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Canine Express (K9X)
The New Generation Communications Package
For the IBM Family of Personal Computers and Compatibles
(c) Copyright 1985, 1989 by Crater Rim Software. All Rights Reserved
This Documentation Covers the Installation and Operation
of BOTH ShareWare Version SW8x and Registered Version 8.xx
February 15, 1989
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 00 -
Table of Contents
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Table of Contents ............................................. 00
ShareWare Version Licensing Agreement ......................... 06
ShareWare Version Disclaimer and Warranty ................. 07
Introduction .................................................. 07
K9X Features .................................................. 12
K9X Files ..................................................... 15
Other Files ............................................... 16
Files Created or Required ................................. 16
K9X Installation .............................................. 16
INSTALL.BAT ............................................... 17
K9X Directories ........................................... 17
K9X Environment ............................................... 19
K9X Menu Systems .............................................. 19
Starting K9X For The First Time ............................... 19
Using K9X Command GateWay Menu System ......................... 20
Command Gateway Menu System Map ............................... 21
K9X Expert System ............................................. 22
Command Summary Display Sample ............................ 22
Secondary Command Summary Display Sample .................. 23
K9X Expert System Commands .................................... 23
[Esc] : Escape Key ................................... 23
[Home] : Expert Command Summary ....................... 24
[Alt-3] : Use Internal SuperK Protocols ................ 24
[Alt-A] : Toggle ANSI Off............................... 24
[Alt-B] : Send Break ................................... 25
[Alt-C] : Clear Screen ................................. 25
[Alt-D] : Dialing Directory ............................ 25
[Alt-E] : Toggling Local Echo .......................... 25
[Alt-F] : File Manipulation ............................ 26
Files Manipulation Menu Sample ........................ 26
Bytes Free on Drive ................................... 26
Change Drive/Dir ...................................... 26
Display Directory ..................................... 27
Exit to DOS (Shell) ................................... 27
Help with File Select ................................. 27
List Marked Files (0) ................................. 27
Manipulate Marked (0) ................................. 27
Select Upload Files ................................... 28
[Alt-G] : Hang Up The Phone ............................ 28
[Alt-H] : Hook Multitasking ............................ 28
[Alt-I] : Insert Linefeeds ............................. 28
[Alt-J] : Jump to DOS .................................. 28
[Alt-K] : K9X Version .................................. 29
[Alt-L] : Log Session To Printer ....................... 29
[Alt-M] : Function Key Macros .......................... 29
Read Function Key Macros From File .................... 29
Edit/Modify Function Key Macros ....................... 29
Write Function Key Macros To File ..................... 29
Quit Alt-M Section .................................... 29
[Alt-N] : New Modem Settings ........................... 30
[Alt-O] : Open BBS Door - Dumb Terminal Mode ........... 30
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 01 -
Table of Contents
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Alt_P] : Set Paramters ................................ 30
[Alt-Q] : Toggle Quiet Mode ............................ 30
<ERROR> Line 25 Menu Error Message .................... 31
[Alt-R] : Redial Last Number Dialed .................... 31
Redial Immediately .................................... 31
Change Dial Delay ..................................... 31
[Alt-1]/[Esc] Abort Redial ............................ 31
[Alt-S] : Screen Dump to file .......................... 31
[Alt-T] : Time Fix - Elapsed Time ...................... 32
[Alt-U] : Use File Find ................................ 32
How it works .......................................... 32
[Alt-V] : View Capture Buffer .......................... 33
[Alt-W] : What's My Protocol ........................... 33
[Alt-X] : Toggle Expert mode ........................... 34
Getting there from the Command GateWay ................ 34
Setting Permanent Expert Mode ..................... 34
Setting Temporary Expert Mode ..................... 34
[Alt_Y] : Your K9X Editor .............................. 34
Macro/Message Editing Differences ..................... 34
[End] : Exit K9X to DOS .............................. 35
[Ins] : Log Session To Disk .......................... 35
[^Home] : Default DOS Command .......................... 35
[Alt-1] : Toggle Transfer Window ....................... 36
During File Transfers ................................. 36
Discard Dialing List .................................. 36
Cancel List Dialing ................................... 36
[Alt-8] : CIS/B Module ................................. 36
[Alt-9] : ICEX Pc-Pursuit Module ....................... 37
[->] : Text Message Upload .......................... 37
Sending PreFabricated Messages ........................ 37
[PgDn] : Download (Receive) a file .................... 37
Default Download Path ................................. 37
[ShiftTab] : Mark & Save .................................. 39
Up Arrow .............................................. 39
Down Arrow ............................................ 39
Right Arrow ........................................... 39
Left Arrow ............................................ 39
Home .................................................. 39
End ................................................... 39
Shift Tab ............................................. 39
D - Display Buffered Filenames ........................ 39
M - Mark Filename ..................................... 39
Parsing Format Spaces in File Lists ............... 40
E - Edit Buffered Filenames ........................... 41
A - Add Filename .................................. 41
C - Clear One/All ................................. 41
E - Edit Filename ................................. 41
L - Load File List................................. 41
File list entry format ........................ 41
S - Save Buffered Filenames to file ............... 42
[Enter] Quit Mark and Save/Edit modes ................. 42
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 02 -
Table of Contents
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark and Save Help Line ............................... 43
[]/[Del] : Auto Download Mark and Save Filenames ........ 43
[Del] : Automated Downloads .......................... 43
[] : Quick Download ............................... 44
Special Notes ..................................... 45
[Alt_6] : Clear Filename ............................... 46
[PgUp] : Upload (Send) a File ......................... 46
Using K9X File Find ................................... 47
[] : Quick Upload ................................. 48
@drive:\path\filelist ................................. 48
[Alt_-] : Universal LookFor Toggle ..................... 49
[Alt_+] : Macro Toggle ................................. 49
Dialing Directory ............................................. 50
Queue Dialing Before Entering Dialing Directory ........... 50
List Dialer, Tag and Untag Mode ........................... 50
Dialing Directory Size .................................... 50
Monitoring Carrier Detect ................................. 50
Dialing Directory Format .................................. 50
Main Dialing Directory Display ............................ 51
Dialing Directory Display Sample .......................... 52
Extended Information Display .............................. 52
Extended Info Display Sample .............................. 53
Dialing Number Display .................................... 53
Dialing/ReDialing Number Display Samples .................. 54
Quick Entry Edit Display .................................. 54
Quick Entry Edit Display Sample ........................... 55
Navigating The Dialing Directory .......................... 55
Dialing a Specific Directory Entry ........................ 55
Command Keys .............................................. 56
Esc - Exiting Dialing Funtions ........................ 56
C - Clear Dialing Directory Entry ................... 56
D - Commence List Dial .............................. 56
[Enter] Exiting the various dialer options ............ 56
G - Go To Entry Number .............................. 57
H - Hang Up Phone ................................... 57
L - List Dialing Queue .............................. 57
T - Tag Entry to List Dialing Queue ................. 57
U - Untag Entry from List Dialing Queue ............. 57
M - Manual Dial a Number ............................ 57
N - Name Dialing .................................... 58
R - Redial a number ................................. 58
P - Prefix/Postfix Definitions ...................... 58
Q - Edit/Revise an entry ............................ 28
Dialing Prefixes .......................................... 59
K9X Secondary Modem Control prefixes .................. 60
Their setup and use ............................... 60
Macros .................................................... 62
Function Key Macros ................................... 62
Special Control Characters ........................ 62
Function Key Macro Example ........................ 63
Dialing Directory Macro Files ......................... 63
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 03 -
Table of Contents
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Line Format for Macros ............................ 64
Look For Portion .................................. 64
Send Portion ...................................... 64
Number of Execution Times ......................... 64
Using Standard Control Characters ................. 65
Macro Codes ....................................... 65
\ Universal LookFor ........................ 65
\\ What If LookFor .......................... 66
<P> Auto Startup of IXEC PC-Pursuit .......... 66
<D> AutoDownload with AUTODOWN.K9X ........... 66
lookkfor`\\ Special What If .................. 67
AUTONET.K9X Automated Macro ................... 67
MININET.K9X Simple Log On Macro ............... 68
Sample Macros ................................. 69
For PCBoard ................................ 69
For RBBS .................................. 69
K9XCNF.COM - K9X Configuration Utility ........................ 70
Parameters Menu Map ....................................... 70
CTS and DTR Monitoring .................................... 71
Special Control Characters ................................ 72
K9X.CNF Format ............................................ 72
Configuration Parameters .................................. 73
PO= Comm Port ......................................... 73
BA= Baud Rate ......................................... 73
LF= Linefeed Toggle ................................... 73
Modem Setup Menu Item ................................. 73
MI= Modem Init String ............................. 73
MD= Modem Dialing Prefix .......................... 74
MC= Modem Connect Message ......................... 74
MN= Modem No Carrier Message ...................... 74
MB= Modem Line Busy ............................... 74
ME= Modem Escape Characters ....................... 74
MT= Modem Escape Sequence Delay ................... 75
MH= Modem HangUp String ........................... 75
MO= Modem Timeout Value ........................... 75
MR= Delay between Redials ......................... 75
MW= InterChar Delay ............................... 75
CH= Modem Carrier High Flag ....................... 76
MA= Host Mode Modem Init String ................... 76
NT= Modem No Dial Tone Message .................... 77
MV= Modem Voice Message ........................... 77
TM= Text Mode for display ............................. 77
Protocol Menu Item .................................... 77
TT= Default Transfer Protocol ..................... 77
SD= Screen Dump Filename .............................. 78
XL= SuperK/JBatch Log filename ........................ 78
SuperK Colors Menu Item ............................... 78
XT KT YT ST UT .................................... 78
Video Mode and Colors Menu Item ....................... 78
CF= Text Foreground Color ......................... 78
CM= Menu Frame Color .............................. 79
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 04 -
Table of Contents
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CT= Menu Text Color ............................... 79
VF= Menu Title Color .............................. 79
BC= Default Border Color .......................... 79
Miscellaneous Params Menu Item ........................ 79
XM= Exploding Menus Toggle ........................ 79
WS= Direct Screen Write Flag ...................... 80
XS= Check CTS Line Flag ........................... 80
XD= Check DTR Line Flag ........................... 80
XP= Expert Mode Toggle ............................ 81
SM= Silent Mode Toggle ............................ 81
PM= Play Music Toggle ........................ 81
RB= Reset Modem to Follow Connect Baud ........... 81
SL= Open Session Log upon startup ................ 82
ML= Maintain Call Log ............................ 82
UQ= Use Qmxfer/DSZQM Ymodem-G .................... 82
HO= Hook Multitasking ............................ 83
US= Use SuperK Protocols ......................... 83
OW= SuperK/JBatch Overwrite ...................... 83
SA= SuperK/JBatch Save Aborts .................... 83
BB= Lines in Review Buffer ........................ 84
XB= Number of Xmodem Buffers Value ................ 84
JD= Default DOS Command ........................... 84
DOS Command Format and Control Character ...... 84
NP= Number of Dialing Dir Pages ................... 85
Condense Dialing Directory Menu Item .................. 86
Quasi Hard Coded Parameters ........................... 86
CB= Text Background Color ......................... 86
BS= BackSpace Character ........................... 86
DE= Delete Character .............................. 86
LE= Local Echo Toggle ............................. 86
FC= Fn Key Carriage Return Character .............. 86
FD= Fn Key Delay Character ........................ 87
FW= Fn Key Wait For String Character .............. 87
FM= Fn Key Escape Character Marker ................ 87
Parameters Set Within K9X ............................. 87
DP= Default Dialing Prefix Character .............. 87
DT= Default Dialing Postfix Character ............ 88
Configure Drives Menu Item ............................ 88
FS= Use File Find ................................. 88
Do Full List Search ............................... 89
Display Transfer Times ............................ 89
Display 1200/2400/9600 Times .................. 89
Display on all files .......................... 89
Files Listings Colors ............................. 90
Adjust Number of Drive Table Entries .............. 90
DL= Default Download Path ......................... 90
Default Upload Path ............................... 90
List/Edit Drive List .................................. 91
K9XDRIVE.TBL Edit Display Sample .................. 91
[] Page ......................................... 91
[A]dd ............................................. 92
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 05 -
Table of Contents
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[E]dit ............................................ 92
[S]wap ............................................ 92
[C]lear ........................................... 92
[Enter] ........................................... 92
Designated Search drive configuration ............. 92
Writing a New K9X.CNF ..................................... 93
K9X File Finder ............................................... 93
Introduction .............................................. 93
Designated and Sequential Search Explanation .......... 94
Drive Configurations in a nutshell .................... 95
Using K9X File Find ....................................... 96
Search parameter options .............................. 96
Using the drive table display ......................... 98
The "More" prompt and its options ..................... 99
The final prompt and doing all again .................. 100
Transferring Files ............................................ 101
Ascii protocol ............................................ 102
Xmodem Chk/CRC Protocol ................................... 102
WXmodem CRC Protocol ...................................... 102
K9Xmodem Protocol ......................................... 102
Zmodem (DSZ) Protocol ..................................... 103
Ymodem-G Protocol ......................................... 103
Ymodem (1K Xmodem) Protocol ............................... 103
Batch/Modem7 Protocol ..................................... 103
Telink CRC Protocol ....................................... 104
Jmodem Protocol ........................................... 104
Super8K Protocol .......................................... 104
PC-Kermit ................................................. 104
KERMIT.BAT ............................................ 105
Specifying Numbers To Dial From DOS ........................... 105
Automatic Session Logs ........................................ 106
CALL.LOG - Automatic call logg ................................ 107
Additional Call Log Information ........................... 107
K9TREE.COM - K9XDRIVE.TBL Generator ......................... 108
K9CLK.COM - Memory Resident Clock/Calendar ................. 108
CLKCOLOR.COM - K9CLK Color Setting Utility .................... 109
K9XEVENT.COM - Timed Event Scheduler .......................... 109
Acknowledgements .............................................. 110
Ordering Information .......................................... 111
Corporate And Quantity Purchases .............................. 111
Site Licensing ................................................ 112
Order Form .................................................... 113
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 06 -
K9X ShareWare Licensing Agreement
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ATTENTION REGISTERED USERS: This ShareWare Licensing Agreement Does Not
apply to you! Your Licensing Agreement is included in the Registered
Version Package. Read it carefully as you are bound by its terms when
using K9X. LICENSING AGREEMENT VIOLATIONS WILL BE PROSECUTED.
For the sake of clarity, all references and restrictions to the use of the
K9X also apply to all of the associated support files INCLUDING the
K9Xmodem, Super8K, SuperK and Jbatch protocols.
K9X, its overlays and all of its associated support files are not public
domain software, nor are they free software. K9X is copyright (C) 1985,
1989 - the K9Xmodem, Super8K, SuperK and JBatch protocols are copyright
1987, 1989 by Crater Rim Software.
Non-registered users are granted a limited license to use K9X version SW85
on a trial basis for the purpose of determining whether these programs are
suitable for their needs. The term of this limited license is 30 days.
Use of K9X, except for this limited purpose, requires registration. Use of
non-registered copies of K9X by any person, business, corporation,
governmental agency or other entity institution is strictly forbidden.
Registration permits you to use K9X on a regular basis on a single
computer. A registered user may use the program on a different computer,
but may not use the program on more than one computer at the same time.
Registration also includes priority support on Underdog's MiniNet BBS.
Users need register only one version of K9X. Registration includes
licensed use of all upgrades.
All corporate, business, government or other commercial uses of K9X must be
registered. We offer quantity discounts and Corporate or site licensing is
also available.
No user may modify K9X in any way, including but not limited to
decompiling, disassembling or otherwise reverse engineering the program.
All users are granted a limited license to copy K9X version SW85 only for
the trial use of others subject to the above limitations, and also the
following:
K9X version SW85 must be copied in unmodified form, complete with
the file containing this license information.
Any and all K9X documentation must be included with the copy. No
fee, charge or other compensation may be accepted or requested by
any licensee.
K9X may not be distributed in conjunction with any other product
without prior arrangements with Crater Rim Software.
Operators of electronic bulletin board systems (Sysops) may post K9X
version SW85 for downloading by their users only as long as the above
conditions are met.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 07 -
Distributors of public domain or user supported software may distribute
copies of K9X version SW85 subject to the above conditions only after
obtaining written permission from Crater Rim Software. Such permission
usually is granted. Please write or call for details.
ShareWare Software Discalaimer and Warranty
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Crater Rim Software makes no warranty of any kind, express or implied,
including without limitation, any warranties of merchantability and/or
fitness for a particular purpose. Crater Rim Software shall not be liable
for any damages, whether direct, indirect, special or consequential arising
from a failure of this program to operate in the manner desired by the
user. Crater Rim Software shall not be liable for any damage to data or
property which may be caused directly or indirectly by use of the program.
IN NO EVENT WILL Crater Rim Software BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DAMAGES,
INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST SAVINGS OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE
PROGRAM, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY OTHER PARTY.
See the Ordering section for more information on registration, corporate
licensing and similar topics.
WARNING: YOU MAY NOT USE EITHER VERSION OF K9X ON A REGULAR BASIS WITHOUT
REGISTERING THE PACKAGE.
INTRODUCTION
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Communications and ANSI Terminal Emulation for the IBM PC
There are basically two general classes of communications programs. One
class contains programs like SmartCom and CrossTalk which are designed with
a separate command and terminal mode. You move from command mode to
terminal mode with a command, and from emulation mode to command mode by a
special key sequence. The other class contains programs like K9X, ProComm,
PibTerm and Qmodem in which you are always in terminal mode. You enter
commands by means of special key sequences, but you never really leave the
terminal mode.
I personally prefer programs which are always in terminal mode but also
realize how difficult this type of communications package can be to a
novice user. With this in mind, I have included both a novice menu system
(Command Gateway) and Expert terminal mode within the K9X package.
I have tried to emulate Qmodem, PibTerm and the other popular Comm packages
so that most users will feel comfortable in making the switch.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 08 -
If you have used programs like ProComm, PibTerm, Qmodem and the like, then
you will probably feel more at home in the K9X Expert mode as it will be
quite familiar to you, and you can probably just fire up K9X and work
through the menus to see how to use the program. The major difference is
that in Expert mode ALL K9X commands are entered via direct ALT-key and
number pad key sequences.
As with earlier versions, K9X will accept full ANSI color graphics (via the
use of the DOS ANSI.SYS driver) and music escape codes which I use
extensively on Underdog's MiniNet. K9X does not however, afford any other
type of terminal emulation.
In an attempt to create a small (as small as possible), efficient,
"no-nonsense" communications link that would make your online session time
as efficient as possible, I specifically omitted many options in lieu of
other, more attractive features such as the upload and download cut and
paste buffers and the K9X file finder.
To give you a little insight into the use of the cut and paste feature when
downloading....
Use of any other communications program would require a pencil and
paper and a scenario that goes something like this...
Log onto a BBS
Do a new files listing.
Scribble down the filenames of the files you wish to download
Back at the BBS menu, issue the D command.
Type in the filename(s)
When the BBS is ready to send the file, start the download within
your comm program by selecting the protocol and re- typing the
filename.
If you are lucky, the comm program may contain a "smart" feature
which is supposed to be able to "remember" the filename that you
typed in when you requested the file. Unfortunately, this "smart"
feature simply looks for a period on the last line that was
displayed! Hopefully, the period is the one included in the
filename you specified... but in reality, what the "smart" feature
may assume is the filename may be anything at all and usually is
something other than the filename!
In any case, you will be confronted with mistyped filenames, and
more than likely, will have to type in the filename twice in spite
of the "smart" feature.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 09 -
With K9X cut and paste feature, your scenario would be...
Log onto a BBS
Do a new files listing.
At each More prompt, select shift-tab, move the cursor around the
screen placing it over the first character in the file you want to
mark - up to 24 filenames may be stored
Hit the M key. K9X will extract the filename from the screen and
place it into the buffer updating the buffer count on line 25.
Hit Enter to return to the BBS more prompt
When you are finished marking your desired files, you can then feed
them to both the bbs and K9X via the down arrow key.
If you are using a single file mode (Xmodem, Super8K single, Zmodem
single, etc,) K9X will feed BOTH the D and the filename to the bbs
in the form D;Filename and send the closing carriage return. When
the system says it is ready to send the file, simply hit the down
arrow key again and K9X will use the same filename to open and write
to!
If you are using a batch mode, you will have to send the opening D
command... K9X sends nothing more than the filename when a batch
mode protocol has been selected within K9X. This is to facilitate
the various means of specifying multiple filenames...
Feeding of the filenames to the BBS would be down arrow, space, down
arrow, space, down arrow space etc. When you have completed one or
however many filenames you want to receive in that batch, and the
system is ready to send, simply hit the PgDn key. K9X will take
over the task of transferring the files and, upon completion, will
verify what files have been received and update the Here: and Total:
counts which it displays during transfer and within the secondary
command summary menu.
Your protocol is already pre-set via the dialing dierctory or Alt-W,
no mess, no fuss, no scribbling, no typing, no mis-typing!
K9X cut and paste has another very powerful feature which allows you to
load in a premade list of filenames to download!
You can make the most of your online time (and money) by the
following...
Log on to the BBS with your session log active
Do a new files and then log off immediately
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 10 -
Drop to dos via Alt-J and load the log file into a text editor.
Isolate the files listings you wish to download and save them into a
separate file (I use the name of the BBS + a .GET extension). Don't
worry about the file size, date and description! K9X has the
capability of reading the full line and extracting only the filename
into the buffer and the buffer will hold upto 24 filenames!
Log back onto the BBS and at the main menu prompt...
Do a shift tab
Then an E for the Edit option
Then an L to load the .GET file
K9X will read in the file list, purge everything but the filename
from each line and load the buffer for you!
Last step is simply a matter of feeding the filenames and performing
the transfer(s)!
The same effect can be accomplished by setting up a capture review
buffer via K9XCNF. The capture buffer should be about 300 lines for the
best efficiency. After logging off of the system (after the new files
search), to an Alt-V. You may now move the cursor via the cursur
control keys, page up, page down, browse the files listings and use the
S command to save the desired file listing lines to a specified .get
file!
Of course, you may also mark the files via the Alt-V capture buffer
review while online for immediate download.
To give you a little insight into the use of the K9X file find feature when
uploading...
Use of any other communications program would require a pencil and
paper and a scenario that goes something like this...
If you are lucky, the program will support a default upload
directory to hold the files you wish to upload. If this is the
case, you will have to copy the files into this directory prior to
logging onto the BBS or while online.
If no default upload directory is supported, you will have to either
specify the full drive and path along with the filename (if the comm
program allows you to... and some do not) or change the logged
drive/directory to where the desired upload file resides (this will
require your writing the drive and path down on a piece of paper if
you have a multiple drive system).
Log on to a BBS
At the BBS menu, select the Upload command
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 11 -
Type in the filename
When the BBS says it is ready to receive the file, start the upload
within the comm program by specifying the protocol and then
re-typing the filename (perhaps with the full path).
Again, the "smart" filename feature (if it's supported) may or may
not remember the filename.
In any case, you will be confronted with mistyped filenames, and
more than likely, will have to type in the filename twice wasting a
lot of online time and money - not to mention your precious session
time!
With K9X file find, your scenario would be...
While offline, select the K9X Alt-F command
At the files manipulation menu, select the "Select Uploads" option
Input your search criteria as /filespec
When K9X lists the file matches, simply hit the Alt-Shift, move the
cursor to the desired filename
Press the M key to move the filename into the K9X buffer. Up to 24
filenames may be stored.
You may search for files as often as necessary by using the A)gain
option after the first search. Simply select A and input the new
search criteria as /filespec
When you have finished marking all of your upload filenames, press
the E key, then S key and input a filename to save the filenames to.
Log on to a BBS
At the BBS menu select the K9X Alt-F command
Type an M for the Manipulate Marked
Type an E to Edit Mark
Type an L to load a file
Specify the list filename you created while offline.
K9X will read the filenames into the buffer and display them to you.
Type a Q, Enter, Enter
Back at the BBS menu, select the Upload command.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 12 -
The rest is a simple matter of feeding the filenames to the BBS and
K9X via the up arrow and PgUp keys!
Don't worry about supplying a drive and/or path... K9X will use its
file finding capabilities to automatically find the files for you!
And don't worry about using a single or batch protocol! K9X file
find works equally as well in single file or batch mode!
In fact, K9X will accept a multiple file input specification when
using a batch protocol. Simply separate each filename with a space!
Your protocol is already pre-set via the dialing dierctory or Alt-W,
no mess, no fuss, no scribbling, no typing, no mis- typing!
Oh yes, K9X also supports both a default upload and default download
directory which are searched automatically during uploads and/or
downloads!
Although K9X was written and tested on a 640K IBM PCAT, it has been
successfully run on PCJRs and other compatible systems containing much less
memory. Before actually starting up K9X, there are a couple of areas that
should be covered. Please print out and read this documentation in its
entirety.
If you run into difficulties, give me a hollar... I will try to help you
out... but please understand that priority support goes to those users who
have registered the package...
Enjoy,
Sal Manaro
K9X FEATURES
~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Combined VT100 and ANSI BBS Terminal Emulation Including full ANSI and
VT100 Cursor Positioning, Color and Music Support utilizing a
combination of internal ANSI processing and the DOS ANSI.SYS or
equivilant
- Ring buffered, interrupt driven, serial I/O.
- 24 file transfer methods
Single file transfer protocols
Xmodem Checksum (via K9X or internal SuperK)
Xmodem CRC (via K9X or internal SuperK)
Ymodem (1K Xmodem) CRC (via K9X or internal SuperK)
WXmodem (Windowed Xmodem) CRC (via built in SuperK protocol)
Underdog's ***FAST*** K9Xmodem (via built in SuperK protocol)
Underdog's ***FASTER*** Super8K (via built in SuperK protocol)
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 13 -
Jmodem (via special Jmodem module)
Qmxfer Ymodem-G for RBBS systems (via QMXFER or DSZ)
Zmodem Single file mode (via DSZ external module)
PC-Kermit (Standard and Sliding Window via external module)
Ascii with XON/XOFF
Batch mode file transfer protocols
Modem7 (Batch) Checksum
Modem7 (Batch) CRC
Telink CRC
Xmodem Checksum (via built in SuperK protocol)
Xmodem CRC (via built in SuperK protocol)
Ymodem (1K Xmodem) CRC (via built in SuperK protocol)
WXmodem (Windowed Xmodem) CRC (via built in SuperK protocol)
Underdog's ***FAST*** K9Xmodem (via built in SuperK protocol)
Underdog's ***FASTER*** Super8K (via built in SuperK protocol)
Jmodem (via built in Jbatch protocol)
DSZ Ymodem-G (via DSZ external module)
Zmodem (via DSZ external module)
CIS/B (via CIS external module)
- Plus pre-programmed keys for Quick Download using any of the supported
protocols
- Plus Totally Automated Downloading using special macro codes
- Full Function telephone dialing directory which permits list, manual,
name, entry # dialing along with FULL edit capabilities including
parity, data and stop bits, individual macro linking, last date/time
number was called, default protocol.
