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1988-06-27
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5,013 lines
GT POWER 14.00
Copyright (c) 1985, 1988: by P & M Software Co.
All rights reserved.
April 20, 1988
GT POWER, or just GT for short, is a communications program for IBM
Personal Computers and compatible units. P & M Software Co. reserves
the COPYRIGHT to this program and all related materials. The user is
granted a license to use the program and is encouraged to make a
donation if the program is found to be useful. $60 U.S. is recommended.
Send the donations to:
P & M Software Company
9350 Country Creek #30
Houston, Texas 77036
U.S.A.
Voice Phone: (713) 728-4313
Modem Phone: (713) 772-2090
Modem Phone: (713) 778-9471
For further information about the GT POWER registration plan, please
read the file called REGISTER.DOC, which comes with this program. It
outlines the benefits of full registration.
In addition, the user is granted the right to make unlimited copies of
the program and to distribute these copies as he/she desires, EXCEPT
that P & M Software Co. reserves the SOLE right to distribute the
program for PROFIT. If the user distributes the product, the user may
collect for a duplication charge, not to exceed $6 per copy.
1
Table of Contents
-----------------
Credit Where Credit is Due . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Functional Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Installation Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
External Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
IMPORTANT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Environment Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
DOS 3.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
DOS 3.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
General notes on DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Modem Result Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Multiple Result Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
First Time Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Millisec Loop Count . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Command Line Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
RAM Disk Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Coping With A Floppy Based System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Computer To Computer Without Modems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Alt-Command Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
ASCII transmit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
BREAK signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Capture mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Capture header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Phone directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Half Duplex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Take a time fix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Re-dial last number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
The HELP screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Reconfigure the program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Program version and serial number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Erase a file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Display disk directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Macro key management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Keyboard Macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Execute an external program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Record keystrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Stop keystroke recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Playback keystrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Toggle status line update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Extended keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Change logged drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Sort dialing directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Print a file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Hang-up the telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Download a file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Change communication parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Upload a file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
The Pick List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Used time display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
View a file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Clear screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2
Exit the program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Copy a file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Toggle monitor mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Shell to DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Screen dump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Execute a script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Suspend capture mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Checksum Xmodem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Circular dialing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Split screen mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Review capture buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Quiet mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Manual log entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Start host mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Toggle the printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Phone directory commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Editing keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Host mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
GT netmail system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Script command summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Script command descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
25th Line Status Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
System Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Configuration File Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Configuration File Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Color Number Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
ANSI Emulation - Received Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
ANSI Emulation - Transmitted Characters . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Support For USRobotics Courier 2400 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
9600 Baud Modem Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Init String Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Configuration Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
19200 Baud Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Hayes 2400 Initialization String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Modem Setting Strings for IBM Modems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Registration message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Registration form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
3
Credit Where Credit is Due.
---------------------------
I want to thank the following for their support and encouragement.
Donald Fletcher John Perry Garland Thames
Tom Lang Allan Winston Charles Heineke
Bob Davis Mel Douglass Chris Smith
Tom Scallorn Bob Juge Rick Moore
Rich Hackney Chuck Forsberg Dave Steinman
Rick Kunz Randy Arnold Mike Focke
And all of the users of GT POWER.
If I have missed you, I apologize. These people have each made very
significant contributions to the development of GT. The nature of their
contributions has been intangible. Things like the feedback of ideas,
the encouragement to excel, and bug reports. In some cases, actual work
has been contributed, for example several people have expended
considerable effort to design new screens for GT and help rewrite the
documentation. (Any bad things or missing things in the documentation
are still the author's responsibility! I write terrible documentation.)
Here is a story for trivia buffs. Donald Fletcher, whose name appears at
the head of the list above, who is virtually unknown within the GT POWER
community, continues to be a great supporter of GT POWER. He was the
first registered user of GT POWER and to this day, holds S/N 0000001.
Donald, who used to be a resident of Houston, often calls me long
distance from his new home on the East coast. Hey, Don, if you are
reading this, thanks for all the support over the years!
4
Features:
---------
1. ANSI Standard terminal emulation, compatible with many super-mini
and super-micro computers. The VT-100 terminal, manufactured by
Digital Equipment Corporation, is an example of an ANSI Standard
terminal.
2. ANSI.SYS style color graphics, without the need of ANSI.SYS!
3. BASIC style PLAY for single voice music.
4. Multiple telephone directories, with 999 entries each. Records the
password for each BBS, as well as the date and time of last
contact. The total number of calls, accumulated time, uploads and
downloads are also recorded. The directory may be perused while
on-line with a host system.
5. Circular redialing queue. Up to 200 numbers may be put into queue.
6. Capture Mode, limited only by the amount of disk space available.
A spill file is used, when the capture buffer is full. The capture
buffer can be reviewed on-line, before saving to disk. The amount
of data in the capture buffer is displayed on the status line.
7. ASCII file transmission, using XON/XOFF protocol and/or line-by-
line pacing and/or inter-character delays.
8. Full control of all communication parameters.
9. 40 function keys, to store logon, passwords, etc. NEW, the
function keys have been expanded to keyboard macro status, so that
automation of the program can be easily accomplished, includes
record and playback features.
10. Full printer support, using XON/XOFF flow control with the host.
11. Xmodem/CRC protocol. Plus optional support for the Xmodem Checksum
protocol.
12. WXmodem protocol. This is the full-duplex, windowed version of
Xmodem.
13. Ymodem/CRC protocol. Both the batch and single file version of
this protocol are supported. Ymodem uses 1024 bytes per packet vs.
128 bytes per packet in Xmodem. During transmission of a file with
Ymodem, if more than 5 errors are encountered, the transmission
will fallback to normal length blocks. This saves time, because of
the high overhead encountered with Ymodem re-transmission of error
blocks.
14. Ymodem-G batch protocol is supported using DSZ.EXE developed by
Omen Technology INC. This protocol is extremely useful with high
speed modems that have hardware error correction built-in.
15. Telink/CRC batch file transfer protocol.
16. The exclusive GT POWER protocol, 1k Telink, which combines the
batch capabilities of Telink with the efficiency of Ymodem's 1k
5
block length.
17. Sliding Windows Kermit file transfer protocol is supported. Using
PCKERMIT.EXE developed by Columbia University.
18. Zmodem transfer protocol is supported using DSZ.EXE developed by
Omen Technology INC.
19. The Compuserve "B" protocol is supported using CISB.COM, by P&M
Software Co. This protocol is used only when connected to the
Compuserve Information Service.
20. The exclusive GT POWER protocol, MegaLink, which combines the
latest 32 bit CRC technology with a full-flow, PC Pursuit friendly,
batch protocol. This protocol is among the most efficient and
reliable of protocols. PC Pursuit is a service of Telenet
Communications Corporation.
21. SEAlink transfer protocol is supported. This protocol is extremely
efficient and ideal for use with such BBS systems as OPUS.
22. DOS Shell. Exit to DOS then return, GT stays in the background.
23. Interactive script language, to automate many repetitive tasks.
24. Optional LOG file. Keeps a complete record of your calls.
25. Advanced "call progress" detection. Detects BUSY, VOICE, NO DIAL
TONE, and more, with modems that support extended result codes,
such as the USRobotics Courier 2400 Modem. Multiple result code
entries can be entered so that more than one modem type can be
easily supported. For example, the result codes for Racal-Vadic
and Hayes modems could be simultaneously recognized. This is very
handy for users of PC Pursuit, allowing them to use the native mode
of the Racal-Vadic modems in use by that service.
26. Use of the environment variable, GTPATH, to simplify use of the
program on a hard disk.
27. On-screen clock, so there is no need for a memory resident clock
program.
28. Host mode. Allows the user to setup a system to accept incoming
calls. File transfers can be made without the use of a BBS!
Complete security is incorporated into the host. The host mode
also includes a powerful message system. A flexible ring-back
procedure if provided to enable sharing of a data line with voice
requirements.
29. Support for the non-standard COM ports: 3 and 4. Since these are
not standard, there are different configurations from each
manufacturer - GT supports the Everex configuration as the default
for COM3 and COM4, however the port addresses are configurable via
command line option.
30. For those with limited disk space, a Terminal Only version of GT is
distributed. This version is referred to as GTO, for GTerminal
Only. It saves more than 70k of disk space when compared with the
6
full GT version.
31. With non-batch protocols, such as Xmodem, WXmodem and Ymodem, GT
will scan the screen for the filename indicated to the BBS. This
can save double typing of the filename. A very handy feature. To
make complete use of this feature, you should set the default
protocol for each BBS to be one of the protocols listed above.
32. GT NetMail. This is a very inexpensive way to communicate with
your fellow GT users. Most GT host systems participate in the
network, which stretches from Australia thru the US and Canada to
the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. NOTE: The GT NetMail
programs are not shareware. They are provided at no extra cost to
users who register GT. An extra incentive to register GT!
33. GT is a shareware product. This means that it is provided at
little or no cost to the end user for an evaluation. If the user
decides to continue using GT past a reasonable evaluation period,
then the user is expected to submit the requested donation. In
this spirit, GT has incorporated within it a "usage counter", for
each usage the program will delay startup for an additional 1/50th
of a second. This delay has a maximum value of 60 seconds. If the
user decides to register GT, then the user will receive a key,
which bypasses the delay and allows the user to enter the program
much more quickly.
7
Functional Overview
-------------------
GT POWER is a set of programs and files that provide complete
capabilities for your system. It has been designed to be based on IBM
and compatible micro-computers and it supports a wide variety of modems
including all Hayes compatibles, USRobotics, and IBM.
As you have seen from the previous three pages which listed many of the
features of this program, there are a large number of functional
capabilities provided by GT POWER. Nevertheless, you will quickly see
that these functions have been provided in a very friendly environment
for your use and that the software is quite easy to use. It is not
necessary, for example, to remember any commands or special features of
the program as there is a comprehensive Help Menu available to you at
any time the program is running.
Basically there are three usages of a communications system such as
GT POWER:
1. To call other computer systems and engage in 'telex-like'
conversations with the person (or computer) called.
2. To transfer files (programs and data) between computers.
3. To establish an unattended host mode environment that other
computer users can call and interact with. For example, to send
files to your system or to leave messages for later review,
sometimes called 'Electronic Mail'.
GT POWER provides these three broad categories of functions and a great
deal more. A few examples include:
The ability to use any DOS Commands without exiting the program.
Capturing to disk all the text that is exchanged while in the
'telex-like' terminal mode.
Automatically dialing the telephone for you.
Maintaining a complete log of all telephone activity.
Providing a secure environment that protects your system from
unwanted invasion by outside callers.
Before you can use GT POWER you will need to install the software on
your system. The installation process is relatively easy to perform,
but it does require that you know a few things about your system in
advance. For example, you will need to know which port your modem is
connected to (usually #1 if you have a parallel printer or #2 if you are
using a serial printer).
You will need to know a few technical things about your modem, as well.
If you are using a Hayes or Hayes compatible modem (1200 baud) the
system is already setup for your use. If not, then you will need to
have a copy of the technical reference manual that was supplied with
your modem.
After you have started GT POWER, a SHAREWARE notice will appear, and a
8
delay will commence (1/50th of a second for each usage of the program,
with a maximum delay of 60 seconds). After the delay has expired, the
program will invite you to 'Press any key to continue'. Pressing a key
results in the display of the 'Copyright' screen, which will explain the
details of the GT POWER shareware plan, and you will be invited to press
'Y' to continue. Pressing 'Y' results in GT going directly into it's
Dialing Directory display (the method of entering the program is
extremely simplified for registered users, who will be able to enter the
program automatically without any keystroke, after viewing the
'Copyright' notice for a couple of seconds). In the Dialing Directory
you will see a list of names and telephone numbers that you have told GT
about during previous usage and a short menu is shown at the bottom of
the screen. If you wish to call another computer at this time you need
only move the cursor to the appropriate line and press the Enter key.
GT will then automatically dial the requested telephone number and
monitor the progress of the call. That is, it will show you that the
call is being placed and it will tell you what is happening on the
telephone line thereafter. For example, if the telephone on the other
end is busy it will show BUSY (if your modem has extended result codes).
When it gets through to the other computer, GT will show you that it has
CONNECTED with that system.
There are many ways in which files can be transmitted between computers.
Text files are often sent without any elaborate conventions that insure
the integrity of those transmissions, but program files are always sent
utilizing what is called a Protocol. Transmissions that utilize a
protocol insure that the file received is exactly like the one sent.
GT POWER provides twelve (12) different file transfer protocols for your
use. Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages over the others.
More important than their differences is that many of the computers that
you will be calling can only support a few different protocols and the
variety provided by GT POWER insures that you can use the ones provided
on the other computer.
Subsequent sections of this document will show you the many varied
functions and features available with GT POWER in great detail. The
host mode capabilities are so extensive, however, that we have elected
to provide a separate document to describe them in detail.
Note: GT POWER is a Shareware product that may be obtained directly from
the author, from any existing user of the product, or through file
transfer of the program from any of hundreds of bulletin board systems
near you. In almost all cases you will receive the product as a set of
five files (GT1400-1, -2, -3, -4, and -5). These files will be in what
is known as an ARChive format. In order to extract the actual program
and data files from the archive file you have you must use an archive
extraction program such as PKXARC which is readily available on most
bulletin boards.
9
Installation Notes
------------------
Versions 4.20, 8.00, 9.00, 9.10, 9.20, 11.00 and 14.00 of GT introduced
new formats for the phone directory. One may ask, "Why so many
changes?". The answer is simple, we at P&M Software (P&M stands for
Paul and Mari) believe in providing functions requested by our users,
whenever possible. Because of all the improvements in the phone
directory, users of older versions of GT must run the program GT-UTIL to
convert their old directories to the new format. I think you will like
the newer format, it includes the date and time that you last called
each number in the directory, the total number of times you called each
number, the total duration of your calls to each number, a record of
upload and download amounts to each number, default file transfer
protocol, and logon script. When run, GT-UTIL will rename your original
directory to _GT.DIR, so that you will retain a copy of it for emergency
use.
