Acorn User 1/AU_CD1.iso/internet/starterpak/Docs/Guide

Text File | 1995-02-22 | 27KB | 679 lines

        **************************************************************
        * An Internet Starter Pack - For ACORN RISC OS 3.1 Computers *
        **************************************************************


FAQ & Starter Pack Version 1.10 1st March 1995
----------------------------------------------

Legalities & Disclaimer
-----------------------
Copyright 1994, 1995 Dr Alan Hassey. ([e-mail])
This document is freely distributable in unmodified form. No charge
may be made for the use of The Starter-Pack or any part of it without
the specific consent of the authors.

The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of information
contained in this document. It is provided without express or implied
warranty or guarantee and its contents may be changed without notice.

If you have any comments or suggestions for improvements or
alterations, then please contact me at [e-mail].
                                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In general, queries or comments about individual applications should be
addressed to the respective s/w authors (see section D). All the
authors' copyrights and conditions of use must be preserved unless you
have their specific permission to do otherwise.

Users of older RISC OS 3 machines should check whether they need the
serial patch modules located in the Starter-Pack SerialDev directory.
You may also need a patched serial cable if you've got an A310, 440,
4x0/1, A3000, A540, R140, or R260 Acorn machine. The details of the
serial port configuration is posted regularly as the:

Comp.Sys.Acorn FAQ List Posting (1/2) Section 2.6.

The serial modules can be found in the Starter-Pack:


(ref SerModules = StarterPak.SerialDev.SerModules)


Contents
========

A. Introduction
B. Starter-Pack contents
C. Connecting to the Internet
D. Acknowledgments

                            --------------------

A. This Guide / FAQ / Manual
============================

Introduction
------------
This Guide is a short (and friendly) introduction to The Internet for
Acorn RISC OS 3 computer users. The Guide is written primarily for
those connecting to the Internet via Demon. Most Acorn users seem to
have a found a home of sorts at Demon and most of the help, advice
and software you will need is there. (Though not from Demon Support!).
It should be fairly simple to change the configuration setup to suit
other service providers. Most of these changes will be to the !Slipdial
scripts.

The main aim of the guide is to get you up and running with your
Acorn computer in the minimum possible time and with the minimum fuss.

The guide is not comprehensive and will not tell you everything you
always wanted to know about the net...but it will tell you enough to
configure your computer and a basic set of software. You will not need
any special technical skills to follow the guide or configure your
system. If I can manage it, then so can you!

Read the Guide right through once before you start unpacking anything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Starter-Pack software & guide will only be posted to Demon &
Arcade BB initially, but feel free to pass it on anywhere else you
think it might be useful. Only use the latest version of The Starter
Pack.

(ref ftp.demon.co.uk - in directory /pub/archimedes/acorn-starter-pak)
                       (files are StarterTXT, sparkplug & StarterPak)
(ref ARCADE BBS = 0181 654 2212)

Once you are connected, most of the software you need is available
via the Demon Internet FTP (File Transfer Protocol) site:

ftp.demon.co.uk - in directory /pub/archimedes.

Unfortunately, Demon Support seem to know almost nothing about
Acorn computers, though there are now signs of this changing!
The best place to get help and advice is probably via the newsgroups
(see below).
The group; demon.ip.support.archimedes is particularly useful.

B. Starter-Pack Contents
------------------------

This guide should be enough to get you started. For more detailed help
and advice, I have included several other documemts in the FAQs directory

(ref FAQs = StarterPak.Docs.FAQs)

These are:

1. WelcomeTxt  - Demon Internet's welcome textfile.
2. ModemTxt    - Demon Internet's modem setup textfile.
3. Acorn FAQ   - Kevin Quinn's FAQ - Using Acorns for Internet access.
4. Guide1_21   - Paul Allen & The ARM Club's KA9Q guide (to TCPIP v1.21).
5. VirtPoPs    - Demon Internet's list of virtual PoP phone numbers.
6. Zen-1-0/TX  - Brendan P. Kehoe's Zen and the Art of the Internet. This is
                 an old but useful guide to the Internet.
7. Zynet <Dir> - Contains a FAQ & !Slipdial script for Zynet.
8. ScriptHelp  - How to edit/write !Slipdial scripts.
9. alan <Dir>  - My directory from !NewsDir.UserHome.alan

The software described below may not be the "best" or most elegant
way of accessing Demon Internet, but it all works and is fairly simple
to configure. New software for accessing the Internet apears nearly
every week. I will make no attempt to keep the Starter-Pack up-to-date
with every version change etc, but will review it with major version
changes and when important new software is released, stable and
documented.

