OS/2 Professional/OS2PRO194.ISO/os2/com/utils/magcom/magcom.doc

Text File | 1993-08-31 | 29KB | 1,123 lines

                       MAGCOM Communications Program for OS/2
                                    Version 2.30

                      (C)Copyright Gilmore Systems - 1989,1993
                                All Rights Reserved

           Voice: [phone]  FAX: [phone]  BBS: [phone]

                                  Gilmore Systems
                                  679 Switzar Lane
                          Thousand Oaks, California 91360
                                       U.S.A.

                              Program by Chuck Gilmore





 MAGCOM Communications Program for OS/2                                 Page  1
 Introduction



 MAGCOM is a companion communications program to Magnum BBS software for OS/2
 from Gilmore Systems. The purpose of MAGCOM is to provide EVERYONE with an
 OS/2 communications program at no charge. This is our way of asking you to
 consider our commercial product, MAGNUM BBS for OS/2, for your OS/2 host
 telecommunications needs. MAGNUM BBS, is perhaps one of the most powerful
 BBS packages available on ANY platform.

 Although Magnum BBS software for OS/2 is a commercial package, MAGCOM
 communications software for OS/2 is not. This particular version of MAGCOM
 is a no-frills, but solid comm program for OS/2 which supports most of the
 modem handling features that other packages leave out such as CTS flow
 control (hardware handshake), DTE speeds higher than DCE, Support for
 redirected serial ports on LAN's, Zmodem, Ymodem-G, Auto-Zmodem detect,
 Zmodem crash recovery, etc.

 Although a fullscreen text application, you may also run it as a windowed
 text application.

 MAGCOM is free, as long as the copyright information remains intact, the
 programs are not altered or reverse engineered, and this unaltered document
 accompanies the package. The programs comprising MAGCOM are: MAGCOM.EXE,
 ULFILE.EXE and DLFILE.EXE - 3 programs in all. ULFILE.EXE and DLFILE.EXE
 are called by MAGCOM.EXE when you choose to upload or download files,
 meaning they don't use any memory unless file transfers are in progress.
 This frees up memory upon completion of file transfers.

 MAGCOM is very easy to use. Basically, all you need to do is place
 MAGCOM.EXE, ULFILE.EXE and DLFILE.EXE in the same directory, make that
 directory the current directory, then run MAGCOM.EXE - you'll find
 everything you need to know by hitting your F1 key for help. You can also
 optionally place the file MAGCOM.ICO in that directory if you wish to have
 a custom icon for MAGCOM.

 MAGCOM is complementary. We sell multi-node OS/2 BBS software, our specialty.
 So all we ask in return for your use of MAGCOM communications software, is
 that you call our BBS to see the power of Magnum BBS software for OS/2, or
 call voice (or write or Fax) to request information on Magnum BBS software,
 and that you consider Magnum BBS as your choice of BBS software when you're
 ready to purchase an OS/2 BBS.

         IBM is a trademark of International Business Machines, Inc.
          Hayes is a trademark of Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc.
             USRobotics is a trademark of US Robotics Corporation
              MultiTech is a trademark of MultiTech Corporation
              Microsoft is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation
                 Magnum BBS is a trademark of Gilmore Systems
                   OS/2 is a trademard of IBM and Microsoft







        MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems



 MAGCOM Communications Program for OS/2                               Page  1-1
 MAGCOM's Initialization File (MAGCOM.DAT) - Getting Started



 MAGCOM reads your initialization file to send your modem the proper
 initialization parameters. This file is MAGCOM.DAT and will be created if it
 does not exist. To alter this file, simply load it into your text editor and
 make the necessary changes. Note that when MAGCOM creates this file, it
 assumes a 2400-baud modem. You'll need to change the baudrate and any
 other parameters with your text editor accordingly. Baudrates are also
 adjustable for each of the 200 phone numbers you can store in MAGCOM's
 dialing directory (MAGCOM.PHO). If you wish to create the MAGCOM.DAT file
 yourself or modify the existing MAGCOM.DAT file, you'll need to supply the
 following Keywords and Parameters:

    MODEM:    MultiTech 224Eh
    BAUD:     9600
    INIT1:    AT Z
    INIT2:    AT $BA0 $SB9600
    INIT3:    AT E1 V1 S0=0 M1 &E1 &E4 &E15
    RESET:
    DEVICE:   COM1
    PARITY:   N
    DATABITS: 8
    STOPBITS: 1
    OPENMODE: N
    CTSFLOW:  Y

 The MODEM: keyword will accept up to an 80-character text line (including
 the MODEM: keyword) describing your modem as in the example above.

 The BAUD: keyword is the baudrate at which your modem will be initialized
 at. For modems that accept a higher DTE (computer to modem) speed than DCE
 (modem to modem) speed, you'll want to set this value at the highest DTE it
 can handle. In the above example, the MultiTech 224Eh modem is a 2400 baud
 modem but can accomodate a DTE speed of 9600. Another example is the
 USRobotics dual standard modem which is a 14400 baud modem but can
 accomodate a DTE speed of 19200 (38400 if used with a coprocessor card such
 as Artic or Digiboard in conjunction with the proper drivers).  With OS/2
 version 2.1 & above, you may also use DTE speeds of up to 57600 baud if your
 modem supports it.  OS/2 1.x only supports speeds of up to 19200 baud.

 The INIT1:, INIT2: and INIT3: parameters are modem startup strings which
 can accomodate a text line (including the keyword) of up to 80 characters.
 You probably won't need to use all three fields but just in case you do,
 they are available. Note that some modems such as the Multitech 224Eh can
 only accept initialization strings of up to 40 characters each.

 The RESET: keyword holds your modem's reset string (usually AT Z) which
 can be up to 80 characters in length (including the keyword).

 The DEVICE: keyword defines the serial device that you wish MAGCOM to use
 when it starts up. The parameter is usually COM1 or COM2, however, it can
 accept any valid serial device name (ie: AUX0, AUX1, COM8, \\SRVR\SERIAL1,
 etc).



        MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems



 MAGCOM Communications Program for OS/2                               Page  1-2
 MAGCOM's Initialization File (MAGCOM.DAT) - Getting Started


 The PARITY: keyword can accept one of five possible parameters: N (none), E
 (even), O (odd), M (mark), or S (space). Usually, this setting is N (none).

 The DATABITS: keyword can accept one of four single digit numeric
 parameters (5, 6, 7 or 8). Usually this is 7 or 8. Most BBS's and dialup
 services are 8.

 The STOPBITS: keyword can accept one of four possible parameters (0, 1, 1.5,
 or 2). Usually, 1 is the normal value.

 The OPENMODE: keyword accepts a parameter of N (nonshared) or S (shared).
 The usual value for a multitasking operating system such as OS/2 is N
 (nonshared). If you choose S (shared), you run the risk of another program
 accessing the comport at the same time MAGCOM is and loss of data into or
 out of the comport, along with other unpredictable results can occur.

 The CTSFLOW: keyword accepts a parameter of Y (yes) or N (no). The usual
 paramter here is Y (yes) which indicates that hardwrare flow control is to
 be used. If you specify N (no), unpredictable results can occur when you
 choose Xmodem-1K, Ymodem, Ymodem-G or Zmodem to upload files with. If you
 specify Y (yes), make sure your modem initialization string(s) (INITx:)
 contain your modem's command to tell it to use CTS flow control.

































        MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems



 Using MAGCOM                                                         Page  2-1
 Introduction



 MAGCOM supports several special keystrokes which tell MAGCOM to do something
 special. These special keystrokes can be an AltKey combination (example:
 <Alt-X> means to hold down your Alt key and press X). <PgUp> means to press
 the key on your keyboard labeled PgUp, and <PgDn> means to press the key on
 your keyboard labeled PgDn.

