To learn how to use the Help System, press the Enter or Return key.
To access PHONE's Help System, press the F1 key. A window will open containing information about the menu item or dialog box field that is currently in the foreground. This is known as "context-sensitive" help. 0
You can browse through the help text using the K
up arrow
down arrow
Page Up PgUP
Page Down PgDn
keys on the keypad. C
When you are finished using the help, press the Escape (Esc) key.
Some help messages contain Cross-References to other topics. Cross- References are displayed in a different color from normal help text. One cross- reference is always highlighted. If you press Enter, the help message associated with the cross-reference is displayed. If there are several cross-references within a help message, you can press the Tab or Shift-Tab keys to move the highlight to the next or previous cross- reference.
If your computer has a mouse, move the mouse pointer over a cross- reference and click the left mouse button twice to select it. Double Clicking (clicking the left mouse button twice in rapid succession) has the same effect as pressing the Enter key.
Click on HELP for more info.
The Baud Rate is the speed at which modems and computers talk to each other.
If your modem does not feature data compression, click on the highest baud rate at which your modem can communicate. If your modem does feature data compression, click on a rate 2 to 4 times higher than the highest baud rate at which your modem can communicate. Examples: g
If you have a Hayes (TM) SmartModem 1200, a modem that does not do data compression, click on 1200. }
If you have a Multi-Tech (TM) MultiModem II, which is a 9600 baud modem with data compression, click on 19,200 or 38,400.
If you choose a baud rate higher than that at which your modem can communicate, you'll also have to check the boxes labeled CTS and RTS Handshaking (see below). This prevents your modem from overwhelming your computer with data.
Sometimes your communications won't seem to be moving at the same Baud Rate as you specified. There are factors which affect the final Baud Rate you see at your screen. 4
For more information, choose one of the following: ,
Data
Errors
Bottlenecks
Data
Compression
HELP CONTENTS
Help
Menus
Keys
Hardware
package
slip.bat
Batch
File
umslip.com
Packet
driver
phone.exe
phone
utility
program
termin.com
terminate
packet
driver
This is the help index
1,200
2,400
4,800
57,600
9,600
14,400
19,200
38,400
Baud
Rates
Bottlenecks
Ports
Ports
COM1
COM2
COM3
COM4
COM5
COM6
COM7
COM8
Data
Compression
Data
Errors
Dialing,
Dialing
Handshaking,
HAndshaking,
general
Handshaking,
Handshaking,
settings
Handshaking
Hanging
Help,
backing
Index
Keyboard,
window,
window
Menu,
general
Menu,
About
Menu,
Actions
Menu,
Setup
Menu,
system
Modem
Modem
setup
Modems,
Password
Phone
numbers
Quitting
Scripts,
custom
Servers,
Setup,
Setup/Modem
Setup/SLIP
Stop
bits,
setting
Table
Contents
Username
Using
Version
Press the PREVIOUS button (Alt-F1) to "back up" one page to the previously-selected HELP topic.
How to Use On-line Help 0
(to read all of this screen, press Page Down.) G
You can use PHONE's on-line Help from the Help menu or via hot keys.
Wherever you are in PHONE, you can press F1 to see a help screen about the menu command or dialog-box item that's currently active. }
To learn more about using on-line Help, use the arrow keys to move the cursor to one of the Help keywords, and press ENTER.
If you're viewing this screen in a regular Help window, you can press TAB to jump to the next Help keyword; then press ENTER. L
If you're using a mouse, just click the Help keyword you're interested in. ;
Choose one of these to find out more about the Help menu: 4
Index
Contents
Previous
Topic
Help
The System appears on the far left of the menu bar and is represented by the = symbol. Alt-Spacebar is a keyboard shortcut that you can use at any time to pull down this menu. h
The = menu contains the HELP item. Some other programs will provide some utilities under this menu.
When you choose the About command from the System menu, a dialog box appears, showing copyright and version information. 8
Press ESC, click OK, or click Cancel to close the box.
Phone can either Dial (F2) to establish a SLIP connection, or Hang
Up (F3) to break the connection and free the phone line. Finally, you can Exit (Alt-X) the program.