I would welcome your comments about the Starter-Pack and how it could
be improved. If you have specific comments about the software, then
please address these to the appropriate author.

You will need:

!SparkPlug
!DemConfig
!TCPIP
!TCPIPUser
!NewsDir         (This will be created by !DemConfig initially)
!TTFN
!NewsBase
!Slipdial
!SerialDev

!Sparkplug is a great little program for unpacking files. It is
supplied as a self-extracting basic program in the starter-pack.
Make sure that the  file-type option is set to Basic, then double-
click over the basic program Sparkplug. It will unpack itself and
place itself in your root directory.

Double-click on the !SparkPlug icon to load it onto the icon-bar. To
unpack everything else, drop their icons onto !SparkPlug on the icon-
bar. You will use this program time and again to unpack archives from
the Internet. The latest version can be found by ftp'ing to demon in:
/pub/archimedes/utils.

Let's Go !!!
------------
Before you start, you should know:

1. Your nodename (mine is midwife)
2. Your IP address (mine is 158.152.38.98)
3. Your password (keep it a secret!)

If you don't have your IP address or password, !DemConfig can now get
this for you. You MUST have this information for the rest of the setup
to succeed.

Create a directory to store all your Internet applications in;
eg. ADFS::IDEdisc4.$.Internet
    SCSI::HardDisc5.$.Comms
Unpack (use !Sparkplug for this) the programs into your
Internet directory.

When you have finished, your directory structure should look like this:

ADFS::IDEDisc4.$.Internet (directory)

!DemConfig          application
!NewsBase                "
!TTFN                    "
!NewsDir                 "
!TCPIP                   "
!TCPIPUser               "
!Slipdial                "
SerialDev              <dir>
Docs                  The Guide & FAQs <dir>

!SerialDev & !Sparkplug may reside in this directory if you wish, as may
any other files or directories. When you have connected to the Internet
you may wish to add other applications (eg !gopher, ChangeFSI & the
various WWW (World-Wide-Web fetchers) so this directory could become
quite large very quickly.

1. !DemConfig
--------------

If you have never logged on to Demon, and you don't have a password or
IP address, !DemConfig can now carry out an initial logon for you.
A new option "Call Demon now to get IP address" has been added.
If you select this option, then when you click on the Configure button,
!DemConfig starts up !SLIPdial with a special script which dials up
Demon to perform the initial login.  The purpose is to set a password
and to get your IP address, which is needed by !TCPIP.  Note that
!DemConfig closes down while this login is being done; it is restarted
when the SLIPdial script completes.  The script can cope if the password
has already been set (as long as you don't change it).

!DemConfig no longer deletes the !NewsDir directory when run, so
!DemConfig can now safely be used many times without losing mail or news.

Whenever you click on the <Configure> button, !DemConfig saves the
choices made so far.  So if you make a slight modification, you don't
have to enter everything again from scratch.

As software upgrades become available - update each application
separately & do not use !DemConfig unless you want to start again.

!DemConfig will make initial configuration of your Internet software
very easy! Double-click over the application icon to run !DemConfig
and the dialogue window will open. Fill in the dialogue boxes as
shown below.

!DemConfig will then configure your Starter-Pack software for you.

