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L Y N C
Operations Manual
Copyright (c) 1990 by Jason R. Alward
All Rights Reserved
For product support, contact:
Jason R. Alward
Box #20102 R.P.O.
Tillsonburg, Ontario
Canada N4G5K4
(519)842-9175
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
-----------------
1. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Licensing and Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. GETTING STARTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Starting Lync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Configuring Lync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3. USING LYNC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Using the Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The Input Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The Help Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
The Status Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Lync's Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Dial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Hangup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Download & Upload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Echo & Linefeeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Initialize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Clear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Send BREAK Signal (Ctrl-@) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4. FILE TRANSFERS & PROTOCOLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
What is a File Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Supported Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Ascii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Xmodem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
1k-Xmodem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Ymodem (batch) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Zmodem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Special Zmodem Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
REGISTERING LYNC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
WARRANTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 2
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1
OVERVIEW
Have you ever wished you could find a communications program that
wasn't a 150-300k program requiring a hard disk to run efficiently?
One small enough to run in a DOS shell from a large application,
without being totally stripped of essential features?
Lync was written to fill this need. Occupying a mere 41k of disk
space and requiring only 69k of free memory, Lync operates on all
but the most restricted of systems. And the menu driven interface
means you don't need a degree to learn how to run it. Read the
list of features below and you'll see, all the essentials are
there.
FEATURES
~ Menu driven interface makes it very easy to use.
~ Alt-key shortcuts to major functions for quicker access.
~ Only requires about 69k of free memory to run.
~ Uses no overlay files so all functions respond quickly.
~ Dialing directory loaded into RAM for faster access.
~ Support for ANSI display codes built in.
~ Arrow keys, HOME, END, and DELETE keys send ANSI codes
compatible with most BBS's full screen editors.
~ User defined macro strings can be assigned to the function
keys F1 through F10 and shifted F1 through F10.
~ Macros support "^" control code notation and variable length
pauses for often used command sequences.
~ Handles speeds from 300 to 38400 baud.
~ Supports COM1 through COM4.
~ Dialing directory holds 45 entries and supports auto redial,
tagging, auto dial of tagged entries, and auto untagging of
entries connected to.
~ COM settings and default transfer protocol for each system
you call stored in dialing directory.
~ Variable dial time and pause between dial attempts.
~ Capture session to file supported with ANSI code stripping.
~ Wide directory listing with automatic page pausing.
~ Can issue a DOS command or drop to a DOS shell.
~ Five transfer protocols supported for uploads/downloads:
Ascii, Xmodem, 1k-Xmodem, Ymodem (batch), and Zmodem.
~ Zmodem resume aborted or crashed transfers and auto Zmodem
downloads supported.
~ Local Echo and Add Linefeeds supported.
~ All display colours can be customized to your liking.
~ Status line displays buffer, echo, and linefeed status as
well as current COM settings, connection status and time
elapsed since connection.
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 3
LICENSING AND DISTRIBUTION
Lync is not, nor has it ever been, free software. It is copyright
and is distributed as SHAREWARE. You are granted a limited license
to use Lync for an evaluation period, not to exceed 30 days. Use
of Lync beyond the evaluation period requires registration.
Upon registering Lync, you will receive a disk containing the
latest registered and shareware versions and you will be entitled
to product support. See the chapter on Registering Lync at the end
of this manual for complete details on how to register your copy of
Lync.
You may give copies of Lync to others for their evaluation so long
as no fee is charged for the copy. Lync may also be posted on
electronic bulletin board systems (BBS's) as long as no fee is
charged to access Lync beyond subscription or online time fees
normally charged for access to the BBS.
Those copying, sharing, and/or electronically transmitting Lync may
not delete, add, or in any way modify any of the files in the Lync
package. Lync must be distributed in it's entirety, complete with
documentation. Anyone not adhering to these conditions is in
direct violation of copyright law.
Distributors of shareware and/or public domain software must obtain
written authorization before distributing copies of Lync. No one
may use Lync in a promotion for any commercial venture or as an
enticement for the user to pay for any program, product, or service
without having received the express written permission of the
program's author.
In order to distribute Lync, a shareware vendor must comply with
the following conditions:
1. Vendors must obtain written permission from Jason R. Alward
before distributing Lync. If no reply is received,
write again. You may not distribute copies "pending"
receipt of permission.
2. Vendors may not modify or delete any of the files in the
Lync package. A reasonable number of small text or
batch files may be added if designed to provide a service
to the user, but they must be easily identifiable and the
user must be allowed to delete these added files.
3. Vendors must make a reasonable effort to distribute only
the most recent version of Lync. If you have received
written permission to distribute Lync, you will be
notified of updates when they are released.
