A Punter/XMODEM protocol terminal for the Commodore 64 and 128 computers.
This terminal program is based on Paul Higginbottom's TERM64, (c) 1983 by Commodore Business Machines. Also, THIRDTERM uses the new data transfer protocol developed by Steve Punter and used in his TERM.C1. My thanks to both of these programmers for allowing me to avoid "reinventing the wheel".
Portions of this manual are taken from Paul Higginbottom's TERM64 manual.
This manual was written with Commodore's EASY SCRIPT word processor.
* NOTE * Please direct all comments, etc to me via either of the following two Punter BBS's in the Milwaukee area: GENERIC 1-414-282-4181 or COMM-LINK 1-414-784-2096.
*CN1;- LOADING & RUNNING THIRDTERM -*CN0
LOAD "THIRD.BOOT",8,8
This will load and run THIRDTERM.
OR
LOAD "THIRDTERM",8 and then type RUN.
*cn1;- SPECIAL NOTES -*CN0
(1) To exit Terminal mode press the Commodore key (CMDR) and SHIFT.
(2) To return to the Main menu (except while in Terminal mode), press STOP.
(3) To reset THIRDTERM, press RUN/STOP and RESTORE or a reset switch if you have one.
How's it different from SECONDTERM?
-- THIRDTERM supports XMODEM transfers.
-- Features 1650 autodialing.
-- Multiple file transfers using the Punter protocol.
-- Continous buffer saves or a "virtual" buffering system.
-- Supports 300, 1200 & 2400 baud.
*fp0
*cn1;- THE MAIN MENU -*cn0
After loading and running THIRDTERM, the screen will go blank and then the following screen display:
THIRDTERM v5 (C) Tom Hughes, 1986
* Not for resale Copying permitted *
Terminal (see page 3)
Disk (see page 5)
Print (see page 5)
Protocols (see page 6)
Function keys (see page 8)
Upload (see page 9)
Download (see page 9)
Save buffer (see page 10)
Extract (see page 10)
Telephone (see page 10)
Quit
"Terminal" should be highlighted. To select a menu item, use the CRSR up or down key to move the highlighted area over a menu item. Then press RETURN to select that item.
In this mode a "status line" will be displayed on the top of the screen:
:T:S:O:D:B:P-00:00:00a-29184:0:000:000
------------ --------- ----- - --- ---
1 2 3 4 5 6
Key:
1 = Status indicators...
"T" (timeout): When you transmit characters to a remote computer, usually by typing, thr usual environment of communications is known as "full duplex" which means that the (larger) remote computer will send back each character you send to it. This indicator will "light up" (RVS on) if, when in full duplex, a character is NOT sent back by the remote computer within a short time. Typically, you'll get a "timeout" when typing in a secret password or code.
"S" (all caps): When lit all letters from A-Z will be capitals.
"O" (output supressed): When lit up the users's output will NOT be displayed (either in half or full duplex).
"W" (word wrap): Since the C64 displays 40 characters per line instead of 80 or 132 as many commercial terminals, words may get "split" at the right side of your screen. When this indicator is on, the program will ensure that no words are split at the end of a line.
"D" (control char display): This allows you to see the ASCII control characters (0-31 decimal). These characters will appear as RVS on letters. Also, whenever the terminal receives an ASCII control G (bell), a tone will sound.
"B" (capture buffer open/closed): Any text which is displayed, including the characters you type, will be saved in memory when this letter is lit.
"P" (pause): If a text file is being uploaded, the file transfer will be slowed down if this letter is highlighted.
2 = Clock...
The "time of day" clock in hours, minutes, and seconds. If the clock is operating properly, the colon ":" between the hours and minutes should blink. An "a" or "p" respresents AM or PM.
3 = Free memory...
Number of free bytes or space in the terminal's capture or memory buffer. THIRDTERM has a 28.5k buffer.
4 = Nulls...
The number of "nulls" (ASCII 0) to be sent after each carriage return.
5 = ASCII character code sent by THIRDTERM.
6 = ASCII character code received by THIRDTERM.
*fp0
*cn1;- TERMINAL MODE SPECIAL KEYBOARD FUNCTIONS -*cn0
Action Result ("C=" is the Commodore key)
------ ------
C= "B" ....... Toggle capture buffer on or off.
C= "C" ....... When using a "Text" upload, this closes the disk file.
