes necessary.
Notes: If you decide to edit an existing, default newsletter template on this screen, then you will no longer be able to edit colors on the Content Definition screen. Any color modifications should instead be done on this screen.
To create an all new template, click on the Create New Template option. The Create New Template screen opens, which is where you enter the content for the template.
To delete template, click on the Recycling Bin icon associated with that template.
To edit the profile for all of the newsletters, click on the Edit Newsletter Profile option. The Edit Newsletter Profile screen opens, which is where you can enter any changes you’d like to make to your newsletter profile. These changes will be applied to the entire newsletter template gallery and will be associated with your user account only.
The Newsletter Drafts section at the bottom of the screen contains any previously saved drafts. To continue working on an existing draft, click on the draft’s subject. To delete the draft, click on the
Recycling Bin icon associated with that draft.
Note: Drafts are automatically deleted after 30 days.
The Define Content screen is where you “fill in the blanks”. The templates were designed to make defining newsletters quick and easy; the majority of the options, settings, and coding are already in place. The only work left for you is to give the newsletter a customized feel by filling in special template placeholders.
|
•
|
Your Name – This field is automatically filled with the email address associated with your user account. To change this, simply delete the email address and enter your name as you wish it to appear in the From field of the email header of the newsletter. The email address that will be used in the From field is the one that is logged into LISTSERV and may not be changed.
|
|
•
|
Subject – The subject line for the newsletter.
|
|
•
|
Template – If you want to change the template you are currently using, click this drop-down menu and select a new template from the drop-down list.
|
|
•
|
News Items – Enter the number of news items you want to have in your newsletter. This will determine the amount of news item placeholders you will need to define. The maximum number allowed is 99.
|
|
•
|
Feature Items – If available, enter the number of feature items you want to have in your newsletter. This will determine the amount of feature item placeholders you will need to define. The maximum number allowed is 99.
|
To view the template in HTML format, click HTML Part. To view the text alternative, click
Text Alternative.
In the placeholders list, any placeholder without a value supplied is marked with a red x; these placeholders will require your attention. Placeholders where a value has already been supplied are marked with a green checkmark.
Note: If you leave a placeholder blank, then this content will not appear in the newsletter; however, there are some exceptions such as headers and text since they are expected to be defined. Leaving these types of placeholders blank will cause blank lines or spaces to appear in the newsletter. Therefore, if you want to remove a header for a news item or feature item, simply adjust the value for those items in the appropriate field above.
The type and amount of placeholders available for definition will vary depending on the type of template and the number of news and/or feature items you have entered. The following placeholders are always available for definition and can also be defined in your newsletter profile:
&*NEWSLETTER; – This placeholder is used for the name of your newsletter.
&*ADDRESS; – This placeholder is used for the address of your organization.
&*PHONE; – This placeholder is used for the phone number of your organization.
&*CONTACT; – This placeholder is used for the contact email address of your organization.
&*WEBSITE; – This placeholder is used for a Website URL of your organization.
&*SLOGAN; – This placeholder is used for a slogan for your organization.
&*LOGO; – This placeholder is used for a logo of your organization.
&*FOOTER; – This placeholder is used for a short footer for your newsletter.
&*LEGAL; – This placeholder is used for any legal disclaimers, company registration numbers, or similar information for your newsletter.
&*SELFLINK; – This placeholder will be automatically replaced with a link to view the newsletter in a browser and does not need to be defined on this screen. This placeholder is only available for lists with archives.
Additional placeholders are available, depending on template, and are numbered according to how many news and feature items you have chosen for your newsletter. These additional placeholders include:
&*HEADLINEn; – This placeholder is used for the headline of the news item.
&*BYLINEn; – This placeholder is used for the byline of the news item. If you don't want to use a byline, you can leave this placeholder blank.
&*IMAGEn; – This placeholder is used for an accompanying image or graphic for the news item. If you don't want to use an image, you can leave this placeholder blank. When including images, they need to be uploaded to a public server before creating your newsletter. You should then enter the URL of the images, including the http:// or https:// part in the Contents field. It is recommended that you resize the images that you want to use to an appropriate size before uploading them although it is possible to resize them further on the Fine Tune screen if needed.
