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WTERM.DOC
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1990-04-30
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\/\/term
WTERM is a small bare bones comm program. Users with
limited disk and/or memory may find it useful. There is
no script language and no terminal emulation. You must
have ANSI.SYS loaded in order to use the program. It
works fine for most bulletin boards. There are no built
in protocols - WTERM relies on DSZ Zmodem for file
transfers.
The program will write a log file, and you may view it
with LIST while on line. An editor of your choice can
be configured and loaded with a function key.
Setup
Before loading WTERM, prepare a configuration file with
an ASCII editor and name it WTERM.CFG. The following
options are allowed:
PORT - the comm port WTERM is to use. The default comm
port is COM1.
INIT - the initialization string to send to the modem
when WTERM loads.
EDITOR - the name of your editor you wish to be loaded
when you press the F10 key.
NAME - your name as you would want it transmitted when
you press the F2 key at a name prompt. A carriage
return is appended to the end of this string.
UPLOAD - the drive an path to your upload directory.
This is the path that will be used for Zmodem uploads.
It may be edited when you are asked for the name of the
file to send. Include a trailing backslash on this
line.
PARAM - enter the maxium speed of your modem. The next
parameter is parity. Use N for None, O for Odd and E
for even. This is followed by the bits per character
and should be 8 for None or 7 for parity. The last
digit is the number of stop bits. There should be no
spaces between these parameters: 2400N81.
F4-F8 - you may assign any string you wish to these
function keys. No carriage return is appended but you
may send one by using a "|" character at the end of a string.
A tilde (~) will cause a 1 second pause.
DSZUP - The string you include after this option is
exactly what will be run from DOS when you do an upload.
You don't have to use DSZ Zmodem, you could use the
public domain Zmodem PCZ if you desire. You can call a
batch file or call the program directly.
DSZDN - The string sent to DOS for a download. The
comments for DSZUP apply here as well.
Here is a sample .CFG file:
port com1
init atx4m3s11=40
editor edwin
name John Doe
upload c:\uplds\
param 2400N81
f4 mff*
f5 gyn|
f6 +++~~~ATH0|
f7 a/
f8 -John-|
DSZUP DSZ z pL1024 sz
DSZDN DSZ rz -y
Case makes no difference except in NAME, the F4-F8
strings and the DSZUP and DSZDN strings. Everything
else is converted to uppercase anyway. The first words
in the above lines are the only ones recognized. Each line
must begin on the first column with one space separating
the first word from the next word.
You can specify a drive and path for the .CFG and .DIR
files that WTERM will use by using command line options.
To specify a .CFG file in other than the default directory,
use a command line option of:
WTERM C[drive][path]filename
For a different phone directory use the -F option
WTERM -F[drive][path]filename.
Editing the Dialing Directory
After editing the .CFG file, load WTERM and edit the phone
directory by typing ALT-E. Type ALT-P to display your
passwords before you do this; otherwise they won't show
up when the directory is displayed. The default is to
hide the passwords; it is toggled on/off by typing ALT-P.
Start with entry 1. Only entries up to the first blank
entry will be displayed when you type ALT-D. Up
to 20 entries are allowed.
Dialing a Number
When you dial a number from the dialing directory, the
parameters you have entered in the dialing directory, such
as 2400N81, are used. Once you connect with a BBS and get
to the name prompt, hit F2 to send your name. At the
password prompt, type F3 and the password from your dialing
directory will be transmitted.
File Transfers
The only provision for file transfers is through the use
of DSZ Zmodem externally. When downloading, the program
will automatically detect the Zmodem download string and
download the program automagically. For uploading,
WTERM detects the upload string and prompts you for a
filename. PgDn works manually for downloads and PgUp
for uploads.
Operation
F1 displays a Help screen. Hit any key to resume and the
screen will be restored. The following functions may be
found on the help menu:
ALT-X eXit WTERM back to DOS
ALT-J Jump to DOS
ALT-H Hangup
ALT-C Clear the screen
ALT-D Dial a number from the dialing directory
ALT-E Edit the dialing directory
ALT-P Hide and unhide Passwords in the dialing directory
ALT-N Exit the program leaving DTR and RTS high
PgUp Transmit a file using DSZ Zmodem
PgDn Receive a file using DSZ Zmodem (in case Auto Zmodem
dosn't work)
F1 Help Menu
F2 Transmit your name
F3 Transmit your password
F4-F8 Transmit sting from .CFG file
F9 Load LIST for file viewing
F10 Load your Editor
Using the Dialing Directory
ALT-D will bring up the dialing directory. The size of
the directory will grow with the number of entries in
the .DIR file. You can scroll the light bar through the
dialing directory with the arrow keys, both up and down.
The home key takes you back to entry one. Pressing
enter will cause the entry at the light bar to be
dialed. The entry will be dialed once. If no
connection is made, there will be no redial. The first
10 entries in the directory can be dialed with hotkeys.
Pressing 1 will dial entry 1. Entry 10 is dialed by
pressing 0.
Single entries can be made to redial by pressing the R
key. Press ESC to stop the dialing. This is the old
method of redialing. There is also a Que dial. By
hitting Q, you may mark entries you wish to dial.
Select an entery with the light bar and press space.
The spacebar is a toggle. Pressing it once will mark an
entry and pressing it again will delete the entry. A
check mark will be displayed by the marked entries and
pressing enter will cause these entries to be dialed.
When a connection is made, that entry will be removed
from the Que. The next time you enter the dialing
directory, the rest of the Que will still be marked and
pressing enter will dial the next entry. To clear the
Que, press C.
Log file
WTERM opens a log file when a connection is made. ANSI
is stripped from the data written to the file. You may
view the log at anytime if you have LIST configured by
pressing ALT-L. The file will be saved until another
connection is made, at which time it is reopened with
the old contents destroyed. This keeps the log file
from growing.
Jumping to DOS
When you jump to DOS using ALT-J, the comm port remains
active. Assuming the receive buffer doesn't overflow,
when you return to the program, the screen will be
restored and data received while in the shell will be
displayed. While you are in the shell, the DOS prompt
is changed to the current drive and path enclosed in
curly brackets. The F1 key is reassigned using ANSI so
that pressing it will cause it to send EXIT and you will
be returned to WTERM. Of course you can also type EXIT
to return. You don't have to change back to the
directory WTERM is in before you type EXIT. WTERM
always changes the default directory to it's own. If
it is loaded from another drive it will change to its own
drive and directory. Just add the WTERM directory to
your path and you can load it from any drive and
directory on your system.
Exiting WTERM
There are two ways to exit WTERM. By using ALT-X, you
are returned to DOS. The comm port is reset and the
controls are turned off. This will cause the modem to
hangup if you are connected. To exit WTERM with the
controls left high, use ALT-N. If you enter WTERM again
while still connected, it detects carrier and will not
send the modem init string. This allows you to exit to
DOS and have all of your RAM to do with as you wish.
Acknowledgement
After looking at several C source comm routines, I chose
the one from a file named COMM.ZIP by Mario Grannini.
It was modified in several places but still retains a
good bit of his work. It is a good example of C
programming and easily modified for use with WTERM.
Legal Stuff
DSZ mentioned above is shareware and is not free
software. If you use it, you should register it and pay
the reasonable $20 registration fee.
While this program is free for all to use, I retain the
copyright and reserve all rights to it. You may not
charge for WTERM. The exception is that computer clubs
may charge for a diskette and a copy fee, the total not
to exceed $3.
Since this is a free program and I gain nothing from it,
I also assume no responsibility should you decide to use
it. Although it seems to work fine on my AT compatible,
it may not work on your system. You assume all
responsibility for ANYTHING that happens if you choose
to run WTERM.
\/\/alter Cox