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P C P u r s u i t: V E R S A d i a l Version 1.3 January 18, 1988 A ProComm 2.4.2 utility for access to PC Pursuit written by Allen Brunson, David Rhoten, and Gizmo Documentation written by Allen Brunson Accept no substitutes! Table of Contents Files included in This Package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Customizing VERSA: General Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Customizing VERSA: BBS Numbers, Names, and Command Files . 6 Installing VERSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Using VERSA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Using DISC.CMD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Notes on Using VERSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Using V-Compress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 VERSA Updates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 What's New in Version 1.3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Update History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Various Technical Matters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 Files Included in This Package ============================== The following files are included in the PC Pursuit: VERSAdial package: VERSA.DOC This documentation file PRINTDOC.BAT A batch file for printing VERSA.DOC VERSA.CMD The main VERSA command file, optimized for maximum speed VERSA-C.CMD Commented version of VERSA.CMD VERSA.KEY A ProComm macro file used to store the local Tele- net number, Telenet baud rate, your user ID, and your password DISC.CMD A small optimized command file for disconnecting from BBSs DISC-C.CMD Commented version of DISC.CMD VERSA1.MNU BBS directories for Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Hartford, Miami, and Newark VERSA1-C.MNU Commented version of VERSA1.MNU VERSA2.MNU BBS directories for New York, Philadelphia, Re- search Triangle Park, Tampa, Washington D. C., Chicago, and Dallas VERSA3.MNU BBS directories for Houston, Kansas City, Mil- waukee, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Denver, and Phoe- nix VERSA4.MNU BBS directories for Salt Lake City, Glendale, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Portland, Riverside, and Sac- ramento VERSA5.MNU BBS directories for San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Ana, and Seattle, one "spare" menu, and the "linked command file" for use with the Net Exchange EXAMPLE.VER A sample "linked command file" VCOMPRES.COM A program for optimizing ProComm 2.4.2 command files You are now reading VERSA.DOC. PRINTDOC.BAT is just a simple batch file for printing this document. Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 1 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 VERSA.CMD is the main ProComm command file to be executed. It is optimized for fastest possible execution by having all command words trimmed down to four letters or less, all labels and label references trimmed to eight characters or less, and all unnecessary spaces, blank lines, and remarks taken out. VERSA-C.CMD is the "long" version of VERSA.CMD, containing a vari- able list and all the original indentation, comments, and spaces be- tween routines. VERSA.KEY is a ProComm format keyboard macro file that is used to store information about your PC Pursuit account. VERSA loads this file in upon execution. Information about customizing this file can be found in the section titled "Customizing VERSA: General Setup." DISC.CMD is a short command file that can be used to disconnect from a BBS or other computer. DISC.CMD is optimized in the same fash- ion as VERSA.CMD. More on using DISC.CMD can be found in the section entitled "Using DISC.CMD." DISC-C.CMD is a longer commented and indented version of DISC.CMD. VERSA1.MNU through VERSA5.MNU contain the BBS directory menus. See the section in this document called "Customizing VERSA: BBS Num- bers, Names and Command Files" for information on adding your own BBS numbers to the menus. VERSA1-C.MNU is a commented version of VERSA1.MNU. Commented ver- sions of all five .MNU files are not needed because they are all very nearly identical. EXAMPLE.VER is a sample "linked command file." VERSA's linked command files are similar to but not exactly the same as the linked command files used with the ProComm dialing directory entries. More on linked command files can be found in the section of this document entitled "Customizing VERSA: BBS Numbers, Names and Command Files." VCOMPRES.COM is a program for optimizing ProComm 2.4.2 command files. It removes comments and unnecessary spaces, trims command words to four characters or less, and trims labels and label refer- ences to eight characters or less. It also recognizes two special "meta-commands" and acts on them. V-Compress was used to optimize VERSA.CMD, DISC.CMD and the VERSA menu files. The features of V-Com- press are fully detailed in the section called "Using V-Compress." Note that you will only need VERSA.CMD, VERSA.KEY, DISC.CMD and VERSA1.MNU through VERSA5.MNU for operation of VERSA. All other files included can be stored somewhere other than your ProComm disk or sub- directory. Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 2 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 Introduction ============ PC Pursuit: VERSAdial is a program written in ProComm 2.4.2 com- mand language for use in gaining access to the PC Pursuit service pro- vided by Telenet. This version of VERSA has only been tested with ProComm 2.4.2; I have not yet seen ProComm Plus. To use this program you must have a DOS compatible computer, a copy of ProComm 2.4.2, a Hayes compatible modem, and access to the PC Pursuit network. If you do not have all of these, then this program is not for you. There are a number of programs written for use with ProComm that simplify the use of PC Pursuit. This is to be expected, considering the complexity of PC Pursuit and the amount of typing that is required to use it. These various programs all take slightly different ap- proaches to the task of automating PC Pursuit use. VERSA, of course, reflects the approach of the authors. Our goal has been to make VERSA as easy to use and as flexible as possible while keeping the actual code to a minimum for speedy execution. Keeping the amount of code to a minimum has required a trade-off. Compared to other PC Pursuit utilities, VERSA lacks some functions and abilities that you may consider