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1990-09-09
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DIALM
A TELEPHONE DIALING PROGRAM
Revision 5.1
Written by
Robert Wilcox
920 N. Washington St
Owosso, MI 48867
DIALM is a telephone dialing program which was written as an exercise in
programming for the Microsoft or compatible mouse. It was later revised so
that the mouse is not required, and phone number file maintenance and the
ability to use multiple phone number files was added. Revision 3.0 added
the use of dialing prefixes. Revision 3.1 corrected a minor bug and 3.2
added a help screen. With revision 4.0 DIALM has the ability to time and
log calls. Revision 4.1 corrected a problem with sorting large dialing
directories.
Revision 5.1 is a completely rewritten version. It retains most of the
features of the earlier versions and has an improved user interface
because of the use of pop-up windows. A better method of displaying
the phone number directory allows for a much faster number search.
DIALM runs on an IBM PC, XT or AT or compatible computer. It requires
a HAYES or HAYES compatible modem on either port COM1 or COM2. The program
will run without a modem, but of course dialing will not be possible.
A mouse is useful but not required.
================
PROGRAM FEATURES
================
DIALING DIRECTORIES
===================
DIALM uses a telephone number directory file stored on disk which is
created and updated from within the program. The directory may contain
up to 200 entries. Each entry contains a name, the number and an address
or other descriptive string. Any number of directory files may be available
on disk and the one to be used can be selected from the command line or
after the program is running.
Directory files may be on any drive or sub-directory. The program will look
for directory files on the default drive and sub-directory unless otherwise
specified (see below). Other drives and sub-directories can be easily
selected.
DIALM 5.1 will use dialing directories created with any previous version
of DIALM version 3.0 or higher.
SELECTING A NUMBER TO DIAL
==========================
A number to be dialed may be selected by clicking on it with the mouse or
by pressing the ENTER key when the desired entry is displayed. Pressing
a letter key will display the entry beginning with that letter. Subsequent
pressings of the same letter will advance to the next entry beginning with
that letter.
Entries may be searched for from the main menu also. A search string is
entered and the name and description fields of each entry are searched
for a match.
A number to be dialed may also be entered from the keyboard.
PREFIXES
========
Ten dialing prefixes (A through J) are stored by the program and are
created by the user. For instance, prefix A might be "1-800", then
the number A-555-1212 would be dialed as 1-800-555-1212.
LOGGING
=======
A log record of calls can be maintained which will show the date, time
and length of calls. The user may type, copy or print this file from
the command line since it is a standard ASCII (text) file. The log
file is called "DIALM.LOG" and is stored in the root directory of the
default drive.
==========================
PROGRAM FEATURES CONTINUED
==========================
ATTACK (DEMON) DIALING
=======================
When a number is dialed which is busy the program will attempt to re-dial it
after a short pause, up to 25 times.
SCREEN BLANKING
===============
You may select to have the screen go blank after 5 minutes of inactivity
while in the main menu or number select menu. When the screen is blank,
pressing any key or mouse button will restore the screen.
CALENDAR
========
A calendar of the present month can be selected from the main menu or from
the logging screen. The month and year can be advanced or backed up by
using the arrow keys or clicking on the arrows with the mouse.
PROGRAM SETUP
=============
The program uses color and sound. These features can be disabled.
The selection of either pulse or tone dialing also may be made and screen
blanking can be selected. The modem initialization string can also be
entered if needed.
Program configuration information is kept in the dialing directory
presently in use. In other words, each dialing directory may be set up
differently.
==========================
PROGRAM FEATURES CONTINUED
==========================
POP-UP MENUS
============
DIALM uses pop-up menus and other windows. Some of these are illustrated
below.
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
DIALM POPUP TELEPHONE DIALER Ver. 5.1
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╒══════════════════════════╕▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
══════════════════════════════════════│ COMMAND SELECTIONS │══════════════
│══════════════════════════│
│DIAL SELECTED NUMBER │
│HANGUP │
│SELECT A NUMBER │
│SEARCH THE DIRECTORY │
│REPEAT THE SEARCH │
│UPDATE THE DIRECTORY │
│NUMBER FROM KEYBOARD │
│EDIT PREFIXES │
│LOG THIS CALL │
│GET NEW DIRECTORY │
│PROGRAM SETUP AND INFO │
│QUIT THIS PROGRAM │
╘══════════════════════════╛
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
DIALM POPUP TELEPHONE DIALER Ver. 5.1
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╒══════════════════════════╕▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
══════════════════════════════════════│ COMMAND SELECTIONS │══════════════
│══════════════════════════│
╒═════════════════════════╕ELECTED NUMBER │
│ DIRECTORY = DIALM │ │
│═════════ ═ ═════════│ A NUMBER │
│Arrow Electronics │ THE DIRECTORY │
│Brush Hauling │ THE SEARCH │
┌──────────┐ │Corunna TV │ THE DIRECTORY │
│ Main Menu│ │Eavestroughs │ FROM KEYBOARD │
│ │ │FAB Software │REFIXES │
│ [ESC] │ │Free Press │IS CALL │
└──────────┘ │GTE Telephone Co │W DIRECTORY │
│H&R Block │M SETUP AND INFO │
│Hard Drive Int │HIS PROGRAM │
│Info 313 │════════════════════╛
╘═════════ ═ ═════════╛
==============
STARTING DIALM
==============
If the version of the program as you obtain it is "DIALM51.EXE" you
may rename it "DIAL.EXE" for brevity. At the DOS prompt type:
REN DIALM51.EXE DIALM.EXE
To start DIALM type:
DIALM [CR]
where [CR] means press the RETURN button.