- Upto 9500 entries - user configureable, with full size expansion and
compression support
- User configureable menu and text colors, modem setup and buffer sizes
- User configureable overwrite of duplicate files during download
- User configureable save aborted downloads
- Up to 32K memory buffer for FAST files transfers
- Pre-programmed command key for ASCII auto uploading of PreFabricated
Messages
- Pre-programmed command key for linking to external CIS/B terminal
emulator with CIS/B transfer protocol
- Pre-programmed command key for linking to external IXEC PC-Pursuit
Interface
- Special dialing directory prefixes for specifying special pre-dial
commands and settings to high speed modems.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 14 -
- Macro script language for automated logon supporting
universal "look for/send"
special "what if" look for/send
auto link to ICEX External PC-Pursuit Interface
ability to specify multiple execution of macro lines
ability to use/send special control characters for carriage
return, delay, etc.
ability to load pre-fabricated filelists for automated download
processing
- Pre-programmed command key to disable universal macro "look for/send"
- Pre-programmed command key to disable logon macro
- Session logging/capture to printer and/or disk.
- Full Novice Command Gateway Menu System or Expert Alt-Key command
set support
- Menu-driven commands
- Full display of all K9X flag settings
- Macro-key definition for constructing and holding often-used text
sequences.
- Full Access DOS Shell without loss of carrier
- Default DOS Shell Command link to another application
- Full file finding capabilites
- Full file and directory display with transfer times
- Screen dumps to a file or printer
- Customizable modem support at 300/1200/2400/4800/9600/19200 bps for both
COMM 1 and COMM 2
- Automatic change of baud rate with smart modems.
- User configureable baud locking for high speed modems
- Dialing session and total session elapsed time counters.
- Call Log including number dialed, session start, session end, elapsed
session time, total long distance elapsed times, total downloads - both
files and total bytes
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 15 -
- Upto 800 line internal capture buffer which may be viewed at any time
and includes cut and paste feature with save to buffer or filelist.
- Define up to 20 dialing directory entries for queue dialing upon startup
with optional automatic session logging.
- Linking with K9XEVENT for automated execution at specified times
- Cut and Paste feature to save selected text to file
- Mark and Save upto 24 filenames for automatic downloading with full
editing, addition, deletetion, loading of pre-fabricated lists, saving
of marked filenames to file
- Mark and Save upto 24 filenames for automatic uploading with full
editing, addition, deletetion, loading of pre-fabricated lists, saving
of marked filenames to file
- User defined default download path
- User defined default upload path
- Automatic upload file finding using internal system drive configuration
table which accepts upto 99 fully configureable drive:\paths
- User defined Multitasking Hook for Time Slicing while operating in a
multitasking environment under TaskView, DesqView or TopView
multitasking/windowing systems.
The multitasking time slicing feature allows you to run K9X within a
partition with a minimum of system slowdown. K9X monitors both the the
comm port and local keyboard for input. If no input is present, K9X
will relinquish the remainder of the cpu time slice back to the the
multitasker. Note that this feature is only active during normal user
and/or local keyboard input. It is NOT active during files transfers.
- Compartmentalized setup to keep directory clutter to a minimum
- Built in BBS type Macro/Message Editor
- Memory requirements: a minimum of approximately 160K
THE K9X FILES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The executible files included in the K9X Shareware package:
K9X.COM Main program
K9X.000 - K9X.012 Overlay files required by K9X.COM
K9XCNF.COM K9X Configuration Utility
K9XCNF.000 Overlay file required by K9XCNF.COM
KTREE.COM K9X Drive Table Configuration Utility
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 16 -
JBA.COM Custom Jmodem Protocol driver
DSZ.COM External Zmodem/Ymodem-G Protocol driver
QMXFER.COM External Qmodem Ymodem-G Protocol driver
PC-KERMIT.EXE External Kermit Protocol driver
KERMIT.BAT Required for use of PC-KERMIT.EXE
The other files included in the K9X package:
B&W.CNF K9X Configuration file for Default Black & White
COLOR.CNF K9X Configuration file for Default Color
MININET.K9X Sample Logon Macro for Underdog's MiniNet BBS
AUTONET.K9X Sample Automated Macro for Underdog's MiniNet BBS
AUTODOWN.K9X Sample AUTODOWN files list
RBBS.K9X Sample Logon Macro for RBBS
PCBOARD.K9X Sample Logon Macro for PCBoard
PCP.K9X Sample Logon Macro for PC-Pursuit
INSTALL.BAT For easy first-time inetallation of K9X
MOVE.COM Used by INSTALL.BAT to MOVE (not COPY) the K9X
files into their correct directories.
WAITKEY.EXE Used during INSTALL.BAT processing
Files K9X/K9XCNF/KTREE will create (if not found):
K9XDRIVE.TBL Drive Configuration Table
K9X.CNF Standard System Configuration File
K9X.P Phone Directory
K9X.PRE Phone Prefix Definitions File
CALL.LOG Log file for all numbers dialed
K9X.KEY Function Key Macro File - this file will be created
if any Macros are defined. If it exists when K9X is
started, it will be read into memory.
K9X documenation:
K9X.DOC This File
INSTALL.DOC Short read me file explaining how to install K9X
MAILER.K9X Easy printout order form
WHATS.NEW K9X Version History (optional)
LICENSE.REG Seperate Registered version License and Ordering
Information
The DOC files are not required to operate the K9X package...
B U T T H E Y S H O U L D B E R E A D T H O R O U G H L Y !
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X INSTALLATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In an effort to clean up the K9X directory, I have assigned several
subdirectories to hold the various K9X support files. K9X is set up to
look for the support files (and place any work files) into their assigned
subdirectory.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 17 -
Additionally, you do not have to specify the path of a filename if that
filename is in its assigned subdirectory....
As is the case with most filename prompts, you may over-ride the K9X
internal file finding capabilities by including the full drive:\path\ with
the filename. K9X looks for a colon as the second character of your input
string. If a colon is present, K9X assumes you have specified a full
drive:\path\filename instead of just a filename and will not use its own
file finding.
Here's the K9X directory set up and file placement:
Directory of C:\K9X
SUPP <DIR>------------- Directory of C:\K9X\SUPP
LOGS <DIR>-----+ MACROS K9X (all macros/.MES)
K9X COM | K9X CNF
K9X.000 - K9X.012 | K9XDRIVE TBL
K9XCNF COM | K9X P
K9XCNF 001 | K9X PRE
JBA COM | K9X KEY
KTREE COM |
DSZ COM |
KERMIT EXE +---- Directory of C:\K9X\LOGS
QMXFER COM 0215 89 (session logs)
CIS EXE CALL LOG
ICEX EXE COLLECT TXT
K9XNOTES
Any "read in" files for K9X
quick down/up/cut and paste
PLEASE NOTE: The INSTALL.BAT file included in the K9X package will perform
all of the installation (with the exception of steps 1, 2 and
7) for you.
If you use INSTALL.BAT, simply unpack the K9X archive anyplace on the drive
where it is to be installed. DO NOT unpack it into a premade K9X
directory. INSTALL.BAT will create the necessary directories (if they do
not alredy exist) and MOVE (not COPY) the files into the their correct
locations for you. The following steps are simply a means of explaining
what is going on and also provided for those users who would prefer to
install K9X manually.
In any case, all of the K9X files MUST reside in their designated
directories for K9X to operate properly.
Step 1 - Set the K9X Environmental Varable by issuing the DOS command:
SET K9X=C:\K9X
Step 2 - If you already have a DOS Path Environmental Statement, add C:\K9X
to it... If not, issue the DOS command: PATH=C:\K9X
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 18 -
Note: You should include items 1 and 2 above in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file so
that these variables are automatically set each time you boot up your
system. You will have to add the line DEVICE=ANSI.SYS to your
CONFIG.SYS file also.
Step 3 - Create a K9X directory on your hard drive (or diskette) by issuing
the DOS commands: CD\
MD K9X
Step 4 - Log into your new K9X directory and make 2 new subdirectories
within the K9X directory. Issue the DOS commands:
MD SUPP (with 2 P's)
MD LOGS (plural - with an S)
Step 5 - Copy all of the K9X files into it.
Step 6 - I have included 2 K9X configuration files for your convenience.
You may however, start up K9XCNF at the DOS prompt and create a
totally new K9X configuration file. If this is done, K9XCNF will
automatically place the new K9X.CNF in the SUPP subdircetory.
If you are running an RGB/CGA system issue the DOS commands:
REN COLOR.CNF K9X.CNF
DEL B&W.CNF
If you are running a Mono system issue the DOS commands:
REN B&W.CNF K9X.CNF
DEL COLOR.CNF
Now issue the DOS commands:
COPY K9X.CNF SUPP
COPY *.K9X SUPP
COPY K9X.PRE SUPP
DEL K9X.CNF
DEL *.K9X
DEL K9X.PRE
Step 7 - Run KTREE so that the Drive Configuration Table for your system
can be created.
Step 8 - Run K9XCNF and check all of the settings so that they conform with
your particular setup. If you do not know what a setting should
be for your particular setup, just leave the default setting
intact. In most cases, the defaults will work just fine! In any
case, the full list of the default settings and a description of
each setting is contained this documenation. K9XCNF will
automatically update the K9X.CNF when you exit that utility back
to DOS.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 19 -
THE K9X ENVIRONMENT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When K9X starts up it looks for its overlay and support files in the
current directory. However, you may want to invoke K9X from other
directories as well. In that case you can set the DOS environment variable
K9X to the name of the directory containing the K9X overlays, and use the
DOS PATH statement to ensure that the selected directory is searched when
you invoke K9X by name.
You've named your K9X directory "K9X", located on drive C
Add these statements to your AUTOEXEC.BAT
PATH C:\K9X
SET K9X=C:\K9X
Since K9X uses the DOS ANSI.SYS driver to perform the translation of any
ANSI color/cursor positioning, you must install the DOS ANSI.SYS (or
equivilant) device driver via your CONFIG.SYS file. Add this statement to
your CONFIG.SYS DEVICE=ANSI.SYS
THE K9X MENU SYSTEMS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Menu selections may be made in either of 2 ways:
1. Use the arrow keys to highlight your choice - then hit [ENTER]
In cases where a Yes or No response is required, K9X will default to
[ENTER] being the same as answering Yes. If you are not sure your
natural choice should ALWAYS be what is displayed as the prior
default or NO if no prior default is displayed!
Any YES or NO prompts which are located within K9XCNF will require a
positive input of either Y or N. All other input will be ignored.
In all other cases, the highlighted selection is the current default
setting and should not be changed unless you know for sure it needs
to be changed. Simply hit [ENTER] for the highlighted, default
setting.
2. Type the first letter of your choice
I have attempted to modify as many of the menus as possible to accept
the first character of the desired option (as opposed to the "a" thru
"z" or "q" method) as the option select key. I think you will find
this method a lot easier to use (and remember).
STARTING K9X FOR THE FIRST TIME
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can begin execution of K9X by simply entering K9X at the DOS command
prompt.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 20 -
K9X will attempt to locate and read in its configuration files. If its
configuration file, K9X.CNF cannot be found, K9X will abort after
displaying a message informing you that you must first run K9XCNF to create
the required K9X.CNF file. All of the configuration information is covered
in detail in the Alt-P and K9X.CNF sections. Please refer to those
sections while configuring K9X for the first time. You will not have to go
through the original configuation under subsequent use.
After the configuration files are read, K9X initializes the modem if a
modem initialization string appears in the configuration file. If you do
have a modem attached, you should set it so that the carrier detect line
accurately reflects the true carrier status (the carrier detect is NOT
permanently set on) and also so that the data terminal ready (DTR) line is
set to accurately reflect the status of DTR. Some modems have a tendency
to disengage the phone when communication parameters like baud rate are
changed if DTR is allowed to reflect reality. If this is the case, you may
need to set your modem to always have DTR turned on (set high).
It should be noted... If you have a mouse attached to your system and it
occupies COMM1, you will have to configure the mouse to COMM2. There seems
to be a problem with the mouse card/driver which allows it to grab both
COMM1 and COMM2 if it is configured to use COMM1.
K9X can also be used on a hard-wired line without a modem. Operation of K9X
in a null modem environment requires that the modem initialization string
be a null string (blank).
There are display screen samples placed within this document so that you
will be able to have a print out in easy view while utilizing the
associated K9X feature.
When starting up K9X for the first time, you should have a copy of the
Command Gateway Menu Map in front of you to aid in navigating the K9X
menus.
When starting up K9XCNF for the first time, you should have a copy of the
Configuration Menu System Map in front of you to aid in navigating the K9X
menus and selecting the proper default configuration settings.
USING K9X COMMAND GATEWAY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After initialization is complete, K9X enters Command Gateway Menu System.
While using the Command Gateway Menu System, you will not be able to exit
the menu system (and enter terminal mode) until a carrier is detected (or
you select the Toggles option and toggle the Expert mode to On).
The highlighted menu default choice while offline is Dial a Number as this
is the normal course of events. K9X will automatically switch to terminal
mode as soon as communications is established with another system.
While online to another system, the [Home] key will give you access to the
menu system. Your highlighted default will have switched to Download a
File as that too, is the normal course of events!
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 21 -
The following diagram maps out the Command Gateway Menu System. The
corresponding Expert Command Key Sequence appears in brackets aside each
menu command. Please refer to the Expert Command Definitions for details
on each command.
COMMAND GATEWAY MENU MAP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Command Gateway
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Modem Commands ------------------- Modem Commands
+------- Files Commands ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| +----- Utilities Dial a Number .... [Alt_D]
| | +--- Toggles Try Number Again.. [Alt_R]
| | | Do CIS/B ......... [Alt_8] Abandon Dial List. [Alt_1]
| | | PC Pursuit ICEX .. [Alt_9] HangUp Phone ..... [Alt_G]
| | | +- Information Change Baud ...... [Alt_N]
| | | | Exit to DOS ...... [End] Send Break ....... [Alt_B]
| | | | Quit to terminal Return to GateWay
| | | | Quit to Terminal
| | | |
| | | +-------------------------------------+
| | +--- Toggles Information
| | ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~
| | Xpert ............ [Alt_X] Expert Commands .. [Home]
| | Echo ............. [Alt_E] Version .......... [Alt_K]
| | LineFeeds ........ [Alt_I] Function Keys .... [Alt_M]
| | Sound ............ [Alt_Q] Return to GateWay
| | ANSI Off ......... [Alt_A] Quit to Terminal
| | MultiTask Hook [Alt_H]
| | Use Fetch ........ [Alt_U]
| | Use SuperK ....... [Alt_3]
| | Universal Logon .. [Alt_-]
| | AutoLogon ........ [Alt_+]
| | Return to GateWay
| | Quit to Terminal
| |
| +-----------------------------------------+
+------- Files Commands Utilities
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Download ......... [PgDn] Parameters ....... [Alt_P]
Wish List DL .... [] View Capture ..... [Alt_V]
Auto Downlaod .... [Del] Shell to DOS ..... [Alt_J]
Zip Scan/Mark .... [STab] Fix Time ......... [Alt_T]
Upload ........... [PgUp] Clear Screen ..... [Alt_C]
Gift List UpLd ... [] DOS Command ...... [^Home]
Text Msg Upload .. [->] Macro Editor ..... [Alt_Y]
Manipulate ....... [Alt_F] Return to GateWay
Protocol Change .. [Alt_W] Quit to Terminal
Kill FileName .... [Alt_6]
Capture Session .. [Ins]
Screen Dump ...... [Alt_S]
Log Session ...... [Alt_L]
Return to GateWay
Quit to Terminal
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 22 -
THE K9X EXPERT SYSTEM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Along with the 'Command GateWay' menu system, K9X also allows the
experienced user to toggle an expert mode in which all commands are entered
via special command key sequences. When in expert mode, the [Home] key
will display a command summary screen.
All of your local commands are presented via windows which overlay whatever
text is already on the screen. When you exit a window, the underlying text
will re-appear without modification. I've positioned all/most of the
windows in the upper right corner and have also tried to keep them as small
as possible - first for conformity and second to allow you to see as much
of the underlying data as possible when you are working within a window.
COMMAND SUMMARY DISPLAY SAMPLE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While in Expert mode, this option will display a command summary screen
which contains all of the available commands, the dialing directory entry
info for the present call, the current date and a running digital clock.
You exit this window by issuing the desired Alt_Key Command or by pressing
any key (other than the Space Bar).
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Canine Express (c) Copyright 1985,1989 by Crater Rim Software |
| Licensed Material - Distribution is Prohibited |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Use Alt_8 to access CIS/B module terminal mode - Alt_X returns to K9X |
| Use Alt_9 to access ICEX module or include @`<P> in your PCP macro |
| Alt_B)reak Alt_N)ew Modem Settings Alt_1) Clear Dialer List |
| Alt_C)lear Scrn Alt_O)pen BBS Door Alt_6) Clear DL FileName |
| Alt_D)ial a Friend Alt_P)arameters [PgDn] Download a File |
| Alt_F)iles Menu Alt_R)edial a Friend [PgUp] Upload a File |
| Alt_G)oodbye Alt_S)creen Dump [Del] Download Marked |
| Alt_J)ump to DOS Alt_T)ime Fix [][] Quick Up/Down |
| Alt_K)9X Version Alt_V)iew Capture [-->] Upload a Message |
| Alt_M)acros Alt_W)hat's My Protocol [^Home] DOS Command |
| [I<-] Mark-Save 0 0 Alt_X)pert Toggle [Ins] Session Log |
| Dialer List 0 Alt_Y)our K9X Editor [End] Quit to DOS |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| OnLine: No Carrier Present Phone : N/A |
| LastOn: N/A FProt : Xmodem Chk |
| Date : 00:00:00 02/15/1989 Press Space Bar to Display Other Settings |
| Press Command Key Set or Hit any other key to exit |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 23 -
SECONDARY COMMAND SUMMARY DISPLAY SAMPLE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pressing the space bar while the Expert Command Summary Screen is being
displayed will produce a secondary screen which contains the status of the
various program toggles/flags and Carrier Detect indicator (displayed as Y
or N in parentheses), your current Comm port parameters and the total
number of files/bytes downloaded for both the last (or present) call and
for the present session.
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Canine Express (c) Copyright 1985,1989 by Crater Rim Software |
| Licensed Material - Distribution is Prohibited |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Use Alt_8 to access CIS/B module terminal mode - Alt_X returns to K9X |
| Use Alt_9 to access ICEX module or include @`<P> in your PCP macro |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Alt_A)nsi Off (N) Alt_U)se FileFind (Y) Save Aborted Files (Y) |
| Alt_E)cho (N) Alt_3) Use SuperK (Y) Overwrite Downloads (N) |
| Alt_Hook Multitask (Y) Alt_+) AutoLogon (N) Carrier Detect (N) |
| Alt_I)nsert LF (N) Alt_-) UnivLogon (N) Params: Com1, 9600,N,8,1 |
| Alt_L)og to Printer (N) Use QMXFER Ymodem-G (Y) Here : 0 / 0 |
| Alt_Q)uiet Mode (Y) Connect resets Baud (Y) Total : 0 / 0 |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [I<-] Mark-Save 0 0 Alt_X)pert Toggle [Ins] Session Log |
| Dialer List 0 Alt_Y)our K9X Editor [End] Quit to DOS |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| OnLine: No Carrier Present Phone : N/A |
| LastOn: N/A FProt : Xmodem Chk |
| Date : 00:00:00 02/15/1989 Press Space Bar to Display Other Settings |
| Press Command Key Set or Hit any other key to exit |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
THE K9X EXPERT SYSTEM COMMANDS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Along with the 'Command GateWay' menu system, K9X also allows the
experienced user to toggle an expert mode in which all commands are entered
via special command key sequences. When in expert mode, the [Home] key
will display a command summary screen.
Please refer to the Expert Command Summary display sample and the Command
Gateway Menu map for the associated Command Gateway commands.
Here is a breakdown of each command and a brief summary of its use:
[Esc] Escape Key
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Although the Escape key is not a command in itself, it is important that
its use be noted. There are cases in which you may have to send the Actual
Escape Key code to the host system you are logged onto. K9X is fully
capable of sending an Escape character (ASCII 27) while operating in Expert
mode. This function is part of the normal keyboard scanning operation of
K9X and is activated via the standard Escape Key.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 24 -
[Home] Command Summary
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While in Expert mode, this option will display a command summary screen
which contains all of the available commands, the status of all of the
toggles and Carrier Detect indicator (displayed as Y or N in parentheses),
the current date and a running digital clock.
When listing new files on a BBS, most ask for a start date with the default
being the last time you logged on to that system. With this in mind, K9X
displays the following dialing directory information when online:
Name of system dialed (or "Manual Dial" if that's the case) System's phone
number Last on date and time (or "N/A" if manual dialing) Default transfer
protocol (changes if you manually change protocol)
This information will be displayed within the Expert Command Summary Menu
or directly on the screen when the Command GateWay Main Menu is activated.
Pressing the Space bar will swap in a second help screen which contains the
K9X toggle/flags settings. Once the "Toggles" screen has been displayed,
you may enter any valid Expert Command Key Set or hit the Space bar once
again (to remove the secondary Toggles screen).
You exit either the primary or secondary command summary windows by one of
two ways:
1) Selecting the desired Alt_Key command - in which case the command
function will be executed
2) Pressing any key - in which case the command summary menu will be
removed and you will be returned to the terminal mode
It should be noted that all of the Expert Command key sets are available at
any time while operating K9X in the Expert mode. You do not have to display
the Expert Command Summary Screen before executing a K9X command.
While using the Command Gateway Menu System, the Home key represents your
"doorway" to the various K9X commands. You may press the Home key at any
time... other than during file transfers.
[Alt_3] Use SuperK Protocols
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X contains two sets of Xmodem Checksum, Xmodem CRC and Ymodem (1K Xmodem)
single file protocols. The standard internal K9X protocols are the built
in protocols which were originally supported. The SuperK protocols were
added when the external SuperK protocol driver was incorporated into K9X.
The standard internal protocols support the Alt_1 - toggle display feature,
additional error logging during transfers, direct transfer result logging
to the session log and other features. The SuperK protocols support K9XFER
transfer result logging, save aborts and overwrite flag support and other
features. The prime difference is in the performance of the two sets, with
the SuperK protocols being a bit faster. This option allows the toggling
of the use of either the internal or SuperK protocols.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 25 -
[Alt_A] ANSI Off
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will toggle all ANSI escape codes off/on. K9X is default
configured for color/color graphics and will accept all of the color
graphics and music found many BBS' (incuding Underdog's MiniNet BBS)!
In order to speed up character processing, I have removed the internal ANSI
processing (except for music). You MUST include the line DEVICE=ANSI.SYS
in your CONFIG.SYS as K9X now passes all ANSI escape sequences, except for
any music, to the DOS ANSI.SYS driver.
If you disable the ANSI Translate, K9X will do a totally unedited capture
of your session. If you run into any ANSI escape code sequences when
receiving BBS menu and sign on screens, you will NOT be able to read them
as the ANSI Translate toggle prevents your system from performing ANY
processing of any ANSI codes received.
[Alt_B] Send Break
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option sends a sustained break signal. This is the equivalent of
hitting the attention key on many terminals, and is frequently necessary to
gain the attention of a host system when using K9X on a hard-wired (null
modem) line.
[Alt_C] Clear Screen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will erase the screen and place the cursor at position 1,1
(upper left corner). It also resets your default background and text
colors. Hitting the [Home] key and then returning to terminal mode will
perform a reset of your default foreground and background colors WITHOUT
clearing the screen.
[Alt_D] Dialing Directory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will allow you to view/edit the dialing directory and select
number(s) to dial. If there are any numbers in the List Dialer queue, K9X
will go directly into dial mode, cycling through the list of numbers. If
there aren't any numbers present within the List Dialer queue, K9X will
display a window and prompt you for up to 20 directory numbers to dial. If
you hit the [Enter] key here, K9X will close the List Dialer Window and
display the dialing directory.
See the Dialing Directory section for detailed information on its use.
[Alt_E] Echo Toggle
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some host systems do not echo characters you type back to you. If you
can't see what you're typing when connected to a remote host, enter Alt_E
to toggle local echo ON. You can later enter Alt_E to toggle local echo
OFF again. A window will appear showing the new setting.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 26 -
[Alt_F] Files Manipulation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option is the gateway to a number of file manipulation features.
Files Manipulation Menu Sample
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+-< File Manipulation >-----+
| B)ytes Free on Drive |
| C)hange Drive/Dir |
| D)isplay Directory |
| E)xit to DOS (Shell) |
| H)elp with File Select |
| L)ist Marked Files (0) |
| M)anipulate Marked (0) |
| S)elect Upload Files |
| Q)uit |
+---------------------------+
Bytes Free on Drive
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will prompt you for a drive letter and then display the
amount of space (bytes free) available on that drive.
Change Drive/Dir
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a two part option...
K9X will first prompt for a drive letter and, once specified:
K9X verifies if that drive actually exists.
K9X changes its current directory to the root of your currently
logged drive.
K9X then logs into the root of the desired drive.
If you only want to change directories on the same drive, simply
hit the Enter key.
K9X will then prompt you for a new directory. Your input here is
the same as if you were changing directories at the DOS prompt.
Upon specifying a new directory, K9X will ask for confirmation of
the change before actually make the change.
If you don't want to change directories, simply hit the Enter key.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 27 -
Display Directory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X preloads the File Find feature so that it will display a
directory of your currently logged drive:\directory. All of the
K9X file find prompts and features are available once one directory
'page' has been listed.
Exit to DOS (Shell)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option allows you to drop to DOS without exiting K9X. Upon
selecting this option, K9X will open a window and prompt you for a
command to be executed. You may copy/rename/delete files, start up
another program (memory permitting) or simply drop to DOS.
If you enter a commnd at the K9X prompt, K9X will automatically
return without your having to type EXIT. While at the DOS level
within the DOS Shell, your cursor will be a large block as opposed
to the standard underline type cursor.
NOTE: If you exit to DOS and change directories, be sure to log
back into the directory in which you first dropped to DOS.
