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SLIPREAD.TX_
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SLIPREAD.TX
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1994-11-20
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7KB
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137 lines
Nov. 20, 1994.
Welcome to SlipKnot.
The first operation is to run the program and set up all of the terminal
characteristics before trying to connect to your UNIX host. Before trying
the Terminal setup dance, bring up the Help documentation, and keep it
visible while going through the settings.
Note that since SlipKnot is also an offline WEB renderer, after
bringing up SlipKnot, you can immediately press the "World Wide Web"
button, which should show you SlipKnot's local home pages (try it!).
=================== Known problems and workarounds =======================
1. If you are having problems with "Host Initialization", (when you attempt
to press the "to World Wide Web" button for the first time) there is a
temporary Debug menu item that will log modem traffic (and other
debugging information) to a file called: SLIPKNOT.DEB. Turn on this
option just before pressing the "to World Wide Web" button, and turn it
off just after the failure. Peruse this file (though it may not be very
meaningful), or send it to us (slpstaff@pipeline.com).
2. If a document retrieval appears to be stuck, first check whether it
really is by looking at your modem lights (if you have an external
modem) and checking whether there is any data coming in. If so,
let it go for a while. Sometimes the document retrieval odometer
(showing how many bytes have been downloaded) doesn't move. Click
momentarily on the red window to unstick the odometer. If these
instructions are gibberish now (because you are reading the README
before seeing the program in action), you'll know what we mean when the
WEB renderer starts working. If it is still stuck, close the document
retrieval window (the one that is in red) by double-clicking on the
control button in the upper-left (the way you normally close any
window).
===================== SlipKnot limitations ==============================
1. SlipKnot cannot display "forms" within documents. The "forms" will
simply not appear. This is a new World-Wide-Web HTML capability (for
those of you who understand this jargon), and we are working on it for a
future release.
2. Likewise, SlipKnot does not yet perform a WWW operation called
"authentication". This operation is much more rarely required.
3. SlipKnot will retrieve only documents using the HTTP and FTP protocols.
No Gopher or MailTo or other protocols yet. However, SlipKnot has a
Terminal window into your UNIX session which is accessible at any time
(except when you are retrieving documents). You can use this Terminal
window to run gopher, or your peronal mail program or news reader, or
any other UNIX operation that you normally use.
======================== SlipKnot Feature List ==========================
SlipKnot was designed from the ground up for modem users -- using slower
communications lines than folks on expensive high-speed links to the
Internet. Hence, many of the features were included to make life easier
specifically for us lower-speed folks.
Some of these features you may already be aware of, some not.
1. Of course, no SLIP or PPP or TCP/IP services required from your host.
2. Background document retrieval while browsing documents in the foreground.
3. Save entire documents (including embedded pictures) in your own
user-defined folders for later display. This allows you to demo the WWW
without being online. Also, this is kinder to the Internet, since you
do not have to retrieve those favorite documents every time you want to
display them.
4. Up to 5 different documents can be displayed on the screen simultaneously.
5. You need not wait for a document to come in before asking for another
one. You can ask for the retrieval of many documents, and these
requests will be queued up to be activated one-by-one.
6. Ability to switch between WWW and your UNIX terminal session whenever
you wish (except then you are in the middle of retrieving a document).
7. An "infinite history cache" saves all documents you have retrieved
during any session in a temporary directory, and even saves them between
sessions if you desire (limited only by available disk space).
8. Since SlipKnot is an Internet communications program, it can upgrade
itself when new versions become available. You can use its One-Touch
Upgrade mechanism (three touches, actually) to download just the version
changes and activate SlipKnot's upgrade program.
9. Change screen fonts and colors, printer fonts, document colors, etc.
And then use SlipKnot's built-in documents to test the appearance of
your chosen fonts and colors.
10. You can choose not to retrieve the pictures embedded inside documents
and speed up the downloading process significantly. Then, if you
change your mind, ask SlipKnot to get the same document with the
pictures.
11. Install "viewers" to handle files of various types. For instance,
SlipKnot already comes with 2 "viewers": 1) LVIEW31 to view and
manipulate graphics files and 2) WPLANY to play sound clips.
12. Use SlipKnot to help you develop your own home pages. If you master
the document language, HTML, or use an HTML-editor, you can use
SlipKnot to display the pages while you are working on them.
13. Use SlipKnot to retrieve files from anonymous FTP sites. If you know
how to express your request for a file in the form of a URL, SlipKnot
will retrieve it for you (in the background, as usual), and place the
file wherever you wish.
14. SlipKnot contains some features to handle screen clutter (especially if
you have several documents displayed simultaneously). There is an icon
to help you cycle through your visible documents (in case one is hidden
behind another). And if you minimize a visible document, a small
numbered icon appears in a prominent place to help you display it again
immediately.
15. SlipKnot has an (optional) scripting language to automate your login
and logout procedures.
16. You can also use the SlipKnot Terminal to upload and download files.
17. After you complete the setup process and are successfully using
SlipKnot, you can pass on the complete setup information to others,
because it is all saved in a text file (except for your login id and
password). These settings can be posted as downloadable files.
Conversely, you can receive these settings from other users on the same
UNIX system if you are having trouble.
Peter Brooks
MicroMind, Inc.
slpstaff@pipeline.com