Ham Radio 2000 #2

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Ham Radio 2000 #2 / Ham Radio 2000 - Volume 2.iso / HAMV2 / PACKET / TOP153EN / README.TXT < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1997-10-05 | 23.4 KB | 567 lines

THE WINPACK README FILE ----------------------- Some new sections have been added to this file for the WinPack V6.3 update, so, even if you've read it before, please scan through it again! ************************* REGISTRATION ************************* PLEASE NOTE THAT FROM VERSION 6 ONWARDS, WINPACK CAN BE REGISTERED. AN UNREGISTERED VERSION IS FULLY FUNCTIONAL. IT ISN'T SHAREWARE, BECAUSE YOU CAN USE IT FOR AS LONG AS YOU WANT, BUT IT WILL OCCASIONALLY DISPLAY A MESSAGE BOX REMINDING YOU THAT IT ISN'T REGISTERED. IF YOU HAVE NO INTENTION OF EVER REGISTERING THE PROGRAM, AND YOU THINK THE REMINDERS MIGHT BECOME ANNOYING, PLEASE DO NOT INSTALL THIS VERSION ON TOP OF AN EXISTING, OLDER VERSION OF WINPACK. Registration costs 10 ukp (UK pounds) and details on how to register are included in the on-line help - from the WinPack menu select "Help", "Help Contents" and then select the "REGISTRATION" item in the contents. I have moved over to a system of registration for two reasons:- Firstly, supporting WinPack takes up too much time for me to be able to carry on doing it without the program providing any income at all. Secondly, seeing shareware dealers selling the program was a great disincentive to carry on developing it! **************************************************************** This file includes vital information! Some of which isn't in the on-line help. PLEASE READ IT! It really is extremely useful. A general theme throughout these notes is READ THE ON-LINE HELP. The help can be accessed in two ways:- Firstly you can use the "Help", "Help Contents" menu option. Secondly, you can press F1 and get context sensitive help on what you are currently doing. This is very useful when filling in the various dialogues in WinPack. Some of the help has pictures in it - you can click on the different fields on the pictures and a pop-up help box will tell you about that field. Some of the help text is underlined, that means you can click on it and get further help on that particular aspect. Remember - you are using Windows! So you can view the README file as one task whilst you run WinPack as another, this way the setting up is very easy. The file has the following sections:- 1. What does WinPack do? 2. To install WinPack (not upgrading) 3. Upgrading WinPack V5 to V6 4. To upgrade WinPack V6 to the latest release 5. WinPack Won't Run! 6. Setting Up 7. Mail Options 8. The Mouse 9. BBS.TXT (in the WINPACK\SCRIPTS subdirectory) 10. Selection List Editor 11. Auto BBS Sessions 12. Message List Columns *** READ THIS!!! *** 13. WinPack and FBB V7 14. Remote PMS functions 15. WinPack and Your Local BBS 16. Keyboard Problems 17. PKZIP.PIF and PKUNZIP.PIF (in \WINPACK) 18. REQFIL Server 19. Bulletin Topics (Advice) 20. Support for G8BPQ Node 21. Password Support 22. VB Support Files 23. Icons 24. WinPack with Windows 95 25. WinPack Servers 26. BBSs that don't like SIDs! 27. Spelling Checker Support 28. WINPACK.TXT 29. My Philosophy on Amateur Radio *** NB!!! *** WinPack has support for running on top of a G8BPQ node. DON'T try and enable BPQ support or run the BPQ Terminal application if you haven't got BPQ running! 1. What does WinPack do? ------------------------ It is a Windows Packet terminal. It has full support for mail reading and writing, bulletin listing/reading/replying, FBB unproto beacons, compressed forwarding, auto-connection to your local BBS, script files, YAPP file transfer, auto 7+ encode and decode, external servers, remote PMS commands, etc. Because it runs in Windows, your packet system can be running all the time, while you use your PC for other things. 2. To install WinPack (not upgrading) ------------------------------------- 1. From Windows Program Manager select, "File", "Run", key in A:SETUP and press <Return>. There is some help available from the install program, but you shouldn't need it. 2. When you run the program, use the 'Setup' option on the 'Options' menu to setup the COM port you are using. Make sure the program settings match your TNC settings! Q: What gives most problems when people change PMS programs? A: TNC settings being incorrect!!! *PLEASE* read the TNC Settings section of the on-line help! 3. Upgrading WinPack V5 to V6 ----------------------------- You can install the *full* version of WinPack V6 over the top of WinPack V5 without any problems. If you want to install it over the top of an older version, you must first