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WELCOME TO QMODEM VERSION 4.3 ----------------------------- This README file contains important information about Qmodem Version 4.3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------------- 1. How to Get Help 2. Installation 3. Important Notes and Changes 1. HOW TO GET HELP ------------------- If you have any problems, help is available from the following sources: 1. Check the Forbin Project BBS. Our BBS number is 319-266-0540. Courier HST users can call 319-266-0752. CompuCom Speedmodem users can call 319-277-5356. All first time users will have enough time to download the current Shareware version of Qmodem and leave a Comment to the SYSOP. 2. Type QMODEM on the GEnie bulletin board system for instant access to the Qmodem forums with their libraries of technical information and answers to common questions. 3. If you have an urgent problem that cannot wait you may call Forbin Project Technical Support at (319) 266-0543 Monday through Friday between the hours of 8am and 5pm Central Time. We also have a FAX line at (319) 266-1203. Please have the following information ready before calling: a. Product version number. The version number for Qmodem is displayed when you run the program. b. Computer brand, model, and the brands and model numbers of any additional hardware. c. Operating system and version number. The version number can be determined by typing VER at the DOS prompt. Please do NOT tell us you are running BETA versions of DOS... We will not be able to help if you are. d. Contents of your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. 2. INSTALLATION ---------------- You should read the rest of this README file to get further information about this release before you do the installation. Notes for installation: Qmodem comes in various forms, depending on where you received your copy. If you ordered direct from Forbin, you received either 4 360K 5.25 inch disks, or 2 720K 3.5 inch disks. In either case, they are pre-installed for floppy operation. To install Qmodem on a harddisk, you simply create a Qmodem subdirectory and use the DOS COPY command as follows: C:\>MD QMODEM C:\>COPY A:*.* C:\QMODEM (repeat the last Copy command for each disk you receive) If you received them from a BBS system, most likely it came in the form of one large ZIP file with a name like QM42G.ZIP. Inside this ZIP file are the 4 separate 360K disks that have been ZIP'd into their own ZIP file. You can extract them into a harddisk subdirectory and go. Or, you might have downloaded the 4 separate ZIP files one at a time. The same principal applies. 3. IMPORTANT NOTES AND CHANGES ------------------------------- Legend: o) Fixed or added in 4.2A * Fixed or added in 4.2B @) Fixed or added in 4.2C + Fixed or added in 4.2D %) Fixed or added in 4.2E ^ Fixed or added in 4.2F #) Fixed or added in 4.3 # NEW! You can use upper and lower case letters when using the REGISTER command line option. The case is preserved without needing a new registration number. Before, the registration NAME was converted to uppercase before being stored in the QMODEM.EXE file. Now, it is stored exactly as you type it in. Time to dig out those pink sheets! # NEW! You can press F2 to edit the attached script in the Alt-D/Revise window when the cursor is in the Script field. # NEW! The Documentation has been reset for 60 lines per page maximum. # NEW! Qinstall now has a "Strict Color" option in Video/Toggles. Both ANSI and VT100 use the Esc[m and Esc[0m command to reset to a color. By the books, this color is "white on black". In the past, Qmodem has set these esc codes to whatever the default "Screen Text" color was as set in the Custom Colors section. But, depending on the system called, this may result in an incorrect display of either ANSI or VT100 if the designer relied on the "white on black" color. Alt-N/V/T/C (Strict Color) will control what color is selected when Esc[m or Esc[0m is executed. When set ON, the color becomes "white on black". When set OFF, it becomes the color set by "Screen Text" in Custom Colors. If you have this set OFF and some screen does not look right, it might if you turned this ON. To remain compatible with previous versions of Qmodem, the default is OFF. # NEW! Alt-7 replaces Alt-Enter as the toggle for the Status Line information. Regular and Enhanced keyboards alike now work the same. # NEW! The ANSI emulation was modified to support the variations of the X3.64 spec with regard to the Esc[J command. CompuServe users no longer have to select VT100 locally when CIS is set for ANSI. # NEW! Updated Alt-D/I (or Ins) to Insert a