Secondly, you MUST type EXIT at the DOS prompt in order to
return to K9X. These two restrictions only apply if you drop
directly to DOS.
Help with File Select
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will display a brief command struture for using the
file find feature.
List Marked Files (0)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will simply list the filenames that are contained in
the cut and paste buffer. No editing funtions are available here.
As a means of quick reference, the number of filenames within the
buffer is display alongside the menu command.
Manipulate Marked (0)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option simply enters the cut and paste mode without prompting
for a search criteria. It is a simple means of entering the edit
mode functions of the file find feature. K9X will simply freeze
the screen and display the cut and paste help line on line 25.
From this point, you may select the E option to enter the edit
mode.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 28 -
Select Upload Files
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the gateway to the cut and paste file find mode. Please see
the K9X File Finder section for detailed information on its
operation.
[Alt_G] Goodbye
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option directs K9X to hang up the phone using the modem hang up
command defined in the configuration file. If no Hangup command string is
defined within your K9X.CNF, or the command fails to hang up the phone,
then K9X drops DTR. This should hang up the phone if DTR is not permanently
set high. K9X reports if the phone was successfully hung up or not. If
not, you may have to manually hang up the phone line.
[Alt_H] Hook Multitasking
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Alt_H command key (and its equivilent in the Command Gateway Menu
system) have been assigned as a toggle to Hook into multitasking If Alt_H
is set, K9X will release the clock ticks if no activity is found at either
the comm port or the local keyboard. If Alt_H is not set, K9X will operate
in single application mode, not acknowledging any multitasking. You may
operate K9X in a mutiltasking environment regardless of the status of the
Alt_H toggle. I have included this toggle to eliminate some of the
sluggishness in K9X when it is run in a multitasking environment where
another application is accessing another comm port. If you are running a
BBS in the background, try it... you'll like it! This toggle status is
also saved in your K9X.CNF file.
[Alt_I] Insert Linefeeds
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some systems may not send a carriage return/line feed sequence, but only a
carriage return, assuming that a line feed will automatically be added by
the remote terminal. This option toggles the addition of a linefeed
character to each incoming carriage return. If you log into a system and
all the lines from the remote system are being displayed on a single line,
then you probably need to toggle linefeed on.
[Alt_J] Jump to DOS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will execute a DOS shell if you have enough memory. You may
perform any type of DOS function including starting up other programs -
memory permitting! When you are ready to return to K9X, simply type the
word EXIT at the DOS prompt. Upon selecting this option, K9X will prompt
you for a command to be executed. You may enter a command, in which case
you will be automatically returned to K9X, or you may simply hit [Enter]
which will drop you to the DOS prompt.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 29 -
If you plan on using this option while online to a host, it may be
necessary to set DSR permanently high, so that the phone is NOT hung up
when dropping to DOS.
Note that invoking another program which manipulates the same port that K9X
is using may cause your entire system to lock up.
[Alt_K] K9X Version
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will display the K9X version number along with the program
dedication.
[Alt_L] Log Session to Printer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will maintain a printed record of your session. Alt_L toggles
the logging of your session to the printer. Initially printer logging is
turned off. You may find that your sessions will proceed alot faster by
opening up a session log file ([Ins] key) and then copy that file to your
printer after your session has completed.
[Alt_M] Function Key Macros
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will bring up another menu containing the following options:
R)ead Macros allows you to read in a key definition file. When K9X is
initially invoked, the file K9X.KEY, if it exists, is read in order
to set the default function key values. You may enter key
definitions at the keyboard as described in the next section and
then write the resulting definitions to K9X.KEY so that those
definitions will automatically exist when K9X is executed.
E)dit/Modify allows you to program all of the Fn keys in four different
modes; unshifted, shifted, alt, and control. The Fn keys can be
programmed with upto 65 characters to hold your password or any
multiple keystroke sequence you wish.
W)rite will save your defined keys to file. You may name the file
anything you like. However, if you name it K9X.KEY it will
automatically be read in each time you start up the program.
Q)uit takes you back to terminal or the 'Command Gateway'.
If any macros are created or previous macros edited, K9X will go directly
into the W)rite to file option.
See the Macros section for detailed instructions on the use of this feature
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 30 -
[Alt_N] New Modem Settings
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option allows you to 'build' a new comm port parameter set (baud rate,
parity, data and stop bits). The current modem setting is displayed at the
bottom of the menu so you can also use Alt_N to see what the current
settings are without changing them. The choices supplied give you full
capability to set/reset one or more parts of your comm port parameters. As
each parameter is selected, K9X will display the new settings at the bottom
of the menu. K9X will reset the modem to the "New" settings upon exiting
the New Modem Settings Menu. Your current modem settings are also displayed
in the Expert Command Summary Menu.
[Alt_O] Open BBS Door
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will toggle K9X for use as a pure dumb terminal. When this
toggle is set, you may use K9X in conjunction with BBS doors applications
which require the use of function and cursor keys. While in the Open BBS
Door mode, if any extended code keys are pressed, K9X will send both the
first Null and the extended key code. This is true for all extended keys
(Function Keys, Cursor Keys, Alt-Keys, etc.) except for the Alt_O. This
remains active as a K9X command so that you can get back into the full K9X
Command set mode. Although you can set this toggle at any time, if you set
it while online, K9X will turn off the Open_Door mode when carrier is
dropped. Note that the Open_Door mode is only accessible when in Expert
mode.
[Alt_P] Parameters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X accesses the configuration program K9XCNF.COM via a DOS shell. K9XCNF
automatically writes an updated K9X.CNF when you exit that program. The
K9X.CNF file is re-read upon return to K9X. What this means is that any
changes you have made within K9X prior to executing the Alt_P command will
be lost unless these changes have been set permanently while in K9XCNF.
If you make any modifications internal to K9X itself, the changes will only
be active while you are using K9X that time. If you want to have the
changes become your default startup settings, you must use K9XCNF to make
the changes. If there is a setting you prefer, but is not saved in the
K9X.CNF file, let me know and I will try to include the change in the next
K9X version.
See K9XCNF.COM section for detailed instructions on the use of the K9X
configuration utility.
[Alt_Q] Quiet Mode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alt_Q toggles noise production by K9X. If Quiet Mode is ON, then any
bells, beeps, or music received from the host are ignored. The default is
to have those sounds come through.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 31 -
Normally when K9X wants to alert you that you've made a mistake in typing
your input to a K9X prompt (especially in the menus), K9X rings the
terminal bell. When Quiet Mode is active (Y), K9X will flash the word
"<ERROR>" on line 25 instead of using the bell.
Upon initial startup, it will be set to OFF to allow sound/music mode. In
order to set/reset the default Quiet Mode, follow the same procedure as
outlined in the Expert toggle (Alt_X below).
[Alt_R] Re-Dial
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will continuously redial the previous number until a connection
is made, or a key has been pressed.
During the wait between redial attempts, K9X will show the time remaining
before another dial attempt. You have the options of:
R)edial immediately
This option will commence an immediate redial
C)hange the redial delay (number of seconds)
This option allows you to change the recycle delay time.
Note that the new value entered here, is only in effect during the
redial of the current number.
[Esc] will discontinue any further redial attempts.
Only one number at a time can be re-dialed using this option.
When using the Redial Feature, if the entry you are dialing is linked to a
Macro (the first character of the Macro field is something other than a
backslash), K9X will bypass the "Connect - Hit any key" prompt and begin
processing your logon macro. If no Macro has been designated, or you are
redialing a number which was entered manually, K9X will sound an alarm and
inform you that a connect has been established. Simply strike any key to
exit this window and commence your session.
The redial command has no effect on any dialing directory entry numbers
which may be in the List Dialer Queue. If the number you wish to redial
was originally dialed via the List Dialer, the redial will simply redial
THAT number. Upon disconnect, the Alt_D command will continue cycling
through the remainder of the entries within the List Dialer Queue.
[Alt_S] Screen Dump
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will copy the current screen to a file. You are prompted for a
file name to receive the text of the currently displayed screen image.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 32 -
Only the text on the screen is written to the file. If you want to make
actual copies of a screen, you may use the DOS PrtScr command to dump the
current screen, including any open menu screens, to your printer.
[Alt_T] Time Fix
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When K9X is started up, it records the starting time and date and then uses
it to calculate the elapsed session time. The elapsed session time is
reset each time K9X connects with a host system. This option calculates the
time expended and will display this information for you. These figures are
also logged to the CALL.LOG file K9X maintains.
[Alt_U] Use File Find
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X has the capability to automatically locate files you select for
uploading. The file K9XDRIVE.TBL contains the list of available drives and
paths which K9X is 'permitted' to search. This option gives you the
opportunity to toggle this feature on/off.
When Uploading a file:
If this option is Enabled,
K9X will first search your current logged drive:\directory for the
file you requested.
If it is not present there, K9X will then search your default upload
path if specified within K9XDRIVE.TBL
If it is not present there, then K9X will use the directory names held
in K9XDRIVE.TBL to locate the file.
There are two methods of search available when using the K9XDRIVE.TBL
feature.
If this option is Disabled,
If no drive:\directory is specified with the filename
K9X will search the current logged drive:\directory and then your
default upload path (if specified within K9XDRIVE.TBL)
or...
K9X will ONLY search for the drive:\directory\filename as specified
by your input.
In either case, including a path (drive:\path\) along with the filename
automatically forces K9X to bypass all search criteria and look in the
specified path for the file.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 33 -
[Alt_V] View Capture Buffer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option requires that the capture buffer lines default in your
configuration (K9X.CNF BB=n parameter) be set to a number greater than
zero. If you have set this default, then the program will save the last
(number you defined) lines displayed on the screen in a back scroll buffer.
You can display the saved lines by hitting Alt_V. The cursor movement keys
control the viewing of the buffer... and [Esc] exits the viewing.
Use the up and down arrows to scroll up and down one line at a time through
the saved lines. [PgUp] and [PgDn] take you up and down a page of 18 lines,
respectively. [Home] takes you to the first page, and [End] takes you to
the last page. [Esc] exits the view mode.
The view buffer does NOT take account of escape sequences, so the resulting
saved display for a full-screen session may not be very readable.
All of the Cut and Paste functions, in addition to a special Save to File
feature are available while in the [Alt_V] View Capture Buffer feature.
When exiting this feature, K9X will automatically close any Cut and Paste
file which may be open.
Since the buffer contents are not lost upon disconnect from an online
status, you may use this feature to browse the buffer, mark and save file
names to a file list for later loading into the cut and paste buffer, or
use this feature while online for an easy recall marking of any files that
were missed on the first "pass" display of files listings.
Note that the Cut and Paste functions are available ONLY it you have
specified a capture buffer.
See the [Shift Tab] Mark & Save Section for detailed instructions on the
use of this feature.
[Alt_W] What's My Protocol
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When K9X starts up, it sets your protocol to that which is defined in
K9X.CNF (the default is Xmodem checksum). Each dialing directory entry
holds the default transfer protocol for that number. When you select a
dialing directory entry to dial and K9X establishes communications with
that number, K9X automatically resets your protocol. If you should dial a
number manually, K9X will use the protocol setting which was in effect
prior to the manual dial. You may use this command to reset your protocol
at any time. The new setting will be in effect until it is reset upon
connect to a new dialing directory entry or via this command.
Any change made via this command is only temporary and is not saved to
K9X.CNF
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 34 -
[Alt_X] Expert toggle
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option toggles you between the Alt_key keystroke type commands and the
'Command Gateway' menu system.
Getting there from the Command GateWay
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To permanently set the default to ON (expert):
1) Type U
2) Type P
3) Type H
4) Type G
5) Press [Enter]
6) Type Q
7) Type Q
To temporarily set the default to ON (expert):
1) Type T
2) Type X
3) A window will now open informing you that Expert mode is ENABLED
[Alt_Y] Your K9X Editor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X provides a builtin macro/message editor for creating and/or re-editing
logon macros, messages or any text file. The editor simulates the type of
message entry system found on most BBS systems with the exception that full
word wrap is only active while creating/editing a message. There isn't any
word wrap when using the editor to create/edit a logon macro.
Although a macro file may contain an unlimited number of lines, the macro
editor in K9X is limited to a maximum of 200 lines. If you must go over
the 200 line limit, you can use an ASCII text editor or create a number of
individual macro files and then use the DOS COPY command to join them
together. You may enter any ANSI Escape codes and/or extended graphics
into your messages by using the Alt_keypad code number sequence.
The differences between logon macro and message editing are:
K9X will not save a macro line to file unless the line contains the
LookFor/Send seperator ( ` ) somewhere between the 2nd and 41st
characters.
When editing a message, K9X will automatically add one blank trailing
line after the last line of the message (the blank line at the end of a
message is the normal way of ending message input on most BBS').
Word wrap is active during a message edit and inactive during macro
edit.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 35 -
K9X will assign a .K9X extension to macro files and a .MES extension to
messages. You may override these extensions by including an extension
when loading or saving a file.
K9X saves all marcos/messages created via the K9X editor in the K9X SUPP
directory.
Keep in mind that K9X expects the .K9X extension when looking for macro
files during the dialing sequence.
When loading or saving macro or message files, K9X will automatically look
for the designated macro or message files in the K9X SUPP directory
(wherever you started up K9X). You can override this by including the full
path when specifying a filename.
[End] Exit K9X
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the key for exiting K9X and returning to DOS. You will be asked to
confirm the exit before any action is taken. If you have any session log
files open, K9X will close them automatically.
Please note that the phone line is NOT necessarily hung up when you exit
K9X. It generally will be if you have the DTR line set normal. This
allows you to re-enter the session at a later time if you so desire. If
you set DTR permanently high, then the phone line is probably NOT hung up
when you exit K9X. Hence, you should be sure to hang-up the phone using
Alt_G before leaving K9X if you do not plan to re-enter a session.
[Ins] Session to disk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option toggles the capture file on and off. When you hit the [Ins]
key again the file will be saved for later viewing. The program will use
whatever filename you specify and append all the present capture to the end
of that file. If you have a session log active when exiting K9X, either by
way of a DOS shell or permanently, K9X will automatically save and close
the capture file for you. If you have exited via a DOS shell, K9X will
re-open the log file upon re-entry to K9X.
[^Home] DOS Command
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X allows you to specify a default DOS command so that you may start up
your favorite editor, file manager, external protocol driver or whatever.
You may modify/change this to any 65 character command via K9XCNF and the
Ctrl Home key combination will activate the DOS Command via a DOS shell.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 36 -
[Alt_1] Toggle Transfer Window
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This command key combination serves several purposes depending on when it
is invoked.
1) When you are downloading or uploading a file using any of the
internal K9X protocols (Xmodem, Ymodem, Modem7, Telink)... you can
toggle the transfer window on/off with the Alt_1 command key
combination. This will allow you to view the entire screen while a
file transfer is in progress. DO NOT use this feature if you are
using the built in SuperK protocols! K9X will read the Alt key set
as an Escape and abort your transfer!!!
2) K9X has the ability to pre-load up to 20 dialing directory entries
from the DOS prompt or from the List Dialer feature within the
Dialing Directory. These numbers are held in a buffer and dialed
consecutively until a connection is established. Upon completion of
your online session, the Alt_D Dial command begins cycling through
the list again. The Alt_1 command key combination while in the
terminal mode allows you to discard the list of numbers, select new
numbers to dial or simply access the dialing directory. Please note
that K9X will not give you any indication that the list has been
cleared other than sounding the system bell. The "Dialer List" line
in the Expert Command Summary menu will display the number of entries
remaining in the list dialer queue.
3) While in the process of dialing the List Dialer Queue numbers, an
Alt_1 will abort the current dial and discard all of the remaining
numbers within the queue.
[Alt_8] CIS/B
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X supports the CIS/B transfer protocol. The Alt_8 expert command key
will activate the external OZBEXT.EXE (renamed to CIS.EXE) module in
terminal mode. The parameters passed to CIS.EXE will be displayed prior to
its execution. If you want to change these parameters, you may do so by
renaming CIS.EXE to OZBEXT.EXE and create a CIS.BAT file that will call the
module with whatever paramters you prefer (see the CIS.TXT file for
additional parameters). Since K9X will automatically pass the required
parameters (port, speed, etc.), the CIS.BAT file will simply have to
discard the -v -x parameters and substitute your preferred parameters.
Be sure to set your dialing directory parameters to dial up CIS with an 7 E
1 setting! The CIS/B docs state the the CIS module will automatically
change the 7 E 1 to 8 N 1 during file transfers and change back to 7 E 1
upon transfer completion.
The "Hit any key to continue" message within the CIS/B window has had a
timing loop added to it. If no key is pressed within about a minute or so,
K9X will time out and automatically invoke the CIS/B.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 37 -
[Alt_9] ICEX
~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X supports the PC-Pursuit Dialer ICEX. The Alt_9 expert command key (and
its equivilent in the Command Gateway Menu System) will activate the
external ICEX.EXE module.
A new script command parameter has been added giving K9X the capability of
executing ICEX directly from a dialing directory macro. The command
paramter is <P> and it must appear in the "look for" portion of the macro
line.
Please refer to the ICEX doc files for use of the ICEX program. Note that
any registration fees for the use of ICEX are not covered as part of the
registration fee of K9X. If you plan on using ICEX on a regular basis,
please support the author of that program and register your copy.
ICEX expects the port to be reset when returning to the calling program.
Although this is not done during a "normal" drop to DOS, I have included
the code to reset the port upon return from either the ICEX or CIS/B
modules.
The "Hit any key to continue" message within the ICEX window has had a
timing loop added to it. If no key is pressed within about a minute or so,
K9X will time out and automatically invoke the ICEX module.
[->] Text Message Upload
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This command option allows you to ASCII upload a prefabricated message to a
BBS. This command executes a modified ASCII upload where all of the
required timing, prompting characters, etc. are preset. All that is
required from you is the name of the text message file.
Sending prefabricated messages via the Ascii Send file
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here are the steps to use this option in this manner:
1) Create a message using Your K9X Editor, a word processor
or text editor.
2) Log on to the BBS and select the BBS command for
entering a message or comment.
3) When the BBS tells you to start your message, press the
right arrow key and enter the filename.
4) K9X will transmit the file to the BBS and the BBS will
treat the input the same as though you had typed in
on the spot.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 38 -
5) Upon completion of the message transfer, your screen may
be blank. If this is the case, simply hit the [Enter] key
to display the BBS prompt line.
6) After finishing, L)ist your message and check it for
errors, editing it as required.
Note: K9X will look for the message file in your K9X SUPP directory. If the
message resides elsewhere, simply include the full drive and path
with the filename.
[PgDn] Download a file
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option opens the download window and works exactly the same as [PgUp]
(see below) but in the other direction!
Transfers are aborted by pressing the [PgDn] key when using the K9X
internal protocols or [Esc]/[Ctrl-X] in bursts of three when using the
Internal SuperK/JBatch protocols.
When downloading a file the Default Download Path will be added to the
filename in the form:
You specify a download with a name: filename.ext
Your download path is:
C:\MININET\K9X\DOWNLOADS\FOO\BAR\YOU\ME\TODAY\NOW\
K9X opens the file as:
C:\MININET\K9X\DOWNLOADS\FOO\BAR\YOU\ME\TODAY\NOW\filename.ext
If you make a mistake, K9X will inform you that it cannot open the file.
If this happens, recheck your Default Download Path. If you still receive
the 'Can't Open File' message, recheck your input for the download
filename.
If no default download path has been specified in your K9X.CNF, downloads
are written to you current logged drive and directory
K9X will display the "Bytes Available" on either the drive which has been
designated to hold the K9X Download Path, or the drive in which K9X was
started. This display may be displayed manually via the Files Manipulation
menu or automatically when performing downloads.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 39 -
[Shift Tab] Mark & Save
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is a powerful new feature in K9X... It deals primarily with the
listing and downloading of files. The Shift-Tab, Down Arrow and Del keys
work together to execute the feature in its entirety.
K9X will store up to 24 filenames in a special Mark and Save buffer. When
listing files, the Shift-Tab keys will freeze the screen and allow you to
move the cursor around the screen using the Home, End and Arrow keys.
After pressing the Shift-Tab keys, line 25 on your screen will display the
available command options while in this section. They are:
Up Arrow Move cursor up one line with no change in the column
position. If cursor is line 1, cursor moves to line 24
Down Arrow Move cursor down one line with no change in the column
position. If cursor is on line 24, cursor moves to line 1
Right Arrow Move cursor right one column. If cursor is on column 80,
cursor moves to column 1 of the same line
Left Arrow Move cursor left one column. If cursor is on column 1,
cursor moves to column 80 of the same line
Home Move cursor to line 1, column 1
End Move cursor to line 24, column 1
ShiftTab Pressing the ShiftTab key combination again places you
into a Cut and Paste mode. The command help line 25 that
appeared on the first ShiftTab will be removed and you
will now be able to move your cursor around the screen.
After positioning the cursor, pressing the M (mark) key
will extract the line, from the cursor position to the end
of that line, write the line to the file called K9XNOTES
and advance the cursor down one line. The only difference
between this Mark option and the one described below is
that here, the remainder of the line is saved to disk.
With the filename marking below, only the filename is
marked and saved to the file buffer.
D Pressing the D key (upper or lower case) will open yet
another window displaying the filenames already in the
buffer.
M Pressing the M key (upper or lower case) marks the
filename and moves it into a buffer position. The marked
filename will be displayed on your screen in inverse
(black on white) and the cursor will be moved down one
line. K9X will not verify that a valid filename has been
selected... You MUST position the cursor over the first
character of a valid filename before pressing the M key.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 40 -
I've added some additional coding that will account for
file listings that are formatted (with spaces) and lack
the standard period between the file name and file
extension.
For uploading, this allows for the user to use the DOS
redirection character > to create a list of files (please
refer to your DOS manual for information on redirecting
DOS output)... K9X will ignore any line in the upload
file list that begins with a space or a period and will
replace all formatting spaces with a single period.
Example: this standard DOS directory output
Volume in drive C is MININET_1
Directory of C:\K9X
. <DIR> 12-18-88 2:18a
.. <DIR> 12-18-88 2:18a
K9X COM 40702 12-29-88 7:20p
K9X 000 71680 12-29-88 7:20p
K9X 001 2304 12-29-88 7:16p
K9X 002 4352 12-29-88 7:16p
K9X 003 7936 12-29-88 7:17p
K9X 004 8448 12-29-88 7:17p
K9X 005 3328 12-29-88 7:17p
K9X 006 5888 12-29-88 7:17p
K9X 007 3840 12-29-88 7:17p
K9X 008 31744 12-29-88 7:18p
K9X 009 14592 12-29-88 7:18p
K9X 010 27648 12-29-88 7:19p
K9X 011 13056 12-29-88 7:19p
K9X 012 3840 12-29-88 7:20p
16 File(s) 126267840 bytes free
Becomes...
K9X.COM
K9X.000
K9X.001
K9X.002
K9X.003
K9X.004
K9X.005
K9X.006
K9X.007
K9X.008
K9X.009
K9X.010
K9X.011
K9X.012
For downloading, this allows the loading of files lists
that contain formatted filenames (such as the file
listings found on some BBS').
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 41 -
Example: this BBS file listing
K9X ZIP 321000 12-29-88 Canine Express v8.20
Becomes...
K9X.ZIP
K9X will extract the first character under the cursor and
the next 11 characters. From this partial string, K9X
will attempt to create a filename. If the filename as
displayed is a standard filename in NAME.EXT format, K9X
will store it into its buffer as is. If the filename is in
a formatted form (ie: K9X ZIP), K9X will remove the
format spaces and convert the filename into the standard
format of K9X.ZIP before storing it in the buffer.
E Pressing the E key (upper or lower case) opens up yet
another window displaying the filenames already in the
buffer and prompting you for a command. Your options
through the Edit mode are:
A Allows you to manually add a filename to the list. The
filename may be entered in either upper or lower case
and will be placed at the end of the buffered filename
list. Pressing Enter by itself will abort this command
with no action taken.
C Will prompt if you wish to clear A)ll or O)ne
filename. If only One file is to be cleared, K9X will
ask for the entry number, clear the specified entry
and move higher entries down one place to fill the
void. Pressing Enter by itself will abort this command
with no action taken.
E Allows you to change (edit) one of the existing
filenames that are listed. Pressing Enter by itself
will abort this command with no action taken.
L Allows you to load in a list of files from a text
file. Although the file may contain any number of
lines, only the first 24 lines will be read in. Each
line of the file may contain simply a file name or it
may contain the full data (ie: what is displayed when
listing files on a BBS). Here is the process when K9X
reads in a file list....
Example:
K9X reads in a line from the file
K9XHOST.ZIP 291456 09/24/87 Latest version of K9X Full Host Package
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 42 -
K9X then extracts the first 12 characters of that
line and ASSUMES that string is in fact a
filename.
+- 12 chars -+
| |
K9XHOST.ZIP 291456 09/24/87 Latest version of K9X Full Host Package
K9X then makes sure there are no trailing spaces at
the end of the filename (in the case of a
filename that is less than 12 characters),
discarding any characters from the first space
on.
+- 12 chars -+ +- 11 chars +
| | | |
K9XHOST.ZIP equals K9XHOST.ZIP
Finally, K9X saves the (assumed) filename to the
next available buffer location.
K9XHOST.ZIP
Be aware that you must be connected to a host system
(a carrier must be present) in order for the loaded
list of files to remain in memory once you exit this
Shift-Tab section. Each time you disconnect from a
host system, K9X automatically clears all filenames in
the buffer and resets the buffer counter/pointer.
The backslash character \ may be used in your list to
cease any further reading of a file. ie: the file you
are reading contains 100 or so filenames and you only
want to read in the first 10. The only criteria in
using the backslash is that it appears on a line by
itself and is located as the first character (no
leading spaces).
Pressing Enter by itself will abort this command with
no action taken.
S Allows you to save the current filenames in the buffer
to a specified file. Be aware that as the filenames
are "used up" via your requests to the host system,
each used filename is discarded. If you wish to make
a log of the filenames, do it before you begin your
requests. Pressing Enter by itself will abort this
command with no action taken.
[Enter] If you are in the Cut and Paste mode, pressing the [Enter]
key simply returns you to the FileName mark mode. If you
are in the FileName mark mode, pressing the [Enter] key
returns you to an online status, saving your marked
filenames, restoring your screen and positioning the
cursor where it was initially
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 43 -
In addition to your command options, the help line 25 will display the
number of buffers already used (this information is also displayed in both
the) Expert command menu and the Gateway/Files Commands menu). You may
exit and re-enter the Mark and Save feature at any time, add to, delete
from or edit your marked filenames on as many screens as you like and you
may perform any manual upload or download functions while there are
filenames in the buffer. The saved buffered filenames will not be
disturbed until they are "used" or you disconnect from that host system.
