The NIH LISTSERV Home Page
The easiest way to interact directly with LISTSERV is via LISTSERV's World Wide Web interface. The Web "gateway" to LISTSERV is the NIH LISTSERV Home Page (Figure 1).
Figure 1: The NIH LISTSERV Home Page
http://list.nih.gov
Accessing the List Management Interface
The portion of the website specifically designed for, and restricted to, list owners is called the List Management Interface. To access the List Management Interface, click MANAGE from the LISTSERV Home Page. You will be required to log in before you can proceed (Figure 2). Fill in your e-mail address and LISTSERV password, if you have one, then click the Login button. If you don't have a LISTSERV password, or if you have forgotten your password, follow the instructions in the next section to create one.
Figure 2: LISTSERV Login Screen
Login and Passwords
To log in, you'll need a LISTSERV password. If you're already on the LISTSERV Login Screen (Figure 2 ), click on the CREATE A LISTSERV PASSWORD link. If you're on the LISTSERV Home Page, click For List Owners, then click Create a LISTSERV Password.
The "Create a LISTSERV Password" screen appears (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Create a LISTSERV Password Screen
Fill in your e-mail address, and type in a password of your choosing. (LISTSERV asks you to type it twice to protect against misspellings.) Then click the Create Password button. LISTSERV acknowledges the request onscreen and sends a request for confirmation via e-mail. NOTE: before LISTSERV actually accepts your password, you must confirm the request (see Confirming a Request for Confirmation).
When you use the web interface, LISTSERV "knows" you by the e-mail address with which you log in. Generally, your login address should be the same as your subscriber or owner address for the list you wish to access. If you commonly use more than one e-mail address, you may wish to create a password for each address. (You may use the same password for multiple addresses, if you wish.)
To confirm the request for confirmation, open your e-mail software. If you have more than one e-mail address, choose the one you used to create your LISTSERV password. You should find a request for confirmation from LISTSERV (Figure 4) in your e-mail Inbox within moments.
There are two ways to confirm your subscription: by e-mail reply, or by web hyperlink.
To confirm by e-mail reply: Press the reply button in your e-mail; type the word OK in the body of the reply, and DELETE EVERYTHING ELSE. Leave the subject intact, and send the message.
To confirm by web hyperlink: Find the text near the top of the request for confirmation that reads, "To confirm the execution of your command, simply point your browser to the following URL:", followed by a web link. Click on the link to confirm the command. This should bring up your browser window, and you should see an acknowledgement that your new password has been accepted.
Figure 4: E-mail Request for Confirmation
After confirming your password, click the BACK button in your browser, if necessary, to return to the LISTSERV Login Screen. You should now be able to log in using your new password. At this point, you should see the List Management Main Page (Figure 5).
Figure 5: The List Management Main Page
Managing Subscribers
Figure 6. The Account Management Screen
henry@somewhere.com Henry Brown
Henry Brown <henry@somewhere.com>
henry@somewhere.com (Henry Brown)
If you wish for the user to receive notification that he/she has been added to the list, click the radio button labeled Send welcome message. If you do not wish for the user to be notified, click the radio button labeled Do not notify the user in any way.
Click the Add to listname button to add the user to the list. The Account Management page reappears, along with an acknowledgment message that the user has been added.
Note: LISTSERV has a shortcut for adding multiple users. See Bulk Operations.
Subscribing a List to Another List
LISTSERV allows you to include a list address as a subscriber on another list, known as the host list. This is useful, for example, if you have a subcommittee that should always receive mail from its parent committee, but not vice-versa. You add a list as a subscriber exactly as you would an individual, using the address of the list, e.g., nsb-l@list.nih.gov, followed by a descriptive name such as "NSB E-mail List." All postings sent to the host list are automatically forwarded to the subscribed list. NOTE: When adding a list as a subscriber, be sure to click the radio button labeled Do not notify the user in any way. Otherwise, LISTSERV will send notification to everyone on the subscribed list.
