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Chapter 12.
The Communications Program
Introduction
X-COM is a general data communications software package which
allows one computer to communicate with another via modem. With
data communications becoming a popular field among personal
computer (PC) users, X-COM was designed to offer powerful
functions, yet retain its simplicity, allowing it to operate on
all PC computers and modems. X-DOS is the only operating system
to offer a built-in, full function communications program and you
will not need to use any additional software to carry out all
your data communications operations.
X-COM supports the full Hayes AT Command Set, and can be used
with any Hayes compatible modem, which includes most modems on
the market for PC users today.
X-COM contains a complete range of features, including terminal
emulation to emulate popular terminals, automatic dialing, file
transfer capabilities (send and receive), and the ability to
setup your modem, using the software. X-COM includes a
comprehensive, context sensitive on-line HELP function. The
design principle of X-COM was to make it capable of doing
everything you need it to do, in the simplest possible way. So,
even if you are a beginner to computerized telecommunications,
just using the program will allow you to become very proficient.
If you are not a beginner, you will probably be surprised by the
range of features offered.
Activating X-COM
X-COM can be activated either from the command line at the X-DOS
prompt by entering the command :
X-COM
or from the X-DOS SHELL from the utility menu of the file section
by selecting the COMMUNICATION PROGRAM item. Once X-COM is
activated, it will initialise the necessary communication ports
which make take a few seconds and enter the Terminal mode.
Basic Setup
In order for everything to function correctly with X-COM, it is
crucial that the settings for your modem and X-COM are correct.
To make these settings, first load X-COM.
Call up the X-COM Menu with the F10 key or click with the mouse
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and use the <> arrow key, or use a mouse if you have one, to move
the highlight bar down to the fourth item from the bottom, Basic
Setup, and press <>. Alternatively, rather than moving the
highlight bar, you could type the Quick key for Basic Setup which
is <Alt>B.
You will notice that there is a menu with a highlight bar on the
left of the screen entitled Basic Setup, and a window on the
right entitled Setup. You will use the lefthand Setup window to
make your choices and these choices will then be displayed in the
Setup window. The settings shown in the Basic Setup menu when you
first enter this option are the settings presently being used.
You may have to change some of them, and you may leave others as
they are. The default settings are as detailed below.
COM Port
Take a look at the first item which says COM Port. A COM port is
like a channel selector on your T.V. set. It is used by a device
which uses a serial interface. Modems and mice are common devices
using a serial interface. Without getting into too much detail
the COM port defines where in the computer a given device or add-
on card that uses a serial interface is to be found. Suppose you
have a mouse and a modem installed in your computer, both of
which use a serial interface. When you want X-COM to communicate
with your modem, X-COM may accidentally communicate with your
mouse, since this also uses a serial interface and X-COM cannot
recognize different kinds of devices.
To avoid this problem, different devices have to be assigned to
different ports. For example, you have to tell your software that
your mouse is using COM 1 and your modem is using COM 2. That way
the software will know where to look for a particular device.
This is further complicated by the fact that most modems have a
hardware switch to define the modem as COM 1 or COM 2. To
configure the COM port you must know which ports are used by
which devices in your computer.
If you have a mouse, you must check whether it is using COM 1 or
COM 2. You can check this in the software you use with your mouse
since, to use the mouse with any software, you must have defined
the COM port. If you have assigned the mouse to the COM 1 port
and you then wish to install a modem, you must configure it to
use the COM 2 port.
This may involve setting a dip switch on the modem. If you have
configured your modem to use the COM 2 port you must then tell X-
COM to look for the modem on the COM 2 port. To do this, first
make sure that the highlight bar is over the first item in the
Basic Setup menu, COM Port, and press <>.
In the Enter COM Port menu you can then use the <> and <> arrow
keys, or your mouse to move the highlight bar over your desired
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selection. This way you can select any one of four COM ports.
Thus, to select COM 2, position the highlight bar over COM 2 and
hit <>. As soon as you do this, the Enter COM port menu will
disappear and COM 2 will appear next to the COM Port setting in
the Setup window.
Connection Mode
The next item in the Basic Setup menu is the COnnection Mode. You
can see in the Setup window that the default is shown as Modem.
To see what other choices are available, highlight the COnnection
Mode item in the Basic Setup menu and press <>.
Modem Connection
You can see that you have two choices, Modem Connection and
Direct Connection. If you are going to use your modem to
communicate with other modems, then the default setting of "Modem
Connection" should be retained. This will probably be the choice
in most cases.
Direct Connection
The Direct Connection mode allows you to connect your computer
directly with another computer, using a null-modem cable and no
modem. In most cases this kind of connection will be to a
mainframe computer or another PC. This kind of connection will
allow you to send and receive data directly between two
computers.
To quit the Connection Mode menu without making any changes,
press <Esc> and you will be returned to the Basic Setup menu. In
this case the default setting of Modem in the Setup window will
not be altered. If you do wish to select Direct Connection,
highlight this entry and press <Enter>. Direct Connection will
appear in the Setup window next to the Connection Mode item.
Dial Mode
The next item in the Basic Setup menu is the Dial Mode. Highlight
this entry and press <Enter> to see your choices.
You have two choices, Touch Tone dialing (i.e. digital) and Pulse
dialing. The option you select will depend on the kind of
telephone system installed in your area.
Touch Tone or Pulse Dialing?
To use Touch Tone Dial, the telephone network in your area must
use a newer digital system. If the older pulse system is still
employed, you will have to choose the Pulse Dial option.
Generally speaking, areas that support touch tone dialing also
support pulse dialing, but areas that support pulse dialing do
not necessarily support touch tone dialing. Also note that, even
though you may have a push button telephone, this does not
necessarily mean that your area supports touch tone dialing.
12-3
To check, dial a number on your push button telephone. If a
connection is made immediately after you have finished keying in
the phone number, your telephone network must be digital. If,
after keying in a number, there is a delay and a faint sound of
mechanical clicking over the telephone, then your network must
still be of the pulse dialing variety.
If you are not sure which system you should use, try dialing a
number with both modes and see which way works best. Within X-COM
it is very easy to change any of the settings and any changes
made, can be modified later. If you want to retain the default as
Touch Tone Dial, press <Enter> to return to the Basic Setup menu.
If you wish to select Pulse Dial, highlight this entry and hit
<Enter>. The change will be registered in the Setup window.
Modem Init
Modem init is short for Modem Initialization. Highlight this item
and hit <Enter>.
You are asked to enter a modem initialization string, though you
may have no idea what that is. You may remember that when you
loaded X-COM, a message saying "INTIALIZING MODEM" appeared on
your screen.
That message is related to what you type in this Entry Box. To
initialize means to prepare, or to configure. You may enter some
commands in this window so, whenever you load X-COM, these
commands will be automatically sent to your modem to configure
it. That way you can be sure that, as soon as you have loaded X-
COM, your modem is set up the way you want it and you do not have
to enter the same commands every time you start using X-COM.
As we mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, to send
commands to a modem, you have to use the Hayes Command Set. The
kind of commands you might wish to enter in the initialization
string could be a command to define how many times you want your
modem to ring before it "answers" an incoming call; and/or how
many seconds you want your modem to try ringing a number before
it hangs up; and/or how long your modem should wait for a dial
tone on the telephone line before attempting to dial a number,
etc.
These settings may not mean much to you now, but they will
probably come in very useful when you are more familiar with
telecommunications and wish to expand your capabilities. Note
that whatever setting you enter here can be altered at any time.
If you are familiar with the Hayes Command Set, you can enter a
command, or a string of several commands, in this Entry Box. For
instance, if you wish to configure your modem to automatically
answer an incoming call after two rings, just type in the command
ATS0=2 and press <Enter>. This command will be entered in the
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Setup window. It is perfectly alright to leave this entry blank
if you are not sure what commands to enter. To return to the
Basic Setup menu, press <Esc>.
Default Set
Highlight this item and press <Enter>. Unless you have been
galloping ahead of us and entering data by yourself in the
dialing directory, a message will appear saying there are no
default set. The default set draws data from the Phonebook, but
since you have not yet entered anything in the Phonebook, there
is no default set. In X-COM a Set consists of a name, a telephone
number, and all the relevant communications settings for that
telephone number. If you specify a default Set, this means that
whatever settings you have made in that particular Set, including
bps rate, stop bit, echo, emulation etc., will automatically be
loaded each time you load X-COM. Thus, you can create a Set with
the parameters you use most of the time and then these settings
will be automatically loaded when X-COM is loaded.
