Libris Britannia 4/science library(b).zip/science library(b)/COMMUNIC/0153.ZIP/MINITEL.DOC

Text File | 1985-11-12 | 22KB | 612 lines

.he Minitel Operating Manual (c) Fido Software 1985 Page #


    Minitel is a communications program available forì
most popular MSDOS computers. This program is made availableì
free of cost to all non-commercial users. It is not to beì
sold or traded in any form.

    The latest version of Minitel can be obtained onì
Fido's Board, FidoNet 125/1, at [phone].


    Minitel can receive or transmit files in XMODEM,ì
MODEM7 (batch), TELINK, KERMIT or ASCII modes. TELINK modeì
is described in detail later, but basically it is a MODEM7ì
compatible protocol that supports DOS exact file sizes andì
dates.

    This manual is divided into a number of sections:

    Section 1    Operating Minitel
    Section 2    Quick Command Summary
    Section 3    Command Descriptions
    Appendix A     File and Path names
    Appendix B    Command prompt Line Editing
    Appendix C    TELINK console details
    Index

    The first section walks you through operatingì
Minitel, and gives you a feel of how it works. Section 2 isì
a one page list of Minitel's commands, followed in section 3ì
with a complete description of each. You will find allì
commands in the index. You do not need to read anyì
appendixes to operate Minitel; they are provided for moreì
detailed operating and technical information.

    To run Minitel, you need (besides the computer)ì
MSDOS version 2 or later, 128K of memory, a disk of someì
sort, a serial port, and a modem. You will have to refer toì
your modem manual for details on dialing and makingì
connections.
.pa
.sh Operating Minitel

    Minitel is menu driven, with all commands accessible ì
with two keystrokes. You do not need to enter and exit ì
"modes" or levels to get where you want. Most command keysì
are mnemonic.

    Error handling is simple, straightforward and non ì
dangerous, especially in entering keyboard commands. (Likeì
all programs, you can bash diskfiles if you try hardì
enough.) Error recovery usually consists of some defaultì
action; entering a non-existent command results in a list ofì
available commands; entering a blank line at a prompt quitsì
that command; illegal baud rate selections result in noì
change, etc. All error messages are in plain English, so youì
don't have to memorize secret codes.

    Running Minitel is easy: at the system prompt, type:

    A: MINITEL <cr>

NOTE FOR IBM AND COMPATIBLES ONLY:

    Minitel normally operates on COM1, the mainì
communications port. To use it with COM2, you select it byì
running Minitel differently:

    A: MINITEL /2


    Minitel clears the screen, displays it's signon onì
the top two lines, and waits for commands. At this point,ì
anything you type goes directly to your modem; for aì
SmartModem, you can dial and make your connection.

    If you wait long enough, Minitel will clear the topì
two lines. Don't be alarmed, this is normal. Just read onì
for more details ...
.pa
.sh Entering Commands

    Minitel provides fancy line editing whenever youì
need to enter filenames or whatever; see Appendix B forì
details.

    Minitel is always in communication mode; if theì
modem were to receive data, it would be displayed on theì
screen now, and you could type directly back to it.

    With the cursor still in the lower left corner, type ì
ESCape. The cursor now moves to the upper left corner, andì
types:

        Command: _

    If you wait a second or so, the menu is displayed.ì
If you want to HURRY the menu, type the space bar.

    Entering one of the command letters from the menuì
now executes that command. (How to send an ESCape? Typeì
another ESCape.) If you type a key that's not a command,ì
Minitel will beep at you but otherwise do nothing.

    If you type the ESCape key, followed by a commandì
key within one second, the command will be executedì
immediately without displaying the menu. This provides anì
expert mode once you remember the command keys.
.pa
.sh Command Summary

Here is a quick list of command available in Minitel.

    Text and character oriented commands.

    ESC C    Save all console conversation
    ESC S    Stops the ESC C command
    ESC M    Disable/Enable Linefeeds
    ESC F    Full/Half Duplex
    ESC ESC Send an ESCape
    ESC V    Parity selection
    ESC I    Select Terminal Type

    File oriented commands.

