SEYON

NAME

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

Seyon is a complete full-featured telecommunications package for the X Window System. Some of its features are:

* Dialing directory that supports an unlimited number of entries. The directory is fully mouse-driven and features call progress monitoring, dial timeout, automatic redial, multi-number dialing, and circular redial queue. Each item in the dialing directory can be configured with its own baud rate, bit mask, and script file. The dialing directory uses a plain-text phone book that can be edited from withen Seyon. Seyon also supports manual dialing.

* Terminal emulation window supporting DEC VT02, Tektronix 4014, and ANSI. Seyon delegates its terminal emulation to xterm, so all the familiar xterm functions such as the scroll-back buffer, cut-and-paste utility, and visual bell are availabe through Seyon's terminal emulation window. Using xterm also means that Seyon has a more complete emulation of VT102 than other any Unix or DOS telecommunications program. Other terminal emulation programs can also be used with Seyon to suit the user's need; for example, color xterm can be used to provide emulation for color ANSI (popular on many BBS systems), and xvt can be used if memory is a bit tight.

* Script language to automate tedious tasks such as logging into remote hosts. Seyon's script interpreter uses plain-text files and has a syntax similar to that of sh, with a few extra addtions. It supports many familiar statements such as conditional branching by if-else and looping by goto. Scripts may be assigned to items in the dialing directory for automatic execution after a connection is made.

* Unlimited number of slots for external file transfer protocols. Protocols are activated from a mouse-driven transfer console that uses a plain-text file, editable from withen Seyon, for protocol configuration. Seyon prompts the user for filenames only if the chosen protocol requires filenames or if the transfer operation is an upload, for which Seyon also accepts wildcards. Multiple download directories can be specified for the different transfer slots.

* Support for Zmodem auto-download. Seyon detects incoming Zmodem signature and automatically activates a user-specified zmodem protocol to receive incoming files. Zmodem transfers can thus be completely automatic and require no user intervention.

* Translation modes. Seyon can perfrom useful trasnlations on the user's input. From example, Seyon can translate backspace to delete (useful on may Unix systems), newline to carriage return (useful on many BBS hosts), and my favorite, meta key tranlation: to send keys pressed while the meta (ALT) key is held down as an escape (ESC) followed by the key press. The latter mode simulates the meta key on hosts that do not support 8-bit-clean connections and makes possible the use of the meta key in programs like Emacs on such hosts.

* Other features: interactive setting of program parameters, on-line help, software (XONN/XOFF) and hardware (RTS/CTS) flow control, session capture to a file, and temporary running of a local shell in the terminal emulation window.

Seyon is intended to be both simple and extensively configurable. Almost every aspect of Seyon can be configured via the resources to suit the user's taste.

OPTIONS

Besides the toolkit options, Seyon recognizes the following command-line switches:

-modems <device-list>

Overrides the resource modems. Refer to the description of that resource below. Unlike the resource, however, the list here has to be quoted if it consists of more than one entry.

-emulator <terminal-emulation-program>

Instructs Seyon to use the specified program as the terminal emulator. If Seyon fails to execute that program, it will fall back to xterm. If this option is not given, Seyon will try to use seyon-emu, which should be a link to your favorite terminal emulation program. Seyon will fall back to xterm in this case as well if it fails to execute seyon-emu.

--

This switch instructs Seyon to pass the rest of the command-line to the terminal emulation program. All options following this switch will be passed blindly to the emulator. This switch cannot be combined with -noemulator.

-nodefargs

Seyon usually invokes the terminal emulation program with some options to set the application name and window and icon titles (those are -name Seyon -T "Seyon Terminal Emulator" -n Terminal). If this switch is given, Seyon will not pass those options to the emulator. This is to accommodate terminal emulation programs that use a different command-line syntax than xterm -- like xvt, cmdtool, shelltool, ..etc. You can use the '--' switch to pass your own options to the emulator.

-noemulator

This option is valid only if Seyon is invoked from withen a terminal emulation program in the foreground of an interactive shell session. If given, Seyon will not launch a new terminal emulator, but will use the existing one instead. You cannot use the '--' switch if this option is given.

-script <script-file>

Causes Seyon to automatically executes the specified script after the startup script is run. The specified script file will be looked for according to the rule mentioned under the description of the resource scriptDirectory below.

-entries <entries-list>

Overrides the resource defaultPhoneEntries. Refer to the description of that resource below. Unlike the resource, however, the list here has to be quoted if it consists of more than one entry.

-dial, -nodial

Overrides the resource dialAutoStart and sets it to 'on' and If both -dial and -nodial are specified on the command-line, the override value will be set according to the last of the two on the command-line.