[Del]/[] Auto Download Mark & Save Filenames
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since the number of protocols which K9X supports is extensive, so are the
number of ways in which filenames are handled and supplied to the BBS.
Various PCBoard Batch Protocol Doors require different command structures
to set up multiple files transfers. One variation requires the D command,
then the specification of a protocol and then finally the filename(s)
entered one at a time on separate lines... Another requires the D command,
then the protocol specification, and then finally the filename(s) stacked
on one command line and separated by a space or semi-colon. To this end,
K9X will only send the filename to the Host system - without a carriage
return - when using a batch mode protocol (as specified within K9X NOT the
BBS). This allows you to use various Batch methods with the K9X cut and
paste feature. If you have been using the K9X auto-down feature this new
method will take a little getting used to but still saves alot of
aggrevation! The sequence here is to manually enter the D command, then
select the protocol, then simply hit the down-arrow key to have K9X feed
the filenames to the host system. If you are using the one filename per
line DOOR, simple hit Enter after each filename is sent... If you are
using the stack on one line DOOR, enter the space separator and then send
the next filename to the host. When you have setup the host for the
transfers, simply hit the down-arrow key (expert mode) and K9X will go
directly into Batch mode without prompting for any filenames.
Note that this modification is only in effect when Batch protocols are
used. The use of any of the "one file at a time" protocols is as noted
below.
Note also that K9X supports the logging of file transfers within its
K9XFER.LOG file when using any of the built in SuperK/JBatch protocols. K9X
will not be able to log any file transfer results to the K9XFER.LOG file
when using external protocols.
For this reason, you may want to set the environment variable for DSZ by
including the line SET DSZLOG=C:\K9X\K9XFER.LOG in your AUTOEXEC.BAT
There are two ways in which you can request the marked files from the host.
After marking the desired filenames...
The [Del] key (number pad) is used to commence a totally automated download
procedure. K9X extracts the first filename from the buffer, appends the
filename with a d; and sends it to the host system.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 44 -
After waiting a preset length of time (long enough for the host to set up
the sending of the file), K9X then uses the filename to initiate the
transfer on your system. Upon completion (or abort), K9X discards the
filename, shifts all of the remaining filenames down one position in the
buffer and repeats the process. Until all filenames in the buffer have
been requested. In essence, the use of the Del key simulates a batch mode
by cycling through each filename on at a time.
The down arrow key performs the identical functions as the [Del] key except
it only performs half of the sequence at a time. The process is as
follows:
Using single file mode -
Press the down arrow key... K9X sends d;filename.ext to the host.
Wait until the host informs you that it is ready to send the
requested file.
Press the down arrow key again... K9X initiates the transfer on your
system.
Using batch file mode where multiple filenames may be specified at one
time on one line.
Press the down arrow key... K9X sends filename.ext to the host.
Press Space to insert the required separator between filenames.
Press the down arrow key... K9X sends the next filename.ext
Repeat until the maximum number of filenames have been specified or
file buffers have been emptied.
Press [Enter] to signal the Host that you are finished with your
input.
When the host informs you that it is ready to send the files
requested, hit the Page Down key.
Using batch file mode where multiple filenames may be specified at one
time one filename per line
Press the down arrow key... K9X sends filename.ext to the host.
Press [Enter] to signal the Host that you are finished with that
line.
Press the down arrow key... K9X sends the next filename.ext
Press [Enter] to signal the Host that you are finished with that
line.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 45 -
Repeat until the maximum number of filenames have been specified or
file buffers have been emptied.
Press [Enter] one last time to signal the Host that you are finished
with your input.
When the host informs you that it is ready to send the files
requested, hit the Page Down key.
The advantage to your using the down arrow key over the Del key is that
you replace the timing loop in determining when the file is ready to
send, thus bypassing the timing loops built into k9X and speeding up the
transfer request process.
Study these notes carefully:
No check is made to verify that you have indeed marked a filename...
You MUST have the cursor positioned over the FIRST character of a
valid filename.
Remember that when using a batch mode protocol, K9X does not send the
opening D command nor the closing carriage return.
When using this option with a single file protocol, you must NOT
initiate the download on the host system (by issuing the d command to
the Host). K9X automatically adds the D; to the filename.
Remember that use of the down arrow key option requires your hitting
the down arrow key twice... once to send the filename to the host and
again to initiate the transfer on your end.
When you send a filename, K9X removes that filename from the buffer
list regardless of whether the file is transferred or not.
You do not have to "use up" the saved filenames all at once (or at
all). K9X simply holds on to the names until they are indeed used or
you disconnect from that host system. You may execute downloads via
the other K9X download options regardless of the saved filename
buffer status.
The [Esc] key may be used at anytime during either the Del key or
down arrow key transfer. Hitting the [Esc] key aborts the entire
autodownload process. K9X will inform you of this before each
filename is sent, and will also inform you that it is aware that you
pressed the [Esc] key to abort the transfer. Be aware that you may
have to hit Ctrl-X and/or [Enter] several times after a transfer has
been aborted. This all depends on when you press the [Esc] key and
when K9X acts upon the [Esc] abort.
Some systems place minimum security levels on all files. Being this
option is a two key - non-stop feature, be sure you are able to
download the file before marking it. Under some of the external
protocols, it may be very difficult to abort the transfer once it is
initiated.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 46 -
Make sure your default protocol for the system you are logged on to
is set correctly both on the system and in K9X. Once you start
either download mode, you will not be able to change your protocol
until k9X has finished its cycle.
[Alt_6] Clear FileName
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There will be times when the file you request is not available or you do
not have enough time to complete the transfer. Being the down arrow and
Del key transfer modes are performed in two stages, the non-availability
notice will come after the first stage and before the second stage of a
transfer... leaving you with the bad filename still sitting in the buffer
and K9X expecting to initiate the transfer on your side! The Alt_6 command
will discard the bad filename, move any other buffered filenames down one
position and set up K9X to continue on to the next filename (if available).
[PgUp] Upload a file
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option opens up the upload window. You must first 'tell' the host
system you are communicating with that you are about to upload a file. Once
the host acknowledges and informs you that it is ready to receive the file,
press the PgUp key and specify the name of the file you wish to send.
Transfers are aborted by pressing the [PgUp] key when using the K9X
internal protocols or [Esc]/[Ctrl-X] in bursts of three when using the
Internal SuperK protocols.
When uploading a file using any single file transmission method, when K9X
asks you for a filename:
If you have specified the use of K9X File Find, all you have to input is
a filename. Entering a drive and path along with the filename will
override the K9X File Finding capabilities.
If you have not specified the use of File Find and:
The file resides in the current logged directory, simply enter the
full filename
The file resides in an area other than the current logged directory,
you will have to give the full path and filename. Don't worry if your
path/filename input wraps around to the next line, K9X will read it
properly.
For the batch methods you may enter a wildcard specification, and all files
matching the wildcard specification will be transmitted to the remote
system.
The same rules concerning where the file(s) reside apply.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 47 -
For example, if the current logged directory has three files
A.COM
B.COM
C.COM
Entering the file name as *.COM to say, Super8K Batch, results in all
three files being transmitted to the remote system.
Facility has been made to specify multiple filenames when sending
(uploading) files using any of the Batch Protocols. Simply input your
filenames with each seperated by a space... Full paths may be used for
each filespec...
Let's say you wish to send three files in one batch and the files reside
in three different directories...
FILE_1.ZIP resides in your C:\FOO directory
FILE_2.ZIP resides in your C:\BAR directory
FILE_3.ZIP resides in your C:\TODAY directory
After setting up the upload on the BBS, select the K9X upload command
(Expert or Command Gateway). Input the three filenames as:
C:\FOO\FILE_1.ZIP C:\BAR\FILE_2.ZIP C:\TODAY\FILE_3.ZIP
Again, use of wildcards are not allowed when specifying multiple
filenames. Wildcards are supported only when the wildcard is used in a
single filespec...
valid: send AB1.ZIP, AB2.ZIP, AB3.ZIP and ABSOLUTE.ZIP all
residing in C:\DLS filespec would be C:\DLS\AB*.ZIP
or C:\DLS\AB*.*
invalid: send same as above - where filespec is
C:\DLS\AB?.ZIP C:\ABSOL*.ZIP
If a single filespec is specified during Batch uploads and the filespec
is in the "@drive:\path\filelist" form, K9X simply passes the filename
to the protocol. In all other cases, if no path is supplied with the
filename(s), K9X will first look for the specified files in the default
upload directory. If the K9X file find feature is active, and the
file(s) were not found in the default up/download directories, K9X will
then use the K9XDRIVE.TBL to attempt to locate the file(s).
K9X supports a 24 filename upload buffer (ala the cut and paste download
buffer). It works identically to the cut and paste download buffer, but in
the opposite direction and... where the download cut and paste is accessed
directly from the main terminal mode or within the Alt-V (view capture
buffer), the upload cut and paste is accessed through the file manipulation
section. This operation will take a little explaining!
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 48 -
To upload a group of files, let's assume you are online with a host system.
1) Access the File Manipulation Section via the Expert Alt-F (or Command
Gateway Menu Files/Files Manipulation) command and select the files
to be uploaded. Please see the K9X File Finder section for detailed
instructions on the use of this feature.
2) After selecting the U)pload option, all that is required is to hit
the Up arrow key. K9X will send the first filename to the host
system!
If you are using a batch protocol...
If the host accepts multiple filenames on a single line, hit the
space bar and send the next filename (via the up arrow key)... and
so on...
If the host does not accept multiple filenames on a single line,
simply hit your Enter key, wait for the prompt for the next
filename, hit the Up Arrow key, Hit Enter, wait for prompt... and
so on.
If you are using a Single File Protocol, simply hit your Enter key
3) When you have finished sending the filenames (all or part of the full
marked list) to the host and the host has acknowledged that it is
ready to receive the files, simply hit the PgUp key.
If you are using a single file mode protocol, K9X will automatically
begin the transfer.
If you are using a batch mode protocol, enter 3 forward slashes (///)
for a filename and hit your Enter key. K9X will then locate each
file and append the full path to the buffer filename, writing the
resultant to the file K9XBATCH.LST and the pass the K9XBATCH.LST
filename to the protocol. When it has completed this task, K9X will
automatically begin the transfer - either Batch or Single File mode.
4) Upon completion (or abort), K9X will remove the "used" filenames from
the Upload Mark Buffer, thus readying any remaining filenames for
processing, and erase the K9XBATCH.LST
@drive:\path\filelist
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A word about the @drive:\path\filelist filespec
Zmodem transfers allow the use of a prefabricated list of files as the
input source in place of a filename. This allows you to create an ascii
list of filenames - with or without associated paths - and then specify
this filename to K9X in the form...
@drive:\path\filelist (ie: @C:SEND.LST)
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 49 -
It stands to reason that if the filenames that are listed within the list
reside in different directories or all of the files in the list reside in
an area OTHER than your currently logged drive:\directory, you will have to
include a full path with EACH filename in the list.
The SuperK and JBatch protocols built in to K9X take this feature one step
further. If the filenames within the list are located in various
directories, you will still have to specify a full path along with each
filename in the list... However, if all of the files reside in the same
directory, you may specify the path to the files along with the
@drive:\path\filelist
so that your input becomes
@drive:\path\filelist@drive:\path
where the second @drive:\path is the path in which the files within the
list reside! Understand that this additional feature is only valid in
cases where you are using one of the built in SuperK/JBatch protocols.
[Alt_Minus] Universal LookFor Toggle
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Alt_Minus key combination will shut off the Universal Logon feature if
it was in fact active. The status of the Universal LookFor is displayed in
both the Expert Command Summary Screen and the Command Gateway/Toggles
section in the form of (Y) or (N)
[Alt_Plus] Macro Toggle
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Alt_Plus key combination will shut off the AutoLogon feature if it was
in fact active. The status of the Macro Toggle is displayed in both the
Expert Command Summary Screen and the Command Gateway/Toggles section in
the form of (Y) or (N)
NOTE: The Alt_Minus and Alt_Plus key combinations along with their novice
menu counterparts will only turn OFF these features. Once either of
these features is turned off, you will not be able to re-activate
them again until you hang up and redial.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 50 -
DIALING DIRECTORY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Queue Prompt Before Entering Dialing Directory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When using the Alt-D command in expert mode or the 'Dial a number' option
from the Command Gateway Menu, K9X will first open the L)ist dialer window
prior to displaying any portion of the dialing directory. This allows you
to input the entries you wish to dial (If you already know them) or hit
[Enter] to exit the L)ist dialer and proceed to a display of the dialing
directory.
Note: Please see the ESC command key comments for exiting the dialing mode
and the L command comments for further information on the dialing
queue.
List Dialer, Tag and Untag Mode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While in any one of these modes, the Dialing Directory Command Menu is
replaced with the list of numbers already selected. Although the command
Menu is not visible, all (most) of the dialing directory commands are still
available. You may use the cursor keys to scroll/page through the
directory, use Goto to jump to a particular directory entry, Tag and Untag
entries, display the extended or standard directory entry info, and even
direct enter an entry number (in the form 123) - in which case the number
is added to the list. Hitting the Enter key will remove the List dial list,
replace the List Dialer window with the Dialing Directory Command Menu and
return you to normal directory activity mode.
Dialing Directory Size
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The dialing directory size is saved in K9X.CNF. The size in pages (where
one page = 19 entries) can now be specifed by the user and has a range of 2
to 500 pages... that's 38 to 9500 entries! The default upon startup is 2
pages (38 entries) but that may be expanded at any time via K9XCNF.
Monitoring Carrier Detect
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X monitors the carrier detect line to see if a remote session is in
progress. If K9X detects a carrier, it WILL NOT allow you to dial another
number and initiate another session. If you experience problems with K9X
when attempting to dial another system, please refer to the Alt_P command
key section, specifically the K9X.CNF information dealing with the setting
of the CTS, DSR and Carrier Line High flags.
Dialing Directory Format
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The dialing directory file K9X.P is a random-access text file. Each line in
the file corresponds to one dialing directory entry. The format of each
entry is:
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 51 -
Field Length Comments
------------- ------ ------------------------------------------
Name 25
Phone Number 15 In the form 1-206-725-9233
with or without the hyphen
with or without a prefix and/or postfix
Baud rate 5 In the form 2400
Parity 1 In the form N
Data Bits 1 In the form 8
Stop Bits 1 In the form 1
LastOn Date/Time 20 In the form 19:54:32 05/01/1987
Macro Name 8 In the form MININET
without .K9X extension
Protocol 1 In the form ...
A Ascii X Xmodem Chk
B Batch Zmodem Y Ymodem CRC
C Xmodem CRC Z Zmodem
D DSZ Ymodem-G Batch 1 K9Xmodem Batch
K K9Xmodem CRC 2 Ymodem Batch
J Jmodem 3 WXmodem Batch
M Modem 7 (Batch) Checksum 4 Xmodem CRC Batch
P PC-Kermit 5 Xmodem Chk Batch
Q Qmxfer Ymodem-G 6 Super8K Batch
T Telink 7 Modem 7 (Batch) CRC
W WXmodem CRC 8 Jmodem Batch
All fields are plain ASCII text.... This means that you may sort your
dialing directory with the DOS SORT utility or any text sorting utility.
Although K9X.P can be loaded into an ASCII text editor and modified, care
should be taken that the lengths and placement of the data fields are not
corrupted. The file itself is an ASCII file, but the field sizes are
fixed.
Each time you dial up a directory entry number and connect with that
number, K9X automatically updates the dialing directory entry LastOn field
with the current time and date.
K9X uses the associated communications parameters when dialing the selected
phone number.
Main Dialing Directory Display
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Main Dialing Directory Display is divided into 2 parts... The actual
directory entries on the left and the command summary on the right.
Commands are selected by pressing the corresponding first character of the
desired command.
The number of entries in the dialing queue is displayed within the dialing
directory command menu. This figure is updated automatically when the Tag,
Untag or Clear (within the List Dialer list display) command is specified.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 52 -
The menu title also displays the current size (2 pages) of the directory
and the first entry is displayed in inverse video. The actual directory
entries are scrollable.
Dialing Directory Display Sample
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+< Dialing Directory (2 pages) >--------------------------++< Commands >-------+
|<##> <Name>___________________ <Number>_______ <Bps> <W> || C Clear Entry |
| || D Dial List (0) |
| 1 UNDERDOGS MININET BBS 01A 1-206-725-9233 9600 N81 || G Go to Entry # |
| 2 UNDERDOGS MININET BBS 01B 1-206-725-9233 9600 N81 || H Hang Up |
| 3 ------------------------- - --- --- ---- 9600 N81 || L Input Dial List |
| 4 ------------------------- - --- --- ---- 9600 N81 || M Manual Dial |
| 5 ------------------------- - --- --- ---- 9600 N81 || N Name Dial |
| 6 ------------------------- - --- --- ---- 9600 N81 || P Prefix Revision |
| 7 ------------------------- - --- --- ---- 9600 N81 || Q Quick Edit |
| 8 ------------------------- - --- --- ---- 9600 N81 || R Redial Number |
| 9 ------------------------- - --- --- ---- 9600 N81 || T Tag Entry |
| 10 ------------------------- - --- --- ---- 9600 N81 || U Untag Entry |
| 11 ------------------------- - --- --- ---- 9600 N81 || [->] Extended |
| 12 ------------------------- - --- --- ---- 9600 N81 || [Home] Page One |
| 13 ------------------------- - --- --- ---- 9600 N81 || [End] Last Pg |
| 14 ------------------------- - --- --- ---- 9600 N81 || [][] Up/Dn 1 |
| 15 ------------------------- - --- --- ---- 9600 N81 || [Pg] Up/Dn 19 |
| 16 ------------------------- - --- --- ---- 9600 N81 || [^Pg] Up/Dn 190 |
| 17 ------------------------- - --- --- ---- 9600 N81 || [Esc] Exit Dialer |
| 18 ------------------------- - --- --- ---- 9600 N81 || [ENTER] will dial |
| 19 ------------------------- - --- --- ---- 9600 N81 || the highlighted # |
| || -OR- |
| At Your Command: || Enter an Entry No |
+---------------------------------------------------------++-------------------+
Extended Info Display
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Extended info feature has been modified to display the extended info on
ALL directory entries. Prior versions only displayed the full information
for the entry which was positioned in the highlighted spot. By pressing
the Right Arrow key, K9X will swap out the current info and display the
Last On Date, Macro and Protocol for each of the entries in the displayed
page. Pressing the Right Arrow key again will replace the extended info
with the original info. Note that this new feature is merely a toggle flag.
All of your dialing directory commands are available regardless of which
"set" of information is being displayed.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 53 -
Extended Info Display Sample
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+< Dialing Directory (2 pages) >--------------------------++< Commands >-------+
|<##> <Last On>_____________<Macro>_____ <Protocol______ || C Clear Entry |
| || D Dial List (0) |
| 1 00:00:00 02/15/1989 \ Super8K Batch || G Go to Entry # |
| 2 00:00:00 02/15/1989 \ Super8K Batch || H Hang Up |
| 3 00:00:00 02/15/1989 \ Super8K Batch || L Input Dial List |
| 4 00:00:00 02/15/1989 \ Super8K Batch || M Manual Dial |
| 5 00:00:00 02/15/1989 \ Super8K Batch || N Name Dial |
| 6 00:00:00 02/15/1989 \ Super8K Batch || P Prefix Revision |
| 7 00:00:00 02/15/1989 \ Super8K Batch || Q Quick Edit |
| 8 00:00:00 02/15/1989 \ Super8K Batch || R Redial Number |
| 9 00:00:00 02/15/1989 \ Super8K Batch || T Tag Entry |
| 10 00:00:00 02/15/1989 \ Super8K Batch || U Untag Entry |
| 11 00:00:00 02/15/1989 \ Super8K Batch || [->] Extended |
| 12 00:00:00 02/15/1989 \ Super8K Batch || [Home] Page One |
| 13 00:00:00 02/15/1989 \ Super8K Batch || [End] Last Pg |
| 14 00:00:00 02/15/1989 \ Super8K Batch || [][] Up/Dn 1 |
| 15 00:00:00 02/15/1989 \ Super8K Batch || [Pg] Up/Dn 19 |
| 16 00:00:00 02/15/1989 \ Super8K Batch || [^Pg] Up/Dn 190 |
| 17 00:00:00 02/15/1989 \ Super8K Batch || [Esc] Exit Dialer |
| 18 00:00:00 02/15/1989 \ Super8K Batch || [ENTER] will dial |
| 19 00:00:00 02/15/1989 \ Super8K Batch || the highlighted # |
| || -OR- |
| At Your Command: || Enter an Entry No |
+---------------------------------------------------------++-------------------+
Dialing Number Display
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Dialing Number Display provides a visual monitor of K9X dialing. As
dialing progresses, status messages are inserted within the "Dialing"
window display.
The directory entry info is quite a bit easier to read now with all of the
fields placed in the left side window and the dialing times placed in the
right side window. The redial, connect and dial progress messages are
displayed within the right side window.
A new command has been added here also.. In prior versions, in order to
completely abandon the dialing queue, you had to press the Escape key once
for each entry in the queue.
This version adds the Alt-1 key command which will not only abort the
current entry being dialed but abandon the entire queue (just like the
terminal Alt-1 command key). Note that [Esc] works as before - [Esc] aborts
the current entry dial and proceeds on the the next entry in the queue.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 54 -
Dialing Number Display Sample
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+-< Entry Number: 1 >-----------------+ +-< Dialing >---------------------+
| Name : UNDERDOGS MININET BBS 01A | | Dialing Started at : 12:00:00 |
| Number : 1-206-725-9233 | | Attempt started at : 12:00:04 |
| Params : 9600,N,8,1 | | Number of Attempts : 2 |
| Last On : 00:00:00 02/15/1989 | | Elapsed Dial Time : 00:00:02 |
| Macro : \ | | |
| Protocol: Super8K Batch | | Abort: [Alt_1]=list [Esc]=dial |
+-------------------------------------+ +---------------------------------+
Redialing Number Display Sample
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+-< Entry Number: 1 >-----------------+ +-< Redialing >-------------------+
| Name : UNDERDOGS MININET BBS 01A | | Dialing Started at : 12:00:00 |
| Number : 1-206-725-9233 | | Attempt started at : 12:00:04 |
| Params : 9600,N,8,1 | | Number of Attempts : 2 |
| Last On : 00:00:00 02/15/1989 | | Elapsed Dial Time : 00:00:02 |
| Macro : \ | | Busy - Patience is a Virtue! |
| Protocol: Super8K Batch | | R)edial now, C)hange or [Esc] |
+-------------------------------------+ +---------------------------------+
Quick Entry Edit Display
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Upon selecting the Q option, you are first prompted for the number of the
entry you wish to revise. K9X will then find and read that record number
from the dialing directory. The Quick Entry Edit Window is then displayed.
As you can see, the current values for each field are displayed above each
box. Those fields requiring certain specified input have the valid input
display to the left of the applicable box (E,O,N or 5..8). 5..8 indicates
any number from 5 to 8 is valid. In each instance, the cursor will be at
the first character position of the field to be edited. You may input a
new value for that field or simply hit ENTER... in which case, the current
value is pulled down into the box. When you have finished editing each
field (or hit ENTER to retain the current value), the "S)ave and quit" line
will be displayed at the bottom of the window. In order to exit the edit
mode, you MUST press the S key. If you hit ENTER at the S)ave and quit
prompt, all of the boxes will be cleared and the cursor will be positioned
in the "Name:" field box once again.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 55 -
Quick Entry Edit Display Sample
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+< Revise Dialing Entry >---------------------------------------------+
| Name: UNDERDOGS MININET BBS Number: 1-206-725-9233 |
| │ ┌─────────────────────────┐ │ ┌───────────────┐ |
| └──┤ │ └────┤ │ |
| └─────────────────────────┘ └───────────────┘ |
| Baud Rate: 9600 Parity: N Data Bits: 8 Stop Bits: 1 |
| │ ┌─────┐ ┌┴┐ ┌┴┐ ┌┴┐ |
| └───────┤ │ E,O,N │ │ 5..8 │ │ 0..2 │ │ |
| └─────┘ └─┘ └─┘ └─┘ |
| Last On: 00:00:00 01/01/1980 Macro: \ Super8K |
| │ │ │ |
| │ ┌────────────────────┐ │ ┌────────┐┌─┴───────────────┐ |
| └─────┤ │ └───┤ ││ │ |
| └────────────────────┘ └────────┘└─────────────────┘ |
| S)ave and quit |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
Navigating the Dialing Directory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As stated earlier, the actual directory entries are scrollable. Whichever
number is currently at the top of the display and displayed in inverse
video is the default number. If you just hit [ENTER]... and there are no
entry numbers in the List dialing queue, K9X will automatically dial this
number. You can move through the directory using the following keys:
[PgDn] - forward 1 page (19 entries).
[PgUp] - back 1 page (19 entries).
[^PgUp] - back 10 pages (190 entries)
[^PgDn] - forward 10 pages (190 entries)
[Down arrow] - down one line.
[Up arrow] - up one line.
[Home] - display the first 19 entries.
[End] - display the last 19 entries.
Dialing a Specific Directory Entry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Type the entry number you wish to dial. The corresponding phone number for
that dialing directory entry is dialed. You may prefix the number with one
of the dialing prefix characters described below, in which case the
corresponding prefix string is appended to the front of the phone number.
The communications parameters are also set to those present in the dialing
directory. You may hit the ESC (escape) key to cancel the dialing at any
time during the progress of a call. Once a connection is established,
however, hitting the escape key has no effect.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 56 -
If a successful connection to the remote system occurs, K9X checks the
modem connect message returned by the modem (if any) for the string
designated to be the modem connect message (MC= parameter). If it is found,
then K9X assumes that any digits immediately following the modem message
comprise the baud rate at which the modem connected. If that baud rate
differs from the current baud rate, K9X adjusts the baud rate automatically
to match that of the remote host as indicated by the modem.
If the connection to the remote system is not successful and you are
dialing a single number, then the dialing directory is displayed again so
that you can choose another number to dial if you wish. You may also
redial the selected number from within the dialing directory. Simply press
the R key and K9X will go into the redial mode. If you are using the L)ist
dialing option and no connection is made, K9X will cycle through to the
next directory number in the queue.
Command Keys
~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Esc] - If the dialing directory is displayed and no dialing is in
progress, pressing the Escape key exits the dialing directory
section.