The program comes packaged as an .EXE. The program disk may be removed
after the program has begun (if using the standard un-overlaid version).
There are two methods available to have GT locate the required
configuration and control files.
The 1st, and possibly the simplest, is to start GT in the directory that
contains all of these files. The program will detect the default
directory and will refer back to it when needed, even after the user has
changed directories.
The 2nd method is to use an Environment variable, GTPATH, to point to
the directory containing GT's files. This method is more difficult to
setup, but is much more flexible once the program is properly installed.
NOTE: if GTPATH is set, GT will *not* look in the default directory for
any of the needed files, instead will look in the directory indicated by
GTPATH.
The phone directory may be placed on any drive and directory, the path
to the phone directory is set into the configuration file via the Alt-I
command. There are also separate PATH's for upload and download
directories. The phone directory path MUST be correctly set, otherwise
the program will not be able to use the phone directory, but the upload
and download PATH's are optional. A script path is also configurable,
so that a separate directory may be used to store scripts. A capture
path can be configured, so that GT will know where to save your capture
sessions (it is usually NOT a good idea to save your captures in the
current directory -- you would quickly lose track of them!). Other
pathnames may also be configured in GT's setup, refer to item #13 under
the "Miscellaneous Options" selection of the Alt-I screen.
External Protocols
------------------
In order to perform the Kermit file transfer, the PCKERMIT.EXE file may
be stored in any directory pointed to by DOS's PATH command. The same
is true if you want to use the Zmodem or Ymodem-G protocols, i.e. the
DSZ.EXE file must be in DOS's PATH. It is also important to note that
Kermit, Zmodem and Ymodem-G use batch files to run, these batch files
must be present with DSZ. The batch files are:
KRRX.BAT ........ Kermit receive.
10
KRTX.BAT ........ Kermit transmit.
ZMRX.BAT ........ Zmodem receive.
ZMTX.BAT ........ Zmodem transmit.
YGRX.BAT ........ Ymodem-G receive.
YGTX.BAT ........ Ymodem-G transmit.
IMPORTANT:
==========
There are two methods available to have GT hang-up the phone line.
First, the default method, the "Hang-up String" is sent to the modem.
The "Hang-up String" must contain an escape character - usually "~+++~"
for Hayes type modems, so make sure that the S2 register is set
properly. GT can also control the modem via the DTR signal. If the DTR
switch is set to the "normal" position on the modem, GT can hang-up the
phone line by dropping the DTR signal. NOTE: the "normal" position for
the DTR switch is *not* the factory setting, which is usually to force
DTR at all times (which is completely useless with GT). If you choose
the DTR method, you MUST DELETE ALL the characters from the "Hang-up
String" in the configuration.
It is very important that the modem result codes are properly installed.
If the program cannot connect properly then the codes are not correct.
There are several things which must agree to enable GT to recognize the
modem's result codes: 1st) the desired Vn command must be added to the
modem init strings, 2nd) the desired Xn command must be added to the
modem init strings, 3rd) the result codes corresponding to the selected
Vn command must be installed in the result code table. The Vn command
controls whether the modem returns verbose (V1) or numeric (V0) result
codes. The Xn command controls the result code set reported to GT from
the modem, X0 tells the modem to use the basic result code set (not
extremely useful), X1 is better and is the first of the "extended"
result code sets, however you should use one of the result code sets
that include the BUSY result code -- which greatly speeds the list
dialing routines.
Example of Environment Usage
----------------------------
Assuming that all the GT files have been placed in a directory named \GT
on drive C. Then in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file place the following:
PATH=C:\GT;C:\
set GTPATH=C:\GT
Of course, DOS's PATH variable may have additional directories listed,
using the semi-colon to separate the names. The GTPATH variable must
have only 1 parameter, the home directory for all the GT files, except
the Phone Directory, which may be placed anywhere. NOTE: it is wise to
include the root directory in DOS's PATH variable, as this enables
COMMAND.COM to be executed as any other program -- this is necessary to
run the DOS Shell mechanism.
Notes on DOS 3.2
----------------
It is necessary to place certain entries into the CONFIG.SYS file when
using DOS 3.2 for the proper operation of GT POWER. The entries are as
11
follows:
STACKS=20,256
BUFFERS=30
FILES=50
The BUFFERS value can be less if you are using a hard disk with small
directories, i.e. less than 100 files per directory. The FILES
parameter can also be less, but DOS doesn't use the extra FILES unless
needed, so it is not critical.
The STACKS value is very important, especially for users that make great
usage of scripts. Random failure of the system is possible, if the
STACKS command does not have large enough values in it.
Notes on DOS 3.3
----------------
It seems that DOS 3.3 is much better than DOS 3.2. The BUFFERS setting
can be allowed to expand beyond the DOS 3.2 limit, but there is one
tricky item. To avoid the pitfalls of the STACKS, one must set them
equal to 0,0 ---- for example:
STACKS=0,0
BUFFERS=50
FILES=50
These statement should appear in the CONFIG.SYS file in the Root
Directory of your boot disk.
General notes on DOS
--------------------
It is very easy to use all available file handles within a DOS
environment. Especially if you are using external processes like DSZ,
PCKERMIT, the DOS Shell, or multi-tasking software. So, it is extremely
important that adequate FILES are reserved in the CONFIG.SYS file on
your DOS boot disk. It is recommended that no fewer than 50 be
reserved, as shown above in the notes on DOS 3.2 and 3.3.
When using DOS 3.1, it has been found that a large number of BUFFERS is
also beneficial. On the GT support BBS, BUFFERS=95 is routinely used
with DOS 3.1. IMPORTANT: the large number of buffers useful with DOS
3.1 can cause severe problems with DOS 3.2. For example, never use a
value for BUFFERS greater than 30 with DOS 3.2. The variation between
such closely related operating systems is surprising to this observer.
Modem Result Codes
------------------
The proper setting of the modem result codes is VITAL, if the automatic
dialing routines are to work properly. Again, one must use the Alt-I
command, then select the modem result codes option. The program will
present a list of possible results and the corresponding codes that the
modem uses to signal each result. You may change any or all of the
result codes, each code may be any string of characters, up to 20
positions long. The default codes are set to the verbose codes supported
by the USRobotics Courier HST 9600 baud modem, if your modem does not
12
signal all of the possible results, DO NOT DELETE the code. Especially
if you use PC Pursuit, the modems used by Telenet send the BUSY code
instead of the NO CARRIER code, so you should leave these codes in the
table, even if your modem doesn't support them.
Don't neglect the Modem Init String! This string can have a great
impact on your modems result codes. Especially important, one should
include the highest possible Xn command in Modem Init String. For
example, I use X5 with my USRobotics Courier. For the Hayes 1200 baud
modems, I suggest a value of X1 and for the 2400 baud Hayes I would use
X4. Naturally, the Vn command is equally important. For example, if
you use V1 in the init string, then you MUST have verbose codes in the
modem result code table.
Multiple Result Codes
---------------------
GT POWER supports multiple result codes to mean the same result. This
is extremely handy if you have a modem that sends several different
codes to indicate one of the results in the table, or if you have an
application which requires use of different modems with the same setup
(for example, PC Pursuit uses Racal-Vadic modems, but most users have
Hayes compatible modems). To indicate multiple result codes, you simply
enter the various codes with a comma between each code. Do not enter
any extra blanks or other non-essential characters in the result code
table. For example:
0,OK,GOOD,READY
1,CONNECT,CONNECT 300
Notice the first line above defines 4 separate codes which will
correspond to the "OK" response. The second line defines 3 codes that
will correspond to the "CONNECT" response.
Please note, when using this feature to access non-Hayes type modems,
one must remember to switch the Dialing Pre-string to the required value
for each modem -- this can easily be done with one of GT's keyboard
macros.
13
First Time Usage
----------------
Most of the features of the program are self-documenting, however for
the sake of the novice user, some explanation is necessary.
Before one goes very far with GT, the "Millisec Loop Count", item #7 on
the configuration screen (press Alt-I to bring it up) must be configured
properly for each system. To determine the proper setting, a special
program is provided called TIMER.EXE. When executed, TIMER.EXE will
provide the proper value for the "Millisec Loop Count" for your system.
A normal IBM PC/XT will use a value of about 50, which is the default.
A 10mhz AT will use a value of about 280. A 16mhz 386 machine will use
a much higher value, probably over 500. In any case, run TIMER.EXE on
your computer and it will give you the right number to plug into the
"Millisec Loop Count". NOTE: the program TIMER.EXE will not produce
accurate results if you computer does not have an accurate DOS clock.
The GT program is distributed in .EXE, which can be executed immediately
by placing your disk into drive A, changing the default drive to A:, if
not already, then typing the name of the program, GT1400. Normally,
however, the program will be run from a Hard disk after it has been
copied into its own directory and the DOS PATH has been established, as
well as definition of the GTPATH= variable in the DOS environment per
the previous section of this manual.
If you are running from a hard disk system setup as previously described
then it would be convenient for you to create a batch file that will
invoke GT POWER for you. For example, you might create a batch file
called GT.BAT which contains only a single line as follows: GT1400
Placing that batch file anywhere in the PATH that DOS has at its
disposal will allow you to start GT POWER from any directory by merely
typing GT.
Once the user has successfully entered the program, the copyright notice
will appear. Press the 'Y' (if you are a registered user, the program
will auto-start), the phone directory screen will then appear. The
phone directory is used to store the phone numbers of the various
systems you call. You must enter these numbers before GT can
automate your dialing chores. Use the A)dd command in the phone
directory to add numbers, by pressing the <A> key. The <Esc> key may be
used to exit from the phone directory to the on-line screen. At the
bottom of the on-line screen appears various status indicators and the
reminder that Alt-H is the help key. A complete list of available
commands can be obtained by selecting Alt-H. Commands may be selected
while the Help window is still on screen, so that the user does not need
to open the Help window repetitively, however some commands are not
readily executable while any "window" is open - the time management
commands, Alt-U and Alt-F, are an example. If they are executed while
the Help window is open, they will cause the screen to scroll! This is
not harmful in any way, but renders the Help window less useful.
The 25th line on your monitor provides important status information
about your system while running GT POWER. Please refer to the Appendix
at the end of this document for a complete listing of the contents of
the 25th line.
Upon initial execution the program creates several files in its home
14
directory. They are:
Modify
Filename Command Description
-------- ------- -----------
GT.KEY ..... Alt-M ...... Stores the macro key definitions.
GT.DIR ..... Alt-D ...... Stores the phone directory.
GT.CNF ..... Alt-I ...... Stores the program configuration.
The keystrokes shown above under "Modify Command" are the ones required
to bring up screens which will allow you to customize the program for
your specific use.
15
Command Line Usage
------------------
When you start GT, there are several command line switches that are
available to you:
name You may indicate a script file to be executed upon start-up of
GT.
/D You may indicate whether or not you wish to have GT drop the
DTR signal to the modem when GT exits back to DOS.
/C You may indicate whether you are connected via cable to the
host computer.
/K You may initiate the capture mode from the very start of the
program.
/P You may enable logging to the system printer.
/1 You may configure the port addresses in use by your serial
port. The actual port number to be configured, 1-4, is placed
after the slash. The new base address of the indicated port
is placed after the slash number with an intervening blank.
The address must be given with a leading $ sign and be in hex
notation, for example $3F1 would be a valid address. Refer to
your hardware documentation for the correct address to use.
GT uses standard addresses if you do not override with this
option.
/Rn This option applies to the GT host mode. It specifies the
ring number upon which GT will answer incoming calls. For
example /R3 would cause GT to answer on the 3rd ring. NOTE:
that the host mode modem init string must contain S0=0 to
allow this to work properly.
/RBmm:nn This option applies to the GT host mode. It specifies that GT
should answer the modem after a "ring back". To enable this
option to work properly, the host mode modem init string must
contain S0=0. Once installed properly this option makes the
GT host mode answer the phone on the 2nd or 3rd ring after a
gap of between 'mm' and 'nn' seconds. If the gap between
rings is less than 'mm' seconds or greater than 'nn' seconds,
GT will not answer the phone. This allows the use of an
answering machine on the same phone line as the computer. The
answering machine should be programmed to answer on a later
ring, the 4th for example.
/rb09:30 This would cause the gap to be 9 - 32 seconds.
The normal ring interval is 5 - 6 seconds. The
high end of this range should *not* be set higher
than 45 seconds.
The options listed above may be placed on the command line in any order,
here are some examples:
16
gt1400 This command would start GT without
any script, GT would drop DTR on
exit.
gt1400 /D Again no script, but this time GT
would maintain the DTR signal to the
modem after exit to DOS.
gt1400 script.scr /d Now GT would start the script file
named automatically and would
maintain the DTR signal on exit to
DOS.
gt1400 script.scr GT will now drop DTR on exit to DOS,
automatically execute the named
script upon startup.
gt1400 /C GT will know that it is connected via
cable to the host and will not
automatically enter the Phone
Directory.
gt1400 /c /D Shows the combination of the /C and
the /D switches. Indicates that GT
is connected via cable to the host
and that GT should maintain the DTR
signal after exiting to DOS.
gt1400 /k /2 $3E8 This line would start the capture
mode and reconfigure COM port #2 to
the base address 3E8 hex. The
address must be given in hex with a
leading $ sign character.
gt1400 /p This would start GT and turn on the
system printer to record the log.
The log will also be written to the
disk file GT.LOG. This is handy for
host mode operators, who would like
to be able to read the log without
taking their system out-of-service.
gt1400 /rb host.scr This would start GT, enable ring-back
mode and execute the 'host.scr'
script file. (Probably to start a GT
Host session.)
The /D option allows the user to maintain the DTR signal to the modem
after exiting from GT POWER and one might ask, "Why should DTR be
maintained after exit to DOS?". If DTR is maintained, you may exit to
DOS without having to hang-up the modem, therefore it is possible to
run another comm program, while still connected to the host. For
example, if you wanted to run the PCKERMIT.EXE program manually, instead
of through GT, the DTR should not be dropped when exiting from GT. You
may wish to do this if you don't have enough memory to run GT and
PCKERMIT.EXE at the same time.