&*TEXTn; – This placeholder is used for the body text of the news item.
&*URLn; – This placeholder is used for the URL to a Web page if subscribers want to read more. If you don't want to use a URL, you can leave this placeholder blank. Since the URLs are hyperlinked from the newsletter, remember to enter the whole URL, including the http:// or https:// part as appropriate.
&*FEATUREHEADn; – This placeholder is used for the headline of the feature item, which are usually placed in a narrower side column in the newsletter.
&*FEATURETEXTn; – This placeholder is used for the body text of the feature item, which are usually placed in a narrower side column in the newsletter.
The placeholder that is currently selected in the placeholder list is highlighted both in the placeholder list and in the template preview pane. You can also move the mouse over the preview pane to see and select placeholders.
To define the selected placeholder, enter its value in the Contents text box below the template preview pane. Click
[Update] to fill the placeholder.
To re-define the colors used for the placeholders, click on the View Colors options. The placeholders list is replaced with the placeholder colors list. Select the placeholder color you want to re-define, and then enter the RGB color value in the
Color field. To view a color palette to help you select the color, click on the
Color Picker icon, and then click on the color you want to use. The color for that particular placeholder will be updated.
Once you are done filling out the placeholders, click [Save] to make your changes permanent and place a copy of the newsletter in the
Newsletter Drafts section.
Note: Drafts are automatically deleted after 30 days.
To undo your changes, click the [Revert] button. The template will revert back to the previously saved version or the default version if no saved version is available.
To cancel the definition of the newsletter and return to the Select Template screen, click the
[Cancel] button. If you have a saved draft version of your newsletter and you click
[Cancel], then you will be asked whether or not you want to keep the saved draft.
For those who are familiar with HTML, LISTSERV gives you the ability to expand your limits and design profession-looking HTML newsletters that go above and beyond the everyday standards.
Note: Any changes you make on this tab will be lost if you use the
[Back] button.
|
•
|
Your Name – This field is automatically filled with the email address associated with your user account. To change this, simply delete the email address and enter your name as you wish it to appear in the From field of the email header of the newsletter. The email address that will be used in the From field is the one that is logged into LISTSERV and may not be changed.
|
|
•
|
Subject – The subject line for the newsletter.
|
|
•
|
Content-Type – This drop-down menu is read-only unless the advanced options are activated. If available, you can re-define the format of the newsletter.
|
To view and define the advanced options, click the [Show Advanced] button. The following options are available:
|
•
|
Charset – Use this drop-down menu to select the charset (character set) of the newsletter. If your newsletter requires a charset that is different from the default charset for LISTSERV (UTF-8), then you can use the drop-down menu to select the matching one before you type or paste in your content. This selection will not translate one charset to another. It is used to sync the charset of the original newsletter with LISTSERV so that it can be encoded correctly for sending.
|
|
•
|
RSS Abstract – Many lists allow subscribers to read postings through RSS feeds. LISTSERV automatically creates RSS abstract from the text part of the message. By default, LISTSERV uses a maximum of 500 and a minimum of 250 words for an implicit RSS abstract. These default numbers can be changed either for the entire site or on a list-by-list basis. However, this option also allows you to create explicit RSS abstracts, which can be HTML or text of any length. To provide an explicit RSS abstract, simply enter text here in the RSS Abstract text box. To use your text or HTML part in its entirety for the RSS abstract, click the Use as RSS Abstract icon next to either the Plain Text Content-Type or HTML Content-Type section; the content will be automatically copied into the abstract text area.
|
|
•
|
Attachments – Use the [Browse...] button to find your file on a local drive. Click the [Attach] button to attach your file to your outgoing message. The attachment will be listed in a table beneath the Attachments field. To delete an attachment, simply click the [Delete] button associated with that particular item in this table.
|
Notes: Each list can have its own rules for accepting or rejecting messages with attachments. The
[Browse...] and
[Attach] buttons will function regardless of individual list settings. As a result, your newsletter may be rejected or stripped of its attachment by the list. Be sure to check with the list owner if you have any questions.
