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MxLight Version 1.90
Operations Manual
Copyright (c) 1993 by MX Communications
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
For support, contact:
James E. Fielden
307 E. Oak Hill Ave.
Knoxville, TN 37917
USA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
-----------------
1. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Licensing and Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. GETTING STARTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Starting MxLight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Line Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Configuring MxLight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3. USING MXLIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
External Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
The Status Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
MxLight's Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Dial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Hangup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Download & Upload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Chat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Clear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Taglines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Doorway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Emulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Baud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Configure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
View Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Logon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4. FILE TRANSFERS & PROTOCOLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
What is a File Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Supported Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Ascii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Xmodem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1k-Xmodem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1k-XmodemG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Ymodem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
YmodemG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Kermit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Zmodem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
ZedZap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
External Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
5. REGISTERING MXLIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
WARRANTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
MxLight 1.9 Copyright (c) 1993 by MX Communications Page 2
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1
OVERVIEW
Do you ever get tired of your Terminal program taking up more space
then your operating system. Now communications program's are growing
to 500k to 900k easy. Loaded with so many features that you have
to print out their 500 page + doc's. Features that you will never
use, features that are never needed. Have you been looking for a
good communications program with all the features you need but with
out taking a BIG chunk of your disk space.
MxLight may be what your looking for. Occupying just under 100k of
disk space and requiring around 128k of free memory, MxLight will
run on just about any system with no problem. MxLight is small but
it's not bare, packed with features and runs at lighting speed on
even the slowest computers. Check out the list of features below and
you'll see, everthing you'll need to communicate with anything.
FEATURES
* Ansi,Ansi-BBS,Ansi-Music,Avatar and VT100 terminal emulations.
* Hot key commands to all the functions for quick access.
* Very low disk and memory requriments.
* No slow overlay files to load so it responds quickly.
* Dialing directory with over 200 numbers.
* Phone Book is loaded into RAM for Speed.
* Ansi driver built in so no need for ANSI.SYS to be loaded.
* Full support for Extended Doorway mode.
* TagLine file with as many taglines as you want.
* Send you Name and Password for each number with F1 & F2.
* Handles speeds from 300 to 115200 baud.
* Supports Com1 through Com8.
* Auto Flow Control and status buffering.
* Capture session to file supported with ANSI codes.
* Full Swap to DOS so you can run anything from a shell.
* Ascii, Xmodem, 1k-Xmodem, 1k-XmodemG, Ymodem(tm),
YmodemG, Kermit, Zmodem & ZedZap(8k-Zmodem)
* Support for upto 3 external protocols, without batch files.
* Two-way Split screen Chat mode.
* Auto Zmodem Download and crash recovery.
* View text files at any time in MxLight.
* Back ground ANSI-Music.
* Complete control over all menus and window colors.
* Very Low Price.
MxLight 1.9 Copyright (c) 1993 by MX Communications Page 3
LICENSING AND DISTRIBUTION
MxLight is not, nor has it ever been free software. It is copyright
and is distributed as SHAREWARE. You are granted a limited license
to use MxLight for an evaluation period. If you use MxLight and you
like it then you should register it.
Upon registering MxLight, you will receive a serial number and
instructions on how to apply it to your copy of MxLight for it
to become a registered version. See Register.Txt for complete
details on how to register your copy of MxLight.
You are encourged to give copies of MxLight to others so they may
evaluate it as well. MxLight may also be uploaded to bulletin
board systems (BBS's) as long as you do not deleate any of the files
that came with MxLight. SysOp's fell free to add your BBS logo to
the Compressed file discription, but please to not add any files
to the archive it's self. Do not delete, add, or in anyway modify
any of the files in the MxLight package. MxLight must be distributed
in it's entirety, complete with documentation.
MxLight May be distributed with Shareware bundles, CD-ROMS and/or
disk. Due to the low price to register MxLight Please don't charge
more then $5.00 per disk if the disk only contains MxLight.
MxLight 1.9 Copyright (c) 1993 by MX Communications Page 4
GETTING STARTED
Chapter 2
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
IBM PC/XT/AT or close compatible computer running DOS v2.0 or above.