17
RAM Disk Usage
--------------
Distributed with the program is a file called RAMDISK.BAT. It can be
used to install and run the program from a RAM disk. To use
RAMDISK.BAT, place the program disk in one of the floppy drives and make
it the default, then enter the following command:
RAMDISK d: e: [scr] Where: "d:" is the drive with the program
disk, "e:" is the RAM drive, and "[scr]"
is an optional script file to be executed
on start-up. The brackets [] just
indicate that the script file is optional.
Example: "RAMDISK A: C:"
Additional command line argument can be
placed after the drive letters and they
will be passed as command line options to
GT POWER within the batch run.
18
Coping With A Floppy Based System
---------------------------------
It is obvious to the most casual observer that GT uses a LOT OF DISK
SPACE. So how does one cope with a floppy based system? The first rule
is to place the files that cannot be directed via a path designation
onto drive A:. Here is my recommendation for the files that should be
on drive A:
BULLET1 BBS 336
BULLET2 BBS 3989
DSZ EXE 45728
GT CNF 879
GT DIR 11610
GT KEY 142
GT LOG 6735
GT1400 EXE 215587
GTBULLET BBS 3816
GTBYE BBS 3086
GTDIR BBS 449
GTHELP BBS 1539
GTMDIR BBS 306
GTMENU BBS 1084
GTNEWUSR BBS 1948
GTPASSWD BBS 134
GTSYSID BBS 138
GTUSER BBS 44
GTWELCOM BBS 934
PROTOCOL BBS 206
SYSOP BBS 22
YGRX BAT 29
YGTX BAT 47
ZMRX BAT 40
ZMTX BAT 61
Now some of these files are optional, for example the BULLET?.BBS files
are not normally required, and the rest of the *.BBS files can be
eliminated if the operator does not use host mode.
We have included the DSZ program, for its Zmodem protocol, and left
PCKERMIT off. But you might want both or PCKERMIT instead of DSZ. In
any case, you must have the one you need. However, it is possible to
place one or both of these programs on drive B: if you set you DOS PATH
to point at drive B:.
Even then, you must be careful that the log file does not grow to exceed
the capacity of the disk. The .DIR and .KEY files can also grow, so a
careful eye should be kept on the space available on drive A:.
It is not advisable for downloads or uploads to be done with drive A:,
the configuration paths for downloads and uploads should be set to
"B:\". This will keep the rest of drive A: free from these extra files.
Once mounted in drive A:, this disk should remain until the program is
exited.
The message base file should be located on drive "B:\". Use the setup
option to declare the path for the message base to be drive "B:\". It
19
is under the miscellaneous options selection of the Alt-I screen.
Of course, you can save even more disk space by using the GTO version of
the program. The GTO version does not include a host mode module and
thus saves more than 60k of disk space.
If you have only 1 floppy disk, I wish you luck. You won't have a lot
of space to play with. The best advice would be to purchase a 2nd disk
at the earliest opportunity. The best choice would be a 20 megabyte
hard disk or bigger if the budget allows.
A reasonable alternative to either a second floppy or a hard disk would
be one of the new 1.44 megabyte 3.5" diskette drives.
20
Computer To Computer Without Modems
-----------------------------------
If the program is used without a modem, using a direct cable connection,
all the dialing and modem control strings in the configuration file
should be set to empty strings. Also, when using a direct cable
connection, the "Carrier is Forced?" parameter should be set to TRUE.
Also, the command line switch, /C, should be used to indicate the direct
connection to GT.
When running a direct connection via cables, with one of the GT systems
operating in the host mode, the operator on the terminal mode system can
wake up the host system by striking carriage return. NOTE: in this case
both systems must be set to the same baud rate ahead of time. The host
system will use the default baud rate from the configuration file. The
terminal mode GT must use the same rate, if not the default, then set
the required baud rate with the Alt-S command.
21
Alt-Command Descriptions
------------------------
Alt-A ASCII transmission of a file using the XON/XOFF protocol,
where the DC1 character is used for XON and the DC3 character
is used for XOFF. If the Pacing Character is set, then
line-by-line pacing is also done, i.e. the program will wait
for the pacing character to echo from the host at the end of
each line, thereby insuring that an overrun error will not
occur. The default is not to use line-by-line pacing. Also
associated with the ASCII file transmit is the End-of-Line
Mode, it determines what characters are sent to the host at
the end of each line. The normal End-of-Line Mode for IBM
compatible hosts is CRLF, i.e. a carriage return and a
linefeed, however some hosts, for example UNIX, require just
LF, and others may require only a CR. These are the three
options for End-of-line Mode. Also, the user may specify an
inter-character delay, in milliseconds, the default delay is
set to 0. The Pacing Character, the End-of-Line Mode and the
inter-character delay, are options in the configuration file.
Use the Alt-I command to alter the configuration. The ASCII
inter-character delay adds the indicated number of
milliseconds delay between each character transmitted. When
uploading messages to IBM style BBS systems, blank lines will
cause a problem, since they will cause the host system to
terminate message input mode. This can be overcome by setting
the Pad Blank Line parameter to TRUE. All of these parameters
are located under the ASCII Transmit parameters of the Alt-I
screen.
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| NOTE |
| |
| For uploading messages to most IBM style BBS's, |
| you should use an End-of-Line mode of CR. |
| |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
Alt-B Send BREAK signal to host computer. The serial port is forced
into the spacing state. This is useful when connected to some
minicomputers that require the signal to wake-up and allow you
to logon. It is not used with most BBS systems. The length
of the BREAK signal, in milliseconds, is configurable via the
Miscellaneous Options of selection of the Alt-I screen.
Alt-C Turn capture mode ON, if it is OFF, or OFF if it is ON. When
this mode is turned OFF, either through the Alt-C command or
with the Alt-X command, the user will be prompted for a file
name wherein to save the contents of the capture buffer.
During capture mode operations, a number will appear in the
lower left corner of the screen, this is the number of
characters, in 1000's, in the capture buffer. Capture mode is
useful for recording complete sessions for review later, so
you don't read so much on those long distance phone calls.
When the in-memory capture buffer is full, the program will
dump to a spill file on disk, the file name used will be
$$SPILL. The operation of the spill file is automatic, but if
the program is interrupted for some reason, the file may
22
remain catalogued. Therefore, the user should remove this file
when required. It will be placed in the directory with the
overlay files. The size of the in-memory capture buffer is
configurable, in 1,000's of characters, via the Alt-I screen.
If you press Alt-C, accidentally while capture mode is in
progress, you may continue capturing data by pressing the Esc
key.
Capture Header
--------------
Text that is saved after a capture session will have a header
appended to it. This header will name the last host system
called (if any) and the date and time the capture was done.
This will help you later, especially if you 'append' multiple
captures to one large file. The headers will act as
separators between various sessions.
Alt-D Modem dialing and phone directory management. The phone
directory may have up to 999 entries, if there is enough disk
space. The directory screen will automatically disappear
whenever a CONNECT type result is detected from the modem.
Multiple phone directories are supported, to get more than 1
phone directory use the E)xch command while the phone
directory is being displayed, this will allow you to switch
between directories. Among other things, the phone directory
support 2 very important items: A) personalized passwords, and
B) default transfer protocol. Using the personalized
passwords, one can store a different password for each host
system listed and then access it automatically via a macro key
when logging into each system. A macro key should be
programmed with %P to enable it to send the proper password
for each system. (Please refer to the description of the
Alt-M below for a discussion of macro key setup.) If you
select a default transfer protocol for each entry in the phone
directory, then you will be able to eliminate several of the
keystrokes required to start a file transfer, as GT will
anticipate the selection of the protocol type.
Alt-E Turn Half Duplex ON if it is OFF, or OFF if it is on. Half
duplex is used when the host does not echo what you type.
A Half Duplex indicator will show on the bottom line of the
screen, HDX, when in this mode. Also, the duplex mode can be
set automatically by entering that information into the
Dialing Directory.
Alt-F Fix time. That is, mark the current time, so that you can
measure time used, with the Alt-U command.
Alt-G Re-dial the last number dialed. This command will loop
continuously until a CONNECT is signaled by the modem or the
user presses <Esc> to quit. The user may press N)ext to force
the program to perform a quick re-dial.
Alt-H Produces the HELP screen for the user.
Alt-I Reconfigure the program defaults. The parameters listed below
for the .CNF file can be changed via this command.
23
Alt-J Display version and serial number of GT in use and the amount
of free memory left for GT to use.
Alt-K Kill a file. Delete a file from the disk.
Alt-L Display disk directory, under a user supplied mask. For
example, to see all files with a PAS extension on the logged
drive and current directory, the user would enter the mask
"*.PAS", when prompted. Or see just the files with an
extension of .C by entering the mask "*.c", when prompted. By
default, the program will show all files, if no mask is
entered by the user.
Alt-M Macro key management. Allows the user to define the contents
of the function keys F1 through F10, and all combinations of
the function keys and Shift, Ctrl or Alt. This gives the user
40 different macro keys. The password, from the phone
directory, may be stored in a macro key by putting the
characters %P into one of the keys, then whenever that key is
struck the password for the currently connected BBS will be
transmitted. For example, I put my name into F1, the letter Y
into F2 and my password into F3. Like this:
F1 = Paul|~Meiners|
F2 = Y|
F3 = %P|
Note: These 3 items could just as easily have been placed into 1
macro key, like this:
F1 = Paul|~Meiners|~Y|~%P|
The | character is entered into a macro key when you want GT
to send a carriage return, a ~ is used when you want a 1
second delay, and a ; is used when you wish to include a
comment in the macro key. The ; character is configurable, in
case you need to include it in the macro key. Use the Alt-I
command to setup GT for your requirements.
Each entry in the phone directory can have a different
password associated with it, so you can customize your
passwords for each BBS you call. Makes things a lot more
secure and easier to manage.
Control characters can also be placed into a macro key.
Normally, you can use the Alt key and the numeric keypad, if
you know the ASCII code for the character, however there are
some control codes that cannot be placed directly into a macro
key, such as Ctrl-Z. To put a Ctrl-Z, or any other control
character into a macro, you enter a % character followed by
the decimal value of its ASCII code. For example the Ctrl-Z
would be %26. The value following the % may not exceed 255 -
the maximum value of any one character.
The transmission rate of characters from the macro keys is
configurable. The "ASCII inter-character delay" under Alt-I
is used to pace the transmission of these keystrokes.
24
Keyboard Macros
---------------
Beginning with GT POWER 14.00, the macro keys can be used as
full fledged 'keyboard macros'. This means that beyond
storing logons and other simple phases, they can now be used
to ease the operation of the program itself! Any command that
you can give GT from the keyboard can be stored in one of
these keys. Plus there are some commands that can only be
executed via a macro key. Here are some rules for
constructing keyboard macros:
The { and } characters are used to denote a special key
sequence to the macro processor. For example: {HOME} would
denote a strike of the 'Home' key. Also, 'Alt' keystrokes can
be issued in the same fashion, for example {@-} would indicate
the 'Alt -' keystroke. The sequence {?} is used to solicit
input from the user. For example, {@L}*.doc| would cause the
Alt-L command to list all DOC files in the current directory.
There are some commands that can only be accessed via a macro
key (we ran out of other command keys!). Here is the list:
{@=} Execute a DOS command. Nifty way to execute any DOS
program or command (such as a text editor) with one
keystroke. For example:
{@=}qed|
This would execute the 'qed' program and return to
GT when finished.
{@=}{?}|
This would execute any program that the user named
when prompted for input.
{@>} Start the recording of all keystrokes for later
playback. For example:
{@>}foo.mac|
When executed, this macro would cause all following
keystrokes to be recorded in the 'foo.mac' file.
{@.} Stop the recording of keystrokes. Once recording
has been started, this command will stop the
recording and close the macro file named when
recording started.
{@<} Start the playback of the keystrokes previous
recorded in a macro file. For example:
{@<}{?}|
This would execute any macro file that the user
named when prompted for input.
25
{@;} This command toggles the update of the status line.
The command is useful for people who are using "text
to voice" equipment, if the status line is
continually updated the voice output can be quite a
nuisance.
Extended keys can also be represented via keyboard macros. We
have already seen how the Alt keys can be represented, Alt-A
is {@A} for example, but other extended keys can be issued
also. Here is a list of the available symbols for use:
{UP} Up Arrow key.
{DOWN} Down Arrow key.
{LEFT} Left Arrow key.
{RIGHT} Right Arrow key.
{HOME} Home key.
{END} End key.
{^END} Ctrl-End key combination.
{PGUP} PgUp key.
{PGDN} PgDn key.
{INS} Ins key.
{DEL} Del key.
{BS} Backspace key.
{ESC} Esc key.
{TAB} Tab key.
{BTAB} Backward Tab key. (Shift Tab).
{^PRT} Ctrl-Prt key combination.
The F keys themselves can be indicated within a macro. For
example {F1} would be a press of the F1 key. {^F1} would be a
press of the Ctrl-F1 key. {@F1} would a press of the Alt-F1
key. And {$F1} would be a Shift-F1 key press. Including an F
key press in a macro key acts as a GOTO for the macro
execution, no nesting of macros is done.
In addition to the old subtitutions that can be made in a
macro key, such as the %P for the password, the user may now
use the following:
%C COM port number.
%B Baud rate.
%P Current BBS password.
| Carriage return.
~ Delay for a second.
%nn Represent any ASCII keystroke by its
decimal value.
Alt-N Allows the user to change to a new logged drive and/or new
working directory.
Alt-O Sort the dialing directory into ascending sequence by name,
number, date, times on, elapsed time or baud rate. Performs
an IN MEMORY sort, so there must be enough memory to hold all
the phone directory entries.
Alt-P Print a file. Configuration options are available to enable
pagination of the printed output and the number of lines per
page.
26
Alt-Q Hang-up the phone line, put the modem "ON HOOK". If there is
a "Hang-up String" defined in the configuration file, it is
sent to the modem, otherwise the DTR signal to the modem is
dropped for a second and then the modem initialization string
is sent to the modem.