4. A maximum disk fee, set in the vendor contract, must not
be exceeded. Lync may not be included in any package
sold for more than this maximum.
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 4
GETTING STARTED
Chapter 2
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
IBM PC/XT/AT or true compatible computer running DOS v2.0 or above.
One floppy disk drive, a Hayes compatible modem, and 256k of RAM.
NOTE: Lync actually requires about 69k of free RAM to run. If you
have less than 256k in your system, try running Lync anyway, it
just might fit. Of course you can't use the Shell command when
memory is that restricted.
INSTALLATION
Installing Lync requires two steps. First, you simply copy the
file LYNC.EXE to the disk or directory where you will be using it.
Lync uses no overlay files and creates the data files it needs when
you first run it, so you only need the one file.
The next step is to make sure Lync can find those data files each
time you use it. If you're using Lync on a floppy based system,
this is not a problem since you will have to insert the disk
containing Lync and it's files in order to run it. You can remove
the Lync disk after it starts up but you must reinsert the disk
when you make changes in the dialing directory, save changes from
the configuration menu, or save the macro keys file. The dialing
directory is a special case as it only updates the file when you
leave the directory menu. This occurs when you press ESC or when
you connect to an online service after dialing, so the Lync disk
must be in the drive at these times IF you have edited any entries.
If you're using Lync on a hard drive you'll need to know more about
how Lync finds it's data files. The first step Lync takes is to
check the DOS version number. If it finds version 3.x then it will
get a complete pathname from DOS, you don't have to do a thing. If
it finds DOS version 2.x it will search the environment for a
variable named LYNC. In this case you should add a line to your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file as follows:
SET LYNC=C:\LYNC\
You should of course place your own drive:\path\ specification
after the "LYNC=" but it must end with the "\" backslash.
If Lync doesn't find the LYNC variable it will use the current
directory to build a path to it's files. This is the least
desirable method since Lync will create new files all over your
hard drive if you don't change to it's directory every time you use
it. Another minus is that these new files will contain default
information and the dialing directory and macro keys will be blank.
As you can see, if you're using DOS version 2.x it is desirable to
set the LYNC variable. Doing this in your AUTOEXEC.BAT means you
need only do it once and don't have to bother with it again.
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 5
STARTING LYNC
To start Lync simply change to the disk/directory where you put the
program and type:
LYNC
followed by pressing the ENTER key.
The first time you run Lync it will create a configuration file
called LYNC.CFG which will be filled with default information.
Lync will then place you in the Configuration Options menu and
place a message at the top of the screen prompting you to configure
Lync for your system and press "S" to save. You may need to change
some of Lync's defaults for it to work with your system (See the
Configuring Lync section below). When you've got Lync properly
configured, press the "S" key to save your changes, and you're
ready to go. The next time you run Lync, it will get it's settings
from the configuration file so you won't have to go through this
again.
CONFIGURING LYNC
The first step in configuring Lync is to make sure your modem is
configured so Lync can work with it. Lync expects the modem to
treat status signals as their true state and not force them on or
off. The most important of these are the Carrier Detect (CD) and
Data Terminal Ready (DTR) lines. Many modems default to a forced
carrier and ignore DTR so you must configure your modem to use the
actual state of these signals. Some modems use DIP switches to
control these settings and some use commands (such as AT &C1 for
true carrier and AT &D2 for hangup on DTR low). You will have to
consult your modem's manual for the exact method used to make your
settings but the results you want are:
The Carrier Detect (CD) should reflect the actual state of the
carrier signal.
The modem should go on-hook on an On-to-Off transition of the DTR.
(When Lync drops the DTR signal you want the modem to hangup)
Next you will need to configure Lync to work with the rest of your
system. Lync's configuration is completely menu driven and you can
exit the Options menu by either pressing the "S" key to make your
changes the new start up defaults, or by pressing the ESC key to
keep your changes for the current session without changing the
defaults stored on disk. When you issue the Alt-O (Options)
command, or when running Lync for the first time, you will see a
menu that looks something like the following:
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 6
+->Current Configuration<---------------------------+
: Com Port: COM1 :
: Baud: 2400 :
: Data Bits: 8 :
: Parity: NONE :
: Stop Bits: 1 :
: Modem Initialization: AT S0=0 S7=30 E1 V1 Q0 X1^M :
: Dialing Prefix: AT DT :
: Dial Cancel: ^M :
: Dial Wait Time: 30 :
: Pause Between Dials: 5 :
: Local Echo: OFF :
: Add Linefeeds: OFF :
: Snow Checks: OFF :
: File & Colour Options :
+---------------------------------------------------+
Use the arrow keys to move the menu select bar to the item you wish
to change and press the ENTER key. You will then be able to enter
the new setting either by selecting it from a menu or typing the
new value. A description of each setting, and the range of
possible settings, where applicable, follows.