One floppy or Hard disk drive, a Hayes compatible modem, and 512k
of RAM.
NOTE: Mxlight actually requires about 128k of free RAM to run. if you
have less then 512k then try running MxLight anyway, it just might
fit, I have run MxLight on a 4.7Mhz XT with 256k of RAM on a 360k
floppy.
INSTALLATION
Installing MxLight is very easy to install. First, copy the file
MX.EXE to the disk or directory where you will be using it. Then
type MX and you are ready to start the configuration.
STARTING MXLIGHT
To start MxLight simply change to the disk/directory where you put the
file MX.EXE and type:
MX
followed by pressing the ENTER key.
The first time you run MxLight it will create a configuration file
called MXLIGHT.CFG which will need to get some information from
you about your ComPort default baud rate and a few other things.
You will be presented with a Menu you should try and run thur each
selection on the menu to make sure MxLight is set to your liking.
MxLight 1.9 Copyright (c) 1993 by MX Communications Page 5
LINE EDITING
In the Config and Phone Book MxLight uses a special Line Editing
mode. Here is a list of the Commands for the Line Editor.
^ = Ctrl Key.
^A Move to beginning of line, nondestructive [Ctrl-LeftArrow]
^B Save current buffer in undo buffer
^D Move forward one [RightArrow]
^F Move to end of line (same as ^R) [Ctrl-RightArrow]
^G Delete character forward [DEL]
^H Move back 1, destructive (same as ASCII DEL) [BackSpace]
^J End of input; accept entire buffer [Ctrl-Enter]
^M End of input; accept what is currently visible [Enter]
^N End of input; accept entire buffer
^P Accept next character as-is (control character prefix)
^R Move to end of line (same as ^F)
^S Move back 1, nondestructive [LeftArrow]
^T Delete line forward [Ctrl-End]
^U Copy undo buffer into current buffer (undo)
^V Insert on/off [INS]
^X Move to beginning of line, destructive [Ctrl-Home]
^Y Delete line
DEL Move back 1, destructive (same as ^H) (ASCII DEL, not IBM PC DEL)
ESC End of input; accept what is currently visible
CONFIGURING MXLIGHT
After MxLight starts up the first time you will be looking at a small
configuring Menu:
*******************
* A - ComPort *
* B - BaudRate *
* C - D/L Path *
* D - Emulation *
* E - Windows *
* F - User Name *
* G - Password *
* H - Dialing *
* I - Colors *
* J - Protocols *
* Q - Quit *
*******************
First off hit the A key:
If your using an IBM-PS2 it will ask for your ComPort 1 thur 8
else it will ask Enter your ComPort 1 to 4:
Just enter what comport your modem is hooked up to.
Next hit the B key:
It will simpley ask Enter your Baud Rate(300 to 115200):
You should enter the Highest speed your modem supports.
Next hit the C key:
Download Path must end with a backslash "\" example"C:\MX\FILES\"
If you don't want a default download path just hit enter, other wise
Enter your Download Path: Where you want the files you get from
BBS's to go.
Next hit the D key:
If your not sure what Terminal Emulation you need or want then
pick ANSI-BBS it is the most common and includes standard Ansi and
ANSI-Background music support.
A)NSI-BBS V)T100 T) AVATAR /0+
Pick the letter for what type emulation you want as a default you
can always change this inside MxLight.
Next hit the E key:
Do you want Exploding Windows(Y/n)
If you hit ENTER then Menus and display windows will explode on to
the screen if you type a "n" then the windows will appear on screen
with out the explosing. This may also be toggled inside MxLight.
Next hit the F key:
Enter default Name for Phone Book:
Enter the name you use most of the time when logging on to BBS's
You can have a different name for each bbs in the phone book it
will just default to this on for quicker access to the Phone Book.
Next hit the G key:
Enter default Password for Phone Book:
Again same as above you can set a different password for each.
Next hit the H key:
Pick your dialing mode
T)one dialing or P)ulse dialing.
