xenial (1) xdeview.1.gz

Provided by: xdeview_0.5.20-3.4_amd64 bug

NAME

       xdeview - a powerful decoder for binary files

SYNOPSIS

       xdeview [Xt options] [-- options] [file(s)]

DESCRIPTION

       XDeview  is a smart decoder for attachments that you have received in encoded form via electronic mail or
       from the usenet. It  is  similar  to  the  standard  uudecode(1)  command,  yet  with  more  comfort  and
       flexibility.   XDeview  supports  the  uuencoding, xxencoding, Base64 and BinHex encoding methods, and is
       able to handle split-files (which have been sent in multiple parts) as well as multiple  files  at  once,
       thus  greatly  simplifying  the  decoding  process.  Usually, you will not have to manually edit files to
       prepare them for decoding.

       If you don't really need a graphical frontend for these kinds of jobs, have a  look  at  uudeview(1)  and
       uuenview(1).

       After  invoking  the  program,  it  will  scan  all the given files for encoded data. If any of them were
       directories, they will be recursively dived into.  You don't need to give files on the command line;  you
       can  also  select  files  later  from  within the program. After completing the initial scan, you will be
       presented with a list of files that seem like they can be decoded  properly.  You  can  then  pick  files
       individually for decoding.

OPTIONS

       There's  no  real  need to set options on the command line; they can also be set from within the program.
       Note that options must be preceded by a double-hyphen '--', otherwise they might be mistaken for  display
       options.

       -d     Sets  the  program into desperate mode. It will then offer you to decode incomplete files. This is
              useful if you are missing the last part of a 50-parts posting, but in most cases the  desperately-
              decoded  files will simply be corrupt and unusable. The degree of usefulness of an incomplete file
              depends on the file type.

       -f     Uses fast mode for file scanning. The program assumes that each input file holds at most one part,
              which  is  usually  true for files in a news spool directory. This option breaks decoding of input
              files with multiple articles. Also, certain sanity checks are disabled, probably causing erroneous
              files  to be presented for decoding.  Sometimes you'll get error messages when decoding, sometimes
              you'll just receive invalid files. Don't use -f if you can't live with these problems.

       -o     Gives the OK to overwrite files already there on decoding. The  default  is  to  prompt  the  user
              whether to overwrite, rename or skip the file.

       -v     Disables  verbosity.  Normally,  the  program  prints some status messages while reading the input
              files, which can be very helpful if something should go wrong. Use if these messages disturb you.

       -p path
              Sets the path where decoded files shall be written to. This must be a valid  pathname,  or  you'll
              get errors when trying to decode anything. Defaults to the current working directory.

       -b     This changes xdeview's policy of finding a part number on a subject line and may only be needed in
              some rare cases when part numbers are found in () parentheses as  well  as  in  []  brackets,  for
              example  in  a  series  of  multi-part postings.  By default, xdeview uses the numbers found in ()
              parentheses first. But if this number indicates the file's number  in  the  series  and  the  part
              number  is  given  in  []  brackets, use this parameters to make the program read the other number
              first. This does not affect decoding of files with only one or neither type of brackets.   If  you
              prefer, you can also use the option as -b[]

       -s     Read  "minus  smartness".  This  option turns off automatic part number detection from the subject
              line. Try this option if xdeview fails to parse the subject line correctly  and  makes  errors  at
              guessing  part  numbers, resulting in incorrect ordering of the parts. With this option, parts are
              always put together sequentially (so the parts must be  correctly  ordered  in  the  input  file).
              Note: The correct part number found in proper MIME files is still evaluated.

       -t     Use plaintext messages. Usually, XDeview only presents encoded data for decoding. With this option
              set, text parts from MIME messages and non-encoded messages are also offered.  Plaintext  messages
              frequently  don't have an associated filename, so they're assigned a unique name from a sequential
              four-digit number.

