Software Vault: The Gold Collection

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┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Give It A Try! │ │ │ │ Telix v 3.21 Telecommunications Program │ │ │ │ Shareware Program Review │ │ & Mini-Quick Start Manual │ │ │ │ by Keith Rauch │ │ Jefferson City, Tennessee │ │ (c) 1993, Keith Rauch. All rights reserved. │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Here's an overview of Telix, version 3.21, a classic shareware telecommunications program that has been recently updated. If you're like me, and hate to read the User's Manual, this article was written especially for you. It will walk you through the installation, configuration and basic operation of Telix. Truly a benchmark program, Telix has long been the standard by which other telecommunication programs are measured. This latest version has some interesting new features, so come on and give it a try! INTRODUCTION Before we get started, let me explain my prejudices about how any program should treat me, a new user. I'll admit it -- I'm lazy and impatient. I HATE to have to pull out the user manual to install, configure or run a program. I demand a clean, intuitive, menu-driven interface and context-sensitive on-line help. I don't mind a little trial and error as I explore a new program and it's features. What I don't like is that "left out of the loop" feeling that a program can give you if it relies on cryptic keyboard commands that are explained only in the manual. If I can't master the basic features of a program fairly quickly from the menus and with on-line help from the program itself, I'll move on to a competing program that treats me like the valuable customer that I am. Also (for what it's worth) I don't like icons and I don't like to use a mouse. I like to keep both hands on the keyboard when I type, so for me a mouse is a distraction. When I'm writing (my main use for the computer) I want to think about my words, not how to make the computer work. Yes, I have Windows (not by choice, it came installed on my new 486SX) and I use it some (best solitaire game I've seen). But, to me, Windows is little more than a cute clown suit for DOS. Now, to the business at hand. OVERVIEW Telix allows your modem-equipped computer to communicate with other computers through the telephone system. Business and personal users alike commonly transfer electronic mail, data and program files in this fashion. The most common connection made by home computer users is with computer-based bulletin board systems (BBS for short). Telix has been around since the days of 300 baud modems and dual 360K floppy disk drives -- maybe even longer. I have used version 3.12 for several years and while it has served me well, I've always wished for a more user-friendly interface. Version 3.21 is the first major update since Telix became the property of deltaComm Development. I was anxious to see if the new owners had made any significant changes. I was hoping that deltaComm had redesigned the Telix user interface. No such luck. I'd like to see a future version come equipped with a menu bar, pull-down menus, pop-up windows, dialog boxes -- all the stuff that makes a good program (like Odyssey, a competing telecommunications program) fun and easy to use. Here's how a future Telix menu system might look: ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Dialing On-Line Configure Shell Misc Toggles│ └┬──────────┬───────────┬─────────────┬──────────┬──────────┬────────┤ │Directory │ Send Files│ Terminal │ DOS Comm │ Clear │ Status │ │Redial │ Rec Files │ Comm Param │ DOS Shell│ Image │ Doorway│ │Run Script│ Capture │ Screen │ Editor │ Translate│ Printer│ └──────────┤ Hang-Up │ General ├──────────┤ Keys │ Add LF │ │ Local Echo│ Modem │ │ Macros │ Log │ │ Send Break│ Dialing │ └──────────┤ Chat │ └───────────┤ Files/Paths │ └────────┘ │ ASCII Trans │ │ Kermit Trans│ │ Protocols │ │ Save │ └─────────────┘ I ran out of space here, but I would also put a "Help" selection on the menu bar and designate [F1] as the "Help" key, where on-line, context-sensitive instructions are just a keystroke away. Anyway, enough with the pipe dreams. Let's take a test drive and see how the new Telix handles. INSTALLATION/CONFIGURATION There is no installation procedure to speak of. Simply copy all the program files into the subdirectory of your choice. Telix has a setup program that will configure the program to optimize its performance with your modem. To run the configuration program, from the DOS prompt type: "MODEMCFG" then press [ENTER] You will be shown a list of the settings for the modem itself, including any switch settings if known. When asked if you wish to configure your modem, answer by pressing the 'Y' key. MODEMCFG will ask you for your COMM port as well. This is usually set to COMM 1, but if that doesn't work, you'll have to experiment by rerunning the program and trying the other COMM ports listed on the screen. If all goes well a successful configuration message will be shown. If there is a problem, insure the proper comm port is specified and try again. If the problem persists, contact deltaComm. At first I did not configure Telix to match my modem and I didn't have any problems operating the program. Later, I ran MODEMCFG.EXE and, to tell you the truth, I didn't see a significant improvement in Telix's performance. My advice to a new user: try Telix before running the modem configuration