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Eudora 4.2 Book & Multiple Users

My latest book, "Eudora 4.2 for Windows & Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide," (Peachpit Press, ISBN 020135389X) should now be widely available. The book is essentially the second edition of my earlier Eudora Visual QuickStart Guide (discussed in "Eudora Tips & Tricks" in TidBITS-405), offering concise, step-by-step instructions for performing almost any task in Eudora. Each task takes no more than a single page and is accompanied by screenshots that parallel the step-by-step instructions. I also include numerous little known tips and strategies for using Eudora’s more powerful features like filters, personalities, saved searches, stationery, and the toolbar.

<http://www.peachpit.com/books/catalog/ K5846.html>

<https://tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=04270>

For those familiar with the previous edition of the book (which is still available for people using Eudora Light and Eudora Pro 3.1), there are numerous changes. I removed all discussion of Eudora Light because nothing has changed with that program since the previous edition of the book and so much has changed with Eudora Pro that covering both programs simultaneously was no longer feasible. I also added new chapters on personalities, window management, and IMAP (Interactive Message Access Protocol, an alternate method of retrieving Internet email), and completely rewrote the Finding and Searching chapter to cover Eudora’s new search feature. For more details on the book’s contents, news and tips about Eudora, and links to important Eudora-related resources, visit the Web site I maintain for the book.

<http://www.tidbits.com/eudora/>

The book retails for $17, though you can get it for less than $14 through Amazon using the link below, and I suspect that many physical bookstores also carry it at a discounted price. Academic institutions interested in ordering quantities of the books for classes qualify for a steeper discount direct from Peachpit; email <[email protected]> for details. Special discounts are also available for non-academic quantity orders such as for businesses that have site licenses of Eudora; contact <[email protected]> for details.

<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ ISBN=020135389X/tidbitselectro00A/>

With one notable exception – Multiple User support in Mac OS 9 – the book is completely up to date in covering the latest versions of Eudora Pro 4.2. People using Mac OS 9’s Multiple Users feature can now take advantage of a change in the just-released Eudora Pro 4.2.2 to simplify setting up Eudora for multiple people using the same Mac. Essentially, Eudora now stores its Eudora Folder in the Documents folder by default, rather than the System Folder. If you have Multiple Users turned on, Eudora Pro 4.2.2 automatically uses each person’s Documents folder for that person’s Eudora Folder. Here then are instructions for how you would do this in earlier versions of the Mac (which work for all versions of Eudora) and under Mac OS 9 (which requires Eudora Pro 4.2.2).

<https://tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=05643>

Separate Mail Folders Prior to Mac OS 9 — In the past, launching Eudora by double-clicking the application’s icon would load your settings, filters, nicknames, and stored mail from the Eudora Folder in the System Folder. However, you can also launch Eudora by double-clicking a Eudora Settings file, which is the key to setting up Eudora for different people sharing the same Mac. Let’s assume you’re planning on sharing your Mac with a friend, and you want to set up Eudora so you can both receive mail separately. Follow these steps.



  1. Quit Eudora if it’s running. In the Finder, open the System Folder and select the Eudora Folder.


  2. From the File menu, choose Duplicate. The Finder makes a duplicate of the Eudora Folder, called Eudora Folder copy.


  3. Rename the copy to start with your first name, as in "Adam’s Eudora Folder".


  4. Open the original Eudora Folder. Inside it is a file called Eudora Settings. Select that file, and from the File menu, choose Make Alias to make an alias called Eudora Settings alias.


  5. Rename the alias with your friend’s name, as in "Tonya’s Email", and move it to the desktop.


  6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with the second Eudora Folder. Rename the second Eudora Settings alias with your name, as in "Adam’s Email".


  7. Double-click the first alias you create to launch Eudora.


  8. Configure Eudora with your friend’s email account and settings as you would normally.


  9. Double-click the second alias you created to switch to those settings (there’s no need to quit Eudora), and repeat step 8 with your email account and settings.


  10. You may wish to leave the two aliases on the desktop or copy them to the Apple Menu Items folder. Whenever either of you want to check mail, launch Eudora by opening the appropriate alias file.

You can rename the original Eudora Folder if you like, and you can move both customized Eudora Folders out of the System Folder and put them anywhere you like, since you’re accessing them through the aliases now. However, if you do that, I’d recommend creating an empty text file called "Eudora Folder" and placing it loose in the System Folder in place of the original Eudora Folder. That way, if you launch Eudora by double-clicking the application icon accidentally, Eudora prompts you to open a Eudora Settings file (pick one of your aliases) instead of creating a new, empty Eudora Folder in the System Folder.

Mac OS 9 New Multiple User Setup — Let’s assume now that you’ve just installed Mac OS 9 at home and want to install Eudora Pro 4.2.2 for the first time. Follow these steps.


  1. In the Multiple Users control panel, turn on Multiple User Accounts and create a new user for your friend. The Finder creates a Users folder on the startup disk, placing in it a folder named for your friend. In that folder is a Documents folder.


  2. Install and configure Eudora Pro 4.2.2 normally for yourself as the owner of the Mac. (If the Eudora Pro 4.2.2. application is already installed, launch it by double-clicking the application icon.) Eudora creates a Eudora Folder in the Documents folder at the main level of your hard disk; if that folder doesn’t exist initially, Eudora creates it as well.


  3. From the Special menu in the Finder, choose Logout, then login again as your friend.


  4. Launch Eudora Pro 4.2.2 by double-clicking its application icon. Eudora creates a new Eudora Folder in your friend’s Documents folder.


  5. Configure Eudora for your friend.

As long as you leave these two Eudora Folders in their default locations and don’t rename them, you can continue to launch Eudora by double-clicking its application icon. Eudora automatically loads the appropriate settings and stored mail for each of you, depending on who is logged into the Mac at that point.

Converting Multiple Mail Folders to Mac OS 9 — It’s more likely that when you install Mac OS 9 you already have an existing setup with multiple mail folders, created using the traditional method discussed above. If that’s the case, you have two choices. First, you can continue to launch Eudora from your individual settings file aliases, as you’ve been doing. Second, you can convert your existing installation to work with Mac OS 9’s Multiple Users feature. The decision probably hinges on whether you plan to use the Mac OS 9 Multiple Users feature in general – if you do, conversion is probably worthwhile, whereas if you have no other use for Multiple Users, it makes sense to stick with your existing Eudora setup. If you decide to make the leap to the Mac OS 9 Multiple Users approach, though, here’s what to do. As always, make sure you have a current backup first.


  1. In the Multiple Users control panel, turn on Multiple User Accounts and create a new user for your friend. The Finder creates a Users folder on the startup disk, placing it in a folder named for your friend. In that folder is a Documents folder.


  2. Move your Eudora Folder (which may be called something like "Adam’s Eudora Folder") to the Documents folder in the main window of your hard disk. If no Documents folder exists, create one first. Make sure your Eudora Folder is named "Eudora Folder".


  3. Move your friend’s Eudora Folder to the Documents folder nested within his or her individual folder in the Users folder. Make sure it too is called "Eudora Folder".

That’s all that should be necessary, and from now on, you can just launch Eudora by double-clicking its application icon rather than using specific settings file aliases. Just make sure to logout and login appropriate to access your different email accounts.

Finally, here’s a tip that will make it possible for your friend to check mail quickly without going through the sometimes lengthy logout and login process, make an alias of the Eudora Settings file in your friend’s Eudora Folder and double-click it to switch settings. The reverse is not true – users cannot access anything in the owner’s Documents folder.


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