NOTE: for a more sophisticated method of using one list to disseminate mail to another, see LISTSERV's "Super-list" feature. For details, see the List Owner's Manual for LISTSERV from L-Soft:
Adding a Fax Address as a Subscriber
LISTSERV allows you to include a fax gateway address as a subscriber on a list. Mail from the list is sent to an e-mail-to-fax gateway, called the NIH Central Fax Service, which converts the e-mail to a fax. This feature is especially useful for subscribers who do not use e-mail, or who are not network connected, or who simply prefer to receive information by fax.
Adding a fax subscription is the same as adding a regular subscription, except that instead of the user's e-mail address, you type the user's fax gateway address. The format for a fax gateway address is:
name%faxnumber@FAX.NIH.GOV
Examples:
Jane_User%9-202-863-4001@fax.nih.gov
Robert_Porter%2-4359@fax.nih.govFormat the fax number (the part between the % and the @ signs) as though you were dialing it from an NIH campus telephone or fax machine. NOTE: Spaces and parentheses are not allowed. Hyphens are optional.
As the list owner, you will receive an acknowledgement message from the fax gateway each time a fax message is sent to a list subscriber. Due to a quirk of the system, this acknowledgement message may appear to be an error message; however, it generally is not. Read the bottom part of the message to make sure the fax went through. If it did, simply delete the acknowledgement. If it did not, you may wish to re-send the message or (if the problem persists) delete the subscriber from your list. If your list has many fax subscribers, you may wish to set up a rule in your e-mail software to delete these messages automatically, or to send them to a separate folder.
For more information on the NIH Central Fax Service, please point your web browser to http://www.mail.nih.gov/, and select "Central Fax Service" from the User Section in the left margin.
To examine or modify an existing subscription, go to the the "Examine or delete a subscription" section at the top of the the Account Management page. Type all or part of the subscriber's name or e-mail address in the "Name or address:" field, then click the Search in listname button. If only one subscription matches your search criteria, LISTSERV displays all of the information for that subscriber. If more than one subscription matches the search criteria you typed, you will see a list of subscribers with the title "Select a subscriber." Click on the desired subscriber name to select it, then click the Examine button. LISTSERV displays all of the information for that subscriber.
From this screen you can modify the subscriber's name or e-mail address, or change any of the subscriber's options. For example, you can temporarily turn off mail for the subscriber, set topics, or block the subscriber from posting to the list. For further information, click on any of the highlighted terms and read the online help.
When you have made the desired changes, click on the Update button.
To delete a subscriber from your list, go to the the "Examine or delete a subscription" section at the top of the the Account Management page. Type all or part of the subscriber's name or e-mail address in the "Name or address:" field, then click the Search in listname button. One or more subscriptions matching your search criteria should appear. Select the one you wish to delete, then click the Delete button.
NOTE: LISTSERV has a shortcut for deleting multiple users. See Bulk Operations.
Changing Your List Settings (Modifying the List Header)
What Are List Settings?
Every list has settings that control the automatic "behavior" of the list. For example, your list settings determine whether list archives are kept, or who can subscribe to a list. You specify your initial list settings when you fill out the online LISTSERV list application form.
The List Header
List settings are recorded in a special file called the list header. The list header is a file kept by LISTSERV that contains all the information LISTSERV knows about your list -- i.e., your list settings, owner and editor information, and list description. (LISTSERV also stores your subscriber information in the same file, although it's not considered part of the list header.) The list header is created by the LISTSERV Administrator when the list is set up. Once the list is created, the list owner can change the list settings at any time by modifying the list header.
Below is an example of a list header for a fictitious list called MIG-L.
Sample List Header
Microscopy Interest Group
Confidential= No
Review= Private
Subscription= By Owner
Notify= Yes
Send= Public
Reply-to= List,Respect
Default-Options= Repro
Ack= Yes
Errors-to= Owners
Validate= Yes,Confirm
Confirm-Delay= 96
Notebook= Yes,/anonymous_ftp/d2/listserv/mig-l,Monthly,Public
Notebook-Header= Full
Owner= smith@helix.nih.gov (Steven Smith, PhD)
The Microscopy Interest Group is concerned with all aspects
of use of the microscope for biomedical research.