!DemConfig - dialogue window;

Modem & Serial Interface:
Modem type;      Select from list (if you choose "other" you may have to
                 write your own driver script.
Serial port;     Internal for standard ACORN machine or SP_Dual if you
                 have "The Serial Port's" dual card fitted. If a commerc-
                 -ially obtained PC-wired modem lead is being used, then
                 the block driver name must be specified as SP_DualPC.
                 An "ARC" wired lead must be used with SP_Dual.
Cable type;      Acorn or PC
Serial speed;    Best to leave this at "0"
Mercury Button;  Press to select/deselect Mercury dialler info to be
                 added to demonconfg file in !Slipdial.
Mercury PIN;     132 or 131,xxxxxxxxxx (To use Mercury you will need to
                 set the Mercury toggle to "on" in the default !Slipdial
                 Demon script - see the section on !Slipdial).
Main PoP;        Select your nearest vPoP from the menu button.
Demon Account:
Node name;       Your nodename (mine is midwife)
Password;        Your password (keep this secret)
IP address;      158.152.38.98 (this is mine)

*** Select the "Call Demon now to get IP address" button if you need
to set a password & collect your IP address, otherwise deselect it***

User details:
Userid;          "jbloggs" - or whatever you call yourself! - I'm "alan".
Name;            Full name - I'm Dr Alan Hassey!
Organisation;    Optional - I'm at "The Hacienda" (geddit?).

Then press the <Configure> button. Most of the work is now done :-)
The !NewsDir application will be created during configuration and added
to your Internet directory.

You will be informed when the configuration process is complete.

If you want more information on the !DemConfig application look at the
!DemConfig Help file:

(ref !Help = !DemConfig.!Help)

2. !TCPIP (KA9Q) & !TCPIPUser
-----------------------------

TCP = Transmission Control Protocol, IP = Internet Protocol = TCPIP

TCPIP is your interface with the Internet. It receives and sends messages
to and from the Internet and RISC OS applications. Confusingly, TCPIP is
also known as KA9Q. TCPIP (KA9Q) must be carefully configured before you
can use it. The programs share information - so be wary of making changes
anywhere! If you want to experiment, then keep a COMPLETE backup of your
Internet directory somewhere safe...you have been warned!

!DemConfig will configure !TCPIP & !TCPIPUser for you. You do not need to
do anything else. However, if you want to alter your !TCPIP configuration
then change the data in the !Setup file and run !Config. (The install <dir>
is duplicated as TCPIP_New <dir> in case of problems).

(ref !Setup = !TCPIPUser.Install.!Setup)
(ref !Config = !TCPIPUser.Install.!Config)

!TCPIP is a complicated program to get to know. It may well be worth your
while loading and running !TCPIP by itself so you can explore & experiment
a bit without damaging your phone bill.

TCPIP Hints: I strongly suggest you look at the macros menus available
from the TCPIP windows. When using ftp (file transfer protocol) I suggest
you set the "path" option to "auto". This will ensure that you download
files with the correct filetype. You need to do this at the beginning of
each ftp session.

NB. Remember the RISC OS 10 character filename limit!!!
    Most ftp sites are Unix-based & allow long-filenames.

If you forget & "get" 2 imaginary files from an ftp site, eg:

1. get arcNetscape_0.45.spk (Unix long filename)
2. get arcNetscape_0.45.txt

They will both be downloaded with the name "arcNetscap" (10 chars)
& the 2nd file will over-write the first, so you lose it!
Use the "get" command like this:

1. get arcNetscape_0.45.spk aNet045spk
2. get arcNetscape_0.45.txt aNet045txt

This version of the "get" command gets the files & renames them:

get <long_filename> <short_filename>
So you will end up with the 2 files aNet045spk & aNet045txt in your
Downloads directory.
(Properly filetyped if you set path to "auto" from the macros menu).

For more detail - see the help files etc written by Adam Goodfellow and
enclosed in the Starter-Pack !TCPIP application within the TCPIP_Doc
directory.

(ref !ReadMe = !TCPIP.TCPIP_Doc.Notes & TCPIP_Doc.History)

I have also enclosed the old ArcKA9Q manual which is rather out of date
but gives some useful tips on TCPIP commands. This has been renamed
Guide1_21 and can be found in the FAQs directory.

(ref Guide1_21 = StarterPak.Docs.FAQs.Guide1_21)

I suggest you do not make any changes to your configuration files based
on this old document until you know what you are doing!


3. !NewsBase
-------------
NewsBase works with TTFN to process news and mail. The NewsBase program
basically splits the downloaded news file into separate messages.
The news file is often referred to as a "news batch", and the process
of splitting it up is often referred to as "debatching".

