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A P C P : 3 8
Automated PC-Pursuit Version 3.8
June 6, 1988
THOM LITTLE ASSOCIATES
P.O. Box 1901
Boston, MA 02205-1901
(617) 438-0396
APCP:38 06-06-88
INTRODUCTION:
Welcome to the possible world of PC-Pursuit automation under
PROCOMM PLUS.
This collection of command files provides a system of menus for
accessing Telenet's PC-Pursuit. The command files presented here
are written in ASPECT and requires PROCOMM PLUS. These command
files will not operate under PROCOMM 2.4.2.
INSTALLATION:
To use these command files you need to perform the following
four steps.
o Un-ARC the distribution files;
o Establish one or more entries in your dialing directory;
o Specify your Telenet account number and password; and
o Customize the remote city menus.
In detail these steps are:
(1) The first step is to use PKXARC to un-ARC the distribution
files into the appropriate directory on your disk. The
appropriate directory is one of many possible directories.
As an example, on my system I specify the following in my
AUTOEXEC.BAT file:
SET PCPLUS=C:\COM\PCP
In addition, I start PROCOMM PLUS by specifying the following in
my AUTOEXEC.BAT file:
CD \COM\CUR
\COM\PCP\PCPLUS /FPCPLUS
So in my case PROCOMM PLUS will search directories in the
following order when looking for the other command files in the
collection:
C:\COM\CUR
C:\COM\PCP
C:\
I have all of the command files installed in C:\COM\PCP. This
allows me to put modified copies of each in C:\COM\CUR for
testing. When I'm satisfied with the new version I simply
replace the original version in C:\COM\PCP and delete the copy
out of C:\COM\CUR.
APCP:38 06-06-88
(2) The second step is to establish one or more entries in your
dialing directory of the form:
NAME NUMBER BAUD P D S D SCRIPT
141 PC-Pursuit - Slow xxx-xxxx 300 N-8-1 F #0303
142 PC-Pursuit - Medium yyy-yyyy 1200 N-8-1 F #1212
143 PC-Pursuit - Faster zzz-zzzz 2400 N-8-1 F #2412
144 PC-Pursuit - Fastest zzz-zzzz 2400 N-8-1 F #2424
Where:
xxx-xxxx is your local Telenet access number for 300 baud
yyy-yyyy is your local Telenet access number for 1200 baud
zzz-zzzz is your local Telenet access number for 2400 baud
(3) The third step is to specify your Telenet Account Number and
Telenet Password. Using your favorite editor or word processor
edit the following command files:
#0303.ASP
#1212.ASP
#2412.ASP
#2424.ASP
#NODE.ASP
The Telenet Account Number and Telenet Password are clearly
identified in the command files. You need to:
o Replace "xxxxnnnn" with your Telenet Account Number, and
o Replace "nnnnxxxx" with your Telenet Password.
PROTECT THESE COMMAND FILES AND NEVER MAKE THEM AVAILABLE TO
ANYONE. Give my command files to everyone but in the form I gave
them to you. Otherwise you may end up financing the processing
of some strangers.
(4) The fourth step is to customize the remote city menus for
your own use. Using your favorite editor or word processor
modify the names and telephone numbers of Electronic Bulletin
Board Systems (EBBS) in the remote city menus. If a new city is
added to PC-Pursuit you can use the Generic EBBS menu named
"XXXXX.ASP" as a model to create a menu for that new city.
APCP:38 06-06-88
OPERATION:
You are now prepared to invoke APCP by using the PROCOMM PLUS
dialing directory. Using the examples from the INSTALLATION
section:
o <alt-D> <select 141> <enter> establishes a 0300 baud local
connection and invokes the PC-Pursuit main menu #0303.ASP
for subsequent dialing of remote cities at 0300 baud,
o <alt-D> <select 142> <enter> establishes a 1200 baud local
connection and invokes the PC-Pursuit main menu #1212.ASP
for subsequent dialing of remote cities at 1200 baud,
o <alt-D> <select 143> <enter> establishes a 2400 baud local
connection and invokes the PC-Pursuit main menu #2412.ASP
for subsequent dialing of remote cities at 1200 baud, and
o <alt-D> <select 144> <enter> establishes a 2400 baud local
connection and invokes the PC-Pursuit main menu #2424.ASP
for subsequent dialing of remote cities at 2400 baud.
When the main menu appears, you can specify as many cities as you
desire as an example "tja" would dial Atlanta and if busy then
dial Houston and if busy then dial Phoenix. Note that the
dialing was in the order "ajt" even though you issues "tja".