Once you have used the Setup options to configure your modem and to enter your user name and password, the DIAL command will begin the process of actually calling and establishing the SLIP connection. \
You can watch the lower Transaction
Log window to observe the progress of the connection.
After you have configured the DIAL menu, you can also type the command PHONE DIAL from DOS. This will run PHONE and attempt to establish the SLIP connection with no further commands on your part.
If the program fails to establish the connection for some reason, it will return an ERROR CODE, id used in DOS batch files (such as the SLIP.BAT file, see above) to decide whether to proceed to the next command in a batch file. y
You can begin dialing by using the mouse to click on Actions:Dial, by typing Alt-A then D, or by pressing the F2 key.
If your modem is already connected to a SLIP server or any other service, HANGUP will disconnect it and hang up the phone. You can also do this by typing the command PHONE HANGUP from DOS. y
You can hang up by using the mouse to click on Actions:Hangup, by typing Alt-A and then H, or by pressing the F3 key.
Use the Exit command when you are done using PHONE. l
Note that this does not hang up the phone or break your SLIP connection (see the Actions:Hangup command). s
You can quit PHONE by using the mouse to click on Actions:Exit, by typing Alt-A and then X, or by typing Alt-X.
Before you can establish a SLIP connection, you need to set up both your Modem parameters (F4) (Baud Rate, Word Length, etc.) and your SLIP parameters (F5) (Username, Password, etc.)
The settings in this dialog box are used to tell your computer how to talk to your modem. The speed of the modem, where it's connected, and what kind of modem it is are among the characteristics which need to be set so that your computer and modem can communicate. "
Modem parameters covered include "
Baud
Rate
Port,
Modems.
Advanced parameters include 8
Parity,
Stop
Bits,
Handshaking,
Modem Dialing Type.
What is SLIP? )
SLIP stands for Serial Line Internet Protocol, and is a way to establish a network connection through a modem. What this means is that programs like POPMail, Gopher and NCSA Telnet will operate over telephone lines and through your modem, as if connected to the network by a network card. 4
Normal network connections are usually very fast (on the order of 10 million bits per second, as compared with 10 thousand bits per second with the fastest modem), so applications running over a SLIP connection may seem to run somewhat more slowly than they would on a hardwired network connection. W
However, there are many advantages to using networked applications rather than standard modem communication programs such as Procomm. For one, you can take advantage of client-server protocols such as Gopher or POP, which allow your computer to do some of the computing work, and to store the files received on your hard drive rather than on a remote host computer. Another advantage is the ability to run multiple sessions: programs like NCSA Telnet will allow you to connect to multiple hosts at one time, and to transfer files in the background while working in another window.
In order for this to work, your local network must have a "SLIP server". A SLIP server is a computer which monitors incoming modems for SLIP connections and translates the modem signals into standard TCP/IP network signals. You may also have some form of security system controlling who can connect to a SLIP server and receive an IP address. You should check with your local network administrator to see if SLIP is available.
When you choose the About command from the System menu, a dialog box appears, showing author, copyright and version information.
While this window may look complex, you should need to set only a few of the options. The Baud
Rate, Com
Port, and Modem
List entries will need to be set, but the Advanced entries are likely to be fine the way they are.
1200 baud is slow but usable.
Which
use?
2400 baud is the minimum suggested baud rate for SLIP transmissions.
Which
use?
4800 baud is not used very often.
Which
use?
Most networked software will work well at 9600 baud. If you have a 9600 baud modem with Data
Compression you should set your baud rate to 19,200
baud.
Which
use?
Generally, the baud rate of 14,400 is achieved via a 9,600 baud modem using Data
Compression. Use this baud rate if your modem is billed as either being a 14,400 baud modem, or as having data compression.
Which
use?
Some very fast modems might reach 19,200 baud. You may also set your Baud Rate to 19,200 baud if you are using a 9,600 or 14,400 baud modem with Data
Compression.
Which
use?
38400 baud is fast. It is unlikely that you'll find a modem operating at this speed.
Which
use?
Currently, 57600 baud is the fastest possible speed available. It is unlikely that you'll find a modem operating at this speed.
Which
use?