The Com Port setting tells Lync which serial port your modem is
connected to. Lync supports serial ports COM1 through COM4.
NOTE: If you have an internal modem, the serial port is built into
the modem itself. You'll have to check the modem's manual to see
which port it's configured for.
The Baud setting should be set to the maximum speed your modem is
capable of, as these settings are used to create the dialing
directory defaults. It also gets the initialization string out as
quickly as possible. Supported speeds are: 300, 1200, 2400, 4800,
9600, 19200, and 38400 baud.
The Data Bits, Parity, and Stop Bits settings should be configured
for the settings you most commonly use. Most IBM compatible based
BBS's use 8 Data bits, No Parity, and 1 Stop bit, which is what
Lync defaults to, so this would be a good choice for start up.
The supported settings for these are:
Data Bits: 7 or 8
Parity: NONE, ODD, EVEN, MARK and SPACE
Stop Bits: 1 or 2
The Modem Initialization setting is simply a string of modem
commands that you want Lync to send to your modem at start up.
This just guarantees that the modem will be configured the same way
every time you start Lync. The default string is:
AT S0=0 S7=30 E1 V1 Q0 X1^M
These are commands from the Hayes modem command set. You should
consult your modem's manual for the complete set of commands it
recognizes and the function of each. From this you can decide what
is needed in your initialization string.
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 7
NOTE: The ending "^M" is not a modem command but Lync control code
notation. You can insert control codes into your string by
preceding the control character you want with a caret (^)
character. For example, a backspace is control-H so you would type
a caret immediately followed by an H like this: ^H. This is what
you must do to end your initialization string with a carriage
return, which is control-M or ^M, as Lync does not append a
carriage return to this string. You can only use this control code
notation in certain items, which will display a message at the
bottom of the menu to inform you. See the section on The Input
Editor for further details.
The Dialing Prefix setting is a short string that is sent to the
modem just before the number to be dialed is sent. It's function
is to tell the modem to dial the following number and wait for a
connection. Lync defaults to "AT DT" for the prefix which tells
the modem to use touch tone dialing. If you have pulse dialing in
your area you would need to change the prefix to use this dialing
method. The appropriate Hayes command would be "AT DP".
The Dial Cancel setting is a string that is sent to the modem when
you tell Lync to interrupt a dialing operation. It defaults to
"^M", a carriage return, which is all that is needed for most
modems.
Again, consult your modem's manual for the exact commands it uses
for these operations.
The Dial Wait Time setting specifies the number of seconds Lync
will wait for some response from the modem after sending the
command to dial. If this time elapses without Lync receiving any
response, Lync will terminate the dialing operation with the Dial
Cancel string.
The Pause Between Dials setting specifies the number of seconds
Lync will wait before making another dial attempt when no
connection was established on the last attempt. For further
details on dialing operations, see the section on the Dial function
later in this manual.
The Local Echo setting tells Lync to send characters typed in
terminal mode to the screen as well as the com port. This is
useful if you connect to a lot of systems that don't echo your
input back to you, although most BBS's do.
This setting can be either ON or OFF and is just toggled when you
press ENTER.
The Add Linefeeds setting tells Lync to send a linefeed to the
screen after every carriage return it sends to the screen. This is
used if you connect to a lot of systems that send carriage returns
only, at the end of each line. Adding linefeeds will prevent each
successive line from overwriting the previous line. You will
probably need to use this option if you're using Local Echo.
Again, this setting, and the Snow Checks setting that follows, can
be either ON or OFF and is just toggled when you press ENTER.
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 8
The Snow Checks setting tells Lync whether or not to monitor the
horizontal retrace signal from the video card before writing to the
screen. Lync uses direct video memory writes for all screen output
and on some CGA cards this causes interference on the screen
referred to as "snow". If this item is ON, Lync will only write to
the screen when the video card is retracing for the next line.
This means the video card is not accessing the video memory so it
is safe for Lync to write to this memory without interfering with
the video card. Unfortunately, during a horizontal retrace there
is only enough time to write one character to the display, so snow
checking slows down the screen output a bit, but it gives you a
clear display.
NOTE: This option should be set ONLY if you have a CGA card in your
system. Do NOT set this option on monochrome cards.
The File & Colour Options isn't a setting like the other items in
the menu. Pressing ENTER on this item takes you to another menu
where you tell Lync the default drive:\path\ specifications to use
in file transfers, and you can customize the colour scheme used
throughout Lync.
