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INTRODUCTION This is a tree of files that will build the metamail program, which can be used to turn virtually any mail-reading program into a multimedia mail reader, as well as programs that will allow metamail to display several specific types of multimedia mail. Metamail is an implementation of MIME, the Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, a proposed standard for multimedia mail on the Internet. Metamail implements MIME, and also implements extensibility and configuration via the "mailcap" mechanism described in an informational RFC that is a companion to the MIME document. II. BUILDING METAMAIL To compile metamail and a few useful applications, just type "make" in the top-level directory. Note that you may need to change the line in the top-level Makefile that defines the ATOMICMAIL constant. This should be the empty string if you have the metamail distribution WITHOUT the ATOMICMAIL software, and should be set to "atomicmail" if you have the fuller, more proprietary distribution. Although you probably don't need to know such details, the distribution comes with 4 or 5 source directories: "metamail" contains the metamail program itself. "richmail" contains the programs for dealing with email's "richtext" format. "ezview" contains a simple program for transforming Andrew-format mail to plain text. "fonts" contains data and scripts for display non-ASCII mail bodies, about which more is said in a special section below. "misc" contains a number of shell scripts for viewing images, audio, partial messages, external messages, etc., and rudimentary shell scripts for SENDING non-text mail. Finally, if you have the version of the distribution that includes the ATOMICMAIL software, this is contained in the "atomicmail" subdirectory. III. INSTALLING THE METAMAIL BINARIES When the make is complete, you'll need to install the binaries and a mailcap file. For convenience, the make process will install SYMBOLIC LINKS to all the needed binaries (or copies, in the case of shell scripts) in the top-level "bin" directory, and man entries in the top-level "man" directory. You should probably copy all of these to a more appropriate spot on your system. IV. YOUR MAILCAP FILE You'll also need to install a mailcap file. A prototype mailcap file is included in the top level directory, but you might want to modify it (see metamail.1 for details about mailcap files). By default, the mailcap file should be installed in either /etc or /usr/etc/ or /usr/local/etc. However, you can easily change this default location in the metamail source code. (This code is found in metamail/metamail.c.) In particular, if you don't have the CMU Andrew software installed at your site, you probably want to change the way the mailcap file handles "text/richtext" from text/richtext; richtoatk < %s | ezview - ; copiousoutput to text/richtext; richtext < %s; copiousoutput V. MODIFYING YOUR MAIL-READING PROGRAMS The hardest part of metamail installation, by far, is the modification of your local mail-reading programs to make them use metamail for non-text mail. This has been done for over a dozen of the most commonly-used UNIX mail reading programs. An explanation of how to modify these mail readers can be found (in various formats) in the file(s) metamail/mailers.*. The "mailers.txt" version is the plain ASCII version of the explanation. I recommend that you print out the "mailers.ps" (PostScript) version to read, but that you cut & paste your patches from the "mailers.txt" version. Once you have installed all the binaries AND the modified versions of the mail-reading programs, you should have a very extensible multimedia mail system installed at your site. Metamail and related software are discussed on the INFO-MM mailing list. If you want to sign up for this mailing list, send mail to info-mm-request@thumper.bellcore.com. VI. The "fonts" directory. The fonts directory contains software for non-ASCII mail. It initially only supports ISO-8859-8 (Hebrew), but also provides a template for how other character sets can be supported, given the right fonts. NOTE THAT IF YOU DO NOT USE X11 THE "fonts" DIRECTORY IS USELESS, AND THAT IF YOU DO NOT HAVE "bdftosnf" INSTALLED THE BUILD MAY FAIL IN THE FONTS DIRECTORY. FOR NON-X SITES, IF YOU GET RID OF ANY REFERENCE TO IT IN THE TOP LEVEL MAKEFILE, IT WILL NEVER GET IN YOUR WAY. Note also that the "fonts" directory builds but does not install the snf, fonts.alias, and fonts.dir files. It builds a script (showhebrew) that references the build directory. If you are installing things elsewhere, you will need to change the path reference in the showhebrew script if you want Hebrew mail to work properly. VII. FUTURE VERSIONS OF METAMAIL The metamail software is being given away freely by Bellcore in the interest of promoting a wide user community for the emerging Interent standards for multimedia mail. The metamail software is by no means a finished product, nor is it as polished as software produced for commercial purposes. It is our hope that users will be tolerant of any warts they may find, and will contribute their own improvements, via the INFO-MM mailing list, for incorporation into future releases of the metamail software. VIII. TESTING METAMAIL & MIME SUPPORT If you want a set of test messages in MIME format, exercising various features of mtamail and MIME, you may ftp them from thumper.bellcore.com, where there is a directory called "pub/nsb/samples". Each file in that directory is a separate MIME-compliant message which should do something interesting if viewed with a metamail-modified mail-reader. IX. FURTHER DOCUMENTATION Drafts of the MIME and mailcap documents are available in the pub/nsb directory on thumper.bellcore.com. Other documents may also become available from time to time in that directory -- feel free to browse.