delete the MAIL and BULLS subdirectory structures. The time stamps on any files that you may have changed in your old WinPack (PERSONAL.TXT, BBS.TXT, etc.) have been set in this version so that you will be prompted as to whether you wish to overwrite your existing copies. If you are happy with what you have got, then say "No". Please note that if you keep your old BBS.TXT file, you may wish to replace the "WAITLINE $BBS_PROMPT" with the new WAITPROMPT script command. Also, note that there are now options for both the WAITCON and WAITPROMPT script commands - see the "Scripts - How They work" section of the on-line help. Please delete your WinPack Program Manager group so that the program information will be setup correctly for this new version. MNTHNAMES.TXT is no longer used, so you can, if you wish, delete the old copy. The file CHANGES.TXT lists the changes between this version and the previous general release version. PLEASE NOTE that the default signature file from V6 onwards is WINPACK.SIG. If you have made your own signature file in a previous version of WinPack, it will be called SIG.TXT and it won't be found by V6. You should rename it to PERSONAL.SIG and then use "Options", "Signature Setup", "Default Signature" and select "PERSONAL" as the default. 4. To upgrade WinPack V6 to the latest release ---------------------------------------------- WinPack upgrades can only be installed on top of a previous version with the same major version number. So UPDAT630.EXE can only be installed on top of a previous V6 system. To install the upgrade you run the upgrade program from within Windows. The upgrade is automatic - all you have to do is to check that the unzip path is where your WinPack actually is! It defaults to C:\WINPACK, so if you have put WinPack somewhere else, alter the path accordingly. 5. WinPack Won't Run! --------------------- If, when you start WinPack, it immediately shuts itself down without a warning message, there are three possibilties:- (a) You have a WINPACK.REG file on your system that has become corrupted. (b) Your PACKET.EXE file has become corrupted. (c) PACKET.EXE has been "infected" by a virus. It's up to you to find out which of the above is irrelevant. 6. Setting Up ------------- Run the program and select "Personal/BBS Info" on the Options menu. Fill in the form and make sure you get it all correct! Many problems with previous versions have been caused by people not filling in this form correctly. If you press <F1> you will get a picture of the form on the screen. If you click on an item on the picture it will give you some help on what to put. PLEASE HAVE A GOOD LUCK AT WHAT THE HELP ON THE "BBS PROMPT" SAYS! IT CAUSES MUCH GRIEF! IT'S A SIMPLE CONCEPT, BUT FOR SOME REASON IT IS SEEMS TO BE WIDELY MISUNDERSTOOD. Now select "Comms Setup" on the Options menu and fill in this form. On-line help is again available. You should also read the "TNC Settings" section of the help. If you get stuck at a point where you simply can't get WinPack to communicate with the TNC, the following might help:- Like TPK, Paket 6, and many other packet programs, WinPack needs the TNC to be in terminal mode. If some other software that you have been using has left the TNC in host mode, then you will never get WinPack to work until you get the TNC out of host mode. How to do that is beyond the scope of these notes, but not beyond the scope of your TNC manual! In all situations where you can't establish any communication, take the following approach - forget about WinPack, for the time being, and use Windows Terminal. Once you can communicate fully satisfactorily with your TNC from Windows Terminal, using 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, hardware handshaking, you'll find that you can also communicate with it from WinPack. 7. Mail Options --------------- WinPack allows you to use the FBB unproto message beacons to build your message list, it also supports compressed forwarding (these features are well known to TPK users). The default is to use neither the beacons nor compression. To set your mail options, select "Mail Options" on the Mail menu, then press <F1> and READ THE HELP. Also note that some TNC settings become more important once you start using the enhanced mail options, so please read the "TNC Settings" section of the help. 8. The Mouse ------------ Using WinPack without a mouse completely spoils the program. So even if you hate it, try and get used to clicking! 9. BBS.TXT (in the WINPACK\SCRIPTS subdirectory) ------------------------------------------------ This script is used by the program. It must do nothing other than connect to your local BBS and leave you at the prompt. 