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A U T O S I G Version 6 August, 1991 Manual Revision A Communications Program for Accessing CompuServe This manual describes the installation, features and functions of the AUTOSIG program. This program is being developed by a Project Group from the CompuServe IBMNET. The group is led by, but is not restricted to: Vernon Buerg [70007,1212] Jim McKeown [76702,1102] Don Watkins [76703,750] AUTOSIG Version 6, August, 1991 Copyright 1985-1991 by Vernon D. Buerg. All rights reserved. T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S __________________________________________________________________________ Preface ........................................................... 1 I. Introduction ..................................................... 3 II. How AUTOSIG Sessions Work: Making your PC do what it does best .. 4 A. Scanning the forums .......................................... 4 B. Using the forum Data Libraries .............................. 5 C. Accessing Other Parts of CompuServe .......................... 6 III. Getting Started - Options ...................................... 7 A. Setting Options .............................................. 7 B. Installation Checklist ....................................... 8 ON YOUR EQUIPMENT: ......................................... 8 ON-LINE ON COMPUSERVE: ..................................... 8 CUSTOMIZING YOUR COPY OF AUTOSIG ........................... 8 C. Setting Up Your Computer .................................... 9 1. Installing the AUTOSIG Files ............................ 9 2. Adjusting Your CONFIG.SYS File .......................... 10 3. Modem Settings .......................................... 10 IV. Customizing Your Copy of AUTOSIG ................................ 12 A. THE MAIN MENU ................................................ 12 Figure 1. AUTOSIG Main Menu ............................... 12 1. Organization of the Main Menu ........................... 13 2. Moving Around the Menu .................................. 13 B. THE PC OPTIONS MENU ........................................... 15 Figure 2. PC Options Menu .................................. 15 1. Choosing PC Options ..................................... 16 2. Using Command Line Switches for PC Options .............. 17 C. THE HOST CONFIGURATION OPTIONS MENU .......................... 18 1. Setting Up to Call CompuServe ........................... 18 Figure 3. Host Configuration Options Menu .................. 18 2. Host Configuration Options ............................... 19 D. THE FORUM CONFIGURATIONS OPTION MENU ......................... 22 Figure 4. Forum Configuration Options Menu .................. 22 D. Setting Options on CompuServe ................................ 25 1. Forum Options ........................................... 25 2. Terminal Options ........................................ 27 E. CompuServe Mail/Easyplex Settings ........................... 27 V. Working On-Line with AUTOSIG ...................................... 29 Figure 5. Example Forum Function Menu ....................... 29 A. Function Menu Commands ....................................... 30 (B) Beep on/off toggle ..................................... 30 (C) Reconfigure ............................................ 30 (1) AUTOmatic first pass ................................... 30 (2) AUTOmatic second pass .................................. 30 (E) Shell to new copy of COMMAND ........................... 30 (G) Go online, terminal mode. .............................. 30 (K) Delete file ............................................ 30 (L) List bulletins ......................................... 30 Contents 1 AUTOSIG Users Guide T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S __________________________________________________________________________ (N) Update DFN file. ....................................... 31 (O) Change Forum Options ................................... 31 (P) Preview Leave/Reply file. .............................. 31 (S) Send new messages online. .............................. 31 (V) View SAVEd messages. ................................... 32 (W) Write new messages offline ............................. 32 (X) Exit to system ......................................... 32 (Z) Send OFF and disconnect ................................ 32 B. Online Download Functions .................................... 33 (D) Download marked messages ............................... 33 (F) Read Forward ........................................... 33 (Q) Quick Scan ............................................. 33 (H) Scan Headers in message order .......................... 33 (J) Scan headers in thread order ........................... 34 (T) Read Thread ............................................ 34 (U) Download marked messages to you ........................ 34 (I) Download messages you sent ............................. 34 (Y) Download all messages to you ........................... 34 C. Intervening in an AUTOSIG session ............................ 35 D. Function Menu Special Keys ................................... 