List settings are specified in the list header using List Control Keywords. Each keyword has a set of possible values. When you apply for a new list, values for a basic group of List Control Keywords are set for you "behind the scenes" based on your responses to the questions on the application form. These basic keyword values are defined in the list header. In the example above, the List Control Keywords are the terms followed by an equals sign (=). The keyword value is the information to the right of the equals sign.
You will need to understand something about List Control Keywords in order to modify the list header or troubleshoot your list. The following section explains the most common keywords.
For details, see the List Owner's Manual for LISTSERV from L-Soft:
The Most Common List Control Keywords
SERVICE keyword: defines a "service area" outside of which subscription and other requests are not accepted. Possible values:
Local - NIH only
domain1,domain2... - specified domain(s) only
If you selected the NIH ONLY service area for your list on the application, this keyword was set to LOCAL. On the NIH LISTSERV facility, LOCAL is predefined as NIH only (e-mail addresses ending in NIH.GOV, NCIFCRF.GOV, or CBER.FDA.GOV).
The SERVICE keyword may also be set equal to a specific domain or set of domains. The asterisk (*) may be used as a wildcard character in specifying a domain. For example, the following SERVICE value would be used to create an NCI-only list:
SERVICE= *@nci.nih.gov, *@ncifcrf.gov
The NIH LISTSERV Facility now has a predefined HHS service area (all NIH addresses, plus e-mail addresses ending in: DHHS.GOV; AHCPR.GOV; CDC.GOV; FDA.GOV; HCFA.GOV; HRSA.GOV; IHS.GOV; and SAMHSA.GOV). The HHS service area is defined in a file that is maintained on the NIH LISTSERV machine. To define a list as HHS ONLY, it is only necessary to point to, or "include," the file name in the list header. This is done by adding the following line to the list header:
* .ik hhs
If the SERVICE keyword does not appear at all, and there is no "include" line, then subscription and other requests may be submitted from anywhere on the Internet. (Subscription requests may be further controlled by the SUBSCRIPTION keyword -- see below.)
REVIEW keyword: determines who may view subscriber information. Possible values:
Owner - only list owner may view
Private - only list subscribers may view
Service - only users within the defined service area may view (valid only if a service area is defined)
Public - anyone may view (NOT recommended **)
This keyword determines who may view the list of subscribers (the output of the REVIEW command). If set to OWNER, only the list owner will be able to view the subscriber list. PRIVATE limits viewing to list subscribers only. SERVICE limits viewing to the defined service area (valid only if a service area is defined). PUBLIC means that anyone on the Internet may view (and copy) your list of subscribers.
**NOTE: We recommend against setting REVIEW= PUBLIC in order to protect your list from spammers who may wish to "mine" your subscriber list for addresses.
SUBSCRIPTION keyword: determines how subscription requests are handled by LISTSERV. Possible values:
Closed - only the owner may add/delete subscribers; subscription requests are ignored
By Owner - anyone may send a subscription request; subscription requests are forwarded to owner for approval
Open,Confirm - anyone may subscribe; subscriber receives a confirmation message requiring a response before the subscription becomes effective
This keyword defines how user requests to subscribe to the list are handled by LISTSERV. If subscription is CLOSED, only the owner may add or delete subscribers; all user subscription requests are rejected by LISTSERV. If subscription is BY OWNER, subscription requests from within the list's service area are forwarded to the list owner for approval. If subscription is OPEN, anyone in the list's service area may subscribe.
SEND Keyword: determines who may send mail ("post") mail to the list. Possible values:
Owner - only the list owner may post to the list
Editor - puts list under control of an editor (see EDITOR keyword)
Private - only list subscribers may post to the list
Service - only users within the defined service area may post to the list (valid only if a service area is defined)
Public - anyone may post to the list
This keyword defines who is allowed to post to your list. Selecting OWNER means that only the owner of the list may post. Selecting EDITOR puts your list under control of an editor. This means that all list mail will be forwarded to the editor for approval before it is posted to the list. Selecting PRIVATE allows any list subscriber to post. Selecting SERVICE allows anyone within your service area to post (valid only if a service area is defined). Selecting PUBLIC means anyone on the Internet may post to your list. (NOTE: this may include spammers.)