This way you will avoid having to reset the parameters of X-COM
each time you use it. This will become much clearer when you have
made some entries in the telephone directory, so further
information about this particular entry is contained in the
section dealing with the configuration of the dialing directory.
For the moment you can just press <Enter> to leave this entry
blank and return to the Basic Setup menu.
Greetings String
Highlight the Greetings String item in the menu and press
<Enter>. The Greetings String is the greeting message that will
appear on the screen of any remote computer which connects to
your computer. For instance, suppose you enter "WELCOME TO X-COM"
in the Greetings String Entry Box. Then, if your friend down the
street connects to your computer by modem, as soon as a
connection is made, the message "WELCOME TO X-COM" will appear on
his screen. Any message up to 28 characters long can be entered
here. Once you have typed in your desired message, press <Enter>
and your message will appear in the Setup window. If you do not
wish to enter any greetings string press <Esc> to return to the
Basic Setup menu.
Host Password
Highlight this entry in the Basic Setup menu and press <Enter>.
The Host Password is the password that is required to be entered
by another user connecting to your computer when your computer is
in the Host mode. Thus, suppose you enter the password COMPUTER.
If someone calls up your computer over a modem, wishing to copy a
file from your computer to his computer, he will first have to
enter the password COMPUTER before he will be granted access to
any data.
If you do not enter a password, then it will not be necessary for
another user, calling up your computer, to enter a password
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before having access to your files. If you do not wish to enter a
password, hit <Esc> to return to the Basic Setup menu. If you
wish to enter a password, type any combination of up to 10
characters and hit <Enter>. The password you have selected will
appear in the Setup window. We suggest you enter a password now,
even if you are not sure what the Host mode is. When you have
read the section detailing the Host mode, you will understand the
purpose of this password.
Saving Settings
The new settings you have made in the Basic Setup menu are
automatically recorded by X-COM when you press <Esc> to exit the
Basic Setup menu. The Basic Setup menu and the Setup window will
disappear and you will be returned to the X-COM Menu. Please
note, that having changed the settings, you may call up the Basic
Setup menu at any time and alter your choices. Whatever settings
you have entered will automatically be loaded when X-COM is
loading, so you will not have to repeat the operations detailed
here until you decide to make changes.
Edit Phonebook
Having finished configuring your system and X-COM with the Basic
Setup functions, you can now go on to making some entries in the
X-COM Phonebook. Let's move one item up in the X-COM Menu to the
item marked Edit Phonebook.
With the Edit Phonebook item highlighted press <Enter> and the
Edit Phonebook menu will appear on the left of your screen and on
the right, a window showing the Current Phonebook Set. The
Phonebook allows you to input more than just a phone number and a
name. Along with each phone number you can also specify all the
important data transmission parameters for each individual number
such as bps rate, number of data bits, emulation, etc.
This means that, in the future when you want to call a number,
you can simply select the name of the person or system you want
to call and X-COM will dial that number. All the communication
parameters related to that particular number will automatically
be loaded as soon as you select the number. Once you have made
your settings, you should never have to change them.
You will notice that when you first call up the Edit Phonebook
function the Current Phonebook Set window has a blank next to the
Name of Set and Telephone entries and that the other settings are
TTY, 1200bps, None, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, Full Duplex, CR. The
Init Sequence entry is also blank. The reason we have filled in
these settings is because, in the vast majority of cases, these
are the settings you can use for normal transmission. If you are
going to use your modem to call into mainframe computers and
certain databases you may need to alter some of these settings.
If you are in doubt as to what settings to use, the default
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settings displayed here are a good place to start. Now, let's
look at each of the settings in more detail.
Phonebook Directory
If you select this item and press <Enter>, the message No set
name available will appear. This is because you have not yet
entered any numbers in your Phonebook, so your Phonebook cannot
be displayed. We will come back to this later.
Modify/Add Set
Highlight this entry and hit <Enter>. An Entry Box will appear,
asking you to Enter Set Name.
A Set consists of a name, a telephone number and all the
communication parameters related to that telephone number. The
list of Set names you enter will be shown in your Phonebook so
the Set name should be such that, when you see it in your
Phonebook, you know what it means. For instance, if you want a
Set in your Phonebook to enable you to call a database called
NewsBBS, you could enter NEWSBBS as the Set name in the Entry
Box. Then, when you see it in your Phonebook you will know what
it is for. A Set name can consist of up to eight alphanumeric
characters.
Remove Set
Skip this item for the present since you have not yet made any
entries. This item is explained at the end of this section since
you cannot use it until you have created some Sets in the
Phonebook.
Telephone
Select this item and enter the telephone number corresponding to
the name you have just given your Set. For instance, in the
example above, if the number for the NewsBBS database was 123-
4567 then this will be the number you should enter.
This number may be up to 26 digits long and can include
international codes, area codes and commas which can be used to
pause dialing operations. Details of why you might want to insert
commas in a telephone number are given in the section entitled
Dialing a Number with X-COM. Note that you may also include
dashes (-) and spaces for the sake of clarity and these will be
skipped over by X-COM when the number is dialed. Having entered
the number press <Enter>.
Emulation
Select this item and press <Enter>. The Emulation window
containing six entries will appear.
What Is Emulation And Why do you Need to Use It?
Transmission of data with computers used to be restricted to
professional engineers, who mainly operated with mainframe and
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mini computers. It is only in recent years, with the advent of
the PC, that this field has become opened up to the public. The
terminals of mainframes and minicomputers use different codes to
perform certain display tasks, with each manufacturer having its
own proprietary display codes.
A PC can therefore not be used to display data from a mainframe,
unless the PC can behave like a terminal designed specifically
for that mainframe. That is where emulation programs come in. An
emulation program enables a PC to "pretend" it is a terminal of a
given computer. Thus, if you select the VT100 emulation, your PC
will emulate a VT100 terminal when it is displaying data. That
allows your PC to communicate with any minicomputer which
supports VT-100 terminals.
In summary, the emulation function does the following two things:
1. It produces the screen display you would expect if you were
using the terminal being emulated.
2. It allows you to use the keyboard commands employed by the
terminal being emulated.
Each kind of emulation offered by X-COM is detailed individually
below:
TTY
This is the most basic emulation program and can be used in most
cases to communicate with other PC's installed with a modem. If
in doubt of which emulation to use, you should always try this
emulation first.
VT-52
The VT52 is a popular terminal produced by Digital Equipment
Corporation (DEC). Thus, this emulation should be used when
communicating with VT52 compatible systems.
VT-100
This is another commonly used terminal, also produced by Digital
Equipment Corporation. It may be necessary to use this emulation
to log into some BBS's (Bulletin Board Systems).
ANSI-BBS
This is a commonly used emulation program by BBS's all over the
world. The X-COM ANSI implementation supports the full range of
ANSI features including support for colors. If you use X-COM to
access a BBS you should normally use this emulation type.
Chat Mode
This emulation enables you to "talk" and exchange messages with
another user on a remote computer. The data received and
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transmitted appears in two different windows, making it easier to
read. The upper window is entitled REMOTE and will contain the
messages being sent from the remote computer. The lower window is
entitled LOCAL and will display the messages that you enter, and
which are sent to the remote computer. Under this emulation, once
you are connected to a remote computer, you can type in a message
on your keyboard and it will appear directly on the monitor of
the computer, with which you are connected. It will also appear
on your monitor as you type it and the remote user may then
likewise type in a message on his keyboard which will appear
directly on your monitor. This allows you to "chat" with a remote
operator using your computer monitors.
Host Mode
The HOST MODE allows a remote user to access files on your
computer, and carry out file transfer operations on those files.
The host mode contains special features, and is explained
separately later in this chapter.
Selecting an Emulation
The above emulation programs will allow you to communicate with
virtually all computer systems. If you are not sure which
emulation to use, check the specifications of the remote
computer. As noted before, for most normal PC telecommunications
the TTY emulation can be used. If you wish to retain the default
TTY setting, press <Esc> to return to the Edit Phonebook menu,
otherwise select a new option and press <Enter>.
Speed
Select the Speed item to specify the bps rate to be used for data
transmission. The speed you select will depend on the
specification of your modem. X-COM offers you settings from 110
bps to 19200 bps. If you have a 1200 bps modem then the default
setting of 1200 should be retained. If you have a 2400 bps modem
you can alter the speed to 2400.
Please note, however, that the speed you select should also
depend on the capabilities of the modem with which you wish to
communicate. Even though you have a 2400 bps modem it is no use
sending data at 2400 bps to a modem which supports a maximum
speed of 1200 bps. If you do, there will certainly be an error in
the transmission of the data. Select the highest bps rate
supported by both your modem and the remote modem. If you are
using a direct connection with a null-modem cable, you should use
19200 bps for maximum speed.