RESOURCES

Besides the toolkit resources, Seyon defines the following proprietry resources:

autoZmodem (boolean)

Specifies whether Seyon is to look for Zmodem auto-download signature. If enabled, Seyon will detect incoming Zmodem signature and execute the action given by the resource autoZmodemAction (typically to start a local rz). Otherwise, Zmodem signature will be ignored. Default value: on

autoZmodemAction (string)

Specifies a simple or compound action that will be executed when Zmodem auto-download signature is detected. This action will be executed only if the resource autoZmodem is enabled (see above). Refer to the section entitled SeQuickKeys for a description of available actions. Default value: ShellCommand($rz);

backspaceTranslation (boolean)

Whether to translate user's backspace to delete. When the remote host is a Unix system, it's better to set this to on, since many Unix systems are not happy with backspace. Default value: off

captureFile (string)

The name of capture file. Seyon will write session captures to this file when capture is enabled. This file will be placed in Seyon's default directory. The capture file will not be overwritten by successive capture sessions. Seyon will merely apped new capture to its end. Default value: capture

connectString (string)

The modem connect string. This the string response the modem gives when a connection is made after dialing. Default value: CONNECT

defaultBits (int)

The default number of bits (character size). Seyon will set the number of bits to this value on startup and will use it for items in the dialing directory for which no such parameter is given. Valid values are 5, 6, 7, and 8. Default value: 8

defaultBPS (string)

The default baud rate. Seyon will set the baud rate to this value on startup and will use it for items in the dialing directory for which no baud rate is given. Default value: 9600

defaultDirectory (string)

Seyon's default directory. When looking for its files, Seyon will first try this default directory, then the current directory. Seyon will also put the capture file in this directory. Default value: ~/.seyon

defaultParity (int)

The default parity. Seyon will set the parity to this value on startup and will use it for items in the dialing directory for which no such parameter is given. Valid values are 0 (no parity), 1 (odd parity), and 2 (even parity). Default value: 0

defaultPhoneEntries (int array)

This resource specifies a list of numbers corresponding to the order the entries in the dialing directory appear at. Seyon will highlight (select) those entries on startup and whenever you click ``Default'' from the dialing directory. This is useful if there is a set of entries that you most frequesntly dial that want to be highlghted automatically instead of doing that every time by hand. You can override this resource by the -entries command-line switch. Unlike the command-line switch, however, the list here should not be quoted. Phonebook entries numbering starts at one. No default value.

defaultStopBits (int)

The default number of stop bits. Seyon will set the number of stop bits to this value on startup and will use it for items in the dialing directory for which no such parameter is given. Valid values are 1 and 2. Default value: 1

dialAutoStart (boolean)

This resource specifies that Seyon should start dialing the entries specified by the resource defaultPhoneEntries (or its override command-line switch) on startup. Seyon will commence dialing those entries after executing the startup script and any script specified at the command line. A more convenient way of automatic dialing on startup is to use the override command-line switch -dial, which overrides this resource and enables. If the resource is enabled, it can be disabled at the command line by the override switch -nodial. Refer to the description of these switches above. Default value: off

dialCancelString (string)

The string Seyon sends to the modem to cancel dialing while in progress. Default value: ^M

dialDelay (int)

How long in seconds Seyon should wait after no connection is made withen dialTimeOut before ciculating to the next number. Default value: 10

dialDirFormat (string)

This is a format string that specifies the layout of the dialing direcotry. The default is '%-15s %-15s %6s %1c%1c%1c %1c%1c %s' (no quotes). Briefly: the fields represent the host name, number, the baud rate, bits, parity, stop bits, whether there is a custom prefix, suffix, and the script name. You can understand more what each field refers to by comparing with dialing directory, fields that use the current setting (via the keyword CURRENT) are designated by a question mark. Notice that you cannot change the order the items in the dialing directory appear at, only the format. For example, if the numbers you call are all 7-digits, your host names are short, you never use baud rates above 9600, and you like dashes between the baud rate, bits, parity, and stop bits fields, then you may prefer to use the format string '%-10s %-8s %5s-%1c-%1c-%1c %1c%1c %s', which would be narrower than the default format. Default value: %-15s %-15s %6s %1c%1c%1c %1c%1c %s

dialPrefix (string)

The string Seyon sends to the modem before the phone number. To use pulse dialing, set this resource to .IR ATDP . Default value: ATDT

dialRepeat (int)

How many times Seyon should try dialing a number. Seyon will give up on dialing a number if no connection is made after this many tries. Default value: 5

dialSuffix (string)