36 E. Offline Message Processing ................................... 37 (M) Scan and mark messages offline ......................... 37 Figure 6. Example (M)ark Screen ............................ 38 (R) Read and reply offline ................................. 40 F. AUTOSIG working files ........................................ 44 G. CIS High Message Number ...................................... 45 VI. Special Processing ............................................... 46 A. Multiple Forum Sessions ...................................... 47 B. AUTO - Automatically Access Several Forums ................... 48 1. STARTING AUTO ............................................. 48 Figure 7. AUTO /1 and /2 Display for Delayed Operation ....... 49 2. AUTO features ............................................. 49 3. Creating your AUTO list ................................... 50 Figure 8. AUTO Set-Up Menu ................................... 50 VII. Electronic Mail (CompuServe Mail) Operation ..................... 51 A. Setting Up Your Mail "Forum" ................................. 52 B. Special Features in CompuServe Mail .......................... 53 1. Using the Address Book .................................... 53 2. Binary Mail ............................................... 53 3. Sending Mail to MCI Subscribers ........................... 53 4. Sending FAX messages via Mail ............................. 53 VIII. ATO Terminal Mode ............................................. 55 A. Overview ..................................................... 55 1. Entering Terminal Mode .................................... 55 2. Leaving Terminal Mode ..................................... 55 3. Vidtex Escape Sequences ................................... 55 B. Terminal Mode Function Keys .................................. 56 1. Defining Function Keys .................................... 56 2. Special Characters for Function Keys ...................... 56 AUTOSIG Users Guide Contents 2 T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S __________________________________________________________________________ Figure 9. Terminal Mode Function Keys ...................... 57 C. Terminal Mode Special Keys ................................... 58 D. "Intermediate" Mode .......................................... 60 E. Protocol File Transfer ....................................... 61 1. Downloading with "B" protocol ............................. 61 F. Non-Protocol Transfers ....................................... 63 1. Using a Log or Capture Buffer File ........................ 63 2. Downloading Text Files or Basic ASCII Files ............... 63 3. Non-Protocol (ASCII) Upload from disk ..................... 63 IX. Message Editor ................................................. 64 A. General Description .......................................... 65 B. Using the Message Editor's functions ......................... 66 1. Insert and Delete Functions ............................... 66 2. Moving Around in the Editor ............................... 67 3. Block Operations and Formatting ........................... 68 4. Message Editor Function Keys .............................. 69 C. Importing Files .............................................. 71 D. Modes of reply ............................................... 72 E. Long Messages ................................................ 74 1. Message editor split ...................................... 74 X. Problems and Solutions ........................................... 75 A. Internal Errors .............................................. 75 B. Forum and General Trouble Shooting ........................... 76 ATO won't dial the phone ...................................... 77 ATO freezes; No action at all ................................ 77 ATO logs on and immediately logs off when it reaches a forum .. 77 Message sent to wrong forum .................................. 77 Files Busy (Code xxnn) ... ................................... 77 {{ Characters ................................................ 78 PC is CONNECTED .............................................. 78 ATO freezes when entering a forum ............................ 78 ATO stops at "Enter carriage return to continue" ............. 78 CompuServe Mail problems ..................................... 78 Message you sent arrives To: and From: YOU ................... 78 % NTWCPR - ... ............................................... 79 ATO fails sending a P)rivate message ......................... 79 ATO hangs up or aborts a file transfer ....................... 79 ATO won't go on-line ......................................... 79 AUTO Pass 2 won't run ........................................ 79 XI. Acknowledgements ................................................. 81 XII. Disclaimer and Trademarks ....................................... 83 XIII. Copying and sharing AUTOSIG ................................... 84 Appendix A: Forum Quick Reference Words .............................. 85 Appendix B: Command Line Options ..................................... 