Alt-R Receive a file using either the default protocol listed in the
phone directory or one chosen from a menu. Communications
parameters are automatically changed to/from 8 bit no parity,
and the 8th bit stripping is disabled for the duration of the
transfer. CRC is used automatically, if the remote system
supports it. When using a batch protocol, the names of the
files will be supplied by the host. If the carrier signal
from the host is lost during file transfer, the alarm will
sound and the "Carrier Loss" window will open. The alarm
will continue to sound until the user strikes a key.
Note: If VT-100 emulation mode is not being used, the <PgDn> key may
be used instead of <Alt-R>.
Note: For proper operation of the Kermit file transfer, the
PCKERMIT.EXE file must be available in one of the places
pointed to by DOS's PATH command. This is true of DSZ.EXE
also, when using the Zmodem or Ymodem-G protocol. Also, the
batch files ZMRX.BAT, YGRX.BAT and KRRX.BAT must be along the
DOS PATH. These batch files are actually invoked when a
Zmodem, Ymodem-G or Kermit download is requested, a direct
call to DSZ.EXE or PCKERMIT.EXE is not performed. This is
very helpful for a number of reasons, most importantly it
allows you to customize the interface to either program.
Alt-S Switch communication parameters. The program starts with the
default values. Permissible values for the baud rate are:
300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, or 19200. Note: the PCjr does
not operate at speeds above 4800 baud.
Alt-T Transmit a file using either the default protocol listed in
the phone directory or one chosen from a menu. Communications
parameters are automatically changed to/from 8 bit no parity,
and the 8th bit stripping is disabled for the duration of the
transfer. CRC is used, if the remote system requests it. When
using a batch protocol, it is possible to transfer many files
at one time (limited only by available memory to store the
filenames). If the user wishes to perform a batch transfer,
he must specify the names of the files to transfer using the
DOS wildcard notation; for example, to transfer all files with
the .PAS extension, when asked for the filename, respond with
"*.PAS". A drive and path may optionally be specified with
the filename. The files found matching the criterion will be
transmitted. If the carrier signal from the host is lost
during file transfer, the alarm will sound and the "Carrier
Loss" window will open. The alarm will continue to sound
until the user strikes a key.
The Pick List
-------------
When the transmit command is invoked, the user will have the
27
opportunity to select a 'pick list'. When prompted for a
filename, the user may type a file select mask, for example
*.arc and press the <Tab> key instead of instead of the
carriage return. This will produce a sorted 'pick list' from
which the user can select the files to be transmitted. The
arrow and other direction keys can be used to navigate the
list, the carriage return will mark entries, and the <Esc> key
will start the transmission. Of course, all of this assumes
that you are using one of the batch protocols, like MegaLink.
The marked entries will be transmitted, if no entries are
marked, then GT will not perform a transmission. Also, it
should be noted, that the 'pick list' can only be used with
internal protocols, it does not function with either Zmodem,
Ymodem-G or Kermit.
Note: If VT-100 emulation mode is not being used, the <PgUp> key may
be used instead of <Alt-T>.
Note: For proper operation of the Kermit file transfer, the
PCKERMIT.EXE file must be available in one of the places
pointed to by DOS's PATH command. This is true of DSZ.EXE
also, when using the Zmodem or Ymodem-G protocol. Also, the
batch files ZMTX.BAT, YGTX.BAT and KRTX.BAT must be along the
DOS PATH. These batch files are actually invoked when a
Zmodem, Ymodem-G or Kermit upload is requested, a direct call
to DSZ.EXE or PCKERMIT.EXE is not performed. This is very
helpful for a number of reasons, most importantly it allows
you to customize the interface to either program.
Alt-U Used time. Report the time used since the last ALT-F command
and the last dial of the phone or the start of the program,
whichever occurred last. Total elapsed time in hours minutes
and seconds, is reported.
Alt-V View the contents of a file, uses the same style as MORE, the
DOS utility. Use the <Esc> key to stop the command.
Alt-W Clear the screen.
Alt-X Terminate and return to DOS. If a script is active, this
command will not be effective until all scripts are finished.
If the script is currently at an ONLINE command, then Alt-X
will cause termination of the ONLINE command and return
control to the script. To exit the script you should press
the <Esc> key after the ONLINE command has been terminated.
Alt-Y Copy a file. This procedure will copy any unprotected file.
Filenames must be fully specified. No wildcards are allowed,
ONLY the current drive and directory need not be specified.
Alt-Z Toggle monitor mode on/off. In monitor mode, all codes are
shown so that the user may see exactly what is being sent by
the host computer. Control codes are shown with the ^ symbol
preceding, i.e. ^[ is the ESC code, ^X is the CAN code, etc.
You must refer to an ASCII code chart for a complete list.
Alt-1 DOS Shell port. GT stays in the background, while you exit to
28
DOS. When you want to return to GT, just issue the "EXIT"
command and you will return to GT. Note: you need a lot of
memory to do this, more than 400k is recommended.
Alt-2 Dump screen to the file "$$SCREEN". If the file already
exists, then the screen is appended to the file, otherwise the
file is created and the screen written to it.
Alt-3 Execute a script. Scripts may also be executed by placing the
name of the script file on the DOS command line that starts
GT. For example: "A>GT1400 filename", would begin GT and
cause the script stored in filename to begin automatically.
Refer to the description of the script language at the end of
this document.
To execute a script via a macro key, place the following
string of characters into a macro key.
{@3}foo.scr|
Where 'foo.scr' represents the name of any valid script.
Using this technique, it is possible to have easy access to
many of your script files.
Alt-4 Suspends capture mode, if it is active. While suspended you
may hit Alt-4 again to resume capturing or Alt-C to terminate
capture mode. Useful when you wish to append to the capture
buffer from selected sources.
Alt-5 This option is used to force GT to use "checksum" as the
default Xmodem protocol. This avoids the pitfalls of using
CRC protocols with non-standard systems. Very useful for
transferring files with older systems or non-IBM systems.
Alt-6 Begins execution of the "circular dialing" queue. All
"marked" entries in the phone directory will be dialed
in-turn, until a connection is made or the user stops the
execution by pressing <Esc>. Individual entries may be
canceled by pressing <C>, while the entry is being processed
on the screen. The user may immediately proceed to the next
entry in the queue by pressing the <N>. The user can repeat
the dialing of the current number, if found busy, by pressing
the <R>. Use the <G> command on the Phone Directory screen to
"mark" entries for the circular dialing queue. See
explanation of the Phone Directory commands below.
Alt-7 This key acts as a toggle to begin/end split screen mode.
During split screen operation whatever the user types will
appear at the bottom of the screen and will be buffered until
a carriage return is struck.
Alt-8 Review the in-memory portion of the capture buffer. The
<PgUp>, <PgDn>, <Home> and <End> keys may be used to move
around in the buffer. <PgUp> and <PgDn> move through the
buffer a page at a time, the <Home> and <End> keys move you to
the start or end of the buffer. Use the <Esc> key to quit
viewing the buffer. The L)ocate command is activated by
pressing the <L> key. It may be used to locate text in the
29
capture buffer below the current location. If a find is made,
the text will be moved to the top of the screen. The <Up-
Arrow> and <Dn-Arrow> keys may be used to scroll one line at a
time.
Alt-9 Toggle the beeps on/off. Go into quiet mode or back to normal
mode. Does not change the playing of music or the window
whistle (which are both controlled via configuration options),
just the bell. To control the window whistle and music
playing refer to the miscellaneous section under the Alt-I
command.
Alt-0 Make a manual entry in the Log file. Log file must be open
before you can make entries. Open the Log file by setting the
Log file flag = TRUE on the configuration screen. See the
Alt-I command.
Alt - The program will enter host mode and await incoming calls.
^PrtSc Toggle the printer ON/OFF. Press the <Ctrl-PrtSc> key. Use
<Fn-Echo> on the PCjr.
30
Phone Directory Commands
------------------------
A = Add an entry to the dialing directory.
C = Change an entry in the dialing directory. Whenever an entry
is added or changed in the phone directory, the user will be
asked to enter a password which can be used by placing a %P in
a macro key.
K = Kill an entry in the dialing directory, sorting of the
directory is recommended after this option or the Add option.
L = Locate a BBS by name. You may specify partial names and the
search is not sensitive to capital letters. The search begins
with the current directory screen and proceeds to the end of
the directory.
N = Find the next occurrence of the last BBS requested in the <L>
command, above. The search begins where the previous search
left off and finds the next match, if any.
M = Dial a number not in the directory. The user is prompted for
new communications parameters.
Entry number =
Dial one of the entries in the directory. GT will
automatically change the communications parameters. To
indicate that the phone number needs to be prefixed or
suffixed, put one of the prefix characters before or after the
number. The 4 prefix characters are: - + * and !. The
actual prefix and suffixes must be setup via the Alt-I
command. Usage:
-74 would cause the 74th number in the directory to be dialed
with the prefix associated with the -.
+81! would cause the 81st number in the directory to be dialed
with the prefix associated with the + and the suffix
associated with the !.
G = Mark a BBS for entry into the "circular" dialing queue. If
already marked, the mark will be removed. So, this command
acts as a toggle between the marked and unmarked state. When
using this command, if the user responds with "CLEAR", when
asked for the BBS number, all marks will be cleared. The user
may enter a list of BBS's to be marked or cleared by
separating each number from the next with either a space or
comma. For example: "22,30,40" could be entered when
responding to the request for BBS No's. The user may also
respond with the word "ALL", in which case all entries will be
marked. And the lastly the user may enter a range of numbers.
For example:
22 30-40 55 would mark 22, the range 30 to 40, & 55.
E = Exchange the current directory with another one. For example,
one could have two directories, 1 for local BBS's and 1 for
31
long distance calls. Don't give any path information, when
entering the filename this option calls for - ALL phone
directories are located using the "Directory PATH" from the
configuration file. Use the Alt-I command to set this path as
required.
T = Toggle the display, between the call count and accumulated
time display, and the display of the date and time of the last
call. There are 4 different displays possible to view with
the "T" command.
NOTE: The Left-Arrow and Right-Arrow keys serve the same
function as the "T" command.
Esc = Quit, returns to the online screen.
PgDn = Display the next page of the directory.
PgUp = Display the previous page of the directory.
Home = Go to the first page of the directory.
End = Go to the last page of the directory.
Up-Arrow = Move highlight to entry above the current highlighted
entry.
Dn-Arrow = Move highlight to entry below the current highlighted
entry.
Return = Dial the entry currently highlighted.
Spacebar =
Marks the entry that is currently highlighted for use by the
circular dialing routine.
Also, one may execute several of the Alt commands directly while the
Phone Directory is still on the screen. For example, you may go
directly to the Circular Dialer by pressing Alt-6. Ordinarily, the only
Alt commands that are not available while in the Phone Directory are
those that would be executed while on-line, for example the Alt-T
command would make no sense while still in the Phone Directory.
The phone directory was expanded in GT 11.00 to include two new fields:
the logon script and the default file transfer protocol. If the logon
script is filled, then the indicated script will be executed whenever a
connection is made with the associated BBS. The default file transfer
protocol, if specified, will be automatically used whenever doing a file
transfer with the associated BBS.
The phone directory was again expanded in GT 14.00. This time to
include three new options: duplex (full or half), emulation mode and 8th
bit stripping. These fields may be in one of three states: TRUE, FALSE
or empty. If they are empty, then GT will leave the default settings in
effect.
32
Editing Keys
------------
When editing Phone Directory entries, Macro Key definitions,
configuration setup entries and all other text type entries, the program
responds to the following editing keys as indicated:
Backspace .... Delete character to the left of cursor.
Del .......... Delete character under the cursor.
End .......... Move the cursor to the end of the field.
Ctrl-End ..... Erase from the current cursor position to the end of
the field.
Home ......... Move the cursor to the start of the field.
Ctrl-Home .... Erase the current field entirely, no matter what the
current cursor position is within the field.
Ins .......... Toggle between insert and overwrite mode. When in
insert mode the cursor becomes fat.
Left Arrow ... Move the cursor to the left 1 position.
Right Arrow .. Move the cursor to the right 1 position.
Return ....... Finish the current field and move to the next.
Esc .......... Terminate edit. Saves the changes made thus far.
33
Host Mode
---------
The setup for host mode is complicated enough that a separate document
file has been written describing this procedure. Rest assured, that
once the proper setup has been achieved, GT should operate with ease,
both in and out of host mode. Refer to the file GTHOST.DOC for a
complete description of the host mode and to NETMAIL.DOC for a
description of the GT netmail system.
34
Scripts
-------
The script language allows the user to automate most of the features of
GT. Following is a description of the script syntax. Several
preliminary comments about scripts: 1) a script can be canceled by
hitting <Esc>, 2) the CYCLE command can be stopped by pressing <Ctrl-K>,
3) the strings and other literal information in the syntax should be
enclosed within "..." if they contain white-space, blanks, tabs or
commas, otherwise they need not be so enclosed. All fields and
operators must be separated on the line by the use of white-space.
Scripts are interactive, so that the user can modify them on-the-fly.
In order to do this, 30 variables have been setup, they are called V0
through V29. They are referenced in either assignment statements,
READLN or GETLN statements. In order to use them, a technique called
"variable substitution" is used. Instead of the V, the variable number
is prefixed with a %, thus V0 through V29, become %0 through %29.
Variable substitution may not be done within "...", since the contents
of a variable is considered to be a field, i.e. you cannot build a field
from several concatenated variable substitutions. For example: %1%2
would be invalid. It is not possible to do variable substitution within
"...", for example: "%2" is not valid. If you use a variable that has
not been initialized, it will be a null string. The data in variables
is stored as strings of characters, up to 78 characters long.
I used the word "field" in the paragraph above, by it I mean that part
of a script command that either is enclosed by "..." or contains no
white space. Script commands are sequences of fields separated by white
space.
For example:
SET 1200,N,8,1
contains 5 fields.
In addition to the 30 user variables provided, there are also built-in
system variables that provide information about the status of the
system. They are as follows:
%BAUD The current baud rate.
%COM The current COM port number.
%DCD The current DCD, Data Carrier Detect, status.
TRUE if present, FALSE otherwise.