useful. For instance, VERSA does not have the ability to redial a number of cities or BBS numbers at once. While VERSA can be used as a start to finish solution to PC Pur- suit access, it is also well suited to the user who wishes to do some of the work for him- or herself. VERSA can be stopped or started at any time during a PC Pursuit session (except when you are connected to a BBS), allowing you to take over or surrender control. Whenever VER- SA is executed, it senses the current level of PC Pursuit and reacts accordingly. While this document (and VERSA itself) refer to the computers that you call as BBSs, you can of course use PC Pursuit and VERSA to call any computer equipped with a modem. VERSA is not intended for unattended use. There are many in- stances where VERSA will need input from you. Customizing VERSA: General Setup ================================ We suggest that you first make a backup copy of VERSA just as you got it. This way, if you give it to a friend or upload it to another BBS, it will be in the condition that the authors intended it to be (and you will also have a backup in case something happens to your working copy). After you have made a backup of VERSA and have a second copy of the files to use, you will have to do some customizing to make VERSA Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 3 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 work properly for you. The first step is to customize the file VERSA.KEY. If you have used previous versions of VERSA, you can use your old copy of VER- SA.KEY. If not, put the included copy of VERSA.KEY on a disk or in a subdirectory where ProComm can find it and start ProComm. Press Alt-M, the keyboard macro key, then press "L" to load in a macro file. Enter the name VERSA.KEY (you may enter an entire filespec if the file is in a different directory than your ProComm files). Once VERSA.KEY has been loaded in, you will have to customize it with information about your PC Pursuit account. The middle of the macro window will look like this: ALT-0 MYPASSWORD! ALT-1 ALT-2 ALT-3 ALT-4 ALT-5 ALT-6 ALT-7 LOCAL TELENET PHONE NUMBER! ALT-8 /12, ALT-9 MYUSERID! ==> _ R: Revise L: Load S: Save C: Clear ESC: Exit As you change these macros to fit your needs, MAKE SURE that Alt-0, Alt-7, and Alt-9 end with "!". This represents a carriage re- turn when the macro is used. VERSA will not work properly without these three exclamation points. Press "R" and then "0" to enter your password, ending with a "!". Press "R" and then "9" to enter your user ID, once again ending with a "!". Do the same with Alt-7, adding your local Telenet number. So, if your local Telenet number is 262-5669 (which it is, here in Wichi- ta), the Alt-7 line would look like: ALT-7 2625669! Alt-8 represents the baud rate that you will be setting PC Pursuit to. You will probably not need to alter Alt-8 as most people use PC Pursuit at 1200 baud. However, if are going to call 300 baud BBSs, you will need to alter this line to look like: ALT-8 /3, The beginning slash and the ending comma are important. They are part of the PC Pursuit dialing command. Note that if you have a 300 baud modem, it may well work to set PC Pursuit to 1200 baud anyway. Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 4 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 If you are going to call Pursuit at 2400 baud, add the telephone number of your local 2400 baud dial-up line to Alt-7 and set Alt-8 to "/24,". A pause is required during Telenet logon for 2400 baud use. We have implemented this pause in VERSA, but since no BBSs are yet connecting at 2400 baud through the Telenet network at the time of this writing, we have not been able to fully test VERSA at this speed. We hope VERSA will work properly at 2400 baud, but don't assume it will work until you have tried it. After you have modified all the keyboard macros, you will need to select option "S" from the macro window to save the file with its new contents. You will be prompted for a name for the saved file; it is important that you again call it VERSA.KEY or VERSA will not be able to find it. If you want to call at both 1200 and 2400 baud, we suggest you keep two copies of VERSA.KEY under different names: one that has your local 1200 baud telephone number in Alt-7 and "/12," in Alt-8, and another that has your local 2400 baud telephone number in Alt-7 and "/24," in Alt-8. You can then rename one or the other to VERSA.KEY depending on which one you want to use. The cities that support 2400 baud outdial service are noted in VERSA's city menu. Once you have customized one or more .KEY files with your PC Pur- suit user ID and password, BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THE FILES! This is the only place that VERSA keeps your ID and password, so it is safe to give away modified copies of all other VERSA files, but do NOT let anyone else have access to your .KEY files! If you do, others may well end up using your PC Pursuit account. Normally, the only other step required to customize VERSA for your own use is to add your favorite BBS numbers and names to the .MNU files. However, there is one item in VERSA.CMD you may wish to change if for some reason you want your modem to use pulse dialing instead of tone dialing. If you want to use pulse dialing, start up a plain ASCII text editor and load in VERSA.CMD. The line number you are looking for is 510, which looks like this: TRAN"AT S2=42 DT " It is the very last "T" in this line that causes tone dialing to be used. For pulse dialing, modify this line so it looks like this: TRAN"AT S2=42 DP " The "S2=42" part of this line resets your modem's "escape charac- ter," which is normally a plus sign (+), to an asterisk (*). Why this is done is described fully in the section entitled "Using DISC.CMD." Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 5 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 Customizing VERSA: BBS Numbers, Names, and Command Files ======================================================== After you have customized VERSA.KEY, you are then ready to add the numbers, names, and "linked command files" for your favorite BBSs that are accessible via PC Pursuit to VERSA's menus. You can add up to ten BBS numbers and names for each city. Note that customizing the menus is optional because VERSA always allows you to enter a phone number to dial directly without using the numbers stored in the BBS directories. Furthermore, the dialing di- rectories in VERSA are already stocked with many BBS numbers and names (although the menus for the newest cities added to PC Pursuit this month are all blank). If you have used a previous version of VERSA, you CANNOT use your old .MNU files. VERSA and PC Pursuit have changed slightly and sever- al new cities have been added. The BBS numbers and names are all stored in the files VERSA1.MNU through VERSA5.MNU. A list of the cities in each .MNU file is pro- vided earlier in "Files Included in This Package." There are seven BBS directories each in the first four .MNU files. VERSA5.MNU is a special case: it has BBS directories for five cities and a "spare" that can be used for new cities that come on line. VERSA5.MNU is also used to store the name of a "linked command file" for use when directly dialing the Net Exchange with the C PURSUIT command. How you and VERSA use the spare menu is detailed in "Using VERSA" later in this document. Calling the Net Exchange directly with the C PURSUIT command is also covered in "Using VERSA." As an example, let's say you have a BBS number and name you want to add to position five in the Riverside BBS directory. Using the list in "Files Included in This Package," you discover that the River- side BBS directory is stored in VERSA4.MNU. Using your plain ASCII text editor, you load up VERSA4.MNU. You search through the file un- til you see the menu that says "Riverside BBS directory (714)" at the top, starting at line 436 in the file. Add the name of the BBS after the "< 5>" in the menu and anything the BBS might specialize in below "-SIG-" (Special Interest Group). The numbers for a directory are stored BELOW the menu, NOT above it, so the numbers for Riverside start on line 459. Lines 471 through 482 in VERSA4.MNU look like this: CASE"4" ASSI S2"XXXXXXX" ;ASSI S7"COMMAND.VER" ENDC CASE"5" ASSI S2"XXXXXXX" ;ASSI S7"COMMAND.VER" ENDC Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 6 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 CASE"6" ASSI S2"XXXXXXX" ;ASSI S7"COMMAND.VER" ENDC Move to line 476; this is the line that stores the BBS number for the fifth selection (note that the line above it says CASE"5"). Re- move the Xs inside the quotation marks and put the BBS number there instead. Note line 477 right below the line that stores the BBS number. It looks like this: ;ASSI S7"COMMAND.VER" This line is used to store the name of a "linked command file" to be executed once the BBS is connected with. Although the line says "COM- MAND.VER" inside the quotes, it is not actually being used. This is because the semicolon at the beginning of the line denotes it as a comment that won't be executed by ProComm. If you want to use a linked command file for this BBS, enter the name inside the quotes and remove the semicolon at the beginning of the line. The name can be an entire filespec if you wish to keep the file in a place other than your ProComm directory. Linked command files are small programs written in ProComm command language, just as VERSA is. They are used for such tasks as automat- ing the BBS logon process by automatically entering your name and password, or for performing unattended file transfers. EXAMPLE.VER is a sample linked command file that can be used to automate logging on to BBSs running PC Board software. Just modify it to include your name and password, put its name in one of VERSA's menus, and you will no longer have to type in your name and password when signing on to a PC Board BBS. You can use it as a model to con- struct linked command files for other types of BBSs. We have implemented a sort of standard: we decided that VERSA's linked command files would be easily recognizable if they all ended in the extension .VER. This is not a standard you have to adhere to since you can enter any filename you want in ProComm's menus. The linked command files used by ProComm's dialing directory are very similar to VERSA's. In many cases, you can use the same linked command file with ProComm's dialing directory and with VERSA. There are only two significant differences we have noted: ProComm's linked command files must have the extension .CMD, while VERSA's linked com- mand files can have any extension; and the IF LINKED condition cannot be properly be tested for in a VERSA linked command file. For more information on linked command files and the ProComm command language, consult your ProComm manual. There is one special case involving linked command files you should be aware of. The name of the linked command file to use when Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 7 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 directly dialing the Net Exchange from the city menu (by entering NETEX) is stored in VERSA5.MNU at line 517. If you want to use a linked command file for the Net Exchange, put the name inside the quotes in place of COMMAND.VER and remove the semicolon at the be- ginning of the line. Installing VERSA ================ Once you have customized the VERSA files, you are then ready to "install" them. This simply entails placing them in the current di- rectory, or in the directory where the other ProComm files are stored (such as PROCOMM.EXE, PROCOMM.XLT, etc.). Note that if the current directory is different than the directory that contains the ProComm system files (that is, the directory pointed to by the ProComm envi- ronment variable), the current directory will be searched BEFORE the directory with the ProComm files. To start VERSA, just press Alt-F5 once you are in ProComm. Pro- Comm should find VERSA.CMD and print its name in the box on the right of the screen. Simply move the highlighted area with the arrow keys to the line that says "VERSA.CMD" and press RETURN or enter the name of the file directly. Do NOT rename VERSA.CMD or VERSA1.MNU through VERSA5.MNU. Using the ProComm command language's EXECUTE command, VERSA.CMD executes all five menu files, and the menu files in turn execute VERSA.CMD. If any of the names are changed, the menus will not work properly. Do not execute any of the menu files directly. They are counting on having certain parameters passed to them from VERSA.CMD. If the menus are executed directly, VERSA will terminate with the message "Parameter error from menu command file." If you are going to use linked command files with VERSA, they will also need to be in a directory where ProComm can find them. If you wish, you can customize VERSA with entire