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vtkermit.arc
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VTKERMIT.HLP
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Text File
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1986-02-13
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8KB
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224 lines
Using Help:
You have invoked Help. Press the space bar or the
Esc key to leave this help and return to what you
were doing. You may use the PgDn key to move one
frame (several lines) further into the Help text,
and the PgUp key to back up to an earlier part. The
up- and down-arrows move you one line backwards or
forwards though the text, while the Home and End
keys take you to the beginning or end. All other
keys will "beep" at you if pressed, but do nothing.
Overview:
You are running VTKermit, a terminal emulation and
file transfer program.
Terminal emulation is a feature in which your
Personal Computer emulates (acts like) a standard
computer terminal.
Characters that you type on the keyboard are sent
out a communications port to a remote "host"
computer, while characters sent by the remote host
which are received on the communications port are
displayed on the PC's screen.
VTKermit emulates a DEC VT100 terminal, so any
"escape sequences" which perform some special action
on a VT100 (e.g. clear screen or make characters
extra bright) will perform the same action on a PC
running VTKermit.
Also, any special keys which exist on a VT100 are
simulated on the PC. For example, the PC's F1
through F4 keys "act like" the VT100's PF1 through
PF4 keys when running VTKermit, and transmit the
same codes to the host computer.
File transfer is a feature in which files of data
may be sent either from your PC to a remote host
computer or from a remote host to your PC. This
file transfer occurs over the same communication
ports and lines that are used for terminal
emulation. This will involve a communications port
on your PC and a dial-up port on the host computer.
File transfer with VTKermit uses a communications
"protocol" called Kermit. This protocol was
developed by Columbia University, and has been
widely distributed. The Kermit protocol permits
error-free communications over dial-up lines, even
though the dial-up line may be noisy.
Kermit corrects errors introduced by line noise by
breaking the data transmission into "packets" and by
detecting packets which have errors. Incorrect or
missing packets are retransmitted until they have
been correctly received at the other end.
This method of file transfer requires you to run a
file transfer program at each end of the
communication line. On your PC this will be
VTKermit, and on the host side there must be a
program honoring the Kermit protocol. (VTKermit can
also act as a host, or run in server mode.)
Using Terminal Emulation:
When in terminal emulation mode, VTKermit transmits
all text characters you type to the remote host
computer. On the IBM PC, a text character is any
key in the "middle section" of the keyboard. This
includes all alphabetic and numeric characters, all
punctuation, Space, Tab, "backarrow" (Backspace or
Delete), Esc and Return (Enter).
Most of the other keys on the PC are "mapped to"
(associated with) various VT100 keys or special
VTKermit functions. For example, F1 transmits the
codes which would be sent by a VT100's PF1 key, F7
transmits the codes which would be sent by a VT100's
up-arrow key, and F6 invokes the Help facility you
are using now. A complete list of function and
keypad keys and their effects appears later in this
section.
Numeric keypad:
On the right-hand side of the keyboard, the "numeric
keypad" attempts to act both like the numeric keypad
on a DEC VT100 and like a VT100's arrow keys. Which
of those two functions will be invoked is determined
by the setting of the NUM LOCK feature which is
toggled (turned on and off) by the Num Lock key.
The current NUM LOCK setting is shown in the mode
line on the bottom line of the screen.
NUM LOCK:
If NUM LOCK is ON, the keypad will act like a
VT100's keypad. (The PC's large grey plus key acts
like a VT100's ENTER key, while the PC's "PrtSc *"
key acts like a VT100's keypad comma key.) If NUM
LOCK is OFF, only the 2, 4, 6 and 8 keys on the
keypad, corresponding to down-, left-, right- and
up-arrows, will operate. The other keypad keys will
simply beep at you if pressed.
7171 mode:
A built-in 7171-MODE changes the mapping of the PC
keyboard to more closely match that of an IBM 3270
as seen through an IBM 7171 protocol converter. The
PC's F1 through F10 will simulate a 3270's F1
through F10. ALT F1 and F2 are F11 and F12.
Other special keystrokes:
In either Command Mode or Terminal Mode, ALT F7
Exits VTKermit and ALT F8 Pushes to a new
COMMAND.COM. ALT F5 toggles between Command Mode
and Terminal Mode. ALT F6 will pop up a Help window
in either mode. (F6 sends a 3270 F6 in 7171 mode.)
Escape Character:
A special character is reserved by VTKermit as an
"Escape Character". The default Escape Character on
the IBM PC is control right-square-bracket, which is
displayed as ^] or Control-] and is typed by holding
down Ctrl and pressing the ] key. Whatever the
Escape Character is, it must be typed twice in a row
to be transmitted.
If the Escape Character is pressed once, a second
character may then be typed to invoke a special
function. In this case, neither character will be
transmitted: instead, VTKermit will perform some
action.
The most commonly used second characters are C to
Close the current terminal emulation session and
enter command mode, and S to get the current Status
of all settable parameters. The Close function is
identical to the close which is invoked with the F5
key, and Status is identical to the command mode
Status command.
Mode line:
A mode line appears on the 25th (bottommost) line of
the PC's display. This line reminds you that you
are in terminal emulation mode, and suggests a few
useful keys: F5 to go to Command Mode, F6 to invoke
Help (as you have done) and shows you the current
Escape Character.
It also lets you know whether you are in CAPS LOCK
state and whether the keypad is in NUM LOCK or
arrow-key mode. Finally, the mode line shows the
status of the simulated VT100 LEDs. If any of the
L1 through L4 indicators is blinking then that LED
is ON, otherwise it is OFF.
The mode line may be removed by typing the Escape
Character followed by an M. Repeating this equence
will restore the mode line.
Alternate Mode line:
If you type the Escape Character, the normal mode
line will be temporarily replaced by an alternate
mode line which suggests completion characters for
the Escape function. If you type a ? following the
Escape Character, a list of second characters and
their functions will be displayed and you will have
another chance to complete the Escape function. If
you don't want any of the choices, press the space
bar to continue with terminal emulation.
List of keys and functions:
Function keys: F1 -- PF1
F2 -- PF2
F3 -- PF3
F4 -- PF4
F5 -- Switch to Command Mode
F6 -- Invoke Help facility
F7 -- Up-arrow
F8 -- Down-arrow
F9 -- Left-arrow
F10 -- Right-arrow
NUM LOCK ON NUM LOCK OFF
----------- ------------
0/Ins -- keypad 0 *
1/End -- keypad 1 *
2/down-arrow -- keypad 2 down-arrow
3/PgDn -- keypad 3 *
4/left-arrow -- keypad 4 left-arrow
5 -- keypad 5 **
6/right-arrow -- keypad 6 right-arrow
7/Home -- keypad 7 *
8/up-arrow -- keypad 8 up-arrow
9/PgUp -- keypad 9 *
- (minus) -- keypad - (minus) *
+ (plus) -- ENTER *
PrtSc/* -- keypad , (comma) *
* Beep, no action ** No action
[End of help for VTKermit]