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Diffstat (limited to 'pith/pine.hlp')
| -rw-r--r-- | pith/pine.hlp | 213 |
1 files changed, 212 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/pith/pine.hlp b/pith/pine.hlp index 1bfaf279..2a65f1e0 100644 --- a/pith/pine.hlp +++ b/pith/pine.hlp @@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ with help text for the config screen and the composer that didn't have any reasonable place to be called from. Dummy change to get revision in pine.hlp ============= h_revision ================= -Alpine Commit 432 2020-05-21 21:53:25 +Alpine Commit 433 2020-06-07 20:59:33 ============= h_news ================= <HTML> <HEAD> @@ -188,6 +188,16 @@ problems you find with this release. protocols. Thanks to Geoffrey Bodwin for a report that lead to this implementation. +<LI> Alpine can pass an HTML message to an external web browser, by using the + "External" command in the <a href="h_attachment_screen">ATTACHMENT INDEX</a> + screen. <A href="h_command_external_browser">Learn more</A>. + +<LI> New configuration variable + <a href="h_external_loads_inline_images_only"><!--#echo var="FEAT_external-command-loads-inline-images-only"--></a> + that controls if Alpine will pass to an external browser a link to all the images in the + HTML message, or will only pass a link to inline images included in the message. For your + privacy and security this feature is enabled by default. + <LI> New variable system-certs-path that allows users to indicate the location of the directory where certificates are located. In PC-Alpine this must be C:\\libressl\\ssl\\certs. The C: drive can be replaced @@ -4340,6 +4350,7 @@ There are also additional details on <li><a href="h_config_enable_mouse">FEATURE: <!--#echo var="FEAT_enable-mouse-in-xterm"--></a> <li><a href="h_config_enable_view_addresses">FEATURE: <!--#echo var="FEAT_enable-msg-view-addresses"--></a> <li><a href="h_config_enable_view_attach">FEATURE: <!--#echo var="FEAT_enable-msg-view-attachments"--></a> +<li><a href="h_external_loads_inline_images_only">FEATURE: <!--#echo var="FEAT_external-command-loads-inline-images-only"--></a> <li><a href="h_config_enable_view_arrows">FEATURE: <!--#echo var="FEAT_enable-msg-view-forced-arrows"--></a> <li><a href="h_config_enable_view_url">FEATURE: <!--#echo var="FEAT_enable-msg-view-urls"--></a> <li><a href="h_config_enable_view_web_host">FEATURE: <!--#echo var="FEAT_enable-msg-view-web-hostnames"--></a> @@ -13542,6 +13553,9 @@ Available commands include: <DT>View</DT> <DD>View the currently selected attachment. +<DT>External</DT> +<DD>Passes a TEXT/HTML message to an external browser for its display. + <DT>Prev Attach</DT> <DD>Move to previous attachment. @@ -30891,6 +30905,48 @@ Ctrl-B key can be used to select the previous web hostnames in the same way. <End of help on this topic> </BODY> </HTML> +====== h_external_loads_inline_images_only ===== +<HTML> +<HEAD> +<TITLE>FEATURE: <!--#echo var="FEAT_external-command-loads-inline-images-only"--></TITLE> +</HEAD> +<BODY> +<H1>FEATURE: <!--#echo var="FEAT_external-command-loads-inline-images-only"--></H1> + +Alpine allows you to pass a HTML message to the browser that you have configured in your +<A HREF="h_config_browser"><!--#echo var="VAR_url-viewers"--></A> variable. This allows +you to read a message outside of Alpine. This is desirable when Alpine does not display +html correctly, or when you wish to read the message and see the inline images in the message. + +<P> +An inline image is one that comes with the message and is necessary for the correct display of +the message. However, there are instances in which the source of an image will come from +external servers. If this feature is enabled (the default) then Alpine will only pass inline +images to the browser and will remove the link to external images, so only inline images will +be used to display the message, and no external image will be loaded. Alpine does this to protect +your privacy and security. + +<P> +Please note that messages are usually formatted by the sender so that they display correctly once +all images have been loaded. Enabling this feature might cause the message not to be correctly +displayed by your browser. + +<P> +Also consider security and privacy implications of opening an HTML message in a browser. You are +always protected when you do not use this feature, but you might not have the same level of +protection if you try to open a spam or scam using the html view. Also commercial email is +normally embedded with links to external images that let them, their partners, and your internet +service provider (which could be your employer or school) know that you opened their message or +connected to a web site, violating your privacy. + +<P> +If you are worried about your privacy and security, do not use an external viewer to open +html files, and keep using the internal mechanisms that Alpine provides to read messages. + +<P> +<End of help on this topic> +</BODY> +<HTML> ====== h_config_enable_view_arrows ===== <HTML> <HEAD> @@ -35597,6 +35653,161 @@ message to you and on how the list works.) <End of help on this topic> </BODY> </HTML> +====== h_command_external_browser ===== +<HTML> +<HEAD> +<TITLE>The External Browser Command</TITLE> +</HEAD> +<BODY> +<H1>The External Browser Command</H1> + +<P> +A new command was added to Alpine that allows users to send HTML messages to be displayed +by a web browser. This is helpful when a user wants to see images in the context of the +message, or get a better display of the message than Alpine provides. + +<P> +The simplest way to use this command is to do as follows. While reading a message, +press the "V" to go to the <A href="h_attachment_screen">ATTACHMENT SCREEN</A>. +In that screen move the cursor until it is on top of a TEXT/HTML attachment and press the +"X" key. This will make Alpine launch the browser you have configured for +in the <a href="h_config_browser"><!