ReadMe.txt for MicroPhone II for Windows. September 6, 1991 USING NOTEPAD TO VIEW ON-LINE DOCUMENTS ======================================= * If you enlarge Notepad to its maximum size, this document will be easier to read. Just type Alt-space followed by X. * If you have not yet installed MicroPhone II, you may do so now by exiting Notepad and following the instructions on the "Getting Started" card included in your MicroPhone II package. * To exit Notepad and return to Windows, double-click the Control-menu or choose Exit from the File menu. CONTENTS ======== This document contains important information not included in the printed documentation. These are the topics covered: * Installing MicroPhone II * After Installation * Color Icons Library * Incorrect Settings Cause Lost Data * Windows Communication Driver (COMM.DRV) * Differences from the Macintosh version * Addendum to the documentation + AutoSize - Control-menu Command + New Settings - Replace Existing Document Option + Using DDE - Quotation Marks + Script Command - Move Cursor to ... + Script Command - Repeat + Script Command - Set Term Param Connection Parameter + Script Command - Signal Send IOCTL * Contacting Software Ventures INSTALLING MICROPHONE II ======================== Instructions for installing MicroPhone II are provided in "Getting Started," Chapter 1 of the User's Guide. A short version is provided on the "Getting Started" card included in your MicroPhone II package. Information about using MicroPhone II's installer and the location of MicroPhone II files is provided in the Install.txt file on the MicroPhone II program disk. AFTER INSTALLATION ================== The tutorial chapters in the User's Guide provide information about using MicroPhone II. The Reference Manual provides explanations of MicroPhone II's menu and script commands. Below is an outline of where to look for instructions on using MicroPhone II. If you have never used a modem: ______________________________ Start at the beginning of the User's Guide. The "Getting Started" chapter helps you set up your system. The "Connecting Automatically" chapter leads you through a tutorial that explains how to connect to a remote computer. Configuring MicroPhone II to work with any remote computer: __________________________________________________________ Follow the steps in the "Exchanging Files" chapter of the User's Guide. The tutorial shows how to set MicroPhone II with the correct baud rate and other settings. This chapter assumes you understand the basic concepts of telecommunications explained in previous chapters. Transferring files between computers: ____________________________________ Follow the steps in the "Exchanging Files" chapter of the User's Guide. Once you set MicroPhone II to communicate with the remote computer, you can exchange files. This chapter explains how to send and receive files created in any application. More information about file transfer protocols is provided in "The Transfer Menu" chapter of the Reference Manual. These chapters assume you understand the basic concepts of telecommunications explained in the beginning chapters of the User's Guide. Automating telecommunications with MicroPhone II scripts: ________________________________________________________ Begin with "Building a Script with Watch Me" in the User's Guide. You will learn how MicroPhone II records your telecommunications activities and then plays them back, sending commands to the remote computer. The "Editing a Script" chapter provides instructions for editing scripts in MicroPhone II. "The Script Commands" and "Expressions, Operators, and Functions" chapters of the Reference Manual provide details about the script language. Setting your computer so you can call it from anywhere: ______________________________________________________ Follow the steps in the "Using the Mini BBS" chapter of the User's Guide. Following the step-by-step instructions, you will learn to set your computer so you can call from another computer to access your files. You can also set it so other people can send electronic mail and exchange files. Writing a MicroPhone II interface to an electronic mail service: _______________________________________________________________ Follow the steps in the "Building Custom Interfaces" chapter of the User's Guide. Following the step-by-step instructions, you will create a custom electronic mail interface to CompuServe using the MicroPhone II Interface Template. By following the instructions for CompuServe, you will learn the scripting principles for developing interfaces to other electronic information service. More Information: ________________ The first chapter of each book provides more information about what is covered in the documentation. COLOR ICONS LIBRARY =================== The MicroPhone II application (MP2.EXE) contains color icons that can be assigned to settings documents (or any other file) as part of a Windows 3.0 group. Review your Windows 3.0 documentation for details on assigning icons and group items. INCORRECT SETTINGS CAUSE LOST DATA ================================== Sometimes characters from the remote computer may not appear in MicroPhone II's terminal window. This is usually caused by incorrect communications settings, particularly baud rate and parity. The most common settings are Bits per Character - 8, Parity - None and Stop Bits - 1. (Set stop bits to Auto in MicroPhone II.) The next most common settings combination is Bits per Character - 7, Parity - Even and Stop Bits - 1. If characters do not appear on the screen properly, the remote computer is using different settings than the local computer. Check your settings and try the other combination shown above. If this does not correct the problem, contact the system administrator, SYSOP or customer service for the remote computer and verify the correct communications settings. Data can be lost at baud rates of 19,200 and above because most PC communications hardware is unable to maintain communications at those speeds. This can be fixed by using serial communications hardware designed for high speed transfers. Contact our BBS at (510) 849-1912 for the latest information. WINDOWS COMMUNICATIONS DRIVER (COMM.DRV) ======================================== The Windows 3.0 Communications Driver (COMM.DRV) does not support baud rates above 19,200 baud. MicroPhone II uses COMM_SVC.DRV, a modified version of COMM.DRV, to support higher data transfer rates. There aren't any other modifications in COMM_SVC.DRV. MicroPhone II's installer automatically installs COMM_SVC.DRV and modifies SYSTEM.INI to identify the new driver. It will be used by all Windows Communications applications after you restart Windows. To disable the modified driver and return to the standard Windows Driver, change the SYSTEM.INI entry from COMM_SVC.DRV to COMM.DRV. DIFFERENCES FROM THE MACINTOSH VERSION ====================================== MicroPhone II for Windows differs slightly from MicroPhone II for the Macintosh. Appendix G of the Reference Manual explains the differences. Read this appendix before converting