In the Plain Text Content-Type section, you can edit the plain text for the newsletter. Any changes you make in this section are not automatically made in the HTML section. Therefore, if you want these changes in the HTML section as well, you will need to manually enter them.
In the HTML Content-Type section, you can edit the HTML part of the newsletter. Any changes you make in this section are not automatically made in the Plain Text section. Therefore, if you want these changes in the Plain Text section as well, you will need to manually enter them.
If you have JavaScript enabled, then the [HTML Editor Mode] button will be available. This button opens a WYSIWYG-style editor in place of the HTML source code text box.
Note: Launching the HTML editor will parse and rewrite any existing HTML code, which may introduce changes to the code. To return to the HTML source code text box, click the
[Source Code Mode] button.
To preview your HTML newsletter, click on the Preview icon on the HTML Editor toolbar. The message will open in a new window, letting you preview the finished product.
If you have started working on a newsletter and want to continue at a later time, you can click the
[Save Draft] button to save a draft of the message. The subject line, the text part, and the HTML part are all stored. However, advanced options, such as attachments and RSS abstracts are not stored with the draft. The drafts, which are identified by their subject lines and shown with a timestamp, will be listed in the
Newsletter Drafts section. When you return to the Newsletter Template wizard, you can just click on the subject line to retrieve the draft. To delete existing drafts, just click on the
Recycling Bin icon next to the draft that you want to delete. Existing drafts are deleted automatically when you have posted them to the list.
Important: The draft you save on the Fine Tune tab will not be the same draft you may have saved on a previous tab. Therefore, you may want to change the subject to reflect the version you are saving.
Notes: Drafts are automatically deleted after 30 days.
When constructing a newsletter and before sending it to a list, you can send a test message to make sure that the results are satisfactory. This kind of test delivery can be particularly useful when creating HTML newsletters because email clients vary in their degree of HTML support. Sending a test message allows you to double-check that the newsletter is rendered as you intended. If necessary, you can make adjustments to your newsletter before posting it to the list.
|
•
|
Your Name – This field is automatically filled with the email address associated with your user account. To change this, simply delete the email address and enter your name as you wish it to appear in the From field of the email header of the newsletter. The email address that will be used in the From field is the one that is logged into LISTSERV and may not be changed.
|
|
•
|
Subject – The subject line for the newsletter.
|
|
•
|
Schedule Delivery – Select whether you want the newsletter to be delivered immediately or at a specific time and date. The input format of the Delivery Date field is yyyy-mm-dd. The input format of the Delivery Time field is hh:mm:ss, using the 24-hour clock. The time zone used is that of the LISTSERV server. If you enter a delivery date or time that has already passed, then the newsletter will be delivered immediately.
|
|
•
|
Test Addresses – Enter the email addresses of those who will be receiving the test. Make sure to include your email address so you can view the newsletter as well. If you had entered delivery test email addresses in your Newsletter Profile, then these addresses will appear here.
|
|
•
|
Content Analysis – If your LISTSERV license includes technical support, then you can use this button to check your message and evaluate the likelihood that it will be deemed to be spam by recipient mail systems. LISTSERV will connect to a hosted service at L-Soft, which runs the email message through SpamAssassin. The results will be shown on the screen. If necessary, you can then make adjustments and run the test again. (If you are a site administrator, see Section 2.8 Using the New Hosted Content Analysis Feature for additional details.)
|
|
•
|
Send Tests – Use this button to send a test message to the test addresses.
|
|
•
|
Back – Click this button if you want to navigate back and make changes.
|
|
•
|
Send – Click this button to send the newsletter once you are done testing it and are satisfied with its content and appearance.
|
Note: When you test a newsletter that has
&*SELFLINK;, then this link will not work in the test message because the message has yet to be archived.
To select a side-wide default template, click on the Server Administration menu, select
Customization, and then select
Mail Templates. The Mail Template Editor opens.
To select a default template for a list, click on the List Management menu, select
Customization, and then select
Mail Templates. The Mail Template Editor opens. Click the
Select List drop-down menu, and then select the list to define the default template for. The Mail Template Editor refreshes with the HTML Mail Template Gallery displayed.
