Much of the information provided in this chapter is intended to supplement that found in the first two chapters of the OpenVMS edition of the PMDF User's Guide.

User interaction with PMDF takes place via any of several interfaces including: PMDF MAIL, PMDF Pine, VMS MAIL, DECwindows MAIL, Pathworks MAIL, Gold-Mail, and MINT. If PMDF-MR is available, then users can also utilize ALL-IN-1 IOS, MailWorks clients (A1MAIL) and other MAILbus (Message Router) agents available from Hewlett-Packard Company. In addition, programs which utilize the callable interface to VMS MAIL should work with PMDF. Users do not directly interact with PMDF and, for the most part, should be unaware of PMDF's existence.

If the optional PMDF-MR product has been installed, ALL-IN-1 IOS and MailWorks users can direct messages through PMDF by specifying the name of the PMDF Message Router mailbox, usually "PMDF", as a route in the address.

The standard capabilities of ALL-IN-1 IOS and MailWorks are supported by PMDF-MR, including multiple attachments, non-textual bodyparts, and delivery and read receipt notification. In addition, PMDF-MR can be configured to perform automatic conversion of WPS-Plus and DX format messages to standard ASCII text.