The most commonly-used Communications port is COM1. Click on the COM1 button if your modem is plugged into the COM1 port. You'll have to figure out what port on your computer is COM1, they are rarely labeled. If your computer has COM1 and COM2 already occupied, or you have some special cards that use the COM interrupts, you may have your COM ports at a non-standard
address.
COM2 is also frequently used for communications. If you have a mouse connected to COM1, you will want to use COM2 for communications. J
Click on the COM2 button if your modem is plugged into the COM2 port. You'll have to figure out what port on your computer is COM2, they are rarely labeled. If your computer has COM1 and COM2 already occupied, or you have some special cards that use the COM interrupts, you may have your COM ports at a non-standard
address.
COM3 is not as commonly used as COM1 or COM2. Part of the reason for this is that COM3 uses the same Interrupt signals as COM1 (Interrupt 4). Therefore, if you have a device on COM1, you cannot put a device on COM3, because whenever the computer sends a signal to COM1 both devices will try to answer at once.
If your computer has COM1 and COM2 already occupied, or you have some special cards that use the COM interrupts, you may have your COM ports at a non-standard
address.
COM4 is not as commonly used as COM1 or COM2. Part of the reason for this is that COM4 uses the same Interrupt signals as COM2 (Interrupt 3). Therefore, if you have a device on COM2, you cannot put a device on COM4, because whenever the computer sends a signal to COM3, both devices will try to answer at once.
If your computer has COM1 and COM2 already occupied, or you have some special cards that use the COM interrupts, you may have your COM ports at a non-standard
address.
COM5 is actually COM3, but using interrupt
level 2.
COM6 is actually COM4, but using interrupt
level 2.
COM5 is actually COM3, but using interrupt
level 5.
COM5 is actually COM4, but using interrupt
level 5.
Below is a chart of I/O addresses and Interrupt levels. Most users won't have to worry about this. If you have your com port at a non- standard I/O address or interrupt level, then you'll have to consult this chart to figure out what COM port your serial port uses.
Unfortunately there are two sets of these numbers, one for non- MicroChannel PC's and one for MicroChannel PC's. MicroChannel PC's are mainly IBM PS/2 models 50 and above.
MicroChannel
ISA/EISA
PORT
IRQ
I/O Address PORT
IRQ
I/O Address
com1
4
03f8 com1
4
03f8
com2
3
02f8 com2
3
02f8
com3
3
3220 com3
4
03e8
com4
3
3228 com4
3
02e8
com5
3
4220 com5
2
03e8
com6
3
4228 com6
2
02e8
com7
3
5220 com7
5
03e8
com8
3
5228 com8
5
02e8
You may need to send some command to the modem to meet some special need. The string you type in this box gets sent to the modem just before dialing. For most modems, it is sent after the modem script has sent its options.
It's important to know what kind of modem you are using when establishing a SLIP connection. The Modem List displays built-in scripts for operating Hayes, ADI-100, and other kinds of modems. It is possible to build customized scripts if your modem is not listed . Refer to the full manual for more information.
Parity Checking is the means by which your computer can make sure that transmitted data is getting through correctly. Different hosts need different parity settings.
Odd Parity means that the parity of all data words received should be set odd.
Even Parity means that the parity of all data words received should be set even.
Mark Parity means that no error checking is conducted, but the parity bit is always set to one. Nobody uses it. There is no truth to the rumor that Mark Parity was the inventor of modems.
Even fewer people use Space Parity than Mark parity. Space parity means no error checking is conducted, but the parity bit is always set to zero.
Stop Bits are used to separate words of data. The more stop bits employed, the longer the pause between data words. This used to be an issue when data transmission technologies were new, but nowadays stop bits are not quite as important. One is usually sufficient.
Two stop bits are usually more than are necessary.
Hardware handshaking depends on the actual pins connecting your computer to your modem to control data flow. If you are using a cable which does not have pins number 4 and 5 (on a 25-pin cable or 7 and 8 on a 9- pin cable), hardware handshaking will not function. The two signals carried on these pins are Clear-To- Send CTS and Request-To-Send RTS
Software handshaking controls data flow by sending a signal called "XON" for "Transmit On" (usually a control-Q), or "XOFF" for "Transmit Off" (control-S).