If the "*" option is anywhere in your request you will be placed
in "Telenet Direct Node Connect" mode. You will be presented
with a list of Telenet direct connection nodes and any other
request on the select line will be ignored. The Telenet direct
connection nodes have been established by a number of firms to
allow access without having to first connect to a city node. As
an example a request of "EXECPC" will connect directly to the
EXEC-PC EBBS in Milwaukee without the need to first connect to
"WIMIL" city node. I have only verified the operation of some of
the direct connection nodes (those for which I have an account).
Once a remote city or "Telenet Direct Node Connect" is established a
menu for that city (or "Telenet Direct Node Connect") will appear.
Again choose the possible connections from the list and they will
be dialed in ascending order. When a connection is finally made,
PROCOMM PLUS will no longer be executing an ASPECT menu command
file and you'll be on your own.
Notice that entry 143 in the example establishes a 2400 baud
connection to your local Telenet node and then dials all of the
remote nodes using 1200 baud. This will provide you with the
maximum file transfer speed at 1200 baud. You can almost achieve
a non-packet switch speed at 1200 baud. The negative effect of
this technique is that text that you type will appear a little
"choppy".
It has been reported that if you prefer to use ZMODEM that this
technique for file transfers is not available. If using ZMODEM
you must use the same baud rate at both the local and remote
connection (as provided by "#0303.ASP", "#1212.ASP", or
APCP:38 06-06-88
"#2424.ASP"). So, if you have a 2400 baud modem and a local 2400
baud telephone number for Telenet then you have a choice:
o Use an entry like 142 in the example for slower file
transfers and smoother typing, or
o Use an entry like 143 in the example for faster file
transfers and "choppier" typing.
(I personally prefer the entry like 143 and find the slight
"choppiness" to be almost unnoticeable.)
There's one aspect of this procedure that's a little strange.
Each time a connection is made, a log file is opened with a name
which is the local telephone number. This allows you to trace
all activity. More importantly, this is the mechanism by which
the macros recognize that a connection has been made in the past.
It's needed for the circular dial mechanism to work.
Now here's the quirk ... you call once are connected do your
processing and log off. The next day you try the same number and
the macros do not work! That's because you must MANUALLY delete
the log for that number from the previous connection. The
command "ERASE *." will delete all files in a directory with no
extension (make sure you don't confuse it with "ERASE *.*" which
deletes ALL the files in a directory).
You should also be aware that these log files are being created
in the DEFAULT directory. On my system this is C:\COM\CUR.
(The way I have PROCOMM PLUS configured for my own use that the
default directory C:\COM\CUR is:
o The default directory for downloads,
o The default directory for uploads,
o The directory that has all APCP log files, and
o The directory that has the APCP.STR control file.)
(I find this arrangement very convenient as I now have one
directory that is the central focus for all currently active
communications files. File maintenance with an arrangement like
this is quite straight forward and is easily augmented with a
couple of simple batch files. And, when I issue an "erase
\com\cur\*." command it removes all of the APCP logs and the APCP
control file.)
In order to retain the information on your request, the main city
menus ("#0303.ASP", "#1212.ASP", "#2412.ASP", and "#2424.ASP") create
a file called "APCP.STR". This is a very short file that
contains the main city menu name ("#0303", "#1212", "#2412" or
"#2424") and the remote city code (of the form "SSCCC" where SS is
the state and CCC is the city).
You should also be aware that the "APCP.STR" file is created in
APCP:38 06-06-88
the DEFAULT directory. On my system this is C:\COM\CUR.
The current implementation only allows 42 remote EBBS entries in
each remote city menu. There is no reason why there couldn't be
a large number of these menus for each city with an intermediate
selector menu to get from one to the other.
For those of you who wish to save disk space, you can delete the
menus that you don't need. If you only run in 1200 baud then you
can delete "#0303.ASP", "#2412.ASP" and "#2424.ASP". In addition,
you can delete any remote city menu that you never contact. If
as an example you never call Tampa then you can delete
"FLTAM.ASP". You can of course delete "READ.ME" and "APCP.DOC"
after reading them. You can not delete "#####.ASP" or
"APCP.STR" however.
RE-SELECT MENU OPERATION:
APCP contains a re-select menu which is named "#####.ASP". This
menu provides a number of functions that are outlined in this
section.
With PCPLUSTD 1.1 the ASPECT file select menu has been included
by DataStorm. The use of the APCP re-select menu is greatly
simplified as a result. The name #####.ASP is the first name in
the list presented by PCPLUSTD. You can therefore execute it by
using:
<alt-F5> <enter> <enter> 1.1
If you are using PCPLUS 1.0 or PCPLUSTD 1.0 the ASPECT file
select menu option is not provided by DataStorm. You therefore
must execute the APCP re-select menu by using:
<alt-F5> ##### <enter>
If the very first thing you do with this package is to
execute "#####.ASP" it WILL NOT WORK and you will receive an error
message. You must enter the APCP package through the dialing
directory and use "#####.ASP" to re-select.