Parity
This will depend on the settings of the remote computer with
which you are communicating. In most cases you can retain the
default value.
Data Bits
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In most cases either seven or eight data bits are used. Again you
are best advised to retain the default value unless you know that
another setting is required by the computer to which you will be
connected.
Stop Bits
Retain the default value of one stop bit unless you are sure that
two stop bits are required. This also depends on the settings of
the computer, to which you will be connected.
Duplex Mode
The duplex mode you choose will depend on the settings of the
remote computer. Select either full or half duplex mode.
CR Translation
This item means Carriage Return Translation. Highlight this item
and hit <Enter>. You will see that you have a choice between
CR/LF (Carriage Return/Line Feed) and CR (Carriage Return). This
setting will also affect the way in which data is displayed on
your screen. Whichever option you choose should be synchronized
with the computer you intend to connect to. If you select CR then
the remote computer should select CR/LF. If you select CR/LF then
the remote computer should select CR.
The reason is, if a remote computer is transmitting data to your
screen and you both have set a CR setting, you will have no Line
Feed. Thus, when data is transmitted and the end of the line is
reached, the next batch of data will be displayed on top of the
first line. This is because there is no Line Feed instruction to
tell the computer that the data should be printed on the next
line.
Similarly, if your computer and the remote computer are both
configured with the CR/LF setting then, upon reaching the end of
a line of data, the remote computer will be instructed to jump
down one line. Your computer will then tell it to jump down one
line again, so the result will be double spaced text appearing on
your screen. Ideally you should check with the remote operator to
ensure you have complementary settings, otherwise you will have
to adjust this setting through trial and error.
Init Sequence
The Initialization sequence in the Edit Phonebook menu is similar
to the initialization string in the Basic Setup menu. The Init
Sequence here is used to set up parameters related to single
phonebook entries. The phonebook initialization sequence can
contain any Hayes commands which will be activated when the Set,
in which they are written, is used to dial a number.
Macro File
Macro Files are used to automate repetitive tasks you find
yourself doing again and again. Connecting to a BBS system is an
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example of a repetitive task. You have to go through the same
procedure every time. Use a Macro file to simplify your logon
procedures. Details of what Macro files are and how to use them
are given later in this chapter.
Notes on Making Phonebook Sets
Try entering a few numbers into your Phonebook. To do this, first
enter the name and then the telephone number using the Edit
Phonebook menu. The name and number you enter will appear in the
Phonebook window. For each Set you enter, check whether you
should alter the communication parameters. When you have
completed a Phonebook Set, it is not necessary to save it as X-
COM automatically stores your Sets as you type them in. To type
in another Set just go back to the Modify/Add Set item and type
in a new name.
Once you have typed in a new Set name, all other entries in the
Phonebook window will return to the default values. As soon as
you enter a Set it is saved. To check that each Set has been
saved in the Phonebook, go back to the first item in the Edit
Phonebook menu, Phonebook Directory. If you call this function up
now, the Phonebook Directory will appear on the left side of the
screen.
The name of each Phonebook Set you have entered will be shown.
Scroll through the set names you have entered and you will see
that the settings shown in the Current Phonebook Set window will
change, according to the settings you have made for each Set
name. If you find you have made an error in a Set, go to the
Modify/Add Set menu and enter the name of the set you wish to
modify. Make the necessary changes, using the Edit Phonebook
menu, and then check the result again using the Phonebook
Directory.
Remove Set
If, after having made some entries in your Phonebook, you decide
that you wish to delete a Set, highlight this option. A list of
Set names will appear on your screen, just as in the Phonebook
Directory option.
Move the highlight bar over the Set you wish to delete and press
<Enter> and that Set will be removed from the Phonebook. To check
that it really has been deleted, go back to the Phonebook
Directory function and check the contents of the Phonebook. You
will see that the Set you have just deleted is no longer there.
Note that the Remove Set function can only be used to remove a
whole Set, not one single parameter within a Set. To change
single items within a given Set, use the Modify/Add Set menu.
Dialing and Making a Connection with X-COM
If you have never used your computer to connect with remote
computers over the telephone line before, you are probably
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unfamiliar with the basic dialing procedures. We give you a short
guide here to the general principles involved in using modems to
dial telephone numbers, and to what you can expect when you make
a connection.
In order to send and receive data successfully, you must do
things in the right order. It does not matter whether you dial a
number with the Phonebook, with the Number to Dial function, or
by using the Hayes Command Set. The basic order of operations
will always be the same.
If you wish to send data you should:
1. Use X-COM to dial the correct telephone number.
2. Wait for a connection, as shown by the result code on your
screen (see later in this section for details on result
codes).
3. Send (upload) the desired data.
4. Disconnect.
If you wish to receive data you should:
1. Use X-COM to dial the correct telephone number.
2. Wait for a connection.
3. Receive (download) the desired data.
4. Disconnect.
Please note that these instructions only give the basic steps
involved. In between each of these steps, you may have to perform
other operations, such as entering a file name, selecting a file
transfer protocol etc. However, the basic order of these main
operations will always apply. Exactly what happens when you
connect to a remote computer will depend on the nature of that
remote computer and the kind of communications software used by
the remote computer. Remember that you must logoff (disconnect)
when you have completed operations, otherwise your modem will
stay online waiting for a command, which could result in a rather
large phone bill!
Result Codes
A Result Code, as its name implies, tells you the result of the
call you have just made. For instance, if you dial a number which
is busy, X-COM will send the result code Line is busy. If there
is no modem, or nobody, to answer the number you called, after a
certain period of time the modem will send the result code No
Carrier Detected. If you dial one of your friends' number to log
onto his computer, your screen will show Communication
established if a connection is made.
12-12
When you use the X-COM dialing facilities, the result codes
issued by X-COM may differ from those specified in your modem
manual because X-COM translates result codes into a special
format. Standard result codes and the X-COM equivalents are given
on the following page:
Standard Result Codes X-COM Equivalents
NO CARRIER No Carrier Detected
CONNECT Communication Established
NO DIALTONE No Dial Tone Detected
BUSY Line is Busy
NO ANSWER No Answer
If you dial with the Hayes commands at the Terminal Screen, and
do not use the X-COM menus, the result codes you see will be in
the standard format.
Using the Phonebook to Dial a Number
In the X-COM menu select the first entry, Phonebook, and press
<Enter>. On the left of the screen is the Dial from Phonebook
menu which contains a list of the Set names you entered when you
configured the Phonebook. Remember that each Set name refers to a
particular telephone number with a matching set of communications
parameters for that number. On the right is the Current Phonebook
Set window.
When you select the Phonebook, the name of the first Set you
entered will be highlighted. The settings shown in the Current
Phonebook Set window will correspond to that of the first Set
name. With the <UP> and <DOWN> arrow keys or with your mouse,
move the highlight bar up and down in the Phonebook. You will see
that, as you highlight each Set, the settings which you defined
for that Set, will appear in the Current Phonebook Set window.
So how do you go about dialing a number? Simple! Highlight the
name of the Set which you wish to dial and press <Enter>. That is
all you have to do. As you can see from the message on your
screen, the number corresponding to the Set which you have
selected is being dialed. If you have entered an Initialization
String in the Set being dialed, X-COM will first prompt you with
a message Initializing Modem before displaying the Modem is
Dialing message. When a Phonebook Set is dialed, X-COM
automatically configures itself according to the settings you
specified for that Set, as shown in the Current Phonebook Set
window. How do you know X-COM has done this?
Just take a look at the Status Line at the bottom of your screen.
You will see that the name of the Set you are dialing has
appeared at the far left, along with all of the other parameters,
including; Emulation, bps rate, number of Data Bits etc. The
items on the Status Line now reflect those of the Set you are
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dialing.
Thus, you can see that once you have entered a Set into the
Phonebook, all you have to do to dial it is call up the Phonebook
menu, select the desired Set name and press <Enter>. X-COM will
do everything else for you!
Automatic Redialing
If X-COM displays the message Line is Busy on your screen, you
will probably want to keep trying until you get through. X-COM
features an automatic dial facility, so you do not actually need
to do anything.
When X-COM encounters a busy line, it will automatically redial
the number five times at 20 second intervals. If you wish to exit
from this redial sequence, press <Esc>. If no connection is made
after dialing five times, the call will be aborted. This feature
works when you dial with the Phonebook and the Number to Dial
function, which is detailed later in this chapter.
