Monster Media 1994 #2/Monster Media No. 2 (Monster Media)(1994).ISO/modem/ic201c.zip/UPGRADE.DOC

Text File | 1994-06-06 | 87KB | 1,503 lines

                                  Intellicomm (TM)
                                       v2.01
       Copyright (C) 1991-1994 Liberation Enterprises.  All rights reserved.
        ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
            INTELLICOMM v2.0 NEW FEATURES/FIXES AND UPGRADE INFORMATION
        ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

                                 TABLE OF CONTENTS


     1.  INTELLICOMM VERSION 2.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
         1.1  Upgrading from v1.00 (or v0.9x) to v2.0x . . . . . . . . . .   2
         1.2  Version 2 Update News  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
         1.3  Bug Fixes  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
         1.4  New Features (General) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
         1.5  New Terminal Features  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
         1.6  BIF Changes  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
         1.7  New Automation Features  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    11
         1.8  New File Tagger Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    14
         1.9  Intellicomm Main Setup Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    19

     2.  REVERSING ICOM V2 TO ICOM V1  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    22

     3.  SND / GET LISTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    23

     4.  VERSION 1.00 NEW FEATURES/UPGRADE TIPS  . . . . . . . . . . . .    24
         4.1  Version 0.95 Bugs Fixed In 1.00/2.0  . . . . . . . . . . .    25




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                             2



                            1.  INTELLICOMM VERSION 2.0

     Welcome, veteran Intellicomm user, to Intellicomm v2.0!  If you're
     upgrading from Intellicomm verson 0.9x/1.00 you don't want to miss this
     document!  Exciting new feature after exciting new feature is discussed
     herein, and if you skip this file you'll end up with 'Intellicomm v1'
     with a slightly different look to it.  I.e. you likely won't have a clue
     what new features have been introduced, nor where they are, nor how to
     use them, if you skip this file.  It may take you a couple of days on and
     off to browse through all the changes and new features, but it's
     definitely worth the effort and is a must-read for all Intellicomm
     upgraders.

     This document was created for those who are upgrading from a previous
     release of Intellicomm and are already familiar with BIFs, Intellicomm's
     Terminal, automated jobs, etc.  If you just recently obtained an older
     version of Intellicomm aren't familiar with these things yet, please
     delete your old version and start fresh with v2.0 in a NEW directory.
     The online help is where all the new user information is contained.  This
     document contains no new user information, other than where new features
     are discussed.

     Before you get started with Intellicomm v2 please keep in mind that if
     you do run into a problem with v2.0, which you experienced with a prior
     version -- that the problem may well lie in your existing DATA files,
     which for the most part are not touched when v2.0 is installed.  Various
     bugs in older versions caused Tagger catalogs, job files, and even BIFs
     to be corrupted.  It wasn't rampant, but it did happen under certain
     circumstances.  Due to bugs, you may also have configured Intellicomm
     improperly to avoid a problem, and that improper configuration may now
     cause you problems with v2.0.  If either is the case, and you do run into
     problems after upgrading to v2.0 please backup then delete all your
     Intellicomm files and start fresh with v2.0.  You needn't (and shouldn't)
     re-create your entire Icom setup at once; just create one BIF and one job
     from scratch with Icom v2.  If the problem you experienced previously
     disappears, then you'll know that the problem was in your old data files.
     Only then should you consider creating other jobs and BIFs from scratch
     with v2.0.

     1.1  Upgrading from v1.00 (or v0.9x) to v2.0x

     Please see README.1ST for installation instructions.  Upgraders are
     advised to first BACKUP their existing setup, and then to install Icom v2
     in the same directory.  This avoids having to copy your File Tagger
     catalogs, BIFs, scripts, etc., all into a new directory, and simply
     updates your existing setup to v2.  When the install routines replace an
     older file that may be of use to you (BIF template or script), the old
     file will be renamed to *.OLD so you will have a backup in case you want
     your old file back for some reason, or for your interest if you'd like to
     compare the new to the old to see what changes took place.  Once you're
     sure everything is working properly, and once you check that nothing
     important has been renamed to *.OLD, you may delete *.OLD from the \ICOM,
     \ICOM\BIF and \ICOM\SCR directories.




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                             3



     V0.9x UPGRADERS: There was a bug in the password save/update routines
     (v0.94 and earlier), which allowed multiple passwords for the SAME BBS to
     be saved in the password data file, ICOM.PWD.  This caused no problems
     (that I know of) in the past, but with the introduction of a new feature
     it could cause confusion at some point in the future if you don't fix
     your files.  To remedy the situation, select "Pack" from the exit menu,
     the next time you eXit from Intellicomm (you can do it now, before
     installing v2 if you like).  This will purge any duplicate password
     entries from your password data file.




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                             4



     1.2  Version 2 Update News
     ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
     ■ First the good news:  Due to the valiant efforts of those who
       registered v0.9x and v1.00 I was able to stay in business (if barely!)
       for another year and produce this release!  Hopefully you got your
       money's worth out of Icom v1.00 alone, and with this major upgrade, I
       hope you will get many MORE months of enjoyment from Icom v2.  I'd like
       to express a wholehearted THANK YOU to those who registered and made
       this release possible.  Please pat yourself on the back for me.

     ■ Second: Icom v2 is a free upgrade!  Although v2 is quite a major
       upgrade, and major upgrades normally require a modest upgrade fee, I
       have decided against that for this release (mainly because I'm just as
       tired as you are of other software developers soaking me for cash).
       Icom v2 will recognize your ICOM.REG "key" file, and automatically
       register regular evaluation copies of v2.xx, just as Icom v1.00 did.
       You looked after Intellicomm by supporting the product, and I'd like to
       return the favour and present v2 to you free of charge.

     ■ Third: Icom v1 has been thoroughly overhauled.  All bugs that were
       reported (that could be reproduced and located) have been fixed, and
       dozens of major new features have been added, designed to make the
       program both easier to USE day-to-day, and easier to SET UP.  Using the
       new learn modes, Icom v2 can set ITSELF up for automation at a given
       BBS by just interacting with you and watching what you do.  And with
       the new online help, every imaginable tip and tidbit you need is right
       at your fingertips -- when you need it, without fumbling through a
       manual.  Intellicomm v2 is not only the most powerful and flexible
       communications program for BBS use, and the most reasonably priced, but
       it's now one of the easiest to set up and use as well!

     ■ Now the 'bad' news.  First: Due to an increase in the size of ICOM.EXE,
       Intellicomm can no longer run off a 360K diskette.  If your system
       currently has only 360K drives you won't be able to use this new
       release until you can upgrade to at least a 1.2 Meg floppy drive (and
       more preferably a hard disk; 40 meg hard drives can be purchased for
       about $100 nowadays).  Hopefully this isn't an issue for many users,
       but I do regret excluding those whom this affects.  It was an
       absolutely necessary change and as new features were added it became
       impossible to keep the EXE below 360K.

     ■ Second: The price of Icom v2 has been raised $10 (to $39.95), and the
       competitive upgrade/$10.00 has been forsaken.  Most v1 users didn't
       take the discount anyway, and many actually sent EXTRA money, stating
       that Icom was priced reasonably enough that it didn't need a
       competitive upgrade price.  Further, the feedback received from dozens
       of users during the initial beta testing of v2 stated over and over
       again that Icom v2.0, considering its feature set and the price of
       competitive products with FEWER features, was grossly underpriced at
       $29.95.




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                             5



     1.3  Bug Fixes
     ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
     So many Icom v1.00 bugs were fixed for v2.0 (most were minor problems
     that you probably didn't even notice) that it would be absolutely
     ridiculous to list them all here.  Only the major bugs, or bugs you were
     likely to have noticed are listed below.  If you knew about a bug and it
     no longer exists, that's the best "documentation" that the problem was
     found and fixed.  And again, if you knew about a problem and the problem
     STILL exists with v2.0, please try re-creating your DATA files from
     scratch (the job and BIF) to see if it fixes the problem.

     ■ The exception 13's or hangs that occurred prior to file transfers, and
       in various other places (just after a job, sometimes when shelling to
       DOS, etc), have all been fixed.  Locating this bug held up development
       of Intellicomm v2 for approximately four months, and it's one of the
       reasons v2 was late.  It was such a major problem that I couldn't even
       consider developing other areas of the program until the problem was
       found.  As it turned out, it wasn't a bug in Intellicomm's code, but a
       bug in a library of mouse routines purchased for Intellicomm.

     ■ The internal editor had a couple of major bugs in it, but it's been
       thoroughly cleaned up and re-tested and you can now use it with
       confidence.  All of the scripts included with Intellicomm were written
       and/or touched up in the v2 internal editor, and it's working quite
       nicely now.

