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+=================================================+ +=================================================+ | A Guide To PibTerm v4.1 At Northwestern | | A Guide To PibTerm v4.1 At Northwestern | +=================================================+ +=================================================+ Copyright (c) February, 1988 by Philip R. Burns Copyright (c) February, 1988 by Philip R. Burns i What Is PibTerm? ...................................... 1 What Is PibTerm? ...................................... 1 What Is Terminal Emulation? ........................... 1 What Is Terminal Emulation? ........................... 1 What is a terminal? ............................... 1 Types of terminals ................................ 1 Dumb .......................................... 1 Smart ......................................... 1 Terminals emulated by PibTerm ..................... 1 Dec VT100 -- for all ACNS mainframe use ....... 1 Tektronix 4010 -- for graphics display ........ 1 What Is A File Transfer? .............................. 2 What Is A File Transfer? .............................. 2 PibTerm Features ...................................... 2 PibTerm Features ...................................... 2 Dialing Directory ................................. 3 Menu Selection .................................... 4 Getting A Copy Of PibTerm ............................. 4 Getting A Copy Of PibTerm ............................. 4 System Requirements For PibTerm ....................... 4 System Requirements For PibTerm ....................... 4 Installing PibTerm .................................... 4 Installing PibTerm .................................... 4 Using the INSTALL program ......................... 5 Starting Up PibTerm ................................... 5 Starting Up PibTerm ................................... 5 PibTerm Commands ...................................... 6 PibTerm Commands ...................................... 6 PibTerm commands have form <ALT>letter ............ 6 Displaying <ALT>key commands -- <ALT>I ........... 6 Making Menu Selections ................................ 6 Making Menu Selections ................................ 6 Using arrow keys to move within a menu ............ 6 Using Enter to select a menu item ................. 6 Using ESC to exit a menu .......................... 7 Using A Mouse With PibTerm ............................ 7 Using A Mouse With PibTerm ............................ 7 Why use a mouse ................................... 7 Loading the mouse menu PIBTERM.MNU ................ 7 Customizing the mouse menu in PIBTERM.DEF ......... 7 What the mouse buttons do ......................... 7 Left button -- select menu item ............... 8 Right button -- Enter ......................... 8 Both buttons together -- ESC .................. 8 Using mouse in place of arrow keys ............ 8 What the mouse menu looks like .................... 8 Changing PibTerm Parameters -- <ALT>P ................. 8 Changing PibTerm Parameters -- <ALT>P ................. 8 The PIBTERM.CNF configuration file ................ 9 Primary parameter display using <ALT>P ............ 10 Brief description of <ALT>P submenus .............. 10 Communications parameters submenu ................. 11 Baud rate sub-sub-menu ............................ 12 Writing a new parameter file ...................... 13 Reading a new parameter file ...................... 13 Keyboard Editing ...................................... 14 Keyboard Editing ...................................... 14 Editing an existing value ......................... 14 Insert mode versus overstrike mode ................ 15 Using the <CTRL>P key to enter control codes ...... 15 Using the ^ key to enter control codes ............ 15 Using DOS For Keyboard Editing .................... 16 Connecting To A Remote System With PibTerm ............ 16 Connecting To A Remote System With PibTerm ............ 16 Hard-wired access ................................. 16 Modem access ...................................... 16 Types of modems ................................... 16 ii Acoustic coupler modem ........................ 16 Direct connect modem .......................... 17 Higher transmission speeds ................ 17 Hayes "AT" command set .................... 17 DIU access ........................................ 17 Communications Parameters ............................. 17 Communications Parameters ............................. 17 Characters, bits, and bytes ....................... 17 Serial communications ............................. 18 Asynchronous communications ................... 18 Synchronous communications .................... 18 Baud Rate or Speed of connection .................. 18 Data Bits ......................................... 18 ASCII character set ........................... 18 Extended Ascii character set .................. 19 EBCDIC character set .......................... 19 Parity ............................................ 19 Parity Check .................................. 19 Space Parity .............................. 19 Mark Parity ............................... 19 Even Parity ............................... 19 Odd Parity ................................ 19 No Parity ................................. 20 Stop Bits ......................................... 20 Parameters For Commonly Accessed Systems .............. 20 Parameters For Commonly Accessed Systems .............. 20 Parameters for ACNS mainframes .................... 20 Parameters for micro-to-micro connections ......... 20 Changing parameters quickly -- <ALT>N ............. 21 Automatic dialing speed adjustments ........... 21 Local versus Remote Echo -- <ALT>E ................ 21 Duplicate or "stuttered" characters ........... 22 Flow Control .......................................... 22 Flow Control .......................................... 22 Xon/Xoff .......................................... 22 Clear-to-send (CTS/RTS) ........................... 23 Dataset Ready (DSR/DTR) ........................... 23 Setting Up A Modem For Use With PibTerm ............... 23 Setting Up A Modem For Use With PibTerm ............... 23 Carrier Detect Line ............................... 24 Data Terminal Ready (DTR) Line .................... 24 MNP error correction .............................. 25 Disabling MNP on Hayes-compatible modems ...... 25 Hard-Wired Access ................................. 26 Gaining attention of the PACX ................. 26 Sending a break using <ALT>B .............. 26 Indicating a connection is hard-wired ......... 26 DIU/AILU Access ................................... 26 Setting Up And Using The Dialing Directory ............ 27 Setting Up And Using The Dialing Directory ............ 27 Dialing directory file PIBTERM.FON ................ 27 Dialing directory is memory resident .............. 27 Sections of the dialing directory ................. 29 Revising a dialing entry .......................... 32 Dialing prefixes and suffixes ..................... 32 Default prefix and suffix ..................... 33 Redialing the last number dialed -- <ALT>Q ........ 34 Dialing a list of numbers ......................... 34 Using The Short Dialing Prompt .................... 34 iii Dialing A System By Name .......................... 35 Backing up PIBTERM.FON ............................ 35 Automatic Dialing Speed Adjustment ................ 36 Modem Pools ....................................... 36 Preventing line drops during dialing attempts . 37 Setting carrier detect always high ............ 37 Dialing Problems .................................. 38 Modem timeout too small ....................... 38 Making sure the port is correct ............... 38 Touch-Tone versus Rotary Dial lines ........... 38 Carrier detect line problems .................. 39 Characters dropped when dialing ............... 39 VT100 Terminal Emulation .............................. 41 VT100 Terminal Emulation .............................. 41 VT100 is default .................................. 41 Changes required for different ACNS systems ....... 41 Backspace key ................................. 41 Keypad definitions ............................ 41 Scripts to set the parameters ................. 41 The Backspace key ................................. 41 VT100 keypad definitions .......................... 42 Types of IBM keyboards ........................ 42 Loading a function key definition file ........ 43 Using PibTerm with VAX/VMS .................... 43 Using PibTerm with IBM CMS .................... 46 Using PibTerm with NOS ........................ 47 Automatic Loading of Function Key Definitions ..... 48 Switching Between VT100 Keypad Modes .............. 48 The PibTerm Status Line ........................... 49 The Scroll Lock Key ............................... 51 Resetting the Terminal -- <SHIFT>TAB .............. 51 Clearing the Screen -- <ALT>C ..................... 51 What Doesn't Work in VT100 emulation .............. 51 132 column mode ............................... 51 Double high, double wide characters ........... 51 132 column support with ATI EGA/VGA ....... 52 Simulated double size characters .......... 52 Other Text Terminal Emulation Modes ................... 52 Other Text Terminal Emulation Modes ................... 52 ADM3a, ADM5, TV925, VT52 .......................... 52 ANSI/BBS .......................................... 52 Dumb terminal mode ................................ 52 Dumb terminal output through MS DOS ........... 52 Gossip Mode ........................................... 53 Gossip Mode ........................................... 53 Split-screen mode ................................. 53 Line mode versus character mode ................... 53 Gossip mode for transferring files ................ 54 Adding line feeds ................................. 54 Graphics Terminal Emulation -- Tek 4010 ............... 54 Graphics Terminal Emulation -- Tek 4010 ............... 54 File Transfers ........................................ 55 File Transfers ........................................ 55 How Protocols Work ................................ 56 Kermit ............................................ 57 Performance Considerations With Kermit ........ 58 Types of Files .................................... 59 Text files .................................... 59 Binary files .................................. 59 iv Uploading versus Downloading ...................... 60 <ALT>S -- Sending a file ...................... 60 <ALT>R -- Receiving a file .................... 60 Using the Kermit protocol ......................... 60 Steps in performing a Kermit transfer ............. 60 Getting files on the Cyber .................... 60 Executing Kermit on the mainframe ............. 60 Indicating the type of file to be transferred. 60 SET FILE BINARY for SPSSX export files. ... 61 Turning on the long blocks option ............. 61 Placing the remote Kermit in server mode. ..... 61 Asking PibTerm to receive a file -- PgDn ...... 61 Asking PibTerm to send a file -- PgUp ......... 61 Using <ALT>R to receive a file ............ 62 Using <ALT>S to send a file ............... 62 Selecting a file transfer protocol. ....... 62 Selecting the file name to be transmitted ..... 63 Getting out of Kermit server mode ............. 63 Quitting Kermit ............................... 63 Saving files on the Cyber ..................... 64 Kermit autodownload ............................... 64 Kermit between IBM PC and Apple Macintosh ......... 64 Kermit Protocol Parameters ........................ 66 Setting a download directory ...................... 66 Transfer Statistics ............................... 66 File Transfer Trouble-Shooting With Kermit ............ 67 File Transfer Trouble-Shooting With Kermit ............ 67 File transfer never begins ........................ 67 Kermit aborts during a transfer ................... 68 Host doesn't respond to FINISH server request ..... 69 Other File Transfer Protocols ......................... 70 Other File Transfer Protocols ......................... 70 Xmodem family ..................................... 70 Xmodem ........................................ 70 Xmodem 1K ..................................... 71 Modem7 ........................................ 71 Ymodem ........................................ 71 Telink protocol ............................... 72 Mahoney BBS batch protocol .................... 72 Other Xmodem family protocols ................. 73 Zmodem ............................................ 73 DSZ program ................................... 73 Autodownload with Zmodem ...................... 74 Compuserve B Protocol ............................. 74 Automatic File Name Extraction For Transfers ...... 75 Non-Protocol File Transfers ........................... 75 Non-Protocol File Transfers ........................... 75 External File Transfer Protocols ...................... 78 External File Transfer Protocols ...................... 78 Steps in Adding a User-Defined Protocol ........... 78 Step 1 -- Find a suitable auxilliary program. . 78 Step 2 -- Add protocol to configuration file. . 79 Step 3 -- Write batch files for send/receive .. 82 Hanging Up The Phone -- <ALT>H ........................ 83 Hanging Up The Phone -- <ALT>H ........................ 83 Exiting PibTerm -- <ALT>X ............................. 83 Exiting PibTerm -- <ALT>X ............................. 83 On Being A Host -- <ALT>W ............................. 84 On Being A Host -- <ALT>W ............................. 84 What is host mode? ................................ 84 Single-user and multiple-user access .............. 84 v Using Host Mode In Single User Access ................. 84 Using Host Mode In Single User Access ................. 84 Entering a name and password ...................... 85 Superusers versus ordinary users .................. 85 Initial host mode messages ........................ 85 The status line in host mode ...................... 85 Starting a host-mode session ...................... 86 Welcome message in host mode ...................... 86 Entering user name and password ................... 87 Main host-mode menu ............................... 87 Gossip mode ................................... 88 Host mode file transfer menu ...................... 89 What programs can be executed remotely ............ 89 Alternate CTTY drivers ............................ 89 Setting up multiple-user host mode .................... 90 Setting up multiple-user host mode .................... 90 Scripts -- Tailored Task Handling ..................... 91 Scripts -- Tailored Task Handling ..................... 91 The script language -- a programming language ..... 91 PibTerm Script Language Reference Guide ....... 92 A sample script -- logging into the Vax ........... 92 SText -- send text to remote system ........... 92 WaitString -- wait for text from remote system 93 Repeat/Until loop ............................. 93 Executing a script ................................ 94 Terminating script execution -- <ALT>X ............ 94 Security considerations with login scripts ........ 94 Script learn feature .............................. 95 Learning a script to log into the ACNS Vax .... 95 Script Memory Problems ............................ 97 Unloading scripts from memory ................. 98 Another Sample Script -- Dialing By Name .......... 98 Access To The Operating System -- <ALT>J .............. 101 Access To The Operating System -- <ALT>J .............. 101 Manipulating DOS Files From PibTerm -- <ALT>F ......... 102 Manipulating DOS Files From PibTerm -- <ALT>F ......... 102 Active directory change ........................... 102 Copy file ......................................... 102 Directory display ................................. 102 Editing a file .................................... 102 Free space on drive ............................... 102 Logged drive change ............................... 102 Print a file ...................................... 102 View a file ....................................... 102 Zap (erase) a file ................................ 102 Editing a file ........................................ 103 Editing a file ........................................ 103 Maximum size file which can be edited ............. 104 Editing Commands .................................. 104 Cursor Movement ............................... 104 Insert and Delete ............................. 105 Block Commands ................................ 105 Search and Replace ............................ 105 Quitting the Editor ........................... 106 Miscellaneous ................................. 106 Invoking an External Editor ....................... 106 Viewing a file ........................................ 107 Viewing a file ........................................ 107 Invoking an External File Viewer .................. 108 Defining Function Keys -- <ALT>K ...................... 109 Defining Function Keys -- <ALT>K ...................... 109 Displaying current key definitions ................ 109 vi Reading key definitions from a file ............... 109 Entering key definitions at keyboard .............. 110 Requesting extended keypad handling ............... 111 Writing key definitions to a file ................. 111 Quitting key definition mode ...................... 112 Contents of key definition strings ................ 112 Intercharacter Delays in Function Key Definitions . 113 Attaching PibTerm commands to function keys ....... 113 Attaching a Script to a Function Key .............. 114 Setting a function key subdirectory ............... 114 Session Logging ....................................... 115 Session Logging ....................................... 115 Logging session to printer -- <ALT>L .............. 115 Printer setup string .......................... 115 Capture session to disk -- <ALT>O ................. 115 Edited and unedited captures .................. 116 Special information lines ..................... 116 Activating PIBTERM.LOG file ....................... 116 Screen Dumps Using <ALT>U ............................. 116 Screen Dumps Using <ALT>U ............................. 116 Text images to file SCRNDUMP.DAT .................. 116 Tek 4010 images to file GSCRNDUM.DAT .............. 117 Scanning the Review Buffer -- <ALT>V .................. 117 Scanning the Review Buffer -- <ALT>V .................. 117 Changing review buffer size ....................... 117 Moving around in the review buffer ................ 117 Mute Mode -- <ALT>M ................................... 118 Mute Mode -- <ALT>M ................................... 118 ANSI/BBS music .................................... 118 Host mode GOSSIP .................................. 118 Translate Table -- <ALT>T ............................. 118 Translate Table -- <ALT>T ............................. 118 Editing A Line On The Screen -- <ALT>A ................ 118 Editing A Line On The Screen -- <ALT>A ................ 118 Displaying Session Timers -- <ALT>Y ................... 119 Displaying Session Timers -- <ALT>Y ................... 119 Finding An Area Code -- <ALT>Z ........................ 120 Finding An Area Code -- <ALT>Z ........................ 120 PibTerm Program Parameters ............................ 120 PibTerm Program Parameters ............................ 120 Speeding Up PibTerm Access ............................ 121 Speeding Up PibTerm Access ............................ 121 Placing PibTerm files on a RAM disk ............... 121 Using expanded memory for PibTerm overlay file .... 121 Cutting down size of dialing directory ............ 121 Changing Colors in PibTerm ............................ 121 Changing Colors in PibTerm ............................ 121 VT100 colors ...................................... 122 Changing Screen Display Size on EGA/VGA Adapters ...... 122 Changing Screen Display Size on EGA/VGA Adapters ...... 122 Command Line Mode ..................................... 123 Command Line Mode ..................................... 123 Command mode key definition ....................... 123 Script Commands allowed in command line mode ...... 123 PibTerm And MultiTasking Software ..................... 124 PibTerm And MultiTasking Software ..................... 124 Supported multitaskers ............................ 124 PIBTERM.DVP file for DesqView ................. 125 TASKVIEW.NOT file for TaskView ................ 125 Turning off direct screen writes .................. 125 Programs Which Conflict With PibTerm .................. 125 Programs Which Conflict With PibTerm .................. 125 General Trouble-Shooting Hints ........................ 126 General Trouble-Shooting Hints ........................ 126 PibTerm hangs upon startup ........................ 126 PibTerm doesn't clear menus correctly ............. 127 Overlay file not found. ........................... 127 No communications ................................. 127 Jump to DOS fails ................................. 129 Communications proceed, but VERY slowly. .......... 129 vii Screen display "snows" badly ...................... 130 Many characters dropped in screen display. ........ 130 Saving changed parameters ......................... 131 A Final Word From The Author .......................... 131 A Final Word From The Author .......................... 131 Appendix A -- Installing PibTerm ...................... 133 Appendix A -- Installing PibTerm ...................... 133 Hard Disk Installation ............................ 133 Single-floppy (>360K) system ...................... 136 Dual-floppy system ................................ 138 Single-floppy system, 360K only ................... 141 Index ................................................. 143 Index ................................................. 143 What Is PibTerm? What Is PibTerm? PibTerm is a flexible terminal emulation and file transfer software package for the IBM/PC and compatible machines. PibTerm lets your PC emulate a VT100 terminal on both the Cyber and VAX. You can also perform Kermit protocol file transfers without exiting the program. PibTerm is fully menu driven. This guide provides an introduction to the use of PibTerm with the ACNS mainframe computers. You may also want to get two associated documents: the PibTerm Script Language PibTerm Script Language Reference Manual and the PibTerm Parameters Reference Reference Manual PibTerm Parameters Reference Manual. Manual What Is Terminal Emulation? What Is Terminal Emulation? A terminal is a peripheral device that allows access to a terminal computer system. Terminals generally have a screen or printer for displaying information and a keyboard for entering information. Different brands of terminals possess different attributes that are recognized by the host machine: for example, a specific keyboard layout or screen display format. Some terminals are "dumb:" they are slaves dumb of the host computer to which they are attached. A dumb terminal provides for simple input and output and cannot process information or transfer files. Most terminals nowadays are "smart:" they are capable of processing and smart storing information on their own tapes, disks, and printers. A microcomputer also has a display screen and a keyboard. These provide access to the built-in microprocessor. But it is also possible to use the microcomputer as a "smart" terminal because of the power of that microprocessor. Usually micro-computers are programmed to mimic or "emulate" one of the "real" dumb or smart terminal types in order to access another remote computer that is designed to work with that kind of terminal. Using a microcomputer to mimic or emulate a terminal in this way is called terminal emulation. emulate terminal emulation Pibterm effectively turns an IBM PC or compatible microcomputer into several different terminal types. Most importantly for use at Northwestern, PibTerm emulates a Digital Equipment Corporation VT100 terminal, which is the standard for all ACNS mainframe systems and many others as well. PibTerm also emulates other Dec, Televideo, and ADM terminals. In addition to these standard "text" terminals, PibTerm can emulate the display facilities of the Tektronix 4010 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 2 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 2 graphics terminal. This allows you to preview graphics output from mainframe packages like DI 3000 or SAS/GRAPH on your microcomputer before sending the graphics output to a hardcopy plotter. You need a graphics display card and monitor to use Tektronix 4010 emulation. What Is A File Transfer? What Is A File Transfer? Data communication is the passing of information from point to point. Pibterm, regardless of all its other capabilities, would be of little value if it didn't provide for the safe and reliable transport of data files between computers. By providing access to standard file transfer protocols like Kermit and Xmodem (among many others), it not only satisfies this need but maximizes the number of host systems with which it can share file transfer capabilities. PibTerm Features PibTerm Features PibTerm sports many other features that may be of interest once you're comfortable with the basics: - A variety of file transfer protocols besides Kermit - Script file usage - DOS file manipulation without leaving PibTerm - Built-in full-screen editor for small files - Session logging to a disk or printer - Review buffer for current session - Host mode capabilities - Runs in background with popular multitasking software The Kermit protocol is standard for all ACNS machines, and for microcomputer to microcomputer transfers (for example, IBM PC to IBM PC or IBM PC to MacIntosh computers). But there are also many other transfer protocols in common use. The Christensen protocol -- often called the Xmodem protocol -- is very popular for file transfers between microcomputers (for example, Xmodem is the only transfer protocol supported by MacTerminal). PibTerm incorporates a variety of Xmodem- based protocols and also allows you to hook in externally- defined protocols. But for ACNS use, and most micro-to- micro transfers, all you'll need is Kermit. PibTerm provides a comprehensive script writing utility. A script is a series of commands to PibTerm which can be used to automate routine communications tasks like dialing into an ACNS system. See the section "Scripts -- Tailored Task Handling." PibTerm allows access to the DOS operating system from within a PibTerm session, so that you don't have to leave A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 3 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 3 PibTerm to execute a DOS command. See the section "Access to the Operating System." PibTerm incorporates a full-screen editor so you can edit DOS files right from within PibTerm. See the section "Editing a file." PibTerm can record an entire session with a host computer on the printer or in a disk file. This is useful for keeping a record of what you did. See the section "Session logging." PibTerm records the last few lines while you're connected to a remote system in a special review buffer. You can scan and search this review buffer, or write it to disk. This is helpful for checking what commands you just typed but which scrolled off the screen, or for looking at the output of earlier commands. See the section "Scanning the review buffer." PibTerm can act as a host system, accepting calls from other computers, and provide remote DOS access and file transfer capabilities along with password security to protect your system from unauthorized callers. See the section "On Being a Host." PibTerm is designed to work effectively with several popular multitasking environments. This allows you to perform file transfers as a "background" process while you do other work on your PC. Supported multitasking environments are DoubleDos, DesqView, TopView, and TaskView. See the section "PibTerm and Multitasking Software" for more details. Dialing Directory Dialing Directory For convenience, PibTerm provides a dialing directory with two hundred entries. (You can have a smaller directory if you wish.) Each entry contains all the data communications information needed to complete a connection. A script may be assigned to each directory entry, and that script will be executed upon successful connection with the remote system. Thus, you can press one or two keys and PibTerm will dial the remote computer, establish a connection, log you in, and leave you ready to start work. PibTerm has a mechanism for using special long-distance dialing services, which frequently require you to prepend and or/append access codes to numbers you wish to call. The PibTerm release materials include a sample dialing directory which lists phone numbers for ACNS systems. For more information, see the section "Setting Up And Using The Dialing Directory." A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 4 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 4 Menu Selection Menu Selection PibTerm is a menu-driven system. Once you start PibTerm, you'll be able to familiarize yourself with most of its capabilities by simply browsing through the menus. You can use a command-line form of control for PibTerm, but the menus are generally more convenient. You can also use a mouse to control PibTerm. A sample mouse menu setup for the Microsoft mouse is provided as part of the PibTerm release materials. Getting A Copy Of PibTerm Getting A Copy Of PibTerm Perhaps the nicest feature of all is that PibTerm is free software, with no charge for academic, not-for-profit, or personal use. You can get a copy of PibTerm by bringing in three formatted blank 5 1/4" MS DOS formatted diskettes to the Information Center in the Vogelback building on the Evanston Campus, or in the Chicago Campus Computer Facility in Wieboldt Hall. System Requirements For PibTerm System Requirements For PibTerm In order to run PibTerm, you need an IBM PC or clone system with at least 320K of RAM memory. You should have at least at least two 360K diskette drives, or one 720K diskette drive. Larger capacity disks (e.g., hard disks) are helpful. Your PC must be equipped with a serial port. If you intend to dial in using PibTerm, you will need a modem -- preferably a Hayes compatible "AT" command set modem. You must be running DOS 2.0 or later to use PibTerm. It is POSSIBLE to run PibTerm on a single 360K floppy diskette system, but we advise against it -- the floppy shuffle that results is annoying. If you have a full 640K of memory, then you can create a RAMDisk and use that as a second disk drive. Installing PibTerm Installing PibTerm PibTerm is released for use at Northwestern on three 5 1/4" MS DOS formatted diskettes. The first two diskettes contain the PibTerm program and configuration files, and the third diskette contains documentation. Included on the first PibTerm diskette is an installation program which assists you in setting up PibTerm on your machine. To install PibTerm on your machine, boot up DOS, and then place the A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 5 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 5 first PibTerm diskette into drive A: on your PC. Then move to drive A: and execute the installation program by typing: A: INSTALL Follow the instructions that INSTALL displays and you should end up with a correctly installed PibTerm for your particular PC configuration. If you are not at Northwestern University then you did not get the special INSTALL and CONFIG programs. In this case, see Appendix A for instructions on how to install PibTerm on your machine. Starting Up PibTerm Starting Up PibTerm To execute PibTerm after you have installed it, just type PIBTERM at the DOS prompt. (There are optional command-line arguments for PibTerm -- see the section "PibTerm Command Line Arguments" for details.) PibTerm begins by reading its configuration files. During that process PibTerm tells you which configuration files are being read. Then PibTerm displays a notice indicating that it is ready for you to proceed: PibTerm Version 4.1 Production. Released February 26, 1988. Copyright (c) 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 by Philip R. Burns. Hit Alt-I for command list. You may notice a different version number or release date. This is because PibTerm is constantly being updated and improved. Following the messages above may be another that indicates that your modem is being initialized: Modem initialization: ATZ|~ATX1|~ATS0=0| After initializing the modem, PibTerm may read in function key definition files, set the terminal type, and execute any defined start-up script. Finally, PibTerm is ready to accept your commands. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 6 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 6 PibTerm Commands PibTerm Commands All PibTerm keyboard commands are entered by holding down the <ALT> key and then pressing a letter key. Here is a complete list of PibTerm <ALT>-key commands: <ALT>A : Edit line on screen <ALT>B : Send a break <ALT>C : Clear screen <ALT>D : Dialing directory <ALT>E : Toggle local echo of characters to screen <ALT>F : DOS file manipulation, including editing <ALT>G : Script directory <ALT>H : Hang up the phone <ALT>H : Hang up the phone <ALT>I : Display list of PibTerm <ALT>-key commands <ALT>I : Display list of PibTerm <ALT>-key commands <ALT>J : Jump to DOS <ALT>K : Define special keys (to change function keys) <ALT>L : Toggle printer logging <ALT>M : Toggle mute mode <ALT>N : Change communications parameters <ALT>O : Toggle session capture to file <ALT>P : Parameters menu (to modify parameters) <ALT>Q : Redial last number dialed <ALT>R : Receive a file from another computer <ALT>S : Send a file to another computer <ALT>T : Define character translation mapping <ALT>U : Write current screen contents to file <ALT>V : View text which scrolled off screen <ALT>W : Enter host mode <ALT>X : Exit PibTerm (or end script execution) <ALT>X : Exit PibTerm (or end script execution) <ALT>Y : Display session timing information <ALT>Z : Search for a dialing area code You should learn the highlighted commands above first, since they are the most useful for getting help and leaving PibTerm if things go wrong. Displaying <ALT>-key commands -- <ALT>I Displaying <ALT>-key commands -- <ALT>I If you forget a particular <ALT>-key command, you can use the <ALT>I ("I-nformation") combination inside of PibTerm, I which produces a command list like the one above. Also displayed at <ALT>I is the PibTerm version number, which is useful information for consultants to know if you run into difficulties, and which allows you to determine if your copy of PibTerm is up-to-date or not. Making Menu Selections Making Menu Selections PibTerm is a menu-driven system. When you hit an <ALT>-key command, PibTerm displays a menu box on the screen, writing A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 7 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 7 over the previous screen contents. You select an item from any specific menu by first highlighting it and then pressing the Return or Enter key. The highlighter is moved with the Return Enter aid of the up and down cursor keys (up arrow, down arrow) and the space bar. You can also hit the first character of a menu entry to select it. All menus may be exited by hitting the Escape key (usually called ESC on the keyboard). After you make a menu ESC selection, the menu itself disappears from the screen and the previous screen contents which were hidden by the menu are restored. Using A Mouse With PibTerm Using A Mouse With PibTerm Since PibTerm incorporates such a large number of menus and menu selections, you may find it convenient to use a mouse to streamline access to important menu and sub-menu items. A sample Microsoft mouse menu is provided as part of the PibTerm release materials. You can also use other mice, but you will have to write the mouse menu driver yourself. If you want to use the Microsoft mouse with PibTerm, you will need to load the mouse menu before invoking PibTerm. First, make sure you have correctly installed and configured the mouse hardware and software for your system. Second, install the PibTerm mouse menu by typing MENU PIBTERM.MNU at the DOS prompt. "MENU" is the Microsoft-supplied menu loading program which you will find included in the diskettes of software accompanying your mouse. "PIBTERM.MNU" is the PibTerm mouse menu driver included as PIBTERM.MNU part of the PibTerm release materials. The file PIBTERM.DEF contains the source for the menu PIBTERM.DEF definitions. You can alter PIBTERM.DEF to create your own customized mouse menu definitions for use with PibTerm. Use the Microsoft-supplied program MAKEMENU.COM to create a new mouse menu. See the Microsoft Mouse documentation for further details on modifying mouse menus. Once you've installed the mouse menu using the MENU program, you should invoke PibTerm as usual. From that point on, hitting the LEFT mouse button brings up the mouse LEFT menu. Hitting the RIGHT mouse button sends a carriage return RIGHT character to PibTerm. This has the same effect as hitting the Enter or Return keys on the keyboard. Hitting BOTH Enter Return BOTH mouse buttons together sends an escape character to PibTerm, and has the same effect as hitting the ESC key on the keyboard. You select a mouse menu item by hitting the RIGHT mouse button. To exit the mouse menu without selecting A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 8 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 8 anything, move the mouse pointer to the top bar of the menu and hit the RIGHT mouse button. You can use the mouse to move up and down through PibTerm menus in place of hitting the up and down arrow keys on the keypad -- just physically move the mouse forward and backwards. You can also move the mouse from side to side horizontally in place of typing the left and right arrow keys. It takes a bit of practice to get familiar with just how much mouse movement you need. To select a PibTerm menu item, hit the RIGHT mouse button (which is the same as hitting the Enter or Return key). To exit a PibTerm menu, hit BOTH mouse buttons at the same time (which is the same as hitting the ESC key). Here is what the sample mouse menu looks like: +==========================================================================+ | PibTerm | |==============+==============+==============+==============+==============| | File Transfer| Toggles | DOS | Dialing | Goodies | |--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------| | Kermit Get | BS sends BS | Jump To Dos | Dial | Show Review | | Kermit Rcv | BS send DEL | | Redial | Timers | | Kermit Send | Echo | Change Dir | Hang Up | Translate | | Kermit Finish| LineFeeds | Change Drive | | Edit Line | | | Muting | Directory | Change Port | Area Codes | | Receive File | | Free Space | Change Speed | Define Keys | | Send File | CTS | | | Info | | | Xon/Xoff | Quit | Send Break | Set Params | |==============+==============+==============+==============+==============| | File Actions | Emulation | Capture | Scripts | Screen | |--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------| | Copy File | VT100 | To File | Execute | Clear Screen | | Delete File | Tek 4010 | To Log | Learn | Dump Screen | | Edit File | Gossip Mode | To Printer | Unload All | Reset Term | | Print File | ANSI/BBS | | Exit | Set Colors | | View File | Host | | | VT100 Colors | +==============+==============+==============+==============+==============+ This menu provides direct access to the most commonly used PibTerm features for ACNS access. Changing PibTerm Parameters -- <ALT>P Changing PibTerm Parameters -- <ALT>P PibTerm is a highly configurable program with over 200 adjustable parameters. Don't worry, you usually HAVE to change only a few of them, and most of the important ones will be set up for you by default or by the INSTALL program. However, as you gain experience in using PibTerm, you will probably find a number of program parameters that you'd like A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 9 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 9 to change to reflect your own particular needs. There are also some parameters which you must change depending upon what remote system you access. We will discuss those parameters later in the section on terminal emulation. The PIBTERM.CNF configuration file The PIBTERM.CNF configuration file <ALT>P allows you to modify program parameters. The values of these parameters are initially read from the configuration file PIBTERM.CNF. If PIBTERM.CNF does PIBTERM.CNF NOT exist when PibTerm is invoked, then PibTerm cycles through the menus in the <ALT>P series. (If you use the INSTALL program, then INSTALL creates a PIBTERM.CNF file for you.) The general format of each line of the PIBTERM.CNF file is: pa=value where pa is a two-letter name for a parameter, and value is pa value the value of the parameter. The meanings of all the parameters, along with detailed technical information about each of them, can be found in the "PibTerm Parameters Reference Manual." It is possible to edit PIBTERM.CNF with a text editor to make changes to PibTerm parameter values, but this is generally unnecessary since all changes can be made using the menus at <ALT>P from within PibTerm itself. (The only time it is necessary is if you have an incorrect serial port number specified. You can change the PO= parameter value in PIBTERM.CNF to fix this, or better, use the ACNS-supplied CONFIG.COM program to respecify the correct serial port.) A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 10 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 10 Primary parameter display using <ALT>P Primary parameter display using <ALT>P This is what PibTerm displays when you hit <ALT>P: +[ Set Parameters: ]=======+ | C)ommunications | | F)ile transfer | | H)ost mode | | I)nput | | K)ermit | | M)odem and dialing | | O)dds and ends | | P)aths for special files | | R)ead config file | | T)erminal emulation | | V)ideo mode and colors | | W)rite config file | | Q)uit setup | +===========================+ Selecting each of the menu entries in turn calls up a submenu which allows you to set the corresponding program parameters. (Hitting Q or the ESC key takes you out of Q ESC <ALT>P mode.) Brief description of <ALT>P submenus Brief description of <ALT>P submenus Here is a brief description of what each of the <ALT>P submenus refers to: C)ommunications: Communications-related parameters C)ommunications: like serial port hardware settings, flow control and serial port buffer sizes. F)ile transfer: File transfer-related parameters F)ile transfer: like the default file transfer protocol and external protocol definitions. H)ost mode: Host mode parameters like upload H)ost mode: and download paths for host mode. I)nput: Keyboard-related parameters like I)nput: the type of keyboard, command mode key definition, and use of extended keypad definitions. K)ermit: Kermit protocol parameter settings K)ermit: including packet sizes and options like sliding windows and long blocks. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 11 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 11 M)odem and dialing: Parameters related to dialing like M)odem and dialing: modem initialization, modem dialing command, dialing timeout. O)dds and ends: Parameters which don't quite fit O)dds and ends: anyplace else appear here. P)aths for files: Paths for script directory, P)aths for files: function key directory. R)ead config file: Reads in a configuration file. R)ead config file: T)erminal: Terminal parameters like emulation T)erminal: type, VT100 settings, status line options. V)ideo mode: Parameters to choose display type, V)ideo mode: colors, BIOS versus direct screen memory writes. W)rite config file: Writes a configuration file. W)rite config file: Example: C)ommunication parameters submenu Example: C)ommunication parameters submenu As an example, assume that we select C)ommunications. The following submenu box appears: +[ Communications parameters ]=================================================+ | | | a) Serial port : 2 | | b) Baud rate : 2400 | | c) Parity : E (Ascii 69) | | d) Data bits : 7 | | e) Stop bits : 1 | | f) Add linefeeds to incoming CRs : No | | g) Add linefeeds to outgping CRs : No | | h) Check Clear To Send : No | | i) Check Data Set Ready : No | | j) Hard-wired connection : No | | k) Break length in 1/100 seconds : 50 | | l) Drop DTR at end : No | | m) Close port on jump to DOS : Yes | | n) Do XON/XOFF flow control : Yes | | o) Strip high bit in terminal mode : No | | p) Comm buffer input size : 4096 | | q) Comm buffer output size : 1200 | | r) Local echo : No | | s) Serial port hardware settings | | | | Enter letter of item to revise or hit ESC to quit: | +==============================================================================+ A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 12 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 12 This appears to be a formidable list of communications parameters, but most of them you will never have to change. Note that PibTerm displays the current values of all the parameters. Suppose you want to change the baud rate or speed of the baud rate speed connection. (We'll discuss what baud rate means in the section on communications parameters later on.) Select b to b select the baud rate display. You can select b by hitting b the letter b on the keyboard, or using the arrows (or the mouse) to cycle through the letter entries and then hitting the Return key (or right button on the mouse). A baud rate Return sub-sub-menu appears, overwriting the right-hand part of the C)ommunications menu: +[ Communications parameters ]=================================================+ | | | a) Serial port : 2 | | b) Baud rate : 2400 | | c) Parity : E (Ascii 69) | | d) Data bits : 7 | | e) Stop bits : 1 | | f) Add linefeeds to incoming CRs : No | | g) Add linefeeds to outgoing CRs : No +[ Baud Rate: ]+ | +[ Baud Rate: ]+ | h) Check Clear To Send : No | a) 110 | | | | | i) Check Data Set Ready : No | b) 150 | | | | | j) Hard-wired connection : No | c) 300 | | | | | k) Break length in 1/100 seconds : 50 | d) 600 | | | | | l) Drop DTR at end : No | e) 1200 | | | | | m) Close port on jump to DOS : Yes | f) 2400 | | | f) 2400 | | n) Do XON/XOFF flow control : Yes | g) 4800 | | | | | o) Strip high bit in terminal mode : No | h) 9600 | | | | | p) Comm buffer input size : 4096 | i) 19200 | | | | | q) Comm buffer output size : 1200 | j) 38400 | | | | | r) Local echo : No | k) 57600 | | | | | s) Comm port hardware settings +===============+ | +===============+ | | | Enter letter of item to revise or hit ESC to quit: | +==============================================================================+ The default baud rate will be highlighted in inverse video. You can either enter one of the letters to select a new baud rate, or use the arrow keys to move to a new baud rate and then hit the enter key. For example, hitting the "h" key would select 9600 baud. Once you've selected the new baud rate, the baud-rate sub- sub-menu disappears, putting you back at the C)ommunications sub-menu. You can hit the ESC or Enter keys to return to the top-level <ALT>P menu, and then hit the ESC or Enter key once again to remove the <ALT>P menu display. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 13 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 13 You should look through the <ALT>P submenus to familiarize yourself with the location of parameters that you may need to change later on. Writing a new parameter file Writing a new parameter file Changes you make to the configuration parameters retain their effect only during the current PibTerm session. To make the changes permanent you need to write an updated configuration file. To do this, choose <ALT>P, W)rite config file. You'll see a prompt box that looks like this: +[ Write configuration file ]===============================+ |Enter configuration file name: | |>PIBTERM.CNF | | | | | +===========================================================+ Since PIBTERM.CNF is the default configuration, and the one you'll most likely want to change, just hit the Enter key to save the revised parameter settings back to PIBTERM.CNF. Then the next time you enter PibTerm these revised settings will be used. Reading a new parameter file Reading a new parameter file You can read in a new parameter file if you choose <ALT>P, R)ead config file This is useful if you want to change several parameters at one time and you have previously prepared the new parameter file. You will be prompted for the name of the parameter file in the same way as for the "W)rite config file" above. You can most easily prepare the new file by entering PibTerm, making all the changes you want at <ALT>P submenus, and then using "W)rite config file" to create the new parameter file. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 14 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 14 Keyboard Editing Keyboard Editing Keypad editing is available for almost all keyboard input WHICH IS NOT BEING SENT TO A REMOTE SYSTEM. This includes input in the <ALT>P parameter setting section. To accomodate machines like laptops which may not conveniently provide the IBM-style keypad, editing facilities can be accessed using WordStar-like control keys. Here is a list of the control characters used (including IBM PC function keys): ^A Move back 1 word, nondestructive [Ctrl-LeftArrow] ^B Save current buffer in undo buffer ^D Move forward one [RightArrow] ^F Move forward 1 word [Ctrl-RightArrow] ^G Delete character forward [DEL] ^H Move back 1, destructive (same as ASCII BS) [BackSpace] ^J End of input; accept current text [Ctrl-Enter] ^L Look for char: reads character, advances cursor to match ^M End of input; accept current text [Enter] ^P Accept next character as-is (control character prefix) ^Q Move to beginning of line, nondestructive [Home] ^R Move to end of line [End] ^S Move back 1, nondestructive [LeftArrow] ^T Delete line forward cursor to end [Ctrl-End] ^U Copy undo buffer into current buffer (undo) [PgUp] ^V Insert on/off [INS] ^Y Delete line [PgDn] DEL Move back 1, destructive (same as ^H) (ASCII DEL) [Ctrl-BackSpace] ESC End of input; return null string as result. The "^" symbol preceding characters above means that you hold down the <CTRL> key while depressing the following letter. When string editing is in effect, these key definitions OVERRIDE any user-defined definitions for the keypad keys. (User key definitions are discussed later in the section "Defining function keys.") Striking any keypad key which is NOT one of the above editing keys elicits a beep from PibTerm, and nothing is entered into the string being edited. In some places -- particularly parameter entry -- PibTerm displays the previous string values and you can just edit them into new values, rather than having to re-type a completely new string. To edit an existing value, use one of the editing keys above to start things off (for example, the right arrow). If you just start typing a new value, A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 15 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 15 then the previous value is cleared and the new one you type replaces it. You can choose to start editing in either insert mode (the insert mode default) or in overstrike mode. In overstrike mode, PibTerm overstrike mode replaces or overwrites the old characters with the new characters you type. In insert mode, the current characters are moved to the right and the new characters are inserted into the string. To set overstrike mode as the default, set the parameter at <ALT>P, I)nput, g) Start editing in insert mode to YES. You can switch from overstrike to insert mode and back again during the course of editing a string by typing ^V or by ^V hitting the Ins key. Ins PibTerm changes the cursor from an underline to a block whenever overstrike mode is in effect. You need to understand the role of the <CTRL>P key. Sometimes you want to enter one of the editing control codes defined above into a string you are defining. For example, suppose you want to enter the Ascii code for "delete" into a string. This is Ascii 127, which is defined by hitting the <CTRL>Backspace on the PC keyboard. Since delete is an editing key, if you just hit the <CTRL>Backspace key on the keyboard, a delete will NOT be inserted into the string you are defining, but instead the character at the cursor will be deleted. To get the actual delete character inserted into the string, hit <CTRL>P and THEN hit the <CTRL>Backspace key. Since the <CTRL>Backspace follows <CTRL>P, it is interpreted as a literal Ascii 127 delete character and inserted into the string. You can also insert control characters into a string by entering the "^" character followed by the letter corresponding to the control code. "^" is the Ascii caret character (usually <Shift>6 on PC keyboards), which is Ascii character 94. For example, to insert a literal Ascii backspace character into a string (Ascii 8), you can follow the procedure for entering a delete character above, but you hit the Backspace key on the PC's keyboard instead of <CTRL>Backspace. Or, you can enter the Ascii caret following by H: ^H. If you aren't familiar with Ascii, see the section "Data Bits" which discusses character sets. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 16 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 16 Using DOS For Keyboard Editing Using DOS For Keyboard Editing Rather than using the PibTerm line editing facilities described above, you may prefer to use the standard DOS facilities for editing strings. (See your DOS manual for details.) You can do that by setting the parameter at <ALT>P, I)nput, h) Use DOS function $0A for input to YES. DOS does not pay attention to any windows that PibTerm has set, so the cursor location when you finally press Enter or Enter Return may not be correct. Don't worry, PibTerm will adjust Return as you type further. The principal reason for using DOS function $0A for string input rather than the standard PibTerm facilities is so that keyboard enhancers like Chris Dunford's CED and PCED will CED PCED work inside of PibTerm. Connecting To A Remote System With PibTerm Connecting To A Remote System With PibTerm There are several ways in which you can connect your PC to a remote computer system. The two most common ways of establishing a connection are through a direct hard-wired direct hard-wired connection or by phone through a modem. Both types of connection modem connections are made through a serial port in your PC. serial port With a hard-wired connection your PC is directly connected hard-wired via a cable to the host system. This is the way that PCs in the microcomputer labs on the Evanston campus are connected to the ACNS mainframes. This is also one way in which you can connect two microcomputers -- for example, an IBM PC and a Macintosh -- for purposes of transferring files from one machine to another. A modem translates the digital computer signals generated by your PC and the host computer into analog signals which can be transmitted through a phone line. You can use the dialing facilities of PibTerm to dial up a remote system and establish a connection. There are two kinds of modems in common use. The older style of modem is the acoustic coupler modem, which acoustic coupler modem communicates through the telephone handset. A microphone picks up tones from the handset speaker and translates them into the digital signals which can be understood by the receiving computer. The acoustic coupler modem also translates digital signals from the computer into audible A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 17 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 17 tones, which are picked up by the telephone's microphone and sent out over the phone line. Acoustic coupler modems aren't used much anymore, but they are still useful in other countries where direct connect modems are illegal or can't be used effectively -- like in hotel rooms. Data transmission rates are quite slow for acoustic coupler modems: generally 30 characters per second or less. A direct connect modem by contrast plugs directly into a direct connect modem telephone outlet, bypassing the handset. This type of modem enables the computer to communicate directly through telephone lines without going through a telephone handset. Very high data transmission rates are possible: up to 1920 characters per second using current technology. However, the most common direct connect modem speeds are 120 and 240 characters per second. In addition to higher transmission speeds, direct connect modems also can process a variety of commands. Typical commands include hanging up the phone, dialing a phone number, and redialing a busy number. While the command sets for modems differ among brands, many modems accept the "AT" command set introduced by Hayes, a major manufacturer of modems. The Hayes command set is called the "AT" command set because nearly all the modem commands begin with the letters "AT." This AT command set is the industry standard, and PibTerm is designed to work with Hayes-compatible modems by default. With a digital phone system like NTS at Northwestern, it is possible to send digital signals directly over the phone line using a device called a Digital Interface Unit (DIU for Digital Interface Unit DIU short) or an Asynchronous Interface Line Unit (or AILU for Asynchronous Interface Line Unit AILU short). These devices take the place of modems, since the analog-to-digital conversion process isn't required. However, you must be on campus and using a campus phone line to use a DIU or AILU -- you can't use one from off-campus. Of course, you can also use a modem on a campus phone line. Communications Parameters Communications Parameters All information is exchanged between computers in terms of electronic signals which represent the basic binary values 0 and 1, or ON and OFF. A series of six, seven, or eight consecutive binary values or bits forms a character or byte. bits character byte These characters are numeric encodings of letters, digits, symbols like the asterisk or left parenthesis, and control codes like line feeds or backspaces. Most computers use eight-bit characters -- this is true of the PC, the Macintosh, the Vax, and the IBM 4361. The Cyber under NOS uses several different character sizes: 6-bits; mixed 6 and 12 bits; or 12 bits. (This is a reflection of the age of A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 18 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 18 the Cyber's technology under NOS.) Under NOS/VE, the Cyber uses eight bit characters. Basically, data communication consists of transferring characters -- expressed as a series of binary digits -- from one machine to another. There are a number of different ways in which these characters can be sent from one machine to another. The method supported by PibTerm is called asynchronous serial communication, in which one bit of a asynchronous serial communication character is transmitted at a time without regard to the amount of time which elapses between the sending of each bit. In serial communications, a start bit marks the beginning of a character; then follow the bits of the character itself, and finally a stop bit is sent marking the end of the character. Another popular form of data transmission is synchronous synchronous communication in which the timing of each data bit is communication precisely controlled. PibTerm does not support synchronous communication. There are a number of important communications parameters communications parameters which reflect the way in which this binary digital information is to be exchanged. These are: 1. Baud Rate Baud Rate The Baud Rate or Speed of the connection is an Baud Rate Speed indication of how fast the binary information is transferred between machines. Dividing the baud rate by ten gives (approximately) the maximum number of characters transferred between machines every second. The actual number of characters transferred may be much lower, as for example when the remote system is very busy. Common baud rates are 1200 and 2400 for modem access and 9600 for DIU, AILU, and hard-wired access. 2. Data Bits Data Bits As mentioned above, most machines use eight-bit characters to store information. However, many machines only use seven out of the eight bits to encode letters, numbers, symbols, and control codes. One of the most popular seven-bit encoding schemes is called ASCII, and that scheme is used ASCII by the Vax, the PC, and the Macintosh. Seven bits allow 128 different characters to be represented. The Cyber has a variety of encoding mechanisms, but for purposes of telecommunications, it uses seven-bit Ascii. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 19 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 19 There are a number of extended ASCII character sets. For example, the PC uses an eight-bit extension of ASCII. So does the Macintosh, but it is a different extension. However, all the ASCII versions agree on the first 128 characters, so seven-bit ASCII is the most commonly used code set for data communications. IBM mainframes use an eight-bit encoding mechanism called EBCDIC. Eight bits provide for 256 EBCDIC different characters to be represented. However, the ACNS IBM 4361 has a front-end computer called the IBM 7171 protocol converter that translates seven-bit Ascii to eight-bit EBCDIC on-the-fly during a communications session. 3. Parity Parity If only seven out of eight bits are actually used when transmitting data, what is the eighth unused bit set to? The usual solution is to set the bit using a rule called a Parity Check. In this case Parity Check the eighth bit is called a parity bit. There are parity bit five different ways to set the parity bit, and PibTerm allows them all: 1. Space Parity Space Parity Always set the parity bit to zero. 2. Mark Parity Mark Parity Always set the parity bit to one. 3. Even Parity Even Parity Set the parity bit so that there are an even number of one bits in the resulting eight-bit character. 4. Odd Parity Odd Parity Set the parity bit so that there are an odd number of one bits in the resulting eight-bit character. 5. No parity No parity If the eighth bit is actually being used as a genuine data bit in transmission, its value should not be changed, and it should not be used as a parity bit. A no parity setting leaves the eighth bit untouched. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 20 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 20 Parity checking provides a very rudimentary method of detecting communications errors caused by noisy transmission lines. However, parity checking alone isn't sufficient to assure good communications, especially for file transfers. Parity checking doesn't address the problem of dropped or extra characters, or the problem of two bits within a character being transmitted incorrectly. Such problems require a more complex and higher-level approach. See the section on "File Transfers" for more information on error- checking methods. 4. Stop Bits Stop Bits The number of stop bits should be set to one for modern telecommunications equipment. This includes accessing the ACNS mainframes, as well as microcomputer-to-microcomputer access. Some older equipment required two stop bits. Parameters For Commonly Accessed Systems Parameters For Commonly Accessed Systems This section lists the communications settings to use with systems you are likely to encounter at Northwestern University. Parameters for ACNS mainframes Parameters for ACNS mainframes When accessing any of the ACNS mainframes, use the following communications parameters: Parity: Even Data Bits: 7 Stop Bits: 1 Baud Rate: 1200 or 2400 (modem) 9600 (hard-wired or DIU/AILU) Usually you set the baud rate to the maximum speed which your connection method allows. With a hard-wired connection or a DIU, you should be able to set the baud rate to 9600. With a modem, you should be able to set the baud rate to 1200 or 2400, depending upon your modem brand. However, if you encounter problems with line noise or dropped characters, you may want to try a lower speed. Parameters for micro-to-micro connections Parameters for micro-to-micro connections For microcomputer - to - microcomputer connections (including IBM PC to IBM PC and Macintosh to IBM PC) you generally use these settings: A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 21 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 21 Parity: None Data Bits: 8 Stop Bits: 1 Baud Rate: 1200 or 2400 (modem) 9600 (hard-wired connection) Some microcomputer systems acting as remote bulletin board systems (BBSs) also allow 9600 baud access using special modems. These modems are not yet very popular because of their high cost and the lack of a widely accepted standard for 9600 baud modem transmissions. Changing parameters quickly -- <ALT>N Changing parameters quickly -- <ALT>N <ALT>N allows you to quickly change the three principal communications parameters all at once -- Baud Rate, Parity, and Data Bits. Hitting <ALT>N brings up the following display: +[ Change communications settings ]===========================================+ | a) 300,8,N,1 f) 1200,8,N,1 k) 2400,8,N,1 p) 9600,8,N,1 u) 19200,8,N,1 | | b) 300,7,E,1 g) 1200,7,E,1 l) 2400,7,E,1 q) 9600,7,E,1 v) 19200,7,E,1 | | c) 300,7,O,1 h) 1200,7,O,1 m) 2400,7,O,1 r) 9600,7,O,1 w) 19200,7,O,1 | | d) 300,7,M,1 i) 1200,7,M,1 n) 2400,7,M,1 s) 9600,7,M,1 x) 19200,7,M,1 | | e) 300,7,S,1 j) 1200,7,S,1 o) 2400,7,S,1 t) 9600,7,S,1 y) 19200,7,S,1 | | | | Enter letter corresponding to new parameters or ESC to quit: | | | +=============================================================================+ Press the letter corresponding to the new set of parameters you want. <ALT>N is useful with "dumb" modems that don't set the speed to match the system called automatically. However, most Hayes-compatible modems will set the speed to match that of the system called, and will inform PibTerm of the proper speed. PibTerm automatically adjusts the speed the PC expects in order to match what the modem reports. There are times when you may want to prevent PibTerm from doing this; see the section "Automatic Dialing Speed Adjustment" for details. Local versus Remote Echo -- <ALT>E Local versus Remote Echo -- <ALT>E Some remote systems echo back each character you send to that remote system. Such systems are called remote echo or remote echo full-duplex systems. Some systems do NOT echo back full-duplex characters you send, and therefore the terminal must display characters locally in order for you to see what you are A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 22 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 22 typing. Systems which do not echo characters are called local echo or half-duplex systems. local echo half-duplex All of the ACNS systems provide remote echo. However, you may encounter other systems which do not echo characters. You'll know you've found one when the characters you type aren't displayed. To fix that in PibTerm, hit <ALT>E which <ALT>E toggles local echo. If local echo is ON, PibTerm will display the characters you send to the remote system as you type them. Even full duplex systems don't always echo back characters. For example, many systems don't echo what you type when you are typing in a password. This doesn't mean that you need to set local echo on. If after connecting to a remote system, the characters that you type are displayed twice, then you probably are accessing a remote-echoing system and you have also left PibTerm in local echo mode. This "stuttering" of characters appears something like this: Username: MMYYNNAAMMEE Username: MMYYNNAAMMEE where you simply typed MYNAME. MYNAME. You should turn off local echo by pressing <ALT>E. If you have turned off local echo and you still see stuttered characters, then most likely your modem is the culprit. Check your modem manual for the command or switch setting to suppress echoing. For many Hayes command set modems, you can type the following modem command to prevent the modem from echoing characters: ATE0 (ATE1 turns modem local echo back on) ATE0 ATE1 Flow-Control Flow-Control There are times when two computers are communicating when it is necessary for one computer to tell the other to stop sending information. This can happen because the receiver is too busy to process the data as quickly as it arrives from the sender, or because the receiver must handle some higher-priority task, or because the received data must be written to disk in order to make room in memory for new data to arrive, and so on. After telling the sender to stop, the receiver must also be able to tell the sender to start transmitting again. This start-and-stop process between two communicating computers is call flow control. flow control. The most common form of software-implemented flow control is called the XON/XOFF or DC1/DC3 protocol. When the first A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 23 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 23 computer wants the second to stop sending information for a while, the first computer sends an Ascii DC3 character (called XOFF -- also known as ^S) to the second. When the first computer is ready to accept data again, the first computer sends an Ascii DC1 character (called XON -- also known as ^Q). All of the ACNS mainframe systems use the XON/XOFF protocol, so you leave it active (which it is by default). If you need to turn off Xon/Xoff flow control (when you are accessing another system, for example), then you can do that at <ALT>P, C)ommunications, j) Do Xon/Xoff flow control. Another common flow-control mechanism is called Clear-To- Send checking. This uses the Clear-To-Send and Request-To- Send hardware lines. Clear-To-Send is not needed with the ACNS mainframes. However, you may find that some modems -- especially those with MNP error correction built-in -- need to have Clear-To-Send activated when you are accessing non- ACNS systems. You can activate Clear-To-Send checking at <ALT>P, C)ommunications, h) Check Clear To Send MNP error correction is discussed in the next section on "Setting Up A Modem For Use With PibTerm." Another hardware flow-control method uses the Dataset Ready and Data Terminal Ready hardware lines. This protocol is rarely used for computer-to-computer connections or computer-to-modem connections. Most commonly it is used for computer-to-printer or computer-to-other device connections. You can set DSR/DTR checking at: <ALT>P, C)ommunications, i) Check Data Set Ready DSR/DTR flow control is not required for any of the ACNS mainframes. You should not set it when using a modem. Setting Up A Modem For Use With PibTerm Setting Up A Modem For Use With PibTerm There are three hardware settings on your modem which you may need to set to use PibTerm. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 24 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 24 The Carrier Detect Line The Carrier Detect Line A modem tells the PC if a phone line carrier is detected, indicating that PibTerm is connected to a remote computer, by using the carrier detect line. carrier detect line Usually there is a switch inside the modem or on the bottom of the modem which indicates whether or not the modem should tell the PC if a carrier is detected. When this switch is set HIGH, the modem tells the PC that the carrier is present even when it is not. Setting the switch NORMAL causes the modem to tell the PC the truth about the carrier status. For use with PibTerm, you should set your modem so that the carrier detect line is set NORMAL. Regrettably, many modems are shipped from the factory with the carrier detect line switch set HIGH, so that PibTerm will think that a session is in progress even when it is not. Consult the documentation for your modem to see how to fix that. Some modems allow you to override switch settings and set the carrier detect line handling with a command. For example, with the Hayes 2400 baud modem (but NOT most other 2400 baud and 1200 baud modems), you can issue the following command to set carrier detect NORMAL: AT&C1 AT&C1 You may want to add this command to the PibTerm modem initialization string at <ALT>P, M)odem and dialing, a) Initialization string so that you don't have to enter it manually every time you execute PibTerm. A second problem is that many serial cables do not correctly transmit the carrier detect line to the computer. We suggest buying a cable with ALL pins and ALL lines provided. The extra expense reduces headaches in the long run. The Data Terminal Ready (DTR) Line The Data Terminal Ready (DTR) Line Another important signal line between the modem and the PC is the Data Terminal Ready or DTR line. This line Data Terminal Ready informs the modem that your PC is ready to communicate. If you are using a modem, you should most likely set DTR NORMAL. Unfortunately, some modems hang up the phone when communication parameters like baud rate A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 25 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 25 are changed if DTR is set NORMAL. In this case, you may want to set the modem DTR to be always HIGH. Many modems are shipped from the factory with DTR set HIGH instead of NORMAL. Consult your modem's reference manual to find out how to set DTR to NORMAL. If DTR is always HIGH, PibTerm may not be able to hang up the phone when you ask it to. For example, with the Hayes 2400 baud modem (but NOT most other 2400 baud and 1200 baud modems), you can issue the following command to set data terminal ready NORMAL: AT&D1 AT&D1 You may also want to add this command to the modem initialization string. MNP error correction MNP error correction Some modems incorporate hardware-implemented error checking protocol to filter out line noise and other communications problems. If the two modems on both ends of a connection provide the same kind of error- checking, then this can result in a much "cleaner" session. The two modems exchange error-correction data as well as the "real" data. If the "real" data appear to be incorrectly transmitted, then the two modems will negotiate resending the data which did not transmit correctly. The modem will not pass on the characters to the PC until it appears that they are correctly received. The most common hardware error-correction protocol built into modems is the Microcom Networking Protocol Microcom Networking Protocol or MNP for short. This protocol was developed by MNP Microcom, a major modem manufacturer. MNP has been adopted by many other modem manufacturers as well. If your modem has MNP capabilities, you must disable those capabilities in order to achieve a successful connection with the ACNS mainframes. This is because the mainframe modems do NOT have MNP capabilities, and they become quite confused when an MNP modem dials into them. The result is non-connection, loss of carrier, or just plain garbage displayed on the screen. Some modems provide a hardware switch to disable MNP. On others you can issue a modem command to disable MNP, which is more convenient than setting the hardware switch since you may still wish to call non-ACNS systems that provide MNP on the remote end. The usual A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 26 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 26 commands to disable and enable MNP on Hayes-compatible modems are: Enable MNP: AT&M4 Enable AT&M4 Disable MNP: AT&M0 Disable AT&M0 Just type AT&M0 on the keyboard before dialing an ACNS AT&M0 system to disable MNP. You can re-enable MNP for use with non-ACNS systems by typing AT&M4. AT&M4 In summary, if you are using PibTerm with a modem, then set the modem characteristics as follows: -- Set carrier detect NORMAL. NORMAL -- Set data set ready NORMAL. NORMAL. -- Set MNP mode OFF for ACNS mainframes. OFF Remember: "Honest" modems make PibTerm happiest. Hard-Wired Access Hard-Wired Access If your PC is directly connected to the remote system by a hard-wired cable then you may be automatically connected as soon as you execute PibTerm and the configuration files are read. In other cases you may have to do something to wake up the remote system. With the ACNS machines, connection to the mainframes occurs through a front-end device called the PACX. To gain the attention of the PACX, you must send a break to the remote system: in PibTerm, press <ALT>B. Then hit the Enter or Return key a couple of times. This should get you the familiar "ENTER CLASS" message. If you are using a hard-wired line, you need to inform PibTerm of that so PibTerm won't look for a carrier detect line. If you didn't do this when installing PibTerm, or you want to change your mind, you can do this at: <ALT>P C)ommunications j) Hard-wired connection Set this parameter value to YES. To ease the use of PibTerm with a hard-wired line, there is a script called HARDWIRE.SCR provided as part of the PibTerm HARDWIRE.SCR release materials. This script prompts you for the ACNS system you want to access, sets the parameters for that system appropriately, and then gets you past the "Enter Class" message. DIU/AILU access DIU/AILU access A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 27 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 27 Regrettably, DIUs and AILUs do NOT incorporate the Hayes AT command set. To use a DIU with the ACNS systems, you need to manually dial the phone number of the system to which you wish to connect. (AILUs work the same way.) Then you can invoke a dialing script manually using <ALT>G. Setting Up And Using The Dialing Directory Setting Up And Using The Dialing Directory If you want to dial into a remote system, you can access the Dialing menu with <ALT>D. Then you can either use the directory for automatic dialing or press M and enter M the number manually. Proceed with the normal login procedure for the remote system when the connection takes. The release materials for PibTerm v4.1 contain a customized dialing directory with relevant ACNS computer numbers already defined for you. You may want to add more numbers to your dialing directory, or change the communications parameters for the numbers provided. Dialing directory file PIBTERM.FON Dialing directory file PIBTERM.FON The dialing directory resides in the file PIBTERM.FON. This PIBTERM.FON file, like all the other PibTerm configuration files, is an ordinary Ascii text file. The format of the dialing directory is documented in the PibTerm Parameters Reference PibTerm Parameters Reference Manual. Manual. When PibTerm starts execution, the contents of the dialing directory PIBTERM.FON is read into memory. When you finish PibTerm, an updated directory is written back to PIBTERM.FON. During the execution of PibTerm, only the memory-resident dialing directory entries are referenced. If you hit <ALT>D with the ACNS-supplied PIBTERM.FON file, this is what you will see: +[ Dialing Directory ]========================================================+ |No. --------- Name ---------- --- Number --- -Baud- -Bits- -Par- -Stp- | | 1 ACNS Vax 785, 2400 baud 491 3764 2400 7 E 1 | | 2 ACNS Vax 785, 1200 baud 491 5471 2400 7 E 1 | | 3 ACNS Cyber 845, 2400 baud 491 7471 2400 7 E 1 | | 4 ACNS Cyber 845, 1200 baud 491 5055 2400 7 E 1 | | 5 KGSM IBM 4361, 1200 baud 491 8531 1200 7 E 1 | | 6 LUIS, 1200 baud 491 3070 1200 7 E 1 | | 7 IBM bulletin board 491 3892 2400 8 N 1 | | 8 Macintosh bulletin board 491 4962 2400 8 E 1 | | 9 ------------------------- # ### ###-#### 2400 7 E 1 | | 10 ------------------------- # ### ###-#### 2400 7 E 1 | | 11 ------------------------- # ### ###-#### 2400 7 E 1 | | 12 ------------------------- # ### ###-#### 2400 7 E 1 | A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 28 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 28 | 13 ------------------------- # ### ###-#### 2400 7 E 1 | | 14 ------------------------- # ### ###-#### 2400 7 E 1 | | 15 ------------------------- # ### ###-#### 2400 7 E 1 | | | | --> R Revise entry P Revise prefix C Clear entry Q Redial | | PgUp/PgDn Page Esc Exit ^/v/>/< Scroll H Hang up | | M Manual dial Home First page End Last page G Goto page | | Entry to dial ENTER dials highlighted entry L Dial list | | S Search O Order entries | +=============================================================================+ A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 29 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 29 To dial an entry, simply type the number of the entry and hit the Enter or Return key. You can also use the Up and Enter Return Up Down arrow keys to highlight a new number, and then hit the Down Enter or Return key to dial the highlighted number. If you Enter Return want to dial a number not in the directory, hit M to start a M manual dial. PibTerm will prompt you for the number to dial. You can page through the dialing directory using the PgUp PgUp and PgDn keys, or you can scroll up and down one number at a PgDn time by using the up and down arrow keys. Home takes you to Home the top of the directory, End takes you to the end of the End directory, and ESC takes you out of dialing mode. ESC L allows PibTerm to try dialing several numbers until it L connects to one of the numbers (see the section "Dialing a list of numbers"). S allows you to search for a directory S entry by name or number. Q redials the last number dialed. Q W writes the memory-resident dialing entries back to the W file PIBTERM.FON. This is useful if you've made a number of changes to the dialing directory and you want to be sure the changes appear in the PIBTERM.FON file. Normally PibTerm writes a revised PIBTERM.FON at the end of PibTerm execution, but should PibTerm encounter an error and abort then the dialing directory changes will NOT be written. It's better to be safe than sorry if you've made lots of changes. The top line of the dialing entry is highlighted. As noted above, if you hit the Enter or Return key, PibTerm will dial that highlighted entry. When using a mouse, the highlighted entry feature is useful because you can scroll through the directory entries and dial the highlighted entry without having to type the entry number. Sections of the dialing directory Sections of the dialing directory There are three sections to the dialing directory. Use the left and right arrows on the PC's keypad to move among the sections. The first section above contains the phone numbers and communications line parameters for each number. The second section, shown below, indicates whether or not local echo should be turned on, whether the backspace key should send a backspace or a delete, whether or not line feeds should be added to carriage returns, the terminal type, and the default transfer type. For ACNS mainframe systems these should be set as follows: Echo: N (No) Backspace: BS for Cyber; DEL for Vax; A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 30 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 30 blank for IBM Add line feeds: N (No) Terminal type: VT100 Transfer type: Kermit A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 31 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 31 +[ Dialing Directory ]========================================================+ |No. --------- Name ---------- -Echo- -BS- -Add LF- -Terminal- -Xfer- | | 1 ACNS Vax 785, 2400 baud N DEL N VT100 Kermit | | 2 ACNS Vax 785, 1200 baud N DEL N VT100 Kermit | | 3 ACNS Cyber 845, 2400 baud N BS N VT100 Kermit | | 4 ACNS Cyber 845, 1200 baud N BS N VT100 Kermit | | 5 KGSM IBM 4361, 1200 baud N BS N VT100 Kermit | | 6 LUIS, 1200 baud N BS N VT100 None | | 7 IBM bulletin board N BS N ANSI Kermit | | 8 Macintosh bulletin board N DEL N ANSI Kermit | | 9 ------------------------- N DEL N VT100 Kermit | | 10 ------------------------- N DEL N VT100 Kermit | | 11 ------------------------- N DEL N VT100 Kermit | | 12 ------------------------- N DEL N VT100 Kermit | | 13 ------------------------- N DEL N VT100 Kermit | | 14 ------------------------- N DEL N VT100 Kermit | | 15 ------------------------- N DEL N VT100 Kermit | | | | --> R Revise entry P Revise prefix C Clear entry Q Redial | | PgUp/PgDn Page Esc Exit ^/v/>/< Scroll H Hang up | | M Manual dial Home First page End Last page G Goto page | | Entry to dial ENTER dials highlighted entry L Dial list | | S Search O Order entries W Write directory | +=============================================================================+ The third section contains the name of the script to be executed if a successful connection is made, as well as the last date and time that phone number was successfully connected to. The date and time allow you to keep track of the last time you logged in to a system. +[ Dialing Directory ]========================================================+ |No. --------- Name ---------- -Script- -Last Date- -Last Time- | | 1 ACNS Vax 785, 2400 baud VAX | | 2 ACNS Vax 785, 1200 baud VAX | | 3 ACNS Cyber 845, 2400 baud CYBER | | 4 ACNS Cyber 845, 1200 baud CYBER | | 5 KGSM IBM 4361, 1200 baud IBM | . . . | | | --> R Revise entry P Revise prefix C Clear entry Q Redial | | PgUp/PgDn Page Esc Exit ^/v/>/< Scroll H Hang up | | M Manual dial Home First page End Last page G Goto page | | Entry to dial ENTER dials highlighted entry L Dial list | | S Search O Order entries | +=============================================================================+ Revising a dialing entry Revising a dialing entry A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 32 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 32 To revise a dialing entry, hit the R key. You will see a box appear requesting the number of the dialing entry to be modified: +[ Revise Dialing Entry ]+ |Entry to revise ? 