If the No Carrier Detected message appears, you will
automatically be returned to the Terminal Mode. If you want to
try the number again you will have to call up the X-COM Menu
again and repeat the dialing operation.
Aborting a Call
If you decide to abort a call while the modem is dialing, press
<Esc>. The Phonebook will immediately disappear from the screen
and you will be returned to the Terminal Screen.
Making Connection
When a connection is made with a remote computer, a result code
will be displayed to show that you are connected (see the
previous section on Result Codes). Then the Phonebook will
disappear from your screen and you will be returned to the
Terminal Mode, i.e. your screen will be blank except for the
Status Line. What happens next will depend on the nature of the
computer, with which you are connected.
Disconnecting
After you have dialed a number and made a connection, the next
step is often to send or receive a file. This is explained in the
next section entitled Sending and Receiving Files. Before you go
to that section, however, we suggest you first learn how to
disconnect your modem, which means terminating the connection. If
you want to abort a connection, press the <F10> function key to
call up the X-COM Menu. Move the highlight bar down over the item
Disconnect and press <Enter>. A window will appear in the center
of your screen with the message Please Wait. Disconnecting Line.
12-14
After a few seconds, you will be returned to the Terminal Screen,
and the line should be disconnected. The <Alt> H key command and
<Alt> D can also be used to disconnect and this can be entered
directly from the Terminal Screen without calling up the X-COM
Menu.
Using the Number to Dial Item
Sometimes you may wish to dial a number that is not in your
Phonebook. Maybe you want to first test a number or maybe it is a
number that you will rarely use, so you do not wish to enter it
into your Phonebook. In this case you should select the second
item in the X-COM Menu, Number to Dial.
You are asked to enter the number, so type in the number from
your keyboard. You may also enter commas in the number to cause a
pause. This is especially useful if you are dialing through a
switchboard, which often needs one digit followed by a delay
before a dial tone is given. For example, suppose you have to
dial "0" to get an outside line, before dialing the actual
telephone number.
When you dial 0 there is a delay of about two seconds before you
get an outside line. So you should enter your number as:
0,[telephone number]
This will result in the modem dialing a zero, and then waiting
for two seconds before dialing the telephone number. If you want
a longer delay, you can enter several commas. Please note that
the length of the delay caused by entering a comma, will depend
on the configuration of your modem. The default Hayes setting is
two seconds but this setting may have been altered on your modem.
The length of the pause can be altered with a Hayes command.
For the sake of clarity you can also include dashes (-) in the
number when you type it in. X-COM ignores the dashes when it
dials the number. If you make an error when typing in the number,
just use the <Backspace> key to delete unwanted digits. Or if you
want to start all over again, press the <F7> function key to
clear the Entry Box. You may also use the <Ins> (Insert) key to
toggle between Insert and Overwrite mode and use the <LEFT> and
<Right> arrow keys to move the cursor within the entry to make
corrections in the middle of a number. Once you are satisfied
that the number you have entered is correct, press <Enter>. The
number you have entered will be dialed. To find out what to do
then look at the next section on sending and receiving Files.
Sending a File
We are now going to assume you wish to send a file entitled
LETTER1.DAT which is a letter you have written with your text
12-15
editor. For the purpose of this example it would be useful if you
wrote a short data file with the X-DOS text editor and call it
LETTER1.DAT. Refer to Chapter 9 in this manual for details on how
to use ED.
Having written a file, you now wish to send this file LETTER1.DAT
to your friend who also has a PC installed with a modem. After
having made a connection, you can send the file.
To send a file, first press the <F10> function key to call up the
X-COM Menu. It doesn't matter whether you are connected to
another modem or not, you can always use the <F10> function key
to call up the X-COM Menu. Calling up the menu will not cause you
to be disconnected or affect the connection in any way. Also,
remember that you can use the <Alt> keys to enter commands
directly rather than calling up the X-COM Menu every time.
Choosing a Send File Protocol
Having called up the X-COM Menu, select the the third item, Send
File. The entries in the Send File Protocols menu may not be
familiar to you at this stage. Basically, the Send File Protocols
menu contains a list of transmission protocols, any of which you
can choose. A transmission protocol is the way in which data is
sent. Data can be sent in one long stream, it can be sent in
blocks of a certain number of bytes at a time, it can be sent and
echoed back to your screen so you can see the data as it is being
transmitted etc. etc.
Each of the transmission protocols listed in the Send File
Protocols menu sends data in a certain way. Whichever protocol
you use, the end result will be the same, i.e. in our present
example, the file LETTER1.DAT will be sent to your friend's
computer. Using a different protocol simply means that the data
is transmitted in a different way. So how do you know which one
to select? A look at the features and advantages and
disadvantages of each protocol are given later in this chapter.
We suggest you skip that for now and accept our word for the
moment that XMODEM would be a good choice.
Select the third item in the File Sending Menu, which is XMODEM.
You are told to Enter File Name to Send. In our present example
we wish to send the file LETTER1.DAT, so type in this name. Then
press <Enter>. Your friend will now have to access the Receive
File menu on his computer and select XMODEM as the receiving
protocol.
This window is entitled XMODEM Transfer Status. It gives you
details of the transmission currently in progress which in our
example is the sending of the file LETTER1.DAT. Each item
displayed in the XMODEM Transfer Status window is detailed below,
going from top to bottom.
Transmission Mode
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Next to this entry Transmit will be displayed, since you are now
transmitting a file not receiving one. When you are receiving,
Receive will be displayed.
File Name
Next to this entry is the name of the file you are presently
transmitting, which in this case is LETTER1.DAT.
Packet number
When XMODEM transmits data, it does so in "packets" of 128 bytes.
That means it divides the data to be sent into packets of data of
128 bytes and sends each packet until all the data has been
transmitted. The packet number tells you which packet is
presently being transmitted. When you first activate the XMODEM
transfer function, this will read "1", since the first packet is
ready to be sent. If you are sending a long file, the number
shown next to Packet Number will count through 1, 2, 3, 4, .....
until all the packets have been transmitted. The number of
packets sent will depend on the total length of the file being
sent. For example, if you send a file 5,120 bytes long, this will
consist of 40 packets (5,120 divided by 128 = number of packets).
Some other communication packages and BBS systems refer to a
packet as a block.
There is of course no need for you to make any calculation, as
XMODEM will do this for you.
Number of Errors
Hopefully this item is blank. Errors refer to errors in the
transmission of data. Errors may occur because of a fault in the
telephone line or modem, or a fault in the file being sent.
However, if an error occurs, this does not necessarily mean that
your transmission has failed.
If XMODEM sends a packet and an error occurs, it will notify you
that one error has occured and it will automatically go back to
the beginning of the packet and try to transmit it again. If the
error was due to some temporary interference on the telephone
line, chances are that the second attempt at transmission will be
successful and XMODEM can then continue to the next packet. If
the error is repeated, XMODEM will keep trying. Each time an
error occurs, it will add one to the number of errors recorded.
If you see that the number of errors is increasing and that the
packet number being sent is not changing, then you will know that
there is a fault in the system or the file, or the line is just
too noisy to transmit data on at your current speed, and you
should abort the transmision by pressing the <Esc> key. XMODEM
will automatically abort the file transfer if it encounters ten
consecutive errors.
Type of XMODEM
Either Checksum or CRC will be displayed next to this item.
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Checksum and CRC are two methods of error correction. X-COM
supports both methods and the correct method will automatically
be selected according to the method used by the remote modem.
Transmission Mode
The message Wait Initialization is shown next to this item at
first. That means that your modem is being initialized prior to
the transmission taking place. While you are sending a file the
message Transmission running should appear. If you were to abort
the transmission of the file by pressing the <Esc> key, the
message User Cancel will be shown. This item tells you the
present status of the transmission.
At the bottom of the window is the message Press any key to
return to menu. So if you suddenly realize that you are sending
the wrong file, or you for some reason want to abort the
transmission, you can press the <Esc> key, and the transmission
will be terminated.
We are presently sending the file LETTER1.DAT. If transmission
goes ahead without any problems, when all the data has been
transmitted, the message at the bottom of the screen will change
to Press any key to return to menu.
To disconnect the line after a successful transmission of a file,
use the Disconnect function in the X-COM Menu or use the <Alt> D
command.