10. Selection List Editor ------------------------- This utility, accessed from the WinPack File menu, allows you to select the messages you want to be marked for automatic download during your Auto BBS sessions. There is help available if you press F1. It also allows you to say at what times you want your automatic connects to the local BBS to occur. 11. What is an Auto BBS Session? -------------------------------- One of WinPack's most powerful features is that it can automatically connect to your local BBS and carry out the tasks you would do if you made a manual connect. At each automatic connect time, as configured using the Selection List editor, or each time you select "Auto BBS Session" from the Mail submenu, WinPack does some or all of the following:- 1. It reads any waiting personal mail and then kills it. 2. It lists the messages. 3. It downloads any marked messages, including any that have been automatically marked as a result of listing the new messages. 4. It uploads any messages that you have written. Exactly what it does depends on what there is to do and also on what Mail Options you are using. This is explained in the on-line help. 12. Message List Columns ------------------------ Aarrgghh!! I must have had over 100 help requests so far that I have answered with the reply "Use the Bulletin Columns Options". The ultimate proof that no-one bothers to read the instructions! *************************************************************** NB NB NB - if you are using the FBB unproto message beacons, the list columns are automatically set and the "Bulletin Columns" submenu is unavailable. IF YOU AREN'T USING THE UNPROTO BEACONS AND YOU CHOOSE NOT TO BOTHER SETTING UP THE COLUMNS, THEN IT IS UNLIKELY THAT ANY OF THE AUTOMATIC MAIL FUNCTIONS WILL WORK PROPERLY. *************************************************************** Any program like WinPack that processes the 'raw' message list from a BBS has to know where the various columns of information are. I.e. where the "To" column is in the list, where the "From" column is, etc. Once you have got WinPack working and have collected your first message list from your local BBS, you should run the "Bulletin Columns" option on the "Options" menu. Use each item on this submenu in turn, and follow the prompts on the status line. 13. WinPack and FBB V7 ---------------------- FBB V7, both DOS and Windows, works differently to the old FBB V5.15c. Many BBSs are now changing to FBB V7 and you MUST make some changes to the settings in WinPack if you want it to work successfully. The main difference is that FBB V7 DOES NOT allow you to use both compressed download and compressed forward in the same connect session. If you want to use both compressed download and compressed forward, you MUST check "Use Split Sessions" in the "Mail Options" settings. Also, it is highly likely that, when your local BBS sysop upgrades to FBB V7, the BBS prompt will change. If you find that WinPack sticks at "WAITPROMPT" when running an Auto BBS session, or instantly disconnects, check the "BBS Prompt" setting in "Personal/BBS Info". Finally, if you find that the BBS will no longer allow you to use compressed download or compressed forward, the sysop has probably not realised that he needs to give user of TPK, WinPack and other similar programs, 'F' status on the BBS. 14. Remote PMS functions ------------------------ If someone connects to your system, then there are some remote options available. It's a good idea to put something in your TNC CTEXT about "/HELP to get help". For a full list of the remote functions, see "Remote Access" in the on-line help. 15. WinPack and Your Local BBS ------------------------------ For WinPack to work correctly, you must have the paging option turned off in your setup on your local BBS. On FBB this is the 'OP' command, which works as a toggle - you need it to report OFF. Also on FBB 'LC *' is a good idea. The following applies mainly to FBB BBSs and people who have been using TPK:- If you have been using a packet program that never actually uses the 'l' or 'lr' command, then, the first time that WinPack connects and sends 'lr' the list could be *huge*. Here in the backwoods of Lincolnshire that isn't a problem, but in some areas listing a thousand or so messages might not make you too popular. To avoid this you can do the following:- 1. Manually connect to the BBS. 2. Use 'OP' to set paging ON. 3. send 'l'. 4. When you get the first "... Continue <A>bort ..." message, send 'a'. 