Standards Review and Recommendation Publication
SRRPUB12
E-Mail and Document Interchange Guidelines
Revised August 28, 2002 Version 1.5
Standards Review and Recommendations Publications (SRRPUB)
are issued by the Department of Information Resources (DIR).
They are intended to be used as guidance by Texas state agencies
and institutions of higher education and do not mandate any
particular action.
Introduction
The Legislature passed several bills that addressed the availability
of government information in electronic format, require agencies
and universities to use e-mail to communicate with the public,
and facilitate accessibility.
The State Strategic Plan for
Information Resources Management provides a mission and
vision along with goals and objectives for the use of technology
and provision of public services for the people of Texas.
In support of these initiatives, this SRRPUB addresses standards
for E-Mail systems and document interchange between and among
state agencies and the public.
Status of E-Mail and Related Standards
DIR staff monitor industry trends and track the status of
standards being developed by the Internet
Engineering Task Force (IETF) and other standards bodies
and organizations. The standards for interoperability between
TCP/IP based (see 1TAC 201.13
d) E-Mail systems and document interchange are currently
robust and should be used by agencies when purchasing or upgrading
current office automation systems.
"Groupware" standards and technology build on the interoperability
between E-Mail /document interchange, to include other office
systems: scheduling (calendar), voice mail, and FAX. However,
the standards for groupware and demonstrated interoperability
between vendor products may take another 12-18 months. SRRPUB12
will be updated as the other standards mature and vendors
have implemented the standards in products. Specifying a set
of standards that meet agency operational requirements allows
for interoperability from multiple vendors, and getting the
best price through competitive negotiations. The basic messaging
capabilities should support:
- Reliable delivery of mail
- Easy & reliable attachment support
Internet Transport standards
Standards can assist in building a messaging architecture
that is reliable, scaleable, and cost effective. These include:
- Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) backbone
- Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) attachment
support
- Post Office Protocol (POP) delivery
- Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) delivery
The most current version of each of the above standards is
available through the IETF
Web site, or by going directly to the Request for Comments
(RFC) page at
http://www.isi.edu/rfc-editor/catagories/rfc-standard.html.
The Internet Mail Consortium
(IMC) also tracks the development and interoperability of
Internet mail standards. A current list of RFCs and Internet
Drafts can be found at http://www.imc.org/mail-standards.html.
Mail Attachments and Interoperability
Attaching a document to an E-Mail message has been one way
to share information between and among state agencies and
the public. However, government entities should consider the
audience and potential for making information
widely available via the Web. SRRPUB11
provides guidelines for publishing information using HTML
and the Web. HTML is well suited for hypertext, multimedia,
and the display of small and reasonably simple documents.
HTML is based on the Standard Generalized Markup Language
(SGML), an International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) standard for defining and using document formats. The
Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C)
is currently working with ISO and other standards organizations
on the Extensible Markup Language (XML) as a data format for
structured document interchange on the Web. If documents are
made available via the Web, then an E-Mail message announcing
a new document or a response to a specific request would only
contain the location or Uniform Resource Locator (URL), not
the document itself. This process has several advantages:
- increases access by other government entities and the
public
- decreases the data/packet transmission overhead especially
when sending to multiple addressees
- facilitates compliance with the State
Publication Depository Program and the Texas Records
and Information Locator (TRAIL) program
In all other cases, where the information must be attached
to a message, the Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME)
standards should be followed. The MIME standards include:
- RFC 2045,
specifies the various headers used to describe the structure
of MIME messages.
- RFC 2046,
defines the general structure of the MIME media typing system
and defines an initial set of media types.
- RFC 2047,
describes extensions to RFC
822 to allow non-US-ASCII text data in Internet mail
header fields.
- RFC 2048,
specifies various Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)
registration procedures for MIME-related facilities.
- RFC 2049,
describes MIME conformance criteria as well as providing
some illustrative examples of MIME message formats, acknowledgments,
and the bibliography.
Document Types and Interoperability
In addition to selecting e-mail systems that support the
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) standards, word
processing and other application specific software (e.g.,
spreadsheet, presentation) require additional consideration.
The most basic transfer is ASCII text files, however this
form of conversion and exchange could limit the use of the
information by the receiving individual/organization. Converting
a text based document to ASCII will only impact formatting,
converting a complex document with tables or objects could
render the document useless. Attempting to attach a document
using the latest version of the application can also limit
use by the receiving individual/organization.
Most applications have a "save as" function which allows
a file to be saved as an older version that can be converted/opened
by different vendor applications (e.g., it is not advisable
to try exchanging Word documents created with Office 97 with
anyone who does not have the exact same software version.
However, the file could be saved as a Word 6.0 or older version,
or a WordPerfect file format). In all cases the sender should
allow the application to set the file extension format (e.g.,
.doc, .wpd, .xls, pdf) as unique file extensions can have
an adverse effect on the file transfer or conversion.
The other option is to convert the file to the Adobe Acrobat
Portable Document Format (PDF). The Acrobat Reader can be
downloaded for free, and files can be printed or viewed in
their original format. While formatting is retained, the text
is not searchable. The originator of the document should first
check the Acrobat "Read Me" file for any known problems with
specific applications. Additional information can be obtained
from the Adobe Web site at http://www.adobe.com/acrobat.
Recommendations
1. DIR recommends that all Texas state government agencies
implement/transition to systems that comply with the above
standards for interoperability between E-Mail systems and
document interchange.
2. Agencies should consider publishing documents on a Web
site to increase access to government information and services.
Address questions about the Texas Information Technology
Standards Web pages to:
Barbara Nadalini
512-463-5360, phone
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