Following is a brief introduction to the windows for each of the
other transmission protocols. We suggest you go back to the X-COM
Menu, select Send File, and then highlight each protocol in turn,
to call up the relevant window. Note that in order to view some
of the transmission protocol screens, you will have to enter a
file name. It does not matter what file name you enter but it
must be a real file, or the error message File Unknown will
appear on your screen. We suggest that, for the purpose of
experiment, you use the LETTER1.DAT file, or any other text file
you have stored in your computer. Note that you do not have to be
connected to another computer to view the protocol screens.
ASCII
Note that when you call up the ASCII Transfer Status window, even
though you are not connected to a remote computer and even though
you may not have connected your modem, the number of bytes shown
will count up in units of 256. How can the file be sent when you
have not even dialed a number? Well of course the file is not
being sent anywhere, but the ASCII transmission portocol still
counts through the file just as if it was sending it. This will
in no way harm the file or your computer.
ASCII ECHO
The ASCII ECHO protocol works in exactly the same way as ASCII,
12-18
except that ASCII ECHO echoes everything it transmits to your
screen too. Thus, when you use ASCII ECHO, no ASCII Transfer
Status window will appear on your screen. Instead the text of the
file you are transmitting will be written onto your screen. Only
when the transmission is completed will the ASCII Transfer Status
Window appear. It is exactly the same as for ASCII, and will show
you the total number of bytes transmitted and the entry Transfer
Status should read Transmission ended OK.
YMODEM
EXPLANATION OF YMODEM TRANSFER STATUS WINDOW
YMODEM Mode There are different versions of the
YMODEM protocol. This entry tells
you which version is
currently being used.
Transmission Mode Same as XMODEM
File Name Same as XMODEM
File Size (Bytes) YMODEM counts the total number of
bytes in a file before transmitting
the file. This entry tells you the
total number of bytes in the file
you wish to transmit.
File Number Only applicable in YMODEM Batch
(see below).
Packet Number Same as XMODEM
Number of Errors Same as XMODEM
Current Status Same as XMODEM
YMODEM BATCH
The file transfer protocol window for YMODEM Batch is the same as
for YMODEM, as the basic transmission specifications are exactly
the same. YMODEM Batch, however, is capable of multiple file
transfers. This means that, when you enter the name of the file
you wish to transmit, you can use wildcard characters such as '?'
and '*'. If you entered *.TXT as the name of file to transmit,
YMODEM Batch will send ALL files in the current directory with
the extension .TXT. YMODEM Batch can also send packets of either
128 bytes or 1024 bytes long.
YMODEM Mode This will read YMODEM Batch, to
tell you that you are using this
mode of YMODEM.
Transmission Mode Same as XMODEM
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File Name Same as XMODEM
File Size (bytes) Same as YMODEM above.
File Number YMODEM Batch is capable of multiple
file transfers and this item tells
you the number of the file
presently being transmitted.
Packet number Same as XMODEM
Number of Errors Same as XMODEM
Current Status Same as XMODEM
KERMIT
EXPLANATION OF KERMIT TRANSFER STATUS WINDOW
Transmission Mode Same as XMODEM
File Name Same as XMODEM
File Size (bytes) KERMIT counts the number of bytes
in a file that is to be sent.
File Type Not yet implemented
File Number Not yet implemented
Compression Not yet implemented
Elapsed Transfer Time Shows the time elapsed since the
start of the current file transfer.
Packet Number Same as XMODEM
Bytes Transferred Shows the number of bytes that have
already been sent.
Current Status Same as XMODEM
COMPUSERVE B
Compuserve is the name of a popular Bulletin Board System in the
United States. The Compuserve B file transfer protocol can only
be used to call up the Compuserve BBS, so you will only use it if
you subscribe to the this BBS.
EXPLANATION OF COMPUSERVE B TRANSFER STATUS WINDOW
Transmission Mode Same as XMODEM
File Name Same as XMODEM
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Packet Number Same as XMODEM
Number of Errors Same as XMODEM
Current status Same as XMODEM
Receiving a File
Having sent your file LETTER.DAT to your friend, you now wish
your friend to send you a file that is stored in his computer.
Let us suppose there is a file called README on your friend's
computer and you wish to be able to receive this file on your own
computer. To receive a file on your computer, you must tell X-COM
what file transfer protocol is going to be used to carry out the
transmission. Also, the protocol you select to receive on must be
the same as the protocol used by your friend to send the file.
The process is almost exactly the same as for sending a file. You
must first call up your friend with the X-COM Phonebook or Number
to Dial item. Or, if you want him to pay for the call, let him
call you. When you are connected, as shown by the Communication
Established result code on your screen, call up the X-COM Menu
and select the Receive File item.
You will notice that the Receive File Protocols menu is almost
exactly the same as the Send File Protocols menu, except that the
first entry reads ASCII Receive instead of just ASCII. Let us
suppose you have agreed with your friend to use the ASCII
protocol to carry out the file transfer. The highlight bar is
already over the ASCII Receive function when the Receive File
Protocol menu first appears, so just press <Enter> to select this
item.
You will be asked to Enter the file name to receive. In our
example you want to receive the file README, so type this into
the space provided. It makes no difference whether you use upper-
or lower-case letters when typing in file names. The file name
you type is the name under which the file will be saved on your
computer and you can choose any legal file name. The file name
does not necessarily have to be the same as the name of the file
on the remote computer. Having typed in the file name, press
<Enter> and the ASCII Transfer Status window will appear on your
screen.
What happens then? Nothing, until your friend sends the file.
Remember, the receive file function only prepares your computer
to receive a file. The actual transmission of the file must be
initiated by the remote user, who must use the send file
procedure. That is why you can select a different filename. When
your friend sends you the README file, if you entered a different
file name, for example MESSAGE, then you will receive the README
file but it will be saved on your computer under the name
12-21
MESSAGE. You cannot use the Receive File function to select any
file on a remote computer and download it to your computer,
unless the remote computer is configured in the host mode.
It is not necessary for us to explain the individual transmission
protocol screens for receiving a file since they are similar to
those for sending a file. Equally, the choice of protocols for
receiving a file will be based on the same factors as the choice
of protocol for sending a file. If you are in doubt as to what
protocol to use, a safe choice would be XMODEM which is probably
the most commonly used protocol for sending and receiving files
with Personal Computers. When you have received a file from
another computer, how do you know your computer has received it?
Where will it be stored on your disk? To find the answer to these
questions, please take a look at the next section, File
Functions.
File Functions
When you are sending and receiving files, you will probably be
using files in different sub-directories. X-COM allows you to
look for files in different sub-directories and even to carry out
a multi-directory file search.
Please note, however, that the file functions provided by X-COM
can only be used on the drive from which X-COM was loaded. That
means that, if you load X-COM from your C: fixed disk drive, you
may only view and change to directories on the C: drive. You
cannot access files on the A: or B: drive.
To access the file functions, call up the X-COM Menu and
highlight the File Functions item.
Current Directory
Current Directory, the first item in the menu, will be
highlighted. Press <Enter> to see what this function does. A
window called Directory will appear. In this window, a list of
all the files in the current directory is displayed. The list may
not fill the window completely, or there may be too many files to
be displayed in the window at one time.
You can use the <UP> and <DOWN> arrow keys to move the highlight
bar down the list (or of course you can use your mouse). When you
reach the bottom of the window keep pressing the <DOWN> arrow
key. Any files not displayed will come into the window one by
one. When you have reached the bottom of the list, your computer
will "beep" if you continue to press the <DOWN> arrow key. You
may then use the <UP> key to scroll back up through the list of
files and, again, when you reach the top your computer will
"beep". Thus, this function allows you to view a list of all the
files contained in the present directory. To quit the Directory
list and return to the Files/Dir Functions menu, press <Esc>.
12-22
Change Directory
The next function allows you change to another directory from
that which you are presently in. Remember that you cannot change
to another drive but only to another directory. Highlight this
function and press <Enter>. You are asked to enter the name of
the directory you wish to change to. Suppose you loaded X-COM
from a sub-directory named COMM and you now want to view files in
the subdirectory DATAFILE, which is a subdirectory of COMM. In
this case enter DATAFILE and press <Enter>. Note that it is not
necessary to write the letter of the drive, since the action will
automatically be carried out on the drive, from which X-COM was
loaded. Thus, if you loaded X-COM from a floppy disk in the A:
drive, then X-COM will look for the sub-directory DATAFILE on the
A: drive; if you loaded X-COM from your fixed disk drive, C:,
then X-COM will look for the sub-directory on the C: drive.
When you change directories, it is also possible to go to the
sub-directory of a sub-directory. When you are asked to enter a
new directory, you could enter a command such as
\BUSINESS\LETTERS, which would change the default directory to
the LETTERS sub-directory of the BUSINESS sub-directory.