%FAIL This variable is set after a SPAWN, WAIT or file
transfer command to indicate success or
failure. TRUE if failure detected, FALSE if
all is well.
You will notice the words TRUE and FALSE above, these are new boolean
constants that are used to test the %DCD and %FAIL state with the CASE
statement.
35
Script Command Summary
----------------------
; ............ Any line that begins with a semi-colon is ignored by GT.
ADD .......... Adds two integers.
ALARM ........ Causes an alarm-like sound, until a key is pressed.
ASCII XMIT ... Transmit a file using ASCII transmit protocol.
AUTOBAUD ..... Send a whacking carriage return to the host.
AWAIT ........ Wait for a specified time.
BATCH-YMDM ... File transfer via the Ymodem Batch protocol.
BEEP ......... Make a short beep on the system speaker.
BREAK ........ Send a "Space Break" to the host.
CALL ......... Invoke another script, like subroutines, and return.
CAPTURE ...... Toggle capture mode ON/OFF.
CASE ......... Test the value of a variable. Or existence of a file.
CD ........... Change disk directories.
CHAIN ........ Invoke another script, like subroutines, but NO return.
CLEAR ........ Clear the screen.
COPY ......... Copy part of one string to another.
CYCLE ........ Repeat execution of the current script.
DDIAL ........ Dial a host from the phone directory.
DIAL ......... Dial the specified phone number.
DIV .......... Divides two integers.
Drive Change . Change the default disk drive.
DUPLEX ....... Toggle duplex between FULL/HALF.
ECHO ......... Echo script commands to the screen.
EMULATE ...... Set ANSI terminal emulation.
END .......... Groups commands with a DDIAL or DIAL command.
ESAC ......... Terminates a CASE command.
EXCH ......... Change phone directories or keyboard macro files.
EXIT ......... Used to exit the program.
FLUSH ........ Throw away the contents of the serial buffers.
FUNCTION ..... Send a macro key.
GETLN ........ Read a line from serial port and store in a variable.
GOTOXY ....... Position cursor to the x,y screen coordinates.
HANG-UP ...... Hang up the modem.
HOST ......... Enter host mode.
KERMIT ....... File transfer via the Kermit protocol.
LEN .......... Return the length of a string.
LOG .......... Make an entry in the log file.
LOWER ........ Convert a string to lowercase.
MEGALINK ..... File transfer via the MegaLink protocol.
MKWIN ........ Make a video window with a label.
MUL .......... Multiplies two integers.
NAME ......... Used with DIAL command to name the host.
ONLINE ....... Allows user to temporarily leave the script.
PAD .......... Pads string, either right or left justified.
POS .......... Find occurance of one string within another.
PRINT ........ Toggles the printer ON/OFF.
QUIET ........ Toggles the beeper ON/OFF.
QUIT ......... Exit from script, but remain in GT.
READLN ....... Reads input from keyboard into a variable.
RECV ......... Receive a file via Xmodem protocol.
RIGHT ........ Copy the rightmost 'n' characters from string to string.
RMWIN ........ Remove a video window.
SCREEN ....... Toggle screen output ON/OFF while WAIT is active.
SEALINK ...... File transfer via the SEAlink protocol.
SEND ......... Send a string to the host.
SENDLN ....... Send a string to the host, followed by carriage return.
36
SET .......... Used with DIAL command to manually set comm parameters.
SETCOLOR ..... Set screen colors, both foreground and background.
SHELL ........ Execute a program or DOS command.
SPAWN ........ Invokes external program, without extra COMMAND.COM.
SPLIT ........ Set split screen mode.
STR .......... Convert an integer to a string.
SUB .......... Subtracts two integers.
SWAP ......... Swap the positions of the BackSpace and Del keys.
TELINK ....... File transfer via the Telink protocol.
1KTELINK ..... File transfer via the 1k Telink protocol.
TRIM ......... Remove leading and trailing blanks from string.
TWAIT ........ Timed wait in milliseconds, max wait is 32 seconds.
UPPER ........ Convert a string to uppercase.
VAL .......... Convert a string to an integer.
Vn = ......... Assign a value to a variable.
WAIT ......... Wait for some string to be received from host.
WHEN ......... Trap a string sent from host, during a WAIT and respond.
WRITE ........ Write a string to the screen.
WRITELN ...... Write a string to the screen, followed by carriage return
XMIT ......... Transmit a file via Xmodem protocols.
YMODEM ....... File transfer via Ymodem protocol.
YMODEM-G ..... File transfer via Ymodem-G protocol.
ZMODEM ....... File transfer via Zmodem protocol.
37
Script Command Descriptions
---------------------------
Command Description and Example
------- -----------------------
1KTELINK Transfer a batch of files using the 1k Telink protocol. Works
the same as TELINK, described below, but uses the 1k packet
size for increased efficiency.
ADD Adds two integers and stores the result in the requested
variable.
Example:
V6 ADD 3 7
WRITELN %6
This would print 000010 on the screen. The integer that is
the sum of 3 and 7.
ALARM Causes a continuous ringing sound to be made until a key
stroke is made by the operator.
Example:
ALARM
Alarm is continuous until a key is pressed.
ALARM 5
Alarm continues for the indicated number of seconds,
5 in this example, or until a key is pressed.
ASCII XMIT
Transmit a file using the ASCII protocol. Refer to the Alt-A
command above under the explanation of command keys. The same
routine that executes the Alt-A command key performs the ASCII
XMIT.
Example:
ASCII XMIT filename
The filename given is transmitted. No wildcards may
be used. Only 1 file at a time may be transmitted.
AUTOBAUD Used after the DIAL or DDIAL command to set the hosts baud
rate to the caller's. The AUTOBAUD command can use the
carriage return or the blank to set the rate. Usually, the
carriage return is used and it is the default, however some
systems require the blank.
Examples:
AUTOBAUD
For carriage return use.
AUTOBAUD BLANK
For blank use.
38
AWAIT Used to delay execution of the script until the designated
time. GT uses 24:00:00 convention for midnight. The hour
field does not roll over until 1 A.M. Therefore there is no
zero hour, it jumps from 24 to 1. For example: 24:30:00 would
be 12:30 in the morning.
Examples:
AWAIT hh:mm:ss
AWAIT 9:45:00
The time is formatted hours, minutes and seconds, all fields
must be entered. Note: midnight is 24:00:00, the hour does
not role over until 1 AM.
BATCH-YMDM
Transfer a batch of files via the Ymodem Batch protocol.
Examples:
BATCH-YMDM RECV *
The filenames are supplied by the host.
BATCH-YMDM XMIT filename
The filename listed is transmitted. Wildcard
characters may be used to send a batch of files.
BEEP Causes the speaker to emit a beep.
Example:
BEEP
BREAK Used to send a Space Break to the host. Some hosts will use
this to wake-up and logon the user, mostly UNIX systems and
other mini-computers.
Example:
BREAK
CALL Causes a branch in the flow of execution to the scriptname
specified and automatic return to the calling script when
finished. Upon return to the calling script, execution is
started at the next statement following the CALL statement.
Example:
CALL scriptname
CAPTURE Used to turn-on Capture Mode from within a script. There are
two forms: "CAPTURE" and "CAPTURE filename". The first form
is used to begin capturing data, the second form terminates
Capture Mode and names the file to receive the captured data.
Example:
39
CAPTURE { Begin capturing here }
.
.
.
CAPTURE filename { Finish capturing here }
CASE & ESAC
Those of you familiar with UNIX should recognize the use of
ESAC, case spelled backward. For the others, ESAC is used to
mark the end of the CASE statement. The CASE statement is
used to test for the truth or falsity of some condition, for
example it could be used to implement a menu. The syntax is:
CASE target_value OF
op1 test_value1
statement-1
statement-2
.
.
.
op2 test_value2
statement-1a
statement-2a
.
.
.
ESAC
Where there may be any number of "op" tests and any number of
statements between "op" tests. The CASE statement will
perform the following tests until it reaches the 1st one that
is TRUE, (target_value op test_value), when a TRUE test is
found, then the statements associated with that test are
executed. ONLY one set of statements is selected, as soon as
they have been completed the remainder are skipped, until the
ESAC is encountered. Execution continues after the ESAC. If
no test evaluates to TRUE, then all are skipped and execution
begins after the ESAC. Possible "op" codes are:
= Test for equality.
> Test if target_value greater than test_value.
< Test if target_value less than test_value.
>= Test if target_value greater than or equal
test_value.
<= Test if target_value less than or equal test_value.
~ Test if the test_value is contained within the
target_value.
? If no other test prior to this evaluated to be TRUE,
then this will be TRUE. Usually placed just before
the ESAC. There is no need for a test_value with
this "op" code. This is a default operator and is
equivalent to the ELSE in Pascal's CASE statement.
40
EXIST and !EXIST
----------------
These two operators are used to test for the
existence of a file. The "target_value" of the CASE
statement is the name of a file and EXIST evaluates
"true" if that file exists, while !EXIST evaluates
"true" if that file does not exist. See example.
Boolean values
--------------
You can treat the "target_value" of a CASE statement
as if it was a boolen value. A value of zero is
considered "false" and non-zero is "true". Further,
the "op" code field may contain the words TRUE or
FALSE, so that a boolean test is performed. For
example:
CASE %DCD OF
TRUE
writeln "Carrier is present"
FALSE
writeln "Carrier is not present"
ESAC
In this case, if the variable %DCD was TRUE then the
first case would execute, if it was FALSE then the
second would execute.
For example:
GETLN V2
CASE %2 OF
~ BUSY
WRITELN "BUSY found in target!"
~ CONNECT
WRITELN "CONNECT found in target!"
?
WRITELN "Neither found in the target!"
ESAC
In this example, the V2 variable is read from the serial port,
then tested to see whether it contains the word BUSY or the
word CONNECT. The match is not exact, but the test_value must
be wholly contained somewhere in the target.
CLEAR
WRITELN
WRITELN "Communications Menu"
WRITELN "-------------------"
WRITELN "1. Call the PC Interconnection BBS"
WRITELN "2. Call the Fido's Partner BBS"
WRITELN "3. Call the Dow-Jones Retrieval Service"
WRITELN "4. Call the Compuserve BBS"
WRITELN "5. Exit to DOS"
WRITELN
WRITE "Enter your choice. "
READLN V1
41
CASE %1 OF
= 1
CHAIN PCINSCRP
= 2
CHAIN FIDOSCRP
= 3
CHAIN DOWJSCRP
= 4
CHAIN COMPSCRP
= 5
WRITELN "Goodbye, and thanks for the call."
TWAIT 3000
EXIT
?
WRITELN
BEEP
BEEP
WRITELN "Your only choices are 1 through 5."
WAIT 10000
CYCLE
ESAC
In this next example, the use of EXIST will be demonstrated:
V2 = "foo.bar"
CASE %2 OF
EXIST
XMIT %2
?
WRITE "Skipping "
WRITE %2
WRITELN ", cannot locate file."
ESAC
Notice how all fields are entered with "white space" between
them. This is required, as "=5" is wrong, and "= 5" is
correct.
CD Change directories.
Example:
CD directory
Works like the DOS equivalent, except that it has no display
function.
CHAIN Causes a branch in the flow of execution of the script to the
scriptname designated. No automatic return to the invoking
script is made.
Example:
CHAIN scriptname
CLEAR Used to clear the screen and place the cursor in the home
42
position.
Example:
CLEAR
COPY Copies a sub-string from the input argument and saves the
result in the indicated variable.
Example:
V4 COPY "abcdxxxefgh" 5 3
WRITELN %4
This command extracts the string starting the 5th postion with
a length of 3 characters. Therefore the information written
to the screen would be the string "xxx".
CYCLE When found, it causes the script processor to repeat execution
of the script from the beginning. For example, when you wish
to make a script to dial a list of BBS's, then repeat the
script when finished it would look like this:
NAME "xxxxxxxxxxxx"
DIAL "123-4567"
AUTOBAUD
ONLINE
END
NAME "yyyyyyyyyyyy"
DIAL "123-4567"
AUTOBAUD
ONLINE
END
.
. etc., etc...
.
CYCLE 5 TIMES
The CYCLE command in the example above would cause the script
to repeat 5 times. If the cycle count is not specified, then
10 times is the default. Note: it is not good practice to put
script commands that toggle between on/off states in a cycled
script, unless you cycle them back to the original state
before the CYCLE command is issued. Otherwise the command
will cycle on/off from execution to execution. An example of
a toggle command is DUPLEX or QUIET, you should put them into
initialization scripts and NOT in a script that is CYCLEed.
The CYCLE command can be manually terminated from the keyboard
by pressing Ctrl-K.
For example:
Script-a
--------
QUIET Toggle beeps off.
ECHO Toggle command echoing on.
AWAIT 1:30:00 Wait for 1:30 am.
CHAIN script-b Execute script-b.
43
Script-b
--------
NAME "xxxxxxxxxx" Name who we are calling.
DIAL "123-4567" Dial the modem.
.
. etc., etc...
.
CYCLE 5 TIMES Execute script-b 5 times.
Drive Change
Change default disk drive. Works like the DOS equivalent.
Example:
C:
DIAL Used to dial the modem.
Examples:
DIAL phone# WITH REDIAL
DDIAL name WITH REDIAL
The phrase WITH REDIAL is optional.
In the second form, DDIAL, the "name" is found in the user's
dialing directory and the parameters for baud rate, and phone
number are set automatically. If the "name" cannot be found
in the directory, then the script will resume execution after
the next END statement, as if the host was unavailable. The
"name" does not have to be complete, it searches for the first
BBS name in the directory that contains "name" within it.
Upper and lower case letters are treated the same.
The commands, following the DIAL or DDIAL command, may be
grouped together to form the commands required to access a
particular host. The END command is used to mark the end of
such a group. If a connection cannot be made with the host,
then the commands between the DIAL and the END are skipped.
If no END is found, the rest of the commands in the script are
skipped. Please refer to the sample script that comes with
the documentation.
DUPLEX Toggle between full and half duplex. The starting condition
is FULL duplex. You may also specify the state you wish by
using the words ON or OFF. For example:
DUPLEX
Toggle duplex to the opposite state.