If the screen is hard to read because it doesn't display color correctly,
use the command line parameter "/B" to force the program to use black and
white, i.e.,
DIALM /B [CR]
A directory file name may also be entered on the command line. If one
is entered the program will attempt to use the file.
DIALM C:\DAT\PHONES [CR]
This will load in the directory file named PHONES.DIR in the sub-directory
DAT of drive C.
If the /B parameter is also used, leave a space between it and the directory
file name.
===================
USING DIALM'S MENUS
===================
There are several ways to make a selection from the menus:
1) Press ENTER or click the left mouse button to select the high-
lighted entry.
2) Move the mouse cursor over the desired entry and click the left
button to highlight the entry. Click it again on the same entry
to select it.
3) Press the first letter of the desired selection on the keyboard.
If there are two or more selections with the same first letter,
pressing the letter again will move to the next selection starting
with that letter. When the correct selection is highlighted, press
ENTER or the left mouse button.
4) Use the PAGE UP, PAGE DOWN, HOME, END and arrow keys until the
desired selection is highlighted, then press ENTER or the left
mouse button.
The directory display menu shows 10 entries at a time. If there are
more entries available, arrow characters will appear in the top and
bottom borders of the menu. Clicking the left mouse button on an
arrow character will execute the appropriate page-up or page-down
command.
The ESC (escape) keyboard key has special meaning in some menus.
Pressing the right mouse button is the same as the ESC key.
Moving the mouse cursor outside of the menu area and pressing the
left button is also the same as the ESC key. In some menus ESC
will cause the QUIT command to be highlighted. This allows mouse
users to exit the menu or program by clicking the right button
followed by the left button.
==============
ERROR MESSAGES
==============
Sometimes a message will appear followed by a several second delay.
You may press ESC on the keyboard or click the right mouse button to
speed things up after you have read the message.
====================
ENVIRONMENT COMMANDS
====================
Three program parameters can be set up at the DOS level and if set DIALM
will use these parameters automatically each time the program is run.
1) Modem (COM) port.
DIALM will find the modem on either COM1 or COM2 (usually). If your
modem is on COM2 you can speed things up by putting the port number
in the environment. At the DOS prompt type:
SET COMPORT=2
2) Modem baud
The program communicates with the modem at 1200 baud because that
seemed to work better for my particular modem. If your modem doesn't
work at 1200 baud you can specify another baud (such as 300 baud) by
the following command:
SET COMPORT=:300
If you want to specify both the port and the baud, combine the
commands:
SET COMPORT=2:300
This program supports only COM1 and COM2 modem ports.
3) Directory file
You may specify a directory file to be used by DIALM. This file will
be used unless overridden by a command line parameter described above.
SET DIAL=C:\PHONE.DIR
You should use the correct path and file name to describe your file
after the '='.
If you use this program regularly and need to use the SET commands mentioned
above, they should be placed in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file so they will not have
to be entered each time the system is booted up.
If you get the error message OUT OF ENVIRONMENT SPACE, and you are using
DOS 3.2 or later, put the following line in your CONFIG.SYS FILE:
SHELL=d:\COMMAND.COM /P /E:256
Where d:\ is the drive and directory where your COMMAND.COM is located.
(This will probably be C:\ if you have a hard disk or A:\ if you boot from
a floppy disk.) The environment space where the SET variables are stored
will be increased from the default 160 bytes to 256 bytes.
If you are using DOS 3.1, use /E:16 instead of /E:256.
If you are using DOS earlier than 3.1 the environment space can only be
increased by patching COMMAND.COM.
======
MODEMS
======
The modem should use the "HAYES AT" commands. A initialization string
can be stored in the dialing directory and sent to the modem each time
the directory is loaded. Here are some common initialization commands:
AT Attention - must start the command string.
E1 Echo all commands.
Q0 Result codes ON.
V1 Result codes are verbal rather than numeric.
X6 Wait for dialtone. "NO DIALTONE" and "BUSY" results enabled.
Not all modems will accept the X6 initialization. Please consult your
modem manual. If your modem issues "NO DIALTONE", "BUSY" and "RINGING"
result codes they should be enabled as DIALM will recognize them.
Use of an initialization string will override any switch settings on the
modem.
DIALM was tested using a 2400 baud "HAYES compatible" modem.
=======
SUPPORT
=======
I would be interested in hearing of any problems with the program and
will attempt to fix them in a later release.
DIALM is distributed as user-supported software. If you find the program
is useful you may send a donation of $5.00 to:
Robert Wilcox
920 N. Washington St
Owosso, MI 48867
I can be reached through the EXEC-PC bulletin board (414) 789-4120.
Address messages to: BOB WILCOX.
My Compuserve address is 71601,1541.
==========================
WARRANTIES AND LIMITATIONS
==========================
You are granted permission to freely distribute DIALM in its
original form, without alteration, so long as this documentation is
distributed along with it and no fee is charged except for a reasonable
fee for media and shipping costs.
I suggest that you distribute in the original ZIPped format.
I DO NOT WARRANT THAT DIALM IS FIT FOR ANY PARTICULAR USE OR IS
MERCHANTABLE. THIS PROGRAM IS NOT WARRANTED TO BE FREE OF BUGS, NOR
IS IT PROVIDED WITH ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR
IMPLIED. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO DETERMINE WHETHER DIALM
IS SUITABLE FOR YOU.
IN NO EVENT SHALL I BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR LOST DATA OR PROFITS TO ANY PERSON OR ENTITY
THAT MAY ARISE OUT OF THE USE OF THIS PROGRAM.
END OF DIALM.DOC LAST REVISED 09/02/90