Double-click on !NewsBase to load it onto the icon bar. The first thing
!NewsBase will try to do is look for the !NewsDir application. If it
does not exist, then !NewsBase will create !NewsDir in your Internet
directory.

If you change your setup, or accidentally delete !NewsDir, then you will
be warned, that !NewsBase cannot find !NewsDir. A News Directory box will
appear, drag the icon to your Internet directory, where your new !NewsDir
will appear.

NB. Remember to keep all your applications in the same directory.
(Or at least on the same disk!)

!NewsBase will then start and will attempt to configure itself from the
data you supplied to !DemConfig. When NewsBase has finished, you will
be notified of the arrival of several new articles. Click on the
<Continue> button to install !TTFN on the icon-bar. Do not read the
articles just yet. !TTFN is your news & mail reader program (see below).

!NewsBase has more detailed setup options and you can look at these by
clicking menu over the !NewsBase icon & selecting <setup>. The NewsBase
Control Panel will appear, with 6 options for configuring or reconfigur-
ing !NewsBase, these are:

1. Site
2. General
3. Transports
4. Groups
5. Configure Users
6. Filters

1. Site - should need no further attention.
2. General - no need for further entries now.
3. Transports - should read ka9q. Leave this alone unless you know about
   Taylor & uucp.
4. Groups - a suggested group list is given below and I recommend that
   you read the !NewsBase documentation carefully here.
5. Users - change the Username to your name from the options list
   and press <Save>.
6. Filters - I suggest you leave this option alone until you have read
   the !NewsBase documentation carefully. No need for further entries now.


The detailed documentation with NewsBase describes the setup and
functions in great detail and is well-written.

(ref !NewsBase documentation = !NewsBase.!Help & !NewsBase.Docs <dir>
                               & !NewsBase.Support.newsbase.welcome <dir>

!NewsBase holds information on "Active" newsgroups - those in the news
feed, and "Current" newsgroups - those with files in !NewsDir. "Active"
newsgroups will usually become "Current" as traffic flows in that
newsgroup.

I have listed below a few newsgroups you might want to subscribe to:

demon.ip.support.archimedes
demon.announce
demon.archives.announce
demon.news
comp.sys.acorn*             (This will give you all the acorn groups)
news.announce.newusers

The groups:

comp.sys.acorn.announce
demon.announce
demon.ip.support.archimedes

are "Active" in !NewsBase & should be fed to you anyway. (See the Groups
Control Panel of NewsBase's Setup... screens).


A full list of newsgroups available via Demon can be obtained by ftp to:
ftp.demon.co.uk:/pub/news/active.zip (or active.Z).

This version of !NewsBase also includes access to the !Qedit program.
This allows you to view the mail/news queue and perform a variety of
operations on  it. To access !Qedit, press <menu> over the !NewsBase
icon on the icon-bar and choose the "Queues..." option. Menu and help
screen are available by clicking <menu> over the !Qedit window.

!Qedit can also be accessed via the macros menu of !TCPIP.

4.!NewsDir
----------
This application stores your news & mail. It also stores some config-
uration information for !NewsBase & some information about you. It is
worth having a look at your UserHome directory & setting up your
signature & userinfo details.

(ref = !NewsDir.UserHome.yourname <dir>)

I have included my "alan" directory for information.

(ref = StarterPak.Docs.FAQs.alan <dir>)


5. !TTFN
---------

(TTFN = The Thread Following NewsReader)

This is the news & mail reader provided to work with NewsBase. This
should be installed on the icon-bar with your name underneath. If not,
double-click on its icon in the Starter-Pack to load !TTFN.

You will have noticed a "New Newsgroup Created" box has appeared,
asking if you would like to subscribe to the newsgroup;
newsbase.announce.newusers. Click on <Yes>.
The Newsgroups Status window for user "you" will now appear. Double-click
on the line newsbase.announce.newusers and the titles of some articles
will appear. These articles are actually regularly posted FAQs which you
should read.

Click menu over the !TTFN icon & change the user to "postmaster".
You will find some Email is waiting for "postmaster".