The problem with this method is that if you send an XON or XOFF signal inadvertently (for instance, by sending a binary file which happens to contain a control-S character), your computer will interpret this as an XOFF and stop sending.
So for SLIP transmissions, it usually best to use either NO handshaking, or to use other method of handshaking, Hardware Handshaking.
Handshaking is the means by which two computers tell each other when they are able and unable to accept further data. There are two ways to do this, Hardware and Software.
If you are using a modem without data compression, set CTS and RTS handshaking OFF. If you are using a modem with data compression, set CTS and RTS handshaking ON.
CTS, or Clear-To-Send Handshaking, sets pin 5 of your serial port either ON or OFF depending on whether or not your computer is ready to receive more data from your modem.
Note that hardware handshaking will only work if the cable between your modem and PC has the proper wire (pin 5 on a 25-pin connector, pin 8 on a 9-pin connector) running from end to end. You may need a new cable to use handshaking.
If you are using a modem without data compression, set CTS and RTS handshaking OFF. If you are using a modem with data compression, set CTS and RTS handshaking ON.
RTS, or Request-To-Send Handshaking, sets pin 4 of your serial port either ON or OFF depending on whether or not your computer is ready to send more data to your modem.
Note that hardware handshaking will only work if the cable between your modem and PC has the proper wire (pin 4 on a 25-pin connector, pin 7 on a 9-pin connector) running from end to end. You may need a new cable to use handshaking.
This button will accept the current window of information and save the changes to the configuration file.
Use this button if you'd like your modem to dial using pulse signals.
If your telephone does not have touch-tone dialing you must revert to pulse dialing, which is the old-fashioned kind of dialing that rotary phones use. Sometimes you might think you have touch tone because you have a fancy telephone which has pushbuttons; but if it doesn't actually complete your call until doing a lot of clicking, it's likely converting your button-pushes into pulse signals.
Use this button if you'd like your modem to dial using tones. J
Touch tone dialing is present when you can place a call by dialing with musical tones. Sometimes you might think you have touch tone because you have a fancy telephone which has buttons; but if it doesn't actually complete your call until doing a lot of clicking, it's likely converting your button-pushes into pulse signals.
Clicking on this button will cause the program to ignore any changes you've made to this window and to revert to the settings which existed when you originally entered the window.
This is Slip setup dialog box
Enter your username as "
username@computer.full.tcp.name
for example:
joe0024@student.tc.umn.edu
Enter the password that goes with your username here. It will not be displayed on the screen, so be sure to get it right.
Enter the phone number in this box. J
As of Feb 14, 1993 some commonly used phone numbers (in Minnesota) are:
The Univ of Minn SLIP server for most modems is 626-1920
The Univ of Minn SLIP server for ADI modems is 3-0291
The MRNET SLIP server is 626-7638.
If you are on the U of M campus, use just the last five digits.
If you are in a different area code, you'll need to prepend the area code (612) to these numbers. In some area codes you also need to prepend a 1. <
If you need to dial out from a hotel phone, or an office telephone system, you may have to prepend an 8 or 9 to dial out of that local phone system. You may also have to add a comma to add a bit of delay after the 8 or 9. For example, to call the the U of M from a hotel in California, you may have to specify:
8,1,612,626-1920
Welcome to PHONE
PHONE is a program that can help you establish SLIP connections quickly and easily. -
To learn about the Help system press Enter. B
To learn about the Transaction
Log window, press Tab and Enter. 1
To learn about SLIP, press Shift-Tab and Enter.
A SLIP server is the remote computer which will be your gateway to the TCP/IP network. If more than one gateway exists, this window will holds the list of gateways to choose from. If only one gateway exists, this window will not appear. This list will vary from one local network to another. H
University of Minnesota students & staff should pick the UofM server.
This button saves all the settings you've made in the Slip setup dialog box
This button cancels any information you have entered in the slip setup dialog box
Transaction Log
This window is where you can watch the interaction between this computer and the remote computer which provides SLIP service.
Labelled horizontal status bars indicate when important steps in the login sequence are completed or fail to complete correctly. V
For Help with the Help System, press Enter. To close this Help Window, press Escape.