C= "D" ....... Enable/disable ASCII character code display.
C= "O" ....... Enable/disable the display of your typing.
C= "S" ....... Enable/disable the all capitals mode.
C= "X" ....... Swaps the current screen with a second stored screen.
C= "+" ....... Changes background color of the screen.
C= "-" ....... Changes text color.
C= "*" ....... Changes border color.
CTRL "L" ..... If received, acts as a "formfeed" and clears the screen.
CTRL ":" ..... Generates an "ESC" (ASCII 27) character.
CTRL "+" ..... Increases the number of nulls sent after a carriage return.
CTRL "-" ....... Decreases the numbers of nulls sent after a carriage return.
SHIFT "DEL" .... Generates an ASCII delete (decimal 127).
SHIFT "*" ...... Clears the capture buffer. CAREFUL!
SHIFT/RETURN ... Local Edit Mode (see below)
LEFT ARROW ..... is displayed as an "underscore".
UP ARROW ....... is displayed as an ASCII up arrow.
*cn1;- TERMINAL MODE "LOCAL EDIT" FEATURE -*CN0
THIRDTERM allows you to do full screen editing (as you do when correcting mistakes when entering a program) even when the computer you're communicating with doesn't suppport such a function.
While in terminal mode, if you press SHIFT/RETURN, the cursor will flash--instead of being solid, but any text you now type will NOT be transmitted to the remote computer. However, incoming text will still be displayed on your screen.
When the cursor is flashing, you can use the cursor movement, delete, home, insert, and clear keys.
If you wish to send ONE LINE of text to the remote computer, simply position the cursor on the FIRST character you wish to send, and then enter another SHIFT/RETURN. The terminal will then transmit all characters from that point on AND also send a RETURN.
This feature is useful in composing short messages or correcting typing mistakes.
*fp0
*cn1;- DISK -*cn0
Displays the following menu:
Directory
Scratch
Rename
Format
Initialize
Validate
Drive #:0
Main Menu
The LAST disk error message will be displayed on the top line of the screen.
*cn1;- PRINT -*cn0
The terminal's capture buffer or a disk file may be either displayed on the screen or send to a printer.
* NOTE * While printing, any key can be pressed to stop/start printing. The STOP key aborts printing.
*fp0
*cn1;- PROTOCOLS -*CN0
A sub-menu will appear:
Load parameters
Save parameters
Set parameters
The parameters saved or loaded are all items in the "Set parameters" menu, all function key strings and the function key menu password, plus the current border/background and character colors.
Set parameters menu: (defaults given):
Modem:1650
Baud:300
Duplex:Full
Stop bits:1
Parity:None
Word length:8
Add LF:No
Strip LF:No
Punter block size:255
Disk drive #:08
Printer #:4
Printer type:1525
Alarm:No
Time
X-ON character:017
X-OFF character:019
Continuous buffer saves:No
Main Menu
"Modem" - either 1650, Hayes, or Other. If you experience carrier detect problems, select Other.
"Baud" - allows 300, 1200 or 2400 baud rates.
"Duplex" - either Full or Half.
"Stop Bits" - either 1 or 2
"Parity" - None, Odd, Even or Space.
"Word length" - 7 or 8 bit
"Add LF" - if yes, then linefeeds are added after every carriage return sent in Terminal mode.
"Strip LF" - if yes, then ALL incoming linefeeds are deleted. THIS ALSO APPLIES WHEN DOWNLOADING XMODEM FILES!
"Punter block size" - a number from 40-255. If you experience many bad blocks during a file transfer, lower this number.
"Disk drive #" - the device # of your disk drive. A number from 8 to 11.
"Printer #" - the device # of your printer. A number from 4 to 7.
"Printer type" - either ASCII, CBM or 1525 types.
"Alarm" - if you select yes, then a prompt will appear asking you to set the time when the alarm will go off. Tones will sound when the alarm goes off.
"Time" - allows you to set the clock in Terminal Mode.
"X-ON character" - a number from 0-255, but normally a control Q. This is used in continuous buffer saves. When THIRDTERM's capture buffer is filled during continuous buffer saves, an X-OFF character is sent to the BBS telling it to stop transmitting characters. After the capture buffer is saved, the X-ON character is sent to the BBS telling it to start sending characters again.