!TTFN's setup screens are accessed via menu or adjust from the icon-bar.
Setup is easy and the documentation provided is very good. You do not
need to make any changes to TTFN Setup unless you want to. Press <Save>
to store any changes permanently.

To subscribe a new user to the currently available newsgroups, click on
the TTFN menu & select the "Users..." option. From here, select
"Create User". Give yourself an ID (mine is "alan"). Then click on the
"Group subscription" button to open the subscription list.
Click on the groups you wish to join. If you want to join a group which
is not listed, then create the group via the "Groups" option in !NewsBase.
This option is not available until you have a list of groups created to
choose from.

(ref !TTFN documentation = !TTFN.Docs.UserGuide)

Clicking <adjust> over the !TTFN icon, opens a scrollable Setup window.
Open the address book. This contains a few names and Email addresses
for you. You can edit this list as you wish.

6. !Slipdial
-------------

Slipdial is your dialler program. It will run a script (default is
Demon) which will connect you to the Demon PoP of your choice, then
autoboot !TCPIP to connect you to Internet. When you disconnect from
Internet, the Demon script will load !TTFN & !NewsBase, commence
debatching news & mail and advise you when your news and mail is ready
to read.

I have now included the Demon FAQ  ModemTxt in the FAQs directory:

(ref = ModemTxt = StarterPak.Docs.FAQs.ModemTxt)

This file gives full details on setting up your modem for connection
to the Internet.

NB. Most of the problems reported with !Slipdial are cable problems
(change your cable or your serial driver).

The information you supplied to !DemonConfig will have created a file
called demonconfg,  which you can view/edit in the scripts subdirectory.

NB. Be careful of making ANY changes here.

(ref demonconfg = !Slipdial.Scripts.demonconfg)

To check or change the !Slipdial default script, click menu over the
!Slipdial icon & select choices. The default script will appear in the
dialogue box in the format:

ADFS::IDEdisc4.$.!Slipdial.Scripts.demon

(NB. The menu select box to the right of this entry does not work!)

The Auto-run button should be ticked. You can choose to run other scripts

eg. .....Slipdial.myscript

or you can deselect the Auto-run facility.

I have included several example scripts for you to try.

If you are interested in writing your own scripts, then see Alan Fitch's
excellent ScriptHelp in the FAQs directory.
(I suggest you read it anyway!)

(ref ScriptHelp = StarterPak.Docs.FAQs.ScriptHelp)

The default "Demon" script now uses the new Demon Virtual PoPs (vPoPs).
This script also gives you access to the new "local" facility for making
local call connections & by-passing your Mercury PIN. (Only relevant if
you have a Mercury account & a local vPoP).

!DemConfig will configure !Slipdial for Mercury or BT use. If you want
to change this information later & use Mercury rather than BT you must
change the line in the Demon script;

"#call mercury_on" to "call mercury_on" or
"call mercury_off" to "call mercury_on" depending on which script you
are using.

& vice-versa if you decide to use BT instead of Mercury.

(Removing the # at the beginning of a line changes the line from a
comment to a command).

(ref Demon = !Slipdial.Scripts.Demon)

Removing the "#" also allows !Slipdial to show the Mercury Icon on the
icon-bar. To see the BT icon, change the line again to read;
"call mercury_off".


7. !SerialDev
--------------

The serial device drivers should be unpacked and the application
!SerialDev placed in your root directory:
(eg ADFS::IDEDisc4.$.!SerialDev).

(ref !SerialDev = SerialDev.!SerialDev)

The rest of the SerialDev directory can be placed in a separate
directory out of the way.

You should always use the latest version of the drivers which are
available from demon in; /pub/archimedes/blockdrivers
They are a resource used by other applications which need to be able
to "see" them - hence put them in your root directory, or if this is
too untidy for you - then in your comms or Internet directory.

The serial port on your computer can cause problems, especially if
you have an early RISC OS 3 machine. Various patches and modules are
available to help remedy these problems - please refer to The AcornFAQ
in the documents directory sections 8a & b. Theses patch modules are
included in the SerialDev directory.