     ■ Another problem frequently reported; the never-ending "Find all/Tag
       all" in the File Tagger, has also been fixed.

     ■ And another, the "Invalid Handle" problem in the File Tagger, has also
       been fixed, though I unfortunately was never able to pin this one down
       and reproduce it reliably.  If a problem can't be produced at will,
       there's really no way to test and confirm 100% that it's been fixed.
       Various coding problems were found and fixed, and the problem hasn't
       been seen in weeks.  But there was no way to tell whether it was truly
       "fixed", since the problem couldn't be reliably reproduced.  If you run
       into it again, please re-report the problem and I'll keep at it.

     ■ And there was an "Invalid Date" problem in the Tagger (or rather on BBS
       listings that truly did have invalid dates), and some sorting problems
       when using the Tag Status/Location index that were also fixed.

     ■ The Minimum Connect Speed item (main setup/Dialer Settings) has, since
       v1, been allowing re-dialing right up to the Max. Dial Attempts item
       defined in the BIF (forever if no Max. Dial Attempts was set).  During
       automated runs, it now untags the BIF after 3 unsuccessful connects, at
       a lower speed than the Minimum Connect Speed.  During manual dialing
       (Dial from the BBS Directory), the BIF *remains* tagged right up to the
       Max. Dial Attempts, as with previous versions.

       This is only relevant to those who use the Minimum Connect Speed
       feature: if you have the minimum speed set to 300 baud, Icom will allow
       connections at any speed.




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                             6



     Some problems I was simply unable to reproduce.  Some people experienced
     dialing problems with v1.00 (the first number wouldn't be dialed ... and
     various other minor problems), and I've made some changes and am hoping
     for the best.  Since I was unable to reproduce any of the dialing
     problems, I made my best guess and am now leaving it up to you to re-
     report the problem if I missed the mark.

     1.4  New Features (General)
     ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
     ■ Online, context-sensitive help is now available in all major areas of
       the program!  Press [F1] twice from anywhere in Intellicomm for details
       on using the help system (Help on Help).  Make sure to use the help
       frequently whether you need help or not: Lots of tips and tidbits were
       included all over the place that you might never get to take advantage
       of if you skip the help screens.

     ■ Mouse support has been improved, with a free-moving mouse cursor and a
       scrollbar to move around in the File Tagger and Editor.  No scrollbars
       were added to the Job Directory or BBS Directory, but you can do the
       equivalent of [PgUp] / [PgDn] (if necessary) by clicking on the top
       border or the divider line just below the main windows.  Expect to see
       dialogue boxes, buttons and so forth in the next major release of
       Intellicomm (which will include a totally new interface).  V2's mouse
       support was ADDED to the basic interface of Intellicomm v1.00 and thus
       it isn't the "ultimate" in mouse support ... but it should prove much
       more useful than what v1.00 had.

     ■ The File Tagger and main setup program (TAGGER.EXE, SETUP.EXE) have
       been merged into ICOM.EXE.  Implementing these as separate programs
       meant a lot of wasted disk space since all the base routines (video
       support, mouse support, the menu systems, and lots of other code) had
       to be duplicated in each EXE.  By merging them all into one program, a
       common set of program functions is now used by everything, eliminating
       the duplication of code.

       With all the program routines now in a single .EXE, operation and usage
       of Intellicomm is simplified significantly.  ICOM.EXE no longer has to
       call TAGGER.EXE to export tagged files to SND / GET lists, which
       allowed several improvements in the way file transfers are handled.
       The old text file SND / GET lists were very awkward to handle as
       compared to the indexed databases the Tagger uses, and they are no
       longer needed.  SND / GET lists ***ARE*** still supported however, so
       if you're using BBSee or another program that creates those lists (or
       if you use Buerg's LIST program and dump to a GET list), you can still
       continue to do so as usual.  There are differences (improvements) in
       the way SND/GET lists are handled though and more details follow near
       the end of this document.

       For those of you who were calling TAGGER.EXE separately from inside
       your mail reader or the like, you can still accomplish this by using
       the command: ICOM.EXE /CAT:CATNAME /Area:Tagger (where CATNAME is the
       name of the catalog you wish to view; case is not important).  This
       takes you directly to the File Tagger, and when you exit the Tagger
       Icom exits back to DOS just as if you had called TAGGER.EXE.  If you




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                             7



       imported .NEW files lists into the Tagger using TAGGER /i, simply
       change it to ICOM /i.  ICOM.EXE now supports the TAGGER.EXE switches.

     ■ While disk space required is higher with Icom v2 (though still not as
       high as most competing products with fewer features... and you can be
       rid of a lot of the files if you like, and don't want the new features
       Icom v2 offers), and though TAGGER.EXE and SETUP.EXE were merged with
       the main program, memory requirements are actually DOWN by a few
       Kbytes.  Intellicomm will now run in just 380K of memory through the
       magic of program overlays (various parts of the program are swapped in
       and out of memory as you move around).  The overlays will be loaded
       into XMS or EMS, if you have it on your system; which allows the
       overlays themselves to be swapped to and from upper memory instead of
       loading the overlay from ICOM.EXE on disk.  If you notice a slight
       delay when moving around in Icom, and you don't have XMS or EMS on your
       system, it's due to the time needed to load the overlay from disk (no
       worse than the time it took to load SETUP.EXE or TAGGER.EXE).

     ■ Version 2 has a "main menu" which gives you quick access to all the
       major areas of the program, as well as various usage statistics that
       show you whether (and how many) new files are available for browsing,
       and how many new mail packets were downloaded on the last automated
       call, and how many times the connection was lost during the last
       automated call, and how many file transfers aborted, etc.  If you
       prefer not to use the Main Menu, set the "Base and Startup Area" in the
       Main Setup (General settings) to the Job Directory or whatever you
       prefer (registered users only).

     ■ You can now execute .COM, .EXE, .BAT, or .BTM (4DOS) files via Icom's
       internal File Manager.  Just "Edit" or "View" the executable, and the
       File Manager will ask you whether you want to execute it.  Note that
       it's best to have the "Enable Swapping" setting (Intellicomm
       Setup/General screen) item set to at least "When not connected" when
       using this feature, since it causes Icom to swap itself out of base
       memory (to XMS/EMS if available, or to disk if not available) giving
       the executed program all available base memory, minus just a couple of
       hundred bytes.  If Icom doesn't swap itself out you may have trouble
       running larger external programs from within the File Manager.

     ■ Intellicomm now has its own internal File Viewer.  This viewer is
       similar to the internal Text Editor, but you can view files of any size
       (the Editor can handle only files 64 Kbytes or less in length), and you
       cannot accidentally modify the file.  Currently, the File Viewer is
       lacking some of the more advanced features you'll find in external
       viewers such as Vern Buerg's LIST program: you cannot mark blocks and
       dump the text to other text files for example.  If you want more power
       in a viewer, you're free to plug an external viewer command in, on the
       main setup "Filenames and Paths" screen in the "File Viewer" option.

     ■ When calling your external Mail Reader Intellicomm now searches your
       PATH for the mail reader executable (or .BAT) and performs a CHDIR
       command to the mail reader's directory before starting the reader.
       Many mail readers are brain-damaged and will not operate properly
       unless the directory is changed before they're started.  If you ran




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                             8



       into problems calling your mail reader from Intellicomm previously,
       this is the reason (nothing to do with Icom . . . any program should be
       able to figure out which directory its .EXE is in, in order to look for
       the data files, but most popular mail readers are unable to).

     ■ REGISTRATION INCENTIVES:  Multiple File Tagger catalogs are no longer
       supported in the unregistered version of Intellicomm.  If you have your
       BIFs set up to use multiple file catalogs, the separate catalogs will
       not be observed until you send your vote of support for Intellicomm and
       make the purchase (all new files go into the NEWFILES database in the
       unregistered version).  Script Learn mode, and the definition of a new
       program startup area is also disabled in the unregistered version.
       Registration benefits seem to be necessary and are even desired by many
       people (namely registered users), so a couple were added.

     1.5  New Terminal Features
     ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

     ■ A Host Mode has been added to Intellicomm's arsenal of communications
       features!  See HOST.DOC for details.

     ■ You can now use separate "Minimum Connect Speeds" for each BBS (to
       override the Minimum Connect Speed defined in the main setup, and allow
       a lower connect speed on a given BBS), through a new item attached to
       the "Port Settings" item in each BIF.  When you select Port Settings
       you'll be given a second option to set the minimum connect speed (set
       to 300 to allow connects at any speed).  If you set a minimum speed, it
       will show up just after the port settings like so:  "19200,N,8,1/9600"
       (the minimum speed follows the '/').  This minimum connect speed, if
       not set to 300, is compared to the CONNECT message your modem returns.
       If you don't set up a minimum connect speed in the BIF, the main setup
       Minimum Connect Speed (Dialing screen) is used, as with v1.  Note that
       the actual PORT SETTINGS have not changed.  The port will be set to
       whatever speed/data bits/parity/stop bits you define in the BIF, as
       with v1.