9 | 9 | | | | +========================+ For example, assume we want to add a new number at dialing slot nine. Then enter a 9 as the number to be revised. The 9 following menu appears: +[ Revise Dialing Entry 9 ]======+ | a) All entries | | b) Name | | c) Number | | d) Baud Rate | | e) Parity | | f) Data Bits | | g) Stop Bits | | h) Local Echo | | i) Backspace | | j) Add Linefeeds | | k) Terminal Type | | l) Transfer Type | | m) Script Name | | q) Quit | +================================+ Hit a to revise all entries. You will be prompted for each a item in turn. To revise a current entry, follow the same procedure and choose only those entries in the above menu which you actually want to modify. Dialing prefixes and suffixes Dialing prefixes and suffixes The numbers in the dialing directory aren't long enough to allow for the long distance codes of companies like Sprint or MCI. To accommodate such dialing codes, PibTerm allows you to define five prefix and postfix strings, which are stored in the file PIBTERM.PRE. You define a prefix or postfix string with one of the five prefix characters by striking P. These characters are: P '+', '-', '!', '@', '#'. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 33 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 33 Suppose you want to access the ACNS machines from out of the 312 area code. If you use SPRINT then you need to dial the local SPRINT access number, followed by your SPRINT access code, followed by the actual number. For clarity let's assume that the local SPRINT access number is 888 8888, and your Sprint access code is 1234567. You could define the prefix string for '+' to be 8888888,,,1234567 where each comma results in a slight pause to provide SPRINT enough time to answer the call and request the access code. Let's assume that you have used the P command to define that prefix for the '+' key. Also, assume that you've added the 312 area code to the front of the ACNS Vax 785 dialing entry (entry 1). If you enter +1 to dial, then PibTerm prefixes the number for the ACNS Vax 785 from the dialing directory with the string associated with '+' and dials: 888888,,,,1234567 1 312 491 3764 Default prefix and suffix Default prefix and suffix You can also set a default prefix and postfix at the P P entry. These will be automatically added to the front and back of a highlighted phone number if the number is longer than seven digits. For example, say that you define the '+' prefix as above, and then make '+' the default prefix. Then suppose that you use the up and down arrow keys to highlight the phone number for the ACNS Vax 785 to which you have already added the initial 312 area code as above. Then if you hit Enter or Return, the prefix string associated with '+' is automatically added in front of the ACNS Vax phone number. Likewise, you can define a default suffix character, and the contents of the associated suffix string will be added to the end of a number dialed by selecting its highlighted entry. You may also define both a default prefix and suffix string at the same time, so that the corresponding strings will be added to the front (prefix) and back (suffix) of a highlighted number. The default prefix/suffix facility makes it easier to use long-distance services without having to explicitly type the prefix and suffix characters -- especially with a mouse. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 34 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 34 Redialing the last number dialed -- <ALT>Q Redialing the last number dialed -- <ALT>Q You can cause PibTerm to redial the last number dialed (if any) by hitting Q. If no number has been previously dialed Q. in the current session, then you will be placed in the usual dialing directory. Using <ALT>Q outside the dialing directory is just like using Q inside the dialing directory. Q Dialing a list of numbers Dialing a list of numbers You can create a list of numbers to be dialed by hitting L L in the dialing menu. You may enter up to ten dialing directory entries. These will be called in turn until a successful connection is made to one of the numbers, or until you hit the ESC key. Once PibTerm successfully connects to a number in the list, that number is removed from the dialing list. After finishing a session with one of the numbers specified in the list, you can hit <ALT>Q to begin dialing the remaining numbers in the list in turn. Once again, if a successful connection is made, then that number will be removed from the list. Pressing <ALT>D clears any remaining numbers from the dialing queue. Using The Short Dialing Prompt Using The Short Dialing Prompt Normally when you hit <ALT>D you get the long dialing menu described above. If you have a good memory, you can avoid getting this display by requesting the short dialing prompt as follows: <ALT>P, M)odem and dialing, p) Use short dialing menu If you set this feature to YES, then hitting <ALT>D issues a simple one-line prompt: Dialing Command --> You can then enter the dialing entry number you wish to dial, or you can hit the Enter key to bring up the full dialing directory menu display, or you can hit another dialing command letter like S for search or L to start a S L list dial. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 35 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 35 Dialing A System By Name Dialing A System By Name PibTerm does not directly support dialing a system by name instead of entry number, but there are at least two different ways to dial by name indirectly. The first is to use the Search facility of the dialing menu. First enter the dialing menu by hitting <ALT>D. Then hit S. You will be prompted for a search string. PibTerm scans S the name and phone number fields of the dialing directory for a match to the search string you specified. The search is not sensitive to case, and proceeds from the current highlighted position to the end of the dialing directory, and then wraps around starting at the first dialing entry. If a matching entry is found, then PibTerm highlights that entry, and you can dial it by simply hitting the Enter key. For example, suppose you wish to dial the Cyber at 2400 baud. You could hit S to initiate a search and enter Cyber S Cyber as a search string. The third entry (which is the first entry with the word Cyber in the name field) would be highlighted. Just hitting Enter would then cause PibTerm to dial the Cyber. If the first entry located by the search isn't the one you want, then hit S again and do the search over starting at S the new location in the dialing directory.. A second method for dialing a system by name is to define your own special dialing command using a script. Such a script is presented as an example in the section "Another Sample Script -- Dialing By Name." Backing up PIBTERM.FON Backing up PIBTERM.FON PibTerm rewrites the ENTIRE dialing directory at the end of execution whenever any changes have been made to the directory. These changes include explicit modifications to dialing entries, as well as implicit modifications like updating the date/time of last access to any successfully dialed systems. You should make a backup copy of PIBTERM.FON every couple of days to avoid problems in case PibTerm cannot write the updated directory -- for example, because of lack of disk space. You can use the DOS COPY command to do this: COPY PIBTERM.FON BACKUP.FON where BACKUP.FON becomes a backup copy of the phone directory. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 36 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 36 Should PIBTERM.FON be damaged, you can copy the backup file as follows: COPY BACKUP.FON PIBTERM.FON Automatic Dialing Speed Adjustment Automatic Dialing Speed Adjustment Most Hayes-compatible modems set the speed of the connection to match that of the system called when dialing. PibTerm automatically adjusts the speed the PC expects in order to match what the modem reports. However, there are times when you may not want PibTerm to perform this automatic speed adjustment. For example, you may have a modem which allows a constant high speed like 9600 baud between the modem and the PC, while the modem itself handles any "slowdown" required for accessing the remote system on its own. In this case, you should make sure to always specify the highest possible speed (say, 9600) in your dialing directory, and then turn OFF the automatic speed adjustment by setting the parameter at <ALT>P, M)odem and dialing, n) Match speed of called system to NO. In many cases, you also need to set CTS checking to YES at <ALT>P, C)ommunications, h) Check clear to send when using a constant high speed between the PC and the modem. Check the manufacturer's instructions for your modems for details. Modem Pools Modem Pools Sometimes it is convenient to attach a number of modems with the ability to place outgoing calls, as well as to receive incoming calls, to a computer system. Such a modem pool modem pool allows you to dial the remote computer and then use the modem pool modems to place calls through that remote system. When you use a modem pool, you have to consider that modem responses to modem commands may be issued either by the local modem attached to your PC OR the remote modem pool modem. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 37 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 37 Among the most commonly used modem pools are those provided by the commercial Telenet and PC Pursuit services. Using a modem pool can be a bit confusing. When you initially dial the remote system which provides the modem pool, you get the usual "CONNECT" message from the modem CONNECT attached to your PC. When you dial another system THROUGH the remote modem pool modem, you may also see a "CONNECT" CONNECT message issued by the modem pool modem. Likewise other modem status messages like BUSY or NO CARRIER may be issued either BUSY NO CARRIER by your local modem or by the remote modem. PibTerm has no way of distinguishing between modem status messages issued by your local modem and the remote modem. Normally, when you use the dialing facilties at <ALT>D, PibTerm hangs up the phone line when a status message like BUSY or NO CARRIER is received. (BUSY indicates that the BUSY NO CARRIER BUSY phone line is busy, and NO CARRIER indicates that the phone NO CARRIER line carrier has dropped.) This ensures that the phone line is ready for the next dialing attempt. However, if the remote modem pool modem issues the message, then you do NOT want PibTerm to hang up the phone, since then you would need to dial the modem pool again. To prevent PibTerm from hanging up the phone when a message like BUSY or NO CARRIER is received during an <ALT>D dialing sequence, set the parameter at <ALT>P, M)odem and dialing, s) Hold line after abortive dial to YES. You should set this ONLY when accessing a modem pool, and then reset it back to NO when you are finished with the modem pool. Another problem is that the remote modem pool modem cannot return a carrier detect signal back to your PC. The carrier detect status is based only upon the connection between your local modem and the remote system to which the modem pool modem is attached, NOT the connection between the modem pool modem and whatever system you dialed through the modem pool modem. To get around this problem set the parameter at <ALT>P, M)odem and dialing, m) Carrier line always high to YES. Again, you should set this ONLY when accessing the modem pool (or if your modem requires this setting anyway). A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 38 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 38 Dialing Problems Dialing Problems There are a number of problems which can occur when you try to dial a number. Assuming that your hardware setup is correct, the most common dialing problems arise from incorrect settings of the modem parameters. The modem parameters can be found at <ALT>P, M)odem and dialing. Problem: The modem starts to dial, but immediately Problem after the number is dialed the dialing directory display reappears, and the dialing stops. Solution: The modem timeout is set too small. Go to Solution <ALT>P, M)odem and dialing, i) Dialing Timeout. You'll probably see that the value is zero. Set it to something reasonable, like 30 seconds. This is the amount of time PibTerm waits for the remote system to answer the phone before PibTerm cancels the call. Problem: The modem appears to dial -- the dialing box Problem appears -- but nothing actually happens. It looks as if the modem never placed the call. Solution: Make sure that you have chosen the correct Solution serial port for your modem. You can change the serial port at <ALT>P, C)ommunications, a) Serial port. If you have the correct serial port, check if you have a touch-tone or rotary-dial phone system. PibTerm is configured by default for a touch-tone phone line. If you have a rotary-dial phone line, then you will have to change the dialing command at: <ALT>P, M)odem and dialing, b) Dialing command prefix from ATDT (for touch-tone lines) to ATDP (for ATDT ATDP rotary-dial phone lines). A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 39 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 39 Problem: PibTerm dials successfully, but then Problem immediately reports that a connection is made, even before the phone is answered by the remote computer. Solution: The problem is that your modem is set for Solution carrier detect always HIGH instead of carrier detect NORMAL. If possible, change your modem settings so that the carrier detect line is NORMAL. If you can't do that, set PibTerm to ignore the carrier line and wait for the modem to tell it that a connection has been established using a modem response string ("CONNECT" in the case of Hayes- compatible modems). You do this at: <ALT>P, M)odem and dialing, m) Carrier line always high Set this to YES if your modem keeps the carrier line always HIGH. This carrier-detect-always-high problem also arises if you use an outbound modem pool through a hard-wired connection. That is, your PC is hard-wired to a device like the PACX and one of the possible class selections is a modem pool (see the section on "Modem Pools" above). The modem pool modem will not be able to correctly signal carrier detect to you, and so you set BOTH the hard-wired line option at <ALT>P, C)ommunications, j) Hard-wired connection AND the carrier line always high option to YES. Problem: Dialing commands aren't correctly interpreted Problem (perhaps digits are dropped), or the modem initialization string appears to be ignored, etc. Solution: This usually indicates that your modem cannot Solution accept commands at the full speed of the connection, and/or that your modem may require extra delays between reception of individual modem commands. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 40 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 40 To slow down the speed at which PibTerm sends modem commands (including dialing commands) to the modem, set the parameter at <ALT>P, M)odem and dialing, l) intercharacter delay to a non-zero value. Usually a value of 50 (which means introduce a delay of 50 milliseconds between sending each character) works well. You can also introduce extra one-second delays into the modem command strings. For example, many modems require an extra one or two seconds of delay after receiving an ATZ ATZ (reset modem) command before another AT command will be processed. You can use the '~' to add as many one-second delays into a modem command string as necessary. For example, you might need to alter the modem initialization string at <ALT>P, M)odem and dialing, a) Initialization string from the default ATZ|~ATX1| to something like ATZ|~~~ATX1| for a modem which requires more than one second to execute the ATZ. ATZ Problem: Junk characters appear after connecting to Problem the remote system. Some of the characters are correct, others are incorrect. Solution: This is almost always the result of an Solution incorrect parity setting. Check that the dialing directory entry has the correct data bits, stop bits, and parity setting for the remote system being dialed. Also check that any attached script does not incorrectly reset the parity. Remember that the entries in the dialing directory -- NOT the settings before you dial -- are used when connecting to the remote system. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 41 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 41 Some resident programs interfere with proper operation of the parity and data bit settings in PibTerm. For example, some of the OPUS BBS communications drivers cause interference with other communications programs in peculiar ways. Sometimes you can get around these problems by using unusual databits/parity/stop bit settings. VT100 Terminal Emulation VT100 Terminal Emulation PibTerm defaults to VT100 terminal emulation mode. VT100 emulation is the one to use when accessing the ACNS Vax or Cyber, or the Kellogg/Econ IBM. To use each of these machines, a few parameter changes are necessary to accomodate differences in the way each system interprets the VT100 keyboard. These differences concern the backspace key and the VT100 keypad definitions. The change in the backspace key can be handled by setting the dialing directory correctly when you are using a modem to access the ACNS machines. The change in the keypad definitions can be handled by an associated script which sets the keypad key definitions correctly after a successful dial-in is completed. The sample directory provided with the PibTerm release materials sets the backspace correctly for the various ACNS systems. Also, each dialing entry refers to a script which sets the keypad keys correctly for each of the mainframes. The script names are: VAX.SCR for the VAX 785 VAX.SCR CYBER.SCR for the Cyber 845 under NOS or NOS/VE CYBER.SCR IBMCMS.SCR for the Econ/KGSM IBM 4361 system IBMCMS.SCR LUIS.SCR for the Library information system LUIS.SCR If you are making a hard-wired connection, then another script called HARDWIRE.SCR will set the parameters correctly HARDWIRE.SCR for each system. Let's look at the backspace and keypad definitions in more detail so that you will understand what the scripts do for you. The Backspace key The Backspace key For the Vax, you should set the backspace key to send the Ascii DEL (delete character). This is Ascii code 127. For the Cyber, you should set the backspace key to send an ASCII BS (backspace character). This is Ascii code 8. For the IBM systems (either KGSM/Econ or LUIS), you should set the backspace to send the escape sequence <ESC>[OA, which should A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 42 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 42 also be the same sequence sent by the left-arrow on the keypad (as defined in IBMCMS.FNC, see below). IBMCMS.FNC You can change the behavior of the backspace key at <ALT>P, I)nput For the Cyber, choose option c) Backspace key sends BS, <CTRL>BS sends DEL For the Vax, choose option d) Backspace key sends DEL, <CTRL>BS sends BS For LUIS and the KGSM/Econ IBM 4361, explicitly enter the escape sequence <ESC>[OA by choosing a) Backspace key sends and then entering the backspace string as ^[[OA, using the ^[[OA special two-character ^ + [ combination to represent the ESC ESC character (Ascii 27). (See the section on "Keyboard Editing" for more details.) The correct backspace values for the Cyber and Vax will be set for you by the dialing directory if you dial in using a modem. You will need to set the backspace explicitly for the CMS machines, or add a command to a dialing script to set the backspace. The HARDWIRE.SCR script sets the HARDWIRE.SCR backspace correctly for all the systems. VT100 keypad definitions VT100 keypad definitions There are several different IBM keyboards for PCs. Earlier models and many PC clones used an 83 or 84 key keyboard, with two rows of five function keys arranged vertically along the left-hand side of the keyboard. The latest IBM PCs and clones exhibit a quite different keyboard layout, somewhat euphemistically referred to as the "enhanced" keyboard. This keyboard displays twelve function keys F1 through F12 along the top row of the keyboard, and also features a separate cursor pad and direction keypad. PibTerm allows you to use the extra cursor, keypad, and function keys of the enhanced keyboard both as defined keys and for routine use in doing things like scrolling through the dialing directory. None of these IBM PC keyboards provides for a direct mapping of the VT100 keypad, so PibTerm allows you to define a variety of PC keys to act like VT100 keys. It is A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 43 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 43 convenient to use different definitions (or mappings) of the VT100 keys onto the PC keys, depending upon which remote system you are accessing and which PC keyboard you have. Sample mappings for each of the ACNS systems are provided as part of the PibTerm release materials. To select one of these definitions, access the Function Key Definition menu: <ALT>K), R)ead definitions from file to read the definitions from a file and enter the appropriate file name: For the Vax: DECVAX.FNC (84 key keyboards) DECVAX.FNC DECVAXE.FNC (101 key keyboards) DECVAXE.FNC For the Cyber: CDCNOS.FNC CDCNOS.FNC For the IBM: IBMCMS.FNC (84 key keyboards) IBMCMS.FNC IBMCMSE.FNC (101 key keyboards) IBMCMSE.FNC Regardless of which type of keyboard your PC has, you may want to redefine the keypad definitions yourself. A description of how to do that appears later in the section on "Defining Function Keys." If you are using the supplied dialing directory, then the scripts attached to the dialing entries for the machines can supply the correct function key definitions automatically. If you are using a hard-wired connection, then the HARDWIRE.SCR script will supply the proper function key HARDWIRE.SCR definitions. To use PibTerm with VAX/VMS: To use PibTerm with VAX/VMS: Enter the VMS command SET TERMINAL/VT100 SET TERMINAL/VT100 which tells VMS that you're using a VT100 terminal. If you know that you will always be logging in to the Vax using PibTerm or another VT100-compatible terminal or emulation program, you should place the "SET" statement in your login.com file on the Vax. That way it will be executed login.com automatically each time you log in. The keyboard file DECVAX.FNC defines F1 through F10 to be DECVAX.FNC the left half of the VT100 keypad, and Shift F1 through Shift F10 to be the right half of the VT100 keypad. That is, the mapping looks like this: A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 44 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 44 Standard VT100 Keypad +--------+--------+--------+--------+ | | | | | | PF 1 | PF 2 | PF 3 | PF 4 | | | | | | +--------|--------|--------|--------+ | | | | | | 7 | 8 | 9 | - | | | | | | +--------|--------|--------|--------+ | | | | | | 4 | 5 | 6 | , | | | | | | +--------|--------|--------|--------+ | | | | | | 1 | 2 | 3 | E | | | | | N | +--------+--------|--------+ T | | | | E | | 0 | . | R | | | | | +-----------------+--------+--------+ IBM PC Function Keys from DECVAX.FNC +--------+--------+ +--------+--------+ | | | | Shift | Shift | | F1 | F2 | | F1 | F2 | | | | | | | +--------|--------+ +--------|--------+ | | | | Shift | Shift | | F3 | F4 | | F3 | F4 | | | | | | | +--------|--------+ +--------|--------+ | | | | Shift | Shift | | F5 | F6 | | F5 | F6 | | | | | | | +--------|--------+ +--------|--------+ | | | | Shift | Shift | | F7 | F8 | | F7 | F8 | | | | | | | +--------|--------+ +--------|--------+ | | | | Shift | Shift | | F9 | F10 | | F9 | F10 | | | | | | | +--------+--------+ +--------+--------+ To get the shifted version of a function key, hold down the shift key while striking the function key. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 45 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 45 The VT100 arrow keys are mapped onto the arrow keys of the right-hand PC Keypad. The definitions in DECVAXE.FNC, for use with the enhanced DECVAXE.FNC keyboard, provide a different mapping scheme, since it is possible to match the VT100 keypad more closely with the extended PC keyboard. The cursor keys in DECVAXE.FNC are mapped to the separate DECVAXE.FNC cursor keypad. The PF keys are mapped as follows: PF1 = main keypad / PF2 = extra keypad Page Up PF3 = extra keypad Page Dn PF4 = main keypad * The reason for defining the PF keys "out of order" is because access to PF1 + other main keypad keys is easier that way. PF1 is the "gold" key for editors like EDT, and it is a less awkward stretch to put it on the main PC keypad. The rest of the main PC keypad acts just like VT100 keypad, except that the '+' on the PC keypad acts like the ',' on the VT100 keypad. Symbolically, here are the correspondences, with the PC keyboard key name on top and the VT100 keyboard key name on the bottom. +---------+--------+--------+ | | | | | Insert | Home | Page Up| | | | (PF2) | +---------+--------+--------+ | | | | | Delete | End | Page Dn| | | | (PF3) | +---------+--------+--------+ +--------+ | | | Up | | (Up) | +---------+--------+--------+ | | | | | Left | Down | Right | | (Left) | (Down) | (Right)| +---------+--------+--------+ A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 46 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 46 +---------+--------+--------+--------+ | | | | | | Num Lock| / | * | - | | | (PF1) | (PF4) | (-) | +---------+--------+--------+--------+ | | | | | | 7 | 8 | 9 | | | (7) | (8) | (9) | + | +---------+--------+--------+ | | | | | | | 4 | 5 | 6 | (,) | | (4) | (5) | (6) | | +---------+--------+--------+--------+ | | | | | | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | (1) | (2) | (3) | Enter | +---------+--------+--------+ | | | | | | 0 | . |(Enter) | | (0) | (.) | | +---------+--------+--------+--------+ To use PibTerm with IBM CMS: To use PibTerm with IBM CMS: Enter VT100 as the terminal name when prompted to do so by VT100 the IBM system. If you use the supplied script IBM.SCR, IBM.SCR then this will be done for you automatically. The function keys for CMS are mapped quite differently than for the Vax. Rather than attempt to emulate the keypad layout of the VT100, the function key definitions in IBMCMS.FNC attempt to match the key assignments of the IBM IBMCMS.FNC 3270 family terminals. Here is the mapping: PC keys 3270 keys PC keys 3270 keys F1 -> F10 PFK1 -> PFK10 <Shift>F1 -> <SHIFT>F10 PFK11 -> PFK20 <CTRL>F1 -> <CTRL>F10 PFK21 -> PFK31 <ALT>F1 -> <ALT>F5 PFK32 -> PFK36 <ALT>F8 PA1 <ALT>F9 PA2 <ALT>F10 PA3 IBMCMSE.FNC uses a similar mapping: IBMCMSE.FNC PC keys 3270 keys PC keys 3270 keys F1 -> F12 PFK1 -> PFK12 <Shift>F1 -> <SHIFT>F12 PFK13 -> PFK24 <CTRL>F1 -> <CTRL>F12 PFK25 -> PFK36 <ALT>F1 PA1 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 47 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 47 <ALT>F2,Keypad Enter PA2 <ALT>F3 PA3 To use PibTerm with NOS: To use PibTerm with NOS: After logging in to NOS, enter the command: SCREEN,VT100. SCREEN,VT100. CDCNOS.FNC contains another mapping of the VT100 keys for CDCNOS.FNC use with Control Data's NOS and NOS/VE operating systems. The key mapping is as follows: use F1 through F8 for the F1 F8 lower row of "tombstones" displayed by NOS, and use Shift F1 Shift F1 through Shift F8 for the upper row of tombstones. Use the Shift F8 arrow keys on the PC's numeric keypad. Suppose you invoke the FSE editor for an existing file called BOGUSCO: FSE,BOGUSCO. FSE,BOGUSCO. Then you should see a screen something like the following: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOS FULL SCREEN EDITOR Upper Case File BOGUSCO Lines 1 - 19 Size 21 LINE 1 OF BOGUSCO LINE 2 OF BOGUSCO LINE 3 OF BOGUSCO LINE 4 OF BOGUSCO LINE 5 OF BOGUSCO LINE 6 OF BOGUSCO LINE 7 OF BOGUSCO LINE 8 OF BOGUSCO LINE 9 OF BOGUSCO LINE 10 OF BOGUSCO LINE 11 OF BOGUSCO LINE 12 OF BOGUSCO LINE 13 OF BOGUSCO LINE 14 OF BOGUSCO LINE 15 OF BOGUSCO LINE 16 OF BOGUSCO LINE 17 OF BOGUSCO LINE 18 OF BOGUSCO LINE 19 OF BOGUSCO BKW LINEDN DELC DELL UNDO COPY HOME CLEAR BKW LINEDN DELC DELL UNDO COPY HOME CLEAR F1 FWD F2 LINEUP F3 INSC F4 INSL F5 MARK F6 MOVE F7 HELP F8 QUIT FWD LINEUP INSC INSL MARK MOVE HELP QUIT ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You can move forward in the file by hitting the F1 key on the PC. To move backward, hit the Shift and F1 keys Shift F1 together. You do NOT have to hit the Enter key; PibTerm Enter A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 48 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 48 automatically adds the carriage return. This makes editing on NOS a bit more convenient than on a real VT100 terminal. The keypad definitions in CDCNOS.FNC are still useful on the CDCNOS.FNC enhanced keyboard. Automatic Loading of Function Key Definitions Automatic Loading of Function Key Definitions You may request PibTerm to search the function key directory for a .FNC file which corresponds to the currently selected terminal emulation. (See the section "Setting a function key subdirectory" which descibes how to set a function key directory.) To do this, set the parameter at: <ALT>P, T)erminal emulation, j) Autoload function keys If the .FNC file is found, the function key definitions therein are loaded when the selected emulation is started, just as if <ALT>K were used to read in the file. (See the <ALT>K section "Defining function keys -- <ALT>K".) Currently, the following file names are used: Emulation .FNC file name Emulation .FNC file name VT100 VT100.FNC Ansi/BBS ANSI.FNC VT52 VT52.FNC Tek 4010 TEK4010.FNC Dumb DUMB.FNC and so on. This option is most useful if you plan to use the same set of function key definitions for a specific terminal emulation type on several different systems. Switching Between VT100 Keypad Modes Switching Between VT100 Keypad Modes The VT100 terminal provides for switching between numeric keypad mode and applications keypad mode under program control. On the PC this distinction is essentially irrelevant because you can always use <SHIFT>keypad-key to <SHIFT>keypad-key get a numeric digit on the right-hand numeric keypad. However, you may still want to load different key definitions depending upon whether the VT100 keypad is in numeric mode or in applications mode. The principal reason is that the cursor key definitions -- that is, the escape sequences which are to be sent to the remote system when A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 49 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 49 an arrow key is struck -- are different in numeric mode and applications mode. Here is a table of the differences: Key Numeric mode Applications mode Key Numeric mode Applications mode Up arrow ESC [A ESC [O A Down arrow ESC [B ESC [O B Right arrow ESC [C ESC [O C Left arrow ESC [D ESC [O D You can request that PibTerm should load new function key files when it receives the VT100 set or reset applications keypad mode escape sequences by setting the parameter at <ALT>P, T)erminal emulation, b) VT100 settings, g) do VT100 applic/numeric keypad switch to YES. You can specify the names of the .FNC files to be loaded when PibTerm receives either the VT100 set or reset applications keypad mode escape sequences at <ALT>P, T)erminal emulation, b) VT100 settings, h) Key file for VT100 applic mode i) Key file for VT100 numeric mode When accessing the ACNS mainframe systems, you should leave the "do VT100 applic/numeric keypad switch" parameter set to NO, and also leave the key file names blank. The PibTerm Status Line The PibTerm Status Line The bottom line of the display in VT100 mode is a special status line which indicates the current values of important communications variables. The contents of the status line look like this: Scriptname HH:MM -CA -PR -LO -LF -LE -XO -CT -CD COMn baudpdb message The items are: Scriptname --- indicates the name of a currently executing script, if any, or the name of the terminal emulation in use. HH:MM --- is the time of day. CA --- Capture file status: -CA means no capture file open, +CA means capture file open. PR --- Printer file status: -PR means no printer file open, A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 50 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 50 +PR means printer file open. LO --- Logging file status: -LO means no logging file open, +LO means logging file open. LF --- Line feed status: -LF means no line feeds added to incoming carriage returns, +LF means line feeds added. LE --- Local echo status : -LE means remote echo, +LE means local echo. XO --- XON/XOFF status: -XO means no XON/XOFF flow control, +XO means XON/XOFF flow control turned on. CT --- Clear-to-send status: -CT means no CTS checking, +CT means CTS checking turned on. CD --- Carrier detect status: +CD means carrier line high, -CD means carrier dropped. COMn --- indicates which serial port is currently in use. baud,p,d,b --- baud rate, parity, data bits, and stop bits. message --- messages are displayed to indicate unusual problems in communication. For example, consider the following status line: VT100 14:43 -CA -PR -LO -LF -LE +XO -CT -CD COM1 9600E71 This indicates: -- VT100 emulation is in effect. -- The time is 14:43 or 2:43 pm. -- Capture file logging is off. -- Printer logging is off. -- Log file logging is off. -- Line feeds are not added to carriage returns. -- Local echo is off. -- XON/XOFF flow control is in effect. -- CTS flow control is off. -- No carrier detected. -- Port 1 (COM1:) is used for communications. -- The speed of the connection is 9600 baud; even parity; seven-bit data bytes; one stop bit. Sometimes you may want to turn off the display of the status line. You might do this if you are accessing a remote system which needs to write to the bottom line of the screen where the status line normally resides. Or, you may find the status line unesthetic. To turn OFF the display of the status line, change the value at: <ALT>P, T)erminal, e) Display status line to be NO. If you disable the display of the status line, then you WILL NOT SEE any error messages that PibTerm normally shows in A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 51 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 51 case of problems. Therefore, you should enable the status line display whenever possible. The status line is NOT displayed in Tek4010 emulation mode. The Scroll Lock Key The Scroll Lock Key In all terminal modes except gossip mode you can IMMEDIATELY halt the screen display from advancing by depressing the Scroll Lock key. The screen freezes until you hit the Scroll Lock Scroll Lock key again. The status line indicates that the Scroll Lock key has been depressed by displaying the message Scroll Lock ON. Scroll Lock ON. Resetting the Terminal -- <SHIFT>TAB Resetting the Terminal -- <SHIFT>TAB Sometimes the terminal display may go haywire because line noise causes PibTerm to switch to the VT100 graphics character set incorrectly. You can reset the terminal emulation by hitting the <SHIFT>TAB keys together. This clears the screen and resets all terminal attributes. Clearing the Screen -- <ALT>C Clearing the Screen -- <ALT>C To clear the screen display without resetting the terminal emulation, hit <ALT>C. What Doesn't Work in VT100 emulation What Doesn't Work in VT100 emulation The VT100 emulation in PibTerm is good enough for nearly all the software commonly used on any of the ACNS machines. The principal VT100 features lacking in PibTerm are: -- 132 column mode -- Double high, double wide characters If you have an ATI EGA Wonder or ATI VIP VGA graphics card installed in your PC, then PibTerm can display 132 columns correctly. (Both are products of ATI Technologies Inc.) You should tell PibTerm that you have an ATI EGA Wonder or ATI VIP: <ALT>P, V)ideo mode, r) ATI EGA Wonder/ ATI VIP VGA installed. Incoming characters from the remote system may be dropped when switching between 132 column mode and 80 column mode with the ATI cards unless the remote system supports XON/XOFF protocol, so don't be surprised when that happens. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 52 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 52 This should not occur with the ACNS systems, all of which support XON/XOFF. Most multitaskers cannot support the 132 column mode, so make sure that this "ATI installed" option is set to NO when you are running under a multitasker unless you are sure that the 132 column mode is supported. PibTerm simulates double-width characters by displaying normal-sized characters with an extra space in between. Some of the line-drawing characters are doubled, so that a continuous horizontal line will not be broken up. Double- high characters (which are also double-width) are simulated by repeating the same characters on two adjacent lines. Other Text Terminal Emulation Modes Other Text Terminal Emulation Modes PibTerm provides several other text terminal emulation modes besides VT100. The ADM3A, ADM5, and VT52 emulations are most useful for some older systems which don't support VT100, or when you are running at a slow baud rate so that the simpler escape sequences used by those terminals (for facilities like cursor positioning) increase throughput. The TV925 emulation is not complete and was designed for a very specific need. It will not work well on other systems (like Unix) that require a more complete TV925 emulation. ANSI/BBS emulation is a subset of VT100 with some extensions for color and music playing. This is the mode supported by most remote bulletin board systems, and you should use it rather than VT100 when dialing into such a system. For example, you should select ANSI/BBS when dialing into the ACNS IBM PC bulletin board system. Dumb terminal mode acts like a very stupid "glass TTY." No escape sequences are interpreted. Dumb terminal emulation is useful with remote systems that do not provide any full- screen facilities and which do not work properly when VT100 emulation is set in PibTerm. There is another use for dumb terminal mode. Normally all the emulation modes -- including dumb terminal mode -- display characters received from the remote system on the PC's screen using either direct screen writes or system BIOS calls. These methods bypass the standard MS DOS facilities and both are much faster and more flexible than invoking MS DOS. However, dumb terminal mode can optionally perform screen output using the MS DOS facilities. This causes the screen output to be handled by any resident screen driver (like ANSI.SYS). This option is especially useful because there ANSI.SYS are a number of commercially-available programs which can be A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 53 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 53 installed as MS DOS device drivers and which will provide emulation of graphics terminals like the Tek4014 or Tek4105. All you need to do to use these drivers with PibTerm is to set PibTerm to use MS DOS style output, as follows: <ALT>P, T)erminal emulation, a) Terminal to emulate, a) Dumb m) Use DOS console output If "Use DOS console output" is set to YES, any resident driver installed for the screen display will be used. If "Use DOS console output" is set to NO then any resident driver installed for the screen display is IGNORED and PibTerm handles screen display by itself. Gossip Mode Gossip Mode Gossip mode is a special split-screen mode that allows you to chat with another remote user using PibTerm. The current display is split into two pieces: the top for characters received from the remote system, and the bottom for characters you type. This allows a conversation to take place electronically in a full-duplex fashion, i.e., both you and the remote system user can be entering text at the same time. You can also use gossip mode to separate what you type from what the remote system sends. Gossip mode is a dumb terminal mode -- escape sequences are NOT processed. To enter gossip mode, press <ALT>P, T)erminal, a) Terminal to emulate, e) Turn ON gossip mode. You exit gossip mode by typing the same sequence of characters. There are two types of gossip mode. In character mode, each character mode character is sent to the remote system immediately after you type it. This is the way the other terminal emulation modes operate as well. In line mode, an entire line of text is read, which you can line mode edit using the keypad editing features as much as you like, up to the point at which you enter the Enter or Return key. Enter Return This text will only be sent when either A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 54 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 54 1. the cursor in the top half of the screen (for text received from the remote system) lands in column one, or 2. you hit the Enter or Return key again. Enter Return Line mode is nice for online conferences -- you can easily distinguish what you type from what the other callers type. To select which gossip mode PibTerm is to use, press <ALT>P, T)erminal emulation, f) Use gossip line mode If "Use gossip line mode" is NO, then the character mode is used. Another good use for Gossip mode is when you and a remote caller want to exchange files when you are both sitting at your PCs. (Host mode is more convenient for unattended transfers or lengthy transfers.) When you are using gossip mode, you may find that each line received from the remote system overwrites the previous lines on the screen. This is because the remote system is not sending a line feed after each carriage return. To fix that, press <ALT>P, C)ommunications, g) Add linefeeds to incoming CRs Setting "Add linefeeds" to YES causes PibTerm to add the linefeeds to each incoming carriage return. That will correct the display overwrite problem. Graphics Terminal Emulation -- Tek 4010 Graphics Terminal Emulation -- Tek 4010 PibTerm can emulate the display facilities of a Tektronix 4010 graphics terminal. PibTerm does NOT emulate the graphics input facilities of a Tektronix 4010 terminal. To enable graphics emulation, type the sequence <ALT>P, T)erminal, a) Terminal to emulate, g) Tektronix 4010. You must have a CGA (color graphics adapter), EGA (enhanced graphics adapter), or VGA (video graphics array) installed A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 55 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 55 to request Tektronix 4010 mode. Hercules graphics are NOT Hercules graphics are NOT supported by PibTerm. supported by PibTerm. Tektronix 4010 emulation is supported by nearly all mainframe graphics packages, including DI 3000 and SAS/GRAPH on the ACNS mainframes. The status line is not displayed in Tektronix 4010 emulation mode. Incidentally, PibTerm menus are displayed in text mode even when Tek 4010 graphics mode is active. This often results in strange pyrotechnics on your screen in back of the menus or while switching from graphics mode to text mode. That is perfectly normal, so don't be alarmed when it happens. Most multitaskers don't support running graphics in the background, so you should only activate Tek 4010 emulation mode when Pibterm is running as the foreground task. However, DesqView will run CGA, but NOT EGA or VGA, graphics in the background on a PC equipped with an Intel 386 processor. To support this, PibTerm allows you disable use of EGA/VGA graphics in Tek 4010 mode by setting the parameter at <ALT>P, V)ideo mode and colors; s) Allow EGA graphics mode to NO. CGA graphics will be used instead, which reduces resolution but which will run in the background in DesqView on a 386-equipped PC. File Transfers File Transfers PibTerm performs a wide variety of protocol file transfers. A protocol transfer sends error-checking information along protocol transfer with the data of the file being transmitted in order to provide as error-free a transmission as possible. (This information is not stored in the file on the receiving end; it is only used to check that the transmission occurred correctly.) A non-protocol transfer sends only the data, without any error-checking information. While a non- protocol transfer will generally proceed more quickly than a protocol transfer, the integrity of the transfer can be compromised by less-than-ideal communications circumstances, such as telephone line noise, added or dropped characters resulting from device overruns, and so on. YOU SHOULD YOU SHOULD ALWAYS USE A PROTOCOL FILE TRANSFER WHEN SENDING FILES TO OR ALWAYS USE A PROTOCOL FILE TRANSFER WHEN SENDING FILES TO OR RECEIVING FILES FROM THE ACNS MAINFRAMES. RECEIVING FILES FROM THE ACNS MAINFRAMES. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 56 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 56 How Protocols Work How Protocols Work In a file transfer protocol there is a sender and a sender receiver. The sender is the computer sending a file, and receiver the receiver is the computer which is receiving it. Both the sender and receiver must understand the same protocol in order for the communication (the file transfer) to proceed. A file transfer protocol usually adds two types of error- checking information to the data of the file itself: (1) Sequence information, like a block number; Sequence information (2) Integrity information, like a checksum or CRC. Integrity information The sender splits the file to be sent into a series of small pieces, usually called blocks or packets. Each block is assigned an identification number, and the data which comprises the block is subjected to a checksum or CRC checksum CRC (Cyclic redundancy check) operation. The block number, (Cyclic redundancy check) actual data, and file checksum or CRC are combined into one larger block and sent. The receiver looks at the block number and ensures that it is the next one expected. Then the receiver performs the same checksum/CRC operation on the data block as the sender performed. If the block number is wrong, or the receiver does not get the same error check value as the sender sent, then the receiver sends back a message to the sender indicating that that block was not received and requests retransmission. The sender retransmits each block until the receiver acknowledges its correct reception, or until a specified error threshhold is reached. When the block is correctly received, the receiver writes the data portion to its copy of the file, sends an acknowledgement to the sender that the block was correctly received, and waits for the next block be sent. This amounts to a conversation between the sending computer and the receiving computer. The sender transmits a part of the file (a block) and asks the receiver, "OK, did you get that block?" If the receiver says "Yes, I got that block, send me the next one" then the sender transmits the next block. If instead the receiver says "No, I didn't get that block, send it to me again" then the sender retransmits the same block until the receiver gets it correctly. Eventually the sender transmits an indication that the file is complete. In response to that, the receiver indicates that it has received the entire file correctly. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 57 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 57 Note the start-and-stop nature of the file transfer process: the sender sends a block, waits for the receiver to acknowledge it, and then sends the next block. This is an example of a half-duplex protocol: only one side is half-duplex protocol "talking" at a time. Sometimes the delay between blocks can grow quite large. This occurs when the transmission is going through packet- switching networks, satellites, or other communications links in which the turnaround time for a message can be several seconds. In such cases, the amount of time spent waiting for block acknowledgements can exceed the time spent actually transmitting file data! To counter this, a number of full-duplex protocols have been full-duplex protocols developed. In these protocols, the sender transmits information continuously -- still in blocks, but the blocks are sent without waiting for the receiver to acknowledge each of them. The receiver gets a block and checks it for correctness as before; the receiver still returns an error indicator to the sender if a block is bad. However, the receiver overlaps sending back its reply with the reception of new data blocks. Both the sender and the receiver can therefore be "talking" to each other at the same time. In a full-duplex protocol, the sender may be many blocks ahead by the time the receiver signals that a previous block was not received correctly. In this case, the sender must back up in the file being transmitted and resend the bad block. Some protocols resend only the block in error. Other protocols send the block in error and all subsequent blocks, even if those were previously received correctly by the receiver. Most file transfer protocols have traditionally been half- duplex protocols. Perhaps the most famous of the half- duplex protocols are Xmodem and Kermit, both of which are discussed below. The most popular full-duplex protocols for PCs are Zmodem and sliding windows Kermit, which is a full-duplex variant of the traditional half-duplex Kermit protocol. Kermit Kermit One of the most popular protocol file transfer methods is Kermit. Kermit was developed at Columbia University in New York. Programs implementing the Kermit protocol exist for nearly all computers, regardless of size. Kermit is the standard protocol for file transfers on the ACNS mainframe systems. You can also use Kermit for transferring files A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 58 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 58 between microcomputers, such as one IBM PC to another, or between the IBM PC and the Apple Macintosh. Kermit is the only protocol available in PibTerm that provides for transferring 8-bit binary files even when the transmission parameters are set for 7 bits. Kermit does this though the use of a "quoting" mechanism so that an 8- bit character is transmitted as a special marker character indicating the high-order bit is turned on and a second character containing the other seven bits. Kermit also includes a simple data compression algorithm which compresses repeated sequences of the same character to a single character and repeat count. This lessens the transfer time for files with large runs of similar characters -- for example, blanks in PASCAL or FORTRAN program files. Kermit can transmit a single file or a group of files. The version implemented in PibTerm can be used with a remote server, but PibTerm itself does not act as a Kermit server. Performance Considerations With Kermit Performance Considerations With Kermit Originally, Kermit was a half-duplex protocol that used very short (less then 94 characters) blocks. This rendered Kermit inefficient for transferring files between some types of systems, such as microcomputers and some mainframes. Recently, the Kermit protocol has been extended to provide two ways of improving Kermit's performance: (1) Allow longer blocks; (2) Allow full-duplex transmission through sliding windows. PibTerm implements both of these extensions to the basic Kermit protocol, although only one can be in effect at a time -- PibTerm does not do long blocks sliding windows. If the remote Kermit indicates that it can do both long blocks and sliding windows, PibTerm will elect to do sliding windows in preference to long blocks. Long blocks may be used on both the Cyber under NOS (but not NOS/VE) and the KGSM 4361. Long blocks are also available in the standard MSDOS MSKERMIT.EXE program and MacKermit (v0.9 or later). Sliding windows Kermit (sometimes called SuperKermit) may be used on many remote bulletin board systems, as well as with the Source (a commercial time-sharing service). To activate sliding windows Kermit in PibTerm, set the parameter at <ALT>P, A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 59 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 59 K)ermit, m) Sliding windows size to a value greater than 0. The maximum sliding window size allowed is 31. To activate long blocks Kermit, set the parameter at <ALT>P, K)ermit, n) Maximum long block size to a value greater than 0 and less than or equal to 1000. If these values are set to zero, PibTerm will not negotiate sliding windows or long blocks. Types of Files Types of Files Most of the time you will be transferring text files from one machine to another. Text files contain standard Text files readable text. Typical text files are letters, reports, paper, source code for programs, and data files -- AS LONG AS THESE FILES DO NOT CONTAIN NON-STANDARD OR CONTROL CODES. Text files can be read, understood, and processed on both the originating machine and the receiving machine. Binary files are any files which can't be considered text Binary files files. Examples of binary files are executable code, or files produced by word processors saved in internal word- processing format. In general, binary files do not make sense to, and cannot be processed on, any type of machine other than that on which the file was created. For example, the Cyber cannot process a WordPerfect document file, nor can a PC process a Cyber executable program binary file. When transferring files, you will need to specify that a file is a binary file or a text file to BOTH the sending and receiving machines. By default, Kermit on the ACNS mainframes assumes that you are transferring text files, so you don't have to explicitly indicate that if you are indeed transferring a text file. Occasionally, however, you will be transferring a binary file. The most common type of binary file transferred on the ACNS mainframes is the SPSSX Export format file on the Cyber under NOS. Sending or receiving text files as binary files on the PC works just fine -- MS DOS doesn't really distinguish text from binary files. However, each of the ACNS mainframe systems do, and it is VERY IMPORTANT that the file type on the mainframes be set correctly. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 60 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 60 Uploading versus Downloading Uploading versus Downloading The process of receiving a file from a remote system is called downloading the file. The process of sending a file downloading to a remote system is call uploading the file. uploading To perform a protocol file transfer, set the remote system to understand the selected type of transfer. Then press <ALT>R to receive a file and select the corresponding type of protocol from the PibTerm menu. To send a file to the remote system, press <ALT>S and select the proper protocol. You will be prompted for file names as necessary. Using the Kermit protocol Using the Kermit protocol On the various ACNS machines, you should always select Kermit as the protocol of choice (this is the default protocol in PibTerm). To simplify choosing Kermit as the transfer method, the version of PibTerm provided by ACNS defines the IBM keypad PgUp key to be a request for a Kermit PgUp send file, and the IBM keypad PgDn key to be a Kermit PgDn receive file transaction. To perform a transfer using the Kermit protocol, do the following: 1. On the Cyber, use GET or ATTACH to make local files of GET ATTACH all the files you wish to download. GET is used for GET indirect files, and ATTACH is used for direct files. ATTACH 2. Execute Kermit on the remote system. On all the ACNS machines, you only need to enter: KERMIT KERMIT when the operating system asks for a command. For example, on a VAX/VMS system you usually invoke Kermit as follows: $ kermit kermit VMS Kermit-32 version 3.3.111 Default terminal for transfers is: _VTA2192: Kermit-32> Vax Kermit is now awaiting keyboard input to tell it what to do. 3. Most mainframe Kermit programs default to Ascii or text files as the type of file to be transferred. This is true of all the ACNS mainframes. If you are transferring text-only files, then you do not need to tell the mainframes that you will sending or receiving text files -- that is understood by default. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 61 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 61 However, some types of files must be transferred as binary files, and you must inform the mainframe of that. A common example is the transfer of SPSSX export files between the Cyber under NOS and the PC. To tell Cyber Kermit that you will be transferring a binary file like an SPSSX export file, issue the following command to Cyber Kermit: SET FILE BINARY SET FILE BINARY You must run CYTOPC on the SPSSX export file before downloading it, or PCTOCY on the uploaded export file before using it with SPSSX. See ACNS document #605 for further details on SPSSX export files on the Cyber. 4. Next you should activate the remote Kermit's ability to use long blocks if you have a clean phone line or you are using a hard-wired connection. This greatly improves the file transfer speed. At this time, Cyber Kermit under NOS and IBM CMS Kermit allow long blocks; the Vax does not. On the Cyber under NOS, issue the following commands to Cyber Kermit to activate long blocks: SET SEND PACKET 1000 SET RECEIVE PACKET 1000 On the IBM 4361 under CMS, you only need to issue one command to CMS Kermit: SET RECEIVE PACKET 1000 5. Place the remote system's Kermit into "Server Mode". By doing this you will be able to send or receive several files without restarting Kermit. To start server mode, type "server" to the remote Kermit. For example, with Vax/VMS Kermit, typing "server" results in a note like this: VMS Kermit-32 version 3.3.111 Default terminal for transfers is: _VTA2192: Kermit-32>server server Kermit Server running on VAX/VMS host. Please type your escape sequence to return to your local machine. Shut down the server by typing the Kermit BYE 6. Press PgDn to receive a file from the remote system, or PgDn PgUp to send a file to the remote system. Pressing PgUp A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 62 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 62 PgUp and PgDn automatically invokes Kermit using the ACNS-supplied key definitions files. You can skip down to step 8 if you hit PgUp or PgDn. More generally, you can press <ALT>R to receive a file from the remote system, or <ALT>S to send a file to the remote system. You will see a menu like the following appear (this one is for <Alt>R): +[ Choose file transfer protocol for receive: ]======+ | a) Ascii | | b) Xmodem (Checksum) | | c) Xmodem (CRC) | | d) Kermit | d) Kermit | e) Telink | | f) Modem7 (Checksum) | | g) Modem7 (CRC) | | h) Xmodem 1K | | i) Xmodem 1K G | | j) Ymodem Batch | | k) Ymodem G batch | | l) Zmodem | | m) WXmodem | | n) Rlink | | o) SEALink | | p) YTerm | | | | | | | | | | | +====================================================+ 7. Hit "d" to select Kermit. You will then see a menu like the following: +[ Choose Kermit function: ]==============+ | a) GET Text File | a) GET Text File | b) GET Binary file | | c) RECEIVE Text File | | d) RECEIVE Binary File | | e) Use PCKERMIT.EXE (now NO) | | f) Finish Remote Server | | l) Logout Remote Server | | r) Remote Server Commands | | t) Transfer to Send File Menu | | q) Quit Kermit | +==========================================+ Hit "a" to receive an Ascii text file from the remote system, or "b" to receive a binary file. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 63 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 63 8. You will then see a box like the following: +===================================================================+ | File to receive: | | | +===================================================================+ At this point, type the name of the file that you would like to receive. For example, suppose the file you want is called GAZORP.GOOMBLA on the Vax. You type that name at this point and hit the Enter (or Return) key. The Kermit transfer begins and you will see a status box like the following: +[ Receive file gazorp.goombla using Kermit ]==================+ | Packets received : | | Bytes received : | | Retries : | | Bytes to receive : | | Current block window : | | 8th bit quoting : | | Block check type : | | Compression : | | Sliding windows : | | Long blocks : | | Last status message : | | | | | | ^F=abort file ^B=abort batch ^K=abort Kermit ^R=retry | +==============================================================+ Since "gazorp.goombla" isn't a legal MS DOS file name, PibTerm will truncate the name to "gazorp.goo." Whenever PibTerm renames a file in this way, it displays the revised name on one of the message lines in the status box. Kermit is a batch file transfer protocol. That means batch file transfer protocol that Kermit can send or receive several files at one time. For example, you could have requested the file "gazorp.*", and the remote Kermit would have sent all files beginning with "gazorp." 9. When you've finished transferring all the files, select the "f) Finish Remote Server" menu item. This will close down the remote Kermit. You will see a status box like the one above indicating the progress of the "finish server" operation. 10. Select the "q) Quit Kermit" item on PibTerm's Kermit menu. This will return you to terminal mode. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 64 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 64 You may then need to type EXIT or QUIT to cause the Kermit on the remote system to stop executing. In the case of the Vax, type: Kermit-32>exit exit 11. On the Cyber, files are not automatically saved as permanent files by Kermit. You will need to issue SAVE statements to make the files you've uploaded permanent. To see what names Cyber Kermit has given your files, use the ENQUIRE,F. control statement. Generally, Cyber Kermit truncates all of your DOS file names to the first seven characters ignoring the period. Kermit Autodownload Kermit Autodownload It is possible to set up Kermit for autodownloading. What this means is that you can start a Kermit transfer on the remote system using Kermit SEND, and PibTerm, running in SEND terminal emulation mode, will start a Kermit receive automatically. You need not explicitly type <ALT>R or PgDn <ALT>R PgDn to begin the receive. To activate Kermit autodownloading, set the parameter at <ALT>P, K)ermit, p) Allow Kermit autodownload to YES. When you use autodownloading, the remote Kermit should NOT be placed in server mode. Instead, use SEND commands to SEND get the remote Kermit to send files. You should not activate autodownloading on poor phone connections because line noise can appear as the marker character (Ascii 01 = SOH) indicating the start of a Kermit autodownload. This can result in PibTerm initiating a bogus Kermit receive. Kermit between IBM PC and Apple Macintosh Kermit between IBM PC and Apple Macintosh You can use PibTerm on the PC and MacKermit on the Macintosh to transfer text files between the Macintosh and the IBM PC. If you have a Mac II, you'll need to have a copy of MacKermit v0.9 or later; earlier versions of MacKermit don't A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 65 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 65 run on the Mac II. You can also use any other Macintosh communications program which supports Kermit, e.g., Red Ryder or VersaTerm Pro. However, MacKermit is especially useful because it will act as a Kermit server. You will also need a special cable to connect the serial port of the IBM PC to the phone port of the Macintosh. Such a cable is called a null modem adapter. The null modem null modem adapter allows two computers to be directly connected together without the use of a modem. This is necessary because both computers would otherwise be trying to transmit to each other's transmit line, and the receive lines would not be receiving anything. The null modem reverses the transmit and receive lines on one end of the serial cable so that the two computers can communicate. After connecting the Macintosh and the IBM PC serial ports, execute MacKermit on the Macintosh. Set the communications parameters as follows: Speed: 9600 baud Parity: None Data Bits: 8 Stop Bits: 1 Also set the packet size to be 1000 -- this activates long blocks for MacKermit, and will greatly enhance the transfer speed between the Mac and the PC. Set MacKermit to act as a Kermit server. On the PC, set the PibTerm communications parameters as follows: Speed: 9600 baud Parity: None Data Bits: 8 Stop Bits: 1 Hard-wired: Yes Alternatively, you can execute the script TOMAC.SCR TOMAC.SCR (provided in the PibTerm release materials) which will set these parameters for you. TOMAC will also prompt you for the name of the file to send to the Macintosh, and will then execute the Kermit transfer. The supplied script FROMMAC.SCR performs a reception of a file from the FROMMAC.SCR Macintosh. After you are finished with the transfers, you can end server mode on the Macintosh -- there's no need to issue the FINISH command from PibTerm to MacKermit. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 66 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 66 Kermit Protocol Parameters Kermit Protocol Parameters There are a number of other parameters for the Kermit protocol which you can set at <ALT>P, K)ermit besides those mentioned above. Usually you should not need to change any of the specified parameter values. However, if you are accessing Kermit on a non-ACNS machine, or through a network, you may find it necessary to alter some of the parameters. Some older Kermit programs on mainframes may not like to see long blocks or sliding windows requests, so you should set both <ALT>P, K)ermit, m) sliding windows size n) long blocks size to zero when accessing such systems. This prevents PibTerm from trying to negotiate either long blocks or sliding windows. Incidentally, the maximum sliding window size is 31, and the maximum long block size supported by PibTerm is 1000 characters. PibTerm reduces any larger parameter values you enter to those values. Setting a download directory Setting a download directory You can instruct PibTerm to place all files received from a remote system into a specified subdirectory. This makes it easy to distinguish downloaded files from other files. It is also useful when you are downloading to another drive besides the current logged drive. To set the download directory path, press <ALT>P, P)aths, e) Download directory. Transfer Statistics Transfer Statistics PibTerm writes status messages to the display while a transfer is in progress, as noted above. In addition, PibTerm also writes any error indications to the review buffer (see the section "Scanning the review buffer") and to the various log files (see the section "Session Logging"). A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 67 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 67 This allows you to determine if a transfer succeeded or not without watching the entire transfer. For example, the log entries for a sample Kermit transfer might appear as follows: >> 88/01/18 02:39:41 Send file using Kermit >>+ 88/01/18 02:39:43 Sending file PIBTERM.PAS >>+ 88/01/18 02:39:43 Sending PIBTERM.PAS >>+ 88/01/18 02:40:49 NAK for packet 9 received. >>+ 88/01/18 02:41:17 Send completed. >>+ 88/01/18 02:41:17 Effective transfer rate was 78 CPS. >>+ 88/01/18 02:41:17 Actual transfer rate was 42 CPS. >> 88/01/18 02:41:27 FINISH remote server. >>+ 88/01/18 02:41:27 Remote server stopped. Here the file PIBTERM.PAS is being sent from the PC to the Vax. A line noise problem prevented packet 9 from being received correctly the first couple of times. The length of time before the error indication is indicative of the Vax having received a spurious XOFF flow control character caused by the line noise. Eventually PibTerm decided that this must be the problem and sent an XON to uncork the line again, at which point the transfer proceeded onwards towards completion. Note the low transfer rate because of the delay engendered by the faulty line conditions. File Transfer Trouble-Shooting With Kermit File Transfer Trouble-Shooting With Kermit Here are some of the most common reasons for Kermit file transfer failures. Problem: The file transfer never begins. Problem: What to do: What to do: a) Abort the transfer on PibTerm's end by hitting <CTRL>F. Wait a few seconds. If that doesn't seem to stop the transfer, try hitting <CTRL>K. b) If you see the message "XOFF received" on the status line, hit the ESC key a couple of times until the message disappears. Then try the transfer again. c) If you are using the PibTerm "GET filename" function (or you are hitting the PgUp or PgDn keys to transfer a file), then make sure that you've placed the mainframe Kermit in server mode. d) Check that you've spelled the name of the file to be transferred correctly. When sending a file, A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 68 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 68 you specify the MS DOS file name. When receiving a file, you specify the name ON THE REMOTE SYSTEM. e) On the Cyber, make sure that you've made the file a local file using GET (for indirect files) or ATTACH (for direct files). f) Try the transfer again a couple of times. Problem: Kermit aborts while performing a transfer. Problem: What to do: What to do: a) If this is the first time in a session that you're using Kermit, and you get a message "illegal ASCII character" (or "block sequence error" on the Cyber) then the transfer will not work. This indicates a mismatch in the file type between the mainframe and the microcomputer. If you are transferring a binary file, make sure that you tell PibTerm to get/receive or send a binary file, and also tell the remote Kermit that the file type is binary. If you don't think you're transferring a binary file, then you may have given the wrong file name, or you may not understand what the format really is. See the previous section on file types for more details. A common mistake is to try to send a file containing an extended Ascii character (one whose numeric value is greater than 127) as a text file. Such characters are commonly used on the PC for drawing lines or boxes. While these extended Ascii characters are considered legal text by the PC, they are NOT considered legal text by the mainframes. b) If you didn't get the "illegal ASCII character" or "block sequence error" messages, then check that you've named the file correctly. Also ensure that the file is a local file if you're downloading from the Cyber. And check that you have enough disk space on the PC to receive a file when downloading. When sending to the Vax, make sure you have enough disk space there to receive the file from the PC. (If you get a message from Vax Kermit like "ACP File Extend Failed", then you've run out of disk space on the Vax.) c) If the second transfer attempt fails at the same point as the first transfer, then the file you're trying to send or receive may contain a character that can't be transferred. You may want to try the transfer one more time just to verify that it will indeed fail a third time at the same place. You'll need to check the A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 69 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 69 contents of the file to figure out what the character is that's causing the problem. d) If the transfer aborts at different places each time, then the problem may be that the mainframe system is simply too busy. The Kermit protocol imposes a number of internal timeout checks to prevent transfers from hanging. On a busy system, the timeout periods may be exceeded and therefore Kermit will fail. You should try the transfer again at a later time when the mainframe system isn't so busy. e) If you're running a multitasking system on your PC -- for example, DesqView or TaskView -- then try the transfer again with PibTerm the foreground task and NO other tasks running concurrently. You can also run into problems trying to transfer files if you're using a print spooler or if you are using a program (like a DOS visual shell) that displays a running time-of-day clock. These programs "steal" time from the serial communications handler for long enough periods of time that PibTerm misses seeing some characters. See the sections "PibTerm and multitasking software" and "Programs which conflict with PibTerm" for more details. Problem: Host won't respond to FINISH server request Problem: What to do: What to do: a) If the Cyber is the host machine, then q) quit Kermit to get back to NOS. Enter <CTRL>T followed by return. If this doesn't work the first time, try it again a couple of times. If this doesn't work, hit <CTRL>Q a couple of times. Then try <CTRL>T again. If this still doesn't work, you may need to detach and drop the job. Hit the sequence ESC, <CTRL>A, <CTRL>T to end your current CDCNET session. That will allow you to log in a new job. Use the ENQUIRE,JSN and DROP,JSN commands ENQUIRE,JSN DROP,JSN to get rid of the hung Kermit job (see the NOS manual for details). Any files that you uploaded and didn't get a chance to SAVE will be lost, and you'll have to transfer them again. b) If the Vax is the host machine, then q) quit Kermit to get back to VMS. Enter <CTRL>Y several times. If that doesn't work, you'll have to terminate the VMS session. Any files you uploaded prior to the problem file will be saved. To terminate your session, log in another job and use the DCL command STOP /ID=n, where "n" is STOP /ID=n the process identifier of the hung Kermit job. See the Vax command language reference manual for more information about the STOP command A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 70 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 70 Other File Transfer Protocols Other File Transfer Protocols PibTerm provides a variety of other transfer protocols in addition to Kermit. These include several Xmodem-derived protocols, as well as non-protocol (Ascii) transfers. You may also connect external drivers for other protocols to PibTerm. Xmodem family Xmodem family Ward Christensen originated the Xmodem protocol many years ago as a simple solution to transferring files between two computer systems. Over the years, the Xmodem protocol developed into the de-facto standard for file transfers between microcomputers. Recently, many Xmodem-derived protocols have appeared which address a number of the limitations and performance problems of the original Xmodem protocol. Xmodem Xmodem Xmodem Checksum and Xmodem CRC are two common transfer methods for use with remote bulletin board systems and many mini-computer systems. These are single-file-at-a-time transfer methods. Files are transmitted in 128 character blocks along with the block number and checksum or cyclic redundancy check (CRC) information. This allows the receiving system to ensure that the transmission has occurred correctly to a very high degree of probability. The CRC error-checking method is superior to the Checksum method, so you should always use the CRC method if the remote system to which you are connected accepts it. RCPM, Fido, RBBS, PC Board, DBBS, TCOMM, RBBS, OPUS, PC Host, and many other bulletin board systems support Xmodem CRC. "Standard" Xmodem imposes very severe timing constraints on inter-character and inter-block transmission delays. Some systems which implement Xmodem require that these timing constraints be relaxed. You can change the timing parameters for Xmodem at <ALT>P, F)ile transfer, j) Xmodem parameters Few mainframe systems support Xmodem; CDC's NOS and NOS/VE are two that do. However, Kermit is still the protocol of choice for the CDC operating systems. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 71 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 71 Xmodem 1K Xmodem 1K Xmodem 1K is an Xmodem variant which provides for long 1024 character blocks -- more efficient for higher baud rates like 2400, 4800, and 9600 baud. Like Xmodem and Xmodem CRC, Xmodem 1K only provides for the transfer of one file at a time. Because of some confusion over terminology, Xmodem 1K is sometimes referred to as Ymodem. However, Ymodem is actually a batch protocol that allows several files to be transmitted in sequence. See the discussion of Ymodem below for details. A variant of Xmodem 1K, called Xmodem 1K G in PibTerm, has been suggested for use with error-correcting modems. This protocol operates just like regular Xmodem but allows for a continuous flow of blocks to be transmitted by the sending computer. XON/XOFF flow control and/or CTS flow control are used to synchronize the two computer systems. This protocol relies on the two error-correcting modems to provide the necessary block retransmissions in case of error. However, if an error occurs between the modem and the microcomputer (which does happen), then Xmodem 1K G has to give up, since there is no provision for resending bad blocks under program control. In general, the Zmodem protocol (described below) is a better choice for a protocol to use with error-correcting modems, since it provides the streaming speed of Xmodem 1K G with error recovery and retransmission of bad blocks under program control. Modem7 Modem7 Modem7 batch protocol is a variant of Xmodem which sends the file name before the file itself. This provides for sending a batch of files all at one time. Each file is preceded by the file name. Either checksum or CRC error-checking can be used with Modem7. BBS systems like RCP/M and Fido support Modem7 transfers, as do many Unix systems. Ymodem Ymodem Ymodem is another Xmodem variant which provides for sending the file name, creation time and date, and exact file size. This information is contained in a special "block 0" which is prepended to the actual data of the file itself. Ymodem allows for the transfer of several files at once. In general, the actual data part of a file is sent using Xmodem 1K-style long blocks with CRC error checking. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 72 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 72 Ymodem was devised by Chuck Forsberg, who later devised the Zmodem protocol (see the section on Zmodem below). A variant of Ymodem, called Ymodem G in PibTerm, uses Xmodem 1K G (described above) to send files. It should only be used when error-correcting modems are present on both ends of the computer link. If any error occurs during a Ymodem G transfer, then the transfer is aborted. Telink Telink Telink is a variant of Modem7 proposed by Tom Jennings that adds information on file size and file creation time to the file name. PibTerm will use the file size and creation time information from Telink if it appears. Telink is most useful with FIDO bulletin board systems. PibTerm always requests the CRC version of Telink, since there is no reason to use the Checksum version. Incidentally, if you enter the wrong Xmodem variant protocol name, PibTerm will try and adjust as it receives blocks from the remote system. In other words, if the remote system decides to send the file using Telink, but you just say Modem7, PibTerm will adjust to Telink anyway. Likewise, an Xmodem 1K 1024-character block is automatically handled, as is the Ymodem header block if any, even if you say that you want an Xmodem transfer. Since PibTerm cannot always adjust properly, so it's best to tell it the proper transfer type to avoid problems. Mahoney BBS batch protocol Mahoney BBS batch protocol Bob Mahoney runs one of the largest BBSs (remote bulletin board systems) in the world out of suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Several years back Bob added a batch version of Xmodem -- different from Modem 7 or Telink -- to his BBS software. This "autodownload" protocol is supported by PibTerm if you set the parameter at <ALT>P, F)ile transfer, b) Do EXEC PC BBS commands to YES. Since the EXEC PC BBS software now recognizes other protocols including Ymodem batch for autodownload, you should use Ymodem batch in preference to this older autodownload protocol because Ymodem is considerably faster. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 73 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 73 Other Xmodem family protocols Other Xmodem family protocols There are other Xmodem-derived protocols. Recently several variants of Xmodem which provide sliding windows like sliding windows Kermit have appeared. PibTerm does not incorporate these newer protocols directly, but you may add them using the facilities for defining external protocols. See the "PibTerm Parameters Reference Manual" for more details. Zmodem Zmodem An increasing number of bulletin board systems -- as well as Unix systems -- provide the Zmodem protocol. Zmodem is a full-duplex protocol that provides excellent throughput and exceptional error-recovery even on poor connections. Zmodem also allows you to restart a file transfer that aborted because of a dropped carrier. For example, suppose that you were transferring a 200K file, and after 120K the carrier dropped. With other file transfer protocols, you would need to restart the transfer from the beginning. With Zmodem it is possible to reconnect to the remote system and pick up the transfer where it left off, so that only the remaining 80K of the file needs to be sent, rather than the entire 200K all over again. PibTerm does not directly incorporate the Zmodem protocol. Instead, PibTerm interfaces to the standard DSZ transfer DSZ module written by Chuck Forsberg, the author of the Zmodem protocol. This interface is provided through two batch files, RECZMOD.BAT and SENDZMOD.BAT, using the PibTerm RECZMOD.BAT SENDZMOD.BAT facility for adding external file transfer protocol drivers to the standard <ALT>R and <ALT>S transfer menus. (See the section "Adding your own protocols" below.) These batch files are included as part of the PibTerm release materials. However, the DSZ program is NOT included. You can obtain a copy of DSZ from most of the better bulletin board systems or directly from the author at: Omen Technology P.O. Box 4681 Portland, Oregon 97208 If you order directly from Omen Technology then please include a check for $20 (US funds). (Credit card orders are also accepted for $25.) The $20 registers your copy of DSZ. DSZ is a shareware product, and you are expected to register it if you use it. DSZ is NOT free software! Even if you NOT download DSZ from a bulletin board system, you should send in the $20 registration fee. The registration diskette also contains Unix versions of the Zmodem protocol programs (SZ and RZ). A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 74 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 74 It is possible to set up Zmodem for autodownloading. What this means is that you can start a Zmodem transfer on the remote system and PibTerm, running in terminal emulation mode, will recognize that a Zmodem receive should be started. (This is similar to the Kermit autodownload facility.) You do not explicitly need to issue an <ALT>R to begin the receive. To activate Zmodem autodownloading, set the parameter at <ALT>P, F)ile transfer, h) Allow Zmodem autodownload to YES. You should not activate autodownloading on noisy lines because line noise can appear as the marker character (Ascii 24 = CAN) indicating the start of an autodownload. Compuserve B Protocol Compuserve B Protocol Pibterm also incorporates the Compuserve B protocol (called CISB protocol for short) for use with CompuServe Information Services (CIS). PibTerm provides the latest "quick B" protocol which is a full-duplex sliding windows version of the B protocol. CompuServe B protocol is activated by special commands (escape sequences) sent from CompuServe to the PC. However, by default, PibTerm does not recognize those commands, since line noise can also cause Compuserve B protocol to be invoked falsely, and because in VT100 mode the escape sequences may invoke the VT100 answerback facility. To activate Compuserve B protocol, press <ALT>P, F)ile transfer, c) Do CompuServe B protocol and set the parameter value to YES. You should make sure that the "prompt for Vidtex" option at GO TERMINAL on CompuServe is set to NO, or CompuServe will issue Vidtex prompts which look like B protocol requests when you log in to CompuServe. This can result in a bogus display, or the start of a spurious file transfer. The CompuServe B Protocol code in PibTerm is based in part upon an implementation written by Russ Ranshaw, which in turn was based upon an implementation written by Steve Wilhite. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 75 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 75 Automatic File Name Extraction For Transfers Automatic File Name Extraction For Transfers When you send a file to a remote system, you need to tell PibTerm the name of the file to be transferred. For the non- batch protocols, you also need to tell PibTerm the name of the file you are receiving from a remote system. Additionally, you may need to tell the remote system what file name to send or receive. Frequently this means that you type the file name twice: once to inform the remote system of the file name, and again to inform PibTerm of the file name. As a convenience, PibTerm scans what you've typed and extracts what it believes to be the file name you presented to the remote system. It does this by choosing as the file name a character sequence of the form "name.ext" where ".ext" is not all digits. PibTerm displays this possible file name as the default choice at the "Choose protocol" menus or "Choose file name" menu in Kermit. If you want to disable this automatic file name recognition facility, change the parameter at <ALT>P, F)ile transfer, g) Auto find file names to NO. Non-Protocol File Transfers Non-Protocol File Transfers PibTerm also provides non-protocol file transfers, sometimes called Ascii file transfers. A non-protocol transfer does NOT send any error checking information along with the data being transmitted, so that any errors encountered will NOT be detected or corrected. Hence, you should NOT use such transfers when the remote system provides for protocol transfers. Since all of the ACNS systems provide (at least) the Kermit protocol, you should use Kermit for all of your file transfers to and from ACNS systems. However, there are other systems which do not provide protocol transfers. On these systems non-protocol transfers are the only means of transferring data. Also, non-protocol transfers are useful for driving devices like plotters or linotype machines which do not understand protocol transfers. (These devices may require flow control like Xon/Xoff or CTS/RTS, however.) Another common use for a non-protocol transfer is to send short messages to the message facility of a remote system which does not allow protocol transfers in the message A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 76 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 76 system. For example, many remote BBS systems allow you to leave messages, but very few allow you to upload messages using a protocol. To perform a non-protocol transfer, choose Ascii as the Ascii transfer type at the <ALT>R or <ALT>S menus. There are a number of parameters which affect the manner in which a non-protocol transfer is performed. These parameters appear at <ALT>P, F)ile transfer, i) Ascii transfer parameters Here is the resulting display: +[ Ascii transfer settings ]===================================================+ | | | a) Intercharacter delay : 0 | | b) Interline delay : 0 | | c) Pacing character : (Ascii 32) | | d) Byte stream transfer : No | | e) Maximum text line size : 255 | | f) Send CR/LF sequence at end of line : No | | g) Send empty line as blank : No | | h) Send <CTRL>Z at end of transfer : Yes | | i) Display text during transfer : No | | j) Translate incoming characters : No | | | | Enter letter of item to revise or hit ESC to quit: | | | +==============================================================================+ The a) intercharacter delay and b) interline delay allow you a) intercharacter delay b) interline delay to slow down the transfer to accomodate remote systems which have difficulty accepting large batches of characters all at once. By default, PibTerm sets both delays to zero, so that characters are sent at full speed to the remote system. The c) pacing character instructs PibTerm to wait until the c) pacing character selected character appears from the remote system before sending the next line of text. Specifying a blank as the pacing character (the default) indicates that no pacing is desired. Normally an Ascii file on MSDOS contains a series of text lines, each of which ends with carriage return (Ascii 13) and line feed (Ascii 10) characters. You may want to send a file that does not have that format. Setting d) byte stream d) byte stream transfer to YES causes PibTerm to send a file as a transfer continuous stream of characters, without regard to text line boundaries. This option is useful when sending a file to a A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 77 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 77 plotter, linotype, or real-time data acquisition device. You can also receive a file as a byte stream transfer from such a device using this option. Generally you need to set some kind of hardware or software flow control, or use the intercharacter/interline delays, or specify pacing character. The e) maximum text line size which PibTerm allows is 255 e) maximum text line size characters per line. If you are sending or receiving a file with lines longer than 255 characters, set the d) byte d) byte stream transfer to YES and leave the maximum text line size stream transfer at 255. When receiving an Ascii text file, most remote systems automatically append line feeds to carriage returns. It isn't necessary to explicitly send the carriage return AND a line feed at the end of each text line -- only the carriage return is needed. If the remote system DOES require both a carriage return and a line feed, then set the value of f) f) Send CR/LF sequence at end of line to YES. Send CR/LF sequence at end of line Some remote systems like CompuServe or NOS interpret an empty line -- one consisting of just a carriage return -- as an end-of-input indicator. For those systems you may want to have PibTerm change empty lines to lines containing a blank, which avoids the end-of-input problem. To do this, set the value of g) Send empty line as blank to YES. g) Send empty line as blank Some systems like the Vax will accept a <CTRL>Z as an end- of-file marker. (MSDOS programs often do as well for text files.) If the remote system wants a <CTRL>Z to mark the end-of-file, then set h) Send <CTRL>Z at end of transfer to h) Send <CTRL>Z at end of transfer YES. To see the transfer in progress set i) Display text during i) Display text during transfer to YES. Note, however, that this option assumes transfer that the remote system is echoing back the characters PIbTerm sends. If that is not the case, you should use <ALT>E to toggle local echo ON during the transfer. Also note that turning on the display slows down the transfer considerably. When PibTerm is receiving an Ascii file, you will need to use <ALT>R to stop the transfer when it is actually complete. PibTerm cannot do this automatically since it does not know where the actual end of the received data is. When sending a file, PibTerm stops at the end of the file on the PC. Because of the buffering that both PibTerm and many modems use when sending files, you may find that the Ascii transfer display disappears before the remote system has actually received the entire file. This is because the last part of the file to be sent is still sitting in the outbound serial A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 78 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 78 port buffer or the modem's buffer. This is normal and should not be cause for alarm. If you want the current translate table (defined at <ALT>T) to affect Ascii file receives, set j) Translate incoming j) Translate incoming characters to YES. Normally, Ascii file transfers IGNORE characters the current translate table setting. And, the translate table has not effect when sending a file. External File Transfer Protocols External File Transfer Protocols An external file transfer protocol is one which is not built-in to PibTerm itself, but can be accessed by executing an auxilliary program which performs the transfer. A number of such auxilliary programs currently exist: DSZ for Zmodem (and Xmodem and Ymodem too); MLINK.COM for MegaLink; CLINK.COM for SEALink; PCKERMIT.EXE for sliding windows Kermit; and so on. There are two ways to add an external file transfer protocol to PibTerm. The first is to write a script to be executed when the external protocol is invoked. The second is to write a batch file to be executed when the external protocol is invoked. The script approach allows more flexibility, but is much more work to set up. This section only describes the batch file approach; see the "PibTerm Script Language Reference Manual" for details on the script approach. Once you have added the external protocol to PibTerm, you can access it at <ALT>R and <ALT>S just like the built-in <ALT>R <ALT>S protocols. You can also specify an external protocol should be the default protocol for a specific dialing directory entry, just as you can specify one of the built-in protocols. In other words, there is no difference between using a built-in protocol and using an external protocol once you have defined the external protocol properly to PibTerm. Steps in Adding a User-Defined Protocol Steps in Adding a User-Defined Protocol Here are the steps in adding an external file transfer protocol to PibTerm. Step 1: Find a suitable auxilliary program. Step 1: Find a suitable auxilliary program. For illustration, the MegaLink protocol module MLINK.COM written by Paul Meiners will be used here. The MLINK.COM module is available on a many bulletin boards; it is NOT included as part of the PibTerm release materials. MLINK.COM is a shareware product. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 79 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 79 Step 2: Construct configuration file entry for protocol Step 2: Construct configuration file entry for protocol Do an <Alt>P, F)ile transfer, n) external protocol definitions. You will see a display like this one: +[ External transfer protocol definitions ]====================================+ | | | Protocol Name Abbrev. Batch Mode Host Mode Receive Script Send Script | | | | a) Zmodem ZM YES YES RECZMOD.BAT SENDZMOD.BAT| | b) ** Unused ** | | c) ** Unused ** | | d) ** Unused ** | | e) ** Unused ** | | f) ** Unused ** | | g) ** Unused ** | | h) ** Unused ** | | i) ** Unused ** | | j) ** Unused ** | | | | Enter letter of item to revise or hit ESC to quit: | | | +==============================================================================+ One external protocol is pre-defined in the ACNS release materials for PibTerm -- Zmodem. This leaves nine available slots for other protocols. There are six items needed to define an external protocol, as indicated by the six columns in the menu display above. First is the protocol name -- in this case, MegaLink. This First is the name which will be displayed at <ALT>R or <ALT>S in <ALT>R <ALT>S the file transfer protocol menu and in section two of the dialing directory display. Second is a two-letter abbreviation for the protocol. The Second abbreviation MUST have two non-blank characters. This is the abbreviation which is used in the dialing directory file PIBTERM.FON and in the script commands Send and Receive (see Send Receive the "PibTerm Script Language Reference Manual" for details). The following two-letter abbreviations are already taken and can't be used: AS, XK, XC, KE, TE, MK, M7, X1, XG, YB, YG, NO A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 80 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 80 In addition, ZM is taken by the Zmodem definition supplied ZM with the PibTerm release materials. We'll choose the letters ML for MegaLink. ML Third, we need to indicate if the protocol is a batch Third protocol which sends the file names as part of the transfer when a receive from the remote system is done. If so, PibTerm does not need to prompt for the file name when the external protocol is chosen. (For example, PibTerm doesn't prompt for the filename to receive for the built-in protocol Ymodem batch.) Fourth, we need to indicate whether or not the protocol can Fourth be executed by a non-privileged user in host mode. Internal protocols built-in to PibTerm check file transfer requests against entries in the PIBTERM.XFR file. (See the section PIBTERM.XFR "On Being A Host" for more details about host mode in PibTerm.) External protocols do not perform this check since they don't know anything about the PIBTERM.XFR file. PIBTERM.XFR These external protocols should not be allowed to execute from host mode to avoid security problems, and you should answer N to the question "Allow this protocol in host mode?" N However, some external protocol modules do provide a facility for restricting files to be transferred to a specific subdirectory. If you specify a host mode upload directory and a host mode download directory, and the external protocol handler allows you to specify transfers to/from only those subdirectories, then you can allow the external protocols to execute in host mode with an acceptable level of security. As it happens, the Megalink driver MLINK.COM does allow you to specify the subdirectory in which to place received files, but MLINK.COM does NOT allow you to specify a directory to restrict files to be sent. So we answer "N" to the "Allow this protocol in host mode?" question. (Incidentally, a privileged user can execute any of the defined protocols without regard to this setting.) Fifth, we need to provide the name of a PibTerm script or Fifth batch file to be executed when a file is to be received from a remote system with the external protocol. The script or batch file contains all the necessary instructions to execute the external protocol module. WE MUST WRITE THIS SCRIPT/BATCH FILE OUTSELVES. For Megalink, we will call the receive file batch file RECMLINK.BAT. RECMLINK.BAT Sixth, we need to provide the name of a PibTerm script or Sixth batch file to be executed when a file is to be sent to the remote system. Again, we need to write this script or batch file ourselves. For MegaLink, we will call the send file batch file SENDMLIN.BAT. SENDMLIN.BAT A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 81 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 81 Referring back to the menu display above, hitting 'b' to choose the first empty slot produces the following sub-menu: +[ Revise Protocol: ]+ | P)rotocol name | | A)bbreviation | | B)atch mode | | H)ost mode allowed | | R)eceive script | | S)end script | +=====================+ Select each item in turn and enter the six required pieces of information: P)rotocol name --- MegaLink A)bbreviation --- ML B)atch mode --- Yes H)ost mode --- No R)eceive script --- RECMLINK.BAT S)end script --- SENDMLIN.BAT Even though the prompts are for R)eceive script and S)end R)eceive script S)end script, you enter the names of the batch files. If you do script not explicitly enter the .BAT ending, then PibTerm assumes that you are going to use scripts instead of batch files. Hit the ESC key to get out of this menu when all the information is stored. (You can also update existing information using this menu. For example, you can change the definition of Zmodem if you like.) After adding the information, the screen looks like this: +[ External transfer protocol definitions ]====================================+ | | | Protocol Name Abbrev. Batch Mode Host Mode Receive Script Send Script | | | | a) Zmodem ZM YES YES RECZMOD SENDZMOD | | b) Megalink ML YES YES RECMLINK SENDMLIN | | c) ** Unused ** | | d) ** Unused ** | | e) ** Unused ** | | f) ** Unused ** | | g) ** Unused ** | | h) ** Unused ** | | i) ** Unused ** | | j) ** Unused ** | | | | Enter letter of item to revise or hit ESC to quit: | | | +==============================================================================+ A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 82 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 82 Line b) now reflects the MegaLink definition. Hit ESC to b) get out of this menu, hit ESC again to get out of the F)ile F)ile transfer submenu, and choose W)rite config file to write a transfer W)rite config file new configuration file which will contain the MegaLink definition. Step 3: Write Batch Files For Send and Receive Operations Step 3: Write Batch Files For Send and Receive Operations The parameters to batch files for external transfers are as follows: %1 --- serial port number (1, 2) %2 --- speed of connection (2400, 9600, etc.) %3 --- parity (N, E, etc.) %4 --- data bits (7,8) %5 --- transfer directory %6 --- file spec for transfer The same parameters are passed for all protocols, both for sending files and receiving files. When PibTerm executes the batch file, the current directory is saved before the transfer and restored after it. If a specific upload/download directory is used, then PibTerm moves to it before executing the batch file. (The directory choice takes account of whether or not the current PibTerm session is in host mode or not.) Because Pibterm moves to Because Pibterm moves to the upload or download directory, it is extremely important the upload or download directory, it is extremely important that both the external protocol program (e.g., MLINK.COM) that both the external protocol program (e.g., MLINK.COM) and the batch files to invoke it (e.g., RECMLINK.BAT, and the batch files to invoke it (e.g., RECMLINK.BAT, SENDMLIN.BAT) be placed in subdirectories along the DOS SENDMLIN.BAT) be placed in subdirectories along the DOS PATH=. PATH=. To write the batch files for MegaLink we need to know the parameters expected by the external protocol module. The MLINK.COM program takes argument of the form: MLINK PORT n SPEED s RM download_directory MLINK PORT n SPEED s SM where 'n' is the communications port number, 's' is the baud rate of the connection, RM indicates files are being received, SM indicates files are being sent, and 'download_directory' is the name of the PibTerm download directory. For example, to receive files at 2400 baud over port 1, the MLINK.COM invocation should be: MLINK PORT 1 SPEED 2400 RM C:\DOWNLOAD A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 83 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 83 assuming that the PibTerm download directory is 'C:\DOWNLOAD', while to send files over port 2 at 1200 baud the MLINK.COM invocation should be: MLINK PORT 2 SPEED 1200 SM Given this information, the receive .BAT file for MegaLink can be written as: MLINK PORT %1 SPEED %2 RM %5 and the send .BAT file can be written as MLINK PORT %1 SPEED %2 SM Hanging Up The Phone -- <ALT>H Hanging Up The Phone -- <ALT>H Generally you need not hang up the phone explicitly (using <ALT>H) at the end of a PibTerm session, since most remote systems (including ACNS systems) hang up the phone on their end when you log out. However, sometimes you may run into trouble if, for example, the remote system fails but does not hang up the phone. In this case you need to explicitly hang up the phone. To do that, hit the <ALT>H. When you strike <ALT>H, PibTerm first attempts to hang up the phone by dropping the DTR line. If that fails, PibTerm then tries sending the "Modem hang up string" defined at <ALT>P, M)odem and dialing, h) Hang Up string For Hayes-style modems, the hang up string is ATH0. ATH0 Exiting PibTerm -- <ALT>X Exiting PibTerm -- <ALT>X Before exiting PibTerm, make sure to log off the remote system to which you are connected. Then press <ALT>X to exit PibTerm. Note that PibTerm doesn't necessarily hang up the phone when you press <ALT>X. You may configure PibTerm to hang up the phone automatically when you leave PibTerm, or you may hang up the phone by pressing <ALT>H before pressing <ALT>X. To configure PibTerm to hang up the phone automatically when you exit, press <ALT>P, C)ommunications, l) Drop DTR at end. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 84 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 84 If you have the DTR (data terminal ready) line on your modem set NORMAL (as it should be), setting the above parameter to YES will cause PibTerm to hang up the phone automatically when you hit <ALT>X to quit PibTerm. If you have the DTR line set HIGH, then PibTerm may not be able to hang-up the phone line. If you are in the middle of executing a script, note that you will have to type <ALT>X twice -- once to exit the script, and a second time to exit PibTerm. On Being A Host -- <ALT>W On Being A Host -- <ALT>W PibTerm provides simple host mode facilities for message exchange and file transfer. PibTerm can be used as a very simple remote bulletin board, or it can provide you with limited remote access to your PC. PibTerm incorporates password security to prevent unauthorized callers, but this security is not as extensive as that provided by dedicated bulletin-board programs. PibTerm host mode is really intended to cover the need for a simple remote facility for an individual or a small private group of users who are all "nice people." PibTerm host mode assumes a Hayes-compatible modem. To invoke host mode after entering PibTerm, hit <ALT>W. PibTerm always logs the activity in host mode to the file PIBTERM.LOG so you have a record of what went on during PIBTERM.LOG a host session. Single-user and multiple-user access Single-user and multiple-user access There are two ways to use host mode. The first is to enter <ALT>W without creating any special host mode files. This initiates single-user host mode. The second is to create the host mode files so that multiple callers can access your machine. This initiates multiple-user host mode. Using Host Mode In Single User Access Using Host Mode In Single User Access Hit <ALT>W to enter host mode without creating any special host-mode configuration files. When you do this, PibTerm responds by displaying the following: No user file present, single user mode assumed. Enter first name: The first message indicates that you have not created a user file for host mode. (We'll discuss this momentarily when we A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 85 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 85 talk about multiple users for host mode.) Then PibTerm asks you for the name with which you will be calling it from another computer. So, enter your first name. PibTerm will then prompt for your last name and then a password. You will need to provide PibTerm with the password when you call in from another system. This provides some security against unauthorized access to your PC when it is running in host mode. Entering a name and password Entering a name and password Enter first name: Philip Philip Enter last name: Burns Burns Enter password: mypass mypass Allow superuser privileges (Y/N)? Superusers versus ordinary users Superusers versus ordinary users There are two kinds of users allowed by PibTerm host mode: ordinary users, whose access to your system in host mode is fairly restricted, and superusers, who can do just about whatever they want to do, to your system from a remote machine. If you intend to be the only user, or you need to access DOS from a remote machine, then type Y in response to Y the "Allow superuser privileges" question. Initial host mode messages Initial host mode messages After you respond to the superuser question, PibTerm resets the modem to answer an incoming call, and then displays the following set of messages: No messages in message base. Waiting for phone to ring. Hit ESC key to return to terminal mode. F1 starts/stops chat mode. F2 immediately logs out remote user. F3 jumps to DOS. F4 undims screen afters it has been dimmed. F5 gives name of current caller. Hit any other key to start local host session. The status line in host mode The status line in host mode The above information also appears on the line above the status line in host mode, to remind you of the commands A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 86 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 86 after they have scrolled off the screen. The status line itself will display what the current function is that is being performed in host mode. Here is a sample status line: ESC=quit F1=chat F2=logout F3=DOS F4=undim F5=caller CR=start local Host Mode 2:34 -CA -PR +LO -LF -LE +XO -CT -CD COM2 2400N81 Wait for call At this point PibTerm is ready for you to dial in from another computer. Starting a host-mode session Starting a host-mode session Once PibTerm is in host mode, NO PIBTERM <ALT>-key COMMANDS NO PIBTERM <ALT>-key COMMANDS are recognized. You can hit the ESC (escape) key to return are recognized. to terminal emulation mode (between calls only), or you can hit the Enter (Return) key to start a host-mode session right at your PC. When a remote session is in progress, you can enter data at the keyboard, which will appear to PibTerm as if the remote user had typed the entry. You can call your machine from another remote machine. When PibTerm receives a call, it waits for the modem to answer the phone. PibTerm then determines the calling characteristics (speed and parity) of the caller. Welcome message in host mode Welcome message in host mode After determining the proper transmission speed, PibTerm issues a short welcome message which looks like: PibTerm Version 4.1 Production. Released February 26, 1988. Beginning Remote Communications Test if line feeds required ... Are these lines O V E R P R I N T I N G ? The remote caller may see these lines as above, or the lines may be overprinting on the remote terminal. If the lines are NOT overprinting, then N should be entered as a response to the "... overprinting ?' question. If the lines ARE overprinting, then Y should be entered. PibTerm will then send line feeds as necessary to the remote user. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 87 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 87 Entering user name and password from remote system Entering user name and password from remote system Following this, PibTerm prompts for the first name, last name, and password which you entered after first hitting <ALT>W to enter host mode: Enter first name: philip philip Enter last name: burns burns Enter Password: ...... The entries MUST be made on separate lines; you CANNOT enter the first and last name on one line. If either the user name or password is incorrectly entered, then PibTerm issues the prompt again, a maximum of three times. If the information is not provided correctly on the last try, then PibTerm hangs up the phone. The case for the first and last names is irrelevant; any combination of upper and lower case is acceptable (i.e., Philip = PHILIP = PhIlIp). However, PASSWORDS ARE CASE PASSWORDS ARE CASE SENSITIVE!! This means that Mypass, MYPASS, and MyPass are SENSITIVE!! ALL DIFFERENT PASSWORDS. REPEATING: Passwords ARE case-sensitive! REPEATING: Passwords ARE case-sensitive! PibTerm echoes each character in the password with a dot rather than echoing the actual characters of the password. This is a security feature. After successfully entering the password, you'll see the following messages: Password OK Scanning for personal messages ... No messages in message file. Finished scanning messages, hit <CR> to continue: If there are any messages addressed to the caller, then the message headers of those message are displayed. Usually there won't be any messages in single-user mode, since you generally don't send messages to yourself. Main host-mode menu Main host-mode menu Host mode provides two menu sections: a main menu for message entry, and a secondary menu for file transfers. The main menu appears as follows: A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 88 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 88 ====================================================== = PibTerm Host Mode Main Menu = ====================================================== E=Enter message R=Read message S=Scan messages P=Personal message scan Q=Quit and logoff F=File transfers G=Gossip mode X=Expert mode C=Send comments W=Read welcome message J=Jump to DOS ====================================================== Enter command ? When you see the "Enter command ?" you can enter one of the command letters. No carriage return is needed. E enters a message in the message base. E enters R reads a message. R reads S scans and lists message numbers and headers. S scans P scans for private messages addressed to caller. P private Q quits the host session and logs off the caller. Q quits F enters the file transfer section (see below). F file transfer G enters a "gossip" mode. G "gossip" X turns on eXpert mode by suppressing long menus. X eXpert C sends private comment to the host system operator. C comment W reads the initial welcome messages if any. W welcome J jumps to DOS if superuser privileges are active. J jumps Gossip Mode Gossip Mode "Gossip" mode allows the remote caller and the host system operator to "chat" with each other. To the host system operator, this appears as a split-screen, with the remote caller's text going into the upper half of the screen, and the host system operator's text going into the lower half of the screen. When a remote caller hits the G to initiate gossip mode, G then PibTerm begins issuing a stream of beeps for up to thirty seconds on the host machine. If you want to chat with the caller, you can start typing and a gossip session will begin. To end a gossip session, hit <CTRL>X. If you want to disable gossip mode then you should set mute mode using <ALT>M BEFORE entering host mode. See the section "Mute mode" for more information. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 89 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 89 Host mode file transfer menu Host mode file transfer menu The file transfer menu appears when F is entered at the F main host mode menu: ====================================================== = PibTerm Host Mode File Transfer Menu = ====================================================== U=Upload file D=Download file L=List files for transfer J=Jump to DOS M=Return to main menu Q=Quit and logoff X=Expert mode ====================================================== Enter command ? U sends (uploads) a file to PibTerm. U uploads D receives (downloads) a file from PibTerm. D downloads L lists the files available for transfer. L lists J jumps to DOS if superuser privileges are active. J jumps M returns the caller to the main menu. M main Q quits the host session and logs off the caller. Q quits X turns on eXpert mode and short prompts. X eXpert In host mode, PibTerm looks for input from either the host system keyboard or the remote system. Thus, you can run a "remote" session from the host machine's keyboard itself. This feature also allows you to enter commands to complete what a remote user has input. For example, if you see that a user has trouble entering the correct name of a file for a download, then you can type it in for him. If you have ever used bulletin board systems like RBBS or IBBS, then you should have no trouble understanding how to use PibTerm host mode. What Programs Can Be Executed Remotely What Programs Can Be Executed Remotely Not all programs can be executed remotely. Only programs which do all of their screen I/O using standard MS DOS calls can be run remotely after you jump to DOS using J. Such J. programs include most MS DOS commands and many utilities, but unfortunately, very few applications programs. For example, you can not run Lotus 123 or WordPerfect remotely you can not run Lotus 123 or WordPerfect remotely using PibTerm. using PibTerm PibTerm uses the MS DOS CTTY facilities to implement jump to CTTY DOS in host mode. The standard CTTY driver for the serial A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 90 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 90 ports has the disconcerting property of not letting you see what a remote caller is doing when the remote caller has jumped to DOS. Nor can you enter any keyboard input. One way around this is to use an alternate CTTY driver. Two popular alternatives are the IBMAUX drivers written by Gee Wong and the GATEWAY drivers written by Hans D. Kellner. (There are other substitute drivers as well.) Using either of these drivers allows you to see what a remote caller is doing after dropping to DOS, and you can also enter keyboard input which is accepted as if the remote caller had typed it. The enhanced security and flexibility of these alternate CTTY drivers makes them well worth acquiring. Both IBMAUX and GATEWAY are widely available on bulletin board systems. You install the drivers in your CONFIG.SYS file. For details, see the documentation provided in the files containing the drivers. To get PibTerm to use one of the alternate drivers you need to enter the name of the driver at <ALT>P, H)ost mode, g) CTTY driver name prefix The default CTTY driver name COM invokes the standard MS DOS COM driver. For Wong's IBMAUX, use the name AUX. For Gateway, AUX use the name GATE. GATE The ACNS release materials for PibTerm do NOT include these alternate drivers, since they are not ACNS software. GATEWAY is a shareware product and you are expected to pay for it and register it if you use it. Incidentally, some multitaskers and screen enhancers do not allow you to use CTTY. In these cases, you will not be able to jump to DOS remotely in host mode. Setting Up Multiple-User Host Mode Setting Up Multiple-User Host Mode Setting up multiple-user host mode is quite straightforward. You need to create a user file called PIBTERM.USF. PIBTERM.USF PIBTERM.USF is a simple text file containing the first name, last name, and password for each authorized user. This file can be created using any text editor that produces Ascii files, including the built-in PibTerm text editor. The format of PIBTERM.USF is: firstname;lastname;password;class A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 91 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 91 where semicolons separate the first name, last name, and password. The class field is optional; if specified, a class capital S indicates that the user is a superuser. If S is S S not specified, then that user is not a superuser, and cannot jump to Dos remotely. You should also define the host mode upload and download paths at <ALT>P, P)aths, h) Host mode upload directory i) Host mode download directory The upload path is the name of the subdirectory where files upload path sent to PibTerm in host mode will be placed. The download download path is the name of the subdirectory which contains files path which PibTerm will send to remote users. Only files in this Only files in this download path are accessible to callers who are not download path are accessible to callers who are not superusers. superusers. The file PIBTERM.XFR should contain the names of the files PIBTERM.XFR in the host mode download path which you are willing to let people receive. If PIBTERM.XFR does not exist, PibTerm will create it for you. Delete PIBTERM.XFR every time you add or Delete PIBTERM.XFR every time you add or delete files from the host mode download directory so that delete files from the host mode download directory so that PibTerm can create an up-to-date PIBTERM.XFR. This is the PibTerm can create an up-to-date PIBTERM.XFR file which PibTerm lists in response to the L command in the L file transfer menu. You can create a text file which contains a welcome message of your own which will be displayed after the caller logs in successfully. Place the text you want displayed in the file PIBTERM.WEL. PIBTERM.WEL One caller can send a message to another by specifying the other caller's name when writing a message. Scripts: Tailored Task Handling Scripts: Tailored Task Handling PibTerm provides an extended script file facility which allows you to create a file containing a set of instructions for PibTerm to execute. The script can dial a remote system, perform file transfers, and wait for a specific time to initiate an event, among many other things. Scripts allow you to set up PibTerm to run in an unattended mode and take advantage of off-hours rates on host computer systems, as well as to automate such chores as logging in to remote systems. PibTerm's script language is a programming language specifically geared towards communications activities. In this introductory guide we will only discuss a few of the A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 92 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 92 features of scripts; for complete details on the full programming language, see the "PibTerm Script Language Reference Guide." As a simple example, let's look at the script VAX.SCR supplied as part of the PibTerm release materials. VAX.SCR is designed to be attached to the dialing entries for the ACNS Vax 785. VAX.SCR provides automatic login to the Vax after a successful phone connection between your PC and the Vax has been negotiated. Here is the text of the script: **************************************************************** * * * VAX.SCR --- Login script for ACNS Vax 785 * * * * Replace the userid and password with your username * * and password where noted below. * * * **************************************************************** * * Send CRs to wake up Vax. * Wait for "Username" prompt. Repeat SText "|" WaitString "Username:" 2 Until ( WaitFound ) * Send username -- replace with yours SText "username|" * Wait for "Password" prompt WaitString "Password:" * Send password -- replace with yours SText "userpass|" * Set input keys Key "decvax.fnc" First of all, note that lines beginning with a '*' are comment lines. Second, note that most of the script lines are either the SText command or the WaitString command. These are the two SText WaitString most heavily used commands in scripts. SText -- send text to remote system SText -- send text to remote system SText sends text to the remote system. The text to be sent SText is placed in double quotes. If you want to send a double quote, then you need to repeat it twice to get it sent. For example, to send My text is "this" A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 93 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 93 you would write SText "My text is ""this""" Note that a vertical bar "|" terminates the SText. This is the character which represents a carriage return. WaitString -- wait for text from remote system WaitString -- wait for text from remote system WaitString causes PibTerm to pause in the execution of the WaitString script until the specified string arrives from the remote system. The text to be waited for is placed in double quotes. By default, PibTerm will wait 30 seconds for the text to appear before continuing script execution with the next statement after the WaitString. You can alter the wait time by specifying a different time in seconds following the the string to be waited for. For example, WaitString "Username:" 2 causes PibTerm to wait two seconds for the string "Username:" to appear. If the string specified on the WaitString arrives within the specified amount of time, an internal PibTerm flag called the