The string Seyon sends to the modem after the phone number. This string has to contain a carraige return or the number will never get sent to the mode. Default value: ^M

dialTimeOut (int)

How long in seconds Seyon should wait for a connection to made after dialing is complete. Seyon will cancel the dialing if no connection is made withen this period. Default value: 45

exitConfirm (boolean)

Whether Seyon should prompt for hanguping up before exiting. If off-line and the resource ignoreModemDCD is set to 'off', Seyon will not prompt for hanging up upon exiting even if this resource is set to Default value: on

funMessages (string array)

The fun messages to be displayed when Seyon has no other important information to show. This should be a list of double-quoted [funny] sentences. Default value: varies, version-dependent

funMessagesInterval (int)

The temporal interval in seconds between successive fun messages. Default value: 15

idleGuard (boolean)

If set to on, Seyon will send a string to the remote host whenever the terminal session is idle (no keyboard input) for a given amount of time. The resources idleGuardInterval and idleGuardString specify the above time interval and the string to be sent to the remote host when idle. It is useful to enable this features to keep the session alive when one is away from the computer for a while (e.g. to prevent auto-logout). Default value: off

idleGuardInterval (int)

The amount of time in seconds Seyon is to consider the session idle when there is no keyboard activity at the terminal for that long. Seyon will send a string to the remote host every such interval as long as the session is idle. Default value: 300

idleGuardString (string)

The string to be sent to the remote host when the session is idle. This string will be sent at a regular interval as long as the sesiion remains idle. Note that the current translations will be used in sending this string; for example, if backspaceTranslation is enabled, then the default string <Space><BS> will be sent as <Space><DEL>. Default value: \^H (space then backspace)

ignoreModemDCD (boolean)

If this resource is set to 'on', the modem DCD (Data Carrier Detect) status will be ignored. Some of the consequences of setting this to 'on' is that Seyon will always prompt for hangup (if the resource exitConfirm is set to 'on') even if the modem DCD status indicates that it is off-line, and dialing will be attempted even if the modem DCD status indicates that it is on-line. It is highly recommended that you keep this set to 'off' unless your modem does not honor the DCD line. Consult your modem's manual for more details. Default value: off

hangupBeforeDial (boolean)

When set to on, Seyon will hangup the line (if connected) before dialing the phone number. Otherwise, the number will be dialed without hanging up, and it is the user's responsibility to ensure that the line is clear (no connection) when dialing. Default value: on

hangupConfirm (boolean)

Whether Seyon should ask for confirmation before hanging up the phone Default value: on

hangupViaDTR (boolean)

When enabled, Seyon will hangup up the modem by dropping DTR. This is much quicker than hanging up by sending a Hayes-like hangup string to the modem and waiting to allow for escape guard time. However, some modems and serial drivers choke on dropping DTR and others just don't hangup when DTR is dropped, so in these cases it should be disabled. If disabled, Seyon will hangup the modem by sending the string specified by the resource modemAttentionString, followed by that specified by the resource modemHangupString. Default value: off

metaKeyTranslation (boolean)

Whether to transmit keys pressed while the meta (ALT) key is held down as an escape (ESC) followed by the key press. Most hosts do not support 8-bit sessions, and hence do not recognize the meta key. Therefore, this translation mode has to be enabled when connected to such hosts to take advantage of the meta key in programs that make use of it like Emacs. Default value: on

modemAttentionString (string)

The string to send to the modem to get its attention (switch to command mode). This string will be sent to the modem before the hangup string when hangupViaDTR is disabled. Default value: +++

modemHangupString (string)

The hangup string to send to the modem when hangupViaDTR is disabled. Default value: ATH^M

modems (string)

A list of modem devies to use. Seyon will try modems in this list one after the other until it finds an available modem or the list is exhausted. No default value.

modemStatusInterval (int)

This resource controls the amount of time (in seconds) between updates to the modem status toggles (including the clock). The default is five seconds, but you can set it to one second (or any other number) if you want the toggles to be updated more frequently. Even if you set this to a large number, Seyon is intellegent enough to update the toggles after each connect or hangup. Default value: 5

modemVMin (int)

This resource specifies the minimum number of characters that should be in the buffer before the read process is satified. The read process will wait until that number of incoming characters is in the buffer or 0.1 second has elapsed between the receiption of two characters before displaying the data in the buffer. This results in the data being displayed in chunks and speeds up the terminal display. The speedup would be most noticeable on slow machnes with fast modems.