     ■ You can now run a script to initialize your modem, by specifying
       @SCRIPTNAME as the initialization string in the Icom main setup
       (Terminal Settings screen).

     ■ If the terminal is set to use Hardware Flow Control (CTS/RTS and/or
       DSR/DTR), a check is now made before it is activated.  For either mode
       of flow control to work at all, the device connected to the COM port
       (your modem) must raise either the CTS (Clear To Send) line or the DSR
       (Data Set Ready) line, or both lines.  If you attempt to activate
       either CTS/RTS or DSR/DTR and "okay to send" line is LOW, a warning is
       now displayed and you are given ten seconds to continue before the non-
       functioning mode of flow control is automatically disabled.  In short,
       if you have flow control set up improperly, you'll find out about it.

       NOTE 1: Software Flow Control, while a clunky alternative to Hardware
       Flow Control, is automatically ENABLED if both modes of Hardware Flow
       Control turn out to be malfunctioning.




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                             9



       NOTE 2: Intellicomm v1 by default activated both Hardware Flow Control
       AND Software (XON/XOFF) Flow Control.  This was done simply because
       it's the way the several other comm. programs did things, but in
       hindsight it is really rather redundant (and does waste precious time)
       to use BOTH Software and Hardware Flow Control, and it's recommended
       that you shut the Software Flow Control off at your next opportunity...
       though ONLY if you have Hardware Flow Control enabled.  Older (slower)
       modems do not support Hardware Flow Control and if such is the case
       with your modem you mustn't turn off Software Flow Control.

     ■ Intellicomm v1 waited until just before dialing to initialize the
       modem, and it didn't display the results of the initialization (a modem
       OK or ERROR return code) to you.  With Icom v2 you can now have
       Intellicomm initialize your modem right at program startup, showing you
       the results of the initialization, as with most other communications
       programs.  This allows you to see any ERROR return codes from your
       modem, if your modem Initialization String is not defined properly.
       Initializing your modem at program startup may also eliminate dialing
       problems if you have problems dialing with v2.00.  To enable this
       feature access the main setup, select "Terminal Settings" and set "Init
       Modem at Startup?" to YES.

     ■ You can now have the Terminal status line display either the port speed
       or the modem-to-modem (CONNECT) speed via the new "Status Bar Displays"
       option on the main setup Terminal Settings screen.

     ■ Some general information and debugging information has been added to
       the Port Settings menu ([Alt-P] in Terminal mode).  It shows your UART
       type (16550 or 8250), and the on/off state of the CTS, RTS, DSR, and
       DTR lines.  [Clear to Send, Request to Send, Data Set Ready, and Data
       Terminal Ready.]

     ■ This isn't really a 'new feature' but a change: The right mouse button
       can no longer be used in the Terminal to pop up the [Alt-Z] Terminal
       menu.  The mouse was interfering with communications in some cases, so
       it is now disabled in Terminal mode (though you can still use your
       mouse to select items from the Terminal menu after pressing [Alt-Z]).

     1.6  BIF Changes
     ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
     ■ Instead of setting up your BIFs OFFLINE before calling the BBS or after
       finding an error, you can now use BIF Learn to set up your BIFs
       interactively while you're ONLINE!  BIF Learn watches for the BBS type
       when it connects and loads the proper BIF template, then grabs the
       proper prompts from the screen (and/or proper command from the
       keyboard) and plugs them into the BIF whenever you run into a problem
       online!  Don't worry about this interfering with unattended
       automation... BIF Learn must be activated by you before Icom will stop
       and ask you where to put a prompt it can't recognize.  During an
       automated job, with BIF Learn off, the usual (unattended) error-
       handling is done when an error occurs.

     ■ New BIF templates have been added for GAP, PCBoard v15, TriBBS ....
       along with several Mail Template Files (MTF) and Bank Template Files




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                            10



       (BTF) for these BBS types.  This brings the total number of BBS's
       Intellicomm directly supports to XX, with support for XX mail systems
       and XX time banks!  And with BIF Learn, setups for other BBS types will
       be easier than ever.  Intellicomm's nearest competitor supports
       automation of only *2* different BBS types, a couple of mail systems,
       and no time banks at all ... it has no learn modes, and has a very
       limited terminal (and that product costs more than Intellicomm, for
       good measure).

     ■ You can now define longer BIF commands/responses:

       1. All BIF responses (any commands Intellicomm SENDS to the BBS either
          in response to a BIF prompt, or to access a sub-menu, search for
          files, get new files lists, etc) now accept up to 40 characters.
       2. The 'Reply Dir' / 'Message Dir' / 'Upload PATH' / 'Download Dir' BIF
          items also now accept up to 40 characters allowing you to override
          the default main setup directories with a much longer
          D:\DIR1\DIR2\DIR3...etc.

     ■ Three new BIF Logon slots have been added: "Press [Escape]" for BBS's
       with front ends requiring [Esc] to be pressed after connecting, "Enter
       Birth Date" for those top-security BBS's that feel compelled to confirm
       your birth date from time to time, and "Enter Phone Number" again for
       the top-security BBS's that confirm for your birth date from time to
       time.  Given these new prompts and the 2 new "External Extra" prompts
       (see below) for the first time ever Icom actually has SPARE slots
       available for Wildcat BBS's!  [I await Mustang's next release of
       Wildcat, which will undoubtedly force me to use the empty slots, and
       probably to add support for 10 more equally tedious prompts... <grin>]

     ■ Six more BIF "Extra" slots have been added (4 total per area now),
       mainly to satisfy "certain", to remain unnamed, BBS's need to ask
       redundant questions, and to display the exact same prompt in different
       ways, for no apparent reason.  Okay, the BBS starts with a "W" and ends
       with an exclamation mark.  Any guesses?  <grin>  Actually I'm sure
       these extras will be of use on other BBS types as well.  Mustang
       software... do your worst: we're ready for you!

     ■ Since there was no room on the BIF "Logon" screen for all these extra
       slots, you'll now find the extras on a separate BIF "Extras" screen.

     ■ "Enter U/L Fname" has been added to the BIF "File" screen, for those
       BBS's with different Enter D/L filename and Enter U/L filename prompts.

     ■ A new "Descrip @SCRIPT" item has been added to the BIF "File" screen,
       allowing you to execute a SCRIPT to enter file descriptions during
       automated uploads.  Please see the [Wildcat v3.x] templates and
       WCDESC.SCR for an example.

     ■ IMPORTANT!  An "Extract Newfiles" item has been added to the BIF
       "Message" screen, to allow message packet extraction of new files lists
       using a filename other than NEWFILES.DAT, and also to allow you shut
       OFF the attempted extraction of the new files list from those mail
       packets that don't have a list included.  Icom v1.00 ALWAYS attempted




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                            11



       to extract NEWFILES.DAT (the new files list) from any mail packets you
       downloaded that had a .QWK (Qmail-compatible) extension.  With the new
       'Extract Newfiles' BIF option, you can selectively choose which QWK (or
       other) packets Icom extracts new files lists from: if the item is
       blank, no extraction is attempted.  Note that you can still disable
       extraction of ANY new files list in the main setup, on the File Tagger
       screen ("Extract NEWFILES / Mail" option).

     ■ A rather bizarre item "COUNT File Areas" has been added to the
       "Bank/List" screen, and what this item does is to start the file area
       (imported into the Tagger catalogs) at "0", and every time it runs
       across one of these on a file list:

       ║ Month Position . XX             New File Area  . File Area:         ║
                                         ───────────────────────────

       (the text "File Area:" is used by TriBBS, but anything can be defined),
       it increments the file area stored in the Tagger records ...  So given
       the following new files list:

       File Area: Anti-Virus Software
       File Area: Audio Files
       File Area: Unchecked Uploads
       ICOM201A.ZIP    XXXXXX  MM-DD-YY  Intellicomm v2.01.