program. If it works satisfactorily with your modem, skip the modem configuration until you're ready to register and become a full-time Telix user. At this point you are ready to run the Telix program. Type "TELIX" then press [ENTER] You will be greeted by a largely blank screen with a few cryptic characters on the bottom line. You are now in the Terminal Mode. The next step -- configure the program to suit your system and your tastes. To view the main menu, press [Alt]+[Z]. Next, highlight "cOnfigure Telix" or press [Alt]+[O]. Telix has many features which can be customized. This includes screen colors, communications parameters, filenames, paths and many other items. Telix stores the default values for these parameters in a file called TELIX.CNF, the configuration file. It automatically reads this file on starting up. The first time you use Telix, this file is created for you with some standard default values. The Telix Configuration Menu (press [Alt]+[O]) allows you to change the default settings. Here's what it looks like: ╒═╡ Configure Telix ╞════════════╕ │ │ │ Change which default settings? │ │ │ │ Screen and color │ │ Terminal Options │ │ General settings │ │ Modem and dialing │ │ Filenames and paths │ │ ASCII transfers │ │ Protocol options │ │ Kermit transfers │ │ Comm port setup │ │ Write changes to disk │ │ Exit │ │ │ ╘════════════════════════════════╛ Go through each selection on the menu and make the necessary changes. Anything you're not sure about probably doesn't need to be changed. When finished, select "Write changes to disk." This modifies the TELIX.CNF file. Let's look at some of the major configuration options. Screen color configuration is a trial and error operation with most programs, including Telix. All you can do is make the changes that you think you want, then exit the configuration menu and see how the screen looks. Your first few changes will probably make it look worse, not better, so go back to the configuration menu and repeat the process until you get something that you like. Most bulletin boards work well with the ANSI terminal option. I suggest you start with that setting. If you log on to a commercial system like Compuserve, or if you have occasion to connect with a mainframe system, the ANSI option may produce garbage all over the screen. If this happens, go back to the Terminal Options menu and try another setting. The Filename and Paths option tells Telix to store the files that you will download and where it will find the files that you want to upload when you contact another computer. Generally, it is a good idea to keep the Telix program files in a subdirectory separated from your data files. The program will run faster and it will eliminate the risk of accidentally deleting one or more of the program files. Here's how I store my data and program files: ┌───────┐ ┌─┤PROGRAM│ Program files stored here ┌──────┐ │ └───────┘ ┌─ │TELIX ├────┤ │ └──────┘ │ ┌───────┐ │ Main └─┤FILES │ Data files stored here └─ Subdirectory └───────┘ With this set up both the upload and the download paths will be the same: C:\TELIX\FILES\ PROTOCOL Data transmission protocol is one of the veiled mysteries of telecommunications. Luckily, you don't need to understand it to use it. Think of protocol as a language that computers use to exchange data and check for transmission errors. Both computers must use the same protocol during a data transmission. You can use any of the choices listed on the menu, as long as the computer you connect with on the phone line is using the same protocol. My understanding is that Zmodem, while not the fastest data transmission protocol, is the most reliable for detecting and correcting transmission errors. I have used Zmodem to transmit and receive millions of error-free data bytes, so I can recommend it on the basis of my own experience. I have come across only one or two bulletin boards in the past year that don't support Zmodem. If this happens to you, Ymodem is a good second choice. Xmodem is not considered to be as reliable as Zmodem or Ymodem at detecting errors. To transmit a straight ASCII character file (e.g., an uncompressed text file), you must use the ASCII transfer protocol. This is the slowest and least reliable data transmission method. If you plan to upload a lot of data to another computer, you should look into PKZip, LHarc or other common data compression program. But then, that is a subject for whole 'nother article. You can change Telix's configuration at any time and the new settings become effective immediately. This is a significant convenience, because with some programs it is necessary to exit and then reload the program before the new configuration becomes effective. DIALING Now you are ready to dial the modem (assuming that you've connected the modem to your phone line) and place a call to another computer. The easiest way to call other computers is to start building a dialing directory. This directory is stored in a file named TELIX.FON and is accessed by pressing [Alt]+[D]. When the dialing directory appears, press [E] for edit. A window will appear where you can enter all the data for a particular BBS (or other modem-equipped computer). For the purpose of illustration, let's start building your dialing directory with everybody's favorite bulletin board, Dataworld BBS, in Knoxville, Tennessee []. First press [Alt]+[D] to bring up the dialing directory. A small window appears, asking