Find File
Sometimes you may forget in which sub-directory a file is stored,
and indeed whether the file is stored on your disk drive at all.
In this case the Find File function provided by X-COM can be
extremely useful. Suppose you want to send a file called
LETTER1.DAT using X-COM, but you have forgotten in which sub-
directory this file is stored and you are not really sure if you
called it LETTER1.DAT or LETTER.DAT. Select the Find File item in
the Files/Dir Functions menu. You are asked to enter a file name
so type in *.DAT and press <Enter>. A window will appear saying
Please wait. Searching file(s). X-COM will now find all files
matching the filespec *.DAT. How long you have to wait will
depend on the capacity of your disk drive, but it should be no
more than a few seconds.
When completed the display will list all files matching the
filespec you entered. Also, you will be able to see that the file
should be LETTER1.DAT if no file called LETTER.DAT is found.
Again please note that the file search is only carried out on the
drive from which X-COM was loaded.
View/Edit File
This item can be selected when you wish to edit an existing text
file with the text editor included with X-DOS. You may also
create new text files with the X-DOS text editor. To call up the
X-DOS text editor, select the View/edit file item in the
Files/Dir Functions menu. Full details of how to use the text
editor look at the chapter on ED in the X-DOS manual.
12-23
Capture
The Capture function allows you to "capture" everything displayed
on your Terminal Screen and store it on your disk drive under any
file name you may choose for it. You can also capture files
directly to your printer. Suppose you have called up a database
and you want to see a directory of files currently stored in that
database. Not only do you want to see the directory of files on
your screen but you also want to be able to store that directory
for reference in the future. In this case you would use the
Capture function to ensure that the information sent to your
computer by the database is stored on your disk drive.
When you decide you want to store the incoming information, call
up the X-COM Menu and select the Capture menu.
You have two options, Begin Capture and End Capture. Of course,
you must first select Begin Capture. Select this item and you
will be asked for a Capture File Name. This file name will be the
file name under which the captured data will be stored on your
disk drive. Enter any file name of eight letters with a three
letter extension if desired, and press <Enter>.
Notice that the entry to the right of the box marked CD (or NCD)
on the Status Line at the bottom of your screen, now shows CA
(Capture), to indicate that a Capture is in progress. When all
the data you wish to capture has been sent to your computer, call
up the Capture function again and select the End Capture option
to finish the operation. The CA in the Status Line will go back
to blank. You can now use the X-COM File Function to check that
the file you just captured was saved to your disk drive under the
filename you gave it. You can then use the editor to view the
contents of the captured file at any time.
Capturing to your Printer
If you want captured data to be sent directly to your printer
instead of stored on your disk drive, the operation for capturing
the file is the same. Select the Begin Capture function in the
Capture menu. Then, when you are asked to enter the Capture file
name, type:
PRN <Enter>
The captured data will be sent directly to your printer. When you
wish to end the Capture function, select the End Capture option
in the Capture menu, just as with capturing a file to disk.
Gateway to DOS
This function allows you to jump between X-COM and DOS without
actually leaving X-COM. You will often find, when you are using
any program, that you will need to use some of the utilities
provided by DOS. It would be very inconvenient if you had to quit
X-COM to access the DOS functions, and then reload X-COM.
12-24
The Gateway to DOS function allows you to jump to DOS, do
whatever you want to do, and then jump straight back to X-COM,
even when you are online with a remote system. To use this
function, select the Gateway to DOS item in the X-COM Menu. The
X-COM screen will be cleared, and you will be returned to DOS.
Once in DOS you can perform any DOS function such as making a
directory, checking what files you have on any of your disk
drives, etc etc. You can even run another application program if
you have enough memory.
When you want to return to X-COM type EXIT <Enter> at the the DOS
prompt and you will be returned to the Terminal Screen of X-COM,
just as if you had never left it.
An Introduction to Macro Files
A Macro File is a file which "remembers" a given sequence of
actions and can repeat them automatically. If that sounds
complicated, let's start with an example to give you a clearer
picture.
Suppose you have a Set in your Phonebook called NEWSBBS, which
you want to use to call a BBS (Bulletin Board System) by that
name. Suppose you have named the Macro file for the NEWSBBS Set
NEWSMAC. Now, you want to use this NEWSBBS Set to call the
NewsBBS BBS for the first time.
So you call up the NEWSBBS Set in the Phonebook, and press
<Enter> to cause it to dial. When you log on to the NewsBBS BBS,
you are first asked for your first name, so you type this in.
Then, NewsBBS wants to know your last name, so you type this in.
Finally, NewsBBS wants you to specify a password, and you type
this in. You then perform some other operations which we will
ignore for now. You then hang-up and quit NewsBBS.
Half an hour later you decide you want to call NewsBBS again, so
you select the NEWSBBS Set and dial the number. This time, when
NewsBBS asks for your first name, family name and password, you
can sit back and have a cup of coffee. The Macro file has
remembered what you typed in the first time, and will now
automatically type it in for you without you having to lift a
finger.
That is what Macro files do. They remember something when you do
it the first time around and, when activated, will repeat your
key-strokes EXACTLY as you executed them, including the delay
between each key-stroke. Macro files are especially useful when
you call BBS systems that ask you for your name, password, zip
code, driver's license number, etc. every time you call up. With
Macro files, when you have entered this information one time, you
will never have to type it in again. The macro file will take
over and do it for you every time you call up that particular
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Set.
Macro files are saved on your diskette or fixed diskette with the
file extension MAC. This extension is automatically given to
macro files by X-COM and you do not have to enter it, even when
you are calling up a previously saved Macro file. You cannot edit
macro files directly, they must be saved as detailed below.
Entering a Macro File in the Phonebook
Having explained what macro files are, let's start from the
beginning again and teach you how to use them. You are in the
Edit Phonebook menu and have finished entering all the Settings
for a Set which you have called BBS1. You now come to the last
entry, Macro File. What do you do? With the entry Macro File
highlighted, press <Enter>.
Why is the name BBS1 already in the Name of Macro window when you
have not entered anything yet? When you first call up the Macro
File option, the function will assume you want the name of the
Macro file to be the same as the name of the Set you are editing.
This is a reasonable assumption since, by calling it the same
name, you will know to which Set the Macro file refers. If you
wish to keep the Macro file with the same name as the Set, press
<Enter>. Of course, you may want to give your Macro file a
different name, so you should use the <F7> function key to clear
the default and then type in the name of your choice, followed by
<Enter>. The name of the Macro file will appear in the Current
Phonebook Set window.
Once a name is given to a Macro file in the Phonebook, the Macro
file will automatically record all your key-strokes when you
first use that Phonebook Set. The message MAC will appear in the
Status Line, indicating that a Macro file is recording.
You must end the Macro file or it will continue recording your
key-strokes, even if you have disconnected from the number you
are dialing. To see how to do this, read the section below.
Defining the Length of a Macro File
When you call a BBS, certain operations, such as entering your
name and password, have to be done every time you call that BBS.
These are the operations that you will want included in the Macro
file. But having entered your name and password, you might then
want to select different options in the BBS. You might want to
retrieve a file, you might want to transmit a file, or you might
want to take a look in the mailbox to see if there are any
messages for you. Of course the Macro file cannot read your mind,
so it has no way of knowing which of the above actions you want
to perform, once you have entered the preliminary information.
So, what you want to do is to tell your Macro file to auto-
matically enter your name and password and probably stop there.
12-26
The commands entered after that will be different each time,
depending on what you want to do, unless you check your mailbox
everytime you logon. In this case you would want to include this
operation in your Macro file.
Taking the example of calling up the BBS1 Set we used above, you
want to call the BBS1 Bulletin Board System for the first time
and we will assume that the BBS called by the BBS1 Set always
asks for your name and a password when you log on. Then the BBS
shows you a variety of options to choose from. You want your
Macro file to enter your name and password and then let you take
over manually.
First, call up the BBS1 entry in the Phonebook and press <Enter>
to dial the number. When you log on, the BBS asks for your first
name, so type it in (remember this is the first time you are
calling this number, so the Macro file is recording everything
you type). There is a pause of about five seconds while the BBS
records your name. You are then asked for the password and you
type it in. That is all you want recorded in the Macro file, so
how do you stop recording your entries? Easy enough. Press the
<F10> function key to call up the X-COM Menu onto your screen and
select the Macros item, or if you are becoming familiar with the
<Alt> keys in X-COM, you could use the <Alt> M command.