If K9X is performing a single number dial then pressing the
Escape key takes you out of the dialing mode.
In all cases where the L)ist dialer is being used, K9X will
cycle through the list of entry numbers until a connection is
made.
Hitting ESC merely signals K9X that you wish to abort dialing
that particular entry number and proceed on to the next entry
number in the list. In order to exit the L)ist dialer
completely, you will have to hit [Alt-1]. At that point, K9X
will abort the current dial and abandon the list.
C - When in the List/Tag/Untag menu, the C command clears all
entries from the List dialer. When in the standard dialing
directory mode, the C command allows you to clear a specified
entry. In both cases, there isn't any confirmation of the clear
command.
D - Since the List dial feature no longer automatically commences
the queue dial when exited, the D command will now start the
queue dialing sequence.
[Enter] - When in the List/Tag/Untag mode, Enter returns to to the
standard dialing directory mode. When in the standard dialing
directory mode, with no directory entries within the List
Dialing queue, K9X will extract the highlighted directory entry
and commence to dial. However, it should be noted that if there
are directory entries within the dialing queue, K9X will
automatically commence the List Dial option rather than dial the
highlighted entry.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 57 -
G - The GoTo command allows you to specify a dialing directory entry
to go to. K9X will shift its position within the dialing
directory so that the specified entry number is placed into the
highlighted position.
H - Allows you to hang up the phone. This command is identical to
the Alt-G Expert Command.
L - Allows you to specify up to 20 dialing directory entry numbers
to be dialed in a rotary queue. Rotational dialing will continue
until a connect is made...
When K9X connects with a number, the remaining numbers are
retained. Upon disconnecting from the system, an expert mode
Alt-D command or novice mode 'Modem Command/Dial a Friend' will
take you back into the list dial mode and attempt to connect
with another number. This process will continue until K9X has
successfully connected with all the numbers in the list or each
remaining number is 'Escaped Out', at which time the list is
abandoned. This List dialing configuration also applies to all
three entry points into the List Dialer - from the Alt-D, from
within the dialing directory itself and the application of
numbers on the DOS command line.
Since the dial queue can be continually built (up to the 20
maximum entries), the C command within the list window will
clear ALL entries from the queue.
T - Allows you to "Tag" the highlighted directory entry and place
that entry number into List Dialer Queue.
The sequence here is to place the desired entry into the
highlighted position and press the T key. K9X will check the
entry number against any existing numbers in the queue.
If that number does not already exist, K9X will automatically
place the dialing directory entry number into the queue list.
If the queue already holds other entry numbers, the new number
will be placed at the end of the list.
The command portion of the dialer will display the number of
entries within the List Dialer and you may use the L command at
any time to view the actual list of entry numbers.
U - The UnTag command works against an already tagged entry number.
The process is the same... place the desired entry into the
highlighted position and press the U key. If the entry number
is present within the queue, K9X will delete it and "fill in the
hole" by moving any other numbers down one position. The
command portion of the dialer is also updated to reflect the
actual number of entries in the queue.
M - Allows you manually enter a phone number to be dialed.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 58 -
N - Enter a name, or portion of a name, and K9X will retrieve the
remaining information from its dialing directory, K9X.P.
After making your input, K9X will search K9X.P for a string
match in the name field. Since K9X will retrieve the first
string match it encounters, you need to enter enough of the
entry name to differentiate it from any other entry in the file.
Example: Your directory contains an entry for Underdog and
Underworld
You wish to dial Underworld but Underdog is the the
first entry. Your response would be...
Underw
If there is only one entry beginning with a U or you
wish to dial Underdog (in the example above) then all
you need to enter is U
your response can be either upper or lower case.
R - Redials the last number dialed. This feature works the same way
as the expert Alt-R command.
If your dialing directory entry is linked to a Macro (the first
character of the Macro field is something other than a
backslash), K9X will bypass the "Connect - Hit any key" prompt
and begin processing your logon macro.
P - Allows you to define or revise the seven dialing prefixes or set
a default prefix character. These prefixes may be attached to a
directory entry phone number to facilitate the use of special
phone access passwords/codes. See the Dialing prefixes section
for detailed instructions on the use of this featue.
Q - Allows you to edit/revise a dialing directory entry.
K9X holds a default protocol for each entry. When K9X is
started up, it will set the default protocol to whatever was set
within the configuration section. When you connect with a BBS,
the default protocol is reset according to the value held within
the dialing directory entry.
The "Macro" field allows you to link each dialing directory
entry to a Macro file. When entering the names of these Macro
files, all that is required is the file name. The fixed macro
file extension is .K9X and K9X will attach the .K9X extension to
the macro filename. REPEAT... The dialing directory macro
field will only accept upto an 8 character name. DO NOT include
the an extension when entering macro file names.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 59 -
When K9X is started up for the first time, it creates a new
K9X.P dialing directory... the first entries in the new
directory contain the data for Underdog's MiniNet Systems. The
fields are filled in as shown in the samples. The remaining
entries are, for all intents and purposes, blank. This includes
the Macro fields. If you position one of these blank entries so
that you can display the extended info (as described above), you
will see that there is a backslash \ in the Macro field. This
is a special character which K9X uses here to disable the
autologon feature. Since K9X will display all of the entry
information when you are dialing, if the \ is used, you can use
the remaining 7 characters to place a "comment" (or the password
used on that system).
Dialing Prefixes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X provides for dialing prefixes to be attached to the front of a phone
number. You may define up to five such prefixes which are then stored in
the text file K9X.PRE.
Associated with each prefix number is a prefix character. The five
available prefix characters are: '+', '-', '!', '@', '#'. You use these
prefix characters to cause K9X to add the extra access codes you need for
alternate long-distance services like MCI or SPRINT. For example, if you
use SPRINT then you need to dial the local SPRINT access number, followed
by your SPRINT access code, followed by the actual number.
For clarity let's assume that the local SPRINT access number is, say, 999
9999, and our access code is 1234567. For a Hayes-like modem we could
define the prefix string for '+' to be 9999999,,,,1234567 where each comma
results in a one second pause to provide SPRINT enough time to answer the
call and request the access code. To define a prefix, use the P command.
Let's assume that you have used the P command to define that prefix for the
'+' key. If you enter then enter +3 K9X prefixes the number for UNDERDOGS
MININET BBS 01A from the dialing directory with the string associated with
'+' and dials:
9999999,,,,1234567 1-206-725-9233
You can also set a default dialing prefix character. For example, assume
that you hit the P key get to the prefix revision menu. Then hit the B key
to define (or remove) a default dialing prefix. The default prefix
character MUST be one of the prefix characters above or a blank. The
corresponding prefix string is automatically appended to the front of a
dialing directory number. The default prefix is NOT added to the front of a
dialing directory number when you explicitly type that number.
K9X Postfixes work identically to the K9X prefixes above with the exception
that they are added to the end of the number to be dialed.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 60 -
K9X Secondary Modem Control Prefixes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X supports two additional prefixes which are used in conjunction with the
K9X baud locking capabilities. These prefixes are the forward and back
slash ( / \ ). Additionally, there are two special codes... the 0 and 1
which dictate the toggling of the auto-reset baud rate to follow the called
system. This feature is a very powerful tool which allows you to have
complete control of your modem settings for each call you make!
The easiest way to explain all of this is to run you through the new setup
for use with a USR Courier 9600 HST modem.
1) Run K9XCNF from the DOS prompt and reset your baud rate to 19200
2) Go into the Misc section and set the Reset Baud toggle to (N)
Check also that the Check Clear to Send and Check Data Set Ready
are set to (N)
3) Go into the modem init section of K9XCNF and set your modem init
string to ATZ|
4) Exit K9XCNF (which will update K9X.CNF automatically).
5) Start up K9X and if you are not already using it, get into Expert
mode by typing T, X at the K9X Command Gateway menu.
6) Type ATI5 and hit Enter. Verify your HST Nram settings to the
following
USRobotics Courier 9600 HST NRAM Settings....
DIAL=HUNT M=0 X=4 F=1 B=0
BAUD=19200 PARITY=N WORDLEN=8
&A1 &B1 &G0 &H3 &I0 &K0
&M4 &N0 &P0 &R2 &S1 &Y1
S02=043 S03=013 S04=010 S05=008
S06=002 S07=030 S08=002 S09=006
S10=007 S11=070 S12=050 S13=000
S15=000 S19=000 S21=010 S22=017
S23=019
7) Type ATI4 and hit Enter. Verify your HST Current settings to the
following
USRobotics Courier 9600 HST Settings....
C=1 E=1 F=1 M=0 Q=0 V=1 X=4 B=0
BAUD=19200 PARITY=N WORDLEN=8
DIAL=HUNT ON HOOK TIMER
&A1 &B1 &G0 &H3 &I0 &K0
&M4 &N0 &P0 &R2 &S1 &Y1
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 61 -
S00=000 S01=000 S02=043 S03=013
S04=010 S05=008 S06=002 S07=030
S08=002 S09=006 S10=007 S11=070
S12=050 S13=000 S14=000 S15=000
S16=000 S17=000 S18=000 S19=000
S20=000 S21=010 S22=017 S23=019
8) The two new prefixes may be set up to include any standard Modem
commands. As I stated earlier, there are two codes which can be
used at the start of the prefix string which signals K9X as to the
status of the Reset Baud Flag status. Starting the prefix with a
one, sets the Reset Baud to true, thus enabling K9X to adjust its
baud rate with that of the system it is calling. Starting the
prefix with a 0 (zero) sets the Reset Baud Flag to false, thus
instructing K9X to leave the baud rate set to whatever the DEFAULT
baud rate was upon initial startup (19200).
Here is a sample of my prefix string for the backslash \
1AT&M&A&H&B&R1
As you can see, the 1 at the start of the prefix string enables
K9X' Reset Baud Flag and the remainder of the string resets the
modem to the proper settings to connect with a non MNP, non HST
system.
9) The last step in the process, is the go into your K9X dialing
directory and edit each non-HST/non-19200/non-MNP entry phone
number to include a backslash as a prefix. For instance, your
entry for calling my system would have the phone number as:
\1-206-725-9233
When K9X prepares a number to be dialed, it looks for the two special
prefix codes. If one is present, K9X sends the secondary modem init
string, and then dials the number. Upon completing the call, and preparing
the next number to dial, K9X once again looks for one of the special prefix
codes.
If one is present, it sends that string to the modem... If the new
(second) number to dial does not have a special prefix code, K9X
automatically resets the modem to the default startup settings... In other
words, you do not need a separate modem init prefix to reset your modem
after you have connected with a non HST system. K9X handles that
automatically.
Lastly, you may gang the prefixes with any of the standard prefix codes
just as long as the special modem string prefix code is the first one to be
encountered.... The only restriction here is the 15 character limit of the
dialing directory entry which can be overcome be simply removing one (or
all of the spaces/hyphens) from the phone number. Example...
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 62 -
Let's say you already use the + prefix to dail my system. You can gang
your present phone number prefix with the \ or / by simply including the \
or / as the first character...
+1-206-725-9233 becomes \+1206-725-9233
MACROS
~~~~~~
A macro file is a set of instructions which K9X uses to assist you in
communicating with another system. There are two type of macros
supported... the Function Key type and the Dialing Directory type. Where
the Function Key macros are simple strings which are assigned the the
functions keys, the dialing directory macros may contain a simple BBS logon
sequence or an intricate set of instructions for a totally automated
session.
Function Key Macros
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special Control Characters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are several special control characters available to aid in the
creation of the function key macros:
vertical bar | (not a colon) will send a carriage return.
tilde ~ (not a double quote) will pause about 1 second
caret ^ (shift 6) will send the Ctrl equivilant of the
character immediately following it.
example: entering '^G' in a string results in a single
character (the control-G bell character)
being entered in the string.
When a key string containing control characters is written to
a file, all the embedded control characters are converted to
the marker character format. On the other side of the coin,
when a key string containing control characters is read from a
file, the characters are converted back to control characters.
The character difinitions for each of the editing control characters are
held in K9X.CNF under the titles:
FC= vertical bar (|) character
FD= tilde (~) character
FM= caret (^)
All of these characters may be used when defining modem control strings
using the modem definition submenu of Alt_P.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 63 -
Function Key Macro Example
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Example: When logging onto a BBS for the first time, many require the user
fill out a short questionaire containing the user's address, city,
state, phone number, etc.
Problem: Program the unshifted F1 key to hold your city, state and zip code
1) Press number 1 (not F1).
2) Type Seattle, Washington 98118|
3) Hit [Enter]
4) Hit [Enter] again
5) When you press the F1, your city, state and zip code will be
transmitted to the host.
Dialing Directory Macros
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Each line within a dialing directory macro file represents a specific
instruction procedure which K9X acts upon. Most of the lines in a macro
are "standard" - that is, consist of a string of text which K9X should look
for and a string of text which K9X should send when it receives the look
for portion.
If the macro line is a standard Lookfor and Send line, K9X will examine all
of the characters sent by the host system and search those characters for a
match to the "Lookfor" portion of the macro line. If a match is found, K9X
will then send the "Send" portion of the macro line to the host system.
Since the macro file is used in a sequential manner, If a particular
"Lookfor" string is not found, All subsequent macro lines cannot be read in
and acted upon. For this reason, it is critical that the Lookfor portions
of the standard macro lines are EXACTLY what will be sent by the host. The
"Lookfor" portions of standard macro lines are case sensitive!
There are other types of macro instructions which are discussed below.
These special macro codes represent instructions which, depending on the
code, may be acted upon immediately, or acted upon universally regardless
of any outside variables.
The macro file may contain a simple log on procedure which does nothing
more that send your name and password to the host, or it may be an
intricate set of instructions which will facilitate a totally automated
session with the host.
You can use the session log to "collect' the different logon prompt lines
for each system you call. You will then have the required material to
construct the LookFor and Send strings for each of the system's prompt
lines.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 64 -
Line format for the Macros
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Each standard line within the file has a maximum length of 120 characters
and is broken into eiter two or three major parts. The first part
represents the "LookFor" field... the second, the "Send" field... the third
(optional) portion contains the number of times that lookfor and send
should be executed. The Lookfor can be up to 40 characters in length. The
Send (and number of times) can be up to 80 characters. The dividing points
are set with the right single quote ( ` ).
lookfor`send`number of times
Notice how the control character ` is used for defining the portions of the
standard macro line above.
LookFor Portion
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The LookFor is the text string that K9X will look for from the host. When
defining the LookFor portion in your macro lines, it should be
distinguishable from any other text that K9X may run into during the
initial connect. For instance, most BBS have a question mark at the end of
the 'Enter your name' prompt. However, the question mark alone may appear
prior to that particular 'Enter your name' prompt. Be specific as to
exactly which question mark K9X should wait for.
The actual prompt line: What is your first name?
The Look For portion: is your first name?
MiniNet Prompt Line: Which type would you like, T,G,C or F
MiniNet Look For portion: T,G,C or F
You may use the session log to 'collect' the different logon prompt
lines for each system you call.
Send Portion
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Send if the text string that K9X will send to the host once it has
received the LookFor portion from the host.
Number of execution times
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The default number of executions for a standard macro line is once. You may
however, specify the number of times a particular lookfor and send should
be executed by including a third field on the macro line. The format for
using the Number of Execution Times specification is:
lookfor`send`number of times
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 65 -
Using the standard control characters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are special control characters available to aid in the creation of
your logon macros. These are the same control characters used in the
Function Key macros and Modem strings with the EXCEPTION OF THE CARET (^)
and the ADDITION OF THE SINGLE QUOTE (`). These are the characters defined
in K9X.CNF in the FC, FD and FW parameters. The usage of the control
characters are:
vertical bar | (not a colon) will send a carriage return.
tilde ~ (not a double quote) will pause about 1 second.
single quote ` is used to define the LookFor, Send and optional
Number of times portions within the Macro Line
Macro Codes
~~~~~~~~~~~
There are a number of macro codes which may be used to direct K9X in the
execution of a marco file.
\ - The backslash ( \ ) has a function here also... let me cover this
one first.
When you have designated a macro file for a particular entry, K9X
opens the macro file and reads the first line as soon as a connect
is made. If the first character of the first line contains a
backslash, the remainder of the line is used as a Universal LookFor
and Send for that system. This allows you to set up a LookFor and
Send sequence which K9X will respond to every time it appears even
if the remainder of the autologon macro has completed.
Example: MiniNet has two prompts...
The first is the standard "More Y/n, [C]ontinuous" type of
prompt. The second is a "Press [Enter] to continue" type of
prompt. Where the "More" prompt is predictable, the "Press
[Enter]" is not so predictable and will stop the progress of your
session cold if you aren't around! This is where the Universal
LookFor and Send comes into play.
By setting the first line of your MiniNet macro to:
\[Enter] to continue`|
Every time the "Press [Enter] to continue" prompt is encountered,
K9X will send a carraige return (the vertical bar represents the
carriage return).
If the first line does not contain a backslash, this feature will
not be in effect and the LookFor and Send of the first line will be
used for the first macro procedure. The single backslash is
interpreted as a code only if it appears as the first character of
the first line of your macro.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 66 -
\\ - The double backslash will load upto 2 "what if" lookfor / send
combinations. In addition, this is a cycling type of function... if
you already have 2 "what if" lookfors and designate another, the
first "what if" is replaced with the new one. Yet another "what
if" would then replace the second "what if"... and so on.
The "what if" statements may be used any time and may be used as
many times as desired. The only thing to remember here is that any
"what if" should appear before a standard macro line in which the
"what if" lookfor might occur. "What if" statements act in the same
manner as the universal lookfor/send except that the "what if"
lookfors are changeable!
The "what if" lookfor/send format is: \\lookfor`send
Lastly, you can cancel any active "what if" lookfors by entering
the double backslash without a lookfor or send: \\
<P> The use of this macro command signals K9X to shell out to the ICEX
PC Pursuit Dialer.
The format is: lookfor`<P>
Don't quote me as I've never used PCPursuit... but your PCP.K9X
macro will look something like...
CONNECT`~||
@`C PURSUIT,<your id>,<your password>|
@`<P>
The initial CONNECT "look for" is the response from your modem upon
connecting with the PCP host. The "send" portion of this line
consists of a 1 second pause (~) followed by sending 2 carriage
returns (||). As is the case with all K9X macros, the ` character
represents the separator between the "look for" and "send" portions
of each macro line.
<D> The use of this macro command signals K9X to commence a mark and
save buffered filename transfer. You may designate and optional
filename for the files list to be loaded. If no filename is
designated, K9X will look for the file AUTODOWN.K9X in your K9X
home LOGS directory and load the filenames (upto 24) located in
that file. If The files list file does not exist, no action is
taken and K9X reads the next line in the macro file.
The format is 1 of 2
lookfor`<D> (use AUTODOWN.K9X)
lookfor`<D>filename (use filename designated)
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 67 -
lookfor`\\
(as if you weren't confused....) there is a special "what if" which
should be used here. The special "what if" acts identically to the
the Alt_6 manual command above. Namely, it will abort the remainder
of an autodownload and discard the bad filename IF the special
lookfor is encountered. In order for this special "what if" to work,
it must be resident in the first "what if" position This means that
you should clear all "what if" statements prior to issuing this
special "what if".
The format is: \\
lookfor`\\
As stated earier, the "what if" should preceed the <D> lookfor so
that it gets loaded into memory prior to commencing the autodownload
mode.
I know this is all confusing, but once you understand how it works, I know
you will find it extremely easy to use.
AUTONET.K9X Automated Macro
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's a step by step example setting up an TOTALLY AUTOMATED macro:
Our objective:
logon the MiniNet, work its way through any waiting messages, read new
messages, do a dump of 6 screens of new files, load a file list called
MININET.GET, download the files and log off.
Conditions:
First Name : John Menu Type : Text
Last Name : Jones Files List filename : MININET.GET
Password : HeresJohnny BBS User Mode : Novice
Macro File: AUTONET.K9X
Here's the macro --------+------------------------------------+
| |
Universal LookFor/Send ---> \Press [<─┘Enter]`|
"What If" #1 ---> \\or ? for help)`|
"What If" #2 ---> \\message now? (y/N)`|
Initial Logon Macro ---> T,G,C or F`TJohn Jones;HeresJohnny|
New Messages ---> command, JOHN:`NM|
New Files First Screen ---> command, JOHN:`NF|
New Files Next 4 Screens ---> [C]ontinuous`|`4
New Files Last Screen ---> [C]ontinuous`N|
Clear All "What If" ---> \\
Special "What If" ---> \\need a filename JOHN:`\\
Load MININET.GET ---> command, JOHN:`<D>MININET.GET
Log Off ---> command, JOHN:`GN|
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 68 -
Some notes:
Be sure to use text menu type when using an automated macro
The universal lookfor/send will send a carriage return for each
occurance of the "Press [Enter] to continue" prompt
"what if" #1 will send a carriage return if I encounter any messages
which are addressed to me.
"what if" #2 will send a carriage return to the "Kill this message
now" prompt if any messages are indeed found
Notice that both "what if" statements are loaded prior to a standard
macro line and before the "what if" lookfor statements might appear
Notice that I am in Novice mode. If I were in Expert mode, my
lookfor's would change from "command, JOHN:" to "display the menu:"
Notice that I send a solitary \\ clearing my previous "what if"
statements before designating the special "what if"
MiniNet asks for a new filename if a requested filename is not
available for download. The special "what if" is used to send a
carriage return for this prompt, returning me to the main menu prompt
and insuring that the bad filename is discarded.
Be sure to setup an additional dialing directory entry exactly like
the UNDERDOGS MININET BBS entry.
Be sure to designate your macro as AUTONET (no .K9X extension)
You can now startup K9X from the DOS prompt and perform a totally automated
session! Let's say that dialing directory entry 10 is your new autosession
entry. Your DOS command should look like...
K9X 10 open logfile, dial entry 10 and execute AUTONET.K9X
MININET.K9X Macro
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's a step by step example setting up a simple Log On macro for the
UNDERDOGS MININET BBS entry (number 1) of your dialing directory:
Since we are using a color system with RGB attached, we'll want to take
advantage of the Dog's great color graphics menus! So our menu choice will
be Fancy Color Menus. We will also want to set the universal feature to
override any stray "Press [Enter] to continue" prompts we may run into.
Conditions: First Name : John
Last Name : Jones
Password : HeresJohnny
Menu Type : Fancy Color
BBS User Mode : Novice
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 69 -
Our objective: logon the MiniNet.
Start up Your K9X Editor (Alt_Y), select Create a Macro, and create the
following macro (use your own first name, last name and password)
Here's the macro --------+-----------------------------------+
| |
Universal LookFor/Send ---> \Press [<─┘Enter]`|
Initial Logon Macro ---> T,G,C or F`FJohn Jones;HeresJohnny|
After editing the macro, choose the Save option and designate a name of
MININET (K9X will save the file to MININET.K9X).
Our next step is to quit the editor section and enter the dialing
directory section (Alt_D, then [Enter] for the List Dialer). Choose the
Quick edit option (Q) and enter a 1 for the entry number. Check the
fields and make the required correcions, if any. When you get to the
Macro portion, enter MININET. Move the cursor line down (by hitting
ENTER) until the Save and Quit line appears. Key in S to save the
changes.
Let's exit the program (hit Escape to get out of the directory section)
and test it out!
Since we will be starting up K9X with a command line number to dial, K9X
will create a collect file and save all of the session data to file. At
the DOS prompt, type K9X 1 then sit back and watch the show!
Sample Macros
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PCBoard want graphics (Enter)=no?`|
~~~~~~~ is your first name?`John;Jones;HeresJohnny|
(N), (NS)?`n|
(Enter)=yes?`|
(Enter) to continue?`|
RBBS CONNECT`~~|~~|
~~~~ is your FIRST name?`John;Jones;HeresJohnny|
MORE: [Y],N,NS?`n|
(Press [ENTER] to quit)?`|
The RBBS autologon sequence begins with K9X sending 2 quick carriage
returns immediately upon establishing a connection. The reason for the
opening carriage returns is that, although most systems 'claim' to be
able to determine and adjust their baud rates to meet that of the
calling system, I have found that some are not capable of beginning the
process without being 'nudged' by a couple of carriage returns! Even
though the carriage returns will be sent in all instances where the
autologon is used, they shouldn't have any effect when connecting with
systems that are capable of adjusting their baud rate automatically.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 70 -
K9XCNF.COM - K9X Configuration Utility
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9XCNF.COM is a standalone program and may be started directly from the DOS
prompt. It allows you to set/reset the K9X default parameters. The default
parameters are saved in the file K9X.CNF which is automatically
created/updated each time you exit K9XCNF.
In all cases, the default value will be displayed to you either by the way
of a highlighted (inverse video) menu selection or a bracketed value
([200]). You can enter either one of the letters to select a new setting,
or use the arrow keys to move the highlighted cursor to a new setting and
then hit the [Enter] key.
If you are currently running an earlier registered version of K9X, be sure
to run K9XCNF at the DOS prompt so that the new K9X.CNF paramters will be
written to your current K9X.CNF
PARAMETERS MENU MAP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please refer to the Paramters Menu Map while setting/resetting any default
parameters.
The following diagram displays a map of the K9XCNF Menu System. Please
refer to it while setting/resetting any default parameters.
Each of the menu entries in turn calls up a submenu which allows you to set
the corresponding program parameters. Initially, you should step through
all of the menus to be sure you have all of the default values set
correctly.