    ESC R    Receive file(s)
    ESC T    Transmit file(s)
    ESC N    Select a file transfer protocol

    System and miscelaneous commands.

    ESC ?    List current settings.
    ESC Q    Quit. Closes any text collection file.
    ESC B    Baud rate
    ESC Y    List files, sizes and transmission times.

    Modem commands.

    ESC X    Disconnect
    ESC -    Line break

    Special commands.

    ESC !    Clear the screen

.pa
.sh Command Descriptions

    All of the following commands act somehow on theì
disk. Some create files and write on the disk; with theseì
you can do things like delete files or change theirì
contents, so some care is required.


    ESC Y        List disk file information

    The ESC Y command is similar to a DIR command fromì
the operating system, but gives you more information. Youì
are asked for the name of files to look for; entering anì
empty line is the same as *.*, like the DIR command.

    You can enter a pathname, specifying the directoryì
you want to look at. If you do not, only files within theì
current directory are listed. Wildcards cannot be used inì
the directory portion of the path name.

    In addition to the file names, Minitel gives you the ì
file size, in bytes, and the time it would take to send it, ì
at the current baud rate. (See the ESC T and ESC R fileì
transmission commands.)

    The transmission times are of course approximate,ì
because errors sometimes occur, requiring blocks to beì
resent, and other variables in both computers. The guessesì
are a little on the safe side for that reason. It also takesì
time for the person running each each computer to typeì
whatever is necessary to start file transmission, and ofì
course this cannot be accounted for. Transmission times areì
most accurate when sending more than one file, using theì
automatic batch mode.

    After all the files are listed, the total fileì
count, and the total size and transmission times for all ofì
the files is listed.
.pa

    ESC C     Collect text

    This asks you for a file name, then starts puttingì
all text you see on the screen into it. Everything theì
remote computer sends you is saved as is. (Control-Zì
characters are NOT put in the file if they appear from theì
modem or console; this prevents "lost" data, though one isì
put at the end of the file when it is closed.)

    The text file can be closed by the ESC S command, or ì
automatically by the ESC Q command. You will get an error ì
message if you try an ESC C when one is already in effect.

    Minitel automatically collects text in memory andì
write is out to disk, so you need not worry about it. Itì
does this in a "smart" manner; if you stop typing for two orì
three seconds, and there is a substantial amount of textì
laying around, Minitel will flush it to disk. It alsoì
properly sends Control-S and Control-Q to tell the remoteì
computer to pause sending text whiel Minitel is busy writingì
to disk. Text collection will usually work properly evenì
when the remote computer does not cooperate.

    If the disk fills up while collecting text, an error ì
message will appear at the top of the screen. If the screen ì
happens to scroll while you're not looking, you won't seeì
the message. Oh well.



    ESC S     Stop text collection

    Stops the collection of text started with the ESC Cì
command. You get an error message if you're not collectingì
text. Appends a Control-Z to the file and closes the diskì
file, where you can type, print or edit it. If you forget toì
stop collecting, Minitel will do it when you exit via theì
ESC Q command.
.pa
    ESC T     Transmit file(s)
    ESC R     Receive file(s)

 The ESC T (transmit) and ESC R (receive) commands are usedì
to transfer files to a similar program running on anotherì
machine. Either binary or text files can be transmitted.ì
Error detection and error recovery are done automatically.

    There are a number of ways in which files can be ì
transferred; see ESC N for details. Selecting the rightì
method is important, there is no way for the computersì
involved to figure out what you have in mind. Minitel triesì
to automatically choose the right transfer mode, but it isì
not always possible.

    Invoking either command prompts you for files to beì
sent or received. Except in XMODEM and ASCII mode (again,ì
see ESC N) you can enter any number of filenames, where eachì
can contain wildcard characters. Seperate each name withì
spaces or commas. The filenames can contain drive lettersì
and pathnames.