Leave this resource at its default (1) or set it at a low value (6) if you have a slow modem (e.g. 2400bps). Otherwise you might set it to the maximum value, which is platform-dependent but generally 255. If you set it to any number greater than the maximum value, it will be truncated to the maximum value. Default value: 1

newlineTranslation (string)

When the Enter key is pressed, newline character (\n) is generated. This resource determines what to translate this character to. Three modes are possible: no translation (newline), carriage return (\r), and carriage return / line feed. Unix systems usually expect newline or carrage return, DOS systems expect carraige return or carriage return / line feed. The three keywords corresponding to the above modes are nl, cr, and cr/lf. Default value: cr

noConnectStringX [X = 1-4] (string)

The response strings given by the modem when connection fails. Default values: NO CARRIER, NO DIALTONE, BUSY, VOICE (respectively)

phonelistFile (string)

The name of the phone list (dialing directory) file. See the included example to learn how this file should be formatted. Default value: phonelist

postConnectAction (string)

Specifies a simple or compound action that will be executed after a connection to a remote host is made. This action will be executed before running any script attached to that host in the dialing directory. All actions here have to be synchronous. Refer to the section entitled SeQuickKeys below for a description of available actions. Default value: Beep();

protocolsFile (string)

The name of the protocols file. This file tells Seyon what file transfer protocols are available. The user will be promted with a list based on this file when file transfer is to be initiated. Default value: protocols

quickKeyX

Refer to the section entitled SeQuickKeys below.

rtsctsFlowControl (boolean)

Whether Seyon should turn on RTS/CTS hardware flow control. Make sure the modem is set to use this as well. Default value: off

scriptDirectory (string)

Seyon's script directory. When looking for scripts, Seyon will first try this script directory, then the current directory. Default value: defaultDirectory

showFunMessages (boolean)

Whether to display funny messages when Seyon has no other important information to show. Seyon will display those messages at an interval specified by the funMessagesInterval resource when there is no other important information to convey to the user. To disable the display of fun messages, this resource has be set to off. Default value: on

startupAction (string)

Specifies a simple or compound action that will be executed on startup. This action is executed prior to running any script (in case the -script switch is given) or dialing any entry of the dialing directory (in case the -dial switch is given or the resource dialAutoStart is enabled). You can make Seyon open the dialing directory automatically on startup by using the simple action ``OpenWidnow(Dial);'' as a constituent of this complex action stack. Note that running the startup script is just a special case of this resource. Refer to the section entitled SeQuickKeys for a description of available actions. Default value: RunScript(startup);

startupFile (string)

Seyon's startup file. Seyon will execute all commands in this file upon startup. This file can have any commands acceptable as script commands. The most useful command to put here is the set command, to set the various communications parameters. Default value: startup

stripHighBit (boolean)

Whether to strip the high (eights) bit from incoming characters. If set to on, the high bit of all incoming characters will be stripped, which will make an 8-N-1 setting behave like 7-N-1, even though eight bits are used for each character. Default value: off

xonxoffFlowControl (boolean)

Whether Seyon should turn on XON/XOFF software flow control. Default value: off

SEQUCKKEYS

Seyon allows the user to have custom buttons, called SeQuickKeys (z quickies), to which actions can be attached. SeQuickKeys provide a convenient way via which the user can invoke frequently-used operations by a singe mouse click. SeQuickKeys are specified through the resources quickKeyX, where X is an integer corresponding to the order at which that SeQuickKey is to appear on the command center. Relevant subparts of that resource are visible, action, and label. Here is an example:

Seyon*quickKey3.visible: on
Seyon*quickKey3.action: FileTransfer(1,file); Beep(); 
Seyon*quickKey3.label: Upload

The first line specifies that SeQuickKey3 should be visible. The second line specifies the action bound to the SeQuickKey (in this case, a compound action), and the third line specifies the label for that SeQuickKey's button. Other subparts can also be specified in a similar fashion (e.g. background, foreground, ..etc.)

Actions can be either simple or compound. A compound action consists of a stack of simple actions and can be used as simple mini-script. Examples:

* Set(idleGuard,on); DialEntries(Default);
* Echo("Uploading files..."); Transmit(rz); \
      FieTransfer(1,"*.ico $HOME/acct.wks"); Echo(Done);
* OpenWindow(Dial); DialEntries("2 5 6");
* Echo("Goodbye.."); Hangup(); Quit();
* Set(baud,9600); ManualDial("555-5555");
* Echo("Will upload..."); ShellCommand("$sz *.wks");
* Set(parity,0); RunScript(login.scr); Echo(Finished);

The following is a list of actions Seyon currently supports. Asterisks designate asynchronoous actions. Brackets designate optional arguments.

         1100 p0 S     0:04 seyon -noemulator
         1101 p0 S     0:00 seyon -noemulator
         1102 p0 S     0:38 seyon -noemulator