Errors when Transmitting Data Q
Your modem may be able to detect transmission errors (caused by static on the line, for instance) and correct them. It corrects the error by signaling the remote computer that an error occurred, and requesting that the block of data be sent again. If errors occur, your final Baud Rate may seem to be much lower than that set.
Bottlenecks in Transmission.
In any SLIP connection, several devices are transferring information in a "bucket brigade". No matter the settings you use, the line can only go as fast as the slowest device. For example, you might set your computer's baud rate to talk to its modem at 9600 baud. However, the modem itself might only be a 2400 baud modem. Therefore, you'll only see 2400 baud transfers on your screen.
Data Compression for Faster Transmission v
Finally, a factor which speeds things up instead of slowing them down. Data compression is a means by which slow modems can send data faster than would normally be possible. If your modem supports data compression (and this will be clearly indicated on the box at time of purchase, as it is a strong selling point), it will look at the data that it receives to see if there are any ways in which the data can be reduced in size. For example, if it receives the letters "aaaaaaaaa", it might compress them into "9*a". Of course, the modem on the other end of the telephone must know how to de-compress this data correctly.
Most IBM-compatible computers come with four possible "Communications Ports", although usually only one or two of these is built in, and others must be added separately. These built in ports are COM1 and COM2. If you are not sure which port your modem is connected to, start with COM1, then try COM2. If nothing works, you may have to seek assistance in determining your setup.
custom scripts...
Phone is only the dialer. The other parts are... 6
slip.bat
umslip.com
phone.exe
termin.com
Phone Menus
The menu bar at the top of the screen is the gateway to the menus. To go to the menu bar, press F10, or click anywhere on it. F
You can choose from any of these groups of commands on the menu bar:
(System) Action Setup
For instructions on using the menu bar, go to the Help screen How
Bar. F
For information about menu hot keys, go to the Help
screen
Keys.
How to Use "Hot Keys"
Some menu commands are considered to be so important that they can be activated with a hot key alternative. These hot keys are shown below.
Hot-Key Command
F1 Help
F2 Dial
F3 Hang
F5 Exit
Alt-X Exit
How to Use Menus
When you're in a window, there are three ways to select a menu command:
Press F10, then use the left and right arrow keys
F10
arrow keys to go to the menu you want and use
the up and down arrow keys them again to select a
command. Press Enter to choose the selected command.
Press Alt and the highlighted letterof the menu you
Alt
want (such as Alt-F for the File menu), use the arrow
keys to select a command, then press Enter to choose
that command.
You can also press the highlighted letter of a menu name or command instead of using the arrow keys.
Click the title of the menu you want
Mouse
to pull down, then click the menu
command you want to choose.
The highlighted menu title is the currently selected menu. T
Some menu commands are followed by an ellipsis mark (...), an arrow, or a hot key. -
Mark
Name
What the Menu Command Does
...
Ellipsis
Brings up a dialog box
F4
Hot key
Initiates some action when
(etc.)
you choose that command or
press the specified hot key
SLIP.BAT Slip batch file
We supply a batch file that automates SLIP access. It lets you type "SLIP XXXXX" to run application XXXXX with SLIP.
For Example:
SLIP POPMAIL "
Runs the slip batch file, which: N
* Checks to see if a packet driver is loaded,
and loads it if necessary.
* Checks to see if the SLIP connection is
already dialed up, and dials it if needed.
* If the dialing succeeds, it then runs POPMAIL.
Your computer needs the UMSLIP packet driver to talk to the modem. If you use the SLIP.BAT batch file to run things, it will automatically run UMSLIP for you. `
If you want, you can run UMSLIP from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to ensure that it is always ready. !
UMSLIP uses about 6k of memory.
PHONE is this program.
PHONE will dial up and hang up your connection to the SLIP server. It does this by sending commands to your modem to dial the phone. It also sends your login information to validate you with the SLIP server. )
From the DOS command line you can type: 1
PHONE DIAL to connect to the SLIP server 6
PHONE HANGUP to disconnect from the SLIP server 8
You usually leave the busywork to the SLIP
batch
file
If you are all done using slip and want to free up about 6k of memory, you can type "SLIP QUIT". This runs PHONE HANGUP and calls the termin.com program to unload the packet driver from memory.
(.txt)