 IP Manager Help Contents

Help is available on the following topics:

The Device Viewer

Add Device

Modify Device

Delete Device

FTP, Ping & Telnet

Configure IP Utilities

Export to Hosts File

Import From Hosts File

Print Device List

The Browser

Profiles

About


Device Viewer
 The Device Viewer

The Device Viewer presents all IP devices entered in IP Manager's database.  The listing can be sorted according to name, address, or type.

Note: The tab stops in the Device Viewer may, on some systems, be somewhat jagged.  See About for details.

The Device Menu

Devices can be added, modified, or deleted through the Device Menu.  Add Device, or  F2, adds a device.  Modify Device, or F3, modifies the device currently selected.  Delete Device, or Del, deletes the device currently selected.  (A device must be selected before it may be modified or deleted.)

Exit, or Ctrl-X, exits IP Manager.

The Connect Menu

The Connect Menu has options for FTP, Ping & Telnet.  FTP can open an FTP session to the currently selected device.  Ping 'pings' the currently selected device.  Telnet opens a Telnet session to the currently selected device.  See Configure IP Utilities for further information.

The Utilities Menu

The Configure option allows the location specification of FTP, Ping, and Telnet

The Export to Hosts File option will create a Unix hosts file of all the devices in the database to a specified file.

The Import From Hosts File option will import IP addresses and device names from any valid hosts file.

The Print Device Listoption will send a listing of all devices in the database to the default printer (defined in Control Panel).

The Help Menu

Contents displays this help file.

Search For Help On... searches help for a keyword.

About displays a message box with basic information about IP Manager.


 Add Device

The window above is displayed when Add Device is selected.  An IP address and device name are mandatory entries.  The description field is purely for reference.  The device type defaults to Other.  Simply click on a device type to choose a new device type.

The fields for FTP Profile and Telnet Profile are to indicate specific parameters to be used by FTP and Telnet (see Configure IP Utilities) for the current IP device.  If no parameter is specified, the IP address of the device is used.  To quickly locate and choose a parameter, use the Browse button to the right of the field.  See The Browser.

Any IP address entered must be unique.  If an invalid IP address, or an IP address already in use by another device is entered, it must be changed.

When finished, click Add to add the device.  After the device is added, IP Manager prompts if another device is to be added.  Choose Yes or No accordingly.  To cancel a device addition, click Cancel.


 Modify Device

The window above is displayed when Modify Device is selected.  The current information for the device selected is displayed.  Change the information according to the device's new status.

The fields for FTP Profile and Telnet Profile are to indicate specific parameters to be used by FTP and Telnet (see Configure IP Utilities) for the current IP device.  If no parameter is specified, the IP address of the device is used.  To quickly locate and choose a parameter, use the Browse button to the right of the field.  See The Browser.

Any IP address entered must be unique.  If an invalid IP address, or an IP address already in use by another device is entered, it must be changed.

When finished, click Modify to modify the device.  To cancel a device addition, click Cancel.


 Delete Device

When Delete Device is selected, IP Manager prompts to confirm the deletion.  Choose Yes or No accordingly.  Any associated profiles will also be deleted from the database.

Once a device is deleted it must be reentered from scratch.


 FTP, Ping & Telnet

An FTP, Ping or Telnet session may be initiated with a device by selecting the device and then the appropriate utility from the Connect Menu.  If a utility is currently unavailable, it will be grayed out in the Connect Menu.  These utilities are not integrated into IP Manager, but can be configured as external IP utilities.

For information about specifying external IP utilities, see Configuring IP Utilities in this help file.


 Configure IP Utilities

IP Manager does not have IP support built in.  However, FTP, Ping & Telnet sessions can be launched through external IP utilities.

The Configure IP Utilities window allows for the specification of external IP programs for FTP, Ping & Telnet.  Enter the complete path name of each utility in the corresponding field.  If a utility is unavailable, or it is to be disabled, leave the field blank.

External Utility Requirements:

Any external utility which supports the IP protocol can be used.  If a configuration file is to be loaded for a device, be sure to specify this file in the FTP or Telnet Profile.  See Add Device, Modify Device for information on indicating a profile.  If your IP utility is able to accept a raw IP address as a parameter, leave the profile fields blank.  A Windows utility is recommended, although not mandatory.

Any utilities launched from IP Manager will NOT close when IP Manager is closed.  They must be closed individually.


 Export to Hosts File

The window above is displayed when Export to Hosts File is selected.  Use the drive and directory boxes to select the location of the exported hosts file.  Enter the name of the file to be created in the Export to file: text box.  Click OK to create the hosts file, or Cancel to abort the operation.  Note that any existing file will be overwritten.