       The file ICOM201A.ZIP would be stored as being in file area "3" (due to
       the 3 occurrences of the text "File Area:".  If you tagged and auto-
       downloaded the file, Icom would access file area #3 ... not "Unchecked
       Uploads".  So far this has only been necessary on TriBBS lists, which
       do not display the actual area number you must access.  I.e. above you
       could not [C]hange to the "Unchecked Uploads" area.  You'd have to
       [C]hange to area 3.  [Don't blame me... I don't design the BBS's I just
       try to let you automate 'em.  <grin>]

     ■ You can now use script commands in BIF prompt responses, and in job
       Custom Commands, by preceding the command with '&'.  Example:

       ║ Message Extra A &DOWNLOAD "Z"     Message A  . . . <FILEDOWN>      ║

       In the example above, if Icom found the text "<FILEDOWN>" during a
       mesage run, it would begin a Zmodem download.  The most likely script
       commands you'll use are &CAPTURE, &DOWNLOAD, &HANGUP, &UPLOAD,
       &WAITFOR, etc. (and even &EXIT ... &EXIT -1 causes Icom to abort all
       automated jobs, &EXIT 1 causes Icom to cancel the jobs on the current
       BBS, and to untag the BBS).  SCRTUTOR.DOC will introduce the
       rudimentary script commands to you quickly.

     1.7  New Automation Features
     ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
     ■ Something I've been meaning to add for a long time has been
       implemented: a debugging log.  \ICOM\CAP\ICOM.DBG (\ICOM\CAP\ being the
       usual path you use in your default Capture File) keeps track of every
       status/error message Icom sends (useful in reporting problems), along
       with information about automated jobs, as well as Tagger import




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                            12



       information, when a file is excluded from import for some reason
       (either due to the fact that it exists in DOWNLOAD.NDX [see below], or
       is a duplicate and already exists in the catalog, or was excluded due
       to a user-defined Exclude Keyword).

       When the Debugging Log is set to "Extensive" mode (main setup, on the
       new Debugging Log settings screen) the debugging log keeps track of
       every BBS prompt that Intellicomm was watching for at a given time, and
       also shows any/all BBS prompts that Intellicomm FINDS.  This can be
       extremely useful in debugging BIF prompt mismatches, or even more
       importantly INADVERTENT BIF prompt matches (i.e. Icom sends a different
       response than you expect to a given prompt, due to the fact that two
       BIF prompts are using the same text).

       For more information on the Debugging Log access the Intellicomm main
       setup "Debugging Log Settings" screen and press [F1] for help.

     ■ You can now define much longer parameters for several job tasks:

       1. The 'Search BBS for files[s]' task now accepts strings up to 80
          characters in length.
       2. The 'Custom Command/Run script' task now accepts strings up to 150
          characters in length, which not only allows much more involved tasks
          to be handled with Custom Commands (with strategically placed ^M's,
          ||, ~~~, etc.: see the online help for details) but also allows many
          script parameters to be passed to a script when using a @SCRIPT
          command in a Custom Command).
       3. The 'DOS Command/Run a program' task now accepts strings up to 150
          characters in length, again allowing more command line options to be
          passed to programs/BAT files you run.
       4. The 'Capture on/off' task now accepts strings up to 64 characters in
          length, allowing you to specify a full D:\PATH\FILENAME.EXT as
          necessary.

     ■ Up to this point, Intellicomm's main shining point was its built-in
       automated routines and the File Tagger.  With v2.0 those previous
       highlights have been improved, and another bright shining point has
       been added in that the script language has been expanded very
       significantly!  Intellicomm v1.00 had what was probably the weakest
       script language of any communications program.   The v2.0 script
       language is one of the most powerful and flexible script languages ever
       made available for ANY communications program, yet it still remains one
       of the easiest script languages to learn and use.

       The version 2 script language now contains over *220* commands,
       including sophisticated video handling, interactive keyboard input with
       three types of user-definable MENUS with full mouse support, string and
       key input (and 'simulated' keystrokes for macros), script "command line
       parameters" which can be passed from a job Custom Command, BIF, or the
       DOS command line, access to all system information (BIF, Icom main
       setup, system date, time, day of week, month, year, and environment
       information such as the PATH, PROMPT, etc) three types of variables
       (user-defined, global array, and system variables), direct access to
       the FILE TAGGER CATALOGS, regular file I/O, much better script flow




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                            13



       control with loops, if/else, switch/case, and too many other new
       features to list here.

       The word "script" is almost a dirty word to some people.  But no matter
       what you think of scripts due to experiences with other comm. programs
       or things you've 'heard' about script writing from other people, no
       matter how horrified you are by the size of Icom's script manual (which
       is mainly for REFERENCE and is *not* meant to be read in its entirety)
       you're simply cheating yourself out of one of the most useful and
       flexible tools ever produced for automated communications by not giving
       Icom's script language a look!  For a demonstration of some of the new
       script capabilities, run the included script SCRDEMO.SCR from the
       "Script Manager [Alt-U]", and browse SCRTUTOR.DOC -- a simple and easy-
       to-read introduction to scripts.  Powerful and very useful Icom scripts
       are EASY to create and there are simply too many useful things you can
       now do with them to pass them up.  Give SCRTUTOR.DOC *one* evening the
       next time nothing is on T.V.  You'll be very glad you did.

       For those of you who wrote scripts for Intellicomm v1.00, the appendix
       "CHANGES FROM THE V1.00 SCRIPT LANGUAGE" in SCRIPT.DOC outlines all the
       changes from the v1.00 language that you should be aware of.  Also, by
       looking at the converted scripts in your script directory (comparing to
       the *.OLD scripts) you can quickly see what changes were necessary from
       v1 to v2.

     ■ To help script writers get their projects started, and to introduce
       those interested in learning script writing to the language, a SCRIPT
       LEARN mode has also been added!  Something like the BIF Learn mode,
       Icom watches the BBS prompts (if online), and the keys you type, and
       creates a script as you go along.  Script Learn allows you to "record"
       any task, and then to "play" the task BACK as many times as you like,
       to automate virtually anything.  Learned scripts can also be executed
       from the DOS command line with the /scr: command line parameter (i.e.
       run them from a .BAT file or program launcher) or can even be attached
       to function keys allowing you to execute complex automated tasks with
       the press of a single key!  Script Learn is a bonus feature, only
       available in the registered version of Intellicomm.

     ■ There is now an integrated SCRIPT DEBUGGER with trace and animate
       modes, as well as command syntax-checking with automatic
       edit/positioning to syntax errors.

     ■ IMPORTANT!  The way job starting times work has been changed (meaning
       jobs that use task #1 in the Job Editor, "Set job starting day/time").
       Icom v1.00 just sorted the job pauses from earliest to latest.  If you
       Tagged/Ran two jobs that had pauses; one at 4pm and one at 5am, the 5am
       job would always take effect first.  With v2.0, job pauses now operate
       more intelligently and are sorted according to the CURRENT time of day
       and day of the week.  So taking the 4pm/5am pause examples above, v2
       would not execute the 5am job first unless it was closer to 5am than it
       was to 4pm when you ran the jobs.  If it was 12am when the job started,
       the 5am pause would be the starting point and the 4pm pause would take
       effect at 4pm the next day.  If it was 3pm when the job was started,




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                            14



       the 4pm pause would take effect first.  The job starting time closest
       to "now" is always executed first with v2.0.

       If you use multiple pauses in your jobs, please make any necessary
       adjustments to the starting times you've defined in your jobs.

     ■ Icom now allows you to define a list of directories to search (main
       setup, File Tagger Settings), and it keeps track of all filenames in
       those directories (new downloads).  Any files that were previously
       downloaded, whether they are deleted at a later point or not, are
       automatically filtered out when importing new files; so you'll never be
       bothered by the same file once you've downloaded it.  You can shut this
       feature off in the Main Setup (details below), or can define a new list
       of directories to scan, or can delete \ICOM\DOWNLOAD.NDX at some point
       in the future to start afresh.  DOWNLOAD.NDX is where the filenames of
       downloads are stored.  Note that this is not reliant on automated
       downloads: when DOWNLOAD.NDX is updated (after any automated download)
       ALL files that exist in the defined directories are added.  So you can
       easily add all the files that exist on your system today, and can also
       include files you download manually.

     ■ Added support for POSTFILE.SCR and POSTFILE.BAT.  These files (if found
       ... the .BAT must go in the same directory as ICOM.EXE, and the script
       must go in your regular Script Directory; \ICOM\SCR by default) are
       executed after any automated job that contained a "Download tagged
       files" task; once PER successfully downloaded file.  POSTFILE.SCR is
       included, and it's pre-programmed to uncompress new archives into a
       temporary directory, run the McAfee "SCAN" virus checker on the archive
       files, and also to obtain the proper file description from FILE_ID.DIZ
       or DESC.SDI, if either exists in the archive.  For details, simply run
       a job that downloads one or more Tagged files.  Once Intellicomm is
       offline, it will tell you all about the new POSTFILE.SCR.