filespecs for linked command files instead of just the names. In that case, the .VER files could be anywhere that you wish. Using VERSA =========== VERSA is basically very easy to use. It always tells you what it is expecting as input and what is happening. If you are new to VERSA, this section should give you an idea of how the program operates. If you have used previous VERSA versions, this section may reveal some features of VERSA that you might not discover through trial and error. When VERSA is started, it sets the communication parameters to Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 8 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 even parity, seven data bits, and one stop bit. This is necessary for communication with Telenet. After the communications parameters have been set, VERSA will dis- play a small box with its name and the name of the authors, along with two options you can use in response to any input prompt, regardless of what VERSA is asking you for: "D" and "E". "D" stands for Disconnect, and it does just that. If you enter "D" in response to an input prompt, VERSA will go through the proper steps to gracefully disconnect from the Telenet network and will then terminate. "E" stands for Exit. If you enter "E" in response to an input prompt, then VERSA will terminate but you will still be connected to Telenet. You can then operate PC Pursuit manually and restart VERSA whenever you wish. After the title box has been drawn, VERSA will try to determine the current level of Telenet connection. There are three possibili- ties that VERSA might discover: (1) Your modem is offline and not con- nected to anything; (2) You are connected to the local level of Tele- net; or (3) You are connected to a remote city. (Don't start VERSA when connected to a BBS; it will only be confused.) The first case is partially taken care of by ProComm, because it monitors the carrier detect state of your modem. If your modem is de- termined to be connected, the second and third cases are distinguished from one another by sending "ATZ" <CR> to Telenet. If you are at the remote city level, Telenet will return an "OK"; if you are at the lo- cal level, Pursuit will return a "?". VERSA will react accordingly depending on which of these three states it discovers. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you connect to a remote city manually and go back to the Telenet command level by entering <CR> @ <CR> and then start VERSA, it will be fooled into thinking you are at the local Telenet level and will not work properly. If you escape to Telenet command level while connected to a remote city, go back to Hayes mode (by entering CONT) before starting VERSA. If VERSA does not find either an "OK" or a "?", it will then test for Racal-Vadic mode. If you are connected to a remote modem that is in Racal-Vadic mode, VERSA will reset it to Hayes mode and then con- tinue normally. If VERSA does not receive a response that it was expecting from Telenet, then it assumes that the situation is beyond its control and terminates. This can occur if you are connected to something other than Telenet, if Telenet is slightly "hung" somehow, or if you are connected to a BBS. After VERSA has determined the current Telenet level, it then dis- plays its city menu. The current 33 PC Pursuit cities are all shown, arranged by time zones, along with their associated city codes. Cit- Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 9 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 ies marked with an asterisk have (or will have) 2400 baud outdial ser- vice. Cities marked with a plus sign will soon no longer support 300 baud outdial service. VERSA also displays the current Telenet level and some options you may enter. As always, you may enter "D" and "E". If you are currently at the remote city level, you have another option: "G", or Go back to local Telenet level. Use this option to disconnect from the current city and start over with another. If you have started VERSA when your modem is offline or you are connected to the local Telenet level, VERSA will prompt you for the city code you wish to dial. If you have started VERSA at the remote city level, then VERSA will prompt you for the CURRENT city code so that it will know which menu to display. This is an important dis- tinction to make. If you are already connected to a remote city, you should NOT enter the city code of another city. If you don't remember which city you are connected to, enter "G", which will take you back to the local Telenet level. Once you have entered a city code, VERSA will display the BBS di- rectory for that city. You then have several options. The first and most obvious option is to enter the menu number (1 through 10) of one of the BBSs in the directory. You may also enter a phone number up to 11 digits in length. (Note that linked command files can only be exe- cuted for BBS numbers that have been entered in the menus. Phone num- bers entered directly cannot have linked command files associated with them.) As always, you can enter "D" and "E". You can enter "G" to go back to the city menu if you decide you don't want to call a BBS in the selected city. If you enter "G" when you are connected to a re- mote city, VERSA will disconnect from that city before displaying the city menu. If you enter something at a BBS directory prompt that is not explicitly understood by VERSA, it will be interpreted as a phone number, so be careful what you type. Once you have selected a city code and a BBS number, VERSA begins dialing. Let's assume that your modem is offline. First, VERSA will dial your local Telenet number. The dialing command it uses contains an instruction that will reset your modem's escape character to "*". (The escape character's default value is "+".) More about the neces- sity for this change be found in the section called "Using DISC.CMD." If Telenet does not connect for some reason, VERSA will automatically redial. VERSA will then take care of connecting properly to Telenet and initiate dialing of your selected city code. If there are no modems available in the remote city of your choice, VERSA will inform you of this and ask if you want to redial the city. If you answer "N", you will be taken back to the city se- lection menu. A "Y" will cause VERSA to repeatedly redial your sel- ected city until a connection is made. Once a city is connected with, VERSA will escape to the Telenet prompt