If you have Push Button phones then pick T or if your phone system
is the old rotatory type then pick P
Next hit the I key:
You will be shown a box with all possible colors for the MxLight
Windows and Menus. Move the arrow keys around to change the
color of the Windows. Once you find the color you want Hit ENTER.
Now move the arrow keys again to pick the color for normal text.
Again hit ENTER to accecpt the color or ESCAPE to keep the defaults.
Last Move the arrow keys to pick the color for highlighted text.
You can play with the colors more once your in MxLight by using the
Alt-G combo to find colors you like, using the Alt-G only makes the
changes Temp. Once you exit MxLight the colors are restored to
what you have set in your configure.
Next hit the J key:
You'll be ask which Protocol to Edit(1,2 or 3). Start with one
Protocol Name: Enter The Name of the Protocol as you want it to
appear on the download menu(MobyTurbo,HS/LINK ect), upto 9 Letters.
d/l DOS command line: Enter the command line to run the protocol
not a batch file name, use "%p" for ComPort number, use "%b" for
Current baud rate and "%f" for files to be transfered.
Example: dsz port %p speed %b rz -m
u/l DOS command line: Same as above only the Upload command line.
Example: dsz port %p speed %b sz -m %f
Batch(y/N) if your external protocol enter "Y" else just hit enter
or "N". Do this for how many of the protocls you want to set up
1,2,3 and your done.
Now hit the Q key:
Your ready to start using MxLight.
MxLight 1.9 Copyright (c) 1993 by MX Communications Page 6
USING MXLIGHT
Chapter 3
USING THE EDITOR
I've moved the editor to an external file called "EDIT.COM", so if
you liked using the internal editor then their is know changes just
an extra file about 5k in size that MxLight needs to find.
Now Alt-E will run the first file it finds called edit. So if you
want to run your favorite editor from MxLight make a file
called EDIT.BAT put it in the same directory with MxLight or in
your DOS Path statement. Deleat "EDIT.COM" and run your editor like
it was internal to MxLight. My EDIT.BAT looks like this:
@echo off
q
Now whenever I hit Alt-E I'm in my favorite editor with all it's
power and commands that I'm used to.
GETTING HELP
Hit the HOME key from inside MxLight to get a general Help screen
with a listing of all commands.
THE STATUS LINE
The status line displays some helpful information. Hit reminds you
how to get help, what version of the program your using, your current
terminal emulation, if the capture buffer is open, and your registrion
information.
MxLight 1.9 Copyright (c) 1993 by MX Communications Page 7
MXLIGHT'S FUNCTIONS
In this section of the doc I will go over each function of MxLight
in detail. You don't really need to understand all of this but it
could be helpful if you run into trouble while using MxLight or any
other communications program.
COMMUNICATIONS BASICS
Asynchronous Serial Communication
The brodest definition of serial communications would include
anything that transits or receives data in a serial fashion.
In the PC world when someone speaks of serial commuications
they are talking about the communications facility provided by
the "serial ports"(or com ports)
Baud Rate
When given a choice of selecting a baud rate you should select
the highest baud rate your modem supports. Although here is a
small list of the Highest baud rate you should pick compaired
to your CPU speed:
CPU Speed Highest Baud
------------------------------------------
4.77 Mhz PC/XT (8088) 9600
8 Mhz PC/XT (8088) 19200
8 Mhz PC/AT (286) + 57600
16 Mhz AT (386) + 115200
This is just a basic guide line but even if you have a 14.4
modem, but you just have a 4.77 Mhz XT you will probley only
be able to get 9600 baud or less. If you try to get more then
this it may seem to work but will be alot more prone to line
errors, aborted transfers and failed connects. So you would
lose more time using 14.4 then if you would have just kept your
modem at 9600 baud.
Data Bits
A data byte can contain 5, 6, 7 or 8 bits. The vast majority
of applications will use 8 bits.
Stop Bits
Stop bits follow the data bits in the serial data stream. The
value for stop bits will always be either 1 or 2. Generally,
you'll use 1 stop bit.