    TELINK mode is identical to MODEM7, except itì
"sneaks in" information on exact file size and creationì
date. If you use this mode with MODEM7 running on the otherì
computer, that computer will get four or six errors on theì
first data block, by which time Minitel will figure out thatì
it will not accept the extra information, and finish theì
transfers in MODEM7 mode.

    All display file transfer modes transmission statusì
continually on the top two lines. The current block numberì
being sent, estimated transmission time left, name, etc isì
displayed. The time is constantly recalculated, and may beì
blank if: (1) less than 1 second, or (2) receiving a fileì
where the file size is unknown.

    EXAMPLES:

    The following are valid filenames that can beì
entered for transmitting files. (XMODEM and ASCII can onlyì
accept a single filename.)

    FOO.COM         send one file
    B:FOO.COM         send one file
    FOO.*             one or more files
    B:FOO.*,XYZ.ASM     one or more files
     \BIN\*.COM,/WORK/*.ASM     many files
     A.EXE,BFILE.DOC ICK.FIL    many files

    These are valid entries for receiving files. Noteì
that filenames themselves are ignored, since the actualì
names are received along with the files.

    B:     put files on drive
    ?     files to default drive
    *    same as above
    \bin\    put files in \BIN\
    foo    in default drive
.pa

    ESC N Select file transmission mode

    Minitel now supports all popular file transfer modes ì
currently in use. These are:

    XMODEM        One file at a time, (PCTALK)
    MODEM7        Most CP/M systems
    TELINK        Extended MODEM7
    KERMIT        Most mainframes
    ASCII            Most everything

    In addition, XMODEM, MODEM7 and TELINK transfers canì
be done with the older CHECKSUM method, or the newer, moreì
reliable, CRC (Cyclical Redundancy Check). This of courseì
makes for eight different ways to handle files, but it's notì
really that bad.

    When receiving file(s) (ESC R) you must selectì
either CRC or CHEKSUM properly. Most systems that supportì
CRC say so when you start the transfer. If you get it wrong,ì
then you'll get a "timeout" or other error; change toì
CHECKSUM and it should work.

    The methods and how to select one is describedì
below; first, some suggestions on how to choose the rightì
one.

BULLETIN BOARDS AND OTHER REMOTE SYSTEMS:

    Most of these support only XMODEM, so there isì
usually no choice! (Fido supports all methods.) More andì
more systems are supporting CRC mode; Minitel defaults toì
CRC mode. Try selecting XMODEM and CRC; if that does notì
work, try XMODEM and CHECKSUM.

TO ANOTHER COMPUTER OR SYSTEM USING Minitel, PTEL OR MODEM7:

    Using the TELINK method; this is the best way toì
transfer files from machine to machine. It handles multipleì
files, etc so you dont need to do ESC T and ESC R for eachì
file. If both have Minitel or Ptel then use TELINK and CRC.

SELECTING THE TRANSFER METHOD:

    After entering ESC N, you will see a small menu. You ì
select a type by typing the first letter of a selection. Atì
the left edge, you will see the current setting; just typeì
the right letter until you see what you want, then typeì
[CR]. This setting is also displayed by ESC ? and also whenì
actually transferring files.

MODEM7
    This is the most popular method used to transferì
files, and is available on almost all CP/M and MSDOSì
machines. The MODEM7 compatible programs can transfer one orì
more files at a time, with full error detection andì
correction. The limitations on MSDOS are that the originalì
file creation time and exact file size are lost. For textì
files this does not matter, but for data base andì
spreadsheet files, it can cause great problems.

XMODEM
    Most frequently used on bulletin boards and theì
like, it is the original MODEM transfer protocol. It canì
transfer only one file at a time, and the user must enterì
the filename specifically. (No wild card characters.) It isì
still the most universal of all file transfer prptocols.

TELINK
    The TELINK mode is an extention of the MODEM7ì
protocol, but includes extra information on each file sent.ì
After the filename is sent, the file size, creation time andì
date are sent before the first data block. If Minitelì
receives this block, it is used to exactly duplicate theì
file on the receiving end.