DUPLEX ON
Turns half duplex on.
DUPLEX OFF
Turns half duplex off.
44
ECHO Causes script commands to be displayed on the screen as they
are executed. Useful for debugging new scripts.
EMULATE Starts or stops ANSI standard terminal emulation.
Examples:
EMULATE ON
Begins VT-100 emulation.
EMULATE OFF
Ends VT-100 emulation.
END Used with DIAL to group commands for a particular host.
EXCH Causes the program to exchange phone directories or keyboard
macro files. So that more than 1 phone directory or macro
file may be used.
Example:
EXCH DIRECTORY filename
The filename is the name of the new phone directory.
Note, there is one difference between the script
command and the manual, Alt-D, method to do this:
this file must exist or an error will occur. With
the manual method, the file will be created, if it
does not already exist.
EXCH MACROS filename
The filename is the name of the new keyboard macro
file. If it can be located, its contents will be
loaded into the function keys.
The filename on the EXCH command must not contain any path
information. The program looks for all phone directories
under the "Directory PATH" from the configuration file and all
macro files in the GT home directory. Use the Alt-I command
to set the "Directory PATH" and the GTPATH environment
variable to set the GT home directory.
EXIT Used to exit the program from within a script.
Example:
EXIT
FLUSH Flushes the contents of the serial input buffer. Useful prior
to an ONLINE or before dialing a new host.
Example:
FLUSH
FUNCTION Execute one of the macro keys.
Examples:
45
FUNCTION KEY 2
This example would execute the string stored in F2.
FUNCTION KEY ALT 2
Executes the contents of Alt-F2. You can also use
SHIFT and CTRL in addition to ALT.
GETLN Get a line of data from the host. Leading blanks and control
characters are stripped off. The command will timeout after
40 seconds waiting for the terminating carriage return or
linefeed.
Note: carriage returns and linefeeds are stripped from the
beginning of the input. One of these control characters will
terminate input ONLY after some data has been accumulated.
Example:
GETLN V4
A variable must be specified to receive the data. The
variables have pre-assigned names: V0 through V29.
GOTOXY Used to position the cursor at a x,y screen coordinate. This
position is always calculated relative to the current window,
see MKWIN and RMWIN, if any is active.
Example:
GOTOXY 10 4
Postion the cursor to column 10, row 4. Column 1,
row 1 is the upper left position of the screen or
window.
HANG-UP Used to hang-up the modem.
HOST Used to enter host mode automatically from a script. Nothing
else should be in the script following the HOST command. This
command should not be contained in a script that is called
from another script.
Examples:
HOST
HOST MODE
The word MODE is optional and is used for documentation of the
script only.
KERMIT Transfer a batch of files using the Kermit protocol.
Examples:
KERMIT RECV *
The file names are supplied by the host.
46
KERMIT XMIT filename
The filename listed is transmitted to the host.
Wildcards are allowed, to do a batch transfer.
LEN Measures the length of a string and stores the result as
indicated.
Example:
V6 LEN "1234567890"
WRITELN %6
This would print 000010 on the screen, because the string is
10 characters in length.
LOG Make an entry in the log file.
Example:
LOG "This is an entry in the log file, or whatever!"
LOWER Convert a string to lowercase and store in the request
variable.
Example:
V4 LOWER "ABCD"
WRITELN %4
This would print the string "abcd" on the screen.
MEGALINK Transfer a batch of files using the MegaLink protocol.
Examples:
MEGALINK RECV *
The file names are supplied by the host.
MEGALINK XMIT filename
The filename listed is transmitted to the host.
Wildcards are allowed, to do a batch transfer.
MKWIN Makes a window on the video screen. All cursor positioning
and WRITEs will take place within the window until it is
removed (see RMWIN below) or overlaid with another MKWIN
window.
Example:
MKWIN x1 y1 x2 y2 "label"
x1 is the x coordinate of the upper left corner.
y1 is the y coordinate of the upper left corner.
x2 is the x coordinate of the lower right corner.
y2 is the y coordinate of the lower right corner.
"label" is a text string that will be displayed as
the title of the window.
47
MKWIN 3 10 78 15 "Text input window"
MUL Multiplies two integers and stores the product as requested.
Example:
V3 MUL 2 12
WRITELN %3
This produces 000024 on the screen, which is the product of 2
times 12.
NAME Used to name the host that the user is calling. Shows up on
the Redial window. Used with the DIAL command. Not used with
the DDIAL command, because the BBS name from the dialing
directory is used.
Example:
NAME string
ONLINE Used to exit, temporarily, from script to manual mode. Useful
when using a script to call a host and then go into manual
operation once connected.
Example:
ONLINE
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| NOTE |
| |
| When you press Alt-X, you exit back to the script |
| and script execution begins where it left-off. |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
PAD Pads a string with a pad character, on the right or left,
until the specified width is reached, then stores the result
as requested.
Example:
V12 PAD "foo" 10 " "
WRITELN %12
The string "foo " would be printed on the screen.
V5 PAD "bar" -7 "."
The string "....bar" would be printed on the screen. The
negative width indicates the right justification and the
indicated pad character is the ".".
POS Finds the occurence of one string within another. Returns the
position of the found string or 0 (FALSE) if not found.
Example:
48
V1 POS "xxx" "abcdxxxefghi"
WRITELN %1
This would print 000005 on the screen, since the "xxx" was
found at the 5th character of the mask string.
V10 POS "xxx" "abcde"
WRITELN %10
This would print 000000 on the screen, since the "xxx" cannot
be found within the 2nd string.
PRINT Toggle the printer on and off. The printer will run as data
is received from the host. Equivalent to Ctrl-PrtSc.
Example:
PRINT
Toggle the PRINT on and off.
PRINT ON
Toggle commands may specify the requested state.
This would turn the printer ON.
PRINT OFF
Turn the printer OFF.
QUIET Toggle the beeps on and off. The starting condition is to
have beeps ON.
Example:
QUIET
Toggles from existing state to the opposite state.
QUIET ON
Turns off the beeps and other noise.
QUIET OFF
Turns on the noise.
READLN This command is used to read data from the operator into one
of the 10 variables. The variables have pre-assigned names:
V0 - V29. The syntax is:
READLN variable_name
For example:
WRITE "Enter desired time to start. (hh:mm:ss): "
READLN V2
AWAIT %2
Notice the %2 in the 3rd line of the example, the % tells the
script processor to do a variable substitution at this point,
so the value input for variable 2 is inserted into the AWAIT
command. Thus causing the script to pause until the desired
49
time.
Note: When responding to a READLN the user must type the
response followed by a carriage return. If the user wants to
terminate the script at the READLN command, enter ^K followed
by a carriage return.
RECV Receive a file using the Xmodem protocol.
Example:
RECV filename
Receives a single file from the host.
RIGHT Extracts the rightmost part of a string.
Example:
V3 RIGHT "....xyz" 3
WRITELN %3
This command would print the string "xyz" on the screen,
because the right 3 characters of the source string are stored
in V3.
RMWIN Remove window made with prior MKWIN. All windows made with
MKWIN should be removed before final exit from the script.
SCREEN Used to turn-off the screen display, i.e. stop incoming data
from appearing during the WAIT command.
Examples:
SCREEN OFF
Turns screen off.
SCREEN ON
Turns screen on.
SEALINK Transfers a batch of files using the SEAlink protocol.
Examples:
SEALINK RECV *
Receives a group of files sent by the host.
SEALINK XMIT filename
Transmits the filename given to the host. A batch
of files may be sent by using wildcard characters.
SEND Used to send a string to the host. The string may contain the
| character, which will be changed to a carriage return. Up
to 10 strings can be sent to the host with one command.
Example:
SEND string1 string2
50
The two strings would be sent to the host without any gaps
between them.
The strings may be in "...", if embedded blanks are required.
SENDLN Same as SEND above, but sends a carriage return at the end of
the transmission.
Example:
SENDLN string1 string2
Up to 10 strings can be sent to the host with one command, the
carriage return is sent following the last string.
SET Used to set the serial port parameters: COM port, baud rate,
parity, data bits and stop bits.
Examples:
SET 1200,N,8,1
This would set 1200 baud, no parity, 8 data bits and
one stop bit. Legal baud rate values are: 300, 1200,
2400, 4800, 9600, and 19200. Legal parity values
are N=none, E=even and O=odd. Legal data bits are 7
or 8. Legal stop bits are 1 or 2.
SET COM2 2400 E 7 1
This SET command would work in a similar fashion to
the first example, however it would also switch the
COM port to number 2.
SETCOLOR Set the screen colors to be used with the next WRITE or
WRITELN command.
Example:
SETCOLOR 11 0
Set the foreground to 11 (Light Cyan) and the
background to 0 (Black).
Dark Colors Light Colors
----------- ------------
0 : Black 8 : Dark Gray
1 : Blue 9 : Light Blue
2 : Green 10 : Light Green
3 : Cyan 11 : Light Cyan
4 : Red 12 : Light Red
5 : Magenta 13 : Light Magenta
6 : Brown 14 : Yellow
7 : Light Gray 15 : White
SHELL This command allows you to execute any program or DOS command,
if there is enough memory available.
Example:
51
SHELL "copy file1 file2"
This would cause the COPY command to be executed and the files
named to be copied.
SPAWN Invokes an external program as a child process. Does not
execute a second copy of COMMAND.COM. Sets the %FAIL flag if
the external program returns an error code on "exit()". The
SPAWN command supports arguments that are passed to the child
process as command line paramters, up to 10 can be specified,
arg0 through arg9, where arg0 is the name of the child
process.
Example:
SPAWN c:\gt\dsz.exe port %COM speed %BAUD rz
This example would cause the DSZ.EXE program to be executed to
receive files. Upon return from the SPAWN, the %FAIL variable
will be set according to the success or failure of the
transfer.
SPLIT Starts or stops Split-Screen operation.
Examples:
SPLIT SCREEN ON
Begins Split-Screen.
SPLIT SCREEN OFF
Ends Split-Screen.
STR Converts an integer argument to a string result with the
requested width.
Example:
V5 STR 234 6
WRITELN %5
The above code would write a string to the screen that
consisted of 3 leading blanks and the numbers 234. In other
words, the string in V5 would be " 234".
SUB Subtracts two integers and stores the result as requested.
Example:
V21 SUB 10 3
WRITELN %21
This would print 000007 on the screen, which is the integer
that is the result of 10 minus 3.
SWAP This command swaps the position of the <Backspace> and <Del>
keys. This is needed by many people who use the VT-100
emulation mode.
52
Examples:
SWAP KEYS ON
This would swap the two keys, <Backspace> and <Del>.
SWAP KEYS OFF
This would reverse a previous swapping of the keys.
Note: Key swaps made with this command are not made
a permanent part of the .CNF file. They go back to
the default value at the start of the program. Use
the Alt-I command to make the swap permanent.
TELINK Transfer a batch of files using the Telink protocol.
Examples:
TELINK XMIT *.pas
Transmits all files with the .PAS extension.
TELINK RECV *
Receive a group of files from the host.
TRIM Removes leading and trailing blanks from a string and stores
the result as indicated.
Example:
V7 TRIM " qed "
WRITELN %7
The command would strip the spaces and store "qed" in V7.
Then the WRITELN would print the "qed" on the screen.
TWAIT Timed wait, in milliseconds. The maximum wait period is 32767
milliseconds.
Example:
TWAIT number
The "number" is the number of milliseconds to delay
the execution of the script.
UPPER Convert a string to uppercase and store in the request
variable.
Example:
V4 UPPER "abcd"
WRITELN %4
This would print the string "ABCD" on the screen.
Vn = Variables can be assigned values in 2 ways, through the READLN
command above, or within the script itself, they can be
assigned values, much the same way it is done in FORTRAN and
other high-level languages. The syntax is:
Vn = value
53
For example:
V0 = "the PC Interconnection"
V7 = "555-1234"
V2 = "Johnny Jones"
Note: the use of blanks to isolate the "=" from the other
fields, this is REQUIRED.
VAL Converts a string argument to an integer value.
Example:
V1 VAL "23"
WRITE %1
This would produce 000023 on the screen for the user to see.
The string might have contained leading white-space and
trailing non-numerics (the conversion ends with the first non-
numeric. If no characters are found to be numeric, the result
would be 000000.
WAIT Used to make the execution of the script wait for a particular
string to be sent from the host.
Examples:
WAIT FOR string
WAIT n FOR string
The string may be in "...", if embedded blanks are required.
In the 2nd form, the "n" represents the number of seconds to
wait before timing-out the host. Note, the timeout clock only
counts down when no data is being sent by the host. If the
first form is used, the default time-out period is 40 seconds.
If the WAIT command times out waiting for the string to
arrive, the %FAIL variable will be set TRUE, so that the
script can test for the failure and take action based upon the
failure.
WHEN Sets up a string to trap out, while waiting with the WAIT
command. Whenever the indicated string is trapped, then the
response shown will be sent to the host. This feature is
mostly used to trap the "More" string and send a Y or N to the
host. If required by the host, a carriage return may be
inserted in the response string by using a | character. Both
the string trapped and the response are limited to a maximum
of 30 characters each.
Example:
WHEN "More" THEN "N"
This will keep the WAIT command from getting stuck at the
"More" prompt. Note: up to 6 WHEN commands remain in effect.
54
Individual WHEN's may be disabled by omitting the THEN clause.
For example:
WHEN "More" THEN "N" Setup the trap.
WHEN "More" Turns off the trap.
WRITE Used to write a string to the screen, does not send to the
host. Up to ten strings can be written with one WRITE
command. Each string should have white-space surrouding it.
Example:
WRITE string1 string2 string3
Would write the 3 strings to the screen without any
space between them.
WRITE "foo." "bar"
Would write "foo.bar" to the screen (without the
"..." of course).
WRITELN Used to write a string to the screen with a carriage return,
linefeed combination at the end of the line, does not send to
the host.
Example:
WRITELN string
Please note that WRITELN behaves the same way as the WRITE
above, that it can write up to 10 strings to the screen with
one WRITELN command.
WXMODEM Transfer a file using the WXmodem protocol.