       The main window of xdeview is composed of six main elements. At the top is the Menu Bar.  Centered is the
       File  List,  which  lists  all  the  files  that have been detected in the encoded data and are ready for
       decoding. Left of the File List is the Status List, which describes the status  of  each  file.  Usually,
       this  list  will  show  "OK" for all files, as display of erroneous files is normally suppressed.  On the
       right is a bunch of short-cut buttons with the most heavily-used functions. At the bottom of  the  window
       is  the  Save Path entry field, and the status bar. Each of these items will be described individually in
       the following text.

       File Menu

              Load ...
                     Loads encoded files. These files are then scanned for encoded data and files;  these  files
                     are  added  to  the  File List. You can also select directories, which are then recursively
                     descended into

              Encode Encode file(s), storing the encoded data on disk, sending them via email, or  posting  them
                     to newsgroups. See below.

              Helpers
                     Xdeview  reads  information  from  your .mailcap and .mime.types to perform the appropriate
                     default action when you hit the "Execute" button. In this dialogue, you can  configure  the
                     locations of these files.

              Save Setup
                     Saves all current options, the input and output file paths etc. into the .xdeviewrc file in
                     your home directory. This file is automatically read upon startup, so  the  saved  settings
                     will be set by default in future sessions. The resource file is actually a Tcl script which
                     you can edit with any editor.

              Quit   Exits the program.

       Options
              Set various options that modify the behaviour of the program. Note that most  options  only  catch
              for files read afterwards.

              Fast Scanning
                     Sets  fast scanning mode. The program will then assume that all input files contain at most
                     one encoded part (as it is true with files from a news spool). The scanning engine will  be
                     sped  up  because  it  does  not have to read each input file completely but stops scanning
                     after encoded data has been found.

              The decoder has to disable some safety options in fast mode, so certain  problems  with  the  file
              will only be detected when finally decoding the file.

              Automatic Overwrite
                     When  decoding  a  file  which is already present in the target directory, the user will be
                     asked whether the file shall be overwritten. By enabling this option, target files will  be
                     overwritten without asking.

              Desperate Mode
                     Usually,  you  will  only  be  presented files to which all parts have been found. Enabling
                     Desperate Mode, you'll also get to see  the  other  files  as  well,  with  an  appropriate
                     description  of  the  problem in the Status List.  In desperate mode, the decoder will also
                     try to detect short Base64 files outside of  MIME  messages.  This  is  normally  disabled,
                     because  these  desperate  tries  to find Base64 encoding may cause misdetection of encoded
                     data, again resulting in invalid files.

              Verbose Mode
                     Opens a separate text box to which additional messages will be written while  scanning  the
                     input  files. These messages are extremely helpful for finding out what went wrong if files
                     cannot be decoded properly.

              Alternate Bracket Policy
                     Changes the heuristics by which the decoder tries to extract a part number from the subject
                     line.  The  algorithm  usually  gives  numbers in braces () higher priority than numbers in
                     brackets []. If both kinds of brackets are present,  and  their  use  is  conflicting  (for
                     example  if  both  the  part  number  and  a series number are given), then you may have to
                     explicitely select the bracket policy. If this option is false (default),  then  the  "part
                     number" is taken from the braces (), otherwise from the brackets [].

              Dumb Mode
                     Disables automatic part number detection by parsing the subject line.  Use if xdeview fails
                     to pick up the correct part numbers. Note that with the  option  set,  the  parts  must  be
                     correctly ordered in the input files. Also, missing parts will not be detected this way.

              Handle Text Files
                     Usually,  XDeview only presents encoded data for decoding. With this option set, text parts
                     from MIME messages and non-encoded messages are also offered. Plaintext messages frequently
                     don't  have  an  associated  filename,  so they're assigned a unique name from a sequential
                     four-digit number.

              Auto Info
                     Opens up the information window whenever you click on a file in the File List.

              Remove Input Files
                     With this option set, input files are removed if any file  was  successfully  decoded  from
                     them.  Use  with care! UUDeview only checks if any data was decoded from an input file, but
                     does not care about any other contents of that input file, or whether a file also  held  an
                     incomplete attachment.

              MIME Compliance
                     Be more strict when reading MIME input files.

       Actions

              Decode Decode the selected file(s).

              Rename Rename  the selected file(s), for example if the filename conflicts with existing files, or
                     if the name doesn't meet system limitations.