 Whenever you press one of these special keystrokes, your screen will usually
 clear, and you'll be presented with a prompt or menu.














































        MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems



 Using MAGCOM                                                         Page  2-2
 <Alt-A> ASCII send/capture or Cancel capture



 When you press your <Alt-A> key, you will get a prompt asking you if you
 want to [S]end a file to the remote computer via ASCII transfer, [R]eceive a
 file from the remote computer via ASCII transfer, or [C]ancel a currently
 running ASCII Receive.

 By choosing [R]eceive, you will be prompted for a filename. From this point
 on (or until you choose <Alt-A> again with the [C]ancel option), everything
 that you receive from the remote BBS or type to the remote BBS will be
 captured to the filename you supply. You can review this file anytime later
 on with your text editor, or print it on the printer. If you specify PRN as
 the filename, everything will be routed to your printer instead of to a
 file. NOTE: Binary file transfers (see <PgUp> and <PgDn>) will be excluded
 from being captured to the capture file.

 By choosing [S]end, you can send any ASCII text file up to a remote BBS. An
 example of where this would come in handy might be if you were to enter a
 message with your text editor, and upload this message in response to (Enter
 a message) on a remoter BBS. It would be like typing a message while online
 to the remote system, but instead of typing, it sends the characters in the
 file instead.


































        MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems



 Using MAGCOM                                                         Page  2-3
 <Alt-D> Dialing Directory



 The dialing directory is brought to your screen when you press the <Alt-D>
 key. The dialing directory is self-explanatory. Basically, the dialing
 directory can hold up to 200 entries. Each entry consists of 7 fields:

 Entry Number: this is a 3-digit number ranging from 001 to 200. You needn't
 supply leading zeros to supply an entry number.

 Description of Host System: This field holds up to 35 characters describing
 the host system you'll be calling for this entry. The first entry in MAGCOM
 has already been completed for you with the description and phone number of
 Gilmore System's Magnum BBS system (node 1).

 Modem telephone number: This field holds up to 25 characters describing the
 modem telephone number of the host system. Acceptable characters here are 0
 thru 9, A thru Z, and the following characters (without the quotes): ",-*#"
 where the comma character (,) represents a 2-second delay to most modems.
 The hyphen character (-) is merely for readibility and is ignored. The
 asterisk (*) and pound (#) characters have special meanings to certain
 telphone systems. The letters of the alphabet (A thru Z) will be translated
 to the appropriate digits by MAGCOM, therefore, telephone numbers such as
 1-404-HI-MODEM are possible.

 The next field is the Parity field (see PARITY: keyword in the previous
 chapter for a description). Whatever is supplied here will override the
 PARITY: supplied in the initialization file when you choose to dial this
 entry, and will remain in effect until it is overriden by a different
 parameter in another entry you choose to dial.

 The next field is the Databits field (see DATABITS: keyword in the previous
 chapter for a description). Whatever is supplied here will override the
 DATABITS: supplied in the initialization file when you choose to dial this
 entry, and will remain in effect until it is overriden by a different
 parameter in another entry you choose to dial.

 The next field is the Stopbits field (see STOPBITS: keyword in the previous
 chapter for a description). Whatever is supplied here will override the
 STOPBITS: supplied in the initialization file when you choose to dial this
 entry, and will remain in effect until it is overriden by a different
 parameter in another entry you choose to dial.

 The last field is the BaudRate field (see BAUDRATE: keyword in the previous
 chapter for a description). Whatever is supplied here will override the
 BAUDRATE: supplied in the initialization file when you choose to dial this
 entry, and will remain in effect until it is overriden by a different
 parameter in another entry you choose to dial.









        MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems



 Using MAGCOM                                                         Page  2-4
 <Alt-E> Echo On/Off (full duplex/half duplex)



 By pressing your <Alt-E> key combination, you will toggle echo to/from
 on/off. Usually, BBS's will echo back every character you type - in this
 case, echo should be OFF. If you can't see what you're typing, MAGCOM will
 echo what you're typing to the screen when you toggle echo back ON. If you
 are seeing double characters of each key you type, you should toggle echo
 OFF. Each time you press <Alt-E> it toggles (reverses) the current state of
 the echo. In other words, if local echo is ON, pressing <Alt-E> turns it
 OFF. Likewise, if local echo if OFF, pressing <Alt-E> turns it ON.














































        MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems



 Using MAGCOM                                                         Page  2-5
 <Alt-H> Hang Up



 Ocassionally, you'll need to manually disconnect your modem from a host
 system. For instance, if you're online to a remote system and can't figure
 out how to disconnect from it, or the remote system seems to be "locked up"
 (won't disconnect you), you can disconnect manually by pressing <Alt-H>.
 This will close the modem port and reopen it. If your modem does not respond
 to this, you will either have to look in your modem's user manual to see
 what you can add to the initialization strings to get it to respond, or you
 will have to manually turn your modem off. Usually, &C1&D2 parameters need
 to be included in one of your initialization strings.













































        MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems



 Using MAGCOM                                                         Page  2-6
 <Alt-O> Shell to OS/2 Command Interpreter (CMD.EXE)



 While OS/2 is a multi-tasking operating system, getting to the OS/2 command
 interpreter (CMD.EXE) command line can be accomplished by simply switching
 to an OS/2 command window or OS/2 full-screen from the task list.

 However, we've received many requests for the ability to get to the command
 line directly via an Alt-Key combination from within MagCom.  Hence, the
 introduction of the <Alt-O> function.  I assume this is for those of you who
 wish to use external file xfer protocols not directly supported by MagCom.
 If this is the case, MagCom's MAGCOM.DAT file should contain S (shared) as
 the parameter to the OPENMODE keyword.












































        MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems



 Using MAGCOM                                                         Page  2-7
 <Alt-P> Set Lines/Page



 MAGCOM can take advantage of your display's capability of displaying up to
 100 lines per screen page. Simply press <Alt-P> to choose a new setting.

 NOTE: If your display is capable of displaying, say, 25, 28, 43 or 50 lines
       per screen, then entering any value in response to this prompt will
       result in the nearest capability that your monitor offers. For
       example, if you enter 68 lines/screen, MAGCOM will change this to
       50 lines/screen.














































        MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems



 Using MAGCOM                                                         Page  2-8
 <Alt-Q> and <Alt-S> (XON and XOFF)  [Resume and Pause]



 MAGCOM can send XON (resume transmit) and XOFF (halt transmit) to whatever
 host you're connected to. Simply put, XOFF tells the host (BBS) to halt
 transmission until you instruct it to resume with an XON instruction.
 The <Alt-S> key combination will send an XOFF instruction to the host,
 while the <Alt-Q> key combination will send an XON instruction.

 NOTE: Sending an <Alt-S> (XOFF) to the host will stop the host from further
       transmission of text, however, the modem on the host may continue to
       send characters to you until its buffer is cleared!

       Note that XON and XOFF are reserved for ASCII (text) mode. Your modem
       should be configured to treat XON/XOFF characters as data (ignore them)
       otherwise binary file transfers will fail!









































        MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems



 Using MAGCOM                                                         Page  2-9
 <Alt-R> Review Buffer



 MAGCOM stores all incoming/outgoing characters (except for binary file
 transfers) in a circular buffer of about 16K. By pressing <Alt-R>, you can
 review what's in the buffer, clear the buffer, or write the contents of the
 buffer to a disk file. When you press <Alt-R>, you will be looking at the
 top of the buffer.

















































        MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems



 Using MAGCOM                                                        Page  2-10
 <Alt-X> Exit MAGCOM



 By pressing your <Alt-X> key, MAGCOM prompts you as to wheter you want to
 exit the program or not. If you type Y (yes), MAGOM will end, otherwise if
 you type N (no), MAGCOM will return to normal operation.



















































        MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems



 Using MAGCOM                                                        Page  2-11
 <PgUp> Transmit Binary File to Host.