Customizing the colours Lync uses is easy. Just select the item
you wish to change and press ENTER. You will be presented with a
menu of diamond characters, displayed in all the 128 possible
colour combinations with a box marking the current setting. Simply
move the box, using the arrow keys, to mark the desired colour
setting and press ENTER. Lync will refresh the display using the
new colour settings.
You should set the Upload and Download file paths to directories
where you wish to put files for transfer and receive transferred
files to respectively. If you leave these items blank Lync will
use the current directory, which may not be desirable.
NOTE: Be sure to end both file path specifications with the
backslash "\" character. Lync just appends the name of the file
being transferred to the end of these strings, so you'll get
constant "Invalid Path" errors if the backslash isn't there.
When your finished editing the items in the File & Colour Options
menu, press the ESC key to return to the Options menu.
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 9
USING LYNC
Chapter 3
USING THE MENUS
Using the menus in Lync is easy. The arrow keys move the select
bar and ENTER selects the highlighted item. In almost all cases,
the ESC key will get you out of a menu without selecting or
changing anything.
Most of Lync's menus are arranged vertically, but some are
horizontal. To simplify the way Lync deals with this, the arrow
keys have been paired together. Both the UP and LEFT arrow keys
perform the same function, as do the RIGHT and DOWN arrow keys. So
if you're in a vertical menu, pressing the LEFT arrow would move
the select bar up just as the UP arrow would. And if you were in a
horizontal menu, the UP arrow would move the select bar left just
as the LEFT arrow would. The RIGHT and DOWN arrow key interaction
would be similar.
Lync's menus also support wrap around. This means that if the
select bar were at the bottom of a menu and you pressed the DOWN
arrow key, the select bar would jump to the top. This also means
that when you're in a menu with only two options, any arrow key
will toggle the select bar between the two.
THE INPUT EDITOR
Whenever Lync needs you to enter or edit a string of text, such as
the modem initialization string, it uses a built in line editor.
Within this editor certain keys perform special functions to make
editing easier. These keys are as follows:
The LEFT & RIGHT ARROW keys move the cursor within the existing
string without effecting the text. This lets you position the
cursor to the character where you need to start editing.
The HOME key will move the cursor to the beginning of the existing
string. Likewise, the END key will move the cursor to the end of
the string.
The BACKSPACE key will delete the character preceding the cursor
position and move the cursor back to that position, pulling any
trailing text back one space with it.
The DELETE key will delete the character at the cursor position and
pull any trailing text back one space to fill the gap. The cursor
position remains the same.
The INSERT key will toggle between insert and overwrite mode. The
cursor becomes larger to show when insert mode is on.
Finally, if you press CONTROL-HOME it will erase any existing text
and let you build your string from scratch. This is useful when no
part of the current string can be used to build your new string.
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 10
In a few special cases, Lync will accept control code notation
within an input string. An example of this notation is "^M"
(without the quotes) which will be interpreted as control-M which
is a carriage return. Lync only interprets this notation in
strings that will be sent to the modem, for which there will be a
prompt at the bottom of the menu explaining how to use it. Lync
also allows variable pauses using a similar notation. To insert a
pause you would use a caret "^" followed by a number from 1 to 9
representing the number of seconds you need to wait. For example,
a "^3" would cause Lync to pause for three seconds. A "^0" is a
special case as it is interpreted as a ten second pause.
THE HELP MENU
All Lync's functions are available via Alt-key shortcuts, but when
you don't remember one you can press Alt-M and get the Help Menu.
The Help Menu lists all available functions, their shortcut key,
and a brief description of their purpose. You can execute a
function from this menu by moving the select bar to the desired
function and pressing ENTER, or you can press the corresponding
shortcut key. There is no need to hold down the Alt key when in
the help menu as Lync assumes any key pressed is intended to
execute a function. For example, pressing "D" would take you to
the Dialing Directory but if you were not in the help menu you
would need to press "D" while holding down the Alt key. All the
functions work like this except the file transfers, Upload &
Download, which are executed by pressing either PG UP or PG DN
respectively.
THE STATUS LINE
Lync uses the top line of the screen to display the current status
of it's capture buffer, echo and linefeeds state, com settings, and
carrier detect.
The capture buffer status is indicated by "Buffer:" followed by
it's current status, either ON, OFF, or PAUSE.
The echo and linefeeds status are indicated by "Echo:" and
"Linefeeds:" respectively and they're followed by either an ON or
OFF status.
The com settings status simply reflects the current Baud rate, Data
bits, Parity, and Stop bits that Lync is currently configured to
use. These are displayed as the corresponding numbers except for
Parity, which is shown as the first letter of the corresponding
Parity type.