90 Appendix C: Comm Port Addresses ...................................... 93 Contents 3 AUTOSIG Users Guide T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S __________________________________________________________________________ Appendix D: Gateway Processing ....................................... 94 Appendix E: FAX and Internet addressing workaround. .................. 95 Appendix F: ATO Color Settings ....................................... 96 Appendix G: Help Screens ............................................. 97 EDIT ............................................................. 97 READ ............................................................. 98 MENU ............................................................. 99 SEND ............................................................. 100 TERM ............................................................. 101 Appendix H: Forum Options (manual) ................................... 102 AUTOSIG Users Guide Contents 4 Preface ______________________________________________________________________________ A word or two about the state of ATO ____________________________________ This used to be the easy part of the manual, the area where I got to ramble on for a bit but gee, after seven years it's hard to think of anything I haven't already said. A few thoughts nonetheless. ATO is seven years old! I was recently going thru some old ATO information for version 4.08 (the hardcopy of which ran 119 pages exclusive of cross reference stuff) along with some correspondence from Vern on the various files (naturally all in squeezed and LBR format) and I realized just how long ATO has been around and how much fun it is. Vern has quietly been working on ATO for seven years yet I've never heard him toot his own horn (by nature Vern is a retiring sort anyway and very modest and no doubt all this will embarrass the dickens out of him, but such is my privilege and the power of editorial control) and the creator of a number of quality programs. Why does he do it? Obviously he could well spend his time in financially rewarding pursuits (another Vern plug; GO IBMSYS and check out his user supported LIST program with a BRO LIST*.* in library 6 if you want a premier sample of Vern-O-Rama). Ditto Jim McKeown and the fearless ATO beta testers. Heck, they don't even get a "free" version of the finished program (it's hard to give somebody a free copy of a free program which opens a whole new can of worms). Well then what could the motives be? I think it's part of the reason why I like computers so much; never have I seen an area where so many folks are willing to share and help out with no motive other than the pleasure of it. So that's our "culture" (perhaps an overused word but forgive me) and once more exhibited by a reply I got very early on in IBMNET (tho it wasn't known as such back then) when I expressed thanks for a problem and offered to pay back the favor some day..."don't pay it back, pay it forward". I like being part of that. So can anything free be any good? That's for you to decide. Value is subjective but don't let the lack of a price tag put you off. However if you feel it's important send the money you'd otherwise spend to a charity, let Vern and Jim know that they do a bang-up job and "pay it forward" and tell somebody else about ATO or help them out of a spot they can't figure out. My past "keyboardside chats" have taken some heat as some have taken it to be some sort of "free software for the people" manifesto and that software that cost money is somehow bad. I can see how that impression could be created but in reality nothing could be further from the truth, rather I'd ask you to use software in the spirit in which it is intended, be it free, shareware or conventional commercial software. That being the Page 1 AUTOSIG Users Guide Preface ______________________________________________________________________________ case....Enjoy! Don Watkins [76703,750] AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 2 I. Introduction ______________________________________________________________________________ Don't be daunted by the size of the manual. Effectively this manual is one for a communications program, a database, a macro language and an editor. Given that, it's pretty small, so hang in there. There is a strong human tendency to avoid unpleasant, time-consuming tasks, and for many of us, the reading of an entire manual is one of them. Many folks have asked the question "I just wanna do it! Why not leave the hard stuff until later?" That's just what we're trying to do here and several "advanced topics" are in separate files. If you're interested we encourage you to review these files to take full advantage of all of ATO's features. For further information consult the following documentation files: ACLS*.* - Contains both the ACLS accounting module and documentation. ATOADV.* - Contains documentation for using ATO's script language, and ATO's "address book" processor. ATOBRO.