"X-OFF character" - a number from 0-255, normally a control S. See above.
* NOTE * Punter BBS's do NOT have true X-ON/X-OFF characters. A Punter BBS will continue printing the current line and then stop so some characters will be lost. However, try 115 (an "s") for the X-OFF character and 99 (a "c") for the X-ON character.
"Continuous buffer saves" - normally off. If you select yes, then you will be prompted for a filename and THIRDTERM will open and then close this file. From here on, every time THIRDTERM capture buffer is filled, an X-OFF character will be sent, the buffer will be saved to the file you specified, and finally an X-ON character will be sent.
* NOTE * If continous buffer saves is ON and you have a partial buffer, this partial buffer may be saved to disk by going to the Main menu and selecting the Save Buffer mode. Then "append" the partial buffer to your disk file.
*fp0
*cn1;- FUNCTION KEYS -*CN0
Before you can get to the function keys, you will be asked for a "Password". The default password is "64". However, this can be changed by altering the "password" in the function key menu.
f1 =
f2 =
f3 =
f4 =
f5 =
f6 = Text may be entered after
f7 =
f8 = each of these function keys
CMDR f1 =
CMDR f3 = Then in Terminal mode,
CMDR f5 =
CMDR f7 = pressing one of these keys
CTRL f2 =
CTRL f4 = will transmit the string.
CTRL f6 =
CTRL f8 =
password = 64
Main Menu
After entering the text for a key, you have the option of adding a carriage return to the end of the string, and the option of having the string displayed or "echoed" to the screen (useful for passwords).
* NOTE * The function keys can also be used to send Hayes modem commands, such as ATDT1234567.
*fp0
*cn1;- UPLOAD & DOWNLOAD -*CN0
A sub-menu will appear:
Punter
Xmodem
Text (UPLOAD only)
"Text" allows you to send ANY disk file via the terminal. However, I suggest that the file be an ASCII text or seq file. Remember: a C= "C" will abort this data transfer, and a C= "P" will slow it down.
"Punter" upload allows file transfers using the Punter C1 protocol. However, MULTIFILE (sending a number of files at a time) are also allowed IF the receiving terminal is compatible with THIRDTERM.
"Xmodem" is another file transfer protocol. This is the "checksum" type of XMODEM transfer. If you're uploading, you may want to convert a SEQ file to ASCII or when downloading you may wish to convert a text file to CBM-type letters. Note: the .IMG header is automatically deleted on Compuserve Xmodem downloads. This is necessary to insure non-garbled program files.
Prompts will appear for all 3 of the transfer types.
* NOTE * If all sorts of strange characters begin appearing on the top half of your screen during XMODEM or Punter transfers, don't panic. This is normal. This terminal buffers data to the screen.
*cn1;- MULTIFILE TRANSFERS -*cn0
Works for Punter protocols only!
Up to 12 files may be selected at one time. Only PRG or SEQ files may be selected.
If you're DOWNLOADING, the filenames will be sent to you automatically. So you may want to put a fresh disk in your drive to make sure you don't receive a "FILE EXISTS" error.
* NOTE * If you're using a dual-drive while downloading, you can send the files to either drive 0 or drive 1. To select a drive, simply go to the Disk menu and set the Drive # BEFORE starting downloading.
* NOTE * As of May 1986, ONLY another THIRDTERM program will support the "Interlock" type of Multifile transfers. "Interlock" refers to a unique method of encoding the filetype block of the new Punter protocol transfer that allows multiple file transfers.
*fp0
*cn1;- SAVE BUFFER -*CN0
The contents of the terminal's capture buffer are can be saved to a disk file.
* NOTE * Since a full capture buffer can hold plenty of information, you should check to see if your disk has enough room on it before saving the buffer.
*cn1;- EXTRACT -*CN0
This allows you to examine a "text" or seq disk file or the terminal's capture buffer and "extract" or save portions of it to your disk.
* NOTE * This is a "one-pass" extract which means if you want to save several parts of a file, you'll have to make several separate extracts.
*cn1;- TELEPHONE -*CN0
* NOTE * Though this feature was designed for 1650 modems, it may be used with other "pulse" type modems, although you may have to select the "Hayes" parameter in the protocol menu.
Up to 10 names and phone numbers can be "edited" or entered and any number of phone directories may be saved to or loaded from disk.