EDITOR keyword: defines a list editor to whom all mail will be sent for approval before being posted to the list.
If you selected EDITOR as the value of the SEND keyword, above, you must specify at least one editor here. Fill in the editor's full e-mail address.
WARNING!!! In most cases, your NIH directory alias (i.e., an address ending in @nih.gov) WILL NOT WORK as an editor address. Your editor address for the list must exactly match the "From:" address that appears on your outgoing e-mail, or LISTSERV will not recognize you as the editor once the list is set up. In most cases, your "From:" address is the same as your ACTUAL e-mail address, e.g., jonesp@odrockm1.od.nih.gov (NOT Paul_Jones@nih.gov). POSSIBLE EXCEPTIONS: if you use e-mail software such as Eudora mail, which allows you to specify your "From:" address, AND you have specified your NIH directory alias as your "From:" address, you can use it as an editor address.
REPLY-TO keyword: sets a default value for the "Reply-To:" field in the header of list mail. Possible values:
Sender,Respect - replies to postings are addressed to sender
List,Respect - replies to postings are addressed to entire list
This keyword determines who gets the response when a subscriber hits the "reply" button while reading list mail. In most cases, setting this keyword to List,Respect causes replies to be propagated to the whole list (useful for discussion lists), while setting it to Sender,Respect directs replies to to the original sender of the message only (useful for announcement lists). Variations in the reader's e-mail software may cause exceptions by ignoring the Reply-to: header generated by LISTSERV. In such cases, you, as list owner, have no control over where the reply is sent.
CONFIDENTIAL keyword: determines whether the list appears in the "List of Lists" (a list of all known lists, which LISTSERV supplies when a user sends the LISTs command). Possible values:
Yes - list is hidden from List of Lists
Service - appears on List of Lists visible within defined service area
(valid only if a service area is defined)No - appears on global List of Lists
The response to this question determines whether, and how widely, LISTSERV publishes your list name and description. Depending on this setting, LISTSERV may or may not include your list on a composite "list of lists" available to users by command. A value of YES completely hides your list from the world. A value of SERVICE (valid only if a service area is defined) causes your list to be visible within the specified service area. NOTE: a value of NO makes your list visible on LISTSERV's global "list of lists", which in turn may be further publicized to various search sites on the Internet.
NOTEBOOK keyword: determines whether list archives are kept, how often they are stored, and who may view them. One value must be selected from each section. Possible values:
Yes - archives are kept
No - archives are not kept
Weekly - archive file stored weekly
Monthly - archive file stored monthly
Yearly - archive file stored yearly
Owner - only the list owner may view archived files
Private - only list subscribers may view archived files
Service - only users within the defined service area may view archived files (valid only if a service area is defined)
Public - anyone may view archived files
A value of "yes" for this keyword will cause LISTSERV to keep a copy of every posting sent to your list. These copies can be retrieved and viewed upon request. (NOTE: If you choose "no"--i.e., you choose not to keep list archives--your list will not appear on the NIH website at all. This means that users will have to use emailed commands to join or leave the list.)
The second value lets you specify how often the archive files are saved. LISTSERV groups all postings during the interval you specify together into a single concatenated file and stores the file by date. Thus, indirectly, the size of the saved files is also determined by this value. Your choices are WEEKLY, MONTHLY, YEARLY, or SEPARATE. The busier your list, the shorter the interval you should choose (mostly to keep the archive file size manageable).
The third value lets you control who is allowed to read your list archives. A good rule of thumb is to limit this to the same group that was allowed to read the original messages when they were posted to the list. Your choices are OWNER (only the list owner may view), PRIVATE (only list subscribers may view), SERVICE (only individuals within the defined service area may view), or PUBLIC (anyone may view). NOTE that if your archives are PUBLIC, they will appear on the public LISTSERV Archive website and may be easily read by anyone Internet-wide.