* - ATO downloading script creator From time to time you may see terms used that don't make sense. Here's a quick run down on some of them: SIG - "Special Interest Group" or what's now known as a forum (hey, some of us are fossils!). PPN - A User ID (comes from "Project, Programmer Number") UID - Same as PPN (newer term) ATO - Shorthand for AUTOSIG. CIS - CompuServe Information Service. EMAIL, MAIL, or CMAIL - CompuServe Mail, or electronic mail, and formerly Easyplex Page 3 AUTOSIG Users Guide II. How AUTOSIG Sessions Work: Making your PC do what it does best! ______________________________________________________________________________ A. Scanning the forums You turn on AUTOSIG. With the press of a single key AUTOSIG calls CIS, goes to each forum you normally visit, gathers a list of all the messages that have been posted in the Sections (subtopics) you designate since your last call there; goes to CompuServe Mail, finds out if you have Mail, and if so downloads it; then AUTOSIG logs off from CIS. You skim through the list of messages in each forum, marking only those whose subjects interest you. Then you press another key and AUTOSIG calls CIS again, downloads the messages you have chosen, and logs off. If you prefer, you may skip gathering the list of messages, and simply have AUTOSIG download all the new messages in your chosen Sections. You can choose to have the messages read in chronological order, but it will usually make sense to let AUTOSIG read them in "Thread" order, following each message and any replies before going on to a new topic. You can access CIS at 300, 1200, 2400, and 9600 baud; since you are not reading the message online, it doesn't matter how fast they scroll by. At any time you choose you can read all the messages that have been downloaded. If you wish to answer one of them, a keystroke puts you into AUTOSIG's message editor where you can compose your reply, referring back to the original message as often as you wish. Finish your writing, hit a couple of keys, and your reply is stored and ready for transmission to CIS. Once you have stored your reply, you will be returned to the reading screen to read the next message. The procedure is the same for CompuServe Mail; there's no second set of commands to learn in order to read (and reply) to your mail. If you want to keep a particular message in a permanent file, a keystroke instructs AUTOSIG to save that message--and the permanent file can be called up at any time within AUTOSIG, or read by other programs such as LIST or a word processor. Finally, if you have written any messages to be posted on the forum message boards, one more keystroke makes AUTOSIG call CIS one more time, leave your messages, and log off. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 4 II. How AUTOSIG Sessions Work: Making your PC do what it does best! ______________________________________________________________________________ B. Using the forum Data Libraries ATO uses the CompuServe "Quick B" error checking protocol, which for CIS users is superior in speed and efficiency to other CompuServe options, such as XMODEM. Text files which don't require error checking can be "captured" in a file instead of doing a protocol download, if you wish. You start AUTOSIG and choose which forum you want to visit. A keystroke connects you with CIS and takes you to the forum. There you enter the normal CompuServe commands to find and download the Library file of your choice. If you invoke the CompuServe "B" protocol, a status line shows how the download is progressing. When AUTOSIG notifies you that it is complete, you use the CIS command OFF to log off or the ATO "Z" command. You can also use ATO's script language to write "auto download" scripts or use the BRO "module" (ATOBRO.* in library 1 on IBMCOM) to automatically browse library catalogs off-line and automatically generate your download scripts. Check the Advanced Users Manual (ATOADV.*) for more information on scripts. Page 5 AUTOSIG Users Guide II. How AUTOSIG Sessions Work: Making your PC do what it does best! ______________________________________________________________________________ C. Accessing Other Parts of CompuServe AUTOSIG can be used as a simple terminal, you can use it for conferences, CB rap sessions, getting stock quotes, and just about anything else you can do on CompuServe. You may do this manually or by the use of scripts. Check AUTOSIG Library 1 on IBMCOM for a script for your favorite area or for a function you want to automate. Chances are there's something already written or only needs slight modification for your needs. If you don't find one, leave a message to "All" or "SysOp" in AUTOSIG Section 1 of the IBMCOM forum; someone may have written one, or be willing to write one for you. If you write one yourself, don't forget to upload it to IBMCOM New Uploads Library 0 for others to share! If at any point you want to check the message board at one of your favorite forums, a keystroke will shift AUTOSIG into its automatic mode. Shifting back into terminal mode is just as easy. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 6 III. Getting Started - Options ______________________________________________________________________________ A. Setting Options Before you can use AUTOSIG you must adjust some of your settings on CompuServe, customize AUTOSIG itself for your own use, and possibly change some switches on your modem (either hardware switches or simple software commands). Only then will ATO and CompuServe work smoothly together when you log in with AUTOSIG. Adjustments to make AUTOSIG work aren't complicated and ATO can make many of them but they are critical. The following check list will help you keep track of what you have done and still need to do as you install AUTOSIG so get the pencil out and let's get cracking. Page 7 AUTOSIG Users Guide III. Getting Started - Options ______________________________________________________________________________ B. Installation Checklist ON YOUR EQUIPMENT: _____ 1. Install the ATO files on your disk _____ 2. Adjust your CONFIG.SYS file _____ 3. Set your modem's switches or determine the equivalent software commands. ON-LINE ON COMPUSERVE: _____ 4. Set your CIS Forum Options _____ 5. Set your CIS Terminal Options _____ 6. Set your CompuServe Mail Options CUSTOMIZING YOUR COPY OF AUTOSIG _____ 7. Define your ATO HOST entries _____ 8. Define your ATO FORUM entries _____ 9. Define your PC Options entries AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 8 III. Getting Started - Options ______________________________________________________________________________ C. Setting Up Your Computer To get your equipment ready for AUTOSIG, you'll need to install the AUTOSIG files, either on floppy or in an appropriate directory on your hard drive; check the settings in your CONFIG.SYS file or create one, and check--and possibly change--your modem settings. 1. Installing the AUTOSIG Files The AUTOSIG program consists of the following supplied files: AUTOSIG.EXE - compiled, executable program AUTOSIG.DOC - this manual AUTOSIG.HLP - the help file These are the names used for the current version, the one named on the title page. The file names for other versions may differ. AUTOSIG will create other files it needs later. Page 9 AUTOSIG Users Guide III. Getting Started - Options ______________________________________________________________________________ C. Setting Up Your Computer 2. Adjusting Your CONFIG.SYS File Installation is complete once the AUTOSIG.EXE file has been placed on your disk and you have adjusted your boot disk's CONFIG.SYS file to include a FILES=20 statement. If you already have a CONFIG.SYS file, you can edit it with a text editor or word processor to change FILES= to 20. If you have a CONFIG.SYS file that has no FILES= statement in it, you can simply type one in now. If you don't have a CONFIG.SYS file, you can create one the same way, or by typing, at a DOS prompt: COPY CON d:CONFIG.SYS<ENTER> (replace d with your boot drive) FILES=20<ENTER> <CTRL>Z<ENTER> NOTE: If the FILES= in CONFIG.SYS is set to a number higher than 20, that is OK, too. 20 is the minimum number. 3. Modem Settings As mentioned before, ATO comes configured for use with a Hayes AT-command compatible modem, as well as the capability to accept any modem commands. Thus, ATO is able to support many other modems. The ATO crew has access to a limited number of modem types, so any tips or hints you have for using ATO on a certain modem would be very welcome. If you're using a non-Hayes modem, study your manual very carefully to determine which settings correspond to the ones specified here for Hayes-compatibles. In general, set your modem to return the true state of CD (carrier detect) and DTR (data terminal ready). The setting of the CD (carrier detect) and DTR (Data Terminal Ready) switch, either in hardware or software, is critical! If these switches are not set properly ATO will respond with "PC is CONNECTED" before you're actually connected, and continue to claim so after you are no longer connected! ATO will still work, but you'll never reliably know whether or not you're really connected and you might experience some delays as ATO tries to decide if you've really finished a session or not. The following modem switch settings (for a Hayes SmartModem) are recommended: 1 - UP Modem disconnects when ATO is exited. 2 - UP V1 Modem sends result codes in English. 3 - DOWN Q0 Result codes are sent to the terminal. 4 - UP E1 Modem echoes characters while in command mode. 5 - DOWN Modem will not answer phone. 6 - UP Enables Carrier Detect sensing. Except for switches 2, 3, and 6 these settings are optional. If the AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 10 III. Getting Started - Options ______________________________________________________________________________ C. Setting Up Your Computer settings on your modem are different go ahead and give it a try; chances are very good that it will work. If you're using a modem with "software switches" enter "terminal mode" using any communications program and get the modem's attention (usually with the +++ command) and send it the following string: AT&F&C1&D2&W or AT&C1&D2&W If everything "took" you should get a big OK back from your modem. The &F command resets your modem's profile 0 (the power-up default profile) to the original