record. Now, it automatically invokes the "Revise" window at the same time. This is a more intuitive interface for inserting new records. # MAJOR improvement in the Zmodem upload and download code. You can now use the "High Speed XMIT" option for reliable error-free Zmodem uploading and downloading. You should also notice a 2-3% speed improvement too! # Added "{", "}" and "@" as valid PC filename characters. A Ymodem or Zmodem download of any filename that contained these characters would convert them to the "_" character. # Fixed a status line problem when the Host Single command is used. It was leaving the Host status line on the screen after returning to the script. # Fixed a problem with VT100 and ANSI emulation where the cursor could jump to column 80 after a LF character. Unix EMACS was the only system that identified the condition. # Fixed the "Rebuild FON" if a corrupted FON file is loaded. It was not clearing all fields correctly. # The Script Parameter CASE to the TurnON/TurnOFF commands would stick in the ON mode making all WAITFOR commands case sensitive. Since the default mode is to not be case sensitive, 4.2E users need just omit the use of the CASE parameter to assure correct operation. 4.3 fixes this so the CASE option is fully functional. # The Qinstall option Alt-N/F/T Time Date Stamp was corrected. Before, the the Time Date stamps were always placed in the files. # Fixed the ASCII Upload so that the screen display is correct regardless of the current mode of the Status Line or Split Screen. # The "Script Complete" status window is now displayed only if the Status Line is turned off. # Fixed the Script SEND command when the PACE=nnn was used. The delay was only occurring before the first character. It is now between all chars. # Fixed a problem with Passwords in the FON book containing a "$" character not working with the script SEND "$PASSWORD^M" command. # Fixed a problem where the internal editor might come up and have no cursor visable. # Corrected Qinstall to be compatible with DOS 5.0. We are now using PKLite version 1.12. # Fixed the Scrollback Save feature to Append to existing files. ------ ^ NEW! The Quick Modem Config modem definition file (QMODEM.MDF) now contains over 78+ modems! Many new High Speed >2400 MNP, V.32, V.32bis and V.42 modems have been added! ^ Qinstall.exe is now compressed with PKLITE version 1.03 and corrects a problem where it may fail to execute under large DOS memory schemes. This was not a Qinstall bug, but a PKLITE problem that has been corrected. ^ Qinstall/Modem/Communications Parameters/J-Serial Port was not correctly saving a port number if there was a 'gap' in the ordering. If you had COM1,COM2 and COM4 defined under Port Definitions, you could not save COM4 as the default because COM3 was undefined. You will also notice that Qinstall/M/C/J now pops open a Menu of available ports instead of letting you 'guess' which ones you have defined. Example: ╒═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ │ A - Default baud rate 38400 │ │ B - Default data bits 8 │ │ C - Default parity None ╒══════════ Ports ═══════════╕ │ D - Default stop bits 1 │ COM1 Base(03F8) IRQ(04) │ │ E - Command before baud change ░░░░░│ COM2 Base(02F8) IRQ(03) │ │ F - Command after baud change ░░░░░│ COM3 Base(03E8) IRQ(04) │ │ G - Cycle delay 0 │ COM4 Base(02E8) IRQ(03) │ │ H - Timeout delay 60 ╘════════════════════════════╛ │ I - Modem command delay 0 │ │ J - Serial port COM1 │ │ K - Script SEND PACE= delay 0 │ ╘═════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ ^ It has been brought to our attention that a few people are upgrading just the QMODEM.EXE and OVR files, but not the QINSTALL.EXE. This usually results in the case of Qmodem always starting up and then invoking Qinstall because it has detected a mismatch between the QMODEM.EXE and the QMODEM.CNF file. Normally, typing Exit/Save from the Setup Menu cures the problem and you never see Qinstall come up unless you press Alt-N. But, if the QINSTALL.EXE is for version 4.2D and you run 4.2E of Qmodem, then it will -always- come up, even after an Exit/Save. Why are we explaining all this? Because there was no way to tell -which- Qinstall you were running. Now, the Setup Menu will say which version of Qmodem it works with at the top of the menu. ^ The Status line might not return to normal during Script operation if XON/XOFF flow control is active and an XOFF was received. Also, if the receive buffer filled up during screen I/O and the message "Keyboard Input Suspended" on the status line was displayed. ^ If Qmodem is XOFF'd and waiting for the XON character, and the carrier drops, it