*Introduction

   Welcome to XPCOM. This program was written to fill a void that
   has existed in commercial software for digital communications.
   The user interface has been designed to reduce the overall
   "learning curve' normally associated with this type of
   product.

   XPCOM was written originally for the MFJ1278, however, has
   also been structured to work with the AEA PK-232. Operation of
   the PK-232 has been optimized to use AEA's HOST mode.

   I hope that you will find this program both user friendly and
   easy to use. Special thanks go to Mike Henry N5AQM, Morgan
   Hoaglin WW7B, Larry Winslow W0NFU, Gary Moore AH6KM, Jack
   Buekelman AA6OK, Fred Griffee N4FG and Doug Alspaugh for their
   ideas for the product, as well as BETA testing XPCOM.


   73

   Gary Johnson
   KF7XP








*Keyboard / Mouse



		`keyword(Keyboard Entry,*Keyboard Entry);         `keyword(Mouse,*Mouse);






   XPCOM supports both mouse and keyboard user interface. It must
   be noted that the mouse is strictly optional and that ALL
   program operation may be made with the keyboard.





















*Keyboard Entry

   After loading, the program will be loaded with the default
   parameters from the last time the program was run. To activate
   the Main Menu, all that is required is to press the F10
   function key. At this point the top menu bar will be
   displayed.

   Each entry in the top menu bar has an associated 'Hot Key' .
   The Hot Key is designed in red. By pressing the hot key the
   user will be taken to that item. To activate the current menu
   item all that is needed is to press the return key. This will
   display the menu options. The menu options also are HOT KEYED
   allowing for rapid user interface.

   The cursor and tab keys are active during keyboard input,
   allowing the user to easily move from option to option.

   When the user is entering a text string it will first be
   necessary to press the return / enter key to activate the
   item. An example of this entry form can be found under the
   AMTOR SELCAL and ARQ modes. To complete the entry the user
   should press enter.

   During all operations the ESC key may be used to cancel the
   current event. If the event is the Main Menu bar the program
   will return to normal operation.






















*Mouse

   A mouse (not required) may be used for over 95% of all program
   operations. To bring up the Main menu press one of the mouse
   buttons momentarily. To exit the menu, press the mouse button
   when the mouse cursor is located outside the active menu area.














*General Program Information


   This section is intended to give the user an overview of the
   various components of XPCOM.

Main Screen

   The main screen consists of three individual components.


		 `keyword(Receive Window,*Receive Window);
		 `keyword(Transmit Window,*Transmit Window);
		 `keyword(Status Window,*Status Window);

   All window attributes are user definable, including background
   color, text color and border types (XP Windows).




	*Receive Window

    The receive window is used for displaying the incoming text
    in all modes, except the AEA Host mode Packet operation.
    During Host mode Packet operation the receive window is used
    as the Monitor window allowing the user to view channel
    traffic separately from connected traffic.













 *Transmit Window

   The transmit window shows the outgoing text from the user. The
   text is sent to the TNC based on the setting of WORDOUT and
   LINEOUT. See TNC Parameters section for a detailed description
   of Lineout and Wordout.

   During AEA Host packet operation a separate transmit window is
   established for each stream. This allows the user to type a
   command (without carriage return) switch to a different stream
   send a packet then come back to the original stream and hit
   the return key to send the packet.



























	*Status Window

		 The status window is used to provide information to the
		 user on :

					Operating Mode
					Baud Rates
					Unacknowledged Packet    (Host Mode)
					AMTOR Status             (Host Mode)
					Free Memory
					Date (GMT)
					Time (GMT)
					Connect Status

		 Various sections of the status window change during
		 operation of XPCOM.  This is normal and will give
		 information that is pertinent to that mode of
		 operation.



















 *Scrolling Buffer

XPCOM offers 32K of scroll back buffer. Additionally,
any or all of the buffer may be saved to disk, a later
version will allow printing directly. For now use the file
print command.

To enter the scroll buffer, press either the 'UP' or 'DOWN'
arrow keys. This will put the system into the scroll mode.
The communication ports are disabled during these operations.

The following keys are available for movement within the
buffer.

				 HOME       - This will move to the top of the buffer.
				 END        - This will move to the end of the buffer.
				 PGUP       - This will move up one screen or to top.
				 PGDN       - This will move down one screen or to the end.
				 UP arrow   - Move up one line.
				 DN arrow   - Move down one line.
				 F1         - This key marks the TOP of the section to be saved.
				 F2         - This key marks the END of a section to be saved.
				 F3         - This will SAVE the marked section to disk.
				 F4         - Copy Marked text to Paste Buffer.  This text may be
											sent after exiting Scroll back by pressing
											the INSERT key.

Any other key pressed will return back to the current
operating mode.

XP Windows Scroll Back (AEA Host Mode)

When operating packet on the PK-232 TNC it is possible
to define a separate scroll back buffer for each open
stream.  The size of the scroll back buffer may be defined
as follows.

	Scroll Back Setup

		 a.   Press mouse button or F10 key to enter main menu.

		 b.   Move to Setup Setup menu.

		 c.   Select Stream Setup.

		 d.   Move to desired stream and enter a value between 1
					and 32.  This corresponds to a range of 1024 bytes
					to 32768 bytes.

		 e.   When finished press the 'ESC' key or click the
					mouse off of the setup window.  This completes
					scroll back setup.

