JavaFaces 2.0
Just Released!
|
Murray Weismer
just uploads on Hobbes JavaFaces 2.0, Java program to check
incomming mail. The archive is javafac2.zip, 226,2K. JavaFaces is a Java application that will watch your Mail
Server mailbox and display a set of images that represent the originator of the
e-mail. It makes use of the PIcon DataBase which contains thousands of images representing
computer users and organizations.
JavaFaces will periodically examine the mail waiting at a
Mail Server and if new mail has arrived, it will display an Icon that represents
the sender of the Mail. If multiple e-mails are received from the same person it
will display the updated count in the corner of the image. By default, it will use
the "userid@host" from the Mail "From:" header and search the
PIcon Database for a matching image of that userid at that host. If no image of
a user is found, it will try to find an image for the host domain. But the user
can override this to select unique images to be displayed based on information from
any of the Mail headers.
Here you see what the JavaFaces window looks like on Windows 95. Assume that this
user had associated an image of a bike with one frequent correspondent and an image
of a parrot with another. The window shows that this mailbox has 5 pieces of mail
waiting; one from the bike rider, 2 from the bird lover, one from somebody at IBM
and one from the author of JavaFaces.
The user can also specify a sound file that will be played when mail arrives from
a specific user and/or a default sound that will be played when any new mail arrives.
JavaFaces can also eliminate the time consuming retrieval of unwanted or unsolicited
mail. You can specify special filters that will group mail from selected sites or
that contain key phrases in the subject line onto a special "Kill" button.
You can then select and optionally delete the mail directly from the server. You
can also have it deleted automatically.
JavaFaces is somewhat loosly based on a Unix X Window rogram named XFACES. and
makes use of the PIcon DataBase that is maintained by Steve Kinzler.
Current Status
Version 2.0 - Released June 1998
Features - Version 2.0
Threaded Operation: The application was rewritten to support "Threads"
so that the various functions can run simultaneously. While it is reading the next
new e-mail message, it can also be searching the Picon Database for a previous
e-mail. This has greatly improved how quickly JavaFaces can read the mail and display
the icons, especially when first starting up.
IMAP Mailbox support: It can now support IMAP Mail Servers in addition to POP3
Mail Servers. This support uses the Sun JavaMail API so as SUN JavaMail supports
additional mail servers (like Lotus, Unix mail, etc) this support can be added easily
to JavaFaces.
Dynamic Icons for unknown users: It now has an option BuildImageURL that specifies
a blank icon. When specified, if the search for a matching icon fails, then the
blank icon is displayed with the userid and the last 2 host qualifiers superimposed
on it.
IgnorePicon Option: You can specify that you do not want to use selected Picons.
This can be used in conjunction with the BuildImageURL or SelectAfter option to
bypass certain icons that might be always located in the PIconDB. For example: "anything.net"
or "anything.de".
Icon Grayed out after viewing: If you click on a Face icon to view the list of
mail messsages, the icon then remains "grayed out" and has a "button
pushed in" appearance until more mail for that icon arrives. This is intended
to help keep track of which icons have new mail.
Reply-To used for searching PIcondDB: If an arriving E-Mail contains both a From:Reply-to
header, both will be used to determine the appropriate icon to display. with the
Reply-to having precedence.
Improve handling of invalid From: Mail headers Because SPAM E-mail often arrives
with a From: email header or with the user or host missing, JavaFaces now converts
this to "From: -@-" so that it can easily be matched with a KillSelect
statement.
Java 1.1 support: I have upgraded the code to use Java 1.1 AWT features that will
hopefully solve some of the cross platform problems with the Graphical User Interfaces
and improve the appearance. The scrollbar and status line are markedly more well
behaved.
Bug fixes: A number of bugs have been fixed and probably some new ones have been
introduced.
Features - Version 1.2
Searching PIcon Databases: The Master PIcon Database at the University of Indiana
holds personal images for thousands of individuals and thousands of icons representing
companies, organizations and countries from which you might receive mail. Also,
multiple PIcon databases can be specified so you can also setup a local database
using a distributed version of the Perl image search script. User Select Statements:
Each user can specify a list of mail recipients and specify the image that will
be shown for each. The images can either be files on the local system or images
that reside anywhere on the net.
Image Cache: The images that are returned from the PIconDB server are cached on
the local client. This will minimize the interactions with remote servers and greatly
improve the performance of JavaFaces. Kill File Support: You can now specify selection
criteria for deleting unwanted mail. This mail can either be deleted automatically
or gathered under a "Kill" image where it can be optionally viewed and
deleted with the click of the mouse. Included Option files: You can now have other
files be included into your option file processing. This might be used to support
a shared select file for a group of users.
Multiple Mailboxes: You can now specify multiple Mail Servers in your Option file
and easily switch to view any of the servers. Scrollbar Support: You can now specify
the maximum number of images to be displayed and use a scrollbar to view the other
images. Search Host Domain only support: You can specify that the PIcon database
and cache be searched for a match on host name only. Since an average user receives
messages from a limited number of hosts, most incoming mail messages will find a
matching Picon for the host already in the cache and avoid any remote search.
Log File Support: Important events and errors are written to a log file. Recommended
if you are using the AutoDelete facility.
Optional long delay: From the menubar, you can change the delay interval for checking
the mailbox to either a short or long interval. The long interval is designed for
people with dialup connections that want to leave their workstation unattended and
have it redial and check the mail every hour or so. Remembers option file and window
position: The name of the option file used and the window position is now stored
when JavaFaces terminates so when it is restarted it will use the same option file
(unless respecified) and will be in the same position as it was last. However
on Windows, the Window Move is not reflected to the application. If you want the
window position remembered, move the window and then resize it horizontally.
Improved performance of reading from the POP server: Although still slow, the time
to read the mail headers from the server has been cut by over 50%.
Proxy Support: If you reside behind a firewall, JavaFaces will support the use
of a Proxy server to access the PIcon Database. Verify Icon Selection: You can
verify that the correct Icon will be selected for mail from some correspondent,
without actually getting any mail. The "Verify Image Selection" menu
item will let you enter the From: information and optionally any other mail header
line and will then process it just like a received email.
CONTACT AUTHOR:
Murray Weismer
weismer@erols.com
Pogram contact name: jthomas@cruzio.com
Program URL: http://www.cruzio.com/~jthomas/javafaces
@Macarlo, Inc.
@Macarlo's Shareware & Web
OS/2
Java Lobby Member
Java Site Accredited
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