From the List Management page, select the desired list, then click the Configuration button. The Edit List Header screen appears ( Figure 7).
Figure 7. The Edit List Header Screen
To edit the list header, simply modify the text in the window, either by typing over or deleting existing text, or by inserting additional text; then click the Update button. You should see a message acknowledging that the header has been updated. (If you've made a syntax error, you will see an error message. For assistance, copy the error message if possible, and e-mail it to listmaster@list.nih.gov.) For specific instructions concerning common changes you may wish to make, see the next section.
Making Your List an Edited List
When more careful control over list content is needed, the list can be edited. On an edited list, all mail posted to the list is sent for review to an individual designated as the list editor. Only postings approved by the editor are circulated to the list. This feature is particularly useful for announcement lists, electronic journals, newsletters, and moderated discussions.
An edited list can be set up by using two list keywords:
Send= Editor,Hold,Confirm
Editor= editor_address@hostMore than one editor can be designated. However, mail sent to the list is automatically forwarded to the first person listed in the "Editor= " keyword list. Only the editors (not the list owners) are allowed to mail directly to the list subscribers. Any editor can send to the list, but only the first listed editor will receive postings for review.
The Hold keyword is optional. With the Hold keyword, LISTSERV holds incoming postings and sends a copy to the editor asking for approval. The editor need only reply "OK" to LISTSERV for the message to be posted. If the message is not approved after a specified time, LISTSERV deletes it automatically. Subscribers see approved mail exactly as originally posted. Without the Hold keyword, LISTSERV delivers all list mail to the editor, who then has the option of forwarding it to the list. List subscribers see the mail as a forwarded message from the list owner.
When the optional Confirm keyword is used, messages posted directly by the editor(s) (i.e., not forwarded for approval by LISTSERV) are confirmed using the OK confirmation mechanism (see Confirming a Request for Confirmation).
Changing Owner Addresses for Your List
To change an owner address, modify the appropriate "Owner=" line. It will look something like this:
Owner= smithj@mail.nih.gov (Jane Smith)
To add additional owners, or an additional listing for an existing owner (e.g., for an owner who uses more than one e-mail address on a regular basis), add an additional line or lines in the same format. (To avoid receiving duplicate owner mail, use the Quiet: definition. See "Turning Off Owner Mail," below.)
Owner= jws@cu.nih.gov (Jane Smith)
To delete an owner address, simply remove the corresponding owner definition line from the list header. NOTE: You must have at least one non-quiet Owner defined in the header, or LISTSERV will reject the change.
Changing Editor Addresses for Your List
The process of modifying or adding an editor address is similar to that for modifying an owner address, except that you modify/add the appropriate "Editor= " definition line(s) to the list header.
In some cases it may be desirable to turn off owner e-mail to a particular owner address. Owner e-mail usually consists of bounced list messages, announcements of importance to list owners, and other warnings and reports. At least one owner must receive owner mail, in order to monitor list problems, etc. To turn off owner mail to one or more owner addresses, insert a header line containing the Quiet prefix:
Owner= smithj@mail.nih.gov (Jane Smith)
Owner= Quiet:
Owner= sxj@cu.nih.gov (Jane Smith)Owner addresses following the Owner= Quiet: keyword will not receive owner mail, but will have owner privileges. There should only be one Owner= Quiet: line in the header.
Use this keyword to eliminate duplicate mailings to list owners who have more than one owner address for a single list.
Turning On "Hands-Off" Bounce Processing
"Hands-off bounce processing" is a setting that allows LISTSERV to monitor and eliminate bad subscriber addresses without owner intervention. It utilizes a feature called passive monitoring, a new setting available for the Autodelete keyword. To turn on "hands-off" bounce processing, change the "Auto-Delete=" keyword in the list header to read:
Auto-Delete= Yes,Full-Auto,Probe(30)
This setting suppresses bounce messages to the list owners. Instead, the list owners receive a single daily error monitoring report showing which addresses LISTSERV is monitoring for possible deletion.