5. Use 'OP' to set paging OFF. 6. Send 'b' to disconnect. Your list pointer is now updated to the top of the message list. If you want to use the FBB unproto message beacons, you MUST ask your sysop to give you 'U' status. On FBB V7, to be able to use compressed download and compressed forward, you also need 'F' status. If your FBB BBS profile is set so that, when you connect, the BBS lists any new personal mail, it is worthwhile disabling this feature. It isn't needed, because WinPack will find out what new mail you have by its own methods, and it wastes air time. Also, the more text you receive before you get to the first BBS prompt, the more chance your BBS.TXT script file has of seeing something in the incoming text that looks like a BBS prompt - which will totally mess up the auto BBS session. To stop the BBS sending you the list of new mail when you connect, send the command 'OM' to the BBS. It is a toggle, alternately enabling and disabling the feature. 16. Keyboard Problems --------------------- If you find you can't key in an '@' character, do as follows:- Win 3.1 ------- 1. Run Control Panel. 2. Select International. 3. Set 'Keyboard Layout' to British. (Assuming you are in the UK). Win 95 ------ 1. Task Bar. 2. Help. 3. Find. 4. Key in "keyboard", and read the "Changing the way your keyboard responds" topic. 17. PKZIP.PIF and PKUNZIP.PIF (in \WINPACK) ------------------------------------------- These PIFs are used during 7+ encoding and decoding. The PIFs assumes that the directory where PKZIP.EXE and PKUNZIP.EXE live is on your DOS path. If it isn't then you need to edit the PIFs and put in the full path for the file, e.g. C:\PK\PKZIP.EXE and C:\PK\PKUNZIP.EXE. 18. REQFIL Server ----------------- The WinPack REQFIL server is a little bit different to most REQFIL servers - it is intelligent! If someone requests a file from you, REQFIL analyses the requested file and decides whether or not it can be sent as text. If it decides it can't be sent as text then it is sent as 7plus. REQFIL splits up large files into parts. There is a configuration file, REQFIL.CFG, which you can use to set up the maximum part size and the maximum number of parts per day that REQFIL will send. The defaults are a maximum part size of 4000 characters, and a maximum of 4 parts per day to be sent. 19. Bulletin Topics (Advice) ---------------------------- When you write a bulletin using the WinPack "Write a Message" option, from V5.2 onwards you are presented with a list of suggested topics. The idea of this is that you are more likely to get a reply if you select a topic that is in common use. This doesn't restrict your subject matter, it is simply to try and reduce the vast number of topics that are carried by most BBSs, which make it difficult for people to find the messages that interest them. E.g. people use IBM, IBMPC and IBM-PC, the WinPack list suggests IBMPC. Or KENWD, KENWOD and KENWOO, the list suggests the latter. You don't have to use a topic from the list, you can key in whatever you want. If you think the list is a bad idea, simply delete BULLS\TOPICS.TXT and it will never trouble you again! Or you can edit it and put in topics of your own choice. 20. Support for G8BPQ Node -------------------------- WinPack has full support for running "on top of" a G8BPQ node. The on-line help contains detailed information about this facility. 21. Password Support -------------------- WinPack has some support for BBS user passwords. If your local BBS has user passwords, please read the Password Support section of the on-line help. 22. VB Support Files -------------------- WinPack installs some Visual BASIC support files in your WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. If you have severe problems running WinPack at all - e.g. it persistently stops with GPF messages, or the screen colours are weird, then check to see if there are old copies of any of these files in your WINDOWS directory. If there are, try moving them into a temporary directory where Windows can't find them. You should be able to safely delete them, but I wouldn't do that until you are happy that all your applications still run ok. The files concerned are:- VBRUN300.DLL CMDIALOG.VBX MCI.VBX MSCOMM.VBX THREED.VBX 23. Icons --------- WinPack includes a superb collection of icons from Steve, G7HZQ. These icons are attached to the file IDEVIEW.EXE. Some of them he produced specially for WinPack, the others depict specific radios and TNCs. If you want to change the Program Manager icon for WinPack (or anything else) to one of these icons, proceed as follows:- In Program Manager highlight the icon that you want to change. Select "File", "Properties" from the Program Manager menu. Select "Change Icon..." Select "Browse..." In the file dialogue navigate your way to \WINPACK\IDEVIEW.EXE. Select "Ok". You can now scroll through the available icons and select one. 24. WinPack with Win95 ---------------------- It works fine! In fact it looks really nice with the Windows 95 style menus, etc. All the development of WinPack is now done in Win95, my own systems run Win95, and I only run Win31 for occasional tests. The only minor problem I have found is that right clicking the mouse to bring up the edit window submenu will bring up a Win95 menu. A second right click produces the correct WinPack submenu. 