scripts from the Macintosh to Windows. ADDENDUM TO THE DOCUMENTATION ============================= The new script commands and features added to the program after the manuals were completed are documented below. AUTOSIZE - Control-menu Command ______________________________ The Autosize command was added to the Control-menu. Choosing this command will resize MicroPhone II's window to show all lines and columns of the terminal window. This size is normally 80 columns by 24 rows, but it can be adjusted by the rows, columns and font settings in the Terminal Settings dialog box. If the MicroPhone II window on your screen is shorter than the Rows setting of your terminal, the cursor will move below the window, and you will not see new text as it is received. Click the scroll bar to move to the window's bottom where text is being received. You can also use the Autosize command in the Control-menu to resize the window to match the terminal settings. TURNKEY STARTUP - Keep Connection Open Preference _________________________________________________ MicroPhone II's default setting causes the communications port to be opened when a settings document is opened. This creates a conflict if another settings document is open and trying to use the same connections. If this occurs, a message indicating the conflict will appear and script execution will pause. When you dismiss the message, the connection is closed and script execution will continue. If the script expects the connection to be open, it may not work properly until you correct the port conflict and open the connection. You can avoid the conflict by deselecting the Keep Connection Open option in the Preferences dialog box. With this change, the connection is not automatically opened when the settings document is opened; however, using Dial Service will attempt to open the connection. For more information about Keep Connection Open, see "The Settings Menu" chapter in the Reference Manual. NEW SETTINGS - Replace Existing Document Option _______________________________________________ When you choose New Settings from the File menu, MicroPhone II closes the current settings document before creating a new one. If you want MicroPhone II to open a new window for the new document and leave the other document open, place "New Settings=1" in the Preferences section of the MicPhone.ini file. Removing the entry will reset MicroPhone II to the default behavior. USING DDE - Quotation Marks ___________________________ MicroPhone II can be linked to other applications using DDE. Scripts can be used to connect to an information service like CompuServe, collect stock quotes, and pass the information to Microsoft Excel. Documents prepared in Microsoft Word can be directed to MicroPhone II through a Word macro, sending the documents directly to a service bureau for printing. The beginning of "The Script Commands" chapter in the Reference Manual provides more information about using DDE with MicroPhone II. Using parenthesis instead of quotation marks is an additional feature to help DDE scripting. Normally a script command expression must be enclosed by double quotes. Also, literal strings in expressions are enclosed by single quotes. Restrictions on the use of quotes by the application creating the DDE message adds to the confusion. To alleviate this, substitute parenthesis for the double quotes enclosing a script command expression. For example: DDE * Execute MPServer "'[Alert * OK (''The year is ''& year)]'" is equivalent to DDE * Execute MPServer "'[Alert * OK "''The year is ''& year"]'" This substitution can be used anywhere double quotes bound a MicroPhone II script command expression. SCRIPT COMMAND - Move Cursor to ... ___________________________________ The "Move Cursor to" script command moves the insertion point with the cursor. This causes incoming text to appear at the same location as the cursor. This may lead to confusing screens because the cursor may not be where the remote computer expects it. To avoid this problem, use the CursorRow and CursorCol script functions to save the position of the cursor before the move. Use Move Cursor to Absolute Row/Column to restore its position. SCRIPT COMMAND - Repeat _______________________ The example provided for the Repeat script command (Reference Manual page 214) has an error in the last line. It should be: Until Expression "done" SCRIPT COMMAND - Set Term Param Connection Parameter ____________________________________________________ This is a subcommand of Set Term Param ... SYNTAX: Set Term Param Connection Parameter [] ARGUMENT: String - A comma-delimited string specifying the parameter settings used to configure the current connection port. The comma is omitted if there is only one parameter. This string uses the same format returned by the ConnectionParameter script function. RESULT: The contents of the string are assigned to the connection port specific parameters of the Communications Settings dialog box. SCRIPT COMMAND - Signal Send IOCTL __________________________________ The description for the Signal Send IOCTL script command in the Reference Manual does not discuss sending NUL characters (binary zero) from a MicroPhone II expression. MicroPhone II is unable to imbed NUL characters within a literal string. Since this can be required of the IOCTL string, an alternative is provided for the Signal Send IOCTL script command. To imbed a NUL character within a literal string, use '\x0'. It may be easier to write the entire string using hexadecimal characters in this format. For instance, Signal Send IOCTL "'\x00\x07\x00\x03\x0\x0\x0\x0\x0'" sends an IOCTL WRITE for 9600 bps, parity none, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, break OFF, and 0 of 1/18.2 seconds count if the current connection port is through Egberto Willies's device driver, COMM-DRV. Signal Send IOCTL "'\x00\x08\x00\x03\x0\x0\x0\x0\x0'" sends an IOCTL WRITE for 19,200 bps, parity none, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, break OFF, and 0 of 1/18.2 seconds count if the current connection port is through Egberto Willies's device driver, COMM-DRV. For more information about the meaning of the string, review your device driver's documentation. The '\xnn' syntax will not work in the expressions of any other script command. CONTACTING SOFTWARE VENTURES ============================ The last page in each manual lists the ways to contact Software Ventures Corporation. If you are having any difficulties, call Technical Support at (510) 644-1325 (9am to 4:30pm PST, weekdays). You may also post messages to Software Ventures Technical Support on the following electronic services: AppleLink (SVCTECH) BIX (SVC) CompuServe (76004,2161) GEnie (SVCTECH) InterNet (microphone@svcdudes.com) MacNet (PERSEPHONE) MCI (286-6859) Telex (650 286-6859) When you call the Software Ventures BBS, you will find the latest information, technical support, public domain and shareware files, as well as new scripts, settings documents and modem drivers. The number is (510) 849-1912. Welcome to the world of MicroPhone II. Have a fascinating journey!