Parity
Parity describes a bit checking scheme. When used, all of the
bits in a data byte are added together. A final bit called the
parity bit, is added such that the sum of all bits will be made
either odd or even. Geerally you'll use NoParity since all
Protocols now use their own error checking.
MxLight 1.9 Copyright (c) 1993 by MX Communications Page 8
PATH
DOWNLOAD PATH
MxLight will download all files into the directory that you picked
when you configured MxLight. If you did'nt pick a default download
directory then MxLight will download into the current directory
that you are running MxLight from.
UPLOAD PATH
MxLight does'nt use a default upload path so when you enter a
filename to upload, after you give the BBS the filename you're
uploading then tell MxLight the full path and filename of the
file you wish to send. If the file is in the same directory as
MxLight, you only need to enter the filename.
SHELL
DROP TO DOS
When you hit Alt-~J~ to enter a dos shell from MxLight, MxLight
Swaps all of itself but a small amount to EMS/XMS or disk if
you don't have EMS/XMS. This allows you to run very large programs
from a MxLight Dos Shell. You can even run MxLight from a MxLight
Dos Shell with out any problems. MxLight Shell has been tested
with DOS Version's 3.3 and up, DRDOS and 4DOS, MxLight does this
by not looking for COMMAND.COM as many other programs do when they
go into a DOS shell it reads the systems environmet to find out
what it's surroundings are and Shells to the proper Disk Operating
System.
EXIT
To Exit MxLight You need to hit Alt-~X~ and then will be prompted
for a "Y" or "N" hit "y" and your back in DOS and out of MxLight.
DIAL
The dialing directory is very easy to use, to dial a number user
the up and down arrow keys to scroll one number at a time. Use
PgUp and PgDn to move up or down a whole page. Use Home and End
to got to first number or last number in phone book. Once the
scroll bar is on the number you want hit ENTER or D to dial that
number. Hit A to add a number to the end of the phone book. Hit
I to insert a number anywere in the phone book. Hit K to kill a
number(erase). Hit C to clear a number, the entry stays in the
phone book but it deleats all the info. Hit L to dial a number
that is not in the phone book. Hit M to modify a number in the
phone book you'll be prompted for all the information for that
entry just hit enter at any prompt for No Changes. And hit Q
or Escape to Exit the phone book.
When you dial a number that is in the book are using L for Local
dial MxLight will get trying the number until their is a connect
or you hit escape.
MxLight 1.9 Copyright (c) 1993 by MX Communications Page 9
BUFFER
MxLight uses a 5k input and output buffer which is large enough
for most everthing. But when MxLight goes into a file transfer
at high speed or using ZedZap it will change the buffer and set
everthing up for you. No longer to you have to change your buffer
size when using a high speed modem, MxLight will sence then need
for a larger buffer and increse it. When the transfer is done
MxLight closes the large buffer and reopens the default 5k buffer
for normal use.
HANGUP
Sometimes while on-line you'll need to break the connection for
some reason or another. Use Alt-~H~ to Hangup the line.
Personal Note: As a SysOp I know that sometimes users have trouble
on BBS's and need to hangup to fix it. But you
should not use this to Log Off of a BBS take the
extra minute and look at the logoff screen. Sysop's
do notice when users Alt-H them alot.
DOWNLOAD & UPLOAD
MxLight Has all the protocols you need and will talk more about
protocols later. For now to download hit PgDn, you'll be prompt
with a Menu pick the protocol that you told the BBS that you
wanted to use and if it's Ascii, or Xmodem tell MxLight the
filename and set back and enjoy. Almost as easy to Upload PgUp
Pick the protocol that you want and tell MxLight what file to
upload. If your using Ymodem, YmodemG, Kermit, Zmodem or ZedZap
you may enter as many files as you want. Enter the first filename
just like doing a Xmodem upload, hit enter and you'll be prompted
for another filename. If you're only uploading one file then
hit ENTER on the blank line to start the Upload, if your uploading
more then one file keep repeating the above cycle until you've
told MxLight all the files you want to send, then hit ENTER on
a blank line and pat your-self on the back for Uploading.
