Shareware Grab Bag/Shareware Grab Bag.iso/001/pibtrm32.fqx/pibtrm32.fix

Text File | 1985-12-02 | 12KB | 278 lines

PROBLEMS FIXED IN PIBTERM VERSION 3.2.5
=======================================

Since the initial release of PibTerm version 3.0, a number of
problems have been reported.  All of these problems are fixed (I hope)
in PibTerm version 3.2.5 which is found in the archive files PIBT32E1.ARC,
PIBT32E2.ARC, and PIBT32E3.ARC.

Among the problems fixed are:

   (1)  PibTerm writes directly to screen memory, making it
        difficult to use under multitasking systems.

        Solution:  Beginning with version 3.2 of PibTerm, you can
                   request that PibTerm NOT write directly to
                   screen memory.

                   Go to the Alt-P menu, request n) miscellaneous,
                   then g) write directly to screen memory, and
                   answer N to the question.  PibTerm will then
                   use ordinary BIOS writes.  This slows down
                   PibTerm considerably, so use it only when you
                   really have to.  The most common reason for
                   not having PibTerm write to the screen is so
                   that PibTerm will execute gracefully under a
                   multitasking executive.  I have tried PibTerm
                   under DoubleDos from SoftLogic and it works
                   properly;  others have reported some problems
                   with other multitasking programs.  Please let
                   me know about these problems so that I can
                   incorporate corrective code in future releases
                   (or you can do it for me!).

   (2)  Script commands are only executed when characters are
        received from the remote host.

        Solution:  Fixed in version 3.2 -- script commands are
                   checked regardless of whether characters
                   arrive from the remote system or not.

   (3)  The script commands TRANSLATE and KEY don't work.

        Solution:  They work in version 3.2.

   (4)  <TIMEOUT> appears consistently on very fast CPU speed
        machines, e.g., 8 to 10Mhz AT clones.

        Solution:  Should be fixed in version 3.2; but may still
                   be a problem for some machines.  (There is
                   no problem for ordinary PCs and clones.)  See
                   also (25) below on RTS/CTS checking.

   (5)  Prefixes for dialing in scripts cause PibTerm to croak;
        e.g.,   DIAL "-22" causes PibTerm to die.

        Solution:  Fixed in version 3.2.

   (6)  PibTerm doesn't allow postfix characters in dialing.

        Solution:  Version 3.2 allows you to use the dialing
                   prefix characters as postfix characters.
                   For example,  at the dialing prompt, -22+
                   adds the "-" prefix string to the front of
                   directory entry, and adds the "+" string
                   to the end of the directory entry.

   (7)  Host mode allows null names through.

        Solution:  Null names are not allowed in version 3.2.

   (8)  Host mode messages have the first character truncated.

        Solution:  Fixed in version 3.2.

   (9)  There is no menu entry for the GD= parameter.

        Solution:  There is now -- see Alt-P, n) miscellaneous,
                   f) Greenwich time lag.

   (10) The foreground color in BBS/ANSI mode always starts out
        at light grey.

        Solution:  This was intentional, but so many people
                   have complained, that I have changed BBS/ANSI
                   to respond to the same colors as are set up
                   for VT100 mode.

   (11) Changing communications parameters for Xmodem transfers causes
        some modems to drop carrier.

        Solution:  In version 3.2, the parameters are only changed
                   when they have to be.  Version 3.0 always did
                   the change.

   (12) The Alt-F directory listing always displays all files in the
        directory.

        Solution:  In version 3.2 you are prompted for a wildcard
                   for the files to be displayed.

   (13) Xmodem family file transfers caused machine lockups,
        especially with the Telink protocol.

        Solution:  This is partly avoided in version 3.2 by not resetting
                   the port when it isn't necessary (i.e., same as
                   fix for #11 above).

                   The rest of the problem concerned a bad use of
                   a pointer variable.  Version 3.2 corrects this
                   as well.

   (14) The file STRIPHI.TRA mentioned in the documentation is
        missing.

        Solution:  It is now present in PIBT32E2.ARC.

   (15) Overlay files for PibTerm could be overwritten by a
        batch mode transfer.

        Solution:  Version 3.2 does not allow the uploading of
                   ANY file whose name begins with the characters
                   'PIBTERM'.

   (16) Files create using the C)opy file facility of the
        Alt-F file manipulation menu were read-only.

        Solution:  Fixed in version 3.2.  You can use the
                   public domain program ALTER.COM to change
                   the copy's attributes for those files
                   created using version 3.0.

   (17) The dialing prefix disappeared during redials.

        Solution:  Fixed in version 3.2.

   (18) Ascii uploads/downloads ignored ctrl-z end-of-file
        markers.