To select a new city call the APCP re-select menu and request "C"
for "New CITY". This will return you to the appropriate main
selection menu (either "#0303.ASP", "#1212.ASP", "#2412.ASP", or
"#2424.ASP") of PC-Pursuit city codes. This is:
<alt-F5> ##### <enter> "C" <enter>
<alt-F5> <enter> <enter> "C" <enter> 1.1
When the main menu appears select the new PC-Pursuit cities as
you did the first time.
To delete the log files created by APCP call the APCP re-select
menu and request "L" for "Delete LOGS". This will issue an
"ERASE *." command against the current directory and return you
to the "#####.ASP" re-select menu. This is:
APCP:38 06-06-88
<alt-F5> ##### <enter> "L" <enter>
<alt-F5> <enter> <enter> "L" <enter> 1.1
When the APCP re-select menu reappears select another option.
To select another EBBS in the same city (or the "Telenet Direct
Node Connect") menu call the APCP re-select menu and request "E"
for "New EBBS/NODE". This will return you to the current remote
city (or "Telenet Direct Node Connect") menu that you previously
selected of EBBS telephone numbers. This is:
<alt-F5> ##### <enter> "E" <enter>
<alt-F5> <enter> <enter> "E" <enter> 1.1
When the remote city (or "Telenet Direct Node Connect") menu
appears select the new remote EBBS as you did the first time.
When you wish to stop using APCP you can gracefully disconnect
from PC-Pursuit by calling the APCP re-select menu and requesting
"Q" (or any key other than "C" or "E") for "Terminate APCP".
This is:
<alt-F5> ##### <enter> "Q" <enter>
<alt-F5> <enter> <enter> "Q" <enter> 1.1
When the termination message appears you will have disconnected
from Telenet and be back in PROCOMM PLUS.
VARIABLE ASSIGNMENTS:
The collection of PROCOMM command files are consistent in their
use of the PROCOMM string variables. This usage is:
n0 - <unused>
n1 - <unused>
n2 - <unused>
n3 - <unused>
n4 - <unused>
n5 - <unused>
n6 - <unused>
n7 - <unused>
n8 - Menu color attribute text
n9 - Menu color attribute border
s0 - User request
s1 - Work area
s2 - CITY access code
s3 - CITY name
s4 - Remote EBBS or NODE number
s5 - Remote EBBS or NODE name
s6 - Remote EBBS or NODE logon command name
s7 - <unused>
s8 - <unused>
s9 - Flag for "MORE" to dial
APCP:38 06-06-88
DISTRIBUTION FILES:
The files in the archive all contain 06-06-88 as the creation
date and 12:00a as the creation time (some programs (like the DOS
DIR command) print this time as a blank field). The files in the
archive are:
READ.ME Errata on the current distribution
APCP.DOC This documentation file
#####.ASP Main APCP re-selection menu
#0303.ASP 0300 baud local / 0300 baud remote city menu
#1212.ASP 1200 baud local / 1200 baud remote city menu
#2412.ASP 2400 baud local / 1200 baud remote city menu
#2424.ASP 2400 baud local / 2400 baud remote city menu
#NODE.ASP Telenet Direct Connect Node menu
AZPHO.ASP Phoenix, AZ remote EBBS menu
CAGLE.ASP Glendale, CA remote EBBS menu
CALAN.ASP Los Angles, CA remote EBBS menu
CAPAL.ASP Palo Alto, CA remote EBBS menu
CARIV.ASP Riverside, CA remote EBBS menu
CASAC.ASP Sacramento, CA remote EBBS menu
CASAD.ASP San Diego, CA remote EBBS menu
CASAN.ASP Santa Ana, CA remote EBBS menu
CASFA.ASP Sam Francisco, CA remote EBBS menu
CASJO.ASP San Jose, CA remote EBBS menu
CODEN.ASP Denver, CO remote EBBS menu
CTHAR.ASP Hartford, CT remote EBBS menu
DCWAS.ASP Washington, DC remote EBBS menu
FLMIA.ASP Miami, FL remote EBBS menu
FLTAM.ASP Tampa, FL remote EBBS menu
GAATL.ASP Atlanta, GA remote EBBS menu
ILCHI.ASP Chicago, IL remote EBBS menu
MABOS.ASP Boston, MA remote EBBS menu
MIDET.ASP Detroit, MI remote EBBS menu
MNMIN.ASP Minneapolis, MO remote EBBS menu
MOKAN.ASP Kansas City, MO remote EBBS menu
MOSLO.ASP St. Louis, MO remote EBBS menu
NCRTP.ASP Res. Tri. Prk., NC remote EBBS menu
NJNEW.ASP Newark, NJ remote EBBS menu
NYNYO.ASP New York, NY remote EBBS menu
OHCLV.ASP Cleveland, OH remote EBBS menu
ORPOR.ASP Portland, OR remote EBBS menu
PAPHI.ASP Philadelphia, PA remote EBBS menu
TXDAL.ASP Dallas, Tx remote EBBS menu
TXHOU.ASP Houston, TX remote EBBS menu
UTSLC.ASP Salt Lake City, UT remote EBBS menu
WASEA.ASP Seattle, WA remote EBBS menu
WIMIL.ASP Milwaukee, WI remote EBBS menu
XXXXX.ASP Generic remote EBBS menu
APCP:38 06-06-88
HISTORY:
APCP:38 - 06-06-88 - All Telenet processing is now done as N-8-1
instead of E-7-1 in order to improve the packet speed. All major
file names were changed to reduce the number of keystrokes.