now exits the loop waiting for the XON and continues operation. Before, you would have to press ^Q to force it out of the loop. ^ The Alt-P Port Configuration menu was missing the prompt for the selection character(s). ^ NEW! Qmodem now has an additional Command Line parameter /COMx where 'x' is the port you wish to use instead of the default port defined in Qinstall. Usage : C:\>QMODEM /COM2 (use COM2 for the default) ^ NEW! Two new options to the commands TURNON and TURNOFF have been added, DOORWAY and STATUSLN. DOORWAY supports turning on and off the Doorway Mode (the equivalent to the Alt-Equal keyboard command). STATUSLN supports turning on and off the Status Line at the bottom of the screen (equivalent to the Alt-Minus keyboard command). Unlike pressing the keyboard equivalent commands from Terminal mode, these can be issued in any order, at any time. The terminal mode operations require that Alt-Minus be executed before Alt-Equal. If your script executes any Debugging commands, the Status Line will be forced ON for the duration of the current debugging operation and then turned back OFF as necessary. Usage : TurnOn Doorway ;turn ON Doorway mode. TurnOff Doorway ;turn OFF Doorway mode. TurnOn StatusLn ;turn ON the Status Line. TurnOff StatusLn ;turn OFF the Status Line. ^ NEW! Because you can now turn the status line OFF in a Script, a status window will pop open when a Script ends saying "Script Completed." Also, when a Script is "QuickLearned" from Alt-D, these new settings are also recorded at the beginning of the script. ^ It was quite likely that the Alt-W command would show either an error or an incorrect Help screen when the F1 Help key was pressed. ^ While 4.2E fixed a problem with Qmodem not finding its Overlay File under DOS 2.X, it did not correct a problem of locating files to Upload under DOS 2.X. It was still possible to get a "Zero Byte File" message in 4.2E. ^ Somewhere in the 4.2D release, the check for CTS at startup got disabled. It is fixed, again. ^ NEW! The CAPTURE file (Ctrl-Home command) now has a 4K Buffer to speed I/O operations to the disk. ^ NEW! The BEW (Batch Entry Window) now allows a simple subdirectory name rather than a fully qualified path. Example: A valid PATH on your harddisk : C:\QMODEM\DL\ Your current directory is : C:\QMODEM\ The Path "DL" is valid for the current directory. BEFORE : Just DL in a PATH CELL was considered an ERROR. NOW : DL is valid and the F2 Pick Window will display the files located in the DL subdirectory. ^ QuickLearning a Batch Upload protocol (Y,G or Z) resulted in a script that was incorrect. So, the following changes have been made to the UPLOAD Script command: You can now string filenames after the PROTOCOL letter. These are all valid upload commands: UPLOAD Z C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT UPLOAD Z C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT C:\CONFIG.SYS C:\FOO.BAR You can use the line continuation character '_' (an underscore) to up to 60 additional filename the same way the BEW (Batch Entry Window) would create. The QuickLearn uses this method and looks like this: UPLOAD G _ ;Batch files continued on next line(s) C:\QMODEM\DL\1.COM _ C:\QMODEM\DL\2.COM _ C:\QMODEM\DL\3.COM _ C:\QMODEM\DL\4.COM _ C:\QMODEM\DL\5.COM _ C:\QMODEM\DL\6.COM Because the filenames are fully qualified, you do not have to limit the list to three unique PATHs. The BEW would create this scenario, but a custom written script can be something like this: UPLOAD G _ ;Batch files continued on next line(s) C:\DIR1\DL\1.COM C:\DIR1\DL\2.COM _ C:\QDIR2\2.COM _ D:\WP\TEXT.DOC _ C:\TURBO\SOURCE\VERSION1\QMODEM.PAS _ C:\QMODEM\DL\5.COM Note in this example that the first continued line has two filenames and then is followed by the continuation character. ^ NEW! A new parameter has been added to the Script SEND command. You can now specify a "PACE=xxxx" parameter after the string to send. 'xxxx' is a number between 0 and 9999 and is a value is in milliseconds for the delay between each character transmitted. Example: SEND "Testing" PACE=200 ;delay 200 milliseconds between ;each character. Along with this change, Qinstall/Modem/Communication Parameters has a new option "K - Script SEND PACE= delay". If this is set above 0, QuickLearn will add the "PACE=xxxx" set by option "K" to all Script SEND commands. This is especially useful when learning a script that requires you to log on using Telenet. We recommend a value of 200 for option "K". Once you get online to the remote system through Telenet, you do not need the PACE= parameter and can edit your -learned- script and remove them from the point of