A channel-specific option file can be used to provide additional control information to the channel. This information is used when the message is formatted and transmitted.

Option files are stored in the PMDF table directory (i.e., PMDF_TABLE: on OpenVMS) and have names of the form x_option., x is the name of the BITNET channel to which the option file applies. Each BITNET channel can have its own option file.

Option files consist of several lines. Each line contains the setting for one option. An option setting has the form:

option=value

value can be either a string or an integer, depending on the option's requirements. If the option accepts an integer value, a base can be specified using notation of the form b%v b is the base expressed in base 10 and v is the actual value expressed in base b.

Comments are allowed. Any line that begins with an exclamation point is considered to be a comment and is ignored. Blank lines are also ignored in any option file.

The available options are:

FORMAT (NETDATA, PRINTER, PUNCH)

Controls the class of formatting used when transmitting messages. Valid values are PUNCH, PRINTER, and NETDATA. PUNCH is the default and provides records up to 80 characters long. PRINTER provides 132 character records, and NETDATA even longer records. Note, however, that not all BITNET mail receivers can accept all these different formats. This option is equivalent to the Jnet SEND command qualifiers /PUNCH, /PRINTER, and /NETDATA. This option is not supported by ANJE.

CLASS (string)

This option controls the message class. The default class for messages is M. Other classes can be used, but M is the standard class for mail messages. In particular, Jnet and ANJE both process only class M messages as mail.

EXPAND_TABS (0, 1)

This option controls the expansion of tabs in the message body. A value of 1 (the default) indicates that tabs are to be expanded to spaces, with tab stops every 8 characters. A value of 0 inhibits expansion, leaving the handling of tabs up to the transport agent (Jnet or ANJE).

OPTIONS (string)

This option controls the setting of the options string associated with the NJE envelope. An empty options string is generated by default. This option is not supported by ANJE.

LINE_LENGTH (integer > 0)

This option controls the line length limit imposed on lines in message bodies. Lines longer than this limit are broken up into multiple lines, and subsequent lines are indented. For proper operation of BSMTP, this length limit should be less than or equal to the overall RECORDSIZE set below.

RECORDSIZE (integer > 0)

Establishes a maximum record size for all messages. This value cannot be greater than the limits associated with the various formats described above. Longer records will be broken into multiple records by the file transmission software. This option corresponds to Jnet's /RECORDSIZE qualifier, and is not supported by ANJE. There is no default limit.