The carrier detect status is indicated by either the word "Offline"
or "Online". "Offline" is displayed when no carrier signal is
detected from the serial port. "Online" is displayed while a
carrier signal is present on the serial port and is followed by a
time indicator which reflects the time elapsed since the carrier
changed from an off to on status. The "Online" time is displayed
as hours:minutes.
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 11
LYNC'S FUNCTIONS
This section will give a detailed explanation of each of Lync's
functions, in the same order they appear in the Help Menu. This
section should make a good reference whenever Lync's prompts and
help prove inadequate.
Files (Alt-F)
The Files function first prompts you to enter the desired path and
filespec for which you wish to list the files. It will provide you
with a string containing the current directory and *.* filespec so
pressing ENTER will list all files in the current directory.
Simply edit this string as needed.
Once you have entered the desired filespec and pressed ENTER, the
Files function will read the directory and display all matching
files in three columns. If there are too many files to display in
one window it will stop and provide you with a "More Y/N" prompt.
Pressing "Y" at this prompt will clear the window and resume
displaying files. if you press "N" at the more prompt (or when
there are no more matching files) the Files function will display
the amount of free space on the selected drive and prompt you to
press any key, which will return you to terminal mode.
Path (Alt-P)
The Path function displays the current directory and allows you to
edit the string. Pressing ESC leaves things as they were but
pressing ENTER will cause the Path function to change the current
directory to the new one you specified. If the new directory is
invalid, a message will inform you of this and the current
directory will remain unchanged.
Shell (Alt-S)
The Shell function allows you to execute a DOS command or program
or drop to a DOS shell. It first displays a window with a DOS
prompt to allow you to enter the command or program you wish to
execute. When you've entered your command line, pressing ENTER
causes the Shell function to call COMMAND.COM to execute the
command or program. Upon the command or program's completion, you
will be prompted to press any key, which will return you to Lync.
If you press ENTER alone in the DOS prompt window without typing
any commands, the Shell function executes COMMAND.COM to drop to a
DOS shell. You will see a message informing you that you must use
the DOS EXIT command to exit the shell and return to Lync.
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 12
Exit (Alt-X)
The Exit function simply prompts you to verify that you want to
exit Lync. Pressing ENTER will exit Lync and pressing ESC aborts
the function and returns you to terminal mode. You could also use
the arrow keys to select "No" and press Enter to exit.
Dial (Alt-D)
The Dial function takes you to the Dialing Directory which is used
to store and call the BBS's you use. This directory stores the
information for 45 BBS's and is displayed in three pages. The TAB
key is used to change pages and in the upper right corner of the
menu is "Page #" where "#" is the number of the page currently
displayed.
You access the numbers in the directory just like a menu, pressing
the UP or DOWN arrow keys to move the highlight bar to the desired
number. Pressing "E" will open another menu to allow you to edit
the highlighted number. The menu will look something like this:
+---------------------------+
: Name: :
: Phone: 000-0000 :
: Baud: 2400 :
: Data Bits: 8 :
: Parity: NONE :
: Stop Bits: 1 :
: Local Echo: Off :
: Add Linefeeds: Off :
: Transfer Protocol: Xmodem :
+---------------------------+
Simply select the item you wish to change and press ENTER to change
the information. You will get either a cursor to edit a string,
like the Name or Phone, or a menu from which to select the new
setting. Pressing ESC when not editing a specific item will store
your changes and return you to the Dialing Directory.
Pressing the space bar in the directory will "tag" the highlighted
number (or "untag" if it has already been "tagged"). Tagging
allows you to build a list of BBS's that you want Lync to call at
one sitting.
Pressing ENTER initiates a dial sequence. This consists of
changing the com settings to those in the selected number, sending
the Dial Prefix string to the modem, sending the Phone string to
the modem, sending a carriage return to the modem to execute the
dial operation, and waiting for the number of seconds specified by
the Dial Wait Time. A "dialing" window will appear displaying the
Name and Phone of the number being dialed, the number of attempts
for this entry, and the message: "Waiting for Connection" followed
by the remaining seconds before the dial is aborted.
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 13
While Lync is waiting, it watches for a carrier signal or a string
coming in from the modem (eg. BUSY). If Lync gets a carrier
signal, it sets the Echo and Linefeeds settings to those stored in
the selected number, and sets the Transfer Protocol Menu to default
to the desired setting. Then it sounds a short alarm and exits the
Dialing Directory back to terminal mode.
If a string is received, Lync echoes it after the "Last Status"
prompt and goes into the pause between dials. If the time runs out
Lync displays "Time Elapsed" as the status and then goes into the
pause. The pause simply displays "Pausing" followed by the number
of seconds remaining before another dial attempt is made.
Lync will continue to retry the dial until it gets a carrier and
connects, or you press ESC to abort the operation.