connection to the remote system. ^ The Script variable $PASSWORD was not being substituted correctly if the stored password contained a "$". Fixed. ^ NEW! Support has been added for the new HST V.32bis modem. It is capable of returning CONNECT 7200, CONNECT 12000 and CONNECT 14400. These values were not recognized and the Efficiency in the transfer windows would always read 400%. Fixed. -------- % There was a problem sending the Ctrl-Backspace key combination when running in DOORWAY mode. Fixed. % The Xon/Xoff characters were not being displayed correctly if the xon/xoff flow control was disabled. In addition, when it -was- enabled, the XON character was being displayed under some conditions. % A bug was introduced in 4.2D where the Alt-K command was working only with COM1. Selecting any other port would, shall we say, not work. % When invoking the command line option /HOST, Qmodem now does the Modem Initialization command before entering the Host. Previously, if your modem needed the modem init and you got stuck at the "warning" box, the system was basically hung waiting for you to confirm you wanted to run the host. So, if this is something that affects your system, be SURE to turn on Alt-N/M/T/I [ON] and your system should come up in the Host mode OK. -------- + Users of Dos 2.x would get the message "QMODEM.OVR not found" when it was right in the same directory or on the PATH. The problem stemmed from using a DOS 3.x+ SHARE assignment for the OVR file so DOS 2.X did not -see- it. + The Alt-O Directory Changer could return a "DOS critical error 2" box if the current drive did not have any subdirectories. Floppy users were the likely target for this snafu. Now, the message will read "No subdirectories to pick from". + Qinstall got the following fix: If the user started Qinstall from Alt-N, the Options/Memory entry is now visible, but the status line instructs them to run Qinstall from DOS. + Most notable for this version is the new opening screens for Qmodem and Qinstall. This more closely resembles our new Qmodem logo and manual style. Of course, I had to use "artistic license" to make it come close. [smile] + Fair warning. The Alt-I invoice that would print from 4.2 was wrong in that it mentions that "All prices include Shipping & Handling". That was incorrect. We -will- honor any PRIOR orders that do not include the correct "Add $5.00 for shipping & handling". The on-disk docs DID have the correct pricing. Now that 4.2D is released, we WILL require the additional $5.00. -------- @ The Function Key macro's were being padded out to a full 72 characters with spaces. This is due to a fix in 4.2B (2nd below). It now trims trailing spaces. In addition, if you want to PAD the a macro with trailing spaces, include the "|" character -after- the last space you want preserved. The trailing "|" character will be stripped at the time the FKey is invoked. Example: XTEST |░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ----------= | +----------- Stripped. +---------------- Transmitted. @ Keyboard lockup problems have been solved. Also, with carefully rewritten keyboard handler routines, Int09 and Int16 are no longer intercepted. This means older TSR's should function like in the pre 4.2 versions. The Alt-N/O/R/Int16 Enable switch is still present. This is still needed so Qmodem can read the extended keyboard scancodes when set ON (and your computer has an enhanced BIOS and 101 Keyboard). When set OFF, it uses the generic BIOS calls to Int16 and none of the extended calls (10h and above). @ Qinstall was modified to NOT open a COM port unless Quick Modem Config is selected from the Modem Menu. Qinstall also was compiled with the new Keyboard code. @ QMHOSTPK.EXE, the program that packs the internal Host's Message Base was incorrect. Running it on a 4.2x Host would corrupt all the messages. If you are running the Host mode, delete the following files: QMHOST.HDR QMHOST.MSG. The Host will create new ones next time it is started. @ When trying to save a file from Scrollback, if an already existing name was selected, it was checking the AutoIncrement and Overwrite flags for download protocols and quite possibly saving it under a different name. Quicklearn could do the same thing if invoked with Alt-Q. Both are fixed. All other FAW prompts have been checked and are correct. @ The text in Alt-N/M/T/W has change from "CTS when Writing" to "RTS when Writing" to correctly show which line is actually being controlled. RTS is the line that is being brought low (turned off) if the toggle is set ON. The QMODEM.HLP file has also been updated for this change. @ Several changes and additions to the