factory settings. &C1 and &D2 set the software switches necessary to make Data Terminal Ready (DTR) turn on and off when the CIS modem sends the "drop carrier" signal and the &W writes these settings to your modem's "permanent" profile 0 memory. Some modems have more than one profile memory; in this case you may want to add a 0 to the W (&W0) to be sure that the settings are written to the power-up default memory profile. If, for some reason, you need to maintain "permanent" modem settings that are incompatible with these, that's no problem. Just add the commands above to the MODEM DIAL COMMAND in your ATO Host setup (see instructions in the section on customizing your copy of ATO) and ATO will switch your modem over on the fly without changing your permanent setup. Different modems can have slightly different commands. If these switches aren't compatible with your modem check your documentation for setting CD (carrier detect) and DTR (data terminal ready) sensing to "on" or "true". ATO tries to be "smart" in regards to your on or off-line state and depends upon these settings. After reading this don't be alarmed if you see the "PC is CONNECTED" message after you get the CONNECT message when you log on or when you're actually logged on. At that point the message is perfectly normal. Page 11 AUTOSIG Users Guide IV. Customizing Your Copy of AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ A. THE MAIN MENU Now to set up ATO for your own use. There are three parts to this operation: setting up your Forums, setting your communications options (Hosts) and setting up your PC Options (color, printer, mouse options, etc.) To get started, you'll need to start ATO for the first time. Place your ATO disk in Drive A or go to the hard disk subdirectory where ATO is, and, at the DOS prompt, type AUTOSIG <ENTER> DOS now loads the program and begins its execution and the first time you run it you're prompted for the name you want to use in the forums. After you enter your name you should be presented with the ATO Main Menu (Figure 1). If nothing is displayed, your computer may not be compatible with the way the IBM PC manages the monitor display. You should then press the F10 key to tell ATO to terminate and return to the DOS. At the DOS prompt, add the characters /T. This tells ATO to use a different method of writing to your monitor. AUTOSIG /T <ENTER> Figure 1. AUTOSIG Main Menu --------------------- ------------------ ----------------------------- | Host Selection | | Item Selection | | Forum Selection List | --------------------- ------------------ ----------------------------| | »0) CIS300 | cr Select Marked | A) Mail M) *none* | | 1) CIS1200 | Esc Reconfigure PC | »B) IbmCom N) *none* | | 2) CIS2400 | F1 AUTOmatic pass 1 | C) IbmApp O) *none* | | 3) CIS9600 | F2 AUTOmatic pass 2 | D) IbmBBS P) *none* | | 4) Tymnet | F3 Edit FORUM options | E) IbmHw Q) *none* | | 5) CIS | F4 Edit HOST options | F) Practice R) *none* | | 6) CIS | F5 Add a new Forum | G) IbmNew S) *none* | | 7) CIS | F6 Delete a Forum | H) IbmPro T) *none* | | 8) CIS | F7 Modify AUTO list | I) IbmSys U) *none* | | 9) CIS | F8 Sort forums by name| J) *none* V) *none* | --------------------- F9 Run ACLS and exit | K) *none* W) *none* | F10 Exit to DOS | L) *none* X) *none* | ----------------------------- prev host ENTER select marked PgUp prev forum next host alt-N reset all HMNs to N PgDn next forum AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 12 IV. Customizing Your Copy of AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ A. THE MAIN MENU 1. Organization of the Main Menu The Main Menu screen contains the Host Selection menu, the Item Selection menu, and the Forum Selection List. Refer to Figure 1. The Host Selection menu offers a choice of CompuServe services to call. The Forum Selection List offers a choice of Forums to access. The Item Selection menu selects the operation to perform. For the first use of ATO, you must: - edit the Host entries (press a number key) to supply your user id, password, the CIS phone number, and other service items. - edit the Forum entries (press a letter key) to identify the forum(s) that you wish to access. - edit the PC Options entries (press F10) to set colors, printer lines, mouse, beeper, etc. 2. Moving Around the Menu You tell ATO what to do next by pressing a key, or by moving a mouse cursor to the appropriate field and clicking the left button: - Fn (function) keys perform the operations described in the Item Selection menu - <enter> has two meanings. If the bar on the Item Selection menu is at the top, its normal position, <enter> takes you immediately to the Forum Menu page for the forum whose letter on the Forum Selection List is currently selected. If you use <Tab> or <Shift- Tab> to move the Item Selection bar to another action on the Item Selection List, <enter> will perform that action. - TAB moves the Item Selection bar to the next item - shift-TAB moves the Item Selection bar to the previous item - alt-N resets all High Message Numbers to N<ew> - PgDn or PgUp selects the next or previous Forum in the list and moves the "->" indicator - down or up arrow selects the next or previous Host in the list and moves the -> mark Page 13 AUTOSIG Users Guide IV. Customizing Your Copy of AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ A. THE MAIN MENU - a number selects a Host - a letter from A to X selects a Forum and brings up its menu - the letter Z highlights all forums which have "work", i.e. files - ESCape selects the PC Options Menu for viewing, and for editing default options such as the screen colors, prompt character, etc. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 14 IV. Customizing Your Copy of AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ B. THE PC OPTIONS MENU Pressing the ESCape key, or positioning the Item bar to "Reconfigure PC," brings up the Edit PC Options menu in the middle of the screen, overlaying the Item Selection menu. Figure 2 shows this menu. Figure 2. PC Options Menu -------------------- ------------------ ---------------------------- | Host Selection | | Edit PC Options| | Forum Selection List | |------------------| --------------------------- ----------------------------| | »0) CIS300 | | Normal color 7,0 || »A) Mail M) *none* | | 1) CIS1200 | | Hilite color 15,0 || B) IbmCom N) *none* | | 2) CIS2400 | | Printer lines 58 || C) IbmApp O) *none* | | 3) CIS9600 | | /H Skip retrace N || D) IbmBBS P) *none* | | 4) Tymnet | | /K Keep Email N || E) IbmHw Q) *none* | | 5) CIS | | /M Skip RM N || F) Practice R) *none* | | 6) CIS | | /C Cls each msg N || G) IbmNew S) *none* | | 7) CIS | | /B Disable kybd N || H) IbmPro T) *none* | | 8) CIS | | /F Printer FF N || I) IbmSys U) *none* | | 9) CIS | | /S Sort QS hdrs N || J) *none* V) *none* | ------------------- | /T Slow screen N || K) *none* W) *none* | | /Q Quiet beeper N || L) *none* X) *none* | | /U Suppress ^U N ||---------------------------| up prev host | /G Prompt char ^G | PgUp prev forum dn next host | /I Allow mouse Y | PgDn next forum | /J Insert mode N | |-----[Press F10 to exit]--| | Page 15 AUTOSIG Users Guide IV. Customizing Your Copy of AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ B. THE PC OPTIONS MENU ATO comes with a pre-defined set of these PC Options. Unless you're using a mouse or are having compatibility problems, you really won't NEED to change any of these. You're probably close to info overload as it is. However, you may want to change some of these later, or may need to juggle them because of a compatibility problem, so keep this menu in mind. 1. Choosing PC Options "Normal Color f,b" - This allows you to set the colors to be used for the "f" foreground and "b" background for non-highlighted areas. Refer to Appendix F for a list of valid numbers. Note: 7,0 may provide a better display on a monochrome monitor. "Hilite Color f,b" - This setting allows you to set the color to be used for highlighted messages and fields. Refer to Appendix F for a list of valid color codes. 15,0 may be best for monochrome. The new color settings take effect when you exit the PC Options menu and return to the Primary menu. "Printer lines" - indicates how many lines per page AUTOSIG will use when printing. "/H Skip Retrace" - Disables testing of the monitor's retrace. This results in faster displays, but may cause flicker on some monitors. This options does not apply to the use of monochrome monitors. "/K Keep Mail" - Y tells CIS to keep (SAVE) CompuServe Mail messages online in your on-line Mail area area, N to DELETE them as soon as it has downloaded them. This affects ONLY online save or delete. "/M Skip RM" - Used to suppress automatic Read Marked function. This will keep ATO happy in Auto mode. You can still have automatic RM functions in Auto mode by using the Y function in ATO, so only turn this on if you never plan to use Auto mode. "/C CLS each message" - Enter Y to clear the screen when it fills, thus preventing scrolling. Useful if your color monitor flickers while lines roll on and off the screen. "/B Disable kybd" - A Y locks the keyboard during auto functions. This allows you to supply ATO console input through a batch file system or use a utility such as KEYFAKE or KEYIN to control ATO. "/F Printer FF" - Use Y to eliminate most form feeds that are issued when you P>rint forum messages. Your messages will be printed continuously with form feeds issued only as the printer nears the perforation or end of the page. If you issue a LF or FF directly to your printer, ATO's line counter will get out of sync. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 16 IV. Customizing Your Copy of AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ B. THE PC OPTIONS MENU "/S Sort QS hdrs" - Use Y to instruct ATO to automatically sort the QuickScan headers by topic whever the M>ark command is used. Note that if you do not use this option, you can still sort the headers by explicit commands while in the M>ark function, if you want to. "/T Slow screen" - Use Y to eliminate writing directly to the monitor's video display buffer. If you're using a clone, and your screen blanks unexpectedly, try this switch. ATO is compatible with DesqView, Double DOS, and APX Core. You need not use /T