The number that gets dialed when you press ENTER depends on whether
there are any "tagged" entries or not. If there are no entries
tagged, Lync dials the highlighted number. If you have tagged some
numbers, Lync will start dialing the first tagged entry in the
directory and continue through each successive tagged entry in the
list for each dial retry. In other words, Lync will dial the first
tagged entry, and if it doesn't connect, it will try the next
tagged entry and so on to the last tagged entry upon which it will
loop back to the first and try the whole list again.
If Lync connects when dialing a tagged list, it will "untag" the
entry before leaving the directory. This means that when you
disconnect from this BBS, you can go to the directory and dial the
remaining tagged entries. The number that was connected to will no
longer be in the tagged list.
Pressing the space bar when dialing will cause Lync to cancel the
dial operation and skip to the pause stage, or if you press space
while Lync is pausing, it would skip the pause and dial again.
This is useful when dialing tagged entries and you wish to skip
over one entry for the current pass through the list.
Finally, pressing ESC when Lync is not dialing simply returns you
to terminal mode.
Buffer (Alt-B)
The Buffer function controls the status of a "capture" file. When
the buffer is on, all characters displayed on the terminal screen
are also written to a file called LYNC.CAP which is created in
Lync's home directory.
The menu you get when you select the Buffer function is dependent
on the buffer's current status. If the buffer is off, you will be
asked if you want to open the capture file. If the buffer is on,
you will be asked if you want to close the capture file or just
"pause" buffering. If the buffer is "paused" you will be asked if
you want to close it or "unpause" it.
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 14
When Lync opens the capture file it will not erase an existing
capture file, but rather add on or "append" to the end of the file.
If the file doesn't exist it will be created, of course.
When you "pause" buffering, you are telling Lync to stop writing to
the capture file, but not to close it because you are just skipping
something.
Lync uses a 10k buffer for the capture file so your activities
won't be continuously interrupted by excessive disk writes.
Hangup (Alt-H)
The Hangup function simply sets the DTR signal low, waits for about
a half second, then sets it high again. If your modem is
configured correctly, this will tell it to hangup the phone. As a
precaution, Lync checks for the carrier signal after the hangup and
if it still exists, Lync informs you that the hangup failed.
Download (PG DN) & Upload (PG UP)
The Download and Upload functions are used to transfer files to or
from the BBS system that you connected to. Downloading means you
are receiving a file and uploading means you are sending a file.
When you wish to transfer a file, either upload or download, the
first thing you must do is get the BBS system ready for a transfer.
Different systems use different commands and menu structures so
you'll have to see the BBS's help or instructions for exact
details, but generally you'll need to: Change to the BBS's file
section, issue the command to transfer a file (usually U or D for
upload or download respectively), enter the name of the file to
transfer, and finally issue the command to select the desired
transfer protocol. At this point the BBS should inform you that
it's ready to do the transfer.
Now that the BBS is ready, you need to tell Lync that you wish to
transfer a file. Press the PG UP or PG DN key, depending on the
direction of your transfer, and you will receive a menu of
protocols that looks like this:
+----------------+
: Ascii :
: Xmodem :
: 1k-Xmodem :
: Ymodem (batch) :
: Zmodem :
+----------------+
Select the same protocol from this menu as you told the BBS to use
and press ENTER. You will be asked for a filename if you are
uploading or you are downloading using Ascii, Xmodem, or 1k-Xmodem.
Ymodem and Zmodem are batch protocols and will get the filename
from the BBS when downloading. Now a window will appear on the
screen displaying data about the transfer like elapsed time,
approximate characters per second, bytes sent/received, etc.
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 15
Now just sit back as the two systems transmit data. Lync will
sound a short alarm to inform you when the transfer is complete.
A special note should be made about the two batch protocols.
First, when downloading using Zmodem, you don't need to press the
PG DN key to tell Lync to start transferring. Lync will recognize
the initialize packet for Zmodem and will automatically start the
download when it sees this.
Second, when uploading using either batch protocol, you may send
more than one file at a time, if the BBS system supports multiple
file uploads. When Lync asks you for the name of the file to
upload, you may enter any legal DOS wildcard specification such as:
\FILES\*.ZIP or A:*.*
The batch protocols would then send every file matching these
specs. Of course, as with any transfer that requests a filename,
if you don't specify a drive or directory, Lync will use the file
path you set in the configuration Options menu.
Echo (Alt-E) & Linefeeds (Alt-L)
The Echo and Linefeeds functions simply toggle the local echo or
add linefeeds settings respectively. The indicators on the status
line are also updated to reflect the new setting.
Initialize (Alt-I)
The Initialize function simply sends the modem initialization
string out to the modem. This is useful for resetting the modem if
it's settings have been changed by another program that you may
have executed with the Shell function, for example.