For further details on the probe feature, please consult the List Owner's Manual for LISTSERV from L-Soft:
Changing Where Replies Are Sent
A popular change involves modifying the Reply-to= keyword so that replies to list postings are automatically addressed to the sender of the post rather than to the entire list (see Troubleshooting). If the entire list is seeing replies to postings (sometimes inappropriately), here's what the keyword line probably looks like:
Reply-to= List,Respect
Modify the line as follows:
Reply-to= Sender,Respect
Be aware that due to variations in e-mail software, the settings of the Reply-to keyword are not always honored.
If a list is only of interest to members of the NIH user community (e-mail addresses ending in NIH.GOV, NCIFCRF.GOV, or CBER.FDA.GOV), the following keywords should be set:
- Service= Local
- Review= Service (or Review= anything other than Public)
- Send= Service (or Send= anything other than Public)
- Confidential= Service
- Notebook= Yes,pathname,interval,Service (or Notebook= Yes,pathname,interval,Private)
If a list is only of interest to members of the HHS user community (NIH e-mail addresses, plus e-mail addresses ending in: DHHS.GOV; AHCPR.GOV; CDC.GOV; FDA.GOV; HCFA.GOV; HRSA.GOV; IHS.GOV; and SAMHSA.GOV), the following keywords should be set:
- .ik hhs
- Review= Service
(or Review= anything other than Public)- Send= Service (or Send= anything other than Public)
- Confidential= Service
- Notebook= Yes,pathname,interval,Service (or Notebook= Yes, pathname,interval,Private)
The ".ik hhs" designation points to a file on the LISTSERV machine which contains the HHS service area definition. If you choose to make your list an HHS-only list, be sure to delete any line in your header beginning with "Service=".
Layout
The Layout screen contains a questionnaire that allows you to customize the appearance of the WWW archive interface for your list(s). You will be asked simple questions, such as whether to use a text or graphical interface for your archives, which icons you want to include in the toolbar, etc. It is recommended that, before answering the questions, you start a new browser window and access the archives for your list (the layout page gives you a hyperlink to assist you in doing so). After changing the layout, you can simply reload the second browser window to see your new layout.
To access the Layout Screen (Figure 8), click the Layout button on the List Management Web interface. You will see a form with multiple questions. Answer one or more questions (you need only answer the ones that apply to the changes you wish to make), then click the Update now! button. If for some reason you are dissatisfied with the changes, click on the Reset to site defaults button at the bottom of the questionnaire to revert to the default settings.
Note: if you are familiar with HTML, you can also use the WWW Template Editor to provide your own HTML code for the various pages of the interface. However, if you do so, you will no longer be able to customize the page in question using this questionnaire, i.e., using the Layout screen.
Template Management
The mail and web template editor lets you customize the default templates for your list. Editing any of your list templates is completely optional, as LISTSERV provides a full set of default messages.
LISTSERV groups the templates into two categories:
- mail templates – files containing the "boilerplate" text for the administrative messages sent by LISTSERV in response to most commands; and
- WWW templates – files containing the HTML for your list's web pages.
To access the Template Management Screen ( Figure 9), click the Templates button from the List Management Web interface. LISTSERV brings up the Mail Template Screen first by default. To switch to the WWW templates screen, click the Switch to WWW templates button underneath the drop box. (Similarly, to switch back to the mail templates, click the Switch to Mail templates button from the WWW templates screen.)
Figure 9. The Template Management Screen
Using this screen, you can easily create a welcome message or a bottom or top banner for your list. A welcome message is one that is sent automatically whenever someone joins your list (it is sent in addition to LISTSERV's default message to new subscribers). A banner is a "boilerplate" message that is appended to the top or bottom of every message posted to your list. By default, these messages are blank, so to create one, simply select the desired form, click the Edit button, and type the desired text. When finished, click Update.
The other mail templates contain varying combinations of text and codes. If you feel a compelling need to modify one of these templates, please be careful not to alter the codes. We strongly recommend that you consult the L-Soft List Owner's Manual and read the chapter on modifying the default mail templates before attempting any modifications.