              Decode All
                     Decode all files currently visible in the File List.

              Info   Displays available info on the currently selected file (if more than one file is  selected,
                     only  info  for  the  first  will  be  displayed).   This is the zeroeth part of a file, if
                     available, or the header of the first part up to the beginning of encoded data.

              Execute
                     Runs an external program with the currently selected file. A program is selected  by  first
                     looking  at  the  Content-Type  of  the  message, if available, then by checking the file's
                     extension.  The appropriate information is read from your .mailcap  and  .mime.types  files
                     (although  the  handling  of  information in .mailcap files is currently incomplete). If no
                     matching type is found, a dialog box pops up where you can enter any command.

              List Text File
                     This is for the rare cases when a text file has been sent through the net in encoded  form.
                     Use  this  action only when you know the file in question is in fact a text file, otherwise
                     you'll get a load of trash on the screen.

       Help

              About  A short message from the Author.

              License
                     Displays the license under which xdeview is distributed, the GPL.  Read it, or you'll  hear
                     from my lawyers.

FILE LIST

       The  File List is a list box displaying all the files that have been picked up while scanning the encoded
       data. These files are ready for decoding, previewing or anything. The list  can  be  scrolled  using  the
       scrollbar on the right of the list.

       Individual  files  can  be selected simply by clicking on them. Multiple files can be selected by holding
       down the CTRL key and clicking on the individual files.

STATUS LIST

       The Status Lists notes the corresponding status for each file in the File List, Usually, you'll just  see
       "OK" here; otherwise, an error message is shown describing why the file cannot be decoded properly. There
       are the following states:

       OK     All parts of the file have been found, and the encoded data looks correct on  first  sight.  There
              are  certain  problems  that  might  only appear when decoding the file, but usually everything is
              fine.

       Incomplete
              This file is missing one or more parts. If you decode this file, the output data will  be  corrupt
              and usually unusable.

       No Begin
              The file doesn't have a beginning. The decoded file will be most certainly corrupt and unusable.

       No End No  end  was  found on the file. This usually means that one or more parts at the end are missing.
              The degree of usefulness of a decoded file depends on the file type.

       Error  A previous attempt to decode the file has failed.

SHORT-CUT BUTTONS

       The buttons on the right side of the window are short-cuts for the menu items. Read the discussion of the
       Main Menu items above for an explanation.

SAVE PATH

       This is the path where decoded files will be written to.

STATUS

       A short message what the program is currently doing or what it expects you to do.

       When  encoding  files ("Encode" from the "File" menu), a large dialog box opens where you can set various
       options for the file. If you selected multiple files for encoding, a status line at the top displays  the
       number of files left. The dialog itself stays open until all files have been handled.

       Filename
              The current file to encode. You cannot edit this field.

       Send As
              The  file  name by which the file will be sent. Defaults to the filename stripped of all directory
              information.

       Use Subject
              When mailing or posting, this text will be used as subject. The  filename  and  part  numbers  are
              added automatically, so you can choose to leave this line empty.

       Lines per File
              Sets  the number of encoded lines per part. Bigger files will be automatically split into multiple
              parts. Use if you are posting files to a newsgroup, or if the  recipient's  system  cannot  handle
              large files. A good splitting size is 1000 lines. "0" lines means not to split.

       ... Encoding
              Selects  the  encoding method to use. If you wonder which one's the best, you might find a clue in
              my article "Introduction to Decoding".

       File In (Path)
              Sets a directory where to encode the file to. The encoding will go to files  with  the  same  base
              name as the original file, but with extensions of .001, .002 (depending on the number of necessary
              parts as enforced by the "Lines per File" setting).

       Email To
              Give a comma-separated list of email addresses. This option might be disabled if your system  does
              not allow sending of emails.

       Post To
              Here  you  can enter a comma-separated list of newsgroups to which the file should be posted. This
              option might be disabled if your system does not support posting news.

       NNTP Server
              This field only appears on some systems, in the case that a news host  is  needed,  but  none  was
              configured  at  compile-time.  If this field does appear, you must enter a valid host name here in
              order for posting to work. If you don't want to post the file anyway, don't worry about it.