 When you press your <PgUp> key, MAGCOM will prompt you first for an upload
 protocol to use for sending a file to the remote system, then for the
 filename you wish to send. Usually, you'll first tell the remote system
 which file you'll be sending and the protocol you'll be using to send it
 with. You must choose the same protocol with MAGCOM but the filename
 doesn't necessarily have to match.

 If you supply a blank for either prompt, MAGCOM will return back to terminal
 (normal) operation.

 If you supply a protocol and filename, MAGCOM will call the ULFILE.EXE
 program (expected to be in the same directory as MAGCOM.EXE) to transfer the
 file with. You'll see the copyright information and the file will be sent.
 When the file is finished being sent, MAGCOM will return to normal
 operation.

 You can abort the xfer by pressing <Ctrl-X> many times.





































        MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems



 Using MAGCOM                                                        Page  2-12
 <PgDn> Receive Binary File from Host.



 When you press your <PgDn> key, MAGCOM will prompt you for a download
 protocol to use for receiving one or more files from the remote system. If
 you choose a Single-File protocol (Xmodem, Xmodem-CRC, Xmodem-1K), MAGCOM
 will prompt you for a filename to store the received file in. If you choose
 a batch protocol (Ymodem, Ymodem-G, Zmodem), MAGCOM will immediately begin
 the transfer, and the names of the files you'll be receiving will
 automatically be sent to you by the host system. Whatever protocol you
 choose to receive files with, it must match the same protocol that you've
 chosen for the host (remote) system to use.

 Note that if you're connected to a host system which sends the auto-zmodem
 sequence, MAGCOM will recognize this and begin the transfer for you... you
 needn't bother pressing your <PgDn> key. Magnum BBS host systems will send
 the auto-zmodem sequence.

 If you supply a blank at any prompt, MAGCOM will return back to terminal
 (normal) operation.

 MAGCOM begins the transfer by calling the DLFILE.EXE program (expected to be
 in the same directory as MAGCOM.EXE) to trasnfer the file with. You'll see
 the copyright information and the file(s) will be received. When the
 transfer completes, MAGCOM will return to normal operation.

 You can abort the xfer by pressing <Ctrl-X> many times.

 NOTE: If you've downloaded a file with Zmodem and you get disconnected in
       the middle of a transfer, or the transfer aborts for any reason, you
       can call the remote system again and start the same Zmodem transfer
       again, but choose the [R]ecoverZmodem option instead of [Z]modem -
       this will cause the transfer to resume from where it left off.
       If the host sends an 'auto-zmodem' sequence, MAGCOM will recognize
       this and handle it for you (you needn't bother pressing <PgDn>).
       Magnum BBS systems send the 'auto-zmodem' sequence.





















        MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems



 When Online with a "Magnum BBS" System                              Page  2-13



 When you're online with a "Magnum BBS" System, MAGCOM will let you use the
 following keys when using the ANSI message editor or NotePad facility of the
 Magnum BBS:

    Up, Down, Right, Left ARROW keys... Moves cursor accordingly.
    <Home> ............................ Move to beginning of current line.
    <End> ............................. Move to end of current line.
    <Ins> ............................. Insert a space at cursor position.
    <Del> ............................. Delete character at cursor position.
    <Ctrl-PgUp> ....................... Move up (back) one screen.
    <Ctrl-PgDn> ....................... Move down (forward) one screen.

 Note that the <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys by themselves are reserved for
 initiating a binary file transfer and are therefore not used in the ANSI
 message editor. Use <Ctrl-PgUp> and <Ctrl-PgDn> instead.








































        MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems



 Thank You                                                           Page  2-14



 Thank you for using MAGCOM communications software for OS/2. Your feedback
 about this program is welcome.  Simply dial our BBS with it and leave us a
 message (or [C]omment to Sysop).




















































        MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems
















        MAGCOM Communicati