In the HTML Mail Template Gallery, select an HTML mail template by clicking the [Select] button associated with the template you want to use. The screen will refresh with the selected template displayed in the
Mail Template Style box.
To edit a template, click the Easel icon. The Edit HTML Mail Template screen opens, which is where you can make any changes necessary. If you have made changes to a default template and would like to undo those changes, click the
Revert icon associated with that template.
To create a new template based on a default template, simply edit that template and change the template name before clicking the
[Save] button. The template will now be saved with the new name.
To create a new template from scratch, click on the Create HTML Mail Template option. The Create HTML Mail Template screen opens, which is where you will enter the content for the new template. See the special documentation on that screen to learn more about the format of the HTML mail templates.
Tips: When creating new templates, make sure that the template name starts with HTMLMAIL- and it will be automatically included in the list of available HTML mail templates within the editor.
To delete a template, click on the Recycling Bin icon associated with that template.
Profile fields that have been defined will be automatically entered into HTML newsletter templates when the system is launched. Not all profile fields need to be defined. You will have the opportunity to change or fill in empty profile fields during the content development stage in the newsletter template system. Empty profile fields will be omitted from the final newsletter.
|
•
|
Newsletter Name – Enter the name of your newsletter. This value automatically replaces the &*NEWSLETTER; placeholders in a newsletter template.
|
|
•
|
Physical Address – Enter the address of your company or organization. This value automatically replaces the &*ADDRESS; placeholders in a newsletter template.
|
|
•
|
Phone Number – Enter the phone number of your company or organization. This value automatically replaces the &*PHONE; placeholders in a newsletter template.
|
|
•
|
Contact Email – Enter the contact email address of your company or organization. This value automatically replaces the &*CONTACT; placeholders in a newsletter template.
|
|
•
|
Website URL – Enter the Website URL of your company or organization. This value automatically replaces the &*WEBSITE; placeholders in a newsletter template. Since this field will be clickable in the newsletter, remember to enter the http:// or https:// part before the URL as applicable.
|
|
•
|
Slogan – Enter a slogan for your company or organization. This value automatically replaces the &*SLOGAN; placeholders in a newsletter template.
|
|
•
|
Logo – Upload a logo for your company or organization. This image, which is saved on your LISTSERV server, will automatically replace &*LOGO; placeholders in a newsletter template. You have up to 10 slots where you can upload different logos. The &imgnum= variable at the end of the access URL coincides with the slot number and will determine which logo is inserted into the newsletter. In order for the image to be properly displayed in an HTML newsletter, the logo should be in .gif, .jpg, or .png format.
|
Note: Be careful when changing or deleting existing logos, especially if the logo has already been used in a newsletter because the new logo with the same slot number will replace the old logo in any archived copy.
|
•
|
Footer – Enter a short footer for your newsletter. This value automatically replaces the &*FOOTER; placeholders in a newsletter template.
|
|
•
|
Legal Disclaimer – Enter any legal disclaimers, company registration numbers or similar information for your newsletter. This value automatically replaces the &*LEGAL; placeholders in a newsletter template.
|
|
•
|
Delivery Test Addresses – Enter the list of email addresses to which newsletter delivery tests will be sent, one address per line.
|
|
•
|
HTML Editing – Select the default HTML editing method. Source Code Mode will display the HTML code. HTML Editor Mode will use an HTML Editor.
|
Several features have been added to the Message Posting Interface that give you more options when composing a message. Because of these new features, this section includes instructions on using the entire Send Message screen.
Tip: LISTSERV comes with ready-to-use newsletter templates that let you create professional-looking HTML newsletters with or without HTML coding experience. You can access these templates by clicking the
Newsletter Templates option. For details, see Section 1.4.1
Creating Customized HTML Newsletters.
|
•
|
Your Name – Enter your name as you wish it to appear in the From field of the email header of the message. The email address that will be used in the From field is the one that is logged into LISTSERV and may not be changed.
|
|
•
|
To: If you are replying to an existing message from the archives, this option allows you to decide whether to reply to the list or to the poster. If you are posting a new message, this options is not available.
|
|
•
|
Topic – Select the topic, if any, that you want to apply to your message. This option will only be shown if topics are enabled for the list.
|
|
•
|
Subject – Enter the subject line for the email message.
|
|
•
|
Content-Type – Use the drop-down menu to select the format of your email message. You may select Plain Text or HTML.
|
|
•
|
Plain Text – To add a plain text message, type directly into the text box or copy and then paste your text into the text box.
|
|
•
|
HTML – To create an HTML message, type directly into the text box or copy and then paste your HTML code into the text box. If you have the advanced options displayed, then you can also upload the HTML content (see below).
|
If you click the [Show Advanced] Button, you can also use the Upload Applet. To use this applet, click the
[Upload HTML] button. The applet will start and you can browse for your HTML file and then automatically upload it along with any inline image files. If your HTML file contains links to remote image files, the applet will check them for errors. After the upload is complete, your message will be displayed as HTML code in the text box. Any inline files will be displayed as attachments.
|
•
|
Add Part – Click the [Add Part] button to compose a multi-part message. Multi-part messages usually have a plain text part and an HTML part. To build a multi-part message, select the content type of the first part of your message. Next, click the [Add Part] button to open a second text box. Add the content using on of the methods described above.To delete an added part, click the [Delete] button associated with that part.
|
|
•
|
Show Advanced – Use the [Show Advanced] button to display the following advanced options:
|
|
•
|
Schedule Delivery – Select whether you want the message to be delivered immediately or at a specific time and date. The input format of the Delivery Date field is yyyy-mm-dd . The input format of the Delivery Time field is hh:mm:ss , using the 24-hour clock. The time zone used is that of the LISTSERV server. If you enter a delivery date or time that has already passed, then the message will be delivered immediately.
|
|
•
|
Upload HTML – Use this button to start an applet that will allow you to browse for your HTML file and then automatically upload it along with any inline image files. If your HTML file contains links to remote image files, the applet will check them for errors. After the upload is complete, your message will be displayed as HTML code in the text box. Any inline files will be displayed as attachments.
|
|
•
|
Charset – Use this drop-down menu to select the charset of the message. If your message requires a charset that is different from the default charset for LISTSERV (UTF-8), then you can use the drop-down menu to select the matching one before you type or paste in your message. This selection will not translate one charset to another. It is used to sync the charset of the original message with LISTSERV so that it can be encoded correctly for sending.
|
|
•
|
RSS Abstract – Many lists allow subscribers to read postings through RSS feeds. LISTSERV automatically creates RSS abstract from the text part of the message. By default, LISTSERV uses a maximum of 500 and a minimum of 250 words for an implicit RSS abstract. These default numbers can be changed either for the entire site or on a list-by-list basis. However, this screen also allows you to create explicit RSS abstracts, which can be HTML or text of any length. To provide an explicit RSS abstract, simply enter text here in the RSS Abstract text box. To use your text or HTML part in its entirety for the RSS abstract, click the Use as RSS Abstract icon next to the that particular section; the content will be automatically copied into the abstract text area.
|
|
•
|
Attachments – Use the [Browse...] button to find your file on a local drive. Click the [Attach] button to attach your file to your outgoing message. The attachment will be listed in a table beneath the Attachments field. To delete an attachment, click the [Delete] button associated with that item in the table.
|
Notes: Each list can have its own rules for accepting or rejecting messages with attachments. The
[Browse...] and
[Attach] buttons will function regardless of individual list settings. As a result, your message may be rejected or stripped of its attachment by the list. Be sure to check with the list owner if you have any questions.
|
•
|
Show Tests – Use the [Show Tests] button to display the following test options:
|
|
•
|
Content Analysis –If your LISTSERV license includes technical support, then you can use this button to check your message and evaluate the likelihood that it will be deemed as spam by recipient mail systems. LISTSERV will connect to a hosted service at L-Soft, which runs the message through SpamAssassin. The results will be shown on the screen. If necessary, you can then make adjustments and run the test again. (If you are a site administrator, see Section 2.8 Using the New Hosted Content Analysis Feature for additional details.)