Defaults
~~~~~~~~
Comm Port -------------------------------------------- Comm Port
+----- Baud Rate ~~~~~~~~~
| +--- Linefeeds Comm 1
| | Modem setup --------------------------------------+ Comm 2
| | +- Transfer protocol |
| | | Screen dump FileName Modem Setup
| | | SuperK/Jmodem Log ~~~~~~~~~~~
| | | SuperK Colors Init String
| | | Video Mode/Colors ----------------------------+ Dialing prefix
| | | Miscellaneous --------+ | Connect message
| | | Configure Drives -+ | | No Carrier message
| | | Quit Setup | | | Busy message
| | | | Misc Params | Escape string
| | +- Protocol | ~~~~~~~~~~~ | Escape Delay (ms)
| | ~~~~~~~~ | Exploding menus | Hang Up string
| | Xmodem Chk | Direct Screen Writes | Dialing Timeout
| | Xmodem CRC | Check Clear to Send | Redial Time
| | WXmodem CRC | Check Data Set Ready | Interchar delay (ms)
| | Qmodem-G | Alt_Key Expert Mode | Carrier line high
| | DSZ Ymodem-G | Silent Mode | Host Answer String
| | K9Xmodem CRC | CONNECT Resets Baud | No Dialtone Message
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 71 -
| | Ymodem CRC | Auto Session Logging | Modem Voice Message
| | Zmodem | Maintain Call Log | Quit Modem Setup
| | PCKermit | Use QM/DSZ Ymodem-G |
| | Telink CRC | Use Multitasking Hook +-- Text Mode
| | Modem 7 Chk | Use SuperK Protocols | ~~~~~~~~~
| | Modem 7 CRC | Overwrite Downloads | B&W 80 Char
| | K9Xmodem Batch | Save Aborted Files | Color 80 Char
| | Ymodem Batch | Review Buffer Size |
| | WXmodem Batch | Xmodem Buffer Size +-- Set Colors for...
| | XmodemCRC Batch | Default DOS Command +-- Text
| | XmodemChk Batch | # Dialing Entries +-- Menu Frame
| | Super8K Batch | Condense Dialing Dir +-- Menu Text
| | Super8K | Quit +-- Menu Title
| | Jmodem Batch | +-- Border Color
| | Jmodem +-- Configure Drives ~~~~~~~~~~~~
| | Ascii ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black
| | Use K9X File Find Blue
| +--- Linefeeds Do Full List Search Green
| ~~~~~~~~~ Display Transfer Times Cyan
| CR Only Display 1200b Times Red
| CR + LF Display 2400b Times Magenta
| Display 9600b Times Brown
+---- Baud Rate Display On All Files LightGray
~~~~~~~~~ File Listing Colors LightBlue
300 Adjust Number of Drives LightGreen
1200 List/Edit Drive List LightCyan
2400 Defualt Download Path LightRed
4800 Default Upload Path LightMagenta
9600 Quit Yellow
19200 White
Quit
CTS and DTR Monitoring
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As stated in the beginning of this manual, there are some cases, where the
setting of one or both of these settings may render K9X totally inoperable!
This is all dependant on your particular system configuration. If you are
not sure if your system/modem is capable of supporting the CTS and/or DTR
line, be SURE to leave these set as No. This will practically guarantee
that K9X will at least get you to a menu! Once you have reached the menu
you may then go in and try setting first the CTS line montioring and then
the DSR line monitoring. Be sure to test the first setting before
activating the other. If you find that activation of one or the other
causes K9X to freeze up on you, you can startup K9XCNf at the DOS prompt
and modify the appropriate. By having these lines monitored, your
dial/redial cycle time will be cut drastically. If you find that your
system can handle the monitoring of the CTS line but balks at monitoring
the DSR line, the elimination of the modem hangup string (MH= below) will
deliver the same results.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 72 -
Special Control Characters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When a modem string containing control characters is written to a file, all
the embedded control characters are converted to the marker character
format. On the other side of the coin, when a modem string containing
control characters is read from a file, the characters are converted back
to control characters.
In any case, check your modem manual for the correct modem settings when
defining any and all of the modem interface values.
There are special control characters available to aid in the creation of
your default modem strings:
vertical bar | (not a colon) will send a carriage return.
tilde ~ (not a double quote) will pause about 60 seconds
caret ^ (shift 6) will send the Ctrl equivilant of the
character immediately following it.
example: entering '^G' in a string results in a single
character (the control-G bell character) being
entered in the string.
\ Entering a single backslash will default your input to
a null (empty) string.
The character definitions for each of the editing control characters are
held in K9X.CNF under the titles:
FC= vertical bar (|) character
FD= tilde (~) character
FM= caret (^)
K9X.CNF Format
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The format of the file K9X.CNF is as follows:
In columns 1-2 of each record is a code to identify a parameter
After the parameter is an '=' sign.
Following the "=" the value of the parameter appears.
All flag settings are set to a numerical value representing the logical
1 = yes (set) or 0 = no (not set)
All color definitions are as follows:
= 0: Black = 8: DarkGray
= 1: Blue = 9: LightBlue
= 2: Green = 10: LightGreen
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 73 -
= 3: Cyan = 11: LightCyan
= 4: Red = 12: LightRed
= 5: Magenta = 13: LightMagenta
= 6: Brown = 14: Yellow
= 7: LightGray = 15: White
Since K9X.CNF is an ordinary ASCII text file, you can create or edit it
with a text editor that will produce an ordinary ASCII file. Since K9X
presets default values for many of the entries in K9X.CNF before reading in
K9X.CNF... If you modify an entry in K9X.CNF via a text editor, and you
want that entry to be blank, be sure to leave the two code letters and
equals sign in the file. (ie: BA= ). If you remove the entire line, K9X
will have set that value to its hard coded default thus defeating your
attempts to blank out the value.
Configuration Paramters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following is a brief description and default value for each entry in
K9X.CNF. In an effort to make things a little easier to follow, the
parameters are laid out in the docs under the headings of the various
K9XCNF menu options.
Comm Port Default: PO=1
~~~~~~~~~
K9X will open and initialize the serial (comm) port that corresponds to the
value contained under this parameter. Both Comm 1 and Comm 2 are
supported.
Baud Rate Default: BA=1200
~~~~~~~~~
K9X will set the baud rate to whatever value is contained under this
parameter. Valid baud rates are 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600 and 19200
Linefeeds Default: LF=0
~~~~~~~~~
There are some cases where you will need to instruct K9X that you wish to
have line feeds added automatically when a carriage return is received from
remote system or when you hit your [ENTER] key. This parameter holds the
flag that instructs K9X to insert linefeeds. Although the configuration
section will prompt you for a Yes or No input, K9X actually reads the Yes
or No settings in a decimal form...
Modem setup
~~~~~~~~~~~
Modem Initialization String Default: MI=ATE0Q0X1V1M0S0=60S0=0|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X must have word responses sent to the console in order to know what
is going on with the modem. The default modem strings are defined for
Hayes and Hayes compatible (USR, CTS, etc) modems.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 74 -
If you have a 2400 or 9600 baud modem, you will want to change the
values for the M and X settings to M3 and X6 in order to take advantage
of K9X's advanced dial progress capabilities.
The maximum Modem Init string length is 65 characters.
The default modem init settings are:
E0 - Echo Off
Q0 - Send Modem Result Messages
V1 - Word Messages Mode
X1 - Advanced Result Codes (CONNECT, CONNECT 1200)
M0 - Speaker Off
S7=60 - Wait 60 seconds for carrier detection
S0=0 - Do not autoanswer
Modem Dialing Prefix Default: MD=ATDT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the modem attention string K9X uses when dialing a number. K9X
attaches the phone number to the end of this string when performing a
dial.
The maximum Modem Dial string length is 65 characters.
Modem Connect Message Default: MC=CONNECT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the message your modem sends back when it has established a
connection with another system.
Modem No Carrier Message Default: MN=NO CARRIER
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the message that your modem sends back when it has timed out
during a dial or has lost carrier.
Modem Line Busy Message Default: MB=BUSY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The new smart modems have a call progress mode which sends directs the
modem to send back additional messages as the dialing progresses. This
parameter holds the message your modem sends back when it has
encountered a busy signal.
Modem Escape Characters Default: ME=+++
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the character (or set of characters) used to regain a modem
command state. When your modem receives this character (or set of
characters, it ceases whatever action it is doing and returns control
to K9X.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 75 -
Modem Escape Sequence Delay Default: MT=1500
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In most cases, the modem requires a certain delay when the Modem escape
character(s) are sent. This allows the modem to receive and interpret
the characters as actually being the escape characters rather than a
portion of the data being received or transmitted. This parameter
holds the amount of delay required in milliseconds.
Modem Hangup Command Default: MH=ATH0|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the string used by K9X to command the modem to hang up. If
your modem directly supports the modem CTS line, set this value to a
null string. This will result in a much improved recycle time.
The maximum Modem Hangup string length is 65 characters.
In response to several inquiries about the length of time required to
recycle when redialing or list dialing... this is due to the values set
by the default "Escape string delay". If your modem cable supports all
25 pins (or you are using an internal modem), go into K9XCNF modem
parameters and eliminate your Hang Up String. This is done by simply
entering a backslash \ for the Hang Up String prompt. If no Hang Up
string is specified, K9X will recycle by dropping the DTR line - thus
speeding up the recycle time considerably.
Modem Timeout Value (seconds) Default: MO=35
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This parameter holds the amount of time (in seconds) that the modem
should wait for a connection to be made. This is the total time from
initiation of the dial. If you find that your modem connects okay but
hangs up before communications have been established, increase this
value.
Delay Between Redial (seconds) Default: MR=5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This parameter contains the amount of time (in seconds) that the modem
should wait before attempting a redial. Usually 5 to 30 seconds is
sufficient... but in some cases, you may have to increase this value to
about 60 seconds.
Modem Command InterChar Delay Default: MW=0
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the amount of delay (in milliseconds) that K9X should delay
between the sending of each character. In most cases, no delay is
required... but you may find that your modem cannot absorb the
characters as fast as K9X can send them. If that is the case,
experiment with different settings here to find the right setting for
your modem/computer setup.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 76 -
Modem Carrier High Flag Default: CH=1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This flag is used in the dialing section to determine the presence of a
carrier. If this flag is set to No, then K9X will not check for the
presence of a carrier. If it is set to Yes, K9X will make the
determination after actually checking for the existance of a carrier.
It should be noted that this flag is defaulted to No only to insure
your being able to check out your other default settings after
initially configuring K9X. Once it has been established that everthing
else seems to be working properly, you should set the flag to YES and
attempt a dial out. If K9X is not able to perform the dial, then enter
the utilities section and reset it to NO.
The same is true of the other flag settings (those defaults that
require a Yes or No response). You should set and test each flag ONE
AT A TIME so that you can determine the best settings for your
particular setup.
Host Mode Autoanswer String Default: MA=ATE1Q0X1V1M0S0=1|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THIS STRING VALUE IS NOT USED IN CURRENT VERSION
K9X must have word responses sent the the console in order to know what
is going on with the modem. The default modem strings are defined for
Hayes and Hayes compatible (USR, CTS, etc) modems. If you have a
2400baud modem, you will wnat to change the values for the M and X
settings to M3 and X6 in order to take advantage of K9X's advanced dial
progress capabilities. The default host mode autoanswer string
settings are:
The maximum Modem Host string length is 65 characters.
E0 - Echo Off
Q0 - Send Modem Result Messages
X1 - Advanced Result Codes (CONNECT, CONNECT 1200)
V1 - Verbal Messages Mode
M0 - Modem speaker off
S0=1 - Autoanswer phone on first ring
It should be noted that the Function Key Control Characters (see Alt-M
above) and the Wait For Following String Character (see Alt-D above may
be used to format your modem strings. K9X will translate them in the
same way here as in they are translated in the other commands.
In any case, check your modem manual for the correct modem settings.
Don't forget that you can use the controls (~ | ^)
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 77 -
Modem No Dial Tone Message Default: NT=NO DIAL TONE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The new smart modems have a call progress mode which sends directs the
modem to send back additional messages as the dialing progresses. This
parameter holds the message your modem sends back when it has
encountered a dead phone (no dial tone present).
Modem Voice Message Default: MV=VOICE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The new smart modems have a call progress mode which sends directs the
modem to send back additional messages as the dialing progresses. This
parameter holds the message your modem sends back when it has
encountered a voice on the calling phone.
Text Mode For Display Default: TM=C
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
= M - monochrome display = C - color display
When K9X starts up, it will automatically determine what type of display
card is being used. If you are using a MonoChrome card and monitor, K9X
will set this parameter to M. If K9X finds a CGA or EGA card installed, it
will set this parameter to C. Due to the extensive windowing and screen
overlaying in K9X, monochrome system users may find that the window borders
will appear momentarily in the upper right side of their screen but the
menu items will appear in the upper left side of the screen. Be aware that
K9X still functions normally, it's just that the window displays are not
positioned properly. I am presently working on a CGA emulator for
monochrome system users which will correct this problem.
Protocol
~~~~~~~~
Default Transfer Protocol Default: TT=XK
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Single File Protocols
= XK - Xmodem Checksum = XC - Xmodem CRC
= YM - Ymodem = WX - WXmodem CRC
= KX - K9Xmodem CRC = SS - SuperK Super8K
= JM - JBatch Jmodem = ZM - Zmodem
= GM - Qmxfer/Dsz Qm Ymodem-G = PK - PCKermit
= AS - Ascii
Batch File Protocols
= SX - SuperK Xmodem Checksum = SC - SuperK Xmodem CRC
= SY - SuperK Ymodem = SW - SuperK WXmodem
= SK - SuperK K9Xmodem = SB - SuperK Super8K
= JB - JBatch Jmodem = ZB - Zmodem Batch
= ZG - DSZ Ymodem-G = TE - Telink
= MK - Modem 7
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 78 -
Although you may change the default protocol during your session...
and the changed protocol becomes your new default... unless you change
it via K9XCNF, the value held by this parameter will remain the default
each time K9X is started.
Name of Screen Dump File Default: SD=COLLECT.TXT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This parameter holds the name of the filename you wish K9X to use when
saving screen dumps created via the Alt-S command. If the file already
exists from a previous screen dump, K9X will append (add to the end) the
file with the new screen dump.
SuperK/JBatch Log Default: XL=K9XFER.LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This parameter contains the name of the logfile in which K9X is to log all
file transactions to. Again, this parameter only pertains to the use of
any one of the SuperK/Jmodem/JBatch protocols. K9X will only log file
transactions if this parameter contains a filename.
As is the case with all K9XCNF string inputs, the transfer results file
name may be nulled out by inputting a backslash for its name. Without a
logfile name, K9X will not write any results to a logfile.
The Superk/JBatch Logfile is stored in the K9X LOGS directory.
SuperK Colors Default: XT, KT, YT, ST, UT=7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With the inclusion of the SuperK protocols, K9X.CNF now includes the
default colors for each of the ex-external protocols. Unlike the selection
of the other K9X default colors, the SuperK color selection chart contains
all of the possible foreground and background color combinations with an
associated number for each. Note that the Jmodem/JBatch colors are not
configureable and are defaulted to black foreground on a white background.
The new K9X.CNF paramters are:
SuperK Xmodem Colors Default: XT=7
SuperK K9Xmodem Colors Default: KT=7
SuperK Ymodem Colors Default: YT=7
SuperK SuperK Colors Default: ST=7
SuperK Universal Colors Default: UT=7
Video Mode/Colors
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Text Foreground Color Default: CF=7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This parameter holds the default text color K9X will set when starting
up and revert back to after receiving ANSI color escape sequences from
a BBS.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 79 -
Menu Frame Color Default: CM=7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This parameter holds the default menu frame color K9X will set when
starting up. Again, the menu frame background color is hard coded to
black.
Menu Text Color Default: CT=7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This parameter holds the default menu text color K9X will set when
starting up. The menu background color is hard coded to black.
Menu Title Color Default: VF=7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This parameter holds the default menu title color K9X will set when
starting up. Again, the menu frame background color is hard coded to
black.
Border Color Default: BC=0
~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you are using K9X on a color system, the border color will be black
upon starting K9X and as long as there is no carrier detected. The
border will change to the color you specify here as soon as carrier is
present and will remain set until carrier is lost.
If you are using Mono, both the no carrier and carrier border colors
will be black. I added this option so that you will have a 'quick
glance' way of verifying that you have connected (or are still
connected).
If you start up a program, via the DOS shell, which resets the border
color, K9X will set it back to the defined color upon re-entering K9X.
Miscellaneous Params
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Exploding Menus Flag Default: XM=0
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X can open its menu windows using two different methods. One method
is to simply open the menu - displaying the border top to bottom. The
second method is to create the illusion of an exploding menu - starting
from a center point and expanding itself out to the full menu size.
This parameter determines which method K9X is to use. If this paramter
set to YES, then K9X will use the exploding method of menu display.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 80 -
Direct Screen Write Flag Default: WS=1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X has the ability to write directly to the system screen buffer.
Direct screen writes most assuredly speed up the screen updates...
however, you may find that you will have to specify NO here if you use
K9X in a multitasking environment. With a little bit of practice, you
will be able to set this parameter to YES and use K9X in a multitasking
environment.
I have been operating in a multitasking environment ever since I
started working on a PC and my K9X.CNF is set to do direct screen
writes. In the cases where I am online to another system, most if not
all of my attention is focused on the session. I use K9X in my primary
partition and switch to a background partition to do other 'jobs' while
online. On rare occasions, K9X will restore a saved screen when I am
working in the background - thus replacing that application's screen
with the restored screen! When this does happen, it's usually a simple
process of typing a character in the other application to have that
application restore its screen. Conversely, simply hitting [ENTER] in
the K9X partition usually triggers the host to send a prompt line, thus
restoring my 'place' in the session.
Check CTS Line Flag Default: XS=0
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When using Zmodem, Zmodem Batch or Zmodem's Ymodem-G... the DSZ
"handshake both" parameter is added to the command line ONLY IF you
have set the Check Clear to Send parameter in your K9X.CNF. Be sure to
set the Check Clear to Send to ON... Startup K9XCNF, select the
M)iscellaneous option, then Check Clear to Send, and finally, back your
way out to DOS by hitting the Enter key.
On the other hand, if your system requires the "handshake slow"
parameter, set the Check Clear to Send to OFF, rename DSZ.COM to
ZMODEM.COM, and create DSZ.BAT as:
echo off
zmodem %1 %2 %3 %4 hanshake slow %5 %6 %7 %8 %9
^Z
If you are using an internal modem or an external modem with an all pin
connected cable, and your modem has the capability of monitoring the
CTS line, you should set this parameter to YES. A YES setting here
(and on the next DSR flag) will definitely speed up K9X hang up, cycle
and re-cycle procedures).
If you are not sure if your modem supports CTS monitoring, be sure to
enter N to the K9X prompt.
Check DSR Line Flag Default: XD=0
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you are using an internal modem or an external modem with an all pin
connected cable, and your modem has the capability of monitoring the
DTR line, you should set this parameter to YES.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 81 -
A YES setting here (and on the previous CTS flag) will definitely speed
up K9X hang up, cycle and re-cycle procedures). If you are not sure if
your modem supports DTR monitoring, be sure to enter N to the K9X
prompt.
Expert Mode Flag Default: XP=0
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This parameter holds the expert mode flag setting. Initially, K9X will
ask which mode you wish to use unless use choose to use one of the pre-
configured K9X.CNF files included in the K9X package. BOTH of these
K9X.CNF files have this default set to EXPERT.
Silent Mode Flag Default: SM=0
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This parameter holds the flag setting for the Quiet Mode. When it is
set to Yes, all sounds from both K9X and the host computer are
supressed.
Play Music Flag Default: PM=1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This parameter holds the flag setting which directs K9X whether or
not it should interpret and play any music received via the ANSI
escape sequences found in BBS menus. This setting is automatically
determined by Silent Mode flag. If Silent Mode is on, this setting
is off. If Silent Mode is off, this setting is on.
Reset Modem to Follow Connect Baud Default: RB=1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X allows you to "lock" the baud rate to the default startup rate for
use with MNP modems (like the USR Courier HST).
There are two new prefix codes available, both deal with the sending of
modem reset codes prior to dialing, so that you can mix and match 9600,
19200, 2400 and below, MNP and non-MNP systems.
The \ and / codes are now valid prefixe codes. They only work in
conjunction with the sending of modem commands just prior to dialing so
that you can selectively call various systems using different modem
settings.
In prior versions of K9X, the only way to use a prefix (or postfix) was
to enter the dialing directory and specify the prefix/postfix along
with the dialing directory entry. With this version, K9X will allow
you to include any of the prefixes and/or postfixes directly in the
Dialing directory entry phone number OR specify them along with the
dialing dircetory entry number on the DOS prompt, in the list dialer,
or within the dialing directory itself. For the 9600 numbers, it is
easiest to simply include the prefix code with the phone number...
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 82 -
Additionally, there are two special prefixes and two special codes
which work in conjuntion with the locking of the baud rate and the
sending of secondary modem commands prior to performing a dial. Please
see the section on Prefixes for detailed instructions on the use of
these features.
Open Session Log upon startup Default: SL=0
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You may specify whether or not you want K9X to activate the automatic
session logging upon startup... and save the setting to K9X.CNF via
K9XCNF.COM. The command line L parameter serves the function of
overriding the setting read in from K9X.CNF
If the K9X.CNF setting is to activate session logging, an L on the DOS
command line will de-activate session logging.. conversely, if the
K9X.CNF setting is to NOT activate session logging, an L on the DOS
command line will activate session logging. The L command line switch
may be included at any time. K9X will accept the L switch and a full
20 dialing directory entries in any order on the command line.
Upon opening a session log file, K9X writes a space character to the
file, closes the file and then reopens it. Additionally, K9X will
close, flush and reopen a session log after each session dis- connect.
In the past, K9X did not flush the capture buffer until you exited the
program to DOS. This is fine during "normal" sessions but if you had
to exit the program abnormally (via "Red Switch" reboot or otherwise),
all previously captured data would be lost. This new feature assures
that a minimum of data is lost under adverse conditions.
Maintain Call Log Default: CL=1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By default, K9X maintains a log file on all calls that are attempted
and or completed. This flag setting allows you to define whether or
not you want K9X to maintain this log.
Use QMXFER Ymodem-G Flag Default: UQ=1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X is capable of using the external QMXFER.COM module (the one used on
RBBS systems) for the use of the Qmodem type Ymodem-G transfer
protocol.
You may specify (via K9XCNF) which Ymodem-G you wish to use. Your
choices are either DSZ's Qmodem type Ymodem-G or QMXFER. The default
is QMXFER as I have found DSZ to be a little less compatible when
talking to the QMXFER module used by RBBS and others. Note that the
DSZ Qmodem type Ymodem-G is not to be confused with DSZ Ymodem-G.
These are two different animals... and this option only effects the
Qmodem Ymodem-G (Q) protocol.
It should be noted that the QMXFER.COM does not support 19200bps.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 83 -
Hook Multitasking Default: HO=0
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Alt_H command key (and its equivilent in the Command Gateway Menu
system) have been assigned as a toggle to Hook into multitasking If
Alt_H is set, K9X will release the clock ticks if no activity is found
at either the comm port or the local keyboard. If Alt_H is not set,
K9X will operate single application mode, not acknowledging any
multitasking. You may operate K9X in a mutiltasking environment
regardless of the status of the Alt_H toggle. I have included this
toggle to eliminate some of the sluggishness in K9X when it is run in a
multitasking environment where another application is accessing another
comm port. If you are running a BBS in the background, try it...
you'll like it! This toggle status is also saved in your K9X.CNF file.
Use SuperK Protocols Flag Default: US=1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All 14 of the SuperK and JBatch protocols have been written directly
into K9X. You will no longer need SuperK.COM or JBatch.COM... The
JBA.COM module is still required! The impact of this change is the
substantial decrease in the overall memory requirements of K9X by
eliminating the JBatch 105K DOS Shell requirement!
Facility has been made to allow you to specify if K9X should use the
internal Xmodem Checksum, Xmodem CRC and Ymodem (1K Xmodem) protocols
or those supported within SuperK. The Alt_3 expert command key (and
its equivilent in the Command Gateway Menu System) will toggle this
option. The setting of this toggle is also stored in K9X.CNF so you
can "set and forget it"! The Jmodem Batch and SuperK Batch protocols
are handled in the same manner as Zmodem Batch transfer.
SuperK/JBatch Overwrite Default: OW=0
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This flag deals totally with the overwriting of existing files by a
download when using one of the built in SuperK, Jmodem or JBatch BATCH
protocols. If this flag is set to Yes, K9X will allow an overwrite to
occur while using a BATCH SuperK/JBatch protocol. While using a single
file protocol, K9X will first verify the existance of a file containing
the same filename within the default download path and ask for
confirmation to over-write regardless of the status of this (or any
other) flag.
SuperK/JBatch Save Aborts Default: SA=1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This flag deals totally with the saving of aborted downloads when using
one of the built in SuperK, Jmodem or JBatch protocols. If this flag
is set to Yes, K9X will erase any partial, aborted downloads.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 84 -
Lines in Review Buffer Default: BB=0
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
= 0: no backscroll buffer
> 0: number of lines, maximum of 800.
This parameter contains the number of scroll back lines K9X will
allocate to the Alt-V scroll back buffer. If the BB= value is greater
than 0, then K9X first checks the available system memory... then
allocates up to the number of lines specified according to the amount
of available system memory K9X finds. Note that this value must be
larger than 0 in order to be able to utilize the Cut and Paste features
within the Alt_V option.
Number of Xmodem Buffers Default: XB=16384
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This value is input as a number from 1 to 255. K9X will convert the
value into bytes to be used as a download buffer in file transfers.
Each buffer represents 128 bytes. The default number of buffers is 128
which translates to 16384
At 255, K9X will write to disk every 32K. At 128, it will write to
disk every 16K, etc. K9X will check the available system memory before
attempting to allocate the Xmodem Buffers. Unlike the scroll back
buffer, if K9X cannot set the entire specified Xmodem Buffers, it will
default to setting 8 buffers (1024 bytes). When downloading using one
of the internal, non SuperK/JBatch transfer protocols, K9X will display
the actual size of the buffer it was able to allocate. It will be
displayed as the "BuffLen=" entry in the download window. I've found
that optimum performance is realized with this value set somewhere
between 64 and 128.
Default DOS Command Default: JD=|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Along with the Alt-J DOS shell command, K9X has a default DOS Command
which is executed via the ^Home key combination. This parameter holds
the command string you want K9X to execute when the ^Home key
combination is pressed. The format for entering this parameter is
outlined under the ^Home definition. If no command string is specified
here, the ^Home key combination will work identically to the Alt-J DOS
Shell command.
DOS Command Format and Control Character
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is a special character that you may use within this command..
It is the vertical bar | (not a colon : ) and it signals K9X that
you wish to add additional information to the default DOS command
before the default DOS command is executed... It goes something
like this:
You set you default DOS command to PKZIP|
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 85 -
When you activate the default DOS Command via [^Home], K9X will
prompt you for the remainder of the command. You may then enter /V
or /T or whatever other command you wish to pass to PKZIP.
You set you default DOS command to ED | (PC-Write)
When you activate the default DOS Command via [^Home], K9X will
prompt you for the filename to be edited.
Your input would be: abc.doc
Understand that K9X deletes the vertical bar and replaces it with
the remainder of the command. So, if the initial command requires
a space between it and the program name, and you haven't provided
for it in your default DOS command, be sure to enter it. If you do
not need to add to the default DOS command, do not include the
vertical bar. If you have added the | to your default DOS command
but do not require an additional input 'this time', just hit
[ENTER].