CHAT
When you're logged on to a BBS and want to chat with the SysOp their
is know problem Most BBS's have a nice split screen chat and echo
back to you want you type. But if you like to call other's using
your modem then you need someway to see what you type and someway
to keep your's and the other person's typing apart. Enter the
splitscreen Chat Alt-~T~ and enjoy TwoWay SplitScreen Chat. In
MxLight you get half the screen, I don't cramp you into the last
3 lines on the screen like most, and the remote end gets the top
half of the screen. Each screen is a different color and the chat
leaves your screen up under it the way it was once you entered chat.
MxLight 1.9 Copyright (c) 1993 by MX Communications Page 10
CLEAR
To clear the screen in MxLight hit Alt-~C~ this will give you a
normal Clear The Screen. If you like to clear the screen with
alittle bit different style then hold down your Alt Key then
press 1 on your number pad then press 2 on your number pad then
let go of the Alt key, that is a scroll clear screen.
TAGLINES
See the example tagline file MXTAG.DAT the only think you really need
to know about the format of the file is. The 1st line must containe
the number of taglines in the file. Also Taglines can be know longer
then 70 charcters long.
DOORWAY
MxLight supports Extended doorway codes, what this means to most
people is that in doorway mode you can move around full screen
editors alot easier using the up and down arrows. To Enter
doorway mode use Alt-~=~ you notice a change your status line
will goaway. This is because Doorway should only be used with
a full 25 line screen.
EMULATION
MxLight will let you pick between three different types of terminal
emulation. But really MxLight has support for more then 3.
Hit Alt-~V~ to change your emulation. Select A for ANSI, ANSI-BBS
ANSI-MUSIC(with Background support) and TTY(ASCII). This is what
most people will use all the time. Select V for VT100, ANSI and
TTY support. Select T for AVATAR Level 0/+(STANDARD), with fall
back to ANSI and TTY.
CAPTURE
MxLight will allow you to capture a complete session to a text file.
Toggle this on and off with Alt-~A~. Hit Alt-A and you'll be
prompted for a filename, just hit enter to use the default of
MXLIGHT.CAP, or type in your own filename. The status line let's
you know if capture is on or off, sometimes capture files can
become very large so the status line will let you know if it's
on or off. When you exit MxLight the capture is turned off
for you if it is on. The only time that capture is not active
if you have it on is when files are been transfered.
BAUD
Use Alt-~P~ to change your baud rate if you need to change it
for some reason.
If your baud is different then what you have listed in the
phone book for a number then MxLight will change it before it
dials the number.
Also this is were you can change your Parity, Data bits and
stop bits. Hit ESCape to exit this menu.
WINDOWS
Use Alt-~W~ to toggle Exploding windows on or off. If you
did'nt select exploding windows in your configure then
sometimes you might want to watch them blow up this goes back
to the default in your configure when you exit MxLight.
MxLight 1.9 Copyright (c) 1993 by MX Communications Page 11
CONFIGURE
If at anytime while using MxLight if you need to change
something in your configure file use Alt-~K~, this brings up
the same menu that you saw when you first started MxLight and
gave it all your default information.
HELP
Sometimes you may forget a command, Hit the ~HOME~ key to
bring up MxLight's Help screen with a list of all the
commands.
In the editor use the ~F1~ key for help.
VIEW TEXT
If you ever need to view a text file while using MxLight and
don't want to put it into the editor then use the Alt-~M~ key
and you view a text file in the more style.
LOGON
A couple of hints to speed up your logons. You can use the
~F1~ and ~F2~ keys to send the name and password from the
phone book to save you some typing. This can be different
for each entry in the phone book.
MxLight 1.9 Copyright (c) 1993 by MX Communications Page 12
FILE TRANSFERS & PROTOCOLS
Chapter 4
WHAT IS A FILE TRANSFER
File transfers allow you to exchange programs, text, or any other
type of file with any BBS system that supports a file section. In
order to transfer files over phone lines, the receiving system must
have some way to tell if the data it received is the same as what
was originally sent. Phone lines are seldom perfectly clear of
static or noise, and this noise can alter the data as it travels
from one system to the other. This is the purpose of transfer
"protocols".