	Scroll Packet Activation

		 The scroll back for an individual packet channel is
		 activated by using the following commands.

					a.   Select desired stream by clicking the mouse
							 in the stream window or using the PGUP/PGDN
							 keys to move to the stream.  This can be monitored
							 by watching the "ACTIVE" indicator located
							 on the upper row of the stream windows.

					b.   After selecting the desired stream.  Press
							 the UP Arrow key.

					c.   All other commands are the same as those
							 outlined in the Scrolling Buffer section
							 of this help system.




















*View / Help Screens

The following section pertains to the operation of the view
windows used for the Help function as well as the View
File selection in the Files menu.

Once active, you can scroll around the help file much like
an editor. UP  , DOWN , LEFT , RIGHT , HOME , END , PGUP , PGDN ,
Ctrl-PGUP , Ctrl-PGDN  allow you to move around
the file. If the file is wider than the help window
you can scroll horizontally as well as vertically. The
buttons operate as follows.

			 Search   - [S] pulls up a dialog to allow you to search
											for a specific word or phrase.
			 Repeat   - [R] finds the next occurrence specified by Search.
			 <<<      - [<] key moves to the previous keyword.
			 >>>      - [>] moves to the next keyword.
			 Previous - [P] moves to the previously active keyword.
			 Index    - [I] moves to the original starting place.
			 Quit     - [Q] quits the help program.

If you are using a mouse, clicking on the
button, sliders, close box,(upper left corner), or keyword
will activate the function.

To move to a keyword, you can use the tab keys or cursor
keys to move to the desired word. The keyword will
highlight . Pressing enter or double clicking on this
word will take you to additional information on this topic.
Pressing 'P' (previous) will take you back one level.

To search  for a specific word/phrase, press 'S' or
click on Search. This pulls up a dialog box. To enter the
word/phrase, press 'S' again or click on the string
following the word Search. Type in the word/phrase and press
'O' or click on OK. The default search will search forward
from the current cursor location. The direction and scope
can be changed by clicking on the appropriate check box or
pressing the desired hot-key.

			 Forward      - [ALT-F] sets the search direction to forward.
			 Backward     - [ALT-B] sets the search direction to backwards.
			 From Csr     - [ALT-R] search from current cursor position.
			 Global       - [ALT-G] search from start of file.
			 Case         - [ALT-C] if off, case is ignored.
			 Quit         - [ALT-Q] abort the current search dialog.
			 OK           - [ALT-O] accept parameters and find first word.












*Using The File Selector

			 `keyword(Path,*Path);
			 `keyword(Selecting Files,*Selecting Files);
			 `keyword(Moving Back one Directory,*Moving Back one Directory);
			 `keyword(Moving Forward one Directory,*Moving Forward one Directory);
			 `keyword(Selecting a File,*Selecting a File);
			 `keyword(Sorting  Parameters,*Sorting  Parameters);
			 `keyword(Canceling the File Selector,*Canceling the File Selector);


		 The file selector is used for all disk related activities.
		 This makes it very easy for the user to navigate through
		 the disk drive to find the file to send.









	 *Path

		 The path parameter allows the user to type in the
		 wanted path name for the file.  This uses the same
		 format as the standard DOS  commands.  To activate
		 this field type "P" or use a Mouse or the TAB  key
		 to move to this position.

		 The field may be cleared by pressing CTRL - Y .
		 After entering the path name press the return key.










	 *Selecting Files

		 Files may be selected by using either the cursor
		 keys or a mouse .  To select the file with a mouse
		 point to the file and double click on the filename.

		 Using the keyboard,  press the arrow keys to select
		 file and press the return key to select the file.













	 *Moving Back one Directory

		 Note  all directory entries are bracketed with " <DIRECTORY > ".

					To move back one directory select the
							 < ..      >
					entry and double click the Left  mouse button
					or press the Enter  key.  This will move back
					one directory.












	 *Moving Forward one Directory

					To move forward select the desired entry,
					" < desired directory > ", and press the Enter key or
					double click the Left mouse key.















	 *Selecting a File

					There are two methods available to select a file.

					Cursor Keys / Mouse

							 Using the cursor keys select the desired file
							 followed by the "O" (Ok) key.  This will
							 complete the operation.

							 To use the mouse place the cursor on the
							 scroll bars and hold the left mouse button
							 until the desired file appears.  To complete
							 the operation , double click on the file.

					Direct Entry

							 The second method is to directly type in the
							 file name.  This is accomplished by press the
							 "F" key.  At this point cursor should be
							 flashing on the input line under the "File
							 Name" caption.  Type the "filename.ext" and
							 press the Enter key to complete the
							 operation.















	 *Sorting  Parameters

		 The user can select the method that the files are
		 sorted and displayed.  There are four (4) options for
		 sorting.  These are listed below.

					Name
					Extension
					Size
					Date / Time

		 To select a sorting method press the first letter of
		 that method.  Example, to select sorting by Date / Time
		 press the "D" key.



















	 *Canceling the File Selector

		 To cancel the file selector press either the 'ESC'
		 key or press the 'C' key.  At this point the file
		 selector will be removed from the screen.



