Note: The program you call via this command does not have to reside in
the same area (diskette or directory) as K9X Just be sure it is
in the DOS path. Note that you save alot of the 65 character
limit by placing the secondary program in the DOS path!
This DOS command option is in ADDITION to, and completly independant
of, the optional DOS command you may enter when activating the Jump to
DOS (Alt-J) feature.
When using the DOS Shell and DOS Command options... Be sure you have
enough memory to start up another application. The easiest way to do
this is to start up K9X, issue the Drop to DOS command either through
the Command Gateway Menu of the Expert Alt-J key combination, then run
the DOS utility ChkDsk.
It will report the amount of memory you have available to run other
programs from within the DOS shell. If you do a direct exit to DOS via
the DOS shell, be sure to type the word EXIT to get back to K9X.
Number of Dialing Dir Pages Default: NP=2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The K9X.P dialing directory is a varaible length random access file
which has a maximum size of 2 to 500 pages with each page containing 19
entries. Initially, K9X creates a 2 page (38 entry) dialing directory
which contains the numbers of the Dog's MiniNet nodes and the remaining
entries are blank. Each consecutive time K9X is started up, it will
use the value held here and make sure the dialing directory holds at
least this number of pages. If the size of K9X.P is smaller than this
parameter value, K9X will expand K9X.P to the proper number of
entries... If the size of K9X.P is larger than this parameter value,
K9X will ONLY RECOGNIZE the number of pages indicated by this
parameter. WARNING: A full 9500 entry directory is about 1.5 megabytes
in size!
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 86 -
Condense Dialing Directory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option isn't a parameter... rather, it's the command to condense
your current dialing directory (K9X.P) to remove any unused directory
entries. This command will create a new K9X.P, reading each entry from
the old K9X.P and, if it is an active entry, write it to the new K9X.P.
Upon completion, the number of entries in the new K9X.P will be rounded
up to the next consecutive page or 19 entries. Finally, the old K9X.P
directory is erased and the new one renamed to K9X.P.
Quasi Hard Coded Parameters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following parameters are quasi hard coded... that is, there isn't any
ready way of changing them via K9X or K9XCNF. Since the K9X.CNF file is a
pure ASCII file, you may however, load your K9X.CNF file into a pure ASCII
text editor and change these settings manually.
Text BackGround Color Default: CB=0
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This value is quasi-hardcoded to the black background setting as there
isn't any way to change the setting from within K9X. You may however,
use a text editor to change the setting in K9X.CNF. If you do change
it in this manner, the background may not be reset after receiving ANSI
color escape sequences from the host computer.
Backspace Char Default: BS=8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This parameter holds the equivilant decimal value for the ASCII
backspace character K9X is to use. The value should be defined as 8 if
wish K9X to simply move the cursor back one space (non- destructive) OR
127 if you wish K9X to backspace and delete the previous character
(destructive).
Delete Char Default: DE=127
~~~~~~~~~~~
This parameter holds the equivilant decimal value for the ASCII delete
character K9X is to use. The value should be defined as 8 if wish K9X
to simply move the cursor back one space (non- destructive) OR 127 if
you wish K9X to backspace and delete the previous character
(destructive).
Local Echo Flag Default: LE=0
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Most BBS' handle all of the character display for K9X. If you find
that you are unable to see the characters being sent by the host
system, this flag should be set On.
Function Key Carriage Return Char Default: FC=|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This parameter holds the character K9X is to interpret as a carriage
return within the Function Key Macros, Modem Strings and Dialing
Directory Macros. The default is the vertical bar (NOT the colon).
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 87 -
When K9X encounters this character in any of the command strings, it
automatically sends out a carriage return in place of this character.
Function Key Delay Char Default: FD=~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This character works identically to the vertical bar except that it is
interpreted by K9X as a delay. When K9X encounters this character in
any of the command strings, it will pause approximately 60 seconds
before sending the remainder of the command string. The default is the
tilde (not a double quote).
Function Key Wait For String Char Default: FW=`
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The single quote ` is another special control character used
specifically in the dialing directory macros ("Send" field). It is
used before and after a string of charcaters that K9X is to wait to
receive before it continues sending the next portion of the command
string.
Function Key Esc Char Marker Default: FM=^
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Escape Character Marker is used to signal K9X that the next
character in the command string is to be converted into a control
character. For instance, the presence of a ^G in a command string will
be interpreted and converted to ASCII code 007 (bell character). When
K9X reads in the command strings from its support files (K9X.CNF,
K9X.KEY, K9X.P, etc.), it converts all ^ characters to their actual
ASCII code equivelents.
When K9X writes out the command strings to its support files (K9X.CNF,
K9X.KEY, K9X.P, etc.), it converts all control characters to the
equivilant ^ character. In the ^G case above, when writing to file,
K9X will write ^G when reading from file, K9X converts the ^G to Ascii
007.
Parameters Set Within K9X
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following parameters are set from within K9X
Default Dialing Prefix Char Default: DP= (blank)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
= blank : no default prefix character
= +,-,!,@,# : that is the default character, and the
corresponding K9X.PRE entry if the default
dialing prefix string.
If DP is NOT blank, then hitting the return (enter) key at the dialing
directory menu causes the highlighted number to be dialed as usual, but
the prefix string corresponding to DP= is prefixed to the phone number
ONLY IF the phone number is longer than seven digits (apparently a
long-distance number).
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 88 -
Default Dialing Postfix Char Default: DT= (blank)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
= blank : no default postfix character
= +,-,!,@,#: that is the default character, and the
corresponding K9X.PRE entry if the
default dialing postfix string.
If DT is not blank, then hitting the return (enter) key at the dialing
directory menu causes the highlighted number to be dialed as usual, but
the postfix string corresponding to DT= is attached to the end of the
phone number ONLY IF the phone number is longer than seven digits
(apparently a long-distance number).
Configure Drives
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use K9X FileFind Default: FS=1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X has the capability of automatically locating files you select for
uploading. This parameter holds the flag setting instructing K9X
whether or not it should use the K9XDRIVE.TBL. You may over-ride any
drive search by simply including a full drive:\path along with the
filename.
If this option is Enabled...
K9X will first search your current logged drive:\directory for the
file you requested. If it is not present there, K9X will then
check the default upload path, if one has been configured within
K9X.CNF, and lastly, K9X will use the directory names held in
K9XDRIVE.TBL to locate the file.
K9X will use either a full drive table search or the modified,
categorized search depending on the flag setting as defined by the
"Full Search" parameter in K9XDRIVE.TBL (see below)
If this option is Disabled...
If a drive:\directory is specified with the filename:
K9X will only look for the file in the specified
drive:\directory
If no drive:\directory is specified with the filename:
K9X will search the current logged drive:\directory
If a default upload path has been configured into K9XDRIVE.TBL, K9X
will search the default upload path for the file.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 89 -
Do Full List Search Held in K9XDRIVE.TBL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This flag setting tells K9X whether or not it is to do a full
Sequential Search or a Designated Search of the K9XDRIVE.TBL. The
Designated Search requires that your files are stored in the same
fashion as I set up the BBS directories... (see the K9X File Find
section for detailed information on the Designated Search setup and
listing sequence). Most 'normal' users will not require this special
Designated Search feature. The default setting is for a full Sequential
Search.
Display Transfer Times Held in K9XDRIVE.TBL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since there are numerous times when I am looking for a file so that I
can upload it to another BBS or transfer it to a client, K9X will
display approximate transfer times at 1200, 2400 and 9600 bps. This
flag setting tells K9X whether or not it is to display these transfer
times when listing files via the Alt-F "Display Directory" or "Select
Upload Files" options. The default setting is for Transfer times to be
displayed. If you set this flag to (N)o, none of the transfer times
will be displayed.
Display 1200b Times Held in K9XDRIVE.TBL
Display 2400b Times Held in K9XDRIVE.TBL
Display 9600b Times Held in K9XDRIVE.TBL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These three flags tell K9X which transfer times to display if you have
opted for K9X to display transfer times. You may turn on (or off) any
combination of the three baud rate times.
Examples:
If you only have a 300/1200 modem, you can disable the 2400b and
9600b times by setting the 1200b to (Y)es and setting the 2400b and
9600b to (N)o.
If you have a 300/1200/2400 modem, you can disable the 9600b by
setting the 1200b and 2400b to (Y)es and setting the 9600b to (N)o.
If, after opting to display transfer times, you then set all the times
to (N)o, the original display transfer times flag will also be set to
(N)o. The default settings for all three flags is (Y)es
Display On All Files Held in K9XDRIVE.TBL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since most files being transferred are (should be) archived, this flag
setting tells K9X whether or not it is to display the transfer times on
ALL files or just those containing an .ARC/.PAK/.PKA/.ZIP extension.
The default setting is to Display times on ALL files.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 90 -
File Listing Colors Held in K9XDRIVE.TBL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option allows you to set up the colors for directory listing
filename, filesize, filedate, filetime and transfer times display. A
second window will open toward the bottom of the screen displaying a
sample fileline. If you are satisfied with the default colors, type Q
to exit the color setting menu. The defaults on all file listing
components is set to (blah) black and white!
Adjust Number of Drives Held in K9XDRIVE.TBL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9XDRIVE.TBL has the capability of holding a total of 99 paths with
each entry containing a maximum of 29 characters. This option allows
you to set the total number of paths that K9X will recognize. Although
the maximum number is automatically checked and set by K9XCNF and K9X
according to the total number of table positions already occupied, this
option allows you to decrease the total number to a value which is less
than the total number of table positions already occupied without
having to eliminate the excess positions.
NOTE that this number DOES NOT include the the Default Upload or
Default Download Paths. These two paths are held elsewhere within
K9X.CNF or K9XDRIVE.TBL
Default Download Path Default: DL= (blank)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If DL is blank or contains a single backslash (\), K9X will write
downloaded files to the current logged drive and directory. If
Download Path is specified, K9X will prefix the download filename with
the string corresponding to DL=
Download path conventions:
Maximum path string length is 65 characters.
Be sure to include all the normal DOS punctuation conventions
(including the last backslash) in the form:
C:\MININET\K9X\DOWNLOADS\FOO\BAR\YOU\ME\TODAY\NOW\
If you don't use directories/subdirectories, you may either enter a
single backslash, which will disable the download path completely, or
you may enter a single drive letter in the form B:\ which will direct
all downloads to in this case, drive B. In any case, be sure to
designate a default download path immediately.
Default Upload Path Held in K9XDRIVE.TBL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option allows you to specify a Default Upload Path. The Default
Upload Path is the first to be searched upon each and every search
request. The Default Upload Path may also be edited from within the
List/Edit Drive List option.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 91 -
A note here... The total allowable length is 29 characters. That
includes the drive designator.
List/Edit Drive List
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9XDRIVE.TBL will hold up to 99 Path Name Strings with each path name
having a maximum length of 29 characters. This option allows you to
edit/list the designated drive table entries. If you used KTREE, then
your K9XDRIVE.TBL will already contain all of the available paths you
wish K9X to use. If not, all of the drive table positions will be empty
as shown in the example below.
K9XDRIVE.TBL Edit Display
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dir[ 0]=C: FileFetcher Drive/Dir Names Page 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dir[ 1]= Dir[21]=
Dir[ 2]= Dir[22]=
Dir[ 3]= Dir[23]=
Dir[ 4]= Dir[24]=
Dir[ 5]= Dir[25]=
Dir[ 6]= Dir[26]=
Dir[ 7]= Dir[27]=
Dir[ 8]= Dir[28]=
Dir[ 9]= Dir[29]=
Dir[10]= Dir[30]=
Dir[11]= Dir[31]=
Dir[12]= Dir[32]=
Dir[13]= Dir[33]=
Dir[14]= Dir[34]=
Dir[15]= Dir[35]=
Dir[16]= Dir[36]=
Dir[17]= Dir[37]=
Dir[18]= Dir[38]=
Dir[19]= Dir[39]=
Dir[20]= Dir[40]=
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Options: [] Page [A]dd [E]dit [S]wap or [C]lear
There are 2 1/2 pages (40 per page) of drive\dir names in the table.
You are presently viewing page 1 as noted in the upper right corner.
Dir[ 0] is the Default Upload Path and will remain visible no matter
which page you are viewing. If Dir[ 0] has not been designated, you
should do that immediately. Your options here are:
[] Page
~~~~~~~~~
The up and down arrow keys are your means to page through the table.
The table is displayed in a rotary fashion where a continuous up or
down arrow when page 3 is displayed will simply revert to
displayiong page 1 again.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 92 -
[A]dd
~~~~~
This command will prompt you for a new drive and path and then
install the new path in the next vacant table position. Although it
isn't necessary that the drive paths be in any specific order (other
than when using the deignated path search), you may reposition the
new entry by means of the Swap command. Upon installing the new
entry, the total number of drives will be updated to reflect the
actual number of entries in use.
[E]dit
~~~~~~
This command will prompt you for a table entry number that you wish
to edit. You will then be prompted for a new drive and path for the
specified entry. Upon making the change, K9XNF will install the new
entry in the specified position.
[S]wap
~~~~~~
This command will prompt you for the table entry number to be
swapped and the table entry number you want it swapped with. Upon
entering both numbers, K9XCNF will swap the two entries, placing the
first drive entry in the second table entry position and vica versa.
[C]lear
~~~~~~~
This command will prompt you for a table entry number that you wish
to be cleared. Upon entering a number, K9XNF will first verify that
the entry number is in fact occupied and if it is, remove it by
moving all higher entries down one place and then finally clearing
the last occupied entry. Upon clearing the entry, the total number
of drives will be updated to reflect the actual number of entries in
use.
[Enter]
~~~~~~~
This command is not displayed. But as is the case with all of the
K9X/K9XCNF prompts, hitting the Enter key will exit that prompt and
either back you up one postion or allow you to continue.
If you want to use the special designated search feature (see the K9X
File Finder Section below), your drive\directory entries must be as
follows:
Drive 0 Default Upload Path
Drive 1 The catch-all number drive\directory
Drive 2 The catch-all miscellaneous drive\directory
Drive 3 ... Drive 99
The Alphabetically named drive\directories. If you
have one directory named P and need a second directory
with the P letter, simply create a directory named P1.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 93 -
It does NOT matter that the P and P1 directory names
are not next to eachother as K9X will ONLY search those
two directories, along with the default drive 0 and
possibly the catch_all miscellaneous directory.
Writing a NEW K9X.CNF
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The K9X.CNF configuration file is written each time you exit K9XCNF. If you
have accessed K9XCNF via the Alt_P command (or the Command Gateway Menu
System equivilant) K9X will re-read and reset all paramters except the Comm
Port. If you have changed the Comm Port, you will have to exit and restart
K9X in order to access a different port.
If you are currently running an earlier registered version of K9X, be sure
to run K9XCNF at the DOS prompt so that the new K9X.CNF paramters will be
written to your current K9X.CNF
If there is a setting you would like to see as a default paramter, let me
know and I will try to include the change in the next version.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
K9X FILE FINDER
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INRODUCTION
~~~~~~~~~~~
The file finding fetures in K9X are in actuality, a subset of my FETCH
FileFinder program and the file finding used within my MiniNet BBS
software. The following is an excerpt from the Fetch documentation and is
included here to give you some insight into the file finding functions,
uses and capabilities. Please note that the Designated Search Pattern is
here simply for those users who, like myself, have massive amounts of hard
disk storage spanning multiple drives with dozens of directories.
The Designated Search Pattern will in all likelyhood, REQUIRE a complete
reorganization of your hard drive(s). Although the directory structures
MUST be set up as described below with all files located in the appropriate
directories, the Designated Search Pattern is by far the fastest and most
efficient setup for mass storage users.
If your system is like most, the Sequential Search Pattern will be
sufficient. It requires no special organization and can be implemented with
ease.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I wrote FETCH to (attempt) to get a better hold on the files I have
available on the BBS. What with 600 megs and some 10,000+ archives, I
suddenly found myself lost in a sea of files! The original layout of the
hard drives was some 20 or so categories (directories) but after a while, I
got tired of having to read the doc file of each new upload, then make a
determination of what category it fell into... and sometimes having to
'fudge' on that determination because the file content didn't quite fit
into an appropriate 'niche'!
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 94 -
I also found that the system was spending an extraordinary amount of time
hunting for a file requested for download. So, I loaded up the BBS source
code and modified the file request category (directory) search routine to
do a DESIGNATED search as follows:
My first step was to re-organize all of the hard drives creating 1 letter
directories each beginning with a letter of the alphabet. That netted me
26 directories (A thru Z). I then loaded the directories according to the
first character of the filename (ALBERT went into directory A... XYZ when
into directory X). This was all well and good but I found that there were
certain directories which were getting a lion's share of the files so I
modified the code so that the search criteria was based solely on the first
character of the directory name rather than the entire directory name. This
allowed me to create 2600 directories (100 for each letter C:\A, C:\A1,
C:\A2 ... C:\A99), thus allowing a limit to the number of files in each
directory. This covered all the possible filenames except for three
categories... Those filenames beginning with numbers (like 123UNP), those
files starting with all of the other filename characters allowed by DOS
(like !TROJAN!) and finally the uncataloged new uploads. Simple enough,
create three catch-all directories... the number directory was named 00 the
miscellaneous directory was named NA and the upload directory was named 0.
Nice and easy now! Simply store each new file in the first character
directory! Now I was in business, right? WRONG!!! Another trip to the BBS
source code corrected the problems...
The SEQUENTIAL file search process went something like this:
1) User requests a file.
2) System first checks the new upload directory
3) If it isn't there, it then steps through the other designated
directories one at a time, searching all of the drives, all of the
directories until the file is found or the system runs out of
directory names.
Not a whole lot of time consumed, but the hard drive lights look like a
Christmas tree and Ma' Bell keeps that clock ticking!
The DESIGNATED file search process goes something like this:
1) User requests a file.
2) System first checks the new upload directory
3) If it isn't there it then checks the first character of the filename
A) If it's a number, it jumps directly to the catch_all number
directory (the second directory in the list).
B) Regardless of the filename, if the file has not been found, the
miscellaneous directory (the first directory in the list) is then
searched.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 95 -
C) If the first character is a letter and the file has not been
found, the system loops through the designated directory names,
checking only those directory names which begin with a matched
letter.
So from a potential 20+ category/10,000 file search under the old method,
in most cases, the new method requires only a 3 or 4 category/600 file
search.
In brief:
The Sequential Search Pattern requires no special organization of you
hard drives. All that is required is to setup K9XDRIVE.TBL with the
directories you wish K9X to recognize. With the only important factor
being that an Default Upload directory is specified.
The Designated Search Pattern requires a minimum of 2 directories with
the first directory in the list being named 00 and
containing all files whose names begin with a number.
the second directory in the list being named NA and
containing all files whose names begin with a character
OTHER than a number of letter - plus any miscellaneous
files you wish to keep within easy reach.
If more than 2 directories are used, each subsequent
directory must be have a distinct letter of the alphabet
(A thru Z) as the first letter of the directory name and
must only contain files whose filename begins with the
corresponding directory first letter.
your default upload directory may be any one of the above
directories or another, separate directory... in my case,
the default upload directory is a separate directory
named 0.
Ok, NOW I was in business, right? WRONG!!! Now that I got the BBS up to
speed, I found that I was spending an extraordinary amount of time trying
to locate files! Under the new method, the directories went from 21 to 36!
I found I was constantly doing a directory of the hard drives just to see
what directories were on what drives! Next step was to dig out, unpack and
test all of the different FINDIT type programs I have online. Well, I've
got to admit, there are some great FINDIT type programs out there! Some do
a search of only one drive, others do a search across drives, others do a
search inside archives... etc. etc. etc... BUT....
I found that they all operate the same way my old search method worked! I
had two available options when executing any of these programs.
1) Blindly search each and every hard drive completely until the file is
found.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 96 -
2) Do a root directory of each hard drive to find the directory which may
possibly contain the file I was looking for. Then call up the file
finder to locate the file (I'm already there, why bother!)
If I wanted to look for another file, I had to go through the ENTIRE
process again!
Now, since I had completed the routines for this efficient new way to
search my drives for a file, the next logical step was to merge the
routines and include them into FETCH (and into K9X)!
N O W I A M I N B U S I N E S S !!! (You Too!)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
USING K9X FILE FIND
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This feature is almost a prerequisite when working with a hard drive!
First a note about entering Search Specifications... Entering an
asterik/period (*.) without the extension will cause K9X to display only
the Directory Entries (all directory entries containing the <DIR>
designation including the . <DIR> and .. <DIR> entries from within a
directory). If no period or .extension is supplied, K9X will automatically
add the .* to your search specification.
Upon selecting the "Select Upload Files" option at the Alt-F Files
Manipulation menu, a window will open and you will be prompted for a search
criteria.
K9X will clear the screen and display the prompt:
Search Parameter (?=Help)
You have 5 possible options available to you here:
? Entering a question mark will display a brief help screen detailing
the general use of the K9X File Find.
\ A backslash by itself will list all of the files contained within the
root directory of the logged drive. This is equivilant to typing Dir
C:\ at the DOS prompt.
spec
This may be any drive\path\search criteria. K9X will automatically
perform a directory listing using the specified search specification.
K9X will only search the current logged drive and path if no drive or
path is included in your search criteria. As is the case with an
Enter input, K9X will append a *.* if your input does not contain a
period/extension.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 97 -
Valid entry examples:
C:\DOS\ becomes C:\DOS\*.*
or K9X becomes K9X*.*
or D:\MYDIR\A*.T?T becomes D:\MYDIR\A*.T?T
or A:\ becomes A:\*.*
or C:\DIR1\DIR2\DIR3\*.COM becomes C:\DIR1\DIR2\DIR3\*.COM
or C:\DOS\FET* becomes C:\DOS\FET*.*
/spec
This is the most powerful feature of the K9X file find as it allows
you to find any file on your system without the need of changing
drives or directories - or having to input a path!
This option is the same as spec above except it forces K9X to use the
K9XDRIVE.TBL so DO NOT include the drive\directory path here! K9X
will ONLY search those drive\directory names contained within the
K9XDRIVE.TBL and will search those directories according to the
status of the "Search All Directories" flag (Designated of Sequential
search) in K9X.CNF. Wildcards are fully supported. As is the case
with an Enter input, K9X will append a *.* if just the / is supplied
or if your input does not contain a .extension.
Valid entry examples:
/ becomes /*.*
or /K9 becomes /K9*.*
or /A*.TXT becomes /A*.TXT
or /*.COM becomes /*.COM
[Enter]
This option will clear the screen and display the prompt:
Search Specification ([Enter]= *.*, [?]= Drive_List):
Your options here are the same as the previous prompt except that:
[Enter]
This option simply inserts a *.* as a search criteria and
forces K9X to list all of the files in the current logged
directory.
? This option will display the entries in K9XDRIVE.TBL as:
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 98 -
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dir[ 0]=C: FileFetcher Drive/Dir Names Page 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dir[ 1]= Dir[21]=
Dir[ 2]= Dir[22]=
Dir[ 3]= Dir[23]=
Dir[ 4]= Dir[24]=
Dir[ 5]= Dir[25]=
Dir[ 6]= Dir[26]=
Dir[ 7]= Dir[27]=
Dir[ 8]= Dir[28]=
Dir[ 9]= Dir[29]=
Dir[10]= Dir[30]=
Dir[11]= Dir[31]=
Dir[12]= Dir[32]=
Dir[13]= Dir[33]=
Dir[14]= Dir[34]=
Dir[15]= Dir[35]=
Dir[16]= Dir[36]=
Dir[17]= Dir[37]=
Dir[18]= Dir[38]=
Dir[19]= Dir[39]=
Dir[20]= Dir[40]=
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Which Dir number [0..2] or [] Page
There are 2 1/2 pages (40 per page) of drive\dir names in the
table. You are presently viewing page 1 as noted in the upper
right corner. Dir[ 0] is the Default Upload Path and will
remain visible no matter which page you are viewing. Your
options here are:
0..2
~~~~
These numbers are the maximum (as configured earlier)
available directory names available. The 0 represents the
default upload path name, the 2 designates the total number
of directory names you have set. A choice of a number from
0 to 2 will allow you to view the directory listing for a
specified drive\directory. Upon selecting a number, your
prompt will change, displaying the actual drive designator
(including the final backslash) and wait for you to input a
search specification. Enter your search criteria and hit
Enter. K9X will then proceed to diplay all matches found in
that drive\directory. If you simply hit Enter for the
search spec prompt, K9X will insert *.* as the search
criteria.
[] Page
~~~~~~~~~
The up and down arrow keys are your means to page through
the table. The table is displayed in a rotary fashion where
a continuous up or down arrow when page 3 is displayed will
simply revert to displayiong page 1 again.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 99 -
[Enter]
~~~~~~~
Again, hitting Enter simply simply inserts a *.* as a search
criteria and forces K9X to list all of the files in the
current logged directory.
As stated, after selecting a search criteria, K9X begins the search and
list of all matches. If you have more than one page worth of files
listings, you will encounter the prompt:
More? ([STab], [Y]es/[Enter], [N]o, [C]ontinuous)...
Briefly, your choices here are pretty straight forward.
[Enter] or Y
Hitting the Enter or the Y key will simply scroll up the next page
of files listings.
C The C response will scroll all of the remaining files listings for
this directory non-stop.
[STab]
The STab response represents the Shift Tab key which is your gateway
for marking any files you wish to store in the upload buffer. By
pressing the Shift Tab key, K9X moves from the files listing mode to
the cut and paste mode. A help line appears at the bottom of your
screen and the cursor is placed on the first filename in the current
listing. You may enter this mode as often as you like - marking and
editing filenames as required. Note that both upload and download
buffers will hold a maximum of 24 filenames and the help line for
each will display the number of occupied buffers. Your options here
are:
[][][Home][End]
You may use the cursor keys to move up and down on the screen.
Since we are only interested in placing the cursor over the
first character of a filename, there isn't any facility
provided for moving the cursor left and right.
M Mark
When you have placed the cursor over the first character of the
filename you wish to store in the upload buffer, simply press
the M (Mark) key. K9X will extract the filename from the
screen, place the filename into the buffer, redisplay the
marked filename in inverse (black on white), increment the
buffer count (on the far right of the help line) to reflect the
total number of filenames in the buffer and finally, move the
cursor down one line!
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 100 -
D Display
This option will simply display the filenames that are stored in
the upload buffer. If you wish to modify/add/clear/etc. the
filenames, you must use the Edit option below.
E Edit
As is the case with the download cut and paste buffer, the
upload cut and paste buffer has full add/edit/load/clear/save
capabilities. Please refer to the K9X Shift Tab command key
section for details on the use of this feature.
S Shell
K9X has the ability to perform a DOS shell from within this
section. Although the shell is a standard DOS shell which will
support all of the features of the other DOS shells within K9X,
it is included here as a means to obtain access to DOS without
actually exiting K9X. Since you are pretty "deep" within the K9X
program structure at this time, it is not recommended that this
particular DOS shell be used for anything other than for
the copying, moving, renaming, etc. of files.
┘Exit Mark
This symbol represents the Enter key. When you have completed
the marking/editing of the desired filenames, simply hit Enter
to get back to the file find mode. Upon return to the file find
mode, K9X will redisplay the
More? ([STab], [Y]es/[Enter], [N]o, [C]ontinuous)...
prompt. At which time you may hit Enter or Y and continue with
the listing/marking/etc. of files or hit N to stop.
N The N response here will stop any further listing and take you to one
final prompt:
17 Files 343123 bytes - That's it! [STab] [A]gain or [Enter]=Quit
This prompt signals the end of the directory listing and contains two
parts. The first part of the prompt displays the total number of
files and bytes K9X was able to locate... The second part of the
prompt contains the available options. The [STab] is the same as
described above whereby you may mark/edit filenames... The [Enter]
option is your way out of the file finder back to K9X.
The [A]gain option needs some explaining... the A key is the means in
which you may continually cycle through the K9X file finder looking
for, listing and marking files according to your search criteria.
Hitting the A key changes your prompt line to:
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 101 -
[\] [spec] [/spec] or [Enter]
And these options are identical to the opening options when you first
entered the Select Files option. By including these options here, you
do not have to return to the Files Manipulation menu before
attempting another search.
TRANSFERRING FILES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When uploading and downloading, you do not have to input a protocol prior
to starting the transfer. K9X will use the default transfer protocol as
set via the dialing directory entry. If you are dialing manually, K9X will
use the default from the previous call. Use Alt_W if you want to change
your protocol from the defaulted value. If you change your protocol, the
new setting will remain in effect until you dial another number or change
it again manually.
For single file transfers (WXmodem, K9Xmodem, Xmodem, Ymodem, etc.), you
have to supply a filename. When uploading, if you have set the Use File
Find flag, K9X will find the file for you.
K9X supports a host of transfer protocols! You may have noticed that you
may specify either a single file or batch mode on some of the protocols.
The reason behind this is that K9X will check for over-writes when using
any single file mode protocol and prompt you for confirmation for
over-write prior to beginning the transfer. This is NOT ALWAYS the case
when using a batch mode protocol! Although every precaution is taken to
insure that an inadvertant over-write will not occur, there is a
possibility of this happening.
For batch transfers, wildcards are valid... and in most cases function the
same as the DOS wildcard characters.
In ALL cases, you may preceed your input with a full drive and path.
Supplying a full drive and path along with the filename will override the
K9X file finding capabilities if they are active.
It should be noted that K9X has built in support for several external
protocol drivers (DSZ, QMXFER, PCKERMIT, etc.), an external CIS/B terminal
emulator and the ICEX PC-Pursuit dialer. Registration of K9X (or any other
communications program) does not automatically give you registered rights
to these external programs! As is the case with K9X, if you are using
these external programs on a regular basis, you MUST register your copy
with the author! Please refer to the documentation provided by these
external programs for further information on their use and registration
fees (if any).
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 102 -
Ascii
~~~~~
Ascii file transfer receives a file without any kind of error checking.
This is the fastest transmission method for text files and generally works
well on hard-wired lines. It does NOT work for binary files, and it is NOT
well-suited for use over phone lines or digital transmission units. This
is because of the high probability of line noise introducing spurious
characters... especially on long-distance calls.
Ascii file transfers require the following information:
Delay between characters
Delay between lines
Pacing character (any input prompt from the host)
Add linefeeds to the end of each line
Add ^Z to the end of the transfer
Xmodem
~~~~~~
Xmodem Checksum and Xmodem CRC are the two commonest transfer methods for
use with remote bulletin board systems and many mini- computer systems.
These are single-file-at-a-time transfer methods.
Files are transmitted in 128 character blocks along with the block number
and checksum or cyclic redundancy check (CRC) information. This allows the
receiving system to ensure that the transmission has occurred correctly to
a very high degree of probability. The CRC error-checking method is
superior to the Checksum method, so you should always use the CRC method if
the remote system to which you are connected accepts it. With the
inception of the new, faster protocols, the Xmodem type tansfers should
only be necessary in cases where extreme phone line noise is present.
WXmodem
~~~~~~~
WXmodem is a new, streaming type of transfer protocol. It too is a variant
of Xmodem. The difference being that it does not perform the Xmodem 'send
data then wait for verification' process. Instead, it continually sends
data by means of a sliding window process. The sliding window process
increases the rate of transfer significantly. The sliding window protocols
perform at their best when using a packet-switching network such as PC-
Pursuit.
K9Xmodem
~~~~~~~~
K9Xmodem is an all new transfer protocol introduced February, 1987. It is
by far one the faster error checking protocols available to date! In
essence, it is a highly modified derivative of WXmodem. As is the case with
WXmodem, this sliding window protocol performs at its best when using a
packet-switching network such as PC- Pursuit.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 103 -
Zmodem
~~~~~~
Zmodem is perhaps the most 'bullet proof' transfer available. It's primary
drawbacks are the long error recycle times and the use of a 16 character
header which is sent with each block of data. In any case, I have found it
to very reliable, especially when using PC- Pursuit or similar packet
switching networks and on extremely noisy lines.
Ymodem-G
~~~~~~~~
Ymodem-G is a protocol designed by the Forbin Project for use with MNP
error correcting modems. K9X supports two different Ymodem-G protocols.
The QMXFER type Ymodem-G is a single file mode protocol used primarily on
RBBS-PC bulletin boards (and MiniNet). The DSZ Ymodem-G was developed by
Omen Technology and is included as a protocol choice within the DSZ Zmodem
module. It is also an MNP error checking protocol but differs from the
QMXFER type in that it can perform in either single file or full batch
mode. No matter which Ymodem-G you use, you must have a modem that
supports MNP error correction as the protocol itself does not perform any
error detection. Care should be taken when using this protocol. In the
tests I have performed, I've found that noisy lines causing multiple errors
tend to send this protocol, the modem and K9X into a non-recoverable state
resulting in nothing less than a "red switch" reset of the entire system!
Ymodem (1K Xmodem)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ymodem is another Xmodem variant which provides for long 1024 character
blocks. It is more efficient for higher baud rates like 2400, 4800, and
9600 baud. The Ymodem protocol implemented in K9X is a single-file
protocol. Most users do not like to use ymodem because transfers seem to
take longer. In actuality, transfer times are decreased considerably with
the use of Ymodem! Since users (me included) like to see something while a
transfer progresses, I have modified the buffer pointer to increment as
data is received. Hope this helps to break the monotony of the 1K ymodem
blocks!
Note: The Ymodem protocol used in K9X is actually 1K Xmodem CRC NOT Ymodem
Batch
Batch and Modem7 CRC
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Batch (Modem7) protocol is a variant of Xmodem which sends the file name
before the file itself. This provides for sending a batch of files all at
one time. Each file is preceded by the file name. Either checksum or CRC
error-checking can be used with Modem7. The DOS wildcards (*,?) are
acceptable here.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 104 -
Telink CRC
~~~~~~~~~~
Telink CRC is a variant of Batch that adds information on file size and
file creation time to the file name. K9X will use the file size and
creation time information from Telink if it appears. Telink is most useful
with FIDO bulletin board systems. K9X always requests the CRC version of
Telink, since there is no reason to use the Checksum version. Again, the
DOS wildcards (*,?) are acceptable here.
Jmodem
~~~~~~
This is another new protocol which uses a variable size data block during
transfers. Jmodem starts out with a 512 byte packet and increases the
packet size after each individual packet is sent until it reaches an 8K
(8192 bytes) packet length. Although the Jmodem module will report a high
transfer rate (cps) this is not a true picture of the actual transfer rate.
The transfer rate calculations do not take into account the initial synch
time or the time consumed by the built data encoding/decoding. It's
drawbacks are a very long synchronization upon commencing a transfer, data
encoding which is not really required when transferring already compressed
archives and the fact that if a block has to be resent when the packet size
is 8K, the transfer rate all but disappears. Although the protocol seems to
be quite stable, I do not recommend its use on noisy lines.
Super8K
~~~~~~~
This is another new protocol introduced by Crater Rim Software in 1988. It
is without a doubt the fastest non MNP transfer protocol available to date.
Super8K was designed for use on clean (minimum error) phone lines. It uses
an 8K packet size with a 1K drop back in case of errors (Jmodem must
retransmit an entire 8K packet). Because of its full streaming, minimum
error checking nature, it should not be used on any packet-switching
networks (PC-Pursuit) as it will probably not recover if multiple errors or
timeouts occur during a transfer. The benefits are of course, its pure
speed in performing a transfer and its ability to be used in either a
single file or batch mode. It should be noted that the comm port should
not be loccked at a higher speed than the actual connection. If you have
your comm port locked and connect to a slower than the locked baud rate,
Super8K will probably overrun the buffer causing transfer failures. I have
toyed with the inception of hardware/software flow control for Super8K but
do not like the idea of having the speed hindered by the time consumed in
checking the modem status. Tests have shown that the protocol performs
beautifully when the modem is set to follow the connection.
PCKermit
~~~~~~~~
PCKermit is another external protocol module. Although there are a number
of BBS systems which support this protocol (MiniNet included), I've
included the Kermit protocol for those users who communicate with mainframe
and mini computers.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 105 -
I strongly urge you to use a protocol other than Kermit if the system you
are dialing supports them. Timing tests have shown that transfers using
Kermit may consume upto twice as much time as other protocols supported by
K9X.
Although there are later versions of PCKermit available, my tests have
revealed that the version I have included with the K9X package seems to be
the most reliable. The PCKermit module supports both standard and windowed
Kermit transfers.
Note that the batch file, KERMIT.BAT is required when using PCKermit as
KERMIT.BAT passes the filename and other parameters to PCKERMIT.
KERMIT.BAT
~~~~~~~~~~
echo off
rem Command line is KERMIT direction port speed filename
rem where direction is R or S
rem port is 1 or 2
rem speed is modem baud rate setting
rem filename may include full path
if %1 == R goto get
pckermit -l com%2 -b %3 -m 31 -p n -w -s %4 -c
goto done
:get
pckermit -l com%2 -b %3 -m 31 -p n -r -a %4 -c
SPECIFYING NUMBERS TO DIAL FROM DOS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X has the ability to specify up to 20 dialing directory entries to dial
when starting the program. Your command line to start up K9X using this
option should look like:
K9X # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Where # is in the range of 1 to the total number of
directory entries (9500 max)
If any numbers are present:
K9X will proceed to the L)ist dialer option using the numbers it found
on the command line.
Note: Please see the ESC command key comments in the Alt_D section for
information on exiting the list dialing mode.
The L command line parameter is used as a flag to tell K9X to override the
default Session Logging flag as set in K9X.CNF. If you have session logging
active, inclusion of the L command line parameter will de-activate session
logging. Inversely, if no session logging is configured, the L parameter
will activate the session logging. The L may be by itself or included
anywhere within the command line parameters
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 106 -
Start Up command parameters have also been expanded to include K9XEVENT
support. This enhancement allows you to totally automate your K9X
sessions. If K9XEVENT is used, K9X will startup, automatically open a
session log file, dial the desiganted directory entry numbers, execute the
assigned macros and exit back to DOS upon completion! Note: This feature
will only work with the K9XEVENT utiliy.
Examples:
K9X L 2 42 66 - Opens up a session log (configured as
closed) and loads directory entries 2, 42
and 66 into the dialing queue
K9X 1 2 L 3 - Same as above but entries 1, 2 and 3
K9X - Starts K9X with no dialing queue. If
Session Logging is active, a session log
will be opened. If Session Logging has been
configured to not active, you may Include
an L on the command line so that a session
log will be opened: K9X L
K9X 1 2 3 - Loads directory entries 1, 2 and 3 into the
dialing queue with session logging
dependant on the Session Log flag within
K9X.CNF
AUTOMATIC SESSION LOGS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A session capture file will be automatically opened if session logging is
so configured via K9XCNF or the command line L parameter. The file name
will be the two digit month and two digit day with the two digit year as
the file extension (0415.88). If the log file already exists, K9X will
append the additional capture to that file, if it does not exist, K9X will
create a new capture file. With each number dialed and conneceted with, K9X
will make an entry into the capture file containing:
directory entry name - connect time/date last on time/date in the form:
UNDERDOGS MININET BBS 01A - 16:21:30 03/23/1987 (LastOn: 00:00:00 01/01/1980)
All data received - with the exception of any ANSI escape codes - is
written out the the session log. In addition, K9X will log the transfer
results and efficiency during files transfers using any of the K9X internal
Xmodem, Ymodem, Telink, Modem7 and ASCII protocols.
Since the transfer results and efficiency logging for any of the internal
SuperK or JBatch protocols is logged to K9XFER.LOG, no entry is made in the
session log when using these protocols.
Upon any drop to DOS - be it via the DOS shell command, any shell to an
external protocol or program, or final exit to DOS via the End command -
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 107 -
K9X will flush the session logging buffer and close the session log. If
the drop to DOS was via a DOS shell, K9X will reopen the session log
automatically.
Additionally, in an attempt to preserve as much data as possible within the
session log, K9X will flush the session logging buffer, close and then
reopen the session log file after each disconnect from an online status.
The Expert Home Command Summary will display the log file name alongside
the [Ins] command key. Additionally, the CALL.LOG entries will also denote
the Session Log filename.
CALL.LOG - Automatic Call Log
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9X maintains a seperate log file record of all dialing attempts. The
following information is automatically logged into CALL.LOG:
System Called : 1 - UNDERDOGS MININET BBS - 1-206-725-9233
Dial Attempts : 1
Dial Started : 08:36:24 on 03/12/1988 - Session Log File: 0312.88
Dial Ended : 08:36:57 on 03/12/1988 - Communications Established
Session Ended : 08:55:00 on 03/12/1988 - 00:18:03 (hh:mm:ss)
System Name : This line contains the Directory Entry Number, Name
and Phone Number. If you perform a manual dial, K9X
will log "Manual Dial" along with the phone number.
Dial Attempts : The number of times K9X had to dial/redial before K9X
established communications or dialing was cancelled.
Dial Started : The time/date the dialing attempt first started along
with the name of the session log filename (if one was
open). If no session log was active, the session log
status will denote "Closed".
Dial Ended : The time/date the dialing attempt ended along with a
reason it was terminated.
Session Ended : If communications is established with another system,
this line will be added when you disconnect from the
other system. The line contains the time/date session
ended and the elapsed time spent online in the format
hh:mm:ss
Additional CALL.LOG information:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Total number of files downloaded from system called
Displayed during while downloading using an internal K9X protocol
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 108 -
This total is logged to CALL.LOG after disconnect from remote system
Total number of bytes for files downloaded from system called
Displayed during while downloading using an internal K9X protocol
This total is logged to CALL.LOG after disconnect from remote system
Accumulated total number of files downloaded during session
Displayed during while downloading using an internal K9X protocol
This total is logged to CALL.LOG after disconnect from remote system
Accumulated total number of bytes for files downloaded during session
Displayed during while downloading using an internal K9X protocol
This total is logged to CALL.LOG when K9X is exited back to DOS
Total Elapsed Online Session time (actually connected to a remote system)
Logged to CALL.LOG after disconnect from remote system
This total is logged to CALL.LOG when K9X is exited back to DOS
Total Elapsed Online Long Distance Session time
K9X counts the number of digits in the phone number it just dialed.
If the phone number contains more than 7 digits, K9X considers it a
long distance call and tabulates the online session time.
This total is logged to CALL.LOG when K9X is exited back to DOS
It should be noted that K9X simply checks the existance of the downloaded
file and its "saved" size. If the transfer was aborted, the partial file
will exist and K9X will use its partial size in the totals.
The first four lines are unconditionally logged. The "Session Ended" entry
is logged only if a session was completed normally.
The additional information lines may or may not be logged dependant on what
type of calls were initiated and what transfers were performed.
K9X allows you to designate whether or the CALL.LOG file should be
maintained. For those users who are bound to a floppy based computer
system, it is wise to set this feature to NO as the call log will quickly
eat up precious diskette space!
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 108 -
KTREE.COM - K9XDRIVE.TBL Creation Utility
~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KTREE.COM is a rather dumb utility which does nothing more than create
K9XDRIVE.TBL. There are several ways in which it can be invoked:
1) Typing KTREE without any parameters at the DOS prompt will open a
window and begin the search of all drives/directories/subdirectories
beginning with drive C: and ending with drive Z: The drive root
directories will be displayed regardless of their presence (hence
the term rather dumb)! It will display each drive and all
subsequent directories/sub directories it finds and prompt you as to
whether or not that entry should be included in your K9XDRIVE.TBL.
2) Typing KTREE * at the DOS prompt will open a window and
automatically install all drives/directories/subdirectories
beginning with drive C: and ending with drive Z: The drive root
directories will be installed regardless of the presence of the
drive. This is done automatically and without confirmation.
3) Typing KTREE with specific drive letters will open a window and
automatically process only those drives specified.
examples: KTREE C will process drive C
KTREE CDE will process drives C,D and E
KTREE CDEGHK will process drives C,D,E,G,H and K
In any case, be sure to enter K9XCNF and edit out any non-existant or any
other entries you do not want in your K9XCNF.TBL. A you will notice,
K9XCNF has full editing capabilities to add, delete, change and swap any
and all entries. KTREE.COM is supplied as a no-hassle tool to create a
full table containing all of the drives\directories on your system (up to
99 of them, that is). I did not bother to make this utility "smarter" as
it will only be used during initial installation (if at all)!
K9CLK.COM - Memory Resident Clock/Calendar
~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9CLK.COM is a memory resident utility that displays it output on line 26 I
have been using it for well over a 18 months now with absolutely no adverse
effects. It should be installed upon system bootup via your AUTOEXEC.BAT
and, once installed, it cannot be removed from memory except by a re-boot
(be sure to remove the K9CLK line from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file!). The
default color(s) for the K9CLK display is a blue background with bright
white text. The file CLKCOLOR.COM (see below) allows you to change both
the background and foreground colors of K9CLK.COM
As is the case with any type of direct file modification, it is wise to do
your modifications on a copy rather than the original. I have included an
additional copy of K9CLK.COM in this archive just in case!
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 109 -
CLKCOLOR.COM - K9CLK Color Changer
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLKCOLOR.COM is a little utility that allows you to change the default
foreground and background colors of the memory resident K9CLK.COM program
which is part of the K9X package. The only prerequisite to using CLKCOLOR
is that K9CLK.COM must be present and must be named K9CLK.COM. If CLKCOLOR
does not find K9CLK.COM, it will abort with an error message.
Once started, CLKCOLOR retrieves the current color settings from K9CLK and
displays a sample of the K9CLK display in the current colors. You simply
use the number pad cursor keys to cycle through the color palette.
The Up and Down arrow keys cycle the Foreground... the Left and Right arrow
keys cycle the Background. Pressing the Q key will exit the color setting
routine. If you have changed the colors, CLKCOLOR will ask if you wish to
save your changes. If no changes were made, CLKCOLOR will simply exit to
DOS.
K9XEVENT - Timed Event Scheduler
~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K9XEvent and the associated K9XEVENT file may be installed in your DOS path
and executed from any part of your system. It will automatically search
the system environment for: K9X= This environment varaible should be SET in
your autoexec.bat file. K9XEvent will look there for the K9XEVENT file.
K9XEVENT is a simple event list (see sample files). The total number of
events is set for 48. The format of K9XEVENT is:
hh:mm:ss,command
When K9XEvent reads in the events, it will look for the colon (:) as the
third and sixth character of each line. It will then verify that the comma
(,) is the ninth character of each line. If this criteria is not met,
K9XEVENT will notify you of a configuration error and abort. Each command
can be up to 60 characters. The command portion may be either a direct
command or a batch file (if more than one command is to be executed at that
time). Each command line within the file TEST.BAT is a valid command
example for either the BATch file or a direct K9XEVENT command.
The display consists of:
K9XEvent v1.04 - External Event Scheduler
(C) Copyright 1989 by Crater Rim Software
(206) 725-9233 1200/2400/9600bps 600megs
Events Executed : 0
Last Event Time : 00:00:00
Last Event Name : TEST.BAT
Next Event Time : 00:00:00
Next Event Name : TEST.BAT
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 110 -
Date: 08/25/1987 00:00:00
Hit The [Esc] Key to Exit...
As you can see, the Escape key aborts the program. Any other key pressed
will be ignored. When K9XEvent starts up, it reads in all of the events
from K9XEVENT. It then steps through them all to find the next event in
comparison with the current time. That is where it enters the 'waiting'
loop... always with the next scheduled event as the first one. From that
point, it will continually cycle though events until Escape is hit. Makes
no difference if your time goes past 12 midnight. when K9XEvent comes to
the last scheduled event, it simply resets itself to the first sheduled
event again.
Additionally, each time an event is executed, K9XEvent will display the
commencement and completion of that event on the console... it will also
create and append to a file called K9XEVENT.LOG located in the 'home
directory'. It will make an event commencement entry and an event
completion entry into the log file. Both of the entries will contain the
Date, Time and Event command.
Acknowledgements
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Turbo Pascal is a trademark of Borland International Inc.
IBM, PC-DOS, PC, XT, AT and PCjr are trademarks of International Business
Machines Corp.
MS-DOS is a trademark of MicroSoft Corp.
Hayes is a trademark of Hayes Microcomputer Products Inc.
USR is a tradmark of U.S. Robotics Inc.
CTS is a tradmark of CTS Fabri-Tek/DataComm Products Inc.
TaskView is copyright Sunny Hill Software
DesqView is copyright QuarterDeck Office Systems
TopView is copyright IBM
I would like to thank those who have made suggestions for additional K9X
features. I would also like to thank those other software authors who
provided excellent programs to model K9X after.
I think that covers most of it! If you have any questions or problems,
help is but a phone call away! I am usually available for online help most
of the day and night. If you can't reach me via the "P)age the Sysop"
option on MiniNet, please leave me a message or comment. I will get a
response to you as soon as possible.
Enjoy,
Sal Manaro
Crater Rim Software
Underdog's Mininet BBS
"The Third Ring"
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 111 -
ORDERING INFORMATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Registration of K9X entitles you to:
Use the product on a regular basis.
1 year K9X priority support on Underdog's MiniNet BBS.
Licensed use of all upgrades of K9X.
ShareWare Evaluation Disk Package
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In addition, a ShareWare evaluation package containing the latest ShareWare
version of K9X is available at any time for $15. This does not include
registration. The fee covers diskette, postage and handling.
Registration and Disk Package
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For $49 dollars we offer a combination registration/diskette package. The
diskette includes the latest Registered version of the communications
program (K9X), complete documentation and 1 full year of K9X product
support on the Underdog's MiniNet BBS Seattle Node. Your first registered
package and any subsequent upgrades are always available for immediate
download from the Underdog's MiniNet BBS Seattle Node.
Please use the enclosed order form or the enclosed Mailer when placing an
order.
ORDERS OUTSIDE THE US: Please send checks drawn on US banks in US dollars.
We cannot accept non-US currency.
Corporate, Single Copy and Quantity Purchases
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For single unit orders, use the enclosed order form. Crater Rim Software
will accept purchase orders in amounts over $100 only. All other orders
must be prepaid.
Crater Rim Software offers quantity discounts starting at the eleventh
copy.
Orders in quantities of less than 75 units are handled as bulk purchases.
Crater Rim Software can provide you with either registration/disk combo.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 112 -
Purchases of over 75 units may be handled as quantity purchases or as
corporate licensing agreements. Licensing agreements allow duplication and
distribution of specific numbers of copies within the licensed institution.
Duplication of multiple copies is not allowed except through execution of a
licensing agreement (See Site Licensing below).
The quantity purchase discounts are as follows:
1 - 10 copies: no discount
11 - 25 copies: 15% discount
26 - 50 copies: 20% discount
51 - 100 copies: 25% discount
101 - 200 copies: 30% discount
201 - 300 copies: 35% discount
301+ copies: 40% discount
ALL PRICES AND DISCOUNTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. Discounts
are not cumulative. They apply to single orders of like products only.
WARNING: YOU MAY NOT USE EITHER VERSION OF K9X ON A REGULAR BASIS WITHOUT A
PRIOR PURCHASE OR LICENSE ARRANGEMENT.
Site Licensing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All corporate, business, government or other commercial uses of K9X must be
registered.
One MASTER copy of K9X along with its documentation and associated files
will be supplied. The licensing site will be responsible for creating the
licensed copies and printing the documentation. Backup copies of the MASTER
are not considered licensed copies.
The licensing site will designate one individual who will act as liaison
between the licensing site and Crater Rim Software. All correspondence
between the licensing site and Crater Rim Software will be chanelled
through the liaison. Additionally, all updates, fixes, etc. will be
forwarded to the licensing site liaison by Crater Rim Software. To this
end, Crater Rim Software will assume the order form name entry to be the
individual designated to act as liaison unless stipulated otherwise.
Canine Express Professional v8.xx Page - 113 -
Remit to: Sal Manaro dba Crater Rim Softare Order Form
4028 41st Ave South Seattle, Wa 98118 USA
Please send the ShareWare Evaluation version SW80:
-------------------------------------------------
____ K9X Disk (current ShareWare version) ...... @ $ 15.00 ea $ _______
Please register and send the latest version:
-------------------------------------------
____ K9X Registration(s) and Disk Combination .. @ $ 49.00 ea $ _______
I am a registered K9X User. Please send the latest
K9X Utilities (K9XEVENT, K9CLK, CLKCOLOR)
-----------------------------------------
____ K9X Utilities .......................... @ $ 10.00 ea $ _______
PO, Rush and COD orders add $5.00 ........................... $ _______
Subtotal _______
(Washington residents please add 8% sales tax) Tax _______
Total $ _______
360K diskette(s) ( ) or 1.2meg diskette(s) ( )
Payment by: ( ) Check ( ) Money Order ( ) PO # ________________
Name: ____________________________________________________________
Company: ____________________________________________________________
Address: ____________________________________________________________
: ____________________________________________________________
: ____________________________________________________________
Day Phone: (______)_________________ Eve: (______)___________________
ORDERS OUTSIDE THE US: Use check or money order drawn on US bank in US
dollars.