        Solution:  This is an option in version 3.2.  It is useful
                   for ascii transfers between micros, but probably
                   not useful for most mainframes where the Ctrl-Z
                   is not an end-of-file marker.

   (19) Ascii transfers don't display the text of lines sent/received.

        Solution:  This is an option in version 3.2.

   (20) The previous screen contents are lost when executing a
        jump to DOS using Alt-J.

        Solution:  Version 3.2 restores the previous screen contents
                   after returning from DOS.

   (21) Redialing for a manually-entered number displays an
        incorrect name for the system being dialed.

        Solution:  Fixed in version 3.2.

   (22) The default transfer protocol was always that specified in
        the PIBTERM.CNF file unless explicitly overriden by the
        "Alt-P j) file transfer protocol" menu selection.

        Solution:  The default download protocol is changed in version 3.2
                   each time a new protocol is chosen with either the Alt-R
                   or Alt-S commands.  This makes it easier to use the
                   same transfer protocol for a number of transfers in
                   succession without having to explicitly choose a
                   different (non-default) protocol each time.

   (23) Several people asked for an alternative capture mode in which
        the observed screen image, after editing backspaces, deletes,
        tabs, and so on, would be captured rather than the
        unedited character stream received from the remote system.

        Solution:  To accomodate this, PibTerm v3.2 will ask you
                   if you want an unedited capture (like in v3.0) or
                   an edited capture when you hit alt-O to request
                   a capture.  The edited capture saves the edited
                   screen image of each line rather than the unedited
                   character stream from the remote system.

        IMPORTANT: If you are using a multitasking system, DO NOT
                   REQUEST EDITED CAPTURE unless PibTerm in running
                   in the foreground.  Otherwise you may get the
                   screen characters from some other program in
                   the capture file.

   (24) A new script command KEYDEF provides for defining a function
        key string without reading in a function key definition file.
        The syntax of KEYDEF is:

           KEYDEF keyname "definition"

        where  keyname  is the name of the key to be defined
        (F1-F10,S1-S10,C1-C10,A1-A10) and "definition" is
        the key definition to be used.

   (25)  RTS/CTS checking caused problems on some machines
         (i.e., continuous timeouts or lockups).

         Solution:  Version 3.2 allows you to specify if
                    RTS/CTS checking is to be done.

   (26)  The baud-rate adjustment when dialing a system with
         a modem like the USR Courier sometimes failed and
         resulted in strange baud rates being set.

         Solution:  Fixed in v3.2 (I hope).

   (27)  Some people complained that the file transfer windows
         covered information on the underlying screen which they
         might want to see.

         Solution:  In version 3.2, you can toggle the status display
                    for Xmodem family file transfers on and off
                    by hitting Alt-1.  Any error causes the status
                    display to reappear.  Also, the display
                    reappears at the end of the transfer.

                    Note that Alt-1 does NOT work for Ascii
                    transfers, and does not yet work for Kermit.

                    Avoid hitting Alt-1 when you have told PibTerm
                    not to write directly to the screen.  Updating
                    the entire screen takes enough time that you may
                    introduce timeout errors.

                    Also note that, with a batch transfer, the window
                    for the current file disappears, but the underlying
                    batch file list does NOT disappear.

   (28)  Ascii file transfers sometimes locked up while displaying
         the "transfer complete" message.

         Solution:  Fixed in version 3.2.

   (29)  IF conditions for local or remote strings sometimes
         failed to propagate properly in nested structures.

         Solution:  Fixed in version 3.2.

   (30)  There was no way to halt an Ascii upload to host mode
         from the remote system.

         Solution:  Version 3.2 waits for a Ctrl-Z.

   (31)  The built-in BBS/ANSI driver did not properly display
         intensified and blinking characters.

         Solution:  Fixed in v3.2.3.

   (32)  The redial command asks for keyboard input in script
         mode, making it difficult to write scripts for
         unattended mode operation.

         Solution:  Fixed in version 3.2.5.

   (33)  Version 3.2.5 add two facilities to the dialing directory:

            (a)  G  allows direct access to a given page of
                 the dialing directory.  For example, entering
                    G3
                 takes you to the page with entries 31 through 45.

            (b)  L  allows you to enter a list of numbers to be
                 dialed in sequence.  Up to ten numbers may be
                 so designated.  The numbers are dialed in a
                 round-robin sequence until a connection is made
                 or a dialing attempt is terminated by your hitting
                 the ESC key.  Prefixes, postfixes, and manual dials
                 may all be requested, in addition to directory entry
                 numbers.

My thanks to all those who pointed out these problems and made
suggestions for improvements.

PibTerm v3.2.5 was released November 30, 1985.
hose who pointed out these problems and ma