Examples:
WXMODEM XMIT filename
Transmits a file to the host.
WXMODEM RECV filename
Receives a file from the host.
XMIT Transmit a file using the Xmodem protocol.
Example:
XMIT filename
Transmits a file to the host.
YMODEM Transfer a file using the Ymodem protocol.
Examples:
YMODEM XMIT filename
Transmits a file to the host.
YMODEM RECV filename
55
Receives a file from the host.
YMODEM-G Transfer a group of files using the Ymodem-G Batch protocol.
Examples:
YMODEM-G XMIT "*.PAS FOO.BAR TENNIS.TXT"
Transmits the group of files within the "...".
YMODEM-G RECV *
Receive a group of files from the host.
ZMODEM Transfer a group of files using the Zmodem Batch protocol.
Examples:
ZMODEM XMIT "*.PAS FOO.BAR TENNIS.TXT"
Transmits the group of files within the "...".
ZMODEM RECV *
Receive a group of files from the host.
56
Appendix
--------
25th Line Status Indicators
---------------------------
CAPTURE: 999 Capture mode is on, and the number displayed is the
amount of data, in 1000's of characters, in the capture
buffer.
Suspend: 999 Capture mode is on, but suspended currently. The number
displayed is the amount of data in 1000's of characters
in the capture buffer.
BBS Name If no capture is currently active, the name of the BBS,
you are currently communicating with, will be displayed.
Caller Name In host mode, the name of the current caller to your
system will be displayed.
CONNECT 99:99 Time CONNECTed to a BBS in hours and minutes.
OFF LINE Indicates you are currently not connected to a BBS.
CABLE CONNECT Indicates that you are currently using a cable connection
to your host system.
^ The Caps Lock is on.
# The Num Lock is on.
Q Beeps are turned off.
CD Carrier Detected (is present). When carrier is lost, an
alarm sounds.
PR The printer is on.
VT VT-100 terminal emulation is enabled.
HDX Half Duplex is true, the default in host mode.
Ck Checksum Xmodem is true, the default is CRC Xmodem.
baud rate The current baud rate in use: 300, 1200, 2400, 4800,
9600, or 19200.
99:99 The current time.
57
System Files
------------
Here is a list and short description of each of the many files provided
with the GT POWER system:
GT1400.EXE .... Absolute program. The one to execute.
GTO1400.EXE ... The GTerminal Only version of GT. Called GTO.
GT1400.DOC .... This file. The documentation.
PCKERMIT.EXE .. The program which performs Kermit file transfers.
PCKERMIT.TXT .. Documentation for PCKERMIT.EXE.
DSZ.EXE ....... Performs Zmodem and Ymodem-G file transfers.
DSZ.TXT ....... Documentation for DSZ.EXE.
* GT.DIR ........ The phone directory, data file.
* GT.KEY ........ Macro key definitions, data file.
* GT.CNF ........ The configuration, data file.
RAMDISK.BAT ... Sample runstream to execute GT from ramdisk.
* GT.LOG ........ Log file. Note: don't edit the log file with an
editor which places a CPM EOF (Hex 1A) at the end
of a file. GT is unable to append log entries to a
file which ends with the CPM EOF - a quirk of Turbo
PASCAL.
GT-UTIL.COM ... Program to convert old directories to newer format,
produce printed listing of phone directory, import
text list of BBS's to GT format directory. Also,
converts some Qmodem formats to the GT format.
GT-UTIL.DOC ... Short doc file for GT-UTIL.
PURSUIT.SCR ... Script to be used to access the PC Pursuit network.
PCPMENU.SCR ... Script called by PURSUIT.SCR, used to access PC
Pursuit.
SCRIPT.SCR .... A sample script for use with GT.
REGISTER.DOC .. Description of the registration plan.
FORM.DOC ...... A registration form, ready to be filled in and
printed.
GTHOST.DOC .... Documentation for host mode.
GTDOOR.BAT .... Executed when host mode caller requests "Shell to
DOS".
GTDOOR1.BAT ... Sample DOOR batch file.
GTDOORS.BBS ... DOOR menu text file.
KEYBOARD.MAC .. Keyboard macros to use with ANSI.SYS and the DOS
Door.
x GTMESSAG.CTL .. The message control file for host mode operation.
x GTMAIL.CTL .... The user mail control file for host mode operation.
x GTMSGS ........ Sub-directory where host mode stores the messages.
x MAILOUT ....... Sub-directory where GT netmail puts outgoing mail.
x MAILIN ........ Sub-directory where GT netmail puts incoming mail.
GTWELCOM.BBS .. Welcome screen for host mode. }******
GTUSER.BBS .... Record of last user's name. }
PROTOCOL.BBS .. Protocol menu text file. }
PREQUEST.BBS .. Pre-questionnaire text file. }
QUESTION.BBS .. Questionnaire template file. }
GTBULLET.BBS .. Bulletin file for host mode. }
BULLET1.BBS ... Custom bulletin file #1. } Example files used
BULLET2.BBS ... Custom bulletin file #2. } in GT host mode.
GTMENU.BBS .... Main menu file for host mode. } These are ordinary
GTPASSWD.BBS .. Password file for host mode. } text files and may
GTHELP.BBS .... Help file for host mode. } be changed with an
GTDIR.BBS ..... Directory control list. } ASCII text editor.
58
GTMDIR.BBS .... Message area control list. }
GTDDIR.BBS .... DOOR control list. }
GTSYSID.BBS ... Initial system ID for callers. }
WELCOME.BBS ... Message area welcome file. }
MBULLET1.BBS .. Message area bulletin file. }
GTBYE.BBS ..... Goodbye file for host mode. }******
MBAGGER.COM ... The netmail bagger program. } Refer to
MDRIVER.COM ... The netmail driver program. } netmail
MDRIV031.000 .. The overlay file for MDRIVER. } documentation
MDIST.COM ..... The netmail distribution program. } for explanation
NETMAIL.DOC ... The netmail documentation file.
TIMER.EXE ..... Program to calculate the Millisec Loop Count.
* The files marked with an "*" above are created automatically
whenever GT cannot locate them.
x The files marked with an "x" above are created, as needed, by the
GT host mode or the GT netmail system.
59
Configuration File Layout
------------------------
In position 1-3 of each record in the configuration file is a code to
identify a parameter. After the "=", the value of the parameter
appears.
CM= COM port number, 1,2,3 or 4.
ST= Number of Stopbits.
DA= Number of Databits.
PA= Parity. 0=None,1=Even,2=Odd
SR= Stripping option. Strip parity bit from serial port input.
BA= Default Baud Rate. 300,1200,2400,4800,9600 or 19200.
MB= Maximum Baud Rate. Restricts values found in Phone Directory.
CS= Honor CTS from modem option.
S2= String to set modem to 300 baud. }******
S4= String to set modem to 1200 baud. }
S5= String to set modem to 2400 baud. }
S6= String to set modem to 4800 baud. }
S7= String to set modem to 9600 baud. }
S8= String to set modem to 19200 baud. } For non-Hayes
P0= String to set modem to 7 bits, no parity. } modems only. See
P1= String to set modem to 7 bits, even parity. } table on page 56.
P2= String to set modem to 7 bits, odd parity. }
P3= String to set modem to 8 bits, no parity. }
P4= String to set modem to 8 bits, even parity. }
P5= String to set modem to 8 bits, odd parity. }
P6= String to set modem to 7 bits, mark parity. }
P7= String to set modem to 8 bits, mark parity. }******
ML= The "Millisec Loop Count". Use TIMER.COM program to calculate.
Normal value is about 50 for standard PC's.
PR= Dialing Pre String.
PO= Dialing Post String, use the | character where a Return is
required.
HU= The modem hang-up string.
PF= Phone number prefix/suffix. Associated with the - character.
P+= Phone number prefix/suffix. Associated with the + character.
P*= Phone number prefix/suffix. Associated with the * character.
P!= Phone number prefix/suffix. Associated with the ! character.
MI= Modem initialization string. Use the | character where a Return
is needed.
HO= Host mode, modem initialization string.
AS= Answer string. When issued, this string should cause the modem
to answer an incoming call.
SY= Modem command string to turn the speaker ON.
SN= Modem command string to turn the speaker OFF.
RT= After carrier timeout has occurred, this is the time between
redial, in seconds.
FC= Forced Carrier. Some modems force carrier even when a call is
not in progress, if this is the case, set this parameter to
TRUE.
CT= Timeout time for carrier to appear, in seconds.
DP= Directory PATH. This variable tells the program where to look
for the phone directory. This parameter is provided mainly
for people who wish to put the dialing directory on a
RAM-disk.
TP= Download PATH. All files received by GT are placed, by default,
in this directory. User may override, by typing full
pathnames when entering filenames. Effects host mode
60
operation also!
UP= Upload PATH. Does not apply to host mode operation.
SP= Script PATH. Scripts are stored in this directory.
CP= Capture PATH. Capture saves are done to this directory.
MP= Message base PATH. Controls where GT will place the *.CTL files
and the GTMSGS sub-directory.
XO= The decimal value of the XON character. Used to control data
flow Starts data flow after XOFF has been issued.
XF= The decimal value of the XOFF character. Used to control data
flow Stops data flow when issued. Helps insure that buffer
overflow does not occur.
VT= If TRUE, turns on VT100 emulation, using ANSI escape codes. If
VT100 emulation is requested, music will not be played, and
will show on the screen as text. This happens because of a
conflict between the full ANSI definition and the musical
notes. This does not pose a problem for most BBS users,
because they do not need the full ANSI emulation. BBS's that
send music and graphics use IBM ANSI graphics, which can be
processed without setting VT=TRUE. For BBS use, this
parameter should be set FALSE, and the IBM ANSI graphics will
be processed.
WN= Suppress window noise. Do you want video game whistling windows?
AW= Auto line wrap mode. If FALSE, characters received while the
cursor is in column 80 of the screen will not wrap to the next
line.
LF= Auto Linefeed mode. If TRUE, then a linefeed will be
automatically supplied whenever a carriage return is received.
FG= The default foreground color number. Any one of the 16 values in
the table below.
BG= The default background color number. Any one of the DARK shades,
0-7, from the table below.
CC= The comment character used with the macro keys.
MX= Number of Xmodem buffers to allocate. 4 - 255 are the legal
values. A smaller number should be used on systems with only
128k, larger values can be used if more memory is available.
Each buffer takes 128 bytes.
DM= DMA mode. Some computers have no DMA chip, some have defective
DMA chips. If you have one of these computer, you will obtain
better results with file transfers, if this parameter is set
to SLOW. If you have a normal IBM PC with good DMA chip, set
this parameter to FAST.
PC= The Pacing Character. This is the character echoed by the host
at the end of each line. If you set this character, the
program will wait for it to be echoed by the host at the end
of each line during an ASCII file transmission. The default
is no Pacing Character. The abbreviations CR and LF may be
used in this field to indicate the carriage return and
linefeed characters, as well as the | character for carriage
return.
EL= End-of-Line Mode. This determines the line terminating
characters sent to the host, during ASCII file transmit, to
delimit the end-of-line. Defaults to CRLF, carriage return
and linefeed. The other options are LF, only linefeed, and
CR, only carriage return.
AD= ASCII inter-character delay. Specified in milliseconds. The
default value is 0.
WF= Window foreground color number. Anyone of the 16 values from the
table below.
61
WB= Window background color number. Anyone of the DARK shades, 0-7,
from the table below.
WR= Window-frame foreground color number. Anyone of the 16 values
from the table below.
WS= Window-frame background color number. Anyone of the DARK shades
from the table below.
HF= Option hi-lite color, foreground.
HB= Option hi-lite color, background.
OF= Option lo-lite color, foreground.
OB= Option lo-lite color, background.
TF= Status line color, foreground.
TB= Status line color, background.
WU= Window Title color, foreground.
WV= Window Title color, background.
DU= Phone directory hi-lite color, foreground.
DV= Phone directory hi-lite color, background.
LG= If TRUE, GT will keep a log of all BBS's called and files
transferred. Default is FALSE.
PD= Current phone directory name. Default is 'GT'.
SB= Minutes of inactivity until the screen is blanked. A value of 0
disables the screen blanker.
CK= If TRUE, GT will automatically check diskspace available prior
to downloading any file. If FALSE, GT will not check
diskspace before downloads.
MM= If FALSE, GT will not play music received from the host system.
If TRUE, the music will be played. If emulation mode is TRUE,
this switch is forced to be FALSE.
RC= Result codes. The code is defined by the numeric code and the
code actually returned by the modem. There are 17 possible
codes, only 15 of which are used. Example: RC=1,CONNECT
SO= Bios video routines. If TRUE, the Bios video routines will be
used my the window handler, instead of direct memory access.
The Bios routines are much slower, but have the benefit of
compatibility with multi-tasking operating systems.
PG= Pagination of printer output. If TRUE, the output on the printer
will be paginated, so that it doesn't print on the
perforations.
LP= Lines per page. Works with the pagination option.
KY= Name of the current macro key file. Default is 'GT'.
BS= Swap position of BackSpace and Del keys, used with VT-100
emulation.
NEW in GT POWER 14.00
---------------------
BL= BREAK length in milliseconds.
TL= Tilde length. The tilde ~ is used to add delay to various string
sent to the modem.
HN= Off-hook string. Sent to modem to make it go off-hook.
HY= On-hook string. Sent to modem to make it go on-hook.
NK= Option to make NO KILL the default message security.
SM= Message path for M)essages to the SYSOP.
DD= The default file directory. The one callers first see when they
connect.
LO= Log file path. The log will be stored in this directory.
CL= Capture memory buffer limit in 1,000s of characters.
BP= Blank pad mode. Used to control the sending of blanks lines in
ASCII transmit mode. If TRUE, then blank lines will be
padded with blanks. Helps with message upload to BBSs.
62
EW= Exploding windows option. If TRUE, then GT's windows will
explode when they open.
AR= Auto redial on BUSY result from modem. If TRUE, GT's will
automatically redial a number that is BUSY when dialed from
the phone directory.
* = Comment lines.
Note: these entries may either be changed via the Alt-I command, or with
any text editor that produces standard ASCII files, such as EDLIN.
