ARM Club 3/TheARMClub_PDCD3.iso/programs/comms_networking/arclink/!ArcLink5/!Help

Text File | 1998-11-17 | 12KB | 277 lines

!Help file for !ArcLink5 (version 0.12 17th Nov 1998)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shareware ©1998 Paul Vigay (30 day evaluation)

This copy will timeout approx 30 days after you first run it, unless you
have a registered copy (have you sent your registration card back?).

(Read the 'Extras.History' file for details of changes between versions)
Also read the 'Extras.FAQ' file for Frequently Asked Questions.


Conditions of Use:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This application is SHAREWARE and may be copied freely in it's unregistered
form, subject to the following conditions being obeyed at all times.

a) Copyright and all rights remain the property of Paul Vigay (the author)

b) All files are copied in their entirety without alteration.

c) Usage of this application is entirely at the users own risk. No
   responsibility will be taken for any loss or damage, financial or otherwise
   which may arise from usage of this application.

d) You register yourself by sending me the sum of £29.95
   In return you will be eligible to receive free upgrades as and when I produce
   them, and technical support.
   Registered users will also receive a printed manual when it is ready.
   (Updates can be sent in exchange for a blank, formatted disc disc and SAE.)

e) This application should NOT be distributed by Shareware or PD libraries
   without my express written permission. This is so that I know who has
   the latest version, and I know you are not charging too much for it.


Purpose
~~~~~~~
To provide a quick and simple way of transferring files to and from a Psion
Series 5 and Acorn Risc OS. At present it doesn't work on the Psion 3c. When
this version is complete I will look into making it 3c compatible as well.


Before Use
~~~~~~~~~~
Before using for the first time, you need to transfer the file "Extras.ArcLink5"
to a suitable directory location on your Psion 5. You may need either !Connector
(on the Acorn) or PsiWin (on the PC card) to do this. Full instructions on
how to do this are provided in the FAQ file (inside !ArcLink5.Extras)

When you have transferred ArcLink5 to the Psion, ensure that you have
renamed it correctly to "ArcLink5.opo". Once you have done this ArcLink5 is
ready to use and all future transfers (and even updates to ArcLink5) can be
done via ArcLink5 itself.

ArcLink5.opo will handle the Psion end of the transfers, so you can leave the
Psion alone. All control is performed from the Acorn.


Detailed Instructions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Before running ArcLink5.opo on the Psion, please make sure that the Psion
remote link (CTRL-L) is turned OFF and the "Comms" program is not running.
ArcLink5 will give an error is another application is using the serial port.
A possible problem (and its solution) is described in the FAQ file.

Once loaded, !ArcLink5 will display a small 'Psion 5' icon on the right hand
side of the icon bar. At this point confirm that ArcLink5.opo is running on
the Psion and the relevant lead is connecting the two machines. If not, you
will get a link failure when you try to read files from the Psion.

Initially you will want to display a catalogue of the files on your Psion.
This is performed simply by clicking SELECT on the ArcLink5 icon. If ArcLink5
detects that the link is ok, all the files in the root (ie. top most)
directory on the Psion will be displayed in a standard RISC OS filer style
window.

You can then negotiate your way around the Psion in exactly the same way you
would on the Acorn. To transfer files, simply drag the relevant icon from the
Psion filer window into a suitable Acorn filer window. To transfer files back
to the Psion, simply drag the file back the other way (ie. from an Acorn
filer window into the Psion filer window).

The current version does not allow whole directories to be copied across.
This will be supported in future versions. Registered users will be entitled
to a free upgrade.
N.B. You cannot transfer files that are currently open on the Psion. These
files will appear in the filer window with a special 'In Use' icon. In order
to transfer these files you need to first close them on the Psion.

N.B. If a fatal error does occur, or something is not working correctly, you
can exit the Psion ArcLink5 application by pressing CTRL-ESC.
Advanced users please note that you can browse the Psion 5 by clicking on the
System icon (or any other icon) whilst ArcLink5.opo is running. ArcLink5 will
then be suspended whilst the other task is executed. You may then return to
ArcLink5 by double-tapping it's icon again. You should make sure that the
Acorn end is not trying to communicate with the Psion during this period, or
a communication failure error will occur.


Filer Options
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A number of filer options and choices are also supported by ArcLink5. These
work in a similar way to their equivalent RISC OS counterparts and can be
selected by pressing MENU over the Psion filer window.

This allows you to open the parent directory (also available by closing the
current Psion filer window with the ADJUST button), rename, delete and count
files. You will be asked for confirmation before deleting any files on the
Psion.


Filer Differences between Psion EPOC32 and Acorn Risc OS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are a number of differences between the filer on the Psion and Acorn's
RISC OS. Firstly, the Psion can support long filenames, which can also
include spaces and fullstops (both invalid for Acorn filenames). ArcLink5
will attempt to convert the file into a name suitable for the destination
filing system. It will convert fullstops on the Psion into forward slashes
("/") on the Acorn and spaces to underscores ("_").
N.B. For the more technical person, you can actually edit the character
mapping tables, by editing the two files inside !ArcLink5.Resources.Trans

Due to limitations within the current RISC OS filer, any long filenames on
the Psion are truncated to 10 characters when transferring to Acorn RISC OS
filer windows. However, if you drag the Psion file into an Acorn filing
system which supports long filenames (such as !SparkFS, !X-Files or !WebFS)
then the filenames will be kept intact; subject to the character conversions
detailed above.