and execute some SETs that cause Telenet to act slightly dif- ferently. Here is a list of those SETs, and what they do: Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 10 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 * SET 1:0 disables an escape to command mode with <CR> @ <CR>. This is advantageous because once in a great while a file that you are downloading or uploading will contain an embedded <CR> @ <CR>. Tele- net will see it and disrupt your file transfer by escaping to command mode. This sounds unlikely, but I've seen it happen. * SET 4:2 forces Telenet to send unfilled packets after .1 second. According to certain sources, this causes slightly faster downloads but has no effect on uploads. * SET 7:8 causes Telenet to recognize a break as a request to es- cape to Telenet mode. This is needed since the <CR> @ <CR> escape se- quence was disabled. After the SETs, VERSA will reset the remote modem and dial your selected BBS number. (If the modem you get is in Racal-Vadic mode, VERSA will automatically reset it to Hayes mode.) If the BBS is busy, you will again be asked if you wish to redial. A "Y" answer causes VERSA to redial the phone number until a connection is made. An "N" answer takes you back to the BBS directory you came from. Once the BBS has been connected with, a check is made to see if there was a command file linked to that number (this is only possible if you select a BBS from a menu). If a command file is linked to that BBS number, control passes to that command file. Either way, VERSA then terminates. One special option listed in VERSA's city menu is the Net Exchange (which we have arbitrarily assigned a code similar to the city codes: NETEX). If you start VERSA at the remote level, you can safely enter NETEX when VERSA prompts you for the current city code, because VERSA will know to disconnect from the remote city. When you enter NETEX, VERSA will dial the Net Exchange directly using the C PURSUIT command. Obviously this is not a city, but it is dialed from the local Telenet level just as the normal cities are, so it is included in the city menu. If you want to use a linked command file for connection to the Net Exchange, the name of the file is en- tered on line 517 of VERSA5.MNU. Keep in mind that if you dial the Net Exchange this way, you will NOT be using a remote modem, so DISC.CMD will not work. It is also possible to get to the Net Ex- change through the Washington, D.C. port rather than with the C PUR- SUIT command (its number is already entered in the Washington BBS directory), but you must assign a linked command file in both places separately. One more special case exists in the VERSA city menu that is not obvious. It involves the use of the spare BBS directory in VER- SA5.MNU. If you enter something that VERSA does not recognize at the city menu, VERSA will respond with: "Unknown city code. Continue or go back to city selection <C/G>?" Enter "G" to go back to city selec- tion if you just misspelled the city code you entered. Enter "C" to use the spare BBS directory. It will be displayed on screen just as any other BBS directory is, except that the city code you entered will Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 11 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 be displayed at the top of the menu instead of the city name (which VERSA can't display, since it won't know it). BBS numbers and names can be added to the spare BBS directory in exactly the same way as they are added to any other. The spare BBS directory has been provided for Telenet expansion. Many more cities should be added by Telenet and we can't promise to have a new VERSA out before it happens. For this latest change in the Telenet network that involved swapping the city codes for area codes, Telenet did not send us notification of the change until two days af- ter it had gone into effect. So, if new cities are added after VER- SA's release, you can enter the city codes just as you would any oth- ers and VERSA will dial them for you. The real beauty of VERSA is its ability to deal with any level of Telenet. It is perfectly acceptable for you to terminate VERSA at any time with Esc and restart it again with Alt-F5 while you are still connected to Telenet (say, after you have disconnected from a BBS). This is also the way VERSA must deal with the termination of redials. If you are redialing a city or BBS and decide you want to do something else before the city or BBS connects, press Esc to stop VERSA and re- start it again with Alt-F5. This is not a very elegant way to deal with aborted redials, but due to the limitations of ProComm command language, it is the only way. One interesting case arises if you are connected to Telenet, start VERSA, and then Telenet disconnects. This can happen if you wait too long to send Telenet any kind of input. It is much more likely to oc- cur at the local level than at the remote city level. If this hap- pens, VERSA will notice it when it starts dialing and inform you that Telenet has disconnected. The entered city code will be used to begin dialing over again from scratch. Not all possibilities that may arise during VERSA use have been covered here, but we believe that VERSA has been engineered to do pretty much what you would expect it to in most cases. If you are curious about whether or not a certain action will work with VERSA, go ahead and try it; you definitely won't mess anything up. For disconnecting from computers emulating terminals, or from BBSs that are "hung" or for some other reason will not let you off, see the next section called "Using DISC.CMD." Using DISC.CMD ============== There is only one situation during a normal PC Pursuit session when you should not start VERSA, and that is when you are connected to a BBS or other computer. For the sake of completeness, DISC.CMD is included with VERSA to allow you to drop carrier from the remote mo- dem. This section will explain how to use DISC.CMD and how it works. Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 12 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 NOTE: All BBSs incorporate a method for disconnection. Some BBSs are prone to losing data or have to be rebooted if you just hang up on them, so you should use a BBS's normal method of disconnection when- ever possible. DISC.CMD is NOT provided so that you can avoid having to go through normal BBS termination procedures. It should be used only if a BBS is "hung" for some reason, or if you are connected to another computer acting as a terminal. According to Hayes command conventions, the proper way to exit to a modem's command mode while online is by doing this: wait one second, type "+++", and wait another second. Your modem will then respond with "OK". You can then enter ATH0 to cause the modem to hang up. When using the Telenet network, this method has a problem. Both your local modem AND the remote modem will interpret the "+++" string as a request to return to command mode. For disconnecting from a re- mote computer while using Telenet, only the remote modem should escape to command mode. The "+" in this discussion is referred to as your modem's (and the remote modem's) "escape character." "+" is the default but it can be changed. When VERSA first dials the local Telenet number, included in the command is this: "S2=42". S2 is the register used to store the escape character and 42 is the ASCII code for an asterisk. This resets the escape character for your local modem to "*". From then on, a pause, "+++", and another pause will NOT cause your modem to escape to com- mand mode. A pause, "***" and another pause will. The old command will still work for the remote modem, though. This is the principle that DISC.CMD takes advantage of. DISC.CMD is executed in exactly the same way that VERSA.CMD is: press Alt-F5 and either type its name or select it with the arrow keys. However, the only time DISC.CMD will have any effect is when you are connected to a remote computer. When you are connected to a remote computer and you execute DISC.CMD, it will issue the "pause, '+++', pause" command to escape to the command mode of the remote modem. It then issues a disconnect command, "ATH0". The remote modem should drop carrier. DISC.CMD will then ask you if you wish to execute VERSA. If you answer "Y", VERSA will be started just as if you had executed it with Alt-F5. "N" will return you to ProComm's terminal mode. "E" will do the same thing, in emulation of VERSA's "E" command. "D", however, is not supported. DISC.CMD will not work properly if your local modem's escape char- acter has not been reset to something other than "+". This can happen if VERSA never dials the local Telenet number or an ATZ is issued to your modem after VERSA resets the escape character. Some communications programs would not work properly with the es- Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 13 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 cape character reset because they perform disconnections in exactly the same way that DISC.CMD does. They could not force your modem into command mode since they would be using the wrong escape character and therefore could not hang up the phone. However, ProComm usually hangs up by dropping the DTR line to your modem, so it is unaffected by the change. It is possible that ProComm DOES perform standard disconnections with your modem. This happens if it tries to disconnect by dropping the DTR line and it doesn't work. It will then use its "hangup string" which you can view in ProComm by pressing Alt-S to get to the setup menu and pressing "1" to get to the modem setup menu. You can tell if ProComm is using its "hangup string" by the speed with which it executes disconnections. If ProComm immediately drops carrier when you press Alt-H, then the DTR approach is working and ProComm is NOT using the hangup string. If disconnections take longer (about three seconds), then ProComm is using its hangup string. If ProComm uses its hangup string with your modem, then for com- patibility with VERSA, you should change its hangup string to use three "*"s and modify ProComm's "modem init string" to contain these characters: "S2=42". Then, whenever ProComm is started, it will reset your escape character automatically. If ProComm is doing slow discon- nects with its hangup string, this should be done even if you do not use DISC.CMD, because VERSA.CMD resets your modem's escape character, not DISC.CMD. If you find DISC.CMD to be confusing, just don't use it. This lengthy discussion on modem use is provided only because there is a slight chance that ProComm will not be able to hang up your modem af- ter you use VERSA. DISC.CMD is not an essential part of VERSA; You can get along just fine without it. Notes on Using VERSA ==================== Our chief goal in designing VERSA has been to make it flexible. If it ever appears that VERSA is not behaving as you would like it to, just terminate it by pressing Esc (this is ProComm's way of stopping command file execution), and start it again with Alt-F5. VERSA can be a powerful tool for teaching yourself the mysterious ways of the Telenet network. Simply execute VERSA, and if you decide that you want to try something different, terminate VERSA and type away. If you desire, VERSA can be started again once you have fin- ished experimenting. Do NOT start VERSA when PC Pursuit is busy executing a command. For instance, if you enter an "ATDT xxxxxxx" command to a modem in a remote city, and then start VERSA before the "BUSY" or "CONNECT" comes back, VERSA will be confused because it was not expecting any input Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 14 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 and will probably hang. Unfortunately, our testing of VERSA has shown that there are some instances where the program simply cannot operate correctly even though you have not done anything wrong. This often happens because ProComm command language does not have the ability to "read" incoming characters from the remote computer while at the same time transmit- ting characters. It is sometimes possible that VERSA will miss some- thing it was looking for because it was busy transmitting. VERSA will never sit idle for more than a minute without something happening on- screen, so if this happens, terminate VERSA with Esc and then restart it. In this version of VERSA, Racal-Vadic mode is recognized but not used. From the point of view of the code in VERSA itself, there are two places where VERSA can run into a modem left in Racal-Vadic mode: When it is first started and attempting to determine the Telenet level and when it is dialing a BBS. In either case, VERSA will reset the modem to Hayes mode and then proceed normally. VERSA does not use Racal-Vadic mode for dialing, but since Telenet is more officially re- cognizing the advantages of Racal-Vadic mode, future versions of VERSA