63
Configuration File Defaults
---------------------------
CM=1
ST=1
DA=8
PA=0
SR=FALSE
BA=1200
MB=19200
CS=FALSE
CL=16
P0=
P1=
P2=
P3=
P4=
P5=
P6=
P7=
S2=
S3=
S4=
S5=
S6=
S7=
S8=
ML=50
PR=ATDT
HU=~+++~ATH|
PF=
P+=
P*=
P!=
PO=|
MI=AT V1 Q0 E0 X1 S0=0 S2=43|
SY=ATM1|
SN=ATM0|
RT=90
HY=ATH0|
HN=ATH1|
FC=FALSE
AR=TRUE
CT=60
DP=
TP=
UP=
SP=
LF=FALSE
LO=
TL=1000
BL=250
CP=
XO=17
XF=19
VT=FALSE
EW=FALSE
WN=FALSE
SO=FALSE
64
FG=7
BG=0
CC=;
MX=8
PC=
EL=CR
BP=FALSE
WF=15
WB=0
WR=7
WS=0
WU=0
WV=7
DU=0
DV=7
HF=15
HB=0
OF=7
OB=0
TF=0
TB=7
LG=FALSE
AD=0
PD=GT
DM=FAST
MM=TRUE
LP=60
KY=GT
BS=FALSE
AW=TRUE
CK=TRUE
SB=0
AS=ATA|
PG=FALSE
MP=
DD=
HO=AT V1 Q0 E0 M0 X1 S0=1 S2=255|
NK=TRUE
SM=
RC=0,0,OK
RC=1,1,CONNECT
RC=2,2,RING
RC=3,3,NO CARRIER
RC=4,4,ERROR
RC=5,5,CONNECT 1200
RC=6,6,NO DIAL TONE
RC=7,7,BUSY
RC=8,8,NO ANSWER
RC=9,9,CONNECT 4800
RC=10,10,CONNECT 2400
RC=11,11,RINGING
RC=12,12,VOICE
RC=13,13,CONNECT 9600
RC=14,14,CONNECT 4800/ARQ
RC=15,15,CONNECT 1200/ARQ
RC=16,16,CONNECT 2400/ARQ
RC=17,17,CONNECT 9600/ARQ
65
Color Number Table:
-------------------
Dark Colors Light Colors
----------- ------------
0 : Black 8 : Dark Gray
1 : Blue 9 : Light Blue
2 : Green 10 : Light Green
3 : Cyan 11 : Light Cyan
4 : Red 12 : Light Red
5 : Magenta 13 : Light Magenta
6 : Brown 14 : Yellow
7 : Light Gray 15 : White
66
ANSI Emulation - Received Characters
------------------------------------
Cursor Up .................................. ESC [ Pn A
Cursor Down ................................ ESC [ Pn B
Cursor Forward ............................. ESC [ Pn C
Cursor Backward ............................ ESC [ Pn D
Cursor Position ............................ ESC [ Pl ; Pc H
Cursor Position (Home) ..................... ESC [ H
Horizontal and Vertical Position ........... ESC [ Pl ; Pc f
Horizontal and Vertical Position (Home) .... ESC [ f
Set Scrolling Region ....................... ESC [ Pt ; Pb r
Set Origin Mode ......see notes below....... ESC [ ? 6 h
Reset Origin Mode .......................... ESC [ ? 6 l
Index ...................................... ESC D
Reverse Index .............................. ESC M
Reverse Linefeed ........................... ESC I
Next Line .................................. ESC E
Save Cursor ................................ ESC 7
or ESC [ s
Restore Cursor ............................. ESC 8
or ESC [ u
Cursor Key Mode Set ........................ ESC [ ? 1 h
Application Keypad Mode .................... ESC =
Cursor Key Mode Reset ...................... ESC [ ? 1 l
Numeric Keypad Mode ........................ ESC >
Select US Character Set .................... ESC ( B
Select Line Drawing Character Set .......... ESC ( 0
Turn Off Character Attributes .............. ESC [ m
Selects Bold Characters .................... ESC [ 1 m
Selects Underlined Characters .............. ESC [ 4 m
Selects Blinking Characters ................ ESC [ 5 m
Selects Reverse Video Characters ........... ESC [ 7 m
Set Horizontal Tab Stop .................... ESC H
Clear A Horizontal Tab Stop ................ ESC [ g
Clear All Horizontal Tab Stops ............. ESC [ 3 g
Erase From Cursor To End Of Line ........... ESC [ K
Erase From Beginning Of Line To Cursor ..... ESC [ 1 K
Erase Complete Line ........................ ESC [ 2 K
Erase From Cursor To End Of Screen ......... ESC [ J
Erase From Beginning Of Screen To Cursor ... ESC [ 1 J
Erase Complete Display ..................... ESC [ 2 J
Delete Character At Cursor ................. ESC [ Pn P
Insert Line At Cursor ...................... ESC [ Pn L
Delete Line At Cursor ...................... ESC [ Pn M
Select Insert Mode ......................... ESC [ 4 h
Reset Insert Mode .......................... ESC [ 4 l
Select Newline Mode ........................ ESC [ 20 h
Reset Newline Mode ......................... ESC [ 20 l
Select Auto Line Wrap Mode ................. ESC [ ? 7 h
Reset Auto Line Wrap Mode .................. ESC [ ? 7 l
Turn Printer On ............................ ESC [ ? 5 i
Turn Printer Off ........................... ESC [ ? 4 i
Turn Printer Controller On ................. ESC [ 5 i
Turn Printer Controller Off ................ ESC [ 4 i
Print Screen ............................... ESC [ i
Request Cursor Position Report ............. ESC [ 6 n
Response: Cursor Position Report .... ESC [ Pl ; Pc R
Request ID ................................. ESC [ c
67
Response: VT102 ..................... ESC [ ? 6 c
Notes:
ESC is used to represent the escape character, decimal 27. Pn
represents a variable numeric parameter, the parameter is a decimal
number transmitted to the program by using ASCII characters. Pl
represents the LINE, and Pc represents the COLUMN, these are
numeric parameters sent using ASCII characters. Pt represents the
TOP LINE of a scrolling region, and Pb represents the BOTTOM LINE
of a scrolling region, these are numeric parameters sent using
ASCII characters. The spaces shown are for readability, they are
not sent by the host.
When "Origin Mode" is set, the cursor is confined to the scrolling
region. Whenever a change takes place in the "Origin Mode", the
cursor is moved to the home position. The cursor is also moved to
the home position whenever a change is made in the scrolling
region.
68
ANSI Emulation - Transmitted Characters
---------------------------------------
Function Keys .............................. User Programmable.
End ........................................ ESC O R
Ctrl-End ................................... ESC O S
Del ........................................ DEL
Ins ........................................ ESC O n
Home ....................................... ESC [ H
PgUp ....................................... ESC [ O r
PgDn ....................................... ESC [ O q
Shift-Tab .................................. ESC [ O x
Left Arrow ................Normal........... ESC [ C
Keypad Mode...... ESC O C
Right Arrow ...............Normal........... ESC [ D
Keypad Mode...... ESC O D
Up Arrow ..................Normal........... ESC [ A
Keypad Mode...... ESC O A
Down Arrow ................Normal........... ESC [ B
Keypad Mode...... ESC O B
Others ..................................... Standard Values.
Note: The blanks are included for readability only.
69
Support For USRobotics Courier 2400
-----------------------------------
Here are the proper switch settings for the Courier modem:
Switch Setting
------ -------
1 UP, Normal DTR. This is not the factory setting, so it should
be changed by the user. GT requires this setting for proper
operation of the host mode. In terminal mode, GT does not
require this switch setting. Instead, you can specify a
hang-up string in the configuration area.
2 Doesn't matter to GT. Use the Vn command in the modem init
strings to get proper setting.
3 DOWN, Result Codes are displayed.
4 DOWN, No Command Echo. Again, this is preferred, but not
required.
5 Doesn't matter to GT.
6 UP, carrier detect signal is present only when on-line. This
is not the factory setting and should be changed by the user.
7 Doesn't matter to GT.
8 DOWN, Use Normal AT commands.
9 Doesn't matter to GT.
10 Doesn't matter to GT.
Quad Switch
UP, Use Normal Pin Assignments.
70
USRobotics Courier HST, 9600 Baud Modem Support.
------------------------------------------------
The switch settings for the HST modem are much the same as the Courier
2400 baud modem above, so I will not discuss them. The main difference
between these two modems falls into three catagories:
1. Init String Usage.
The HST modem supports a variety of '&' commands that can be placed
into the init string. The standard values for use with GT are &M4,
&H1, and &B0. These values should be added both to the terminal
and host mode init strings.
2. Configuration Setup.
When used with any modem that uses MNP or ARQ error correction
technology, GT should have the "Honor CTS from modem" parameter set
= TRUE. In this way, GT will stop sending data to the modem when
the CTS signal is lowered.
3. 19200 Baud Rate.
When using the 19200 baud rate, GT will not fallback to a lower
rate at CONNECT time. This means that the init strings must be
changed to include &B1, which signals the modem that the cpu-to-
modem rate is being held constant. This is extremely useful when
optimum thru-put is required. However, take note that GT may
overrun the receiving computer at 9600 baud. GT is capable of
sending at the very highest rates your computer is capable of and
if the remote computer cannot accept the data at the higher rate,
an overrun condition may arise. GT will try to avoid this by
respecting any XON/XOFF signal sent by remote during a MegaLink
file transfer (when the danger of overrun is the highest).
71
Hayes 2400 Initialization String
--------------------------------
The Hayes 2400 baud modems do not have any switches that need to be set
on the board with the exception of the port select switch which is
accessible on the end plate itself. All settings that would normally be
set by switches are program selectable and, once set, they may be stored
into a writable ROM on the card itself for further use.
Following are the Modem Initialization string contents that have been
found to work satisfactorily when using GT POWER:
ATE0V0X4S0=0L2S2=43&C1&D2M1&W|
Note, that though it is undocumented, it has been found that including
the following will dramatically increase dialing speed of the modem:
S11=55
Also, the above string may have embedded blanks without affect.
Following are the Host Mode initialization settings that have been found
to work in GT POWER:
AT V0 Q0 E0 X4 S0=1 S2=255 M0|
The above settings show the use of 'TERSE' result codes from the modem.
As was pointed out in an earlier part of this documentation, 'VERBOSE'
result codes are preferable. The use of TERSE mode (as selected by
setting V0 rather than V1) was shown here to give you a complete picture
of both ways of setting up your system. The standard (default) result
code table distributed with GT POWER assumes VERBOSE mode. Therefore,
if you select TERSE mode you will have to change that table as follows:
Description Code
================= ==========
1. OK ................. 0
2. CONNECT ............ 1
3. RING ............... 2
4. NO CARRIER ......... 3
5. ERROR .............. 4
6. CONNECT 1200 ....... 5
7. NO DIAL TONE ....... 6
8. BUSY ............... 7
9. NO ANSWER .......... 8
10. CONNECT 2400 ....... 10
11. RINGING ............ N/A
12. VOICE .............. N/A
13. CONNECT 9600 ....... N/A
14. CONNECT 1200/ECC ... N/A These are the MNP & ARQ
15. CONNECT 2400/ECC ... N/A result codes, sometimes
16. CONNECT 9600/ECC ... N/A known as RELIABLE.
72
Modem Setting Strings for IBM Modems
------------------------------------
Baud String
---- ------
300 <Ctrl-N>SP 2|
1200 <Ctrl-N>SP 4|
I do not know what the string should be for people who have IBM 2400
baud modem, but I suspect it would be: <Ctrl-N>SP 5
Data Format String
----------- ------
7-N-1 <Ctrl-N>FO 0|
7-M-1 <Ctrl-N>FO 1|
7-E-1 <Ctrl-N>FO 4|
7-O-1 <Ctrl-N>FO 3|
8-N-1 <Ctrl-N>FO 5|
8-M-1 <Ctrl-N>FO 6|
8-E-1 <Ctrl-N>FO 9|
8-O-1 <Ctrl-N>FO 8|
73
Registration Message
--------------------
Dear GT User: 4-20-88
I know you are asking yourself, "Why should I send a contribution
for GT"? Here are a few answers.
1. The shareware copy of GT has a delay at the start of the program.
When you register you will receive a key that will allow an you
to enter the program quickly.
2. You will receive a registered copy of GT, with your own serial
number. If you distribute GT, and someone registers your
serial number, you will get a split of the contribution. For
every copy registered with your serial number, you will
receive 25% of the amount tendered.
3. You will receive a copy of the latest version of the companion
program, Sysop Tools.
4. You will receive a copy of "Turbo CALC". This is the powerful
spreadsheet program from P & M Software Co.
5. You will receive copies of the latest GT netmail programs, which
will allow you to pass electronic mail along the GT netmail system.
NOTE: the GT netmail programs are not shareware and can only be
obtained thru registration of GT.
6. Registered users can upgrade to the latest version for $15.
5. Phone support is available to registered users, have your
serial # handy when you call. The number is 713-728-4313
voice, 713-772-2090 & 713-778-9471 modem. The modem lines are
open 24 hours a day, the voice line is available during normal
office hours, 8 - 5 pm Central Time.
6. A key will be provided to registered users, so that the
opening copyright screen will remove itself automatically.
In the spirit of shareware, we ask that the key not be disclosed
to non-registered users.
7. You will receive a live program, supported by its author.
Continued support of GT or any other "User Supported" program
depends on the financial support of its users. Pure survival
of the best and fittest.
To show our intention to support our products, we are proud to offer
our new customers a 30 day money back guarantee.
If you wish to register, or if you are already registered and wish
to upgrade to the latest version of GT, please fill out and return
he following form:
74
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: Registration Form :
: :
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: Date: __________ TO: P & M Software Co. :
: 9350 Country Creek #30 :
: Houston, Tx 77036 :
: U.S.A. :
: :
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: FROM: Name: ________________________________________ :
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: Address: ________________________________________ :
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75
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: (Press ALT-J to display serial number.) :
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: expiration date. On MasterCard(r) include the Interbank No. :
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- THE END -
76