Transfer protocols generally break a file into small chunks called
"packets" or "blocks", then perform some calculation on the data
and send the "packet", followed by the result of the calculation,
to the receiver. The receiver performs the same calculation on the
data as it comes in and then compares it's result with the
following sender's result. If the two match, the receiver writes
this data to it's copy of the file and sends some acknowledgement
signal to alert the sender to send the next packet. If the two
calculation results don't match then the data was corrupted in
transit and the receiver sends a negative acknowledgement signal to
alert the sender to resend the same packet.
Different protocols use different methods for calculating the error
check value, signaling the start of a packet, and acknowledging
good and bad packets. Therefore it is important to use the same
protocol as the system you're connected to.
SUPPORTED PROTOCOLS
MxLight has the following protocols:
Ascii, Xmodem, 1k-Xmodem, 1k-XmodemG, Ymodem, YmodemG, Kermit,
Zmodem and ZedZap
Now for brief description of each protocol.
Ascii
Ascii isn't really a protocol since it has no method for error
checking built in and as such is only useful for text files. It
does however provide one very useful function, you can upload a
message that was entered offline.
Since Ascii just reads a file and sends out the characters as if
you were typing them at the keyboard, it allows you to use a text
editor or word processor to create a message that you want to
"post" on a BBS. This is done when you're not connected and not
paying for online charges. You save your message as a pure ASCII
text file and then use MxLight to connect to the BBS. Do whatever is
required to enter a message and when the BBS is waiting for you to
type in your message, upload your text file with the Ascii
protocol. You will see the text appearing on your screen as the
BBS echoes it back, just as if you were typing it.
MxLight 1.9 Copyright (c) 1993 by MX Communications Page 13
Xmodem
Xmodem is not particularly efficient nor 100% reliable, but it is
supported by almost every online service there is. No matter how
limited a BBS's list of supported protocols is, it will probably
support Xmodem. This is why it was essential to support Xmodem.
Some BBS's may offer you two varieties of Xmodem reflecting the two
types of error checking that Xmodem can use. These are Checksum
and CRC. MxLight supports both methods and detects which one the BBS
is using so it will work with either one. Whenever you have the
option, CRC is the preferred method as it is a great deal more
reliable than the Checksum method.
1k-Xmodem
1k-Xmodem is basically the same as Xmodem except for the size of
it's packets. Xmodem uses 128 byte packets and 1k-Xmodem uses 1024
byte packets, which is where the "1k" prefix came from. This makes
it a bit faster than Xmodem since it's packet overhead is reduced
by a factor of 8.
You should be warned that not all BBS's refer to this protocol as
1k-Xmodem. On some systems it's called "Old Ymodem" and others
just call it "Ymodem". This can lead to confusion since this is
not that same as real "Ymodem (tm)" that MxLight supports. So if
you're trying to use Ymodem and it just won't work, the BBS is
probably using a misnamed 1k-Xmodem, so tell MxLight to use 1k-Xmodem
even though the BBS calls it Ymodem.
1k-XmodemG
This is the same as 1k-Xmodem but it does'nt do any error checking it
leaves all error checking up to the modem. You must have a MNP type
modem to use this protocol
MxLight 1.9 Copyright (c) 1993 by MX Communications Page 14
Ymodem (tm)
Ymodem (tm) uses the same type of packets as Xmodem but can use
both 128 and 1024 byte packets dynamically. The most important
feature, however, is that it starts the transfer with a special
header packet that contains complete filename, size, date, and time
information about the file. The transfer is ended with a blank
header packet (all 0's). These header packets allow more than one
file to be transmitted in a single session, thus it is called a
"batch" protocol. On some BBS's this is called "True Ymodem" or
just "Ymodem" so it can be confusing to tell whether you have to
use Ymodem or 1k-Xmodem.
YmodemG
YmodemG like 1k-XmodemG is for MNP type modems only. YmodemG is said
to be the fastest protocol around, if you have a MNP type modem.