Keys (Alt-K)
The Keys function takes you to the macro editor. This will open a
large window and display a menu of the function keys F1 to F10 and
SF1 to SF10, each followed by the text defined for that key. At
the bottom of this menu is an additional option called "Save" which
you would select to write the macro text to a file called LYNC.KEY.
Pressing the ESC key will leave the macro editor without saving
your changes to disk.
To change a macro, simply select the desired item and press ENTER,
make your changes and press ENTER to keep them, or press ESC if you
change your mind and wish to restore the macro to it's pre-edited
form.
Within these macros you can use control code notation as well as
variable pauses. To use a variable pause simply insert a caret "^"
followed by a number from 1 to 9 or 0 (for ten) representing the
number of seconds desired for the pause length.
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 16
These pauses are useful if you want a macro to send your name and
password to logon to a BBS. For example:
John Doe^M^5password^M
This macro would send "John Doe" followed by a carriage return,
then pause for five seconds, then send "password" followed by a
carriage return. The pause length needed would of course depend on
the delay between the prompts of the specific BBS being called.
Clear (Alt-C)
The Clear function simply clears the terminal screen using default
colours you set in your configuration.
Options (Alt-O)
The Options function calls up the configuration menu so you can
change Lync's current settings. This is useful for changing the
com parameters, local echo, add linefeeds, colours, or whatever, as
described in the Configuring Lync section. Pressing "S" in this
menu will save the settings to the LYNC.CFG file, making them the
start up defaults. Changes made in the configuration menu are
effective immediately so pressing ESC allows you to make changes
for the current session without changing the start up defaults.
Send BREAK Signal (Ctrl-@)
This function is not listed in the help menu as it is only used in
special cases, such as baud detect for some UNIX systems. It's
purpose is to transmit a special signal, called a "break", to the
remote system which would trigger some special action.
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 17
FILE TRANSFERS & PROTOCOLS
Chapter 4
WHAT IS A FILE TRANSFER
File transfers allow you to exchange programs, text, or any other
type of file with any BBS system that supports a file section. In
order to transfer files over phone lines, the receiving system must
have some way to tell if the data it received is the same as what
was originally sent. Phone lines are seldom perfectly clear of
static or noise, and this noise can alter the data as it travels
from one system to the other. This is the purpose of transfer
"protocols".
Transfer protocols generally break a file into small chunks called
"packets" or "blocks", then perform some calculation on the data
and send the "packet", followed by the result of the calculation,
to the receiver. The receiver performs the same calculation on the
data as it comes in and then compares it's result with the
following sender's result. If the two match, the receiver writes
this data to it's copy of the file and sends some acknowledgement
signal to alert the sender to send the next packet. If the two
calculation results don't match then the data was corrupted in
transit and the receiver sends a negative acknowledgement signal to
alert the sender to resend the same packet.
Different protocols use different methods for calculating the error
check value, signaling the start of a packet, and acknowledging
good and bad packets. Therefore it is important to use the same
protocol as the system you're connected to.
In Lync I have attempted to support a "survival kit" of transfer
protocols. I couldn't support a long list of protocols since that
would have made Lync too large a program (Lync's main feature is
that it's very small without being "gutted" of features). I also
didn't want to support so few protocols that you would have to turn
to another terminal program for file transfers. So I've picked the
minimum complement of protocols that I felt were essential to any
terminal program.
SUPPORTED PROTOCOLS
There are five protocols supported by Lync and they are as follows:
Ascii, Xmodem, 1k-Xmodem, Ymodem (batch), and Zmodem.
Now I'll give a brief description of each protocol.
Ascii
Ascii isn't really a protocol since it has no method for error
checking built in and as such is only useful for text files. It
does however provide one very useful function, you can upload a
message that was entered offline.
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 18
Since Ascii just reads a file and sends out the characters as if
you were typing them at the keyboard, it allows you to use a text
editor or word processor to create a message that you want to
"post" on a BBS. This is done when you're not connected and not
paying for online charges. You save your message as a pure ASCII
text file and then use Lync to connect to the BBS. Do whatever is
required to enter a message and when the BBS is waiting for you to
type in your message, upload your text file with the Ascii
protocol. You will see the text appearing on your screen as the
BBS echoes it back, just as if you were typing it.
Xmodem
Xmodem is not particularly efficient nor 100% reliable, but it is
supported by almost every online service there is. No matter how
limited a BBS's list of supported protocols is, it will probably
support Xmodem. This is why it was essential to support Xmodem.