     ■ Added support for PREJOB.SCR, PREMAIL.SCR, PREDOWN.SCR, POSTJOB.SCR,
       POSTMAIL.SCR and POSTDOWN.SCR (script versions of the .BAT files Icom
       supports during automated runs).  The .BAT versions are still supported
       (actually both are supported: you can have POSTMAIL.BAT *and*
       POSTMAIL.SCR if you like), but Intellicomm scripts are preferred since
       they can now do much more than batch files, and also provide access to
       all Intellicomm settings (directories, screen displays that use the
       same colors as Intellicomm does, etc.), and things such as the current
       day of the week, date/time, etc.

     1.8  New File Tagger Features
     ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
     ■ The Tagger has been improved dramatically with an 'auto-browse' mode
       which lets you scan new files without even pressing a key, plus full
       mouse support with a scroll bar, plus hilight bar 'locking' (by
       pressing [Scroll Lock]) and auto-locking at mid-screen (configurable)
       to keep the hilight bar in the middle of the file list while the files
       scroll under the bar, plus a configurable 'split screen' mode that
       displays key information about each file (along with the full file
       comment) in the bottom window -- all while in BROWSE mode.  You no
       longer have to use "Edit" mode to see full file comments and other




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                            15



       stats.  Get all the details, including a graphical display of the file
       SIZE for quick viewing, while browsing or auto-browsing.

     ■ Tagger "keywords" have been expanded to allow a virtually unlimited
       number of keywords to be defined (Exclude file keywords, Auto-Tag, etc;
       previously only 5 of each were permitted).  The "Auto-Tag" keywords are
       now called "Note Keywords", and they simply put a little double arrow
       beside files on the list to point them out to you (or group all Noted
       files together at the top if you use the Tag Status/Location sort
       order).  Also a very useful new set of keywords called "Replace
       Keywords" has been added which allows you to strip and/or replace words
       in file comments with words you prefer (i.e. change all occurrences of
       "WIN3" to "Windows 3", change offensive words to something less
       offensive, strip unnecessary/annoying words, and whatever else
       imagination permits).  The new Replace keywords (and all other types)
       are documented extensively in the online help.  Please do not use the
       new Replace Keywords before reading the tips in the online help, or you
       might mess up your Tagger file listings beyond recognition.  The
       keywords are defined in the Intellicomm Setup, on the "Tagger Keywords"
       screen.  SELECT this setup screen, then press [F1] (Help) for tips and
       examples.

     ■ Another new option 'Auto Tag Remaining Files?' has been added to the
       main setup 'Tagger Keywords' screen.  If Auto Tag Remaining Files is
       set to YES, Tagger automatically tags all newly imported files.  A
       'newly imported file' is a file that (a) doesn't exist in DOWNLOAD.NDX
       (previously downloaded files); (b) doesn't exist in the catalog
       already; (c) wasn't excluded by the Exclude File Keywords; (d) wasn't
       "noted" by the Note File Keywords.  I.e. all files that would normally
       be UNTAGGED are instead automatically TAGGED for download if Auto Tag
       Remaining Files is turned on.  Great for Sysops: turn this option on,
       and Icom will collect all new files that you haven't downloaded
       previously, and that don't exist on your 'Exclude' or 'Note' keyword
       lists.

     ■ You can now set "Stubborn" tags via Tagger Edit mode (hilight the file
       in browse mode and pick "Edit").  Stubborn tags remain tagged until the
       file is successfully downloaded.  I.e. if the BBS reports "File not
       found" Icom keeps it tagged and tries again next time, until the file
       is successfully downloaded or manually untagged.  You could also set a
       "Transfer Day" (again in Tagger Edit mode) with the Stubborn Tag if you
       desire, so that Icom would only try for the file on Fridays, etc.  This
       will be handy when you see something interesting being discussed, and
       you have the filename... but you don't know if the file exists on the
       BBS you call yet.  Just "Add" the filename to your catalog manually,
       set a Stubborn Tag, and Icom will repeatedly attempt to download the
       file until it shows up at your BBS and is successfully downloaded.

     ■ File Transfer Priorities (shown in Tagger Edit mode as either "U/L
       Priority" or "D/L Priority" depending on the catalog you're viewing)
       allow you to tell Icom how to transfer files, by entering an optional
       priority number from 1-200 (1 being top priority), either in Edit mode
       or by selecting "Priority" from the browse mode bottom menu.  Setting




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                            16



       priorities is the equivalent of editing a v1.00 SND/GET list and moving
       files around to have Icom transfer them in the order you prefer.

       The default priority for every file in your catalogs is 100 (this is
       done when your catalogs are converted to v2.0 format, and on
       imports)... which puts every Tagged file 'equal' right in the middle of
       the priority scheme.  So if you saw one or two files you wanted to
       transfer immediately, all you'd have to do is set the priorities on
       those files BELOW the 100 default (priority 10, priority 20, etc).  If
       you saw one or two huge files you DIDN'T want to download until later,
       all you'd have to do is set priorities ABOVE 100 (110, 120, etc) to
       sort them after the default of 100.  Files can also have the same
       priority, so you needn't use priority 10, 20, etc., unless you want
       complete control over every file that Icom transfers.  If you like,
       just set the files you want FIRST to priority 1, the files you don't
       really care about (if any) to priority 200 and you're done.  Again, you
       don't have to set priorities for any files if you don't want to...  If
       you don't, Icom will just download them sorted by filename.

       NOTE: The best way to set priorities is to switch to the Tag
       Status/Location sort order (sorted forward), after you've gone through
       a catalog and have Tagged everything you want.  Viewing the catalog
       with this sort order shows all the Tagged files grouped together,
       exactly as Icom will download them, taking the transfer priorities into
       account.

     ■ The "Column 2" menu item in the File Tagger has been moved to the
       Tagger's Tools menu to make room for the new "Priority" item discussed
       above.  Further, "Tagger Column 2" has been removed from the main setup
       program.  Tagger now saves the Column 2 status right in the catalog
       header, when the catalog is closed.  Thus, you can now set different
       Column 2's for each catalog.  Note that the very first time you access
       your Catalogs with v2.0, you may have to select "Tools/Contents of
       Column 2" in the Tagger to set it the way you prefer, since this value
       is no longer read from or saved to ICOM.INI.

     ■ The ability to MANUALLY "Note" files for future reference (as opposed
       to having to tag them for download) has also been added to the Tagger.
       The v1.00 Auto-Tag keywords are now called "Note" file keywords and
       they automatically note files for you, and you may also manually note
       interesting files instead of tagging them.  Noted files are not
       filtered out by the "View Date", nor are they purged by the auto-purge
       routines by default.  But you can change either default in the main
       setup, and can have noted files filtered, and can have noted files
       purged automatically after X number of days (or not at all) by using
       the new settings in the main setup on the File Tagger Settings screen
       (again see the online help when there for full details).

     ■ Smart Noted File Sorting:  If a file is noted automatically by Icom due
       to a match on the new "Note Keywords" list on imports, priority 1 is
       set for the 1st keyword on the list, 2 for the second, etc (the same as
       the transfer priorities mentioned above).  So, for example, if
       "Windows" was the first keyword on your Noted Keywords list, all the
       files containing the word Windows in the file description would be




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                            17



       sorted to the top of the catalog (if you use the Tag Status/Location
       sort order), with all the Windows files GROUPED TOGETHER... Files
       containing the next word on the Noted keyword list will be grouped
       together next, and so forth.  Keep this in mind when you set up your
       Noted Keywords list, moving the most interesting keywords to towards
       the TOP of the list.

     ■ "Find/Save Bookmark" has been added to the Tagger Tools menu.  You can
       use it to save and restore a given position in the catalog WITHOUT
       leaving the catalog.  Tagger v1 had bookmarks, but it only saved it
       when you exited the catalog, and restored it when you viewed the
       catalog next.  With Find/Save bookmark, you can save your position, go
       somewhere else to do something, then restore your original position.

     ■ Tagger Tools/"Export to Text File" now allows you to export All files
       in a catalog, only Tagged files, only Noted files, both Tagged and
       Noted, or just the Untagged files.  [This applies to the new script
       CEXPORT command as well; see SCRIPT.DOC for details.]

     ■ File descriptions imported into the Tagger are now stripped of graphics
       characters (by default; configurable in the main setup) and control
       characters (CR/LF), and redundant spaces, so that all descriptions are
       'equal' and formatted properly when displayed in the Tagger.  File
       descriptions which use graphics characters (frequently to put the
       description in a 'box') are almost always formatted for a specific BBS
       type, within specific margins.  If you upload the file to another BBS
       the using the same description but different margins, the description
       can be (and often was) mangled.  Thus graphic characters are simply
       stripped by default, removing the boxes.  Further, when duplicate files
       are found on imports, the Tagger compares the existing description
       length (the description stored in your catalog) to the description of
       the duplicate on the file list, and will automatically replace the old
       description if the new one is longer!  Of course, all the graphics
       characters/control characters have been stripped and the keywords have
       done their work by the time duplicate descriptions are compared (Strip
       Comment, the new Replace keywords, etc) so we're always comparing
       apples to apples when comparing description lengths.