will probably do so. The modems used in the remote cities are not really Hayes modems. They are Racal-Vadic modems imitating Hayes modems. You can experi- ment with Racal-Vadic mode by connecting to a modem in a remote city, exiting VERSA with Esc if you were using it, and then entering: ATZ <CR> Ctrl-E <CR> The modem will respond with "HELLO:I'M READY". Then type "?" <CR> to get a menu of options. If you experiment with Racal-Vadic mode, enter "I" to get back to Hayes mode before leaving the modem. Even if you are finished with your Telenet session, you should reset the modem with "I". Otherwise, the modem will STAY in Racal-Vadic mode for the next caller who will possibly be confused by it. Using V-Compress ================ V-Compress is a program I wrote jointly with Kevin Bachus. It ac- cepts text files containing ProComm command language programs, includ- ing linked command files, and removes blank lines, trims all recog- nized ProComm commands to four letters or less (ProComm only looks at the first four letters), trims labels and label references to eight characters or less (Procomm only looks at the first eight characters), and strips off unneeded spaces and comments. (Note that ProComm com- mand words are trimmed ONLY if they are entirely uppercase. V-Com- press doesn't look for lower case letters.) Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 15 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 V-Compress speeds up ProComm command file execution dramatically, since ProComm reads every byte in the file whether it's needed or not. V-Compress allows you to maintain a commented and indented version of a program for updates and to have a trimmed version for execution. I started the whole thing by asking Kevin to write such a program for me since I was tired of manually trimming command words in VERSA. I eventually figured out what he had done and added some features of my own. To start V-Compress, just type VCOMPRES at the DOS prompt. (V- Compress doesn't yet accept command line parameters, but a future ver- sion probably will.) V-Compress will ask you for an input filespec and an output filespec and will test for the existence of both files. If the input file doesn't exist, you will be prompted for a new filespec. If the output file already exists, you will be asked if you want to overwrite it. V-Compress accepts only normal text files with lines terminated by a CR/LF combination and without tabs. It has not been tested on any other kind of file. After the filenames are entered and the files opened, V-Compress asks: "Display output <Y/N>?" "N" results in slightly faster execu- tion, but "Y" shows you the current input file line, current output file line, and the output file itself as it's being constructed. You can press Esc any time after all the prompts have been answered to abort V-Compress. V-Compress locates up to four quoted strings in a line. Spaces before and after quoted strings are removed, because this doesn't affect execution and removes a few bytes. Quotes preceded by an ASCII 96 (`) are not considered the end of a quoted string, since this is how ProComm lets you put a quote in a quoted string. If V-Compress can't find the second quote for a quoted string, the rest of the line is considered to be within quotes, because this is the same assumption that ProComm makes. V-Compress will not truncate anything inside a quoted string (unless something is beyond the fourth quoted string in the line, but this rarely if ever happens). V-Compress will truncate command words that are improperly long. For instance, if V-Compress finds TRANSMITTTTTT in a line, it will truncate it to TRAN. This is because ProComm would recognize the above word as TRANSMIT, even though it was too long. Note, however, that V-Compress would NOT truncate TRANSTTTTT to TRAN, because the ac- tual command word, TRANSMIT, is not in the word. Likewise, it would not truncate ZTRANSMITTTT, because the string TRANSMIT is not at the beginning of the word. V-Compress truncates labels to their first eight characters. A label such as REALLY_LONG_LABEL: would end up as REALLY_L: Command words and quoted strings on a line after a label are ignored by V- Compress (but comments are removed as always). ProComm ignores any- thing after a label as well. V-Compress also trims references to labels that appear on a line after a GOTO or a GOSUB. Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 16 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 V-Compress accepts two special cases that ProComm knows nothing about. The first is the "meta-comment." Normal comments that begin a line or are at the end of a code line, starting with one semicolon, are always removed. However, comments starting with two semicolons are "meta-comments." They are left in the file and their starting column is maintained, regardless of how short the line becomes due to truncation. One of the semicolons will be removed in the output file, however, so meta-comments are reduced to being normal comments. Therefore, the first time you run a program through V-Compress, the normal comments will be removed; the second time through will also remove the meta-comments. The second case unrecognized by ProComm is the Unused Code Line, or UCL. A UCL is denoted in the source file by a semicolon and a dol- lar sign in succession (;$). The semicolon-dollar sign combination must be found on the line before anything else (except spaces). V- Compress acts on UCLs by trimming the line just as it would any other line, but writes it in the output file proceeded by only a semicolon (the dollar sign is removed). This is how the ;ASSI S7"COMMAND.VER" lines in the .MNU files were trimmed but maintained as comments. Since UCLs are reduced to comments the first time through V-Com- press, they will be removed entirely the second time through, just like meta-comments. Therefore, you could save a few bytes in the .MNU files by running them all through V-Compress once to remove all the ;ASSI S7"COMMAND.VER" lines. V-Compress is very simple to use. It is admittedly tailored for use with VERSA, but if you write long ProComm command files or linked command files, you might find it useful. VERSA Updates ============= VERSA will continue to be updated as PC Pursuit expands and changes. You can count on the Information Booth in Wichita, Kansas, to always have the latest version. (Gizmo is the sysop there and David and I live nearby.) The Information Booth is the "home" of VER- SA. Here is a list of the boards that we plan to keep updated with the latest version: Western U. S.: Phoenix Techline (602) 936-3058 Midwest: The Information Booth (316) 684-8744 East Coast: Interconnect BBS (703) 848-2106 PC Pursuit Central: The Net Exchange (703) 689-3561 All of these boards, with the exception of the Information Booth, are available through PC Pursuit. Interconnect is available through the Washington, D.C. port. Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 17 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 What's New in Version 1.3 ========================= PC Pursuit: VERSAdial, version 1.3, is the fourth release. This section briefly describes the changes to this version. The "no menus" mode was dropped from VERSA. It was our impression that very few people were using it. This resulted in quite a savings in code size, so version 1.3's VERSA.CMD is smaller than 1.1's. Obviously, VERSA had to be changed to support the new city codes that replaced Telenet's old area codes and to support the eight new cities. Personally, I like the new city codes a lot, so VERSA has em- braced them wholeheartedly. You now must enter a city code in VERSA's city menu rather than a selection number. This makes the menu look less cluttered and also requires slightly less code in VERSA.CMD. The spare city menu was added. This is partially because the old "All Cities BBS Directory" was dropped along with the "no menus" mode; the spare menu performs a similar function. The location of the linked command file for directly dialing the Net Exchange with the C PURSUIT command was moved from inside VER- SA.CMD to VERSA5.MNU. DISC.CMD and handling of remote modems left in Racal-Vadic mode were both slightly improved. You can now directly enter up to 11 digits in the BBS directories. This was done because many numbers accessible through Telenet must now be dialed with "1" plus an area code. V-Compress was added. It is a tool that I have been using myself for writing VERSA; I thought others might find it useful as well. There was one very subtle bug in all VERSAs before 1.3 that was fixed. I must use an example to explain it; let's assume you are us- ing VERSA version 1.2. You select BBS "A" from a BBS directory which has a linked command file assigned to it. VERSA starts to dial BBS "A," discovers it's busy and asks you if you want to redial, and you say "no." VERSA displays the BBS directory again and you now pick BBS "B" to dial, but BBS "B" doesn't have a linked command file assigned to it. You connect with BBS "B" and the linked command file for BBS "A" is executed. This is because VERSA version 1.2 and below never cleared the name of the linked command file when the user opted not to redial. VERSA 1.3 fixes this bug. Sorry, folks: I tried quite a few different methods for queue dialing in VERSA, but all involved more tradeoffs that I was willing to make. I'm not knocking ProComm command language -- it is amazing, when you consider it is part of a communications program -- but it is just too limited to properly handle queue dialing within the current VERSA format. However, we have an idea for the next version that should circumvent some of the limitations of ProComm command language. Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 18 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 Update History ============== PC Pursuit: VERSAdial, version 1.0, first saw the light of day on January 31, 1987. David and I had recently gotten a PC Pursuit ac- count that we share between us after Gizmo demonstrated his account for us. Needless to say, we were impressed. We originally wrote VER- SA for our own use and then decided it might have some appeal for oth- er PC Pursuit users as well. Version 1.1 incorporated several improvements over 1.0; it was re- leased on May 23, 1987. VERSA was made to beep when a remote city is connected with in an effort to make VERSA easier to monitor while away from the computer during a lengthy redial. DISC.CMD, the three Tele- net SETs, and Racal-Vadic checking were all added. The user informa- tion was moved from within VERSA.CMD to VERSA.KEY. Many minor im- provements were made to the overall flow and logic of the program. Version 1.2 was released earlier this month. It was, as Gizmo aptly put it, a "quick and dirty fix" to make VERSA work with the new city codes. I don't much care for releasing VERSA versions before they're ready, but this was a release more or less forced on us by Telenet's changing the network and not notifying us (or most of the other PC Pursuit customers) in advance. Various Technical Matters ========================= TRADEMARKS: ProComm is a registered trademark of Datastorm Tech- nologies, Inc. PC Pursuit and Telenet are registered trademarks of US Sprint Corporation. DISCLAIMER: This program is provided on an "as is" basis. We, the authors, assume no liability for its use. Users of this program ac- knowledge that all documentation and program materials are provided without warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The entire risk of using VERSA lies with the user. If you are not prepared to accept this responsibility, DON'T USE THIS PROGRAM. COMPENSATION: We don't expect you to send any of us any money (if you really feel like sending someone some money, send it to Datastorm Technologies, the makers of ProComm -- they are the real programmers involved here). We would, however, appreciate any comments, feedback, patches, or additions you might have for the improvement of VERSA. (I would particularly like to see how some of you have altered VERSA to use Racal-Vadic mode.) You can communicate with us by calling the Information Booth at (316) 684-8744 and leaving a message addressed to me, Allen Brunson. Ideally, you should join the BBS conference first by entering J 1 at the main BBS prompt. This is the best way to get in touch with us. Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 19 PC Pursuit: VERSAdial Version 1.3 Allow us to stress this last point. VERSA has apparently become a fairly popular product but very few people have called in to tell us what they think of it and what they are doing with it. I'm sorry we're not reachable via PC Pursuit here in Wichita, but maybe you could call on Sunday when the rates are low. Gizmo runs a good board that is well worth your calling. We hope you enjoy using VERSA. Copyright (C) 1988, Allen Brunson Page 20