you to key in entry to dial, or to press Return to see the dialing directory. For now just press [ENTER]. The first window is a quick way to dial your most commonly called numbers. Once you have pressed [ENTER] the dialing directory will appear. The dialing directory is a large window showing the first 15 of 1000 possible entries. On the bottom of the screen is a menu of options: Dial List Toggle Find Manual Redial Add Edit Clear Unmark Other At this point the directory is probably empty and the cursor is on line one. Next press [E], which lets us edit line one. A window appears, where we can enter data about Dataworld BBS. The items that appear in the Edit window are listed below. Name -- Enter "Dataworld BBS." Of course you can enter the name of any remote service, such as Compuserve, GEnie, Telix Software Support BBS, etc. Number -- the phone number for Dataworld is 615-675-3282. Line Format -- The communication parameters (such as baud rate, parity, etc.) needed to talk to the computer at this phone number. Script -- A script file may be linked to each entry in the dialing directory. When Telix connects to a BBS, the script file listed in this column is automatically run. It may, for example, automatically log-on to the system, entering your name and password as needed. Using script files ensures convenience, speed and accuracy. Writing one, however, is a rather involved process. For further details refer to the file SALT.DOC, included with the Telix program files. LastCall -- Shows the date of the last successful call you made to this phone number. Total -- Shows the total number of successful calls you've made to this number. Terminal -- Enter the type of terminal that Telix should start emulating when a connection has been made to this number. Protocol -- Enter the first letter of the protocol which should be set as the default if a connection is made to this number. Echo -- Indicate whether local echo should be on or off when a connection is reached with this number. In most cases this should be left off. Add Line Feeds -- This controls whether the Add Line Feeds setting should be on or off when a connection is made with this number. In most cases this should be left off. Strip High Bit -- Indicate whether Telix should strip the high (most significant) bit of incoming characters in terminal mode. In most cases this, too, should be left off. Backspace Destructive (BD) -- Indicates whether tapping the backspace key should erase the character backspaced over). In most cases this should be left on. Backspace Key Value (BK) -- Determines what value the Backspace key sends, either Backspace, or Delete. In most cases this should be set to "Backspace." Dialing Prefix Number (DP) -- This advanced setting is used to tell Telix what Dialing Prefix to use when dialing this entry. One use for it is to turn on or off MNP (error correcting) support in modems, to avoid delays when the number called does not support it anyway. Password -- This field holds a password for the remote service represented by this entry. The password may then be used by a script file to automatically perform a log-on operation. Please note that this field is not encrypted, so if security is a problem, do not store your passwords in the dialing directory! WHAT'S NEW I have used Telix v 3.21 for about two weeks, which amounts to about ten sessions with my favorite local BBS. These sessions have included file transfers (both uploads and downloads), mail packet transfers and on-line chats with the sysop (system operator). After using v 3.21, I've come to the conclusion that there have that there have been only a few noticeable changes made since v 3.12 (circa 1989). The main improvements I can see are in the file transfer area: 1. A handy bar graph has been added that indicates visually how close a file transfer is to completion. 2. File uploads can be selected from a directory listing, rather than typed in manually. SPECIAL FEATURES CAPTURE FILE At any time during an on-line session with a BBS or other remote service, you can "capture" every character that appears on the screen by pressing [ALT]+[L]. This creates an ASCII file called "TELIX.CAP" unless you specify another name. This creates a record of your on-line session that you can review at your leisure. I have used the capture file feature to "download" data that is not normally available for download. Here's what I mean: I subscribe to National Videotext, a commercial service similar to Compuserve. There, I can view the American On-Line Encyclopedia, which has the same basic information as any encyclopedia, but without illustrations. Unfortunately, this service offers no means of downloading data files excerpted from the encyclopedia. With Telix's [ALT]+[L] feature, this is but a minor problem. I can capture every article that I scan on-line, then load them into my word processor for editing. To test this feature, I scanned and captured a number of encyclopedia entries on the subject of world agriculture. Then I loaded the resulting TELIX.CAP file into my word processor. After about an hour of editing I was able to create a concise 3,000 word report on world agriculture, complete with bibliography. Of course, I would never advocate this method as a short cut for producing a really slick high school term paper, but maybe in a pinch ... EASE OF USE Telix is not flashy. It does everything a telecommunications program should, and it works flawlessly, but