25. WinPack External Programs and Servers ----------------------------------------- WinPack has support for both external programs and servers. Please read the on-line help for more information. NB - the ACK server is configurable - see SERVERS\RECEIVE\ACK.INI. 26. BBSs that don't like SIDs! ------------------------------ Whenever WinPack forwards mail to a BBS, it always first sends a SID banner - this is something like [WINPACK-6.3-$]. There is a very good reason for doing this, but some BBS software might not like it. BBS software systems I know might give problems are:- Win FBB, depending on how the sysop has set it. DOS FBB, again depending on how it is set up. AA4RE W0RLI If you use a BBS that falls into this category, you can get round it by using "Human mode" option on the Mail Options setup screen. 27. Spelling Checker Support ---------------------------- WinPack has support for a spelling checker called "Spell Checker for Edit Boxes", written by Brian Quinion, which is free for private use. This isn't supplied on the WinPack disk, it is too big, but it is available on the internet from ftp.demon.co.uk. The last time I looked, it was in /pub/ibmpc/win3/apps/spell. The two files you need are SPEL300E.ZIP and UKENG.ZIP (UKENG.ZIP is the dictionary, there are also dictionaries available for other languages). Unzip these files into the WinPack directory and you will find that, when you are in the edit window, pressing Alt_F9 brings up the spell checker. If you want to add your own words to the dictionary you must first create a default dictionary. To do this you input some text in the edit window, which should contain at least one incorrectly spelt word, then press Alt_F9. The spell checker will pop-up and you can use "Options", "Add" to create a dictionary. I would suggest calling it DEFAULT.DIC. This spelling checker can be installed into Windows so that it is a resident application and is available to check the spelling in any edit box. If you want to do this, please read the README.1ST file that comes with it. I cannot support this program. For more information you can try the following web pages, which also have links to other sites where you can download Spell Checker. http://www.quinion.demon.co.uk/mqa/spell.htm or http://clever.net/quinion/mqa/spell.htm (PLEASE DO NOT approach Quinion Associates to register WinPack! For some reason this has happened occasionally in the past). 28. WINPACK.TXT --------------- Included with WinPack is a file called WINPACK.TXT, written by Mike, G0OPC. It is a plain text guide to using WinPack. Some people find it easier to print off this file and use it as a reference rather than constantly referring to the on-line help. 29. My Philosophy on Amateur Radio ---------------------------------- I believe that the essential elements of amateur radio are self-training and experimentation. If you remove those, then radio amateurs become no different to PMR users. (Many people would say no different to CB operators, but I have seen many CB operators who demonstrate these essential elements.) To me, holding an amateur licence and being a radio amateur are not necessarily the same thing! Because of this belief, I have always resisted making WinPack a completely "push button" system. It still expects you to know something about your TNC, it expects you to know something about your PC, it expects you to learn how to use Windows. WinPack will carry out many tasks automatically, but it will also provide you with plenty of scope for experimentation (yes, even on packet you can experiment!) You can experiment with using host mode, you can experiment with using BPQ, you can experiment with HTML and using WinPack in conjunction with Netscape and other viewers, you can experiment with using WinPack with PC Flexnet. BUT PLEASE don't regard these aspects of WinPack as facilities which will work straight "out of the box" without you having to give it a little bit of thought, or having to read any of the available documentation - to me that isn't amateur radio! Have fun! 73 - Roger, G4IDE roger@peaksys.demon.co.uk http://www.peaksys.demon.co.uk October 1997