     ■ The Tagger sort order/direction is no longer saved in the Tagger main
       setup, but is instead saved in each catalog similar to the View Date
       and Bookmark (i.e. you can now sort different catalogs in different
       ways).  The FIRST time you access your catalogs in the v2.0 File
       Tagger, you may have to adjust the sort order to your preferred method.
       Once set, each catalog saves its own sort order and direction
       separately, when you exit Tagger or Load a new catalog for viewing.

     ■ When tagging files for upload in the FILELIST catalog, you can now
       specify WHICH BBS's to upload to.  Previously if a file was tagged, it
       was uploaded to every BBS with any job that had an "Upload files" task
       defined.  With v2 you can safely add the "Upload tagged files" task to
       ALL your jobs, without uploading every tagged file to every BBS.  When
       you tag a file in the FILELIST catalog, the BBS Directory is displayed,
       and you can Tag/Select the BBS's you want to upload a particular file
       to.  After the tags are set, you'll see an "Upload Pending" (after the




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                            18



       last description line, in the bottom window) followed by a list of BIF
       ID's separated by semicolons; and these are the only BBS's the file
       will be uploaded to.  Each particular BIF ID is removed from the
       "Upload Pending" string if/when the file is auto-uploaded and the tag
       is only removed from the file after ALL BIF ID's are gone from the
       Upload Pending string (i.e. you needn't upload the file to multiple
       BBS's all at the same time, unless that's how you want it).  As with
       v1.00, the "Upload tagged files" job task (previously Upload files on
       XXXX.SND) must be defined in the job, or the file isn't uploaded
       whether it's tagged and has an Upload Pending or not.

       If you can't see the "Uploaded Pending" string due to a long file
       description, simply "Tag" the file again, and the BBS Directory will be
       displayed with tags next to all the BBS's where uploads are pending
       (press [Esc] to just leave them as is, or change them as you wish).

     ■ The FILELIST catalog also now keeps track of each BBS (BIF ID) you've
       uploaded a given file to.  If you've already uploaded a file to a given
       BBS, and you Tag the same file for upload again at the same BBS, Tagger
       warns you and allows you to cancel your Tag (or continue with the Tag
       if you want to upload the same file again for some reason).  Once
       you've uploaded a given file to one or more BBS's, you'll see "Uploaded
       To" followed by a list of BIFID's after the last file description line,
       in the bottom window of the browser (or editor if in edit mode).  You
       can modify either the "Upload Pending" or "Uploaded To" strings
       manually if you like, by "Edit"ing the record and adding/removing
       BIFID's.  You can also feel free to delete the "Upload Pending" or
       "Uploaded To" text as long as you delete all the BIFID's following
       them.  Note that the Tagger does not actually store the text "Upload
       Pending" and "Uploaded To" in your catalogs, since it would waste
       space.  It uses a special character to separate these strings from the
       regular file descriptions, and then just expands the special characters
       to the text "Upload Pending" and "Uploaded To" when displaying the
       record to you.

     ■ Added the ability to manually purge ALL *untagged* files from a given
       catalog (Noted files are always purged according to the main setup
       "Purge Noted # Days Old" item; if set to 0, Noted files are never
       purged).  Previously records had to be at least 1 day old before you
       could purge them -- even manually; now, when you select Tools/Purge
       from the Tagger, you can enter "0" (0 days old) and kill all the
       untagged files.  This new feature may be useful to those who make
       MULTIPLE new files list runs per day: you can read one list, purge all
       the records you've read as explained above (they're simply marked as
       Deleted; but they stay in the catalog to eliminate duplicates on the
       next import), then import another list.  When you browse the catalog
       after the import, only the files NOT marked as Deleted are new.  NOTE:
       You may want to adjust the main setup "Auto Pack when # Purged" item on
       the File Tagger Settings screen up to 1000 records or so (maybe even
       5000), to avoid an auto-pack after each import.  In fact, you may want
       to set Auto Pack when # Purged to 0 (zero; don't auto-pack at all) and
       simply perform your packs manually, when it suits you.




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                            19



     ■ When you delete a file (browse mode "Del" option) the File Tagger now
       checks on-disk for the file: first in the directories listed on your
       'Upload PATH' then the Download Directory (\ICOM\GET), then in all the
       directories on your DOS PATH (if "Use PATH to Locate files" is turned
       on, on the main setup General Settings screen).  If the file is found
       you are asked whether to delete the file on-disk as well.

     1.9  Intellicomm Main Setup Changes
     ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
     ■ The main setup program (now part of ICOM.EXE; do not use v1's SETUP.EXE
       with v2!) now uses a "main menu" of its own, which contains a list of
       all the major setup screens.  To access a given screen (Terminal
       Settings, for example) just hilight it and press [Enter], or press the
       bold 'hotkey', or move the mouse cursor to the item and left click.
       One of the settings screens will then be displayed (operating in much
       the same way as v1 did, though with a free-moving mouse cursor) where
       you can make changes.  When done, press [Esc] or click the right mouse
       button to return to the main setup menu.

     ■ Saving your main setup: Instead of always saving the 'current' main
       setup file (usually ICOM.INI), the v2 setup allows you to enter a new
       filename to save the settings to.  Here, you can press [Enter] to just
       re-save under the original filename, or you can enter a NEW filename to
       create a new main setup file.  This means that you no longer have to
       exit ICOM.EXE to create a new main setup file.

     ■ Further, "Load a New Setup File" has been added to the main setup menu,
       allowing you to switch from one main setup file to another, again
       without exiting ICOM.EXE.

     ■ As well, two new main setup screens have been added: Debugging Log
       Settings, and Host Mode Settings.  For detailed information on these
       new settings, access the new screen and press [F1] for help.  You don't
       want to miss out on the new Debugging Log, it's a very useful feature!

     1.9.1  New Settings
     ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
     ■ "TAB / Shift-TAB moves the" (General Settings screen) allows you to
       configure what the TAB and Shift-TAB keys do in the Job Directory, BBS
       Directory, Script Manager, File Manager.  Icom v1 used TAB and Shift-
       TAB to move the TOP hilight bar, in the main window, and [Left] /
       [Right] arrow keys to move the BOTTOM hilight bar, on the action menu
       along the bottom.  V2 defaults to the opposite, at the request of quite
       a few people.  To put things back the way v1 worked, just change this
       setting.

     ■ "Put Overlays in XMS/EMS" (General Settings) lets you tell Intellicomm
       where it has permission to put its overlays.  See the online help from
       the General Settings screen for more details.

     ■ The "Enable Swapping" item (General Settings) can now be set to "When
       not connected" (Icom only swaps out if not connected), "Connected or
       not" (always swap out), or "No" (never swap out).  If connected, and if
       set to "Connected or not", Icom's interrupt handler for the COM port




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                            20



       will remain installed and working WHILE you are shelled out.  I.e. any
       characters received from the BBS, up to the size of the "Receive
       buffer" (main setup/Terminal screen) are stored in the buffer and will
       be displayed on the Terminal screen when you return from the shell.  If
       the buffer gets close to full, even while you're shelled out, "flow
       control" is activated to stop the modem and BBS from sending further
       text (lest the Receive Buffer would overflow and you'd lose
       characters).  Note that this is only low-level communications
       (characters are simply taken from the port and stored in the Receive
       buffer... nothing else) and it does not mean you can do background file
       transfers while shelled out to another program.  If you want to do
       background file transfers, a copy of DESQview, Windows 3.1 or OS/2 will
       give background program execution abilities to your entire system.

     ■ "Release Time Slices?" main setup option on the General Settings screen
       allows you to control whether Intellicomm releases idle time back to
       DESQview, OS/2 or Windows while online (Icom always releases time
       slices while idle, if offline).  Releasing time slices means that when
       no COM port input/output, keystrokes, or mouse clicks are pending, Icom
       will release the remainder of its time slice back to the operating
       system, allowing smoother performance of other 'open' applications.
       Basically it means that Icom won't hog your system as most DOS
       applications do... when it doesn't HAVE to hog the system to process
       hundreds of events such as COM port interrupts.  However, if you
       experience missing characters in the terminal while online, and/or
       excessive file transfer errors, you might want to shut this option off.