|
|
•
|
Send Test to Self – When constructing an email message and before sending it to your list, you can use this button to send a test message to yourself to make sure that the results are satisfactory. LISTSERV will send a copy of the message to the email address that you used to log in to the Web interface. This kind of test delivery can be particularly useful when creating HTML newsletters or multi-part messages. Email clients vary in their degree of HTML support. Sending a test message allows you to double-check that the message is rendered as you intended. If necessary, you can make adjustments to your message before posting it to the list.
|
|
•
|
Quote Original Message – When replying to a message in the list, then the Quote Original Message icon is available below the message box. Clicking on this icon will place a copy of the original message in your reply.
|
|
•
|
Save Draft – If you have started working on an email message or newsletter and want to continue at a later time, you can click the [Save Draft] button to save a draft of the message. The subject line, the text part, and the HTML part (if applicable) are all stored. However, advanced options, such as attachments and RSS abstracts are not stored with the draft. The drafts, which are identified by their subject lines and shown with a timestamp, will be listed in a table on the right side of the screen. When you return to the Send Message screen, you can just click on the subject line to retrieve the draft. As a safety measure, LISTSERV automatically saves and updates drafts every time the message posting interface is refreshed. To delete existing drafts, just click on the Recycling Bin icon next to the draft that you want to erase. Existing drafts are deleted automatically when you post them to the list.
|
Note: Drafts are automatically deleted after 30 days.
If you’ve selected HTML from the
Content Type drop-down menu and you have JavaScript enabled, then the
[HTML Editor Mode] button will be available on the Send Message screen. This button opens a WYSIWYG-style editor in place of the HTML source code text box. If you have already entered HTML code into the text box before you launch the editor, the editor will parse and rewrite the existing HTML code, which may introduce changes to the code. To return to the HTML source code text box, click the
[Source Code Mode] button.
To preview your HTML newsletter, click on the Preview icon on the HTML Editor toolbar. The message will open in a new window, letting you preview the finished product.
L-Soft has implement a hosted spam checking service that will be available at no charge to customers with maintenance. This feature is enabled when LISTSERV is installed and your current maintenance LAK is applied. Once this is done, there is nothing to configure; it is entirely automatic.
This new spam checking service is available in the Message Posting Interface. Before posting a message to a list, users can click on the
[Content Analysis] button to have SpamAssassin evaluate the message and the likelihood that it is found to be spam by receiving email systems.
|
•
|
Improved Archives Layout – The layout of the archives has been improved for easier access to the archive search, message posting, newsletter templates, subscription sections, and preferences. This new layout includes a list of options along the right side of the screen and direct access to the archive search feature.
|
|
•
|
Hovering Descriptions – If enabled, hovering your mouse over the subject line of a message (on the List Archive or Archive Index pages) will give you the RSS abstract information for that message. For details on enabling, see Section 1.7.1 New Archive Preferences.
|
|
•
|
Default View – You can now have either the HTML or Text part of the message as the default when you are viewing multi-part messages. For details on setting, see Section 1.7.1 New Archive Preferences.
|
To set, click on the Preferences option on the Toolbar (or click
Preferences from any of the archive pages), and then click the Archive Preferences tab. The new preferences are:
|
•
|
Hovering Descriptions – Select whether or not you want hovering descriptions containing list descriptions and message abstracts to be displayed in the archives when you move your mouse over the list name or message. The default is Shown.
|
Important: These three new preferences require javascript to function. Because of this, you must also have
Pulldown Navigation selected as your
Navigation Style on the General Preferences tab.
|
•
|
Default View – Select whether to view the HTML or Text part as the default for multi-part messages. The default is HTML.
|
List reports, subscriber reports, and server usage reports can now be downloaded as CSV files, which makes it easier to import list and subscriber data into Microsoft Excel or other applications.
To download a report in this new format, simply click on the Report Format drop-down menu for that report, and select either
CSV Format (Subset) or
CSV Format (All).
Note: For reports that span multiple pages, the
CSV Format (Subset) option will only include data from the current screen in the report. For example, if a list contains 100 subscribers but only 50 subscribers are shown on screen at a time, then the CSV file will only contain the 50 subscribers shown on screen. Also, if you are using any narrowing options, only the data that fits the search criteria is included in the CSV file. The
CSV Format (All) option, on the other hand, will include all the data in the CSV file regardless of the number of pages or any search or narrowing options.
