9. Why does my modem dial up and connect all by itself as if possessed?
10. Where can I find other sounds for PPPop?
11. I registered. Where is my password?
12. PPPop is utterly incredible. How can I register?
13. I guess my question is not "frequently asked". Where can I get more information?
This FAQ is a shortened version of the FAQ maintained online. If you have a question that you don't find answered in this file, fire up your web browser and check the latest version of the FAQ at: <http://users.deltanet.com/~friefeld/>.
1. Why doesn't PPPop work?
PPPop is a PPP operator application. It does not install, configure, or patch anything.
• You must have a PPP driver - MacPPP, FreePPP, SimplePPP, or Open Transport / PPP - up and running before you can use PPPop.
If you are having trouble with this step, I strongly recommend reading the materials which come with FreePPP 1.0.5: "FreePPP FAQ" and "Installing MacPPP". These are available on info-mac ftp mirrors in the </comm/inet/conn/ppp/> directory.
You should also look at the FreePPP 2.5 FAQ, available via <http://www.rockstar.com/> or <http://www.adnc.com/support/macsupport/tcp/FreePPP_FAQ.html>.
• PPPop does not work with commercial PPP drivers such as with InterSLIP, Sonic PPP, NTS PPP, Sagem PPP or FreePPP versions 2.5.1-2.5.5.
2. What does "PPP not found. I'm quitting." mean?
When PPPop starts, it checks to see which PPP driver is installed. If it doesn't find a PPP driver, it puts up this message.
• PPPop 1.5 had a bug which could prevent it from recognizing Open Transport / PPP. This has been fixed in the current version.
• This may also happen when your PPP driver is not selected in MacTCP. One trick is to open the MacTCP control panel, click on something other than PPP, click on PPP, and close the MacTCP control panel.
• Be sure you have only one PPP driver installed.
• If you have installed a new version of a PPP driver, some people have found that you need to rebuild your desktop file before it will work properly.
• If you have Open Transport TCP/IP, make sure you have one of the PPP drivers supported by PPPop selected.
• The next step is to check the documents mentioned in question number 1 above.
3. I can't connect / disconnect with PPPop.
PPPop uses the same code as FreePPP 1.0.5 to open and close a PPP link with FreePPP or MacPPP.
• If you cannot connect/disconnect using Config PPP (from FreePPP 1.0.5) or FreePPP Setup (from FreePPP 2.5+), then it won't work with PPPop either.
• If it does work with Config PPP, it should also work with PPPop. Please let me know if this is not the case.
• PPPop is not fully compatible with MacPPP 2.2.0.
4. Is PPPop compatible with MacOS 8?
Yes. PPPop is fully tested under MacOS 8 and already uses the MacOS 8 Apple Interface Design Guidelines.
5. Does PPPop patch my system in any way?
No. It is a straight application.
6. Is PPPop obsolete now that I use FreePPP?
FreePPP comes with a control strip module and a menu bar option. It has a session timer and can launch an application when a link opens. It is certainly more convenient to use FreePPP than MacPPP. However, I believe most of you will still find that PPPop has a purpose in life:
• A control strip module is not so handy for people who don't use the control strip frequently, or who don't have a lot of screen space.
• The menu bar might already be pretty cramped with application menu, time, help menu, desktop printer menu, battery status, Now Menus, and what-all.
• PPPop's button window can be made very small, can be positioned anywhere on the desktop, and gives you a visual reminder e.g. that you are daydreaming while composing email online.
• PPPop gives you a separate timer window which you can size and also position anywhere on the desktop.
• PPPop not only has a session timer but also a daily and total timer and can set warning limits for all three. The timer window can display any of those three.
• PPPop can do more than just launch an application or script automatically. It can also launch URLs, can launch items manually, and can quit your applications when you go offline as well as clean up any automatic software you have running.
• PPPop is a straight application program. It does not patch the System nor install any System Extension or Control Panel and hence is not likely to cause any conflict with other Extensions or Control Panels.
• Some users don't care about any of these points, they just really like PPPop's sound play capabilities.
• If you like PPPop but also want to use a control strip module or other add-on, you can use them all together.
7. What about FreePPP 2.5 compatibility?
From the FreePPP 2.5 documentation:
"FreePPP 2.5 breaks a great deal of 3rd party utilities such as PPPop and the PPP Control Strip.