YmodemG does know error checking so it must not be used with out
a error correction modem(MNP)
Kermit
Kermit is alot like Xmodem it was developed to facillitate file
transfers in environments that other protocols couldn't handle.
Such environments include links that only pass 7 data bits,
links that can't handle control characters, computer systems
that can't handle large blocks and other diverse links such as
those between a PC and a mainframe.
Kermit was developed at Columbia University in New York City.
The name Kermit refers to Kermit the Frog, from the television
program The Muppet Show.
MxLight 1.9 Copyright (c) 1993 by MX Communications Page 15
Zmodem
Zmodem was developed for the public domain by Chuck Forsberg
under contract to Telenet. The purpose was to provide a durable
protocol with strong error recovery features and good
performance over a variety of network types(switched,
satellite, ect.). It has generally achieved these design goals
and therefore, should be your protocol of choice whenever
possible.
Zmodem borrows some concepts from Xmodem, Ymodem and Kermit but
is really a completely different protocol.
ZedZap
ZedZap is still new on the scene for most modem user's but
ZedZap has been around for sometime and in use on Fidonet.
ZedZap is the same as Zmodem execpt that it will attempt to use
8k blocks instead of the 1024 used by Zmodem. It starts just
the same as Zmodem and if their is no errors it grows and keeps
growing the block size until it reaches 8k or has an error.
Both sending and receiving sides must be using ZedZap for it to
work, but if your downloading using ZedZap and the other side is
using Zmodem it will just stay at the 1024 block size.
MxLight 1.9 Copyright (c) 1993 by MX Communications Page 16
External Protocols
MxLight now will support upto 3 external protocols. They are very
easy to set up and you don't need external batch files to run your
protocols so that speeds up access to them. MxLight will use 3
codes in your external protocol command line.
%p will pass the Comport number to the command line. %b will pass
the baud rate to your command line. %f will pass any files your
uploading or on non-batch protocols will pass the file name on d/l.
Make sure you use the "%p,%b and %f" as-is in Lower Case.
Examples
MobyTurbo
Download "dsz port %p speed %b rz -m"
Upload "dsz port %p speed %b sz -m %f"
Batch "yes"
HS/LINK
Download "hslink -P%p -B%b"
Upload "hslink -P%p -B%b %f"
Batch "yes"
After typing in the command lines and the name of the protocol make
sure MxLight can find your protocol by having it in your DOS path
or in the same directory as MxLight.
REGISTERING MXLIGHT
Chapter 5
To register MxLight, simply print the file REGISTER.TXT on your
printer, fill in the requested information and mail the form
along with your check or money order to:
James E. Fielden
307 E. Oak Hill Ave.
Knoxville, TN 37917
USA
In order to print the form you can type the following at your
DOS prompt:
copy register.txt prn
If you don't have a printer then you can send a letter
containing your name, your address and a check or money order
for $10.00 to the above address. If you want a disk mailed to
you, then include $5.00 for shipping. After receiving your
money order or after your check clears the bank I'll send you
your serial number and information on how to apply it to
MxLight. If you send the $5.00 shipping then I'll send you the
latest copy of MxLight with your serial number and whatever else
I can cram on to the disk.(Sharware, FreeWare).
WARRANTY
MxLight is sold "as is" without warranty of any kind, express or
implied, including but not limited to, any warranties of
merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. MX
Communications and/or James E. Fielden shall not be liable for
any damages, whether direct, indirect, special or consequential
arising from a failure of MxLight to operate in the manner
desired by the user.
IN NO EVENT WILL MX COMMUNICATIONS AND/OR JAMES E. FIELDEN BE
LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES TO DATA OR PROPERTY WHICH MAY BE CAUSE
DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY BY THE USE OF MXLIGHT. MX COMMUNICATIONS
AND/OR JAMES E. FIELDEN SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY
DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST SAVINGS OR OTHER
INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OR
INABILITY TO USE MXLIGHT, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY OTHER PARTY.