WaitFound flag is set true, otherwise it is set false. WaitFound This flag allows us to instruct PibTerm to do different things depending upon whether or not the wait string appeared. In the case of our Vax script, we use the WaitFound to control a Repeat/Until loop. Repeat/Until loop Repeat/Until loop It takes a variable number of carriage returns to wake up the Vax after dialing in. We need to place the sending of a carriage return and the waiting for "Username:" in a loop so that we can issue as many carriage returns as necessary to wake up the Vax. This is the purpose of the initial Repeat/Until loop. Repeat/Until Statements in a Repeat/Until loop are executed until the condition specified on the Until statement becomes true. In this case, we've specified that the loop should continue until the WaitFound flag is set true. As indicated above, WaitFound the WaitFound flag will only be set true when the "Username:" text arrives from the remote system. Each time through the Repeat/Until loop we send a carriage return; wait two seconds for "Username:" to appear; and if it does, we continue with the SText following the Until. If the "Username:" text does NOT appear within two seconds, then we A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 94 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 94 loop again, sending another carriage return, waiting for "Username:" for another two seconds, and so on. The Key command loads the function keys for the Vax. Key PibTerm's script language can get much more complicated than this, but for many purposes all you'll need are the WaitString, SText, and Repeat/Until (WaitFound) constructs. Executing a script Executing a script To execute a script, hit <ALT>G to bring up the script menu. If you remember the name of the script, just type it when prompted. If you don't remember it, or you're using a mouse, just hit Enter (or the right mouse button) to bring up the display of available scripts. You can use the arrow keys or mouse to move among the script names. Hit the enter key (or the right mouse button) to select the highlighted script name for execution. You may find it convenient to place all your scripts in one subdirectory. You can tell PibTerm the name of that subdirectory at <ALT>P, P)aths, f) Script directory. Terminating script execution -- <ALT>X Terminating script execution -- <ALT>X You may want to stop the execution of a script before it completes. To do this, hit <ALT>X. This is the same command as is used to exit PibTerm when no script is executing. Security considerations with login scripts Security considerations with login scripts The sample scripts for logging into the various ACNS systems include script commands for sending your account password. If other individuals have access to your PC, and you do not want them to know your passwords, you should alter the scripts to remove the passwords. This means that you will need to manually intervene during the course of the login. For example, in the VAX.SCR script above, you could remove the final SText "password|" and enter the password manually. SText "password|" If you are an avid BBS fan, you may want to use the same basic login script to access a number of different systems, each running the same remote bulletin board software. For example, you can write a "generic" PC Board login script for A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 95 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 95 accessing all the PC Board systems you normally call. However, your password is probably different for each of the PC Board systems. You may want to construct a file which provides the passwords for each of the remote systems, and then write the generic PC Board login script to extract the correct password for a particular system automatically from the password file. You can do this using scripts, and the "PibTerm Script Reference Manual" contains an example. Keeping a password file is not a good idea if your PC is accessible by other individuals who should not know your passwords. Script learn feature Script learn feature You don't need to know how to program to create simple scripts with PibTerm because of the script learn feature. script learn PibTerm can write a script for you by watching a session and keeping track of what you type and what the remote system sends. The resulting learned script usually needs a little manual touching-up. As an example, let's consider the problem of logging in to the ACNS Vax. What we hope to get is something similar to the script VAX.SCR which we just looked at. We start by initiating a "learn script" session. To do this, type <ALT>G. This is the primary command for executing a script. If we were going to execute a script, we would enter its name at this time in response to the prompt. The resulting display looks like this: +[ Execute Script ]=================================================+ |Script name (hit ENTER for menu, ESC to quit) | |> | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +===================================================================+ Since we aren't executing a script, we hit the Enter key to bring up the main script menu, which might appear as follows: A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 96 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 96 +[ Script Directory ]==========================================================+ | EMULATE IOTRY KERMIT KERMIT2 PIBTERM &PIBTERM RECKERM | | RECMLINK RECRLINK RECYTERM RECZMOD SENDKERM SENDMLIN SENDRLIN | | SENDYTER SENDZMOD SUB1 SUB2 SUB3 TRYMENU TRYPARMS | | TRYPROCS TRYSETS | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | * before script name means script resides in PIBTERM.SCL | | & before script name means script already compiled to memory | | | |ESC Quit ^/v Scroll PgUp/PdDn Page Home/End Top/bottom | |S Search C Compile U Unload L Learn | |ENTER execute A Unload all O Change search order (now DL) | | | +==============================================================================+ The names of any currently defined menus are displayed at the top of this window. The various script facilities are displayed at the bottom of the screen. We type "L" which begins a script learn session. After typing "L" the following box appears: +[ Script Directory ]==========================================================+ | EMULATE IOTRY KERMIT KERMIT2 PIBTERM &PIBTERM RECKERM | | RECMLINK RECRLINK RECYTERM RECZMOD SENDKERM SENDMLIN SENDRLIN | | SENDYTER SENDZMOD SUB1 SUB2 SUB3 TRYMENU TRYPARMS | | TRYPROCS TRYSETS | | | | +[ Learn Script ]===================================================+ | | |Script name (hit ENTER for menu, ESC to quit) | | | |>vaxit | | vaxit | |Enter maximum length for each WAITSTRING: 15 | | 15 | |Enter maximum lines kept for WAITSTRING: 1 | | 1 | | | | | | | | | * befor| | | | & befor| | | | | | | |ESC Q+===================================================================+ | |S Search C Compile U Unload L Learn | |ENTER execute A Unload all O Change search order (now DL) | | | +==============================================================================+ We'll call our learned script VAXIT.SCR. We'll assume a maximum wait string length of 15 characters (usually more A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 97 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 97 than enough), and we'll only wait on the last line (again, usually that's enough). After entering the above information, PibTerm returns to terminal emulation mode. The status line shows the name of the script being learned preceded by a "-". We dial the Vax system, and wait for the modems to connect. When the connection is complete, we begin hitting the Enter key slowly. Eventually the Vax responds with a "Username:" prompt. We enter our username. The Vax then prompts for a password. We enter our password. The Vax then proceeds to log us in. After the login is complete, hit <ALT>G again. This terminates the script learn operation. The resulting script in VAXIT.SCR will look something like this: SText "|" SText "|" SText "|" SText "|" WaitString "Username: " SText "username|" WaitString "Password: " SText "userpass|" WaitString "Center if you h" SText "|" You can see from this that it took four tries to wake up the Vax after the connection was complete. Whenever you see something like this series of carriage returns, you normally replace it with the kind of Repeat/Until loop described earlier. The last few lines aren't important for the login, so we evict them. With those minor changes, you can see that the learned script is very close to the VAX.SCR script we looked at earlier. Script Memory Problems Script Memory Problems When you request script execution, PibTerm converts the script to a series of coded instructions which are then stored in RAM memory. The script can then be executed as many times as you like from the "compiled" copy stored in memory -- scripts are not unloaded from memory automatically when they finish executing. If there isn't enough RAM memory to store the new script, you'll receive an error message. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 98 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 98 If you run out of memory while trying to execute a script, you may be able to reclaim some space allocated to other unused scripts. Bring up the <ALT>G box, hit Enter or Enter Return to get the primary script menu display, and then look Return for script names preceded by an &. These are scripts which &. are currently loaded into memory. Move the cursor to those memory-resident scripts which you no longer need, and hit U U to unload them. You can also unload all the currently memory-resident scripts by hitting A at the script menu. A Another Sample Script -- Dialing By Name Another Sample Script -- Dialing By Name As mentioned previously in the section "Dialing By Name", PibTerm does not provide a direct means of dialing a system by name. However, we can write a script which prompts for the name of the system and then dials that system. We will name the script NAMEDIAL.SCR. NAMEDIAL.SCR The text of the NAMEDIAL script follows. NAMEDIAL displays a number of advanced PibTerm script language features. If you are familiar with programming in an algorithmic language, then you will probably be able to understand the script commands with no difficulty. ************************************************************************** * * * This script demonstrates how to write a "dial by name" command. * * You can attach this script to a definable key using <ALT>K * * by entering this as the definition of that key: * * * * @G@/NAMEDIAL^M/ * * * * This allows you to dial systems by name rather than entry number * * simply hitting the defined key. * * * ************************************************************************** * * Holds name of system to dial Declare Name String * Holds one directory entry Declare DirEnt String * Number of dialing directory entries Declare NEntries Integer * Number of dialing directory entries (string) Declare SEntries String * Current entry number Declare IEntry Integer * Flag telling if we find emtry Declare Found Integer * Issue prompt for name of system to dial * and read name. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 99 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 99 * Writeln " " Input "System to dial? " Name Writeln " " * * If name is null, exit this script. * If ( LENGTH( Name ) = 0 ) Then Exit Endif * Convert name to upper case Set Name = UpperCase( Name ) * Get number of dialing directory entries GetParam 'DS' SEntries * Convert from string to integer for looping Set NEntries = Number( SEntries ) * Make sure we have some entries, else quit. * If ( NEntries < 1 ) Then Exit Endif * Found = 0 means no entry found yet. Set Found = 0 * IEntry starts out pointing to first * entry in dialing directory. Set IEntry = 1 * Scan dialing entries and look for match. * Repeat * --- Get next dialing entry using * "DialEntry" function. * * Strip off stuff after name/number using * the "Substr" function and convert the * name/number to uppercase using the * "UpperCase" function. * Set DirEnt = UpperCase( Substr( DialEntry( IEntry ), 1, 40 ) ) * * --- Search for the desired name using the * "Index" function. If the search string * is found in the current entry, then * set Found to 1 so that the search loop * will terminate. If the name isn't found * in the current entry, then increment * "IEntry" to point to the next dialing * directory entry. * If ( Index( Name , DirEnt ) > 0 ) Then Set Found = 1 Else Set IEntry = IEntry + 1 Endif * A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 100 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 100 Until ( ( Found = 1 ) OR ( IEntry > NEntries ) ) * * If entry not found, issue message and * exit script. * If ( Found = 0 ) THEN Writeln "Name not found." Writeln " " Exit Endif * If entry found, dial it. Note that * dialing command wants the entry number * as a string, so we must convert it to * a string for use with the dialing command. * * Note that you can do fancier processing * at this point, like adding prefix/postfix * codes, or checking for long distance * area codes, and so on. Just modify the * value of Name to match your requirements. Set Name = STRING( IEntry ) * Dial Name * This script issues a prompt requesting the name of the system to be dialed (Input). Then a search is made through Input the dialing directory for a match in the name or phone number fields (Repeat/Until). Note that the search is not Repeat/Until sensitive to case (UpperCase). UpperCase If a successful match is encountered, then the matched system is dialed (Dial). Any script attached to that number Dial is executed. If no system matches the specified name, then the message "Name not found" is displayed and no dialing is performed. For example, suppose we strike the End key. We will see the End prompt: System to dial? If we enter Luis in response to this prompt: Luis System to dial? Luis Luis then the dialing directory entry for the Luis system will be found, and the Luis system itself dialed using the information in that dialing directory entry. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 101 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 101 Access To The Operating System -- <ALT>J Access To The Operating System -- <ALT>J <ALT>J causes PibTerm to invoke DOS, the PC's operating system. If the invocation succeeds, then you may enter DOS or other commands to your heart's content. Entering EXIT as a DOS command returns you to PibTerm. Note that PibTerm stays loaded during this process, so you have much less memory to run programs in than you would without PibTerm running. This means that you may not be able to run another large program like Lotus 123 or WordPerfect from within PibTerm. However, you may be able to circumvent this by using a multitasker or by causing PibTerm to execute out of expanded (LIM/EMS/EEMS) memory. See the sections "PibTerm and multitasking software" and "Speeding up PibTerm access" for more information. Before jumping to DOS, PibTerm changes the cursor shape from an underline to a square box. This reminds you that you jumped to DOS from PibTerm. Upon return to PibTerm (after you type EXIT) the cursor is set back to an underline. PibTerm also restores the screen image to what it was before DOS was invoked. You should not jump to DOS in the middle of receiving characters from a remote system, as some characters may be lost. A couple of things can cause trouble with <ALT>J. Running another program which commandeers the same communications port that PibTerm is using may cause trouble, as may executing a program which in turn calls up yet another copy of the DOS command processor. You may need to reboot if your system locks up in either of these cases. The worst offenders are Basic programs, which nearly always reset the serial ports even if they don't actually use them. This means that you will not be able to send and/or receive characters over the serial port after a DOS jump. You can often solve the problem of a program resetting the serial port by requesting that PibTerm close down the serial port before the DOS jump and then reopen it again after returning from the DOS jump. Normally PibTerm leaves the serial port open so that any incoming characters received during the DOS jump -- up to the size of the serial port input buffer -- will not be lost. To request that Pibterm close the port before the DOS jump and then reopen it afterwards, set the parameter at <ALT>P, C)ommunications, m) Close serial port on jump to DOS to YES. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 102 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 102 Manipulating DOS Files From PibTerm -- <ALT>F Manipulating DOS Files From PibTerm -- <ALT>F Pressing <ALT>F causes PibTerm to display a menu of file manipulation facilities. The menu displayed is: +[ Choose file function: ]=+ | A)ctive directory change | | C)opy file | | D)irectory display | | E)dit file | | F)ree space on drive | | L)ogged drive change | | P)rint a file | | V)iew a file | | Z)ap (delete) file | | Q)uit | +===========================+ You can use these file manipulation facilities as an alternative to jumping to DOS using <ALT>J. The menu entries are fairly self-explanatory for each item. A)ctive directory change alters the current logged A)ctive directory change directory and/or drive. C)opy file copies a file byte-by-byte. C)opy file D)irectory display lists file names, sizes, creation D)irectory display times and dates, attributes, and transfer times. Wildcards are allowed as part of the directory specification. E)dit file either invokes the built-in PibTerm full- E)dit file screen editor, or an external editor of your choice. See the section "Editing a file" for more details. F)ree space on drive displays the number of bytes of F)ree space on drive free (unused) space on a selected disk drive. L)ogged drive change alters the current logged drive. L)ogged drive change P)rint a file starts printing a file. Printing P)rint a file proceeds in tandem with other PibTerm operations. V)iew a file invokes the built-in PibTerm file viewer, V)iew a file or the external file viewer of your choice. See the section"Viewing a file" for more details. Z)ap a file deletes a file from a disk. Z)ap a file A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 103 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 103 Editing a file Editing a file E)dit file prompts you for the name of a file to be edited. This may be the name of an existing file or the name of a new file. The menu prompting you for the name of the file looks like this: +[Edit File]========================================================+ |Enter name of file to edit: | |>PIBTERM.CNF | PIBTERM.CNF | | +===================================================================+ We've entered the name of the primary PibTerm configuration file as the file to be edited. The resulting display might look something like this: Line 1 Col 1 Ins Indent c:\modem\pibterm.cnf FC=| FD=~ FW=` FM=^ FS=@ AB=1 AC=0 AD=0 AE=^M AF=0 AK=1 AL=0 AM=1 AP=0 AS=255 AT=0 AU=COM AW=1 AX=0 AZ=1 BA=9600 BB=8192 BC=+=+|+=+| 1Help 2Undo 3Find 4Replace 5SaveQuit 6InsLine 7DelLine 8Startblk 9Endblk 0Quit The top line gives the name of the file being edited, the current line and column positions within the file, whether insert or overwrite mode is in effect (Ins), and whether automatic indentation is in effect (Indent). The bottom line indicates what pressing the function keys will do. For example, pressing F1 will display help. F1 Pressing F2 will undo changes to the current line being F2 edited, and so on. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 104 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 104 Editing keys work for the most part like the string editing elsewhere in PibTerm, except that the PgUp and PgDn keys PgUp PgDn page one screenful up and down through the file, respectively. There are other differences as well. See the command list below for details. Two editing commands you should know right away: pressing F5 leaves the editor after saving the current text, while F5 pressing F10 leaves the editor but does NOT save the current F10 text. Maximum size file which can be edited Maximum size file which can be edited Only files with all lines less than 255 characters in length can be edited. The largest file size that can be edited is the minimum of the available heap space (hit <ALT>Y to find out the available heap space) and 65520 characters. This editor is based upon one written by Sammy Mitchell, the author of the excellent QEdit shareware editor. If you are looking for a good general-purpose text editor that can handle multiple files simultaneously, as well as larger files than the PibTerm editor can handle, then QEdit is a good choice. You can register QEdit or obtain more information about it by writing to: SemWare c/o Sammy Mitchell 730 Elk Cove Court Kennesaw, GA 30144 Registration for QEdit is $30; for $45 you also get a printed manual. Editing Commands Editing Commands A list of the editing commands and key strokes follows. If you have previously used any WordStar-like editor, then the commands implemented in the PibTerm file editor will be quite familiar. Cursor Movement Cursor Movement The cursor movement commands allow you to move about the screen, and also to move about in the file. Character left ^S Left arrow Character right ^D Right arrow Word left ^A Ctrl left arrow Word right ^F Ctrl right arrow Line up ^E Up arrow Line down ^X Down arrow A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 105 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 105 Scroll up ^W Scroll down ^Z Page up ^R PgUp Page down ^C PgDn Left end of line ^Q^S Home Right end of line ^Q^D End Top of file ^Q^R Ctrl PgUp Bottom of file ^Q^C Ctrl PgDn End of screen ^Q^X Ctrl Home Top of screen ^Q^E Ctrl End Start of marked block ^Q^B End of marked block ^Q^K Previous position ^Q^P Insert and Delete Insert and Delete The insert and delete commands allow you to insert or delete characters or lines of text. Insert mode on/off ^V Ins Insert line ^N F6 Delete line ^Y F7 Delete to end of line ^Q^Y Delete right word ^T Delete char at cursor ^G Delete left char ^H <BS> Block Commands Block Commands The block commands allow you to manipulate a range of lines as a unit. You can read, write, copy, move, delete, or insert blocks of text. Mark block start ^K^B F8 Mark block end ^K^K F9 Mark single word ^K^T Hide/show block ^K^H Copy block ^K^C Move block ^K^V Delete block ^K^Y Read block from file ^K^R Write block to file ^K^W Search and Replace Search and Replace These commands allow you to search for a string and optionally replace that string with another. Find ^Q^F F3 Find and replace ^Q^A F4 Repeat last find ^L A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 106 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 106 Quitting the Editor Quitting the Editor These commands allow you to leave the editor. End edit (save file) ^K^D F5 Quit edit (no save) ^K^X F10 Miscellaneous Miscellaneous Here are some miscellaneous editing commands. Tab ^I Tab Auto tab on/off ^Q^I Restore line (undo) ^Q^L F2 Control char prefix ^P Help F1 Invoking an External Editor Invoking an External Editor Rather than use the built-in PibTerm editor you may prefer to use another one with which you are more familiar. You can do by using leaving Pibterm using <ALT>X and returning to DOS to execute the editor. This can be inconvenient, since you then need to start up PibTerm again. You can use the <ALT>J command to jump to DOS so that you can execute the editor from within PibTerm. This is more convenient, but you still have to drop to DOS and call up the editor yourself. As an alternative, PibTerm can invoke the external editor of your choice for you automatically when you request file editing at <ALT>F, E)dit file You must provide PibTerm the name of the editor to be executed at: <ALT>P, P)aths, a) Editor file name Place the complete control statement required to invoke the editor. Some editors require that the name of the file to be edited appear on the editor control statement. You can tell PibTerm to place the file name in the control statement by using '%F' to indicate where the file name goes. %F For example, if you want to invoke QEdit with a file name, then define the editor name parameter as: QEDIT %F A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 107 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 107 If you need more flexibility than this, you can define the editor name to point to a batch file (.BAT) which can then execute any additional control statements as required. Viewing a file Viewing a file V)iew a file lets you list the contents of an Ascii file. You can request that a non-Ascii file be displayed, but the resulting display is generally useless. PibTerm presents you with a menu requesting the name of the file to be viewed. In this case, we request the viewing of the PIBTERM.CNF file: +[ View A File ]======================================================+ | | |Enter name of file to list: | |>PIBTERM.CNF | PIBTERM.CNF | | +=====================================================================+ This is what the initial view of the file looks like: File: PIBTERM.CNF Size: 1388 Date: 88/01/09 Time: 02:56:46 FC=| FD=~ FW=` FM=^ FS=@ AB=1 AC=0 AD=1 AE=^M AF=1 AK=1 AL=0 AM=1 AP= AS=255 AT=0 AU=COM AW=1 AX=0 AZ=0 BA=2400 BB=8192 BC=+=+|+=+| Line 23 Column 1 ^/v/</>/PgUp/PgDn/Home/End/S/N/<ESC> A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 108 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 108 The top line of the display provides the name of the file being viewed, the size of the file in bytes, and the date and time of the file's creation. The last line provides the current line number of the last line on the screen and the first column displayed. You can use the up and down arrow keys to move up and down one line in the file. The left and right arrow keys allow you to scroll the screen horizontally one character at a time to view files which are more than 80 columns wide. You can use the PgUp and PgDn keys to toggle up and down a PgUp PgDn screenful of lines at a time through the file. Hitting the Home key takes you to the top of the file, and hitting the Home End key takes you to the end of the file. End Hitting S allows you to search (in a case-insensitive S manner) for a string in the file. Hitting N allows you to N jump to a specific line number in the file. Press the ESC key to stop listing the file. ESC Invoking an External File Viewer Invoking an External File Viewer As with the editor, you can request that an external file viewer be invoked when <ALT>F, V)iew a file is selected. Define the name of the program (which can be a batch file) at: <ALT>P, P)aths, b) File browser name You can use '%F' to indicate where in the control statement %F PibTerm should insert the name of the file when invoking the external file viewer. An excellent choice for an external file viewer is Vern Buerg's shareware LIST.COM program. LIST is available from LIST.COM nearly any bulletin board system. To define LIST.COM as the external viewer, enter LIST %F as the viewer path parameter value above. Vern Buerg requests a donation of $15 if you use LIST. You can send your donation to: Vern Buerg 456 Lakeshire Daly City, CA 94015 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 109 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 109 Defining Function Keys -- <ALT>K Defining Function Keys -- <ALT>K <ALT>K allows you to define strings to be sent to the host system whenever any one of the function keys (F1 through F12, Shift F1 through Shift F12, Alt F1 through Alt F12, and Ctrl F1 through Ctrl F12), or anyone of the keypad keys (Home, Ins, Del, PgUp, PgDn, End, arrow keys, and Ctrl and Alt version of those keys) is depressed. Strings up of to 65 characters can be assigned to the keys. This facility provides great flexibility in creating logon scripts, special command sequences for host systems, and terminal keypad values. NOTE: If you wish a specific set of key definitions to NOTE: If you wish a specific set of key definitions to be automatically loaded whenever you invoke be automatically loaded whenever you invoke PibTerm then place the definitions in the file PibTerm then place the definitions in the file PIBTERM.FNC. PIBTERM.FNC. When you hit <ALT>K, you will see a menu with the following entries: +[ Function key definition: ]======+ | D)isplay current definitions | | E)nter definitions from keyboard | | R)ead definitions from file | | W)rite definitions to file | | Q)uit key definition | +===================================+ Displaying current key definitions Displaying current key definitions D)isplay current definitions allows you to see the current key definitions. Not all defined keys may be usable on a given PC keyboard. For example, you cannot type F11 and F12 on a keyboard which does not have those keys, but you can still assign string definitions to those keys anyway. You CAN send those definitions in scripts (see the "PibTerm Script Language Reference Manual" for details). Reading key definitions from a file Reading key definitions from a file R)ead definitions from file causes PibTerm to ask you for the name of a file containing key definitions. You need only enter the first part of the file name; the suffix .FNC is assumed. For example, if you enter "MYKEYS" as the file name, that is the same as entering "MYKEYS.FNC." However, entering "MYKEYS." causes PibTerm to look for the file "MYKEYS" WITHOUT the .FNC suffix. Of course, you can enter A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 110 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 110 the full file name if you wish: MYKEYS.FNC, or even a name like MYKEYS.DAT. When PibTerm is initially invoked, the file PIBTERM.FNC, if it exists, is read in order to set the default function key values. You may enter key definitions at the keyboard as described in the next section and then write the resulting definitions to PIBTERM.FNC so that those definitions will automatically exist when PibTerm is executed. Entering key definitions at keyboard Entering key definitions at keyboard E)nter definitions from keyboard is used to set the key definitions by hand. You can use E)nter to look at keys you've already defined, or to create a file to be used in a later session. After you hit E)nter you will see this menu display: +[ Input key definition ]=============================================+ | Hit key to define or <ESC> to quit: | | | | | | | +=====================================================================+ To define a key, strike it. If the key cannot be defined, then you will receive the following message: +[ Input key definition ]=============================================+ | Hit key to define or <ESC> to quit: | | *** Not a valid key | | | | | +=====================================================================+ If you strike a key which CAN be defined -- for example, the HOME key on the IBM keypad -- then you will receive this message: +[ Input key definition ]=============================================+ | Hit key to define or <ESC> to quit: Kpd 7 Home | | --> | | | | | +=====================================================================+ You may now enter the text which you want assigned to the Home key. From this point on, hitting the Home key will Home Home cause PibTerm to transmit the assigned text to the remote system. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 111 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 111 If the Home key had already been defined, then the text of Home that definition would have appeared for you to edit in the box above. Requesting extended keypad handling Requesting extended keypad handling Normally PibTerm uses the standard system facilities for reading the keyboard. Unfortunately, some useful key combinations are "thrown away" by the system so that PibTerm never sees them. For example, the <ALT>End key combination is thrown away by <ALT>End the system and therefore PibTerm doesn't recognize that key combination if you press it. In order to gain access to a number of the keyboard key combinations which can theoretically be defined at <ALT>K, PibTerm needs to "take over" a part of the system keyboard reading routine. In technical terms, PibTerm commandeers interrupt $9. By doing this, PibTerm is able to recognize many more key combinations (especially on the older 83/84- key keyboards). You can instruct PibTerm to take over keyboard input by setting the parameter at: <ALT>P, I)input, e) Recognize extended keypad to YES. This setting may NOT work on all systems, and may NOT work under some multitaskers. You will need to experiment. The easiest way to see if this option works on your system is to set it to YES and then try to define one of the <ALT>keypad keys like <ALT>End or <ALT>PgDn using "E)nter definitions <ALT>End <ALT>PgDn from keyboard" above. If PibTerm recognizes the key, then the extended keypad option works. If it does not, or your system locks up, then you won't be able to use the extended keypad keys. Since this option makes various <ALT>keypad combinations work, you will need to hold down BOTH the <ALT> and <SHIFT> keys together with a keypad key if you wish to use the standard DOS facility for generating special characters using the keypad. Writing key definitions to a file Writing key definitions to a file W)rite definitions to file causes the current key definitions to be written out. These can be read later A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 112 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 112 using R)ead. Again, you need only enter the first part of the file name; the suffix .FNC is automatically added if none appears in the file name you specify. Quitting key definition mode Quitting key definition mode Q)uit leaves key definition mode and returns to terminal emulation mode. Contents of key definition strings Contents of key definition strings The actual key definitions are comprised of ordinary Ascii text. There are five special characters defined for use with the input key facility: 1. A character to represent a carriage return -- the default is '|' (ascii 124). 2. A character to cause a one-second delay -- the default is '~' (ascii 126). 3. A character to cause PibTerm to wait for the immediately following character to be sent by the remote system before sending any more of the function key string. The default is '`' (ascii 96). 4. A character to mark the immediately following character as a control character. The default is '^' (ascii 94). For example, entering '^G' in a string (the ascii characters 94, 71) results in a single character being entered in the string, ascii 7 -- the bell character, control-G. 5. A character to mark the following character(s) as either PibTerm commands or text to be considered the same as a keyboard entry. The default is '@'. If the character following the @ is a letter, then the corresponding <ALT>letter PibTerm command is executed. Upper and lower case letters are treated the same. For example, if the string entered is @R then the receive file facility is invoked, just as if you entered <ALT>R at the keyboard. If the letter following the @ is NOT a letter, then that character is considered a delimeter, and all characters in the string up until the next occurrence of that delimeter -- or the end of the string -- are stuffed into PibTerm's keyboard buffer. PibTerm will then act just as if these A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 113 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 113 characters had been entered from the actual keyboard. 6. If you want to literally use one of the special characters @, |, ^, ~, or ` in a function key definition, then you need to enter the following special character sequences instead of the character itself: To get, use: @ ^'@ | ^'| ^ ^'^ ~ ^'~ ` ^'` Intercharacter Delays in Function Key Definitions Intercharacter Delays in Function Key Definitions Normally when you depress a function key the contents of the string assigned to that key are transmitted to the remote system at full speed. Some systems -- particularly those with front-end protocol converters -- may not be able to process incoming escape sequences at full speed. In that case you may want to tell PibTerm to insert a slight delay after each character of the string is sent to the remote system. To set an intercharacter delay, go to <ALT>P, I)nput, i) Function key intercharacter delay By default, PibTerm sets an intercharacter delay of ten milliseconds, which appears to work well with many systems. Attaching PibTerm commands to function keys Attaching PibTerm commands to function keys The '@' character allows you to attach quite complicated sequences of PibTerm commands to function keys. The definitions of PgUp and PgDn in the ACNS-supplied function key definition files (DECVAX.FNC, etc.) are examples. PgUp initiates a Kermit send, and PgDn initiates a Kermit get. Here are the definitions of PgUp and PgDn as given in PgUp PgDn DECVAX.FNC: PgUp: K9=@S@/db/ PgUp PgDn: K3=@R@/db/ PgDn @S indicates the <ALT> key command <ALT>S for sending a @S file, and @R indicates the <ALT> key command for receiving a @R file. @/db/ indicates that the literal characters "d" @/db/ followed by "b" should be read as if they had been typed in A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 114 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 114 by hand. The "d" selects Kermit from the <ALT>R or <ALT>S menu of file transfer protocols, and "b" selects get binary file or send binary file, depending upon whether an <ALT>R or <ALT>S has been requested. Attaching a Script to a Function Key Attaching a Script to a Function Key Another use for key definition is to attach a script to a function key. For example, suppose that we want to execute the HARDWIRE.SCR script for selecting a system to access HARDWIRE.SCR from a hard-wired terminal, every time the Home keypad key Home is hit. Then the string to assign using <ALT>K, E)nter definitions from keyboard would be: @G@/HARDWIRE^M/ Here the @G acts as if we hit the <ALT>G key to bring up the @G script processor. @/HARDWIRE^M/ provides the name of the @/HARDWIRE^M/ script to be executed and also places a carriage return (Ascii ^M) in the keyboard buffer after the name. From this point on, when Home is struck, the HARDWIRE.SCR Home script will be invoked. As another example, let's attach the script to dial a system by name presented in the previous section "Another Script Example: Dialing A System By Name." The script name is NAMEDIAL.SCR. Choose a key to attach this script to -- say, the End key on the keypad -- and hit End <ALT>K, E)nter definitions from keyboard Hit the End key when prompted for the key to define. Enter End the definition for NAMEDIAL.SCR as: @G@/NAMEDIAL^M/ From that point on, if you want to dial a system by name, just hit the End key. End Setting a function key subdirectory Setting a function key subdirectory You may find it convenient to set up a separate subdirectory to contain all of your key definition files (*.FNC). You can do that at <ALT>P, A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 115 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 115 P)aths, g) Function key directory After defining a function key subdirectory, PibTerm will always look there for a function key file if you do provide an explicit path when reading or writing a function key file at <ALT>K. Session Logging Session Logging PibTerm provides several different mechanisms for recording your session. The session may be written to a printer or captured to a disk file, and useful auxilliary information can also be collected. Logging session to printer -- <ALT>L Logging session to printer -- <ALT>L <ALT>L toggles the logging of your session to the printer. Initially printer logging is turned off. If you hit <ALT>L, PibTerm starts recording your session to the printer. If you hit <ALT>L again, then printer logging stops. MAKE SURE YOUR PRINTER IS TURNED ON BEFORE HITTING <ALT>L MAKE SURE YOUR PRINTER IS TURNED ON BEFORE HITTING <ALT>L OR YOUR SYSTEM MAY LOCK UP. PibTerm writes to the DOS OR YOUR SYSTEM MAY LOCK UP. device PRN:. PibTerm tries to prevent lock ups if the printer is off-line or out of paper, but the methods used do not work for all systems. You can define a printer setup string which PibTerm will send the printer right after it initializes the modem at program start-up time. To enter the string, press <ALT>P, O)dds and ends, a) Printer setup string If this string is empty (which it is by default), nothing is sent to the printer at startup time. Capture session to disk -- <ALT>O Capture session to disk -- <ALT>O Alternatively, you can use the <ALT>O command to capture a session to disk and print it or process it later on as you desire. <ALT>O toggles the capture of the current session to disk. This works like <ALT>L, except that instead of sending the session to the printer, the session is sent to a disk file. PibTerm prompts you for the name of the disk A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 116 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 116 file. If it exists, the captured session is appended to the end of the file. PibTerm asks you if you want an edited or an unedited capture. The edited capture saves the edited screen image of each line (up to 132 characters) rather than the unedited character stream from the remote system. Edited captures are convenient when you are typing during a capture session; the resulting file will show only your edited input. An unedited capture will contain all the backspaces, deletes, and other editing characters, and may be quite unreadable as a result. You can activate printer logging and capture file logging together. Intermixed with the output received from the remote system will be PibTerm-supplied information lines. These lines all begin with '>>'. The content of these lines indicate conditions like carrier drop, success/failure of a file transfer, what system has been dialed, and so on. Each line has a time/date stamp. For example, you might see the following information line in your capture file when the carrier drops: >> 87/09/15 18:47:15 Carrier dropped. Activating PIBTERM.LOG file Activating PIBTERM.LOG file You may want to keep a file which contains nothing but the information lines described above. You can do that by turning on "log file logging" at <ALT>P, O)dds and ends, p) Perform logging to log file. The log file is PIBTERM.LOG. Again, you can have log file logging active simultaneously with capture file logging and printer logging. Log file logging is always active in host mode. Screen Dumps Using <ALT>U Screen Dumps Using <ALT>U <ALT>U writes the text of the currently displayed screen image to the file SCRNDUMP.DAT. Only the text on the screen is written to the file, not the attributes (like color, or blink). You can only perform a screen dump when you are in terminal mode, NOT when you are already at another menu or in host mode. You can use <ALT>U repeatedly, A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 117 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 117 and each screen is appended to the current contents of SCRNDUMP.DAT. In Tektronix 4010 emulation mode, a 16K (for CGA) or 28K (for EGA) bit-map of the screen image is written to the file GSCRNDUM.DAT. This file can be manipulated by programming languages, but it cannot be listed as SCRNDUMP.DAT can because GSCRNDUM.DAT is not a text file. Scanning the Review Buffer -- <ALT>V Scanning the Review Buffer -- <ALT>V PibTerm saves the text of lines previously displayed on the screen in a review buffer. A maximum of 254 characters is saved from each line --- extra characters are thrown away. The number of lines saved is determined by the length of the saved lines and the size of the review buffer. You can set the size of the review buffer at <ALT>P, V)ideo mode and colors, l) Review buffer size The buffer size is specified in characters (NOT lines). If you set the buffer size to zero, then the review buffer will not be active. The maximum review buffer size is 32767 characters. You can display the saved lines by hitting <ALT>V. The result will be a split-screen display in which the top part of the screen acts as a window over the review buffer, and the bottom of the screen lists the available commands and the current line numbers and column numbers being viewed. The PC keypad keys control viewing. Use the up and down arrows to scroll up and down one line at a time through the saved lines. The left and right arrows take you ten columns left or right respectively in the 132 column display. PgUp and PgDn take you up and down a page of 19 PgUp PgDn lines, respectively. Home takes you to the first page, and Home End takes you to the last page. ESC exits the view mode. W End ESC W writes the review buffer to disk, and S allows you to search S the review buffer for a specified string. You can also use the mouse to scroll through the review buffer. The review buffer does NOT take account of escape sequences, so the resulting saved display for a full-screen session may not be very intelligible. Also, the first line in the review buffer may be truncated in the front. This is because the review buffer will chop the front of the first saved line in order to store the last (most recent) line if necessary. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 118 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 118 Mute Mode -- <ALT>M Mute Mode -- <ALT>M Remote systems frequently send Ascii BEL characters which cause PibTerm to issue beeping sounds. Also, PibTerm itself may issue various sound effects in cases of errors. If you are using your PC in an environment where those sounds are disturbing to others, or you yourself don't like them, you may prefer to toggle mute mode on by hitting <ALT>M. This mute mode <ALT>M. prevents PibTerm from issuing any beeps. In some cases, PibTerm will display a flashing <ALERT> on <ALERT> the last line of the screen instead of issuing beeps when mute mode is turned on. The ANSI/BBS terminal emulation mode allows specially encoded musical notation to be "played" by your PC. You may find this disconcerting, especially in the middle of the night. If mute mode is set, then any music commands received by PibTerm are IGNORED. Also, you can disable the gossip feature in host mode by setting mute mode. You must do this BEFORE invoking host mode using <ALT>W. Translate Table -- <ALT>T Translate Table -- <ALT>T PibTerm provides a facility for translating incoming characters into other characters. You can use this facility to strip out certain characters by indicating that you want the incoming character to be translated to the Ascii NUL character (Ascii 0). By default, incoming characters are left untranslated. To define a translation table, hit <ALT>T. If the file PIBTERM.TRA exists in your default PibTerm directory, then the translate table contained in that file is read in automatically when PibTerm starts up. Editing A Line On The Screen -- <ALT>A Editing A Line On The Screen -- <ALT>A When <ALT>A is pressed, a highlighted bar appears at line 1 if the cursor is currently on lines 2 through 25 (or whatever the bottom line on the screen is). The highlighted bar appears on the bottom line if the cursor is on line 1. You may then use the keypad arrow keys to move around the screen to any displayed line and edit that line using the keypad keys listed below. Pressing the INS key toggles INS insertion mode (the default) and overwrite mode. A carriage return causes the text of all altered lines to be sent to the remote system, and <ALT>A mode is exited. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 119 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 119 In addition to the arrow keys, ^X moves down a line and ^E moves up a line on the screen. ^K is used to mark the beginning and end of a line range to be concatenated for editing purposes (maximum 255 characters in the joined text). Horizontal scrolling will be used if necessary when the concatenated text exceeds the available display width. <ALT>A provides a simple block-mode feature for use with remote hosts that do not have full-screen features. Since the editors for all the ACNS mainframe systems are full- screen editors, <ALT>A isn't especially useful for them. However, one good use for <ALT>A is to correct an improperly entered system command for those systems without an edit- last-command feature. Displaying Session Timers -- <ALT>Y Displaying Session Timers -- <ALT>Y <ALT>Y invokes the display of session timers: +[ Display session information ]======================================+ |Current host system : ------------------------- | |Current phone number: # ### ###-#### | | | |Elapsed time since PibTerm started : 00:01:07 | |Elapsed time since current session began: 00:01:07 | |Available heap space in bytes: 69664 | | | |Current time: 02:40:34 | |Current date: 1987/10/29 | | | |Current capture file name: *** None *** | |Current script name : *** None *** | | | |Enter C to clear dialing session timer, hit ESC to continue ... | | | | | | | +=====================================================================+ If you are in the midst of a dialing session then the "Current host system" and "Current phone number" will tell you what system you're connected to. The "Elapsed time since PibTerm began" tells you how long you've been in PibTerm. The "Elapsed time since current session began" tells you how long you've been connected to the current system. (This will be the same as "Elapsed time since PibTerm began" before you dial any remote systems.) You may want to clear the session timer value to zero manually when you begin a hard-wired session; to do that, enter "C" as prompted. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 120 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 120 The "Available heap space in bytes" shows you how much space PibTerm has available for loading scripts, file buffers, and so on. If this number drops under 16000 bytes (32000 when an EGA graphics card is installed) then you may not be able to run Tektronix 4010 emulation. If this number drops under 8000 then you may have trouble executing new scripts or performing file transfers. The "Current time" and "Current date" are obvious. "Current capture file name" tells you the name of the current capture file opened by <ALT>O. "Current script name" tells you the name of the currently executing script from <ALT>G. Finding An Area Code -- <ALT>Z Finding An Area Code -- <ALT>Z <ALT>Z invokes PibTerm's built-in dialing area directory. You can enter a dialing code, a state, or a country and receive the corresponding state, country, or dialing codes. For domestic area codes, you also receive a list of representative cities and towns in that area. The dialing code data is kept on the file PIBTERM.ACO. That PIBTERM.ACO file must be present in order for <ALT>Z to work. PibTerm Program Parameters PibTerm Program Parameters PibTerm allows several parameter specifications on the program invocation statement. Each parameter name is a single letter and is preceded by a slash and followed by an equal sign and the parameter value: /c Name of configuration file to use (default is PIBTERM.CNF) /d Name of dialing directory (default is PIBTERM.FON) /e Dialing prefix file (default is PIBTERM.PRE) /k Function key file (default is PIBTERM.FNC) /l Log file name (default is PIBTERM.LOG) /p Serial port number (overrides port listed in PIBTERM.CNF) /s Script name to be executed upon entry to PibTerm (default is PIBTERM.SCR) /t Translate file name (no translation by default) /x Use expanded memory (LIM/EMS/EEMS) for PibTerm overlays if available. (No '=' is needed after '/x') Example: PIBTERM /c=PIBCOM2.CNF /s=HOSTIT.SCR /x Here the configuration file PIBCOM2.CNF is used rather than PIBTERM.CNF, and HOSTIT.SCR is executed immediately after the configuration files are read. Overlays are loaded into (and executed from) expanded memory if it is available. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 121 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 121 Speeding Up PibTerm Access Speeding Up PibTerm Access PibTerm is a fairly large program, and it can be slow in swapping its various program segments in and out of memory. One way to speed up PibTerm processing is to place PIBTERM.EXE and PIBTERM.OVR files on a RAM disk, if you have enough memory. Another way to speed up PibTerm if you have a large amount of expanded memory installed is to tell PibTerm to execute out of that expanded memory. To do that, include the "/x" switch when you invoke PibTerm: PIBTERM /x PIBTERM /x Expanded memory is provided by a number of add-in boards like the Intel Aboveboard or the AST RamPage. Note that this must be EXPANDED memory, not EXTENDED memory (consult the documentation for your add-in memory board for the details). It takes several seconds to read a large dialing directory file (PIBTERM.FON), and it also takes time to write it out again with any revisions at the end of the PibTerm session. One way to reduce the read/write time for the phone directory is to use an editor to remove unused directory lines (usually from the end of the directory). The built-in PibTerm editor is fine for this, assuming you have enough memory. For example, if you are only using 10 numbers out of the 200 you normally get with PibTerm, then edit the dialing directory and remove the last 190 entries. If you use the built-in PibTerm editor to do this, make sure you don't place any calls using the directory during that editing session. If you do, then PibTerm will write out a revised directory that will ignore the changes you made manually using the editor. Changing Colors in PibTerm Changing Colors in PibTerm PibTerm is distributed with all the colors set to black and white. This avoids problems stemming from different types of display adapters -- all adapters can display black and white. (Of course, if you have an amber screen, then black and white are displayed as black and amber; if you have a green screen, then black and white are displayed as black and green; and so on.) A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 122 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 122 However, PibTerm does allow you to set a variety of colors for menus and terminal emulation mode. You can set the various color parameters at <ALT>P, V)ideo mode and colors. VT100 emulation has its own set of colors which differ from those used for other emulations. There is a separate menu item for setting VT100 colors under <ALT>P, V)ideo mode and colors, i) VT100 colors. Setting the parameters for the colors is straightforward. However, if you are already in VT100 mode, then you will not see any change in the colors displayed after selecting new VT100 colors until you perform a terminal reset. That is, after changing the terminal emulation colors, always hit <Shift>Tab to reset the terminal so that the new colors take <Shift>Tab effect. Changing Screen Display Size On EGA/VGA Adapters Changing Screen Display Size On EGA/VGA Adapters Normally PibTerm runs in 80 column, 25 line mode. Line 25 is usually used as a status line. If you have an EGA or VGA, you can change the number of lines displayed. On an EGA you can select 25, 35, 43, and 50 line modes. On a VGA you can select 25, 50, and 60 line modes. You can set the number of lines PibTerm should use in the display at: <ALT>P, V)ideo mode and colors, o) Maximum physical screen length If you have an ATI EGA Wonder or ATI VIP VGA then you can also set the number of columns to 132. You can do that at: <ALT>P, V)ideo mode and colors, p) Maximum physical screen width Note that PibTerm will automatically switch between 80 column mode and 132 column mode in VT100 emulation if you have one of the ATI display cards and you have set the parameter A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 123 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 123 <ALT>P, V)ideo mode and colors, r) ATI EGA Wonder/ ATI VIP VGA installed to YES. Command Line Mode Command Line Mode You can enter script commands directly from the keyboard. This allows you to use PibTerm in a command-driven fashion if you dislike the menus. To do this you need to define a key which will invoke command mode. This is done at the <ALT>P, O)dds and ends, b) command key definition submenu. You will be asked to hit the key which will be subsequently used to invoke command mode. This key must be one of the legal function keys, keypad keys, or Alt-number keys which are also available for definition by <Alt>K. Don't choose a Don't choose a key which is already defined as a terminal keypad key! key which is already defined as a terminal keypad key! There is NO DEFAULT value for the command line key, i.e., NO DEFAULT value PibTerm does not provide command line mode by default. not Hitting the command key causes the status line of the display to show 'Command: '. You may then enter a script command which will be immediately executed. For example, you might enter the script command Dial "1" to dial the first number in the dialing directory, or SetParam "pa" "N" to set no parity. If the command is incorrectly entered, an error message is printed on the status line. You may add your own user-defined commands. See the description of the AddCommand script command in the AddCommand "PibTerm Script Language Reference Manual." Script commands allowed in command line mode Script commands allowed in command line mode The following subset of script commands can be used sensibly in command line mode: A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 124 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 124 Addlf Alarm Break Capture ChDir Clear ComDrain ComFlush CopyFile Delay Dial Dos Echo EditFile EraseFile Execute Exit ExitAll FreeSpace GetDir GetParam Hangup Host Input Key KeyDef KeyFlush KeySend Log Message Mute Param PrintFile Quit Receive Redial RInput ScreenDump Send SetParam SText Suspend Text Translate ViewFile Wait WaitCount WaitList WaitQuiet WaitString WaitTime When WhenDrop WriteLog Some of the other commands may be accepted, but they aren't useful in command line mode. Some of the commands (like IF, REPEAT, etc.) will NOT be accepted at all. For a description of these commands, see the "PibTerm Script Language Reference Manual." And of course, any user-defined commands you specify can be executed in command-line mode as well. PibTerm And Multitasking Software PibTerm And Multitasking Software There are a number of commercially available programs which extend standard MS DOS to provide multitasking, allowing you to run more than one program simultaneously. This is quite useful with a program like PibTerm: you can be connected to a remote system and be performing a long file transfer, while at the same time you can be (for example) editing a document using a word processor or compiling a program with Turbo Pascal. PibTerm may not run with all multitasking software. It DOES run well with the following multitaskers: DoubleDos (from SoftLogic) DesqView (from QuarterDeck) TaskView (from Sunny Hill Software) TopView (from IBM) PibTerm recognizes that one of these multitaskers is active and Pibterm adjusts itself automatically to improve performance in the multitasking environment. Since Microsoft Windows understands TopView emulation, PibTerm will run in a window under MS Windows. However, the performance of PibTerm under Windows is generally poor. Note that some features of PibTerm may not work correctly under multitaskers (e.g., Tektronix 4010 mode or 132 column mode using the ATI EGA Wonder card). You will need to A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 125 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 125 experiment to find out what does and what does not work for a particular multitasker. The file PIBTERM.DVP, included as part of the PibTerm PIBTERM.DVP release materials, is a program definition file for PibTerm for use with DesqView. Recent versions of TaskView will also read this file. For earlier versions of TaskView, you can look at TASKVIEW.NOT in the release materials, which TASKVIEW.NOT shows what settings you should use to run PibTerm under TaskView. Any other multitasker which recognizes TopView calls should also work properly with PibTerm. If it does not, or the multitasker does not recognize TopView calls, then you may be able to get PibTerm to work with it by turning off direct screen writing. To do this, press <ALT>P, V)ideo mode and colors, j) Write directly to video memory If "Write directly" is NO, then standard BIOS calls are used for all screen output. This slows down PibTerm screen output considerably, but it should make PibTerm compatible with almost any multitasker. Programs Which Conflict With PibTerm Programs Which Conflict With PibTerm There are some programs which don't like PibTerm and vice versa. The worst offenders are any programs which alter the CPU timer or which spend a lot of time masking out other interrupts. The major culprits are print spooling programs, on-screen time display programs, and keyboard enhancers. If you find that PibTerm is working erratically -- PibTerm drops characters when you are printing a file, or when you have a timer display up -- then you should disable programs like those mentioned above when running PibTerm. PibTerm provides a special pseudo-spooler print mode which you can access at <ALT>F P)rint a file to help make up for one of the offenders, and the <ALT>Y command provides elapsed time to help make up for the other. Most of the terminal emulation modes also feature an optional status line which does have a constantly updated hour:minutes time-of-day display. You may also find that Pibterm doesn't like your favorite keyboard enhancer. Since PibTerm allows you to define a plethora of keys, you may be able to avoid having the keyboard enhancer active if your only need is to send simple A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 126 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 126 pre-defined strings to remote systems. See the section on "Defining Function Keys" for more details. If you are a Sysop and try to run PibTerm in the same machine in which you have your BBS software loaded, you may find that one of the resident drivers for your BBS conflicts with PibTerm. For example, some OPUS BBS drivers interfere with the proper reception and transmission of characters in PibTerm. You may need to remove those drivers from your CONFIG.SYS file or AUTOEXEC.BAT file before running PibTerm to avoid problems. General Trouble-Shooting Hints General Trouble-Shooting Hints PibTerm defaults to a Hayes compatible modem setup, and PibTerm works best with a Hayes compatible modem. If your modem isn't Hayes compatible, then you'll have to change the PibTerm parameters related to dialing. WE STRONGLY ADVISE WE STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TO PURCHASE ONLY HAYES COMPATIBLE MODEMS FOR USE WITH YOU TO PURCHASE ONLY HAYES COMPATIBLE MODEMS FOR USE WITH PIBTERM. The Hayes "AT" command set is the industry PIBTERM. standard. This section presents a variety of common problems that surface when using PibTerm, and the solutions to those problems. Also see the sections on "File Transfer Trouble Shooting", "Dialing problems", and "Programs which conflict with PibTerm." Problem: After requesting PibTerm to start executing, the Problem: PC hangs while PibTerm is trying to read its configuration files. What to do: What to do: This usually indicates too little memory to execute PibTerm. Run the DOS command CHKDSK to CHKDSK see how much memory you actually have installed in your PC. If you don't have at least 280K AVAILABLE for use by PibTerm, then PibTerm won't run correctly. This means that you need AT LEAST 320K of memory installed in your machine. Generally PibTerm will report that it may not have enough memory to execute before it fails. Another possibility is that you've indicated the wrong type of monitor. If you have a monochrome adapter and monitor MAKE SURE that the parameter at <ALT>P, V)ideo mode and colors, k) Wait for retrace A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 127 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 127 is set to NO. If you're caught in a Catch-22 because you can't enter PibTerm to change this parameter, then you can use a text editor which produces PLAIN ASCII files to alter PIBTERM.CNF. PLAIN ASCII Change the line WR=1 to WR=0 in PIBTERM.CNF. While you're at it, change the TM= parameter to read TM=M which indicates a monochrome display. Problem: PibTerm starts, but then the screen fills with Problem: multi-colored junk, or menus do not disappear when then should. What to do: What to do: This also indicates insufficient RAM memory to run PibTerm. Problem: When I execute PibTerm, I get a message like Problem: "Overlay file not available." What to do: What to do: a) Check that you correctly copied the PIBTERM.OVR file to your PibTerm subdirectory. If you used the ACNS INSTALL program, then PIBTERM.OVR should be correctly installed. b) Make sure that your DOS PATH= includes the drive name and subdirectory name in which the PIBTERM.OVR file resides. Problem: PibTerm appears to execute correctly, but nothing Problem: is sent out my modem -- no modem lights flicker, no dialing commands appear to have any effect, etc. What to do: What to do: a) If you are using a modem, make sure your modem is turned on. If it is an internal modem, make sure that it is correctly installed and firmly seated in a compatible expansion slot. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 128 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 128 If you are running a hard-wired line, you may need to send some special sequence to the remote system in order to "wake it up." A common method is to issue a break (<ALT>B). b) Make sure that the serial cable is plugged into a serial port outlet on your PC (on some machines it's easy to confuse a parallel port outlet or graphics display adapter outlet with a serial port outlet). Also ensure that the serial cable is correctly plugged into the modem. c) Make sure that your cable is the correct type for your modem or hardwired connection. You may need to insert a null modem for some hard-wired connections. Also check if your modem has a switch specifying whether pins 2 and 3 are to be switched or not -- that switch may be set incorrectly. Refer to the documentation for your modem for further details. d) Make sure that the serial port itself is properly installed. If the serial port is located on an add-in board, or you are using an internal modem, you may need to set switches or jumpers to activate the serial port/modem correctly and to prevent conflicts with other serial port(s) which may already be present in your system. Refer to the documentation for the add-in board or modem for details. e) Make sure that you have specified the correct port in the PIBTERM.CNF file. The PO= parameter indicates the port. If your serial port is at a non-standard address you may need to set the IRQ level and port address. You can set the correct port at <ALT>P, C)ommunications, a) Serial port. If you are unable to run PibTerm at all because of an incorrect port setting, you can use the "/p" command line option of PibTerm to override the port number specified in the PIBTERM.CNF file. You can also change the port using the ACNS- supplied CONFIG program, or by using a text-editor to directly change the PIBTERM.CNF file. Make Make sure your text editor produces ordinary Ascii text sure your text editor produces ordinary Ascii text files, NOT word-processor files. files, NOT word-processor files. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 129 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 129 f) Make sure that you have correctly set the dialing parameters for either a touch-tone or a rotary- dial line. See the section on "Problems with Dialing" for more details. Problem: The Jump to DOS feature (<ALT>J) doesn't work. Problem: What to do: What to do: a) Make sure that you have enough memory to run the Jump to DOS. You should have at least 35K of free space. You can check this by hitting <ALT>Y and checking the available heap space. If that value isn't at least 35000, the Jump to DOS will probably fail. b) Make sure that you have a copy of COMMAND.COM along the current DOS PATH=. Alternatively, place a copy of COMMAND.COM in the same directory as the PibTerm files, pointed to by the SET PIBTERM= variable you should have set according to the instructions displayed by the PibTerm INSTALL program. If you are not at Northwestern, then see Appendix A for instructions on setting the DOS PATH= for use with PibTerm. Also see the section "Access to the Operating System: <ALT>J" for other problem solutions. Problem: Communications proceed, but VERY slowly. Problem: You may experience extremely slow communications, where it appears that only one character is being sent out by PibTerm every five or six seconds, but INCOMING characters are received correctly. What to do: What to do: Either your modem, serial port, or modem cable isn't transmitting the Clear-To-Send or Data- Set_Ready signals. You can tell PibTerm to ignore those signals at <ALT>P, C)ommunications, h) Check clear to send i) Check data set ready Try setting "Check clear to send" to NO first. If that doesn't help, try setting "Check data set ready" to NO as well. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 130 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 130 Problem: Screen display "snows" badly. Problem: You may find that the screen display "snows" badly every time PibTerm writes anything on the screen. This means that multicolor splotches appear and the screen flickers in a very disconcerting manner. This "snow" stems from a design flaw in the original IBM color graphics adapter (CGA) and some other graphics cards which seek to emulate the IBM CGA. What to do: What to do: Tell PibTerm to slow down screen writing by writing characters to the screen only during "safe" periods when snow won't occur. To do this, press <ALT>P, V)ideo mode and colors, k) Wait for retrace This should eliminate most or all of the snow. The standard IBM color graphics adapter (CGA) blinks the screen every time the screen is scrolled up. You can circumvent this by requesting that PibTerm perform the scrolling in an alternate manner that eliminates flicker, but which slows down the rate of scrolling considerably. Press <ALT>P, V)ideo mode and colors, q) Use software scrolling Problem: Many characters dropped in screen display. Problem: You may find that some characters are correctly displayed, but many more are simply dropped from the display and don't appear at all. What to do: What to do: There are many possible reasons for dropped characters. a) You are running a program which conflicts with PibTerm in some way (see the section above on "Programs which conflict with PibTerm"). A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 131 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 131 b) You are running at too high a baud rate for your PC to keep up with the remote system. Try using a lower baud rate. c) Your serial port or cable is damaged. Try replacing your cable, then try another serial port in your machine if you have one. d) Your modem is bad, or your phone line is bad. Try another modem if you can, and try calling the remote system again. Try another phone line if you have access to one. e) Your display adapter turns off interrupts for too long a time, causing the serial port to drop incoming characters. Try setting PibTerm for direct screen writes with NO wait for retrace at <ALT>P, V)ideo mode and colors, j) Write directly k) Wait for retrace Also, turn off the status display during file transfers by hitting <SHIFT><TAB> after the transfer starts. Saving changed parameters Saving changed parameters Any parameter changes you make can be saved by pressing <ALT>P, W)rite config file This means you only need to reset the parameters once and then you can save your changes for the next time. A Final Word From The Author A Final Word From The Author PibTerm has gone through many changes over the past four years. Nearly all of the changes and improvements have been implemented in response to the suggestions of PibTerm users. I'd like to thank collectively all of you who have contributed so many excellent ideas to the development of PibTerm: PibTerm program users, especially the Northwestern University community; Sysops whose patience with my using their systems to communicate with my testers seemed inexhaustible; and PibTerm program testers, without whom PibTerm would probably never have run correctly on anything! A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 132 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 at Northwestern Page 132 Thank-you one and all! -- Phil "Pib" Burns February, 1988 Appendix A -- Installing PibTerm Appendix A -- Installing PibTerm ACNS provides Northwestern University users of PibTerm with special customized installation programs for PibTerm called INSTALL.COM and CONFIG.COM. These programs are located on INSTALL.COM CONFIG.COM Disk A of the Northwestern University release set. These installation programs are NOT PROVIDED in the general PibTerm release for the rest of the universe. If you are at Northwestern University, but you received your copies of PibTerm elsewhere, contact the Information Center in Academic Computing about getting a proper ACNS PibTerm release set. This appendix discusses the installation of PibTerm for those individuals who are not at Northwestern University and therefore did not receive the special INSTALL and CONFIG programs. The most difficult part of using PibTerm is getting it installed in the first place! You need a system with AT LEAST 300K of AVAILABLE RAM memory AT LEAST 300K of AVAILABLE RAM memory (on top of the operating system and resident programs) to run PibTerm. You also need at least two 360K diskette drives, or a single drive with 720K or more space available, or (preferably) a hard disk. While it is POSSIBLE to run PibTerm on a single 360K floppy system, we don't recommend it. After you get the PibTerm files, make sure to create a backup copy of the files on whatever medium is most convenient for you. Most of the time, if you get PibTerm on diskettes, you will find a copy of a dearchiving program like Vern Buerg's ARCE or Phil Katz's PKXARC has also been placed on each diskette. The installation instruction below assume that this is the case. Hard Disk Installation Hard Disk Installation This section describes the installation of PibTerm on a hard drive. However, these same instructions can be used to install PibTerm on a high capacity floppy drive (1.2 megabytes or greater). (1) Create a subdirectory on your hard drive to hold PibTerm. If you already have an old version of PibTerm you should back up the old version and then erase the old executables from your hard drive: ERASE PIBTERM.COM ERASE PT4*.CHN A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Appendix A Page 134 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Appendix A Page 134 ERASE PIBTERM.0* Leave copies of your current PibTerm configuration files in the directory. These include PIBTERM.CNF, PIBTERM.PRE, PIBTERM.FON, and so on. For example, if your hard drive is drive C: you could create a subdirectory PIBTERM as follows: MKDIR C:\PIBTERM CD \PIBTERM You should move to the PibTerm directory before extracting the files in step 2 below. (2) Extract the files in PIBT41E1.ARC and PIBT41E2.ARC to the PibTerm subdirectory. Use your favorite de- archiver. For example, if drive A: contains the PIBT41E1.ARC file, and you have the ARCE.COM program installed on your hard drive, then you could extract the files as follows: ARCE A:PIBT41E1 Likewise, extract the files from PIBT41E2.ARC: ARCE A:PIBT4E2 You should now have the following files (among others) in the PibTerm subdirectory: PIBTERM.EXE Main executable program PIBTERM.OVR Program overlays PIBCOLOR.CNF Color configuration file PIBMONO.CNF Mono configuration file PIBBW.CNF Black and white configuration file CNFUPDAT.EXE Config file updater CNFUPDAT.EXE updates pre-v4.1 PibTerm configuration files to v4.1 specifications. (3) If you already have existing configuration files from an earlier version of PibTerm: Execute the program CNFUPDAT.EXE which will convert your PIBTERM.CNF file from earlier versions of PibTerm to that required for v4.1. For example, CNFUPDAT PIBTERM will convert your old PIBTERM.CNF file to the new format. (The old file will be renamed PIBTERM.CNO in case you want to keep a copy of it around.) A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Appendix A Page 135 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Appendix A Page 135 If you don't already have existing PibTerm configuration files: If you have a color graphics adapter and color monitor, rename PIBCOLOR.CNF to PIBTERM.CNF. If you have a monochrome adapter and monitor, rename PIBMONO.CNF to PIBTERM.CNF. If you have a color graphics adapter and a monochrome monitor, rename PIBBW.CNF to PIBTERM.CNF. PibTerm will create the remaining parameter files when you execute it the first time. (4) Make sure that your CONFIG.SYS file specifies AT LEAST the following minimum FILES= and BUFFERS= sizes: FILES=20 BUFFERS=30 If you don't have an existing CONFIG.SYS file, then copy the file CONFIG.PIB provided as part of the ACNS release materials to the root directory of your boot disk, and rename it CONFIG.SYS. (5) If you have an existing AUTOEXEC.BAT file, add the following statement to it: SET PIBTERM=C:\PIBTERM where the directory name you enter is that in which you installed PibTerm. If you do not have an existing AUTOEXEC.BAT file, then copy the file AUTOEXEC.PIB provided as part of the PibTerm release materials to the root directory of your boot disk, and rename it AUTOEXEC.BAT. (6) If you already have a PATH statement in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, add the PibTerm path to it. For example, if your path statement looks like this: PATH C:;C:\DOS then append the PibTerm subdirectory like this: PATH C:;C:\DOS;C:\PIBTERM A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Appendix A Page 136 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Appendix A Page 136 If you used the supplied AUTOEXEC.PIB file (after renaming it to AUTOEXEC.BAT), then you may need to modify the PATH statement therein to match your system. (7) You should now reboot so that the various CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT file changes take effect. (8) To execute PibTerm, just type PIBTERM If you have around 300K of available expanded memory in your system, you can type PIBTERM /x and PibTerm will load its overlays into EMS or EEMS at program starup time, and then load them from there during the remainder of execution. This is much faster than loading the overlays from disk. (However, even the disk-resident v4.1 overlays will load much more quickly than the previous v4.0.x .CHN-style overlays.) Single-floppy (>360K) system Single-floppy (>360K) system (1) Format a new diskette (we'll call it the PibTerm Master Diskette) with the operating system on it using the DOS FORMAT command: FORMAT A: /S (2) Copy the file PIBT41E2.ARC onto the PibTerm Master Diskette using the DOS COPY command: COPY B:PIBT41E2.ARC A: /V DOS prompts you to enter the diskette with PIBT41E2.ARC on it as drive B:. DOS then asks you to swap diskettes as needed until the copy is finished. If the diskette with the PIBT41E1.ARC file on it also contains a dearchiver, then make sure you copy the dearchiver to the PibTerm Master Diskette as well. For example, assuming that Vern Buerg's program ARCE is provided with the PibTerm archives: COPY B:ARCE.COM A: /V If the the diskette from which you copied PIBT41E1.ARC doesn't have a dearchiver on it, then make sure you have another floppy handy that DOES have the dearchiver A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Appendix A Page 137 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Appendix A Page 137 on it, and then copy the dearchiver from the other diskette onto the PibTerm Master Diskette. (3) Extract the contents of PIBT41E2.ARC onto the PibTerm Master Diskette using the dearchiving program. For example, using ARCE.COM: A: ARCE PIBT41E2 After the extraction completes, erase PIBT41E2.ARC from the PibTerm Master Diskette. (4) Repeat steps 2 and 3 above, except this time with the diskette containing the PIBT41E1.ARC file. You will now have all the required PibTerm files loaded onto the PibTerm Master Diskette. (4) Rename the file CONFIG.PIB to CONFIG.SYS. You may need to edit CONFIG.SYS in case you have any extra device drivers or special RAM boards in your system. (5) If you already have existing configuration files from an earlier version of PibTerm, then proceed as follows: Copy the old configuration files onto the PibTerm Master Diskette at this time. For example, if you've previously backed up your old PibTerm configuration files to another diskette, then copy these files from your backup diskette to the PibTerm Master Diskette: COPY B:PIBTERM.FON A: /V COPY B:PIBTERM.PRE A: /V COPY B:PIBTERM.CNF A: /V You can also copy any old translate tables or function key files to the PibTerm Master Diskette as well. Execute the program CNFUPDAT.EXE which will convert your PIBTERM.CNF file from earlier versions of PibTerm to that required for v4.1. For example, CNFUPDAT PIBTERM converts your old PIBTERM.CNF file to the new format. (The old file is renamed PIBTERM.CNO in case you want to keep a copy of it.) A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Appendix A Page 138 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Appendix A Page 138 Erase CNFUPDAT.EXE from the PibTerm Master diskette after you finish the conversion. If you don't already have existing PibTerm configuration files: If you have a color graphics adapter and color monitor, rename PIBCOLOR.CNF to PIBTERM.CNF. If you have a monochrome adapter and monitor, rename PIBMONO.CNF to PIBTERM.CNF. If you have a color graphics adapter and a monochrome monitor, rename PIBBW.CNF to PIBTERM.CNF. PibTerm will create the remaining parameter files when you first execute it. You can erase any unused .CNF files from the PibTerm Master Diskette at this time. (6) You can boot from the PibTerm Master Diskette. To execute PibTerm after rebooting, just type PIBTERM Any missing configuration files will be created the first time you execute PibTerm. Dual-floppy system Dual-floppy system If one of your floppy drives allows a capacity of 720K or greater, then you can install PibTerm on it using the above instructions for a high-capacity single-floppy system, except that you won't have to physically swap floppies as often. For a dual-floppy system in which each diskette has only 360K available, proceed as follows ot install PibTerm. (1) Format TWO new diskettes using the DOS FORMAT command. Place the operating system on one so that you can boot from it: FORMAT A: /S <--- one with a system FORMAT B: <--- one without We will call the diskette with the operating system the PibTerm System Diskette. We will call the diskette without the system the PibTerm Overlay Diskette. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Appendix A Page 139 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Appendix A Page 139 Copy the file COMMAND.COM from the PibTerm System Diskette to the PibTerm Overlay Diskette using the DOS copy command: COPY A:COMMAND.COM B: /V (2) Remove the PibTerm System Diskette from drive A: and put the diskette with PIBT41E1.ARC in drive A:. Most of the time the diskette containing PIBT41E1.ARC will also contain a dearchiving program like ARCE or PKXARC. If it doesn't, then put a copy of a dearchiver onto disk A:. For simplicity here, we'll assume that the dearchiver is Buerg's ARCE. Extract the contents PIBT41E1 on drive A: to diskette B:, the PibTerm Overlay Diskette: B: A:ARCE A:PIBT41E1 (3) Remove the diskette with PIBT41E1.ARC from drive A:. Put the PibTerm System Diskette back in drive A:. Copy the following files from drive B: (the PibTerm Overlay Diskette) to drive A: COPY B:PIBTERM.EXE A: /V COPY B:*.2FL A: /V Erase these files from drive B:, along with a few others: ERASE B:PIBTERM.EXE ERASE B:*.2FL ERASE B:*.PIB (4) Rename the file CONFIG.2FL, now on the PibTerm System Diskette, to CONFIG.SYS: A: RENAME CONFIG.2FL CONFIG.SYS If you already have a CONFIG.SYS file that you normally use, then add the statements from CONFIG.2FL that aren't already present in your current CONFIG.SYS to your CONFIG.SYS on the PibTerm IT IS IMPORTANT that IT IS IMPORTANT the COMSPEC= from CONFIG.2FL be used instead of any currently in your present CONFIG.SYS. (5) Rename the file AUTOEXEC.2FL to AUTOEXEC.BAT. RENAME AUTOEXEC.2FL AUTOEXEC.BAT A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Appendix A Page 140 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Appendix A Page 140 If you already use an AUTOEXEC.BAT, then add the statements from AUTOEXEC.2FL to your regular AUTOEXEC.BAT file. (6) Remove the PibTerm System Diskette from drive A: and place the diskette which contains PIBT41E2.ARC in drive A:. Extract the contents of PIBT41E2.ARC to the PibTerm Overlay Diskette in drive B: B: A:ARCE A:PIBT41E2 The only file in PIBT41E2 is PIBTERM.OVR, the PibTerm overlay file. (7) If you already have existing configuration files from an earlier version of PibTerm, then proceed as follows: Copy the old configuration files onto the PibTerm Overlay Diskette at this time. For example, if you've previously backed up your old PibTerm configuration files to another diskette, then copy these files from your backup diskette to the PibTerm Master diskette. Place the diskette with the old PibTerm configuration files in drive A: COPY A:PIBTERM.FON B: /V COPY A:PIBTERM.PRE B: /V COPY A:PIBTERM.CNF B: /V You can also copy any old translate tables or function keys files to the PibTerm Overlay Diskette as well. Execute the program CNFUPDAT.EXE which will convert your PIBTERM.CNF file from earlier versions of PibTerm to that required for v4.1. For example, CNFUPDAT PIBTERM converts your old PIBTERM.CNF file to the new format. (The old file is renamed PIBTERM.CNO in case you want to keep a copy of it.) Erase CNFUPDAT.EXE from the PibTerm Overlay diskette after you finish the conversion. If you don't already have existing PibTerm configuration files: If you have a color graphics adapter and color monitor, rename PIBCOLOR.CNF to PIBTERM.CNF. A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Appendix A Page 141 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Appendix A Page 141 If you have a monochrome adapter and monitor, rename PIBMONO.CNF to PIBTERM.CNF. If you have a color graphics adapter and a monochrome monitor, rename PIBBW.CNF to PIBTERM.CNF. PibTerm will create the remaining parameter files when you first execute it. You can erase any unused .CNF files from the PibTerm Overlay diskette at this time. (8) Replace the PibTerm System Diskette in drive A:. You can now reboot by striking <CTRL><ALT><DEL>. After rebooting, you can execute PibTerm by typing PIBTERM This setup allows you to keep drive A: completely open for file transfers, as only drive B: is needed by PibTerm for its overlays and other configuration files after initial program loading. Single-floppy system, 360K only Single-floppy system, 360K only As mentioned above, PibTerm is not designed for use on systems with only a single low-capacity floppy drive. If you really want to use PibTerm on such a system, you need a full 640K of RAM installed, and preferably 704K. (You CAN get 704K of usable memory with some memory boards, assuming that you DO NOT have an EGA or VGA.) Obtain a copy of a RAM disk program and install the RAM disk as drive B: with a 360K size. There are a number of good RAM disk programs available in the public domain, as well as commercial and shareware RAM disk programs. Follow the installation procedure given above for the two-floppy drive system, but using the RAM disk as the second drive. Copy the RAM disk contents to real diskettes whenever you "switch" the contents of the RAM disk with another diskette. To run PibTerm, modify your AUTOEXEC.BAT file or CONFIG.SYS file (depending upon your RAM drive software) to create a RAM disk big enough to hold the PIBTERM.OVR file. (300K should be enough.) After booting, copy PIBTERM.OVR to the RAM disk. Make sure the PATH statement in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file references both drive A: and the RAM drive B: PATH A:;B: A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Appendix A Page 142 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Appendix A Page 142 When you execute PibTerm from drive A:, the overlays will be loaded from the RAM disk. You will have enough free space on drive A: to download small files. This setup is a VERY tight squeeze as regards RAM usage. You will need to reduce the sizes of PibTerm parameters like the review buffer size, file transfer buffer size, and input and output serial buffer size to an absolute minimum. /c -- program parameter, configuration file name, 120 /d -- program parameter, dialing directory name, 120 /e -- program parameter, dialing prefix file name, 120 /k -- program parameter, function key file name, 120 /l -- program parameter, log file name, 120 /p -- program parameter, serial port number, 120 /s -- program parameter, script to be executed, 120 /t -- program parameter, translate file name, 120 /x -- program parameter, requests overlays be placed in expanded memory, 120 /x -- program parameter, requests overlays be placed in expanded memory, 121 132 column support in VT100 mode, 52 requires ATI EGA/VGA card, 52 <ALERT> -- displayed in mute mode in lieu of beep, 118 <ALT> -- Starts PibTerm commands, 6 <ALT>A -- Editing a line on screen, 118 <ALT>B -- Sending a break, 26 <ALT>C -- Clearing the screen, 51 <ALT>D -- Dialing directory access, 27 <ALT>E -- Toggling local/remote echo, 21 <ALT>F -- File manipulation, 102 <ALT>G -- Executing a script, 94 <ALT>H -- Hanging up the phone, 83 <ALT>I -- Displays PibTerm commands, 6 <ALT>J -- Jump to DOS, 101 <ALT>K -- Defining function keys, 109 <ALT>K -- Manipulating function key definitions, 43 <ALT>L -- Logging session to printer, 115 <ALT>M -- Mute mode, 118 <ALT>N -- Setting communications parameters quickly with, 21 <ALT>O -- Capture session to disk, 115 <ALT>P -- Changing PibTerm parameters, 8, 10 <ALT>Q -- Redial last number dialed, 34 <ALT>R -- Receive a file, 60 <ALT>S -- Send a file, 60 <ALT>T -- Translate received text, 118 <ALT>U -- Screen image dump, 116 <ALT>V -- Scanning review buffer, 117 <ALT>W -- Host mode, 84 <ALT>X -- Exiting PibTerm, 83 <ALT>X -- Terminating script execution, 84, 94 <ALT>Y -- Displaying session timers, 119, 125 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 144 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 144 <ALT>Z -- Locating a dialing area code, 120 <CTRL>P entering control codes with, 15 <CTRL>T program interruption key on NOS, 69 <CTRL>Y -- terminating job under VAX/VMS with, 70 <CTRL>Z end of file marker, 77 <SHIFT>TAB -- resetting current terminal emulation, 51 @ -- marks PibTerm command in function key definition, 112 ^ entering control characters with, 15 ^ -- entering control characters with, 112 ` -- cause wait for next character, 112 Access to DOS using <ALT>J, 101 Access to remote system hard-wired, 16 modem, 16 ACNS mainframes communications settings for, 20 dialing directory settings for, 29 ACP File Extend Failed -- Vax/VMS message, 68 Active directory, changing active at <ALT>F, 102 ADDCOMMAND -- script command allows definition of new PibTerm commands, 123 Adding line feeds in Gossip mode, 54 Adding new PibTerm commands using ADDCOMMAND script command, 123 ADM3a and ADM5 terminal emulation, 52 AILU (asynchronous interface line unit) Accessing ACNS systems with, 26 Defined, 17 Alternate CTTY drivers, 89 ANSI.SYS, 53 ANSI/BBS terminal emulation, 52 recommended for BBS use, 52 ARCE.COM -- Vern Buerg's dearchiver, 133 Area codes directory file PIBTERM.ACO, 120 locating using <ALT>Z, 120 ASCII defined, 18 extended ASCII, 19 file transfers -- see Non-protocol file transfer, 75 on ACNS systems, 18 on microcomputers, 18 Asynchronous communications, 18 AT command set, 17 DIUs/AILUs do not use, 26 suggested for use with PibTerm, 4 AT&C1 -- modem command to set carrier detect normal, 24 AT&D1 -- modem command to set data terminal ready line normal, 25 AT&M0 -- modem command to disable MNP, 26 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 145 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 145 AT&M4 -- modem command to enable MNP, 26 ATDP -- modem command to dial on rotary phone line, 38 ATDT -- modem command to dial on touch-tone phone line, 38 ATE0 -- modem command turns off local echo, 22 ATE1 -- modem command turns on local echo, 22 ATH0 -- modem command to hang up phone, 83 ATI EGA Wonder, 52, 122 allows 132 columns in VT100, 52 ATI VIP VGA, 52, 122 allows 132 columns in VT100, 52 ATTACH -- make direct file available for processing under NOS, 60 Attaching a script to a function key, 114 Attaching PibTerm commands to function keys, 113 using @ character, 113 ATZ -- modem command to reset modem, 40 Autodownload Kermit, 64 Mahoney BBS protocol, 72 Ymodem for, on Mahoney BBS, 72 Zmodem, 74 Automatic dialing speed adjustment, 21, 36 Automatic file name extraction for transfers, 75 Automatic loading of function key definitions, 48 Background processing, 3, 124 Backing up old version of PibTerm, 133 PIBTERM.FON, 35 Backspace key, 41 Ascii BS as backspace on Cyber, 42 Ascii DEL as backspace on Vax, 42 defining behavior of, 42 dialing directory setting for, 29, 42 Escape sequence ^[[OA as backspace on CMS, 42 HARDWIRE.SCR sets for ACNS systems, 42 Basic programs often reset communications ports, 101 Batch file transfer in external file transfer protocols, 80 Kermit as, 63 Mahoney protocol as, 72 Modem7 as, 71 Telink as, 72 Ymodem batch as, 71 Zmodem as, 73 Batch files, 73 in external file transfer protocols, 73, 78, 80, 82 RECZMOD.BAT for receiving files using Zmodem protocol, 73 SENDZMOD.BAT for sending files using Zmodem protocol, 73 Baud rate automatic adjustment of when dialing, 21, 36 commonly used, 18 current setting displayed on status line, 50 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 146 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 146 defined, 18 dialing directory entry for, 29 settings for ACNS system, 20 sub-sub-menu at <ALT>P, 12 Bells turning off using <ALT>M, 118 Binary files Cyber SPSSX Export files as example, 59 defined, 59 transferring with Kermit, 59 Bits defined for communications, 17 Block sequence error -- CDC/NOS Kermit message, 68 Buerg, Vern Author of ARCE.COM, 133 author of LIST.COM file viewer program, 108 Burns, Philip "Pib" author of PibTerm program, 131 BUSY modem status message indicates number dialed is busy, 37 Byte stream transfers, 76 Bytes defined for communications, 17 Capturing PibTerm session, 115 CA on status line tells if capture in progress, 50 edited vs unedited capture, 116 to disk with <ALT>O, 115 Carrier detect line, 24 CD shows current state on status line, 50 defined, 24 problems in dialing because of wrong setting, 39 setting always high, 37 setting for use in PibTerm, 24 CD (carrier detect), 24, 50 CDCNET terminating session under, 69 CDCNOS.FNC -- function key definitions for NOS, 43, 47, 48 CED Chris Dunford's keyboard enhancer, 16 CGA, 55 Changing PibTerm parameters, 8 Character mode in Gossip, 53 Characters defined for communications, 17 Characters dropped from screen display, 130 when dialing, 39 Checksum, 56, 70 use in file transfer protocol, 56 CHKDSK -- DOS program to check disk and report available memory, 126 Chris Dunford A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 147 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 147 author of CED and PCED, 16 Christensen protocol (Xmodem), 2 Christensen, Ward, 2, 70 Devised Xmodem protocol, 70 Chuck Forsberg Author of Zmodem protocol, 73 devised Ymodem protocol, 72 Clear-to-send (CTS/RTS) flow control, 23 CT gives current setting on status line, 50 Clearing the screen with <ALT>C, 51 Clink program implements SEALink file transfer protocol, 78 Clone, 4, 42 running PibTerm on PC clone, 4 CMS, 41, 42, 46, 61, 119 Kermit under, 61 Using PibTerm with, 46 CNFUPDAT.EXE -- Converts old PIBTERM.CNF to PibTerm v4.1 format, 134, 137, 140 Colors changing current settings of, 121 changing VT100 colors, 122 Command key for PibTerm command line mode, 123 Command line mode, 123 alternative to menu mode in PibTerm, 123 defining command key, 123 Commands list of PibTerm commands, 6 Script commands allowed in command line mode, 123 Communications, 18 serial asynchronous, 18 serial synchronous, 18 Communications parameters, 17, 20 baud rate defined, 18 data bits Defined, 18 parity defined, 19 settings for ACNS mainframes, 20 settings for microcomputers, 20 submenu of <ALT>P, 11 COMn, MSDOS serial port device name, 50 Compuserve B Protocol, 74 CONFIG.COM, 9, 133 CONFIG.SYS -- Settings for use with PibTerm, 135 Configuration files, 5 PIBTERM.CNF, 9 Conflicting programs, 125 Connecting to remote system with PibTerm, 16 Contents of function key definition strings, 112 Control characters entering in strings with ^, 15 Copy A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 148 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 148 copying a file at <ALT>F, 102 DOS COPY command, 36 Getting a copy of PibTerm, 4 Copying a file, at <ALT>F, 102 CRC, 56, 70 use in file transfer protocol, 56 Creating mouse menu with MAKEMENU.COM, 7 CTS/RTS (clear to send) flow control, 23, 75 CTTY, 89 alternate CTTY drivers, 89 GATEWAY, 90 IBMAUX, 90 multitaskers may not support, 90 Cursor shape changed to block for DOS jump, 101 changed to block for overstrike editing mode, 15 Cyber, 18, 29, 35, 41, 42, 47, 59, 60 CYBER.SCR script for connecting to Cyber, 41 Cyclic redundancy check (CRC), 56 CYTOPC -- convert Cyber SPSSX export file for downloading, 61 Data bits ASCII defined, 18 current setting displayed on status line, 50 defined, 18 dialing directory entry for, 29 Data terminal ready line, 24 defined, 24 Setting for use in PibTerm, 24 Dataset ready (DSR/DTR) flow control, 23 Date current, displayed at Y, 120 date and time stamp in logging entries, 116 of file creation in directory display at <ALT>F, 102 in view-a-file at <ALT>F, 108 in Ymodem protocol, 71 of last connection to a system, 31 of PibTerm release, 5 DBBS, 70 DECVAX.FNC -- function key definitions for Vax, 43 DECVAXE.FNC -- function key definitions for Vax, 43, 45 Default prefix and suffix dialing directory, 33 Default terminal emulation is VT100, 41 Defining function keys at <ALT>K, 109 attaching a script to a function key, 114 Attaching PibTerm commands to keys, 113 Contents of key definition strings, 112 displaying current definitions, 109 Entering definitions at keyboard, 110 extended keypad definitions, 111 Quitting key definition, 112 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 149 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 149 Reading key definitions from a file, 109 Writing key definitions to a file, 111 Delay inserting one-second delay in modem commands using ~, 40 Deleting a file at <ALT>F, 102 DesqView, multitasking program, 124 graphics in background with, 55 PIBTERM.DVP file for use with, 125 DI3000, 2 Dialing area code, locating one using <ALT>Z, 120 list of numbers, 34 long distance access codes, 33 number in directory, 29 preventing line drops during dialing attempts, 37 problems, 38 carrier detected before remote system answers phone, 39 characters dropped when dialing, 39 dialing fails because of rotary vs touch-tone conflict, 38 dialing with MNP modem into non-MNP system, 25 incorrect serial port, 38 intermixed correct and junk characters after connection, 40 modem timeout too small, 38 problems in modem pools, 39 searching for dialing entry, 35 speed adjustments, 21 system by name, 35 using script NAMEDIAL.SCR, 98 Dialing directory, 3 add line feeds setting, 29 backspace setting, 29 baud rate setting, 29 data bits setting, 29 date and time of last connection to remote system in, 31 default prefix and suffix, 33 dialing a list of numbers, 34 dialing an entry in, 29 echo setting, 29 file PIBTERM.FON, 27 highlighted entry in, 29 is memory resident, 27 navigating through entries in, 29 parity setting, 29 phone number in, 29 phone numbers in, 29 prefixes and suffixes, 32 revising, 33 reducing size of, 121 revising, 32 script attached to dialing entry in, 31 sections of, 29 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 150 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 150 Setting up, 27 settings for ACNS systems, 29 short dialing prompt, 34 Size, 3 stop bits setting, 29 terminal type, 29 transfer type, 29 Dialing speed automatic adjustment of when dialing, 36 Direct screen writes disabling direct screen writes, 125 Directory changing active at <ALT>F, 102 displaying contents of at <ALT>F, 102 Disabling direct screen writes, 125 Disabling MNP, 25 Displaying function key definitions, 109 DIU (digital interface unit), 17, 26 DOS, 64 DOS, access to within PibTerm, 2, 101 closing port before DOS jump, 101 cursor changes shape, 101 EXIT returns to PibTerm, 101 Problems, 101 DOS console output, 53 Dumb terminal mode, 53 Double-high, double wide characters in VT100, 52 DoubleDos, multitasking program, 124 Download directory contains downloaded files, 66 setting, 66 Downloading -- receiving a file, 60 DROP,JSN NOS control statement to terminate job, 69 Dropped characters in screen display, 130 when dialing, 39 DSR/DTR flow control, 23 DSZ program, 78 implements Zmodem protocol, 73 DTR (data terminal ready), 24, 84 problems if set HIGH instead of NORMAL, 25 dropping to hang up phone, 83, 84 used to hang up the phone, 25 Dumb terminal mode, 52 Dunford, Chris author of CED and PCED, 16 Duplex full, 21 full duplex file transfer protocol, 57 half, 21 half duplex file transfer protocol, 57 Duplicated characters incorrectly displayed, 22 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 151 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 151 EBCDIC defined, 19 used on IBM mainframes, 19 Echo changing with <ALT>E, 21 current setting displayed on status line, 50 defined, 21 Dialing directory entry for, 29 local echo, 21 remote echo, 21 all ACNS systems use remote echo, 21 Edited capture session, 116 Editing file, 103 invoking external editor, 106, 108 file, at <ALT>F, 102 Keyboard, 14, 16 line on screen, 118 parameter entry text, 14 parameter values, 14 using DOS function $0A, 16 Editor invoking external editor, 106 PibTerm provides built-in full-screen editor, 3, 103 EGA (enhanced graphics adapter), 52, 55, 120, 122 changing screen size on, 122 Elapsed time since current dialing session began, 119 since PibTerm began execution, 119 Emulation, terminal, 41 defined, 1 Enhanced keyboard, 42 ENQUIRE,F -- NOS control statement to display local files, 64 ENQUIRE,JSN NOS control statement to display active jobs, 69 Entering function key definitions at keyboard, 110 Erasing a file at <ALT>F, 102 ESC, 7 exiting a menu with, 7, 10 Executing PibTerm, 5 programs remotely in host mode, 89 scripts with <ALT>G, 94 EXIT, typing to return to PibTerm from DOS jump, 101 Exiting PibTerm with <ALT>X, 83 Expanded memory loading PibTerm overlays into, 121, 136 FIDO, 70 Tom Jennings bulletin board system, 72 File editing, 103 using built-in full-screen editor, 103 File manipulation active directory change, 102 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 152 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 152 at <ALT>F, 102 copying a file, 102 deleting a file, 102 directory display, 102 editing a file, 102, 103 free space on drive, 102 logged drive change, 102 printing a file, 102 viewing a file, 102, 107 File names automatic extraction of in transfers, 75 truncation of with Kermit protocol, 64 File Transfer, 55, 74 automatic extraction of file name in, 75 Defined, 2 non-protocol, 55 protocol, 55 Ascii transfers, 75 dialing directory setting for, 29 full duplex, 57 half duplex, 57 how protocol works, 56 Kermit, 57 Mahoney BBS batch protocol, 72 Modem7, 71 non-protocol transfers, 75 Telink, 72 Xmodem, 70 Xmodem 1K, 71 Xmodem 1K G, 71 Ymodem, 71 Zmodem, 73 receiver, 56 sender, 56 statistics, 66 Files PibTerm configuration, 5 PIBTERM.CNF, 9 transferring to and from remote systems, 55 Types, 59 Binary, 59 Text, 59 FINISH server request fails in Kermit, 69 Flow control Clear-to-send (CTS/RTS), 23 Dataset ready (DSR/DTR), 23 DC1/DC3, 22 defined, 22 Xon/Xoff, 22 Forsberg, Chuck Author of Zmodem protocol, 73 Free space on drive, 102 Freezing screen display with Scroll Lock Key, 51 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 153 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 153 FROMMAC.SCR -- script to get files from Macintosh using Kermit, 65 FSE -- full screen editor on NOS, 47 Full duplex, 21 conversation in Gossip mode, 53 file transfer protocol, 57 Full-screen editor, 103 commands, 104 Block commands, 105 cursor movement, 104 Insert and Delete, 105 Miscellaneous, 106 Quitting the editor, 106 Search and Replace, 105 maximum file size for editing is 65520 characters, 104 Function keys loading a definition file at <ALT>K, 43 setting up subdirectory for, 114 GET -- make indirect file available for processing under NOS, 60 GO TERMINAL turning off Vidtex inquiry on Compuserve, 74 Gossip mode, 53 Adding line feeds, 54 disabling in host mode using <ALT>M, 118 in host mode, 88 Line mode versus character mode, 53 Useful for transferring files between two individuals, 54 Graphics terminal emulation -- Tek 4010, 54 GSCRNDUM.DAT graphics screen dump file, 117 Half duplex, 21 file transfer protocol, 57 Hanging up the phone with <ALT>H, 83 Hard-wired access, 16, 26 indicating connection is hard-wired, 26 HARDWIRE.SCR, 41, 42, 43, 114 script for connecting to ACNS mainframes, 26 Hayes modems, 17 Heap space work space available to PibTerm, 119 problems when too little, 119 Hercules graphics not supported by PibTerm, 55 Host mode definition, 84 executing programs remotely, 89 external protocols in, 80 file transfer menu, 89 gossip mode in, 88 initial messages, 85 invoking with <ALT>W, 84 main menu, 87 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 154 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 154 multiple users, 90 password, 85, 87 echoed by dots for security, 87 is case sensitive, 87 PIBTERM.WEL welcome file, 91 PIBTERM.XFR download list file, 91 sending caller-to-caller mesaages in, 91 single-user versus multiple-user access, 84 starting host-mode session, 86 status line in, 85 superusers, 85 user file PIBTERM.USF, 90 user name, 85, 87 welcome message, 86 overprinting in, 86 Host system PibTerm as, 3, 84 IBBS, 89 IBM, 29, 41 IBM 3270, 46 IBM 4361, 18, 19 IBM 7171 protocol converter, 19 IBM CMS, 46, 61 Kermit under, 61 IBM.SCR, 46 IBMCMS.FNC -- function key definitions for IBM CMS, 43, 46 IBMCMS.SCR script for connecting to IBM 4361, 41 IBMCMSE.FNC -- function key definitions for IBM CMS, 43, 46 Illegal ASCII character -- CDC/NOS Kermit message, 68 Incorrect serial port causes dialing failure, 38 Initialization string for modem, 24 Insert mode in string editing, 15 INSTALL.COM, 133 INSTALL.COM program, 9 Installing PibTerm, 4, 133 dual-floppy system, 138 non-ACNS installation instructions, 133 on hard drive, 133 on large capacity floppy, 133 on single-floppy (>360K) system, 136 single floppy system, 360K only, 141 Using the ACNS INSTALL and CONFIG programs, 5 Integrity information in file transfer protocol, 56 Intercharacter delay in function key definitions, 113 in modem commands, 40 in non-protocol file transfer, 76 Interline delay in non-protocol file transfer, 76 Internal modem A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 155 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 155 problems with, 128 Jennings, Tom Author of FIDO bulletin board software, 72 Jump to DOS using <ALT>J, 101 Katz, Phil Author of PKXARC.COM, 133 Kermit, 2, 57, 75 aborts during a transfer, reasons for, 68 autodownload with, 64 between IBM PC and Apple Macintosh, 64 Cyber attaching local files for transfer, 60 saving files on, 64 data compression in, 58 defined, 57 dialing directory entry for, 29 executing on mainframes, 60 indicating file type, 60 long blocks, 58, 61 activating, 61 setting block size, 59, 66 Macintosh programs providing, 65 performance considerations, 58 Problems FINISH server request fails, 69 Kermit aborts during a transfer, 68 Transfer never begins, 67 Protocol parameters, 66 quitting, 63 receiving a file with, 61 sending a file with, 61 sends 8-bit data over 7-bit communications line, 58 server, 58 getting out of server mode, 63 PibTerm does not acts as, 58 Using PibTerm against, 58 server mode, 61 sliding windows, 58 setting window size, 59, 66 specifying file name to transfer, 63 SPSSX Export files, 61 Steps in using with PibTerm, 60 under IBM CMS, 61 Under NOS, 60 Under VAX/VMS, 60 Keyboards types of, on IBM PCs, 42 Keypad definitions, 41, 109 automatic loading of, 48 contents of, 112 displaying current, 109 extended, 111 intercharacter delays in, 113 keyboard entry of, 110 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 156 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 156 reading from a file, 109 writing to a file, 111 Learning a script, 95 Line drops, preventing when dialing, 37 Line feeds adding in Gossip mode, 54 dialing directory setting for, 29 LF on status line indicates if being added to CRs, 50 Line mode in Gossip, 53 Lines scrolled off screen, 3 LIST.COM Vern Buerg's file viewer program, 108 Loading a function key definition file at <ALT>K, 43 Local echo, 21 current setting displayed on status line, 50 Logged drive changing at <ALT>F, 102 Logging PibTerm session, 3 date and time stamp in entries, 116 LO on status line tells if logging active, 50 to printer with <ALT>L, 115 LOGIN.COM, 43 startup commands for VAX/VMS, 43 Long blocks in Kermit, 58 setting block size, 59 Long distance access codes, 33 Lotus 123, 101 LUIS, 41, 42, 100 LUIS.SCR script for connecting to LUIS, 41 Macintosh, 18, 20, 64 MacKermit -- Kermit program for Apple Macintosh, 58, 65 MacTerminal, 2 Mahoney, Bob batch protocol on EXEC PC BBS, 72 runs EXEC PC BBS in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 72 MAKEMENU.COM Microsoft-supplied mouse menu compiler, 7 Maximum text line size in built-in PibTerm editor, 104 in non-protocol file transfer, 77 Meiners, Paul Author of MLink program, 78 Memory problems in scripts, 97 MENU Microsoft-supplied menu loader, 7 Menus making selections, 6 PibTerm menus, 4 Using a mouse, 4 Microcom Networking Protocol (MNP), 25 Microcomputers A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 157 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 157 communications settings for, 20 emulating terminals with, 1 Microsoft Windows, multitasking program, 124 PibTerm runs poorly under, 124 Missing features in VT100 emulation, 51 Mitchell, Sammy author of QEdit, 104 MLink program, 78, 83 implements MegaLink file transfer protocol, 78 implements MegaLink protocol, 78 written by Paul Meiners, 78 MNP error correction built-in to some modems, 25 defined, 25 must disable when calling ACNS mainframes, 25 Modem, 16, 17, 24 9600 baud not yet standardized, 21 accessing remote systems with, 16 commands AT&C1 -- sets carrier detect normal, 24 AT&D1 -- sets data terminal ready line normal, 25 AT&M0 -- disables MNP, 26 AT&M4 -- enables MNP, 26 ATDP -- dial on rotary dial phone line, 38 ATDT -- dial on touch tone phone line, 38 ATE0 -- turns off modem local echo, 22 ATE1 -- turns on modem local echo, 22 ATH0 to hang up phone, 83 constant PC-to-modem speed, 36 dialing timeout too small causes dialing to fail, 38 Hayes, 17 Hayes compatible, 17 initialization message, 5 initialization string, 5, 25 pools, 36, 39 settings for use with PibTerm, 26 types acoustic coupler, 16 direct connect, 17 Modem7 file transfer protocol, 71 Mouse, 7 button usage, 7 menu loading mouse menu PIBTERM.MNU, 7 sample for PibTerm, 8 replacing cursor keys with, 8 using with PibTerm, 7 MSKERMIT.EXE -- Kermit program for MS DOS, 58 Multitaskers, 3, 52, 69, 124 and CTTY, 90 DesqView, 55, 124 Don't support 132 columns, 52 Don't support graphics in background, 55 DoubleDos, 124 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 158 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 158 Microsoft Windows, 124 PibTerm adjusts automatically to, 124 TaskView, 124 TopView, 124 Music, ANSI/BBS mode plays, 52, 118 turning off using <ALT>M, 118 Mute mode using <ALT>M, 118 Name, dialing a system by, 35 NAMEDIAL.SCR -- script to dial a system by name, 98 NO CARRIER modem status message indicates loss of carrier, 37 Non-protocol file transfer, 75 <CTRL>Z as end of file marker, 77 buffering problems, 77 byte stream transfer, 76 defined, 55 displaying text transferred, 77 intercharacter delay, 76 interline delay, 76 maximum text line size is 255 characters, 77 pacing character, 76 sending blanks for empty lines, 77 stopping receive with <ALT>R, 77 translating received text, 78 NOS, 18, 47, 69, 70, 119 SAVE -- saving local files as permanent, 64 Using PibTerm with, 47 NOS/VE, 18, 70 Null modem adapter, 65 connecting Macintosh and IBM PC, 65 Omen Technology commercial source for Zmodem modules, 73 OPUS BBS, 41, 70, 126 communications drivers may interfere with PibTerm, 41, 126 Overlay file PIBTERM.OVR, 121 Overstrike mode in string editing, 15 Pacing character in non-protocol transfer, 76 PACX defined, 26 Parameters Changes for different ACNS system, 41 Changing PibTerm, 8 configuration file reading a new one at <ALT>P, 13 writing a new at <ALT>P, 13 Saving changes at <ALT>P, 131 Parity bit, 19 checking, 19 current setting displayed on status line, 50 defined, 19 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 159 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 159 dialing directory entry for, 29 types Even, 19 Mark, 19 No parity, 20 Odd, 19 Space, 19 Password in host mode, 85 PATH importance of DOS PATH= to external file transfer protocols, 82 importance of in loading PibTerm overlays, 127 setting DOS Path for use with PibTerm, 129, 136, 141 Paul Meiners Author of MLink program, 78 PC Board, 70, 95 PC Host, 70 PC Pursuit, 37 PC-to-PC transfers host mode, 89 using gossip mode, 54 PCED Chris Dunford's keyboard enhancer, 16 PCKermit program implements sliding windows Kermit, 78 PCTOCY -- convert SPSS/PC export files after uploading to Cyber, 61 PgDn -- defined as Kermit receive in ACNS function key files, 113 PgDn -- defined as Kermit receives in ACNS function key files, 60, 61 PgUp -- defined as Kermit send in ACNS function key files, 60, 61, 113 Phil Katz Author of PKXARC.COM dearchiving program, 133 Philip "Pib" Burns author of PibTerm program, 131 Phone number in dialing directory, 29 PibTerm commands, 6 script commands, 123 scripts, 91 PibTerm program parameters, 120 PIBTERM.ACO -- area code directory, 120 PIBTERM.CNF -- primary PibTerm configuration file, 9 editing with a text editor, 9 format of entries, 9 Parameters Reference Manual, 9 PIBTERM.DVP file for use with DesqView, 125 PIBTERM.FON -- dialing directory file, 27 backing up, 35 PIBTERM.LOG in host mode, 84 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 160 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 160 log file in emulation mode, 116 PIBTERM.OVR -- PibTerm program overlay file, 121 PIBTERM.TRA -- character translation file, 118 PIBTERM.USF -- PibTerm host mode user file, 90 PIBTERM.WEL -- welcome file for host mode, 91 PIBTERM.XFR -- file names for download in host mode, 91 PKXARC.COM -- Phil Katz' dearchiver, 133 Prefix, default dialing directory, 33 Premature dialing termination modem timeout too small as cause, 38 Preventing line drops when dialing, 37 Print spooler, 125 Printer lock ups, 115 logging PibTerm session to with <ALT>L, 115 PR on status line tells if printer logging in effect, 50 print spoolers as source of conflicts with PibTerm, 125 printing a file from within PibTerm, 102, 125 setup string, 115 PRN MSDOS printer device, 115 Problems Communications proceed but VERY slowly, 129 Dialing, 38 carrier detected before remote system answers, 39 characters dropped, 39 incorrect serial port, 38 intermixed good and bad characters after connection, 40 modem pools, 39 modem timeout too small, 38 rotary vs. touch-tone line conflict, 38 display "snows" badly, 130 DOS jump fails, 101 dropped characters in screen display, 130 duplicated characters, 22 Jump to DOS fails, 129 Kermit, 67 aborts during a transfer, 68 FINISH server request fails, 69 Transfer never begins, 67 menus not cleared correctly, 127 multicolor junk appears on screen, 127 no communications at all, 127 Overlay file not found, 127 PibTerm hangs at startup time, 126 printer systems locks up when <ALT>L chosen, 115 programs which conflict with PibTerm, 125 Scripts with memory, 97 too little heap space, 120 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 161 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 161 with internal modems, 128 Program line PibTerm parameters on, 120 Programs which conflict with PibTerm, 125 BBS communications drivers, 126 keyboard enhancers, 125 on-screen clocks, 125 print spoolers, 125 Protocol converter IBM 7171, 19 Protocol parameters for Kermit, 66 Protocol transfer defined, 55 how protocol works, 56 Kermit, 57 Qedit -- Sammy Mitchell's editor, 104, 107 Quitting function key definition, 112 Quitting PibTerm with <ALT>X, 83 RAM disk, 4, 121, 141 installing PibTerm with, 141 placing PibTerm files on, 121 RBBS, 70, 89 RCPM, 70 Reading a new parameters file, 13 Reading function key definitions from a file, 109 RECMLINK.BAT receive file using MegaLink protocol, 80, 81, 83 RECZMOD.BAT MS DOS batch file to receive file using Zmodem, 73 Redialing last number dialed, 34 outside dialing menu with <ALT>Q, 34 within dialing menu with Q, 34 RedRyder provides Kermit on Macintosh, 65 Remote echo, 21 Remote execution of programs in host mode, 89 Repeat/Until loop in scripts, 93 Request to send (RTS), 23 Requirements hardware and software for running PibTerm, 4 Resetting terminal emulation with <SHIFT>TAB, 51 Review buffer, 3 Changing review buffer size, 117 does not take account of escape sequences, 117 Lines scrolled off screen, 3 maximum size is 32767 characters, 117 Scanning with <ALT>V, 117 Revising dialing directory dialing entry, 32 dialing prefixes and suffixes, 33 Rotary dial phone line, 38 Sammy Mitchell author of QEdit, 104 SAS/GRAPH, 2 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 162 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 162 SAVE -- saving local file as permanent under NOS, 64 Screen display changing size of, 122 clearing with <ALT>C, 51 Freezing with Scroll Lock Key, 51 Screen dumps, 116 to GSCRNDUM.DAT in graphics mode, 117 to SCRNDUMP.DAT in text mode, 116 SCREEN,VT100 -- sets VT100 mode on NOS, 47 Scripts, 2, 91 attached to dialing directory entries, 31 attaching to a function key, 114 Command line mode as special form of, 123 Commands allowed in command line mode, 123 currently executing displayed on status line, 50 defined, 91 executing with <ALT>G, 94 learning a script automatically, 95 memory problems, 97 programming language, 91 Repeat/Until loop, 93 sample CYBER.SCR for connecting to Cyber, 41 dialing by name, 98 FROMMAC.SCR, 65 HARDWIRE.SCR -- connect to ACNS system via hard- wired line, 26 IBMCMS.SCR for connecting to IBM, 41 LUIS.SCR for connecting to LUIS, 41 TOMAC.SCR, 65 VAX.SCR for connecting to Vax, 41 VAX.SCR for logging into Vax, 92 security considerations, 94 Setting PibTerm parameters with, 41 Stext -- sends text to remote system, 92 terminating execution with <ALT>X, 94 unloading scripts from memory, 98 Waitstring -- waits for string from remote system, 93 SCRNDUMP.DAT -- text screen dump file, 116 Scroll Lock Key, 51 Searching for dialing entry at <ALT>D, 35 Security considerations with scripts, 94 SemWare -- address of, for QEdit, 104 SENDMLINK.BAT send file using MegaLink protocol, 80, 81, 83 SENDXMOD.BAT MS DOS batch file to send file using Zmodem, 73 Sequence information in file transfer protocol, 56 Serial cable, 24 Serial communications, 18 Serial port, 16 current one in use displayed on status line, 50 Server mode in Kermit, 61 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 163 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 163 Session logging, 115 Activating PIBTERM.LOG file, 116 special information lines, 116 SET FILE BINARY sets remote Kermit to use binary file type, 61 SET PIBTERM= sets home directory for PibTerm files, 135 SET TERMINAL/VT100 placing into LOGIN.COM, 43 sets VT100 terminal type for Vax/VMS, 43 Setting a download directory, 66 Setting a function key subdirectory, 114 Setting carrier detect always high, 37 Setting up dialing directory, 27 Setting up modem for use with PibTerm, 23 Shareware, 73, 78, 90, 104, 108 Short dialing prompt at <ALT>D, 34 Simulated double-high, double wide characters in VT100, 52 Sliding windows in Kermit, 58 setting window size, 59 Sound effects turning off using <ALT>M, 118 Speed of communications (baud rate), 18 Speeding up PibTerm access, 121 Split-screen mode, 53 SPSSX Export files, 59 are binary files under CDC NOS, 59 Starting a host-mode session, 86 Starting PibTerm execution, 5 Startup display PibTerm initial, 5 Status line disabling display of, 50 in host mode, 85 in terminal emulation, 49 not displayed in Tek 4010 emulation mode, 51 SText -- script command to send text to remote system, 92 STOP /ID= -- VAX/VMS control statement to terminate job, 70 Stop bits, 20 current setting displayed on status line, 50 dialing directory entry for, 29 Stuttered (duplicated) characters, 22 Suffix, default dialing directory, 33 SuperKermit (sliding windows Kermit), 58 Superusers in PibTerm host mode, 85 Switching between VT100 keypad modes, 48 Synchronous communications, 18 TaskView, multitasking program, 124 TASKVIEW.NOT file for use with TaskView, 125 TCOMM, 70 Tek 4010, 1, 120 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 164 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 164 graphics terminal emulation, 54 status line not displayed when emulating, 51 Telenet, 37 Telink, 72 Terminal emulation, 41 ADM3a, 52 ADM5, 52 ANSI/BBS, 52 defined, 1 dialing directory setting for, 29 Dumb terminal emulation, 1, 52 output through MS DOS, 52 Gossip mode, 53 Split-screen mode, 53 resetting current with <SHIFT>TAB, 51 Smart, 1 status line in, 49 Tek 4010, 1, 54 Tek 4014, 53 Tek 4105, 53 TV925, 52 VT100, 1 VT52, 52 Terminating CDCNET session with ESC <CTRL>A CTRL<T>, 69 Terminating execution of a script with <ALT>X, 94 Terminating VAX/VMS program with <CTRL>Y, 70 Text files, 59 Time current, displayed at Y, 120 date and time stamp in logging entries, 116 elapsed since current dialing session began, at <ALT>Y, 119 elapsed since PibTerm began execution, at <ALT>Y, 119 of file creation in directory display at <ALT>F, 102 in view-a-file at <ALT>F, 108 in Ymodem protocol, 71 of last connection to a system, 31 time of day, displayed on status line, 50 TOMAC.SCR -- script to send files from IBM PC to Macintosh using Kermit, 65 TopView, multitasking program, 124 Touch-tone phone line, 38 Transfer never begins with Kermit, 67 Transfer statistics, 66 Translating incoming text with <ALT>T, 78, 118 TV925 terminal emulation, 52 extremely limited, 52 Types of files, 59 Unedited capture session, 116 Unloading scripts from memory, 98 Uploading -- sending a file, 60 User name in host mode, 85 User-defined commands A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 165 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 165 in command line mode, 124 Using expanded memory for PibTerm overlays, 121 Vax, 18, 29, 33, 41, 42, 43, 60, 70, 92, 95, 97 VAX.SCR script for connecting to Vax, 41 Vax/VMS, 43 Vern Buerg Author of ARCE.COM dearchiving program, 133 author of LIST.COM file viewer program, 108 VersaTerm Pro provides Kermit on Macintosh, 65 Version number of PibTerm, 5 VGA, 52, 55, 122 changing screen size on, 122 Vidtex, turning off Compuserve inquiry for, 74 Viewing a file at <ALT>F, 102, 107 invoking external file viewer, 108 VMS, 43, 60 VMS Kermit, 60 VT100, 1, 43, 46, 48 changing colors in VT100 emulation mode, 122 default terminal emulation, 41 double high, double wide character, 52 keypad definitions, 42 missing features in PibTerm's emulation of, 51 setting terminal type as under IBM CMS, 46 setting terminal type as under Vax/VMS, 43 switching between keypad modes, 48 VT52 terminal emulation, 52 WaitString -- script command to wait for string from remote system, 93 Welcome message in host mode, 86 Word-processing documents, 59 WordPerfect, 59, 101 Writing a new configuration file, 13 Writing function key definitions to a file, 111 Xmodem, 2, 70 Timing constraints, 70 Xmodem 1K, 71 Xmodem 1K G, 71 Xon/Xoff flow control, 22, 75 XO gives current setting on status line, 50 Ymodem, 71 Ymodem G, 71 Zapping a file at <ALT>F, 102 Zmodem, 71, 73 autodownload with, 74 | -- insert carriage return in function key string, 112 in SText script command, 93 ~ insert one-second delay in modem command string, 40 ~ -- insert one-second delay A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 166 A Guide to PibTerm v4.1 Index Page 166 in function key string, 112