Select the item End Macro and press <Enter>. That is it! You have
told the Macro file to finish recording after you have typed in
your name and password, so any further key-strokes you make will
not be recorded in the Macro file. Press <Esc> to remove the X-
COM Menu from the screen and you may then go ahead and do
whatever you want to do in the BBS1 database.
The next time you call BBS1, the Macro file will automatically
enter your name and password and you can then take over and
choose any of the options available. In our example above we
mentioned that, when you call BBS1, there is a five second pause
between entering your password and your name. Won't the Macro
file type in information too quickly? Don't worry! Macro files
not only remember the keys you type, they are also good
timekeepers. Macro files actually remember the amount of time
between key-strokes and will EXACTLY duplicate all entries
including the time it takes to make them. If, when you entered
your name, you made a typing error and used the <Backspace> key
to delete a character, the Macro file will also repeat this
operation. ANYTHING and EVERYTHING you type on the keyboard will
be EXACTLY duplicated.
Changing and Deleting Macro Files
Suppose you have recorded a Macro file in a Phonebook Set and you
then want to change it. Actually, you cannot change it. You will
have to delete it and record the Macro file again. So remember -
you cannot edit a Macro file. Once you have saved it, you will
have to either stick with it or get rid of it and record a new
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one. To delete a Macro file, you work directly from the Macros
entry in the X-COM Menu.
Let us use our BBS1 example above. If you remember, the BBS you
call with the BBS1 Set in your Phonebook requires that you enter
your name and password. For some reason your password has
changed, so of course you cannot use the old Macro file. To
delete the old Macro file, you must know the filename. If you
cannot remember the Macro filename, just go to the BBS1 Set in
the Phonebook, and it will be displayed. In our example the name
of the BBS1 Set Macro file is BBS1. Call up the X-COM Menu with
the <F10> function key and select the Macros item. The Macros
menu will appear on your screen
Highlight the item Delete Macro and press <Enter>. In the window
that appears, type in the name of the Macro file that you wish to
delete, in our example, BBS1. Then press <Enter> and the Macro
file will be deleted.
Please note, however, that when you delete a Macro file, the
entry in the phonebook Set is NOT deleted. Thus, if you delete
the BBS1 Macro file and then go to the Phonebook and call up the
BBS1 Set, you will see that there is still an entry entitled BBS1
next to the Macro File entry. That means, that if you now want to
save a new Macro file with the same name for the BBS1 Set in your
Phonebook, you do not need to do anything except dial the BBS1
number with the Phonebook. When you are connected, you will then
enter your name and the new password and this will be recorded in
the new Macro file. When everything you want recorded in the
Macro file has been recorded, you then call up the Macros item
from the X-COM Menu and select End Macro.
Aborting a Macro File
If you have called up a number with an attached Macro file from
the Phonebook and you wish to cancel the automatic entry of data
by the Macro file, this is easily done. Simply press any key on
your keyboard and the Macro file will be aborted, allowing you to
enter data manually from the keyboard.
For example, suppose there is a BBS you often call and always
enter your name, password and the command "S" to enter the Send
File menu. Normally when you call this number, the Macro file
will automatically enter your name, password, and then enter the
letter "S" to enter the Send File menu. But this time you want to
go to the Receive File menu, not the Send File menu. So, just
call the number as usual from the Phonebook, let the Macro file
enter your name, and password and then press any key on your
keyboard. The Macro will be discontinued and REP will disappear
from the Status Line. You can then manually enter the "R" command
to go to the Receive File menu, overriding the Macro file which
is programmed to select the Send File menu. This is why you
should allow a small amount of time to elapse between entries you
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make while recording a Macro, allowing you time to abort the
Macro, if you should wish to.
Disabling a Macro File
Does every Set in my Phonebook have to have a Macro file? No,
they do not. If you have a Set in your Phonebook to call your
friend in the chat mode, to exchange messages and talk about the
weather, obviously you do not need a Macro file since what you
are going to enter will be different every time. In this case
just leave a blank next to the Macro File entry. If there is no
filename in the Macro File entry, there is no Macro file that can
be called, so all operations will be manual. Any more questions?
Yes. If I have entered a Macro file name, can I temporarily
disable it without deleting the Macro file, and then maybe enable
it again in the future? Yes, you can. To disable a Macro file,
select the Macro File entry in the Phonebook. The Macro File Name
window will appear with the name of the Macro file in it. Use the
<F7> function key to clear the filename in the window and press
<Enter>. The entry next to the Macro File in the Phonebook window
will be blank, which means that the Macro file is disabled and
will not go into operation when you dial the number. Note, that
only the entry, not the file, has been deleted. So if, in the
future, you want to re-enable the Macro file, just type in the
same name of the Macro file in the Phonebook and it will be re-
enabled. Remember, if there is no entry next to the Macro File
entry in the Current Phonebook Set window, no macro file will be
activated.
Advanced Macro Usage
With a little imagination, Macro files can be used to automate
key-stroke operations in a very flexible way. They can also be
used to memorize a string of entries which can then be replayed
to remind you, or help you learn a series of operations. They can
also be used to memorize Hayes commands and even messages you
want to write to yourself.
As a basic illustration of this, press the <F10> function key and
select the Macros item. We will assume you wish to call a
Bulleting Board System called BBS1 and that when you are
connected to BBS1, you have to type in your name and password.
This must be done every time you call up BBS1 to gain entry. Once
you have done that, you have a choice of three operations. You
can either send a file, receive a file, or look in the mailbox.
To select the Send File operation you must enter the command "S".
You then have to enter the name of the file you wish to send, and
tell BBS1 what protocol you want to use to send the file. To
choose the Receive function you must type "R", enter the
filename, and then give the protocol. To select the Mailbox
function, you must type the "M" command, enter your full name,
and then enter "Y" (yes) or "N" (no) as to whether you want to
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retrieve the mail to your system ( i.e. have the mail files
transmitted to your computer). You are now going to learn how to
use Macro files to automate individual operations as far as
possible.
For the sake of this example, we are going to assume that you
have to transmit a file called REPORT.NEW to the DATABASE BBS
every week and receive a file called JOBLIST.NEW, also every
week. We also assume that you always want mail files sent to your
system. To automate all these processes, you must first make four
Macro files.
The first Macro file you should make is the one to be stored in
the Phonebook, to enter your name and password, since this must
be done every time. You do this by following the instructions in
the section entitled Defining The Length of a Macro File. Having
done this, you know that every time you call BBS1 the Macro file
will automatically enter your name and password.
You then have three possibilities, send, receive or look in the
mailbox. Thus, you should make three more Macro files, one to
send, one to receive, and one to enter the mailbox function.
Let's look at send first. In the send Macro file you want to be
able to enter "S" to select that option, type in REPORT.NEW since
that is the name of the file you have to send every time, and
type XMODEM since that is the protocol you wish to use. So, once
you are connected to the BBS1 and the Phonebook Macro file has
entered your name and password, select the Macros menu, and in
the Macros menu, select Begin Macro.
Enter a suitable filename, such as SENDDATA, and press <Enter>.
The menu will disappear from the screen, and you will be back
with BBS1. Now, everything you type will be recorded in the
SENDDATA Macro file. Type "S", to enter the send file function;
type REPORT.NEW, since this is the name of the file you want to
send every time and then type XMODEM, since this is the protocol
you want to use every time. Select the Macros menu and select End
Macro. You have now made a Macro file called SENDDATA which will
automatically enter "S", REPORT.NEW and XMODEM.
Do the same for receive: select Begin Macro, type in a filename
(RECDATA, for example); then type in "R", JOBLIST.NEW, XMODEM and
then highlight End Macro in the Macros menu.
Repeat the operation for the mailbox: Begin Macro, filename
(DATAMAIL for example), "M", JOHN DOE, "Y".
Once you have recorded these three Macros in this way, it is easy
to use them. Use your BBS1 Phonebook Set to call up BBS1. The
Phonebook Macro will enter your name and password. Then, suppose
you want to transmit a file, select the Macros menu. Highlight
the entry Replay Macro and press <Enter>. You will be asked to
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enter the name of the macro file you wish to replay.
Enter the relevant Macro file name, in this case SENDDATA, and
press <Enter>. The SENDDATA Macro file will run, automatically
typing in "S", REPORT.NEW, and XMODEM. Remember that Macro files
remember the timing between commands, so the commands will be
entered exactly as you entered them when you recorded the Macro
file. If you had wanted to receive a file, you would have
replayed the RECDATA file, and to look at your mail, you would
have replayed the DATAMAIL file.