without a lot of bells and whistles. Unfortunately, it's almost blank work screen can leave a new user confused and not knowing how to proceed. It does, however, provide the one clue that you'll need to get started -- [Alt]+[Z]. Telix, like several other shareware telecommunications programs that I have tried, is not intuitively easy to use. That's why I propose a future version adopt menus and on-line help. It takes a while to become familiar with the menu choices that pop-up with [Alt]+[Z]. When you're racing the clock to save usage fees or long distance phone charges, reconfiguring even the simplest setting can be nerve wracking. TIPS Here are a few things I have found that may make your life on-line a little easier. DISABLE CALL-WAITING If you have teenagers in your household, you probably have call-waiting installed on your phone line. If you haven't figured out how to disable it when you go on-line then you know what kind of havoc it plays with your modem connection. With Telix there is a fairly simple solution: 1. Press [ALT]+[D] to enter the dialing directory. 2. Select "Other" from the menu choices that appear. 3. Select "Edit_LD" from the sub-menu that appears. "LD" is the abbreviation for "Long Distance" code. 4. Select "Revise LD Code." A list of undefined codes will appear. The first code is "!" 5. Highlight the "!" then define that code to disable call-waiting. In my case this is "*70,". On the South Central Bell system "*70" is the code to disable call-waiting. The comma (",") at the end tells Telix to pause one second before proceeding to dial the phone number. *70 will probably work on most Bell systems. If it doesn't, you'll have to call your phone company and get the code. Now that you've defined "!" as the LD code to disable call waiting, go back and edit each phone number in your dialing directory. By putting "!" in front of each phone number (for example, !615-675-3282) call waiting will be disabled every time you dial Dataworld BBS. PASSWORDS If you've been on-line for a while, you probably have your own password preferences and you can skip this. But, if you are venturing out for the first time, let me offer you some hints. * Use a password that you will always remember. I use my dog's name. Your wedding day (for example, 31MAY75) might be another good one. * Don't use a password that a clever intruder might figure out easily. Don't use your name, for gawd's sake. Or your Social Security Number, for that matter. If you are logging on at work, use a password that won't appear in your personnel file. * Use the same password for all your remote services. I might get an argument from some quarters on this, but what's the sense in having to keep a list of passwords hidden in your desk for someone to find? If you suspect someone has your password, call each service and change them all to something else. SCRIPT FILES This is neither the time or place to discuss script files in detail (besides, I know almost nothing about them). Let's just say that script files use a fairly simple programming language called SALT to create macros. These macros are primarily used to automate the BBS log-on procedure. It may be possible, however, to use script files to your advantage without getting involved in SALT programming. The Telix program package contains sample script files (*.SLT) for several common BBS systems -- PCBoard, TBBS, Telix Host, QuickBBS and Opus. To use them all you have to do is load the *.SLT file into your word processor, fill in some blanks (name, choice of graphics, etc.) then save the *.SLT file (as a straight ASCII file). Give it a new name with the .SLT suffix so you don't destroy the sample file. Next you have to compile it and create a *.SLC file. Do this by running the program named CS.EXE. Finally, go back and edit the dialing directory and enter the name of the .SLC file in the appropriate blank. If this isn't enough to get you going, refer to the SALT.DOC file for more information. Or you may just want to forget the whole thing. WHERE TO GET IT You can order a registered copy of Telix from: deltaComm Development P.O. Box 1185 Cary, NC 27512 USA Send US$41.00 ($39 + $2 shipping) or CDN$49.00 ($47 + $2 shipping) check or money order. Your order will undoubtedly be processed faster if you send a money order. deltaComm will ship you the latest version of Telix. You can also order by phone using your Visa or MasterCard. Call: 1-800-TLX-8000 If you want to give Telix v 3.21 a try before you buy, I suggest you download the evaluation program from your local bulletin board, or Compuserve, Prodigy, etc. Alternately, you can order the evaluation program (includes program and manual on disk, but not registration) directly from deltaComm. Send US$12.00 ($10 + $2 shipping) or CDN$14.00 ($12 + $2 shipping) check or money order. If you prefer, you can order the same evaluation program by sending check or money order (preferred) to: Freelance Associates P.O. Box 452 New Market, TN 37820 Send US$8.00/CDN$10.00 for the PKZip compressed version (ask for program # TC004Z) or US$16.00/CDN$19.00 for the uncompressed version (ask for program # TC004). Prices include shipping and handling. Please specify whether you want 5.25"DD (360K) or 5.25"HD (1.2 M) diskettes. REFERENCES Much of the information that appears in this article was distilled from the Telix Reference Manual, a text file named TELIX.DOC, that is included in the Telix program package.