    This mode is still compatible with the MODEM7 mode.ì
However, MODEM7 will get four or six errors whileì
transferring the first file, while Minitel figures out thatì
it cannot accept this data. If it cannot be accepted, thenì
Minitel will stop sending this info, and will operate forì
the rest of the files in MODEM7 mode.

CRC / CHECKSUM

    Entering C at the prompt will toggle between CRC and ì
CHECKSUM. The CRC method is a very reliable method of ì
transferring files; the worst error rate is 99.9969%ì
reliability! CHECKSUM is probably about 95% or moreì
accurate. Use CRC whenever possible, CHECKSUM only if CRCì
isn't supported by the other computer.

    As a small aside, the reason that CHECKSUM works soì
well in practice is that the kind of adjacent bit errorsì
that pass through the checksum undetected are very rare onì
phone lines. Phone line "noise" tends to destroy many bytesì
(ie. it's long enough in duration to sound like a crash! inì
your ear) and the checksum is fairly good at detectingì
these.
.pa
    The following commands control the way Minitel actsì
to the remote computer, and you. All of these are "notì
dangerous", i.e. you cannot wreck anything with them.

    ESC ?        List Minitel status

    The current settings of the commands in Minitel are ì
listed on the screen, like so:

    <Full, half> duplex        ESC F
    Auto linefeeds <on, off>    ESC M
    The cursor is at line 10 column 23
Either: Collecting text in TEXT.FIL    ESC C
Or:    Not collecting text        ESC C
    Currently <xxxx> baud        ESC B
    <TELINK, MODEM7, XMODEM,     ESC N
     KERMIT, ASCII> file transmission
    <no, odd, even> parity selected    ESC V
    Terminal type is <VT102,     ESC I
     Filter, None, Monitor>

    Most of these can be changed via a Minitel command. ì
The command is listed to the right of each, above. Othersì
are just internal status: they are:

    The cursor is at line <n> column <n>

    This just tells you where the cursor is. Someì
bulletin boards and editors require you to fit typed linesì
in some arbitrary line length; with this you can see howì
close to the end you are. It is updated every time you typeì
a key.

Either:    Collecting text in file TEXT.FIL
Or:    Not collecting text

    If you have not started text collection with the ESCì
C command, you will get "Not collecting text", which meansì
just what it says. See the ESC C command description.

.pa

    ESC ESCape

    Not really a command, it just sends an ESCape to the ì
remote computer. The cursor will still go up to the commandì
area, but will go right back down.

    ESC F    Full/Half Duplex

    Changes the line operating mode. The default isì
Full. Half duplex caused keyboard characters to be displayedì
as they are typed.

    ESC M    Enable/Disable linefeeds

    When enabled causes a linefeed character (Control-J)ì
to be sent after each carriage return typed. If half duplexì
is enabled (See ESC F) then a linfeed is echoed after a CRì
is typed.

    ESC V    Parity selection

    The default is no parity. Parity is generated within ì
Minitel, and is either none, even, odd, mark or space. Ifì
anything except None is selected, the parity bit replacesì
bit 7 of the data byte. (Obviously only 7 bit data can beì
sent.) Parity will be suspended when file transmission orì
reception is used.

    ESC Q    Exit to DOS

    The ESC Q command exits Minitel, and returns controlì
to DOS. If text collection is on (via the ESC C command)ì
text is saved before exiting.

    CAUTION: You must remember to disconnect from theì
remote computer. Minitel cannot do it when you Quit. Youì
will still be connected to the remote computer.

    Of you do quit, (to change diskettes, or whatever)ì
then run Minitel again, do not forget to set the baud rateì
again, as Minitel cannot remember what it was set to whenì
you exited, and it always selects 300 baud when started.