Some BBS's may offer you two varieties of Xmodem reflecting the two
types of error checking that Xmodem can use. These are Checksum
and CRC. Lync supports both methods and detects which one the BBS
is using so it will work with either one. Whenever you have the
option, CRC is the preferred method as it is a great deal more
reliable than the Checksum method.
1k-Xmodem
1k-Xmodem is basically the same as Xmodem except for the size of
it's packets. Xmodem uses 128 byte packets and 1k-Xmodem uses 1024
byte packets, which is where the "1k" prefix came from. This makes
it a bit faster than Xmodem since it's packet overhead is reduced
by a factor of 8.
You should be warned that not all BBS's refer to this protocol as
1k-Xmodem. On some systems it's called "Old Ymodem" and others
just call it "Ymodem". This can lead to confusion since this is
not that same as the "Ymodem (batch)" that Lync supports. So if
you're trying to use Ymodem and it just won't work, the BBS is
probably using a misnamed 1k-Xmodem, so tell Lync to use 1k-Xmodem
even though the BBS calls it Ymodem.
Ymodem (batch)
Ymodem (batch) uses the same type of packets as Xmodem but can use
both 128 and 1024 byte packets dynamically. The most important
feature, however, is that it starts the transfer with a special
header packet that contains complete filename, size, date, and time
information about the file. The transfer is ended with a blank
header packet (all 0's). These header packets allow more than one
file to be transmitted in a single session, thus it is called a
"batch" protocol. On some BBS's this is called "True Ymodem" or
just "Ymodem" so it can be confusing to tell whether you have to
use Ymodem or 1k-Xmodem.
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 19
Zmodem
Zmodem is the most powerful of the protocols supported by Lync and
should be used whenever possible. It is very efficient because of
a low overhead on each data packet and, like Ymodem, it is a batch
protocol and can send more than one file per session. It also
supports advanced features like crash recovery, automatic start on
downloads, and 32 bit CRC error checking (making it extremely
reliable). These features are described in the following section.
SPECIAL ZMODEM FEATURES
Zmodem Crash Recovery
Crash recovery means that you can resume an interrupted download at
a later time without the sender having to retransmit data that you
have already received. For instance, you're downloading a file and
you loose carrier due to line noise, or the power goes out. Now
you're stuck with an incomplete file and with any of the other
protocols, you'd have to download the whole thing again. But when
you reconnect to the BBS and download the file again using Zmodem,
it will see that the file already exists but is incomplete. So it
will tell the sender how much of the file you already have, and the
sender will adjust it's start position accordingly, thus completing
the file.
Zmodem Auto-Start
Automatic start means that you don't have to tell Lync that you're
starting a Zmodem download. Just tell the BBS to send the file
using Zmodem and sit back. Lync will recognize the Zmodem
initialize packet and start a Zmodem download for you.
Zmodem 32 bit CRC
The other protocols use a 16 bit CRC for their error checking an
this is reasonably reliable. Zmodem can also use a 16 bit CRC, if
the BBS version of Zmodem doesn't support a 32 bit CRC, but Lync
prefers a 32 bit CRC for the increased reliability and will inform
the BBS that it wants to use them.
Lync 1.0 Copyright (c) 1990 Jason R. Alward Page 20
REGISTERING LYNC
To register Lync, simply print the file REGISTER.DOC on your
printer, fill in the requested information and mail the form along
with your check or money order to:
Jason R. Alward
Box #20102 R.P.O.
Tillsonburg, Ontario
Canada N4G5K4
In order to print the form you can type the following at your DOS
command prompt:
copy register.doc prn
If you don't have a printer you can just send a letter containing
the information requested in the registration form. Be sure to
specify the version of Lync that you are registering when not using
the supplied form.
When Lync is going to be installed on more than one machine, you
must register a copy for each machine. Quantity purchase discounts
are as follows:
1 to 10 copies no discount
11 to 25 copies 5% discount
26 to 50 copies 10% discount
51 to 100 copies 15% discount
101 to 200 copies 20% discount
201+ copies 25% discount
Orders over 50 copies are site licenses. You will receive a master
copy and written authorization to make the number of copies
requested.
ALL PRICES AND DISCOUNTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.
Discounts are not cumulative. They apply to single orders of like
products only.
WARRANTY
Lync is sold "as is" without warranty of any kind, express or
implied, including but not limited to, any warranties of
merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. Jason
Alward shall not be liable for any damages, whether direct,
indirect, special or consequential arising from a failure of Lync
to operate in the manner desired by the user.
IN NO EVENT WILL JASON ALWARD BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES TO DATA OR
PROPERTY WHICH MAY BE CAUSED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY BY THE USE OF
LYNC. JASON ALWARD SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DAMAGES,
INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST SAVINGS, OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE
LYNC, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY OTHER PARTY.