This simple example illustrates what can be done with Macro
files. You can use them to record any sequence of characters you
type in from the keyboard. And you can then replay that sequence
at any time. Even if you have a macro file attached to a
particular Phonebook Set, you can replay that macro file at any
time with the replay item. you do not have to use that Phonebook
Set to be able to use it.
Using Macro Files with Hayes Commands
If you are familiar with the use of Hayes commands, Macro files
can also be very useful in recording Sets of commands which can
be used to configure a modem in a certain way. First, select
Begin Macro in the Macros menu, and enter a file name.
Then, type the Hayes commands, which will appear on the Terminal
Screen. For example:
ATS0=3 <Enter>
ATE0 <Enter>
ATV0 <Enter>
ATD 4123333 <Enter>
Finally, select End Macro in the Macros menu. The Hayes commands
will be stored in the Macro and any time you want to send these
commands to your modem, call up the Macros menu, select Replay
Macro, and enter the relevant file name.
Using Macro Files as Tutorials
If you want to record any sequence of key-strokes so you can
replay them later as a reminder of the correct sequence or as a
tutorial, you can make a Macro file to record the sequence of
key-strokes. Then, when you want to review this sequence, just
use the Replay Macro function to "play back" what you recorded in
the Macro file. You can use this feature to help you remember
what you did the first time around, or to record a complicated
series of keyboard entries. Just start a Macro file, give it a
name, key-in the text and/or commands, and end the Macro file.
Then use the Replay function to review what you have recorded.
Limitations of Macros
When making Macro files, there are two main points to consider:
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1. The maximum number of characters that can be recorded in any
Macro file is 2,000.
2. Macro files do not store menus or selections within menus.
They can only store characters typed from your keyboard. Thus,
you could not record the sequence of calling up the X-COM
menu, selecting Edit Phonebook and then making entries in the
Edit Phonebook menu.
The Host Mode
X-COM provides a Host Mode facility, allowing your computer to
act as a host for another computer. When your computer is in the
Host mode, a remote computer can connect with your computer
either by modem or a direct connection, and perform certain DOS
operations on your computer. The remote user can change directory
(CD), look in the current directory (DIR) and type any text file
(TYPE) stored on your computer. The Host mode also allows a
remote user to Send (UPLOAD) and Receive (DOWNLOAD) files,
without you having to be anywhere near your computer at the time.
In fact, when in the Host mode, your computer behaves like a mini
BBS and remote users can call your computer and have access to
data. X-COM provides password protection to ensure that only
users to whom you have given this password can connect to your
computer, thus protecting your data from uninvited "visitors". If
you use the Host mode with a direct connection, a password is
probably not necessary, but we highly recommend that you specify
a password when using the Host mode with a modem for your own
security.
Setting up the Host Mode
There are certain things you have to do to set up Host mode
correctly in X-COM. The best way to do this is to create a
Phonebook set (which you could call HOST) with all the correct
parameters. Then, whenever you want to set your computer in the
Host mode, you can just go to the phonebook and select the HOST
Set. The settings to use for the Phonebook Set named HOST are
detailed in the section below, Making a Host Set in the
Phonebook. There is one more thing you must do to let a remote
computer connect to your system. After setting X-COM in the Host
mode, call up the X-COM menu and highlight the Auto Answer item.
This enables your modem to automatically answer an incoming call
and activate the Host mode. It is not nescessary to set X-COM in
the Auto Answer mode when using a direct connection.
Creating a Host Phonebook Set
Call up the Edit Phonebook menu from the X-COM Menu. Then, within
the Edit Phonebook menu, carry out the following steps:
1. Call up the the Modify/Add Set entry box and type in a name
for your Host mode Set. We suggest you call it HOST.
2. Go to the Emulation menu and select the HOST emulation.
3. Go to the Speed menu and select the speed, at which you want
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your Host mode to operate. With a modem connection, the speed
you select will depend on the capabilities of both your modem
and that of your expected callers. If you expect someone with
a 1200 bps modem to connect to your modem, you cannot specify
a speed of 2400 bps. If you are using a direct connection you
will probably want to select a speed of 9600 bps to allow the
fastest communication between the two direct linked computers.
4. Go to the Parity menu and select NONE if this is not already
selected.
5. Go to the Data Bits menu and select 8-bit Data if this is not
already selected.
6. Go to the Stop Bit(s) menu and select 1 stop bit if this is
not already selected.
7. Go to the Duplex Mode menu and select Full Duplex if this is
not already selected.
The other items in the Edit Phonebook menu need not be specified.
Exit the Edit Phonebook menu. If you did not set a Host password
in the Basic Settings menu as explained in earlier in this
chapter, call up the Basic Setup menu to enter the password now.
Specify any password up to 10 characters long. You could also
type in a Greetings String if you have not already done so, as
the Greetings String will appear on the screen of all remote
users when they connect to your computer. If you need to change
Connection Mode, you should do this in the Basic Setup menu too.
You are now ready to set X-COM in Host mode. Call up the
Phonebook and select the Set you specified to be the Host Set.
Then select the Auto Answer menu if you want to use Host with a
modem connection. Now the rest is up to the user hooking up to
your computer.
Connecting to the Host Mode
If a remote user connects to your computer when it is in the Host
mode, there are certain things he will have to do to gain access.
The communication parameters of the remote user must be the same
as those you have set. These parameters are Speed, Parity, Data
Bits, Stop Bit(s) and Duplex Mode, which you set in your HOST
Phonebook Set. The remote user should also set the CR Translation
to CR/LF and preferably use the TTY terminal emulation.
With all of these parameters set up correctly, a remote user
should have no trouble in connecting with your computer. If you
find that callers cannot connect with your computer when you are
in the Host mode, this is probably due to a conflict in settings
between your system and that of the remote user. In this case you
should ask the remote user to setup his system in accordance with
the parameters you have in your HOST Phonebook Set.
In the direct connection mode you can connect yourself to X-COM
from any other PC when it is in Host mode. You will need a null-
modem cable in this case. You will also have to run a
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communications package such as X-COM on the other PC.
If someone connects to your computer, when it is configured in
the Host mode, the remote user should receive a message on his
screen telling him that a connection has been made and your
computer (the Host computer) will send the Greetings String (if
one is specified in your Basic Setup window) to the screen of the
remote computer. The remote user must then press <Enter> or
<Ctrl> C to cause the HOST prompt to appear on his (the remote)
monitor.
From here on the procedure is the same for both a direct
connection and a modem connection.
When the HOST prompt is displayed, the remote user must type:
LOGIN [password] <Enter>
where [password] is the optional password you specified in the
Basic Setup menu. Typing the wrong password will cause the Host
computer to display an error message. If no password is specified
in the Basic Setup of the Host computer, pressing the <Enter> key
will log the user on and a list of available options will appear
on the remote monitor. The remote user can use <Ctrl> S to pause
the listing, and pressing any key will continue the scrolling of
the list.
Available Host Commands
The following commands are available to the remote user,
accessing your computer, when you are running the Host mode:
CD [pathname]directory
This command will change the current directory to the one
specified in [pathname]directory. The remote user will only be
able to access directories on the current drive of your Host
computer.
DIR [filename]
This command will cause the contents of the current directory of
the Host computer to be displayed on the remote computer. The
wildcards '*' and '?' can be used in the command syntax to look
for a specific range of files.
DOWNLOAD protocol,filename
The remote user can use this command to Receive a file or a range
of files from the your computer. The KERMIT, XMODEM, YMODEM and
YMODEM BATCH protocols can be used to carry out the transfer.
When the Host computer is ready to send the files to the remote
user, it will prompt him to start the transfer.
HELP
The remote user can type HELP to display the help message from
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the your computer on his screen.
LOGOFF
This command will terminate the remote user's session with your
computer.
TYPE filename
This command allows a remote user to display the contents of any
text file stored on your computer on his screen. Use the <Ctrl> S
key to pause the scrolling.
UPLOAD protocol,filename
With this command a remote user can send a file or range of files
from his computer to your computer. He can choose between the
KERMIT, XMODEM, YMODEM and YMODEM Batch protocols to carry out
the transfer. When your computer is ready to receive files from
the remote user, it will prompt the remote user to start the
transfer from his computer.
We have explained the Host mode as if a remote user was calling
your computer when it is configured in the Host mode. Of course,
you may also call remote users who have configured their
computers in the Host mode. In that case, you can use the
commands detailed above to access data stored on the remote
computer (if the remote Host uses X-COM). If you are using a
direct connection, you can set the computer you are connected to,
in the Host mode, giving you easy access to the data stored on
that computer.
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