       OK     Performs the selected action(s) on this file and skips to the next one.

       OK to All
              Uses these settings for each file in question (does not prompt you  for  the  other  files),  thus
              sending all files at once.

       Next   Does not encode the file and skips to the next one (sorry, there's no button to skip backwards).

       Cancel Cancels encoding and returns to the main menu.

SETUP FILE

       If  it  exists, the file .xdeviewrc in your home directory will be executed in the Tcl interpreter during
       program initialization. It must be a valid Tcl program, which you can  use  to  set  certain  options  by
       default. For the Tcl-illaterate: variables can be set using the following syntax:
       set var_name value
       The  following  variables (options) can be set (look at the text above for an explanation of what they're
       doing)

       OptionFast
              If set to 1, use fast scanning mode.

       OptionBracket
              If set to 1, use the alternate bracket policy.

       OptionOverwrite
              If set to 1, assume it's Ok to overwrite files without asking.

       OptionDesperate
              If set to 1, switch into desperate mode.

       OptionVerbose
              If set to 1, print progress messages.

       SaveFilePath
              This is a string variable with the default Save Path, where you want decoded files to go.

       EncodeMaxLines
              Maximum number of lines per file for encoding. "0" for unlimited.

       EncodeEncoding
              Default encoding to use. "0" for UUencoding, "1" for XXencoding and "2" for Base64 encoding.

       NNTPServer
              The address of your NNTP server (only needed on some systems). Can also be  set  (preferredly)  in
              your environment variable NNTPSERVER.

RUNTIME MESSGAGES

       If  you  have  enabled  verbose  mode, progress messages will appear in an own text window titled Runtime
       Messages.  The messages generated during the scanning phase are extremely helpful  in  tracing  what  the
       program  does,  and  can  be used to figure out the reason why files cannot be decoded, if you understand
       them. This section explains how to interpret them. Understanding this section is not necessary to operate
       the program.

       First,  there  are "Loading" messages, which begin with the string "Loaded". Each line should feature the
       following items:

       Source File
              The first item is the source file from which a part was loaded. Many parts can be detected  within
              a single file.

       Subject Line
              The complete subject is reproduced in single quotes.

       Identifier
              The  program  derives  a unique identification for this thread from the subject line, for grouping
              articles that look like they belong to the same file. The result of this algorithm is presented in
              braces.

       Filename
              If  a  filename was detected on the subject line or within the data (for example, on a begin line,
              or as part of the Content-Type information).

       Part Number
              The part number derived from the  subject  line,  or,  in  the  case  of  properly  MIME-formatted
              messages, from the "part" information.

       Begin/End
              If a "begin" or "end" token was detected, it is printed here.

       Encoding Type
              If  encoded data was detected within this part, either "UUdata", "Base64", "XXdata" or "Binhex" is
              printed here.

       More messages are printed after scanning has completed. A single line will be printed for each  group  of
       articles. The contents of this line are best understood by looking at an example. Here is one:

       Found 'mailfile.gz' State 16 UUData Parts begin 1 2 3 4 5 end 6 OK

       This  indicates  that the file mailfile.gz has been found. The file was uuencoded ("UUData") and consists
       of 6 parts. The "begin" token was found in the first part, and the "end" token was  found  in  the  sixth
       part.  Because it looks like everything's there, this file is tagged as being "OK". The State is a set of
       bits, where the following values may be or'ed:

       1      Missing Part

       2      No Begin

       4      No End

       8      No encoded data found.

       16     File looks Ok

       32     An error occured during decoding of the file.

       64     File was successfully decoded.

NOTES

       If you cannot execute xdeview, and it reports something like "command not found", but are sure  that  the
       file itself can be found, check the reference to the main file uuwish at the top of the file.

SEE ALSO

       uudeview(1), uuenview(1), uudecode(1), uuencode(1),
       The uudeview homepage on the Web,
       http://www.fpx.de/fp/Software/UUDeview/

                                                    June 1996                                         XDEVIEW(1)