Certain non-subscribers are no longer reported on the Daily Error Monitoring Report (DEMR). To make delivery error monitoring reports easier to read in the spam era, non-subscribers will not be entered into the DEMR if ALL of the following conditions are met:
22 Aug 2008 16:58:11 Automatic nondelivery report processing for MYLIST:
22 Aug 2008 16:58:11 -> Bounce is for an administrative message
22 Aug 2008 16:58:11 -> Ignoring non-subscriber: SPAMMER@SPAMDOMAIN.COM
22 Aug 2008 16:58:11 -> All errors temporary, no action taken
A new option has been added for the List Moderator, allowing them to reject messages while serving off (SERVE OFF DROP) the senders. This will prevent the senders from posting any additional messages to the LISTSERV server.
Note: The List Moderator must also be an administrator/postmaster in order to use this new option.
Click the [Confirm] button to confirm the deletion of the message. To cancel the deletion and return to the previous screen, click the
[Cancel] button.
The Web Interface CGI now supports LISTSERV's conditional expression evaluator for templates, made available as +IF. For instance, it is now possible to code the following in a template:
+IF HELLO =* HE*
*do something here*
+ENDIF
+IF (5 > 6)
*do something here*
+ENDIF
(+ENDIF is an alias for +EB; you can use either.)
The &SUBDATE; variable is now available in SIGNOFF1. This variable will give you the subscription data of the subscriber who has just unsubscribed from the list.
When editing mail templates, LISTSERV will tag each mail template with the character set that was in use when the changes were made. Unedited mail templates will have ISO-8859-1 as the default character set.
The Global Skins (SKIN) template now contains an option to force the browser to use a specific character set for cases where the browser’s auto-detect feature fails to use the correct character set. This variable, DEFAULTCHARSET, can be defined for the site as a whole or for particular lists that are known to use a specific character set. To set, simply change the default setting of 0 to the appropriate charset, such as ISO-8859-5.
To change this variable for all of your lists, click on the Server Administration menu, select
Customization, and then select
Web Templates. Search for the Global Skins template by entering either Global Skins or SKIN in the
Search Template field, and then click
[Search]. Edit by changing DEFAULTCHARSET to the desired character set.
To change this variable for a specific list, click on the List Management menu, select
Customization, and then select
Web Templates. Select the list you’d like to work with, and then search for the Global Skins template by entering either Global Skins or SKIN in the
Search Template field and click
[Search]. Edit the template by changing DEFAULTCHARSET to the desired character set.
A new choice has been added to the Login Cookie Expiration option on the General tab of your personal preferences so you can decide whether or not you want the login cookie to expire when you close the browser (end the session). This is highly desirable for those who wish to have increased security on shared computers.
To use this new choice, simply click the Login Cookie Expiration drop-down menu and select
Session.
The default is No Expiration, which means that the cookie will not expire until you explicitly log out. This means, for example, that you can close your browser and come back later and you will still be logged in. However, if you are working on a shared computer, for example, it might make sense to set the login cookie to expire for added security. After a time of inactivity or close of the browser, the cookie will no longer be valid and you will need to log in again to continue.
LISTSERV now allows you to select whether or not you want recently visited pages of the Web Interface to be cached in your browser. The default is
No, which provides extra security, especially if you are working on a shared computer.
Note: Without caching you will not be able to use the "Back" button in your browser to quickly return to past pages. Set this value to
Yes if you prefer quick and easy back navigation and if this additional security is not critical to you.
The LISTSERV Command Interface now has a Clear Command option, making it easy to clear a command so you can issue multiple commands in a sequence. To access the Command Interface, click on the
Server Administration or
List Management menu from the Toolbar, and then click
LISTSERV Command.
When using the ADD command in an email, it will now delete any mailto: tags before processing the command. This ensures that any information that has been automatically added by the mail client will not be used.
The navigation between LISTSERV and LISTSERV Maestro has been updated and the Administration Hub option is now available when LISTSERV is integrated with LISTSERV Maestro.