The information exported to the hosts file includes the IP address, the device name, and the brief description of the device.  Each entry exported to the host file will have the following format:

#default loopback device

127.0.0.1	Loopback


 Import From Hosts File

Use the Import From Hosts File option to import IP devices from an existing hosts file into IP Manager's database.  Select any valid hosts file from which to import using the browser.

If any errors occur when importing IP devices, they are written to IMPORT.ERR in the same directory as IPMGR.EXE.


 Print Device List

Print Device List sends a listing of all IP devices in the database to the default printer.  Set the default printer with Control Panel, Printers.  Control Panel is in the Main Group within Program Manager.

The print out includes the IP address, device name, and device type.  The Include Device Descriptions checkbox, when checked, will also print the device description (as defined in the Brief Description text box when adding or modifying a device).  Clear this checkbox to omit device descriptions.

Print Device List prints the devices in the order they appear in the Device Viewer.  Therefore, if you wish the print out to be sorted by device name, sort the Device Viewer prior to printing the device list.


 The Browser

The Browser provides a consistent way to select IP utilities, profiles, and hosts files.  When selecting IP Utilities, the Browser will only display files with EXE, COM, PIF, or BAT extensions.  (It is possible to have IP Manager launch DOS IP Utilities, although Windows applications are suggested.)  When selecting other files, all file types will be displayed.


 Profiles

Why specify profiles?  Many IP Utilities (Novell's LAN Workplace, for example) allow for a configuration file, or profile,  to be saved for each device which specifies color, font, window size, etc.  Also, many IP Utilities that use these profiles do not accept a raw IP address as a parameter.  Therefore, by specifying a profile, these types of programs can be used to their fullest potential and IP Manager can be used as a front end to launch them.


 About IP Manager

IP Manager (c) 1994 by Scott Davenport

IP Manager is designed to help keep track of IP addresses in a local or wide-area network.  See the Revision History for details on new additions to this revision, as well as a look at IP Manager's progression.

Technical Information:

IP Manager is written in Visual Basic 3.0.  All DLL and VBX files included with IP Manager should be copied to the Windows SYSTEM directory (although on some systems this may not be mandatory).  All other files may be in any other directory, provided they are kept together.  Also, make sure that SHARE is loaded before running Windows.

File Information:

The following files may be placed in any directory, provided they are kept together:

IPMGR.EXE -- the main executable.

IPMGR.HLP -- the help file.

DEVICES.IPM -- the main database file which holds the address, name, type, and

description of each device.  In a client-server environment should reside on the server.

PROFILES.___ -- an empty shell of PROFILES.IPM.  It is copied to the Windows directory if

PROFILES.IPM is not found.

The following files should be the Windows SYSTEM directory.  They may also be stored in the directory containing the files described above.

VBRUN300.DLL -- the Visual Basic Runtime Library

THREED.VBX -- provides 3D controls (option buttons, etc.)

VBDB300.DLL -- part of the database engine

MSAES100.DLL -- part of the database engine

MSAJT110.DLL -- part of the database engine

The following files are stored in the Windows directory by IP Manager.

PROFILES.IPM -- contains the profile information (if specified) for each IP device.  This way,

each user can have different profiles for a single device.

IPMGR.INI -- records the external IP utilities and the window position of the Device Viewer.

Minor Problems:

When sorting by IP Address, a string sort is performed as opposed to a numeric sort.  This can result in some addresses being slightly out of sequence.  This problem exists because I am using the built in sorting capability of a Visual Basic List Box, which only supports text.  Perhaps in a future release, I will develop an external sorting routine to correct this problem.

Registration:

If you find IP Manager useful, please register and support revisions and future versions of IP Manager.  Registration is $20 (US Dollars).  Registration entitles you to free maintenance updates, and reduced upgrades.  Also, you will receive a new executable with the "annoyance box" disabled.  If you have any questions about or suggestions for IP Manager, they are welcomed.

Registration:	Questions/Suggestions:

Scott Davenport	Internet Mail:

S-289 Castle Point	sdavenpo@vaxc.stevens-tech.edu

Hoboken, NJ  07030


 Revision History

Version 1.2:

- Exporting database information to an IP hosts file is now supported.

- Importing IP devices from any valid hosts file is now supported.

- The tab stops in the Device Viewer no longer stagger.

- The bug which left portions of IP Manager in memory when exiting via the control box has been

corrected.

Version 1.0

- Full database functionality for adding, modifying and deleting IP devices.

- Ability to launch FTP, Ping, and Telnet sessions.