Conversely, files dragged from the Acorn back to the Psion will have the
relevant characters converted back the other way. ArcLink5 will also attempt
to display the correct filer icons relevant to any file extension on the
Psion file. For example, files suffixed by .txt on the Psion will have the
correct 'text' filetype icon in the ArcLink5 filer window.


Changing the link speed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unregistered versions operate at a fixed transfer speed of 19200 baud.
Registered versions however, can be run at any speed up to 115200 (please
note that speeds faster than 19200 baud may not be available on some older
Acorn computers).

The baud rate can be changed from the ArcLink5 icon bar menu. Simply move
across to the 'Baud rate' submenu and select the speed you want. The Psion
will automatically adjust it's speed to match the Acorn. You need do nothing
at the Psion end.


The 'Choices' Menu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few additional choices can customise Arclink5 to individual preferences.
These are toggled on and off from the Choices submenu (from the icon bar
menu).
These are:
        Serial port
    Debug mode
    Quit opo
    Multitasking
    Save

    Serial port allows you to change the serial port settings.
    (see below for more info)

    Debug mode is primarily for my use when debugging update versions of
        ArcLink5 and in normal use should be turned off (ie. no tick).

        Quit opo will tell ArcLink5 to terminate ArcLink5 on the Psion end at
        the same time.

        Multitasking will allow the Acorn to multi-task whilst transfers to
        the Psion are taking place. This will result in a slightly slower
        transfer speed, but you will still be able to use your Acorn desktop.
        You can revert to multi-tasking from single tasking mode by pressing
        ESCAPE whilst the hourglass is on.

        Save will save the above three choices, in addition to the baud rate
        and filer display and filer options back to disc so that the same
        settings can be used next time you load ArcLink5.

Serial port settings
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Allow you to use either the internal serial port, or an Atomwide dual serial
port. The default option is the internal one.
This option leads to the following submenu;

    Standard
    SerialDev
    Port
    Reset

    The standard one will disenable any additional serial port drivers
    and use the normal, built-in serial port.

    SerialDev will be greyed out unless !SerialDev has been 'seen'
    before ArcLink5 is loaded. If !SerialDev is available, this option
    will lead to a submenu from which you can choose which driver you
    wish to use.

    Port allows you to choose which serial port you use. Normally you
    would use port 0 or 1 (if using the Atomwide dual serial port), but
    to allow maximum flexibility, you can select up to four ports,
    depending upon your hardware.

    Reset will reinitialise the serial driver, and is mainly for
    debuggins purposes.

Before you can select a serial device driver (if !SerialDev has been seen)
you need to click on the 'SerialDev' option from the above menu. This will
ungrey the list of serial device drivers, which will allow you to select
the one you wish to use.

Disclaimer
~~~~~~~~~~
Whilst ArcLink5 has been extensively tested, it is impossible to check every
single combination of hardware permutations. If you do find what you think is
a bug, or 'undocumented feature', please contact me and I will endeavour to
fix it and return your disc with the latest version on it. Please include a
stamped addressed envelope if posting discs to me.

No responsibility will be accepted for any loss of, or damage to any data or
program files caused by direct or indirect use of ArcLink5. Transferring
files using ArcLink5 is done entirely at the users risk. Always make backups
of important data before you try doing something you may be unsure about.

Most potentially dangerous options are protected by asking for confirmation -
such as delete.


Future Enhancements/To do list/Known Bugs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As mentioned above, a number of menu options are greyed out of this version.
They will be implemented next.

The following are some ideas that have been suggested to me. I may well
implement them in future versions, so please feel free to email me,
check my web page or write to me for the latest version number and
information.
Also, please feel free to notify me of any other features you think might be
handy.

    - Implement 'Confirm' and 'Newer' of the Options menu.
    - Directory caching (avoid re-transferring parent directories).
    - Additional error messages. If a fatal error occurs on the Psion
          end, you need to re-load ArcLink`5. Hopefully this will be
          corrected in future versions.
    - Re-design !ArcLink5 icon
    - Support dragging whole directories to copy all the contents.
    - Provide hourglass percentage support so you know how much of a file
      has transferred so far.
    - Add backup and restore functions to transfer the entire contents of
          your Psion 5 devices in one go.

I am also working on file conversion utilities, to enable you to import
Psion application files into equivalent Acorn applications.

Contacting the author
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
!ArcLink5 was written by Paul Vigay, who can be contacted at:

                104 Manners Road,
                Southsea,
                Hants.,
                PO4 0BG
                England

Latest versions and help are available 24hrs a day, 7 days a week from
my BBS: Dial [phone] (ANSI,8N1) and mail the sysop if in trouble.

Also, check out my web page at:
http://www.interalpha.net/customer/pvigay/shareware.html

or via Email:  [e-mail]


©1998 P.Vigay