--#echo var="VAR_url-viewers"--></a> variable, and +you should be able to read the message in your browser, as well as in Alpine. + +<P> If the message you sent to your browser has inline images, then the images attached to +the message that are necessary for the display of the message are also sent to the browser +for its display. + +<P> The text that follows will explain more details about this command, and is only +recommended for more advanced users. + +<h1><CENTER>Displaying Images</CENTER></h1> + +<P> First, we will talk about displaying images in an HTML file. Typically, HTML images +are displayed as the result of some specific code of the form +<center> +<PRE> +<img src="...">, +</PRE> +</center> +where the text between the quotes tells Alpine how to find the image. +If the source of the image is internal to the message, Alpine passes that image to the +browser. Otherwise Alpine erases the link to the image. This is done so that +you can be protected from a bad use of external images. Images can be used to track +that you read the message, or your location, devices you own, etc.. Since Alpine does +not open images in any messages, your +privacy is always protected this way. Therefore, when you do not pass the links to +external images to a browser, your privacy is being protected. However, doing this +might make the message not be displayed correctly, since when the message was +created the images were part of the formatted message, and not having images might make +this formatting look awkward. + +<P> If you would like that Alpine display all images, regardless of their source, and +regardless of the sender, then you need to disable the feature <a +href="h_external_loads_inline_images_only"><!--#echo var="FEAT_external-command-loads-inline-images-only"--></a>. +The message will display as intended, but you will leak information to the sender of the +message, as well as to your internet service provider, which could be your employer, or +school, etc. + +<P> Alpine provides an alternative mechanism to either send all links to the images to the +external browser or to send only those that are attached to the message you are trying to +display. In order to use this mechanism you must first enable +<a href="h_config_enable_view_attach"><!--#echo var="FEAT_enable-msg-view-attachments"--></a>. +This allows Alpine to add direct links to each attachments. If you want to send an HTML +attachment to an external browser, you would place the cursor over the attachment and press +the "Return" or "Enter" key to open the attachment. When you do that +you will see a prompt and menu which says + +<pre> +View selected Attachment ? + Y [Yes] X External +^C Cancel N No +</pre> + +<P>In order to send this message to an external browser, you would press the "X" +key. This will change the prompt and menu to + +<pre> +View selected Attachment using external viewer including inline images only ? + Y [Yes] X No eXternal +^C Cancel N No I All images +</pre> + +<P>This is telling you that if you answer "Yes" to this question, and external +browser will be used to send this messages, and only inline images, that is, those attached +in the message will be sent to the browser. If you would like to send all images in +this case, the menu tells you that you must press the "I" key. Pressing +that key changes the prompt and menu to + +<pre> +View selected Attachment using external viewer including all images ? + Y [Yes] X No eXternal +^C Cancel N No I Inline imgs +</pre> + +<P>and as you can see the prompt says that if you press "Yes" then the message +will be sent to the browser including the source of all images, including those in +external servers. Notice that the "X" command now is a toggle. If you +were to press it now, you would return to the original prompt, + +<pre> +View selected Attachment ? + Y [Yes] X External +^C Cancel N No +</pre> + +<P>which means that if you answer "Yes" at this time your message would not +be sent to your external browser for display, unless you have configured a mailcap +entry to display HTML files. + +<P> One of the lessons of this discussion is that if you never press the "X" +command in the ATTACHMENT SCREEN, and you never press the "X" command when +launching a viewer for an attachment in the MESSAGE TEXT screen, you will never use this +mechanism, and Alpine will resort to your already configured mechanisms to open HTML +text.This means you can live your life without worrying that Alpine will do anything +different because of this new feature. You do not have to use it, but if you do, you should +know the risks and advantages and decide when and how to use it. + +<h1><CENTER>Saving HTML Messages to Disk</CENTER></h1> + +<P> +No matter what your reason to send a message to an external web browser is, Alpine must +write your message to a file (and also all related inline images), and point your browser +to open that file. Alpine saves all your messages and auxiliary images in a subdirectory +of the ~/.alpine-html directory in unix-like Alpine, or the alpine-html folder in your home +directory in PC-Alpine. If Alpine cannot access these directories, or create folders +in them, then the full mechanism described above will fail, and you will not be able +to send messages to an external browser for display. + +<P> +Unfortunately browsers do not remove the file that Alpine created, nor the images +that Alpine saved in order to display this message, so if you use this mechanism often +you will create many directories and files which the browser will not remove. Alpine +will remove these files when you exit Alpine. Any temporary directory that Alpine +created that has existed for longer than 10 minutes will be automatically erased. +Alpine also erases these directories upon exiting. + +<P> +When Alpine creates a directory to house the files associated to a message that will +pass to an external browser, it tries to delete that directory later on, according to +the discussion above. What this means is that you should consider the contents of the +~/.alpine-html directory in unix-like Alpine and the alpine-html folder in PC-Alpine +as temporary, and not rely on their existence. If you attempt to save files in one of +these directories, chances are your data will be deleted by Alpine. Since deleting is +a destructive action, +every session of Alpine that you have open will only attempt to remove the directories +it created, with their content in them. If this operation fails, Alpine will not try +to investigate, nor will report to you, why the opeation failed. Therefore, users +should periodically check their html directory to see if there is content there that +they wish to delete. + +<P> +<UL> +<LI><A HREF="h_finding_help">Finding more information and requesting help</A> +</UL><P> +<End of help on this topic> +</BODY> +</HTML> ===== h_mainhelp_smime ====== <HTML> <HEAD> |