This screen allows you to customize the web pages for your list. However:
WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU USE THE LAYOUT SCREEN TO MAKE CHANGES IN YOUR LIST'S WEB PAGES. DO NOT EDIT THE WWW TEMPLATES UNLESS YOU HAVE A PROGRAMMING BACKGROUND AND ARE EXTREMELY FAMILIAR WITH HTML.
Bulk Operations
This screen allows you to add large numbers of subscribers to your list, or delete large numbers of subscribers from your list, based on a source file that you specify, called the Input file. LISTSERV refers to addresses in the Input file as "imported addresses." To access the Bulk Operations screen (Figure 10), click Bulk op. from the List Management interface.
Figure 10. The Bulk Operations Screen
- Add the imported addresses to the list; do not remove any subscribers
- Remove all subscribers from the list, then add the imported addresses (to remove all subscribers, select this option and omit the input file)
- Remove the imported addresses from the list; do not add any subscribers
- Remove the imported addresses from all lists
The input file must be a plain text file (not a word processor document or spreadsheet) and must contain one address per line, optionally followed with a space (or TAB) and the subscriber's name.
The subscribers being added or deleted will not be notified.
These functions require a browser supporting the "file upload" extension (RFC1867). Current versions of Netscape and Internet Explorer both support this operation, but you should try other browsers carefully on a test list.NOTE FOR MAC USERS: You may encounter difficulties with bulk operations if you create your input file on a Macintosh computer. Macintosh text editors do not provide line breaks at the end of each line, causing LISTSERV to process the file as one long entry. Mac SimpleText is known to cause this problem and should not be used to create an input file. The following have been tested and found to work:
- MS Word - save the file as MS-DOS text or MS-DOS text with line breaks;
- BBEdit Lite - save the file using the "Line Breaks = DOS" feature;
- Corel WordPerfect - save the file using the Text Export option, then select PC Text--Delete Soft Returns in the dialog box.
Sending Commands
Many list management operations may be performed simply by sending a command to LISTSERV. Despite the convenience of LISTSERV's web interface, occasionally you may need or prefer to send a command to LISTSERV.
Included for the convenience of list owners, the General Command screen allows you to send a command to LISTSERV without having to exit the List Management Interface in your browser. To access the General Command screen (Figure 11), click the Commands button from the List Management Web page. To send a command, type it in the Command: field, then click the Submit button. LISTSERV responds to the command on the web page, usually within seconds.
Figure 11. The General Command Screen
You can also e-mail commands directly to LISTSERV. For further information on e-mailing commands to LISTSERV, please see Administering Your List Using Commands.
Most list owner functions can be accomplished most easily using the List Management Web Interface. However, on occasion, you may wish to use the following commands, which allow you to accomplish a couple of functions that the Web Interface doesn't readily accommodate.
HOLD command. This command causes all list mail to be held. Use it any time you suspect a mail loop, i.e., your list is suddenly being inundated with mail. Use the FREE command to free a held list.
QUERY command. The query command may be used to query subscription options for one or more subscribers on your list(s). The query command allows use of wildcard characters, allowing you to request information about groups of users, or find a user on more than one list, etc.
REVIEW command. While the web interface allows you to display your subscriber list, it does not provide a way to print it, save it, easily count how many subscribers you have, or view more than a handful of subscribers at a time. If you wish to do any of these things, you must use the REVIEW command. If you intend to print or save the subscriber list, you must use an e-mailed REVIEW command rather than the web command interface.
SET command. The SET command is used to modify the subscription options for one or more users. The Accounts Management interface does this very well on a user-by-user basis. However, to set options simultaneously for a single user across multiple lists, or for multiple users on a single list, the SET command, which allows for wildcard characters, may be more convenient.
ARCHIVE commands: INDEX, GET, SEARCH, and GETPOST. List archives for which access is restricted to the list owner cannot be viewed via the web interface. The only way for the list owner to access the archive files is via commands.
For more information on these selected commands, see Administering Your List Using Commands. For comprehensive information on these and other LISTSERV commands, please consult the List Owner's Manual for LISTSERV from L-Soft:
Mail-Merge
The mail-merge feature is not implemented on the NIH LISTSERV Facility.