Please don't use these with FreePPP 2.5."
I have been using PPPop with FreePPP 2.5rf since May 1996 and have not had the slightest difficulty or problem. This experience is confirmed by many other users. Steve Dagley ("chief bottle washer" of the FreePPP group) has told me that the code which opens and closes a PPP link is safe and compatible.
As to what the warning in the FreePPP 2.5 documentation means, I can only speculate that it was anticipating future developments. This is exactly what did happen with FreePPP 2.5.5 and FreePPP 2.6. However, Steve Dagley has made a programmer's interface available for these new versions, so that the latest version of PPPop can still operate them.
If you are using FreePPP 2.5, I recommend that you use PPPop with it.
8. What about Open Transport / PPP?
As of PPPop version 1.5.2, OT/PPP is fully supported. You should not have to do anything special to use PPPop with it. Future versions of OT beyond 1.1.2 may not work with PPPop if you have more than one PPP driver installed.
The TCP/IP control panel allows you to select a PPP driver on-the-fly. If you have several installed, you can choose among them. At this time, Apple provides no approved way to determine which of these drivers you have selected. Ideally, PPPop would determine that you have changed your PPP driver and adjust accordingly. At this time, it will do so under most circumstances. Since this feature is unsupported by Apple, it may break in the future. At that time, you can still use PPPop if you have only one PPP driver installed.
(Note: to remove OT/PPP you should use its installer and select the option to remove the software since there are a lot of files involved.)
PPPop requires a second unsupported feature: it needs to read and write the list of available servers to maintain its Server menu. Currently, PPPop does this by accessing the file "Remote Access Connections" in the folder System:Preferenes:Remote Access which is maintained by the PPP control panel. I recommend that you back this file up!
9. Why does my modem dial up and connect all by itself, as if possessed?
With or without PPPop, many people have had the problem that their machine connects by itself, often in the middle of the night, for no apparent reason. There is more information about this in the FreePPP 2.5 FAQ at <http://www.rockstar.com/> or <http://www.adnc.com/support/macsupport/tcp/FreePPP_FAQ.html>.
Here are some actions to try:
• If you are using MacTCP, install FreePPP 2.5v3. I am told there is a bug in MacTCP which this version can patch.
• If you are using Open Transport, open the TCP/IP control panel Options and select "Load only when needed".
• Open your PPP control panel and disable "Allow applications to open connection", or "Auto launching", or whatever it might be called.
• Isolate an extension which might be causing the problem, especially something having to do with a network. As a last resort, try starting up without extensions and adding them back one by one at a time.
10. Where can I find other sounds for PPPop?
There are lots of sounds out there for you to use.
• For starters, try info-mac <ftp://mirror.apple.com/mirrors/info-mac/art/snd/>.
• I got some of my favorites from Clixsounds <http://www.clixsounds.com/>.
• Another way to get sounds is to extract them from games. There are several good shareware sound editors which can do this. The harder way is to open the game with ResEdit, copy a 'snd ' resource, and save it as a file of Finder type 'sfil'.
To change the sounds PPPop uses, just go to "Sound Setup..." in the "Special" menu.
11. I registered. Where is my password?
Prior to PPPop v. 1.5, no password was required. If you registered version 1.4, I will send you your password if you email me with a copy of your receipt from Kagi Shareware.
Users who registered since version 1.5 often overlook their password included in their registration receipt from Kagi Shareware. It is near the end of the message. Again, email me with any problems.
12. PPPop is utterly incredible. How can I register?
You can mail me US$15 in US money bills in an envelope. Enclose a note with your email address so I can send a password to you. My address is: Rob Friefeld, 4607 Colorado Street, Long Beach, CA 90814.
Another way is to register online via a secure web page: <http://order.kagi.com/?RF&S>.
A third way: PPPop is distributed with a separate "Register" application for Kagi Shareware. With that application, you can create a text document to email, fax, or snail mail to Kagi. You can pay by credit card, check, cash, or First Virtual.
Registered users get:
• Ten years of good luck.
• Support.
• A password to get rid of the Shareware notice.
13. I guess my question is not "frequently asked". Where can I get more information?
• Try the "PPPop Reference" which is distributed with PPPop. I swear it actually has some information in it.
• Try the PPPop web page at <http://users.deltanet.com/~friefeld/>.
• Send me email at <mailto:friefeld@deltanet.com>.