       Scripts can also control the Release Time Slices setting by accessing
       the main setup tag '*rslice'.  On/off, as with all flag-type variables
       is signified by zero (off) or non-zero (on).  Example:

       assign *rslice 0   ;do not release time slices online
       assign *rslice 1   ;release time slices online

     ■ "Drop RTS on Disk I/O" main setup option on the General Settings screen
       controls whether Intellicomm lowers the Request To Send (RTS) line on
       the COM port, when disk activity takes place.  Lowering RTS prevents
       modems that support CTS/RTS flow control from sending characters to the
       port, and this is necessary during disk activity or characters can be
       lost.  However, if you run into any 'unusual' problems with
       Intellicomm, such as lockups, try setting this option to NO to see if
       it solves the problem.

     ■ You can now have the status bar display either the port speed or the
       modem-to-modem (CONNECT) speed via the new "Status Bar Displays" option
       on the Terminal Settings screen.

     ■ "Confirm Hangup" (which defaults to ON) on the "Terminal Settings"
       screen allows you to bail out of an inadvertent [Alt-H] (Hangup).  If
       Confirm Hangup is on, and you press [Alt-H], you are asked to confirm
       the hangup.

     ■ "Cancel D/L No Time/Bytes" (File Transfer Settings) lets you tell
       Intellicomm to stop entering more filenames during automated downloads,




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                            21



       as soon as it finds a "No Time", or "No Bytes" (insufficient time
       and/or download bytes to obtain a file) from the BBS.  Most people will
       want this item turned OFF, since it's quite possible that smaller files
       WILL be accepted further along, even if one file did get the No
       Time/Bytes message.  But if you're not particularly fussy about
       downloading to the max., and you want Icom to just give up the first
       time it sees a No Time/No Bytes message from the BBS, access the Icom
       main setup / File Transfer Settings screen and change and turn this
       item on.  It defaults to Off.

     ■ "Blank Screen # Seconds" (Screen/Color Settings) allows you to
       configure Icom v2's new program-wide screen blanker.  If set to 0, the
       screen blanker is disabled.  If set to any other number, the screen
       blanker is activated in that number of seconds, if no keys are pressed.

     ■ "Status Window Delay" (Screen/Color Settings) while not a NEW item,
       many v1 users didn't know this item existed.  It allows you to
       configure how long various status/error messages are displayed on-
       screen.  This delay value tells Intellicomm how long it takes you to
       read a 40 character status/error message.  When a message is displayed,
       Icom adjusts the display time up or down (depending on the length of
       the message) according to this setting.  Quite useful if you found
       yourself missing various status/error messages with v1.

     ■ "File Viewer" (Filenames and Paths screen) again isn't new, but it's
       automatically cleared during v2 installation to let v1 users know that
       Icom now has its own internal File Viewer.  If you still want to use an
       external viewer, you'll have to plug the proper command back in here
       again.

     ■ File Tagger's main setup screen has been moved into the regular
       Intellicomm main setup, on the new "File Tagger Settings" and "Tagger
       Keywords" screens.  Be sure to give these screens (and the online help,
       when on the screen) a look.  You'll find the following new settings on
       the File Tagger Settings screen:

     ■ "File Transfer Speed [CPS]" is used to estimate Transfer Times by the
       new split-screen reports when in Tagger browse mode, and also on the
       new "Tagged File Stats" report available from the Tagger Tools menu.
       If you define a CPS (Characters Per Second) here, this CPS rate is used
       to calculate transfer times, instead of the "real" average CPS that
       Icom v2 now keeps track of from file transfer to file transfer.  If you
       know the Average CPS you get when transferring files, just plug the
       value in here for more accurate Transfer Time estimates when in the
       Tagger.

     ■ "Tagger Screen Size" allows EGA/VGA users to define an extended line
       video mode (42/50 lines) for the File Tagger (particularly to increase
       the next item listed below), while using the regular 25 line mode in
       the terminal and other areas of Intellicomm.

     ■ "Description lines shown" determines how many (if any) extended
       description lines are displayed in the new browse mode split screen




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                            22



       report.  If you set this item to 0, Tagger will look exactly as it did
       in v1.00 (no stats displayed as you hilight each file).

     ■ "Export D/L's to TEXT FILE" and "BIF Format for Export" allow you to
       have Intellicomm export all newly downloaded file records (name, size,
       date, description) to a text file, in a specific BIF format.  This is
       mainly for Sysops who use Icom for automated file collection, to update
       the BBS file listing.

     ■ "Auto Hilight Bar Lock", "View Date Filters Noted", "Use DOWNLOAD.NDX",
       "File .EXTensions in DNDX", "DOWNLOAD.NDX Directories", "Filter
       Graphics Chars", "Purge Noted # Days Old", are all new settings on the
       File Tagger Settings screen as well.  Rather than duplicating the
       documentation here, please see the online help while on the File Tagger
       Settings screen for full details.

     2.  REVERSING ICOM V2 TO ICOM V1
     ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
     There are several changes in v2.0 that can be reversed to the way v1.00
     did things (in the main setup) if you prefer the v1.00 method:

     ■ The Main Menu: Icom v2.0 uses a new main menu, instead of starting at
       the Job Directory.  If you prefer to start at the Job Directory (or
       Terminal, or BBS Directory, or Script Manager), select the "Intellicomm
       Setup" option on the Main Menu, change to the "General Settings"
       screen, then change the "Base and Startup Area" to the area you prefer.

     ■ TAB/Shift-TAB was used in v1.00 to move the top hilight bar in the Job
       Directory, BBS Directory, File Manager, etc.  Many people asked that
       [Left], [Right] be used to move the top hilight bar so a Main Setup
       option was added which allows you to choose the method you prefer.  It
       defaults to using [Left], [Right] to move the top hilight bar, but if
       you want it back the way v1.00 worked enter the Main Setup, select the
       "General" settings and set "TAB / Shift-TAB moves" item to "Top
       Hilight".

     ■ File Tagger now scans a list of directories and keeps track of all
       files you download, and doesn't add these files to the NEWFILES catalog
       (or user-defined catalog, if set up in the BIF).  If you wish to turn
       this feature off, access the main setup, switch to the "File Tagger"
       screen, then set "Use DOWNLOAD.NDX" to NO.  There are also many other
       new features in the Tagger that you can turn off via the Icom main
       setup / File Tagger options.  I.e. you can turn off the Split Screen
       mode by setting the # of Description Lines displayed to 0 (which
       displays files in browse mode the same as Icom v1.00 did), you can turn
       off the auto-hilight bar locking, and so forth.  Just take a peek at
       the Icom main setup / Tagger options, and see the online help for
       details.

     ■ File Tagger also displays a 'split screen' report, showing the full
       description of each file (using up a few more screen lines than the
       Tagger v1 browse mode did).  To shut this split display off access the
       Icom main setup / Tagger Settings screen and set "Description Lines




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                            23



       Shown" to 0 (zero).  Browse mode with then look exactly as the Tagger
       v1 browse mode did.

     ■ The Tagger hilight bar now automatically 'locks' itself at mid-screen,
       scrolling files under the hilight bar as you move around.  To shut this
       off access the Icom main setup / File Tagger Settings screen and set
       the item "Auto Hilight Bar Lock" to OFF.

     3.  SND / GET LISTS
     ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
     As mentioned earlier, Icom v2.0 no longer requires .SND / .GET lists to
     transfer files as it now uses the Tagger catalogs directly.  .SND / .GET
     lists ARE STILL SUPPORTED, but the way in which they're used is reversed,
     and this made several improvements possible.  Icom now IMPORTS .SND /
     .GET lists (if it finds any) into the proper Tagger catalog(s), and
     automatically tags all the files.  If you previously didn't use the
     Tagger and are worried about having to keep large File Tagger catalogs
     on-hand, worry not.  The Tagger always moves the filenames/descriptions
     of files it downloads into the "Upload" catalog (called FILELIST) and
     deletes the entries in the download catalog, after each successful
     download.  If you don't want a list of files kept handy for uploads,
     again see the Main Setup / File Tagger Settings and turn "Keep an Upload
     Catalog" off.  This way the downloaded files will simply be deleted from
     the download catalog and won't be put anywhere else.

     You can also control packing of the download catalog (removal of deleted
     records) by setting the "Auto Pack when # Purged" item.  If you set this
     to 1, then the catalog will be packed (i.e. deleted entries are removed
     from the catalog) regularly, and all files added from the .GET list (that
     were successfully downloaded) will be removed.  There will be very little
     difference in the disk space used by .GET lists vs. the File Tagger
     catalogs if you go this route.