Support was added to permit connection to Telenet direct nodes.
The control file name was changed to APCP.STR to allow users to
specify "del *." without removing the control file. The 2400
baud support "#2424.ASP" has been verified as being operational
(not all planned 2400 baud nodes are currently operational). An
option was added to the re-select menu to delete log files from
the current directory. A number of cosmetic changes to messages
and documentation were made in preparation for APCP40.
APCP:37 - 03-18-88 - A bypass for a DataStorm error was installed
in each command file. The error is in the calculation of the
length of the buffer in some user's configurations. The effect
of this bug is that characters are truncated from or appended to
the last command in the buffer. A bypass was installed with a
"return" command (that is never executed) being added as the last
command in each file.
APCP:36 - 03-17-88 - Attempt to bypass the DataStorm bug.
APCP:35 - 03-16-88 - Attempt to bypass the DataStorm bug.
APCP:34 - 03-15-88 - Attempt to bypass the DataStorm bug.
APCP:33 - 03-14-88 - Attempt to bypass the DataStorm bug. The
bad Dallas Remote EBBS file "TXDAL.ASP" was corrected. The minor
problem in the Tampa Remote EBBS file "FLTAM.ASP" was corrected.
APCP:32 - 02-29-88 - Attempt to correct the DataStorm bug. The
2400 baud local with 1200 baud remote option was added. Specific
tests were added for a request to process an "empty" element in
both the remote city and remote EBBS menus. The documentation
file APCP.DOC was added with additional information included.
APCP:31 - 02-24-88 - Attempt to correct the DataStorm bug. The
re-select menu was added. The READ.ME documentation file was
expanded.
APCP:30 - 02-22-88 - The APCP:20 mechanism was revised to use the
newly release PROCOMM PLUS program in place of the previous
PROCOMM Version 2.4.2.
APCP:20 - 01-19-88 - The APCP:10 mechanism was revised coincide
with the changes made to the access codes for PC-Pursuit and to
allow 300, 1200, and 2400 baud support.
APCP:10 - 01-03-87 - The basic APCP mechanism was a repackaging
of the work started by an unknown programmer in the EBBS world an
enhanced greatly by Bob Lake. The menus and messages were
changed in this version as well as the method for initially
invoking the menus.
APCP:38 06-06-88
DISTRIBUTION AND PAYMENT:
I do not request any money for this package. You should feel
free to distribute this package to anyone who desires to use it.
You should feel free to modify your copy of this package for your
own use.
I do request that you do two things for me however:
o Drop me a message if you use this package that just says
that you use APCP, and
o Do not modify APCP and redistribute it as the name
APCPxx is starting to be associated with me and Thom
Little Associates.
If you have suggestions for changes and improvements to APCP
please feel free to contact me.
If you encounter any problems using this package I will be glad
to try to help you solve them. I make no guarantees or
warranties however. Be it known that you use this package at
your own risk. I am not responsible for any problems that you
encounter through the use of this package. I developed it for my
own use and use it every day.
I hope you enjoy the automation.
Thom Little
... by mail:
THOM LITTLE ASSOCIATES
P.O. Box 1901
Boston, MA 02205-1901
(617) 438-0396
... by modem:
CHANNEL ONE
Cambridge,MA
(617) 354-8873
1200/2400 N81 and 9600 Hayes/MNP
Brian Miller (sysop)
... by APCP using PC-Pursuit:
At the CITY menu select "B"
At the BOSTON menu select "A"
Telenet is a trademark of Telenet Communications Corporation
PROCOMM PLUS is a trademark of DataStorm Technologies, Inc.
ASPECT is a trademark of DataStorm Technologies, Inc.