QMODEM.MDF file. Most notably, the Multi-Tech modem line had problems in MNP and V.42 modes. @ The test for the "scratch register" in the UARTs now leaves the Holmes Modem/Fax so the Modem is enabled. @ Ymodem-G Upload was waiting for a "G" to complete the transfer. @ The "CTS Signal not found, waiting for CTS" message was popping up during Uploads if the High Speed Xmit flag was OFF, and there was great enough speed mismatch between DCE and DTE. Fixed. @ More efficient Zmodem Send Headers are now used and the timing routines have been improved. --------- * Zmodem upload using CRC16 had a bug where the blocksize could be incorrect due to an uninitialized variable. * The Alt-J editor was trimming leading spaces from the lines. It will now allow leading blanks so long as there is some other character(s) after the blanks. Trailing blanks are still stripped. * A fix made for 4.2A in VT100 emulation was incorrect. I tried to allow both VT52 and VT100 codes to be directly supported, but forgot that [esc]H is used in both sets. I set that code pair to execute the VT52 section and caused the setting of TABS in VT100 to fail. So, a future release will have a separate VT52 emulation. (I can't do that in a quick-fix release) * There was a potential for Qmodem to crash with a $204 error after a Ymodem or Zmodem batch download if 1 of the files in the batch did NOT have an extension. Fixed. -------- o Older XT BIOS's had a problem running Qmodem and Qinstall. This has been fixed. o Ymodem and Ymodem-G batch Uploads were not honoring the letter of the law. Some BBS's, such as Wildcat, were having problems with Qmodem uploading using these protocols. It was NOT a Wildcat problem. In fact, some Qmodem Host's were having the same problem. Fixed. o The BEW was changing default directories even if it wasn't uploading files from them. IE: Say your default is E:\NORTON and you specify E:\QMODEM as one of the upload PATHs in the BEW. After the transfer, the default directory on E: would have been E:\QMODEM. Now, it will restore the default back to E:\NORTON. (I did not deem this as a bug in 4.2, but one user did complain about it so it is fixed) o While not an actual FIX in 4.2A, this is due notice that External Protocol BATCH files should be updated for use with 4.2+. What used to be %3 as a passed filename, now is passed as %4 in the BAT files. %3 is now the reported DCE connect rate from the modem. o Also, you CANNOT alter Alt-N/O/M Memory from inside Qmodem. You must exit and run QINSTALL to make memory changes. This also is not a bug, but a design change. And no, the menu is not missing that option. o Many of you are reporting that the Time and Date fields are not being displayed in 4.2+. This too is not a bug. Some of you maybe picked up an illegal beta of 4.2 in which case the production will -=NOT=- auto-matically upgrade the TIME and DATE Masks in Alt-N/O/C. If you were a legit beta tester, it is because you were lax in reading the documentation that comes with the old beta releases. The cure for both conditions is to go into Alt-N/O/C and define all three masks! Legitimate 4.x Production CNF files WILL be upgraded automatically by 4.2+ versions. o The documentation for 4.2 was incorrect for the script DOWNLOAD command. In old releases, the FILENAME parameter was optional for Batch protocol downloads. This is no longer the case. The DOWNLOAD command requires BOTH parameters; PROTOCOL and FILENAME. In the case of Batch protocols, the FILENAME should be a complete PATHNAME with NO filename attached. The filename will be appended automatically by the batch protocol when the file header is received from the remote. The Download command has been updated in the documentation to reflect this. o The CTS Signal check at the beginning of the program was not detecting the lack of a CTS signal on startup if High Speed XMIT (Alt-N/M/T/H) was set ON. Now it checks on startup ALL the time. o Some video commands in VT100 were acting incorrect when the cursor was positioned in the last column. These have been fixed. o The Online help made an invalid reference to the Auto Zmodem toggle. It should have referenced Alt-N/P/T/Z. o The FON file was not being reloaded if it had changed while Shelled out to DOS and Optimum Shell was ON. If Optimum Shell was OFF, it was always being reloaded. o NEW FEATURE. You can now specify "DTR" (no quotes) as your Dial Prefix in Alt-N/M/M/P and the DTR line will be toggled LOW for the duration specified in Alt-N/O/D/D. You can use this in combination with Digital Phone systems that need DTR to be toggled to get their attention. o Corrected QMODEM.HLP to reflect entry 12.