PCOMM

Section: User Commands (1)
Updated: local
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NAME

pcomm - a telecommunication program

SYNOPSIS

pcomm [ -d directory ] [ -f index ]

DESCRIPTION

Pcomm is a telecommunication program designed to operate similar to the popular MSDOS program, ProComm. ProComm (TM) is copyrighted by Datastorm Technologies, Inc.

The '-d' command line option allows the user to specify an additional path to be used when searching for the pcomm support files.

The '-f' command line option is used to specify automatic dialing of an entry in the dialing directory. The 'index' field in the dialing directory is checked against the string given in the command line option. If a match is found, that entry is automatically dialed.

Whenever pcomm is in the command mode, a status line is displayed at the bottom of the screen. The eight fields of the status line are:

o+ help screen command
o+ tty name in use
o+ current line settings
o+ the duplex mode
o+ status of data logging
o+ status of printer
o+ incoming CR translation
o+ outgoing CR translation

COMMANDS

The following commands are accessible by pressing a user definable 'hot key' and the command letter. The default 'hot key' is control-A.

^A-0

Displays a summary of the available commands.

^A-D

Displays the dialing directory. From this screen, the directory can be scrolled up or down 10 lines by pressing the up or down arrow keys respectively. To select an entry to dial, just enter the entry number at the prompt. The following sub-commands are also available:

R: Revise or add an entry. Prompts for entry number or long distance code to revise.
D: Delete a dialing directory entry or a range of entries.
P: Display the current long distance dialing codes.
L: Send the dialing directory to the line printer.
M: Manual dial. Prompts for a phone number.

^A-R

Automatic redial of selected dialing directory entries. Prompts the user for a list of directory entries to be placed in the queue.

^A-M

Allows the user to maintain a list of keyboard macros assigned to specific keys. When pressed, the string assigned to that key is sent to the remote system.

^A-P

Adjust the current communication line settings. Displays a menu of baud rate, parity, data bit, and stop bit choices. Allows the new choice to be saved and become the default. The current line settings are shown on the status line.

^A-X

Exit pcomm.

^A-4

Spawn a Unix shell while still communicating with the remote system. Uses the 'native' shell as described in the SHELL environmental variable.

^A-I

Displays the program information screen.

^A-S

Displays a choice of setup screens. The following sub-menus are available:

1: TTY Setup. Allows for the assignment of modem names to the ttys used for dialing.
2: Modem Setup. Prompts for the dialing instructions for the modem names specified in the TTY setup.
3: Terminal Setup. This screen contains the 'hot key' definition and carriage return / line feed translations.
4: General Setup. Prompts for default log file name and the set of command character translations.
5: ASCII Setup. Additional character translations allowed during ASCII file transfers.
S: Save the changes to disk.

^A-B

Changes the current working directory.

^A-C

Clears the local screen.

^A-E

Toggles between full duplex and half duplex mode. The status line shows the current duplex mode.

^A-H

Hang up the phone. Disconnects the phone, but remains in pcomm.

^A-L

Toggles the printer on and off. Since the printer is accessed through the normal Unix spool program, the output is not sent to the printer until after this feature is turned off.

^A-3

Toggle the line termination characters between the carriage return and the carriage return line feed pair. This affects the terminal session only, not the file transfers. The current settings are shown in the status line.

^A-7

Send a modem break. This is not the same as the break key on the keyboard.

^A-up

Displays a menu of file transfer protocols to be used to send files to a remote system.

^A-dn

Displays file transfer protocols to be used to receive files from a remote system.

^A-F

Displays the contents of a Unix directory.

^A-G

Dump the contents of the screen to a specified file. Escape sequences and special characters will not be represented accurately in the file.

^A-1

Begin data logging. Prompts the user for the name of the file that will be used to collect a complete record of the terminal session.

^A-2

Toggles the data logging option without prompting for a new file name. The status line shows the current data logging mode.

CONFIGURATION

Pcomm must have access to the terminfo or termcap data for the terminal being used. The minimum capabilities include a screen size of at least 80 columns by 24 lines and cursor movement capabilities. Running pcomm from terminals at relatively slow speeds (i.e.: 1200 baud) will cause the windows to appear sluggish.

Terminals that don't have arrow keys or systems without the newer versions of curses(3) will require the user to substitute the letter 'U' for 'up arrow' and 'N' for 'down arrow'.

There are three pcomm support files that contain information such as the default parameters, the modem/tty database, and dialing directory entries. The following directories are searched to find these files:

o+ directory given with the '-d' option
o+ directory in the PCOMM environmental variable
o+ current directory
o+ default library directory

The 'index' field in the dialing directory serves two purposes. The first use is to act as a short cut into the dialing directory with the '-f' command line option. The second use is to specify a tty name for a given entry. If the 'index' is a valid device name, that device is used instead of searching the tty database for a free port.

FILES

pcomm.dial_dir        the dialing directory
pcomm.modem           the modem/tty database
pcomm.param           the start-up default parameters

This document was created by man2html, using the manual pages.
Time: 06:27:05 GMT, December 12, 2024