PMDF System Manager's Guide
PMDF-REF-6.0


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38.9 WordPerfect Office (GroupWise) channels

WordPerfect Office channels are used to convert messages between the RFC 822 and MIME message formats used by PMDF and the format used by the WordPerfect Office API gateway. Versions 1.0 and 1.1 of the API format are presently supported. The WordPerfect Office channel programs combined with the WordPerfect Office API gateway and some mechanism to transfer files between systems produces an effective gateway between PMDF and WordPerfect Office.

The WordPerfect Office channel programs attempt to convert as much of MIME as possible to compatible WordPerfect Office message formats. However, limitations in WordPerfect Office make a complete conversion impossible, so in some cases the conversion will be limited in scope. In particular, WordPerfect Office is incapable of handling nested multipart and message structures, so any sense of nested structure is lost in the conversion process.

WordPerfect Office also provides some messaging capabilities that cannot be converted into MIME. Specifically, only messages of type MAIL are supported by this channel at the present time.

38.9.1 Required WordPerfect software

A copy of the WordPerfect Office API Gateway is required.

With WordPerfect Office 4.0, the WordPerfect Office API Gateway 4.0 was included automatically; if you have WordPerfect Office 4.0, then you have the required API gateway also.

With WordPerfect Office 4.1, the WordPerfect Office API Gateway 4.1 is now a separate product, Novell part number 00662644057743; if you do not already have this product, you will need to obtain it from Novell.

38.9.2 Related WordPerfect Office documentation

The WordPerfect Office side reference is the manual WordPerfect Office API Gateway 4.0, publication GWUSIGL40, May 1993. (Note that the software must be at least version 4.0A.) Someone trying to set up a gateway who is unfamiliar with WordPerfect Office should read the Introduction and Chapter One, "Planning", for an overview of the API Gateway and its terminology, and Chapters 2 and 3, which explain how to install and configure the API Gateway. A very useful graphic showing the API directory structure can be found in Appendix J (page 102).

38.9.3 How to prepare your WordPerfect Office for PMDF

You should have already installed WordPerfect Office and created a domain and post office for your WP users. In order for WP Office to exchange email with PMDF, you need to create a Gateway using the WP Office ADMIN utility. First select your current domain, then choose Create in the menu, then select Gateway to create a gateway. The following fields in the Gateway Information screen should be filled in as appropriate.
1. Domain: current domain 
+---2. Gateway ID --------------------------------+ 
|WP Name: PMDF                                    | 
|Foreign Name:                                    | 
|Description: PMDF to WPO gateway                 | 
|Directory: api40                                 | 
|Gateway alias type: PMDF                         | 
+-------------------------------------------------+ 
+---3. Gateway Execution -------------------------+ 
|Execution mode: MS launch                        | 
|Executable filename: api.exe                     | 
|Command line arguments:                          | 
|Launch on high priority : Yes                    | 
+-------------------------------------------------+ 
4. Time Zone : as appropriate 
5. Administrators: None 
+--- Settings -----------------------+ 
| Time... Optional... Specifics...   | 
+------------------------------------+ 
Then select specifics in the settings to get into the API gateway configuration screen and enter the path where you the messages to and from PMDF will be stored. The value given below is just an example.
+---- API Gateway Configuration ------------------+ 
|1. Gateway File Path                             | 
|Root directory for gateway messages:             | 
|   Path: m:\wpdomain\wpgate\api40                | 
|-------------------------------------------------+ 
|Root directory for directory services messages:  | 
|   Path: m:\wpdomain\wpgate\api40                | 
+-------------------------------------------------+ 
 
2. [ ] Component keyword addressing 
3. [x] Save Bad Messages in GWPROB directory. 
 
If you created the gateway successfully, then you should find the directory structure created as follows:
                   m:\wpdomain\wpgate\api40 
                            | 
               +---------+-------+----------+ 
             API_IN   ATT_IN  API_OUT  ATT_OUT 
 
The API_IN and ATT_IN directories are where messages from PMDF are stored. The API_OUT and ATT_OUT directories are where messages to PMDF are stored. Depending on the transfer method, PMDF may directly read and write these directories, or you may have a .bat file running to copy files between VMS and these directories.

You then need to configure and set up a Message Server station, the "support PC", to run the Message Server (aka Connection Server) to transfer messages between post offices and the API gateway (PMDF).

38.9.4 Telling PMDF about WordPerfect Office

Setting up the WordPerfect Office (a.k.a. GroupWise) channel in PMDF is best performed by running the PMDF-LAN configuration utility (see the appropriate edition of the PMDF Installation Guide for the use of the PMDF-LAN configuration utility) and editing the resulting files, if necessary, to perform any further customization necessary for your site. Each such file is described in detail in later sections: