Welcome to Online:
VT-100 Emulation for PalmOS

Copyright ©1999-2000 Mark/Space Softworks -- All Rights Reserved

    Contents
  1. What is Online?
  2. Connecting & Disconnecting
  3. Setting Options
  4. Sending Data
  5. Receiving Data
  6. Navigating
  7. Ordering Online
  8. Acknowledgements
  9. Legal Stuff
  10. Contacting Us

What is Online?

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Online is a VT100 terminal emulator for PalmOS organizers.

Users of Online can connect their handheld to other computer systems and access real computer power and network resources wherever they are. Online has been used to connect to Unix systems and then surf the web using Lynx, edit files with vi and emacs - and even to read and write email using elm!

Online can be connected to either a modem or the serial port of another computer or device (such as a hub or router). If connecting to a modem use the Pilot modem cable available from Palm. It is possible to use the cradle or serial cable and a null-modem connector to connect to some modems, but this doesn't seem to work for all.

Online currently connects to the Internet via dial-up shell accounts, not PPP. A 'telnet' version of Online will be released at a later date.

Connecting & Disconnecting

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Online can be connected to either a modem or the serial port of another computer or device. If connecting to a modem use the modem cable available from Palm. You can also combine a null modem adaptor with the cradle or serial cable to turn it into the equivalent of the modem cable.

Online also works great with the clip-on modem from Palm, the Snap-On modem from Option International, and if using PalmOS 3.3 or later, IR modems and Compact Flash devices with the TRG Pro.

When you are ready to connect, tap the 'On' push button. Tap it again to disconnect. Disconnect when you are not transmitting or receiving data, as this will help prevent excess drain on the batteries.

You can dial a phone number by either using the 'Connect' command of the session menu, or by entering AT commands directly in the input buffer, ie "ATDT 5551212" to dial the number 555-1212.

Setting Options

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Communications parameters can be changed by using the 'Options' menu. Online supports a range of baud rates and communication parameters.

Select 'Communication' from the 'Options' menu to edit settings for port, data bits, parity, baud rate, and flow control.

Select 'Terminal' from the 'Options' menu to edit settings that control the font size, end of line character, line feeds, whether the display will track the cursor, to enable or disable VT100 emulation, and to have the cursor wrap-around when it reaches the end of a line.

Select 'Macros' to edit the names and text sent for each of 12 macros.

Select 'Buttons' to edit the names and text sent for each of the 4 tool bar buttons as well as the 4 hardware keys.

Select 'Logging' to edit settings for the log file, such as the inclusion of a header for each new record created, and the ability to log incoming text in hex format (instead of text).

Sending Data

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There are several ways to send data:

  1. PalmOS on-screen Keyboard:
    Tap the 'abc' or '123' buttons, enter a string of text, and tap 'done'. This will send whatever is in the text area to the serial port and onwards to the target device. You can send special characters (escape, control, tab, etc) by using the codes summarized in a chart below.
    	^x		control-X (where X is any letter a-z or A-Z)
    	^^		caret (^)
    
    	\b		backspace
    	\d		delete
    	\e		escape
    	\f		form feed
    	\l      line feed
    	\n		newline (uses EOL setting)
    	\r		carriage return
    	\t		tab
    	\v		vertical tab
    	\0		null
    	\\		backslash
    	\xnn	hexidecimal code - nn = ascii value of character to send in hex
    

    For example (a complex one at that), to send the sequence ESCAPE [ Y CONTROL-C Hello RETURN you would enter "\e[Y^cHello\r" in either the popup keyboard or macro text definition.

  2. Direct Entry:
    When connected and online, any graffiti characters entered are sent directly to the serial port.

  3. 'Macro' Entry:
    Select what you wish to send on the pop-up list and the selected item will be sent. You can set your own macros by selecting 'Macros' from the 'Options' menu.

  4. 'Buttons':
    By default, the 4 on-screen buttons are mapped to control cursor movement. However you can label and define these buttons any way you like.

    You can also (optionally) map the 4 hardware buttons to send macro text as well.

  5. Shortcuts:
    The PalmOS shortcut feature works in Online. Any shortcuts entered will be sent to the serial port. This is a good way to send frequently used strings.

  6. Send a MemoPad memo:
    Choose the 'Send Memo' menu item, select the memo you wish to send from the dialog box, decide to skip the title line, then press OK - the memo's contents will be sent to the serial port. If you use the 'skip forst line' option, the first line of text in the note will note be sent. In this manner you can use the first line of memo pad records as a 'title' to aid in selecting the record. Text in the memo pad record will be interpreted the same as text in a macro. ie, special characters (\n, etc) are decoded before being sent.

  7. Paste Clipboard text:
    Choose 'Paste' from the edit menu to send the contents of the clipboard.

The on-screen arrows are cursor keys. They send the VT-100 commands to move the cursor to the serial port.

The hardware up and down buttons are used to pan the virtual screen up/down one line for each press of the button.

Receiving Data

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The organizer polls the serial port for data all the while it is online. A 'Line Feed' can be appended to incoming data by choosing a check box in the 'Display' dialog.

The screen can be cleared by using the 'Clear' menu item.

Tapping the 'Log' push button will log data to Memo Pad records. Since Memo Pad records are limited to 4K, an additional record will be created each time the limit is reached. You can add your own notes to the log by selecting the 'Annotate Log' menu choice.

Wrapping can be toggled with the 'Wrap' option in the terminal options dialog.

Navigating

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Online keeps an 80x24 terminal screen in memory, but only displays what it can on-screen. A small map shows which part of the terminal window is currently seen. You can move around the 80x24 virtual terminal in two ways: either by tapping the pen on a different section of the map, which will move to display that section; or by tapping in the received data area.

Imagine this as the square where incoming data is displayed...

 [A][B]
 [C][D]

 tap in upper left corner [A] of output area to go up and left
 tap in upper right corner [B] to go up and right
 tap in lower left corner [C] to go down and left
 tap in lower right corner [D] to go down and right

Tip: You can also use the hardware up and down buttons to scroll the display up or down a single line for each press of the button.

You can change the font of the display via the "Large Font" checkbox in the "Display" dialog reached via the "Options" menu. This switches between a 7pt and 8pt fixed-width Minico font. The 7pt font allows Online to display 40 characters across the screen, greatly reducing the amount of scrolling required.

You can determine whether the screen in view moves automatically to follow the cursor by using the 'Display Follows Cursor' checkbox in the same dialog.

Ordering Online

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Thanks for evaluating Online!

Online is a commercial product which sells for $29.95 + s/h. Online is also available in 5 packs, 10 packs, and money-saving bundles with other products. Check our web site for details.

If you own version 1.0, please send your HotSync name via email to sales@markspace.com to receive a new serial number (free).

If you owned a previous (0.x) version by Haus of Maus, you can upgrade to this version for $9.95 + s/h.

There are several ways to register, choose the one that suits you best:

Direct from Mark/Space:

PalmGear H.Q.:

Those that register will receive a key. The key should be entered into the registration dialog when the application starts. The key will be checked - if correct then you'll no longer be reminded to register and you'll be a very valued customer.

Registrants will get all minor updates to Online for free, be able to influence future functionality and have access to pre-release versions of Online. You'll be added to our mailing list and kept informed of Online's development.

Acknowledgements

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Online makes use of other's technology. A tip o' the virtual cap goes to...

Legal Stuff

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You are responsible for what you do with Online and for the consequences of anything that happens as a result of your use, be it damage, loss of data on any computer system or anything.

Online is a commercial product. If you use it please order a copy. Details are given above and at the Online home page http://www.markspace.com/online.html

You may distribute unregistered demo copies of Online, but not for profit, except with written permission, obtainable via email to sales@markspace.com

Contacting Us

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Mark/Space Softworks
111 West Saint John, 3rd Floor
San Jose CA 95113

408-293-7299 phone
408-293-7298 fax

info@markspace.com
sales@markspace.com
support@markspace.com
feedback@markspace.com