     You can either create the SND/GET lists yourself manually (they use the
     same format as regular BBS listings, so you can cut/paste lines directly
     from a BBS list onto a .SND or .GET list to have Icom transfer the files)
     or can use another program such as BBSee which uses SND / GET lists to
     interface with Icom to tell it what to transfer.  However, previously the
     SND / GET lists did NOT go through the duplicate checking routines that
     the Tagger used, since previously they were not imported into your
     catalogs.  Now that they are imported, they go through the regular
     duplicate checking routines and also the DOWNLOAD.NDX check (keeps track
     of all files you've downloaded previously) if you have that option turned
     on.  Further they also go through "Strip Comment", "Replace" keyword
     checks to clean up descriptions, and descriptions are now also
     reformatted and stripped of high ASCII characters (all of the above is
     configurable... if you don't want one or more of the above, shut the
     feature off in the Main Setup).

     A further advantage is that you can now also use the regular BBS file
     list format on *SND* (upload) lists.  SND lists had a fixed format with
     Icom v1.00 (a tab had to precede each description line) and you thus
     couldn't use clips of a regular BBS listings, or copies of GET lists, to
     have Icom upload files.  Icom still supports the old v1.00 format for SND




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                            24



     lists, but v2.0 now supports either the old format OR the same format
     used by the BBS file lists.  This one should prove popular with Sysops
     who upload files to other BBS's regularly, since you can now just copy
     portions directly from your BBS file listings right onto SND lists to
     have Icom upload the files.

     When importing .SND lists Icom ignores the DOWNLOAD.NDX check, since you
     wouldn't be uploading a file you didn't already have.  If a file on a SND
     list already exists in your FILELIST catalog, Icom compares the length of
     the file descriptions and keeps the longest one (if that option is turned
     on in the main setup... File Tagger Settings again), then tags the file
     adding an "Upload Pending: BIFID" where BIFID is the FILENAME used by the
     .SND list.  Uploads do not work the same way as downloads in that the
     Tagger does not automatically delete entries from the FILELIST (Upload)
     catalog.  So the catalog will grow over time and you could periodically
     DELETE \ICOM\DBF\FILELIS*.* (use POSTJOB.BAT to do it automatically if
     you like) to clean it out if you don't want to keep the
     filenames/descriptions handy for uploads to other BBS's.

     When importing .GET lists, all files go through the regular duplicate
     checking / download priority routines.  If the file already exists in
     your NEWFILES catalog (or custom catalog, if defined in the BIF) Icom
     checks the download priority defined in each BIF and updates the record
     with the BIF/Location with the highest priority.  Comment lengths are
     also checked (if that option is turned on) and Icom keeps the longest
     comment, then tags the file.

     When importing either .SND or .GET lists, the "Note Keywords" and
     "Exclude Keywords" are also ignored.  It is assumed that if you put a
     file on a SND/GET list that you're sure you want to transfer it, so Icom
     doesn't override you with the above keyword checks, which could cause the
     file to be either Noted (instead of being tagged) or excluded entirely.
     The "Strip Comment" and "Replace Keywords" ARE checked though (if you
     define any), to clean up the file descriptions.


     4.  VERSION 1.00 NEW FEATURES/UPGRADE TIPS
     ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
     This section contains only the changes from v0.95 to v1.00.  For previous
     new feature information, please see NEW&FIXD.DOC included in ICOM095B.ZIP
     and ICOM094B.ZIP if upgrading from v0.92/.93

     ■ Support has been added for Opus, Maximus, and RemoteAccess BBS's, along
       with support for a couple of related Mail/Bank types for these BBS's!

     ■ New command line parameter /scr: allows you to run Intellicomm scripts
       directly from DOS.  Example:  ICOM /scr:TEST would start Intellicomm,
       switch to Terminal mode (initialize your modem) then run TEST.SCR.  No
       automatic exit to DOS is done after running the script (as happens when
       using the /Run: switch), so you can run multiple scripts one after the
       other if necessary (ICOM /scr:SCRIPT1 /scr:SCRIPT2 ...).  [V2.0 NOTE:
       This switch now also allows command line parameters to be passed to
       scripts, and an automatic exit to DOS *is* done, if Icom is offline
       when the script(s) end.  See SCRTUTOR.DOC for details.]




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                            25



     ■ HSMAIL.BAT is no longer required (HSLINK.BAT now works for all HS/Link
       transfers).  It is recommended that you remove the HS/Link-MAIL entry
       from your external protocol definitions, and set your BIFs to use
       HS/Link (regular HSLINK.BAT).  To remove HS/Link-MAIL enter the
       Intellicomm Setup, and change to the "External Protocols" screen.  Then
       move the hilight to the HS/Link-MAIL item press Enter to edit it, press
       Ctrl-End to clear out the description then just press Enter to pass
       over the other items.  With no description available the protocol will
       be cleared and the one beneath it (if any) will move up a slot.  eXit
       then make sure you save the changes to disk.  Support for HSMAIL.BAT
       may be removed in the future, so you should at least update your BIFs
       to use HS/Link (see HSLINK.BAT) instead of HS/Link-MAIL.

     ■ This was a v0.95 new feature, but it's important so I'm mentioning it
       again here.  Intellicomm now switches to the proper DOS directory
       before starting a file transfer (your Up/Download directory, or the
       proper Message/Reply directory).  If your .BAT files, used to interface
       to external protocols (DSZ-?.BAT, HSLINK.BAT, etc.) contain any CHDIR
       (or CD) commands, you should REMOVE them and instead just have the
       protocol place files in the current directory.  Further, if using
       HS/Link you should NOT define a "download directory" in the HS/Link
       configuration program, or your MAIL PACKETS will end up in your regular
       download directory.  If you must specify a directory in the protocol
       command, use a period which means "current directory" to DOS.

     ■ The screen is no longer cleared when shelling out to perform external
       file transfers.  This allows for a more integrated look for protocols
       that use nice screens/windows... (such as HS/Link.  Also be aware that
       you can define the SCREEN COLORS in the HS/Link configuration program
       to use the same colors Intellicomm uses).  But with DSZ's screens,
       which basically assume they have access to the whole screen, it doesn't
       look very nice, so a CLS (clear screen) command was added to the DSZ-
       ?.BAT files.  To clear the screen before starting another external
       protocol, just place a CLS in the .BAT.

     ■ Intellicomm now gives up its Desqview "time slice" if nothing is
       happening (no keystrokes, nothing from the comm. port, etc).  This
       should make your foreground applications run more smoothly while Icom
       is running in the background.  [Version 2 Note: This feature has been
       expanded to include Windows, OS/2, the DOS Shell program, and any other
       program that uses the standard DPMI (DOS Protected Mode Interface)
       "release slice" call.]

     ■ An "Import from Text File" option has been added to the File Tagger's
       "Tools" menu.  For use when you obtain a BBS file listing from another
       source, which you want imported into a catalog.

     ■ An "Add" option has been added to the File Tagger's main menu, to
       manually add new filenames to your catalogs when necessary.

     4.1  Version 0.95 Bugs Fixed In 1.00/2.0
     ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
     ■ Internal Zmodem had a fairly major bug in it, in that transfers would
       never automatically abort due to errors.  There is a counter in Zmodem




     Intellicomm v2.01              UPGRADE.DOC                            26



       that causes a transfer to abort after ten consecutive errors... but the
       counter was not working properly.  Now fixed.

     ■ Swapping was turned off in previous releases before shelling to
       external protocols... and that's still the case in v1.00.  But Icom now
       sets swapping BACK to the default value after the protocol returns.
       Previous releases left swapping turned off.

     ■ When auto-HS/Link downloads were added to v0.95, it became possible for
       an automated mail download to actually take place TWICE.  The first
       time due to the HS/Link auto-download header from the BBS, and the
       second (where HS/Link would just sit and timeout) when the "Receive
       Messages" prompt was encountered, as defined in the BIF.  Now auto-
       HS/Link downloads are disabled during auto mail runs, and only the
       Receive Messages prompt is used.

     ■ PCRelay transfers were not working properly.  Intellicomm could either
       timeout before the transfer started, or if that didn't happen and the
       transfer did go off without a hitch, Icom would call back and try again
       since PCRelay just hangs up after the download (Icom thought the
       connection had been lost).  Both problems are now fixed.  Intellicomm
       will still think the connection has been lost, but since the "Get Mail"
       task is now removed from the queue after a successful download
       (previously it was done elsewhere), Intellicomm will have nothing left
       to do on the BBS -- will realize this, and won't call back.

     ■ If there were no "Exclude Dialing" strings defined in the main setup,
       on the Dialing screen, Intellicomm would improperly use the Busy/Retry
       strings as EXCLUDE strings.  This caused a BBS to be removed from the
       queue rather quickly, when BUSY signals were encountered.  Now fixed...
       and you may safely remove your exclude strings if you don't want to use
       that feature.