    ESC B        Baud rate

    Tells you the current baud rate, and lets you changeì
it. 300, 1200, 2400 and 9600 are always available; on manyì
machines others are as well. Try them! A blank line or a badì
selection results in no change. Once you type CR, it changesì
the rate, and displays the rate now in effect.

    ESC X        Disconnect

    This command usually (not necessarily!) disconnectsì
your modem. It will work as advertised if: (1) you have aì
modem that recognizes the DTR control line (2) your cable isì
wired properly and (3) any option switches on the modem areì
set properly.

    What ESC X does is lower DTR, wait one second, thenì
raise it. DTR is normally high when Minitel is running.

    ESC -        Cause Line Break

    Does not work on DEC Rainbows.

    This causes Minitel to generate a line break for 1/2ì
second.

.pa
.sh Appendix C    Line editing             Page #

    Obviously some commands will require more input thanì
just the ESC/command key; filenames and baud rates are theì
most common. Minitel prompts you for these as necessary.ì
Whenever you are prompted for a filename or whatever, youì
enter it by typing the name, and a <cr> when done. Up untilì
you type the <cr>, however, you can do some simple editingì
of the line.

    Control keys are used to edit the line. Control keysì
that areen't used by Minitel are ignored. The following are ì
the control keys used:

    ^C    Delete the entire line
    ^X    Same as ^C
    ^U    Same as ^C
    ^Y    Same as ^C
    ^H    Delete the last character typed
    ^G    Same as ^H
    ^S    Same as ^H
    DEL or RUBOUT Same as ^H

    Carriage return (CR), linefeed (LF) and ESCape (ESC)ì
are used to enter the line, executing it.

    Two more special keys are:

    ^R    Retype the previous line
    ^D    Retype the last deleted character

    These can be useful if you want to enter the sameì
thing as last time. If you delete the line (using ^C, ^X,ì
etc) you can get it all back ("undelete" the line) by typingì
a ^R, and the last character by typing a ^D. Also, you canì
get back the line you used for the last command by typing ^Rì
before anything else. After you type any other key, (excepttì
an editing key) you lose the old contents.

    All commands can be aborted by entering a blankì
line. Either enter <cr> at the prompt, or delete the line,ì
then type <cr>.
.pa
.sh Index

..index

        ASCII................................... 9,1

        Baud rate............................... 12

        CHECKSUM................................ 10
        Command key............................. 3
        Commands................................ 2
        Control-J............................... 12
        Control-Q............................... 6
        Control-S............................... 6
        Control-Z............................... 6,6
        CRC..................................... 10

        DEC Rainbows............................ 13
        DIR command............................. 5
        Disconnect.............................. 12

        Error detection......................... 7
        Error handling.......................... 2
        Error messages.......................... 2
        Error recovery.......................... 7,2
        ESC -................................... 13,4
        ESC ?................................... 4
        ESC B................................... 4,11
        ESC C................................... 11,4,6
        ESC V................................... 11,4
        ESC ?................................... 11,9
        ESC B................................... 12
        ESC C................................... 12,11,11,11,6,6
        ESC ESCape.............................. 12,4
        ESC F................................... 11,4,12,12
        ESC I................................... 4,11
        ESC M................................... 4,12,11
        ESC N................................... 7,9,11,7,4,9
        ESC Q................................... 12,6,6,4
        ESC R................................... 7,9,5,4
        ESC S................................... 6,4,6
        ESC T................................... 9,4,5,7
        ESC V................................... 4,12
        ESC X................................... 4,12
        ESC Y................................... 4,5
        Expert mode............................. 3

        Fido's Board............................ 1
        FidoNet................................. 1
        File transmission mode.................. 9

        KERMIT.................................. 9,1

        Line Break.............................. 13
        Linefeeds............................... 12,11

        MODEM7.................................. 9,9,1

        Parity selection........................ 12

        Receive file(s)......................... 7

        TELINK.................................. 1,9,10
        Text file............................... 6
        Transmission status..................... 7
        Transmission times...................... 5
        Transmit file(s)........................ 7

        XMODEM.................................. 1,9,10