(ref AcornFAQ = StarterPak.Docs.AcornFAQ)
(ref SerModules = StarterPak.SerialDev.SerModules)


That's it - you are now ready to go!!!


C. Running the software & connecting to the Internet
====================================================

So what next?

I suggest you reboot your machine & then open your Internet directory.
Remember that the applications need to have "seen" the !SerialDev,
!Scrap & !System applications to work properly.

Double-click on !Slipdial, which will load onto the icon-bar & open its
dialogue box. Wait a second or two for the appropriate script to load,
select your PoP from the menu & double-click. Your modem will now
dial-out & connect you to your chosen PoP. Or click over the "Local" icon
to direct-dial your local vPoP.
!Slipdial will display several messages as it connects & logs in.
When a full connection is established, it will boot !TCPIP & install it
on the icon-bar. Mail & news can now be sent/retrieved via the smtp &
nntp kick commands.
(This can be automated via your !TCPIPUser.AutoExec file).

You will be notified of incoming mail and news, which you can read via
!TTFN & !NewsBase.

A selection of commonly used commands are available directly from the
macros menu at the top right of the TCPIP main screen. At first, it may
well be worth changing to the long time-out option (also via the macro
menu) so that TCPIP does not hang up before you have had an opportunity
to find your way around.

When you have finished your session(s),log-out by typing "quit" & pressing
the RETURN key. !Slipdial will disconnect, stop !TCPIP & remove it from
the icon-bar. It will then load !TTFN & !NewsBase. Your news and mail will
be debatched for reading.

If you decide to dial back into the Internet, !Slipdial will remove !TTFN
& !NewsBase from the icon-bar as it runs the script-file again.

When quitting altogether, it is wiser to do a controlled shutdown via the
ACORN icon (or CTRL+SHIFT+F12) than a reset (CTRL+BREAK or RESET button)

*Have fun and please let me know how the ACORN RISC OS 3 Internet
Starter-Pack could be improved :-)


D. Acknowledgements
-------------------

To all the authors who agreed to the inclusion of their programs &
FAQs in the Starter-Pack;

1.  Robert Orwin for !TTFN.
2.  Graham Allen for !Slipdial
3.  Graham Allen, Thomas Aeby & Gunnar Zotl for !NewsBase.
4.  Adam Goodfellow, Anthony Frost & Jonathan Naylor for !TCPIP.
5.  David Pilling for !SparkPlug & SerialBuff.
6.  Hugo Fiennes for !SerialDev.
7.  Colin Hogben for !DemConfig.
8.  David Croft for !Qedit
9.  David Dade & ACORN Ltd for SerialUtil & SerialDev.
10. Paul Allen & The ARM Club for the KA9Q guide1_21.
11. Alan Fitch for the !Slipdial Demon & vPoP scripts.
12. Danny Yates for the !Slipdial AutoMagic script.
13. Demon Internet Ltd for WelcomeTxt & ModemTxt.
14. Brendan P. Kehoe for the Zen Internet FAQ.
15. Kevin Quinn for the Acorn FAQ.
16. Merlyn Kline for the Zynet stuff.

To everybody else who contributed and to you for using it.

Comments & queries about specific software should be addressed to the
authors as follows;

1.  !TTFN                     [e-mail]
2.  !NewsBase                 [e-mail]
3.  !Slipdial                 [e-mail]
4.  !Slipdial scripts         [e-mail]
5.  !TCPIP & !TCPIPUser       [e-mail]
6.  !SerialDev                [e-mail]
7.  !DemConfig                [e-mail]
8.  !Qedit                    [e-mail]
9.  !SparkPlug & SerialBuff   [e-mail]
10. SerialUtil & SerialDev    [e-mail]
11. Guide1_21                 [e-mail]
12. AcornFAQ                  [e-mail]
13. Zynet                     [e-mail]
14. Guide (This doc)          [e-mail]

I hope I have adequately acknowledged the contributions of all the main
authors. I have tried hard to ensure that all the authors' own copyrights
and conditions of use are maintained. If I have made any errors, then I
apologise in advance and undertake to correct them as soon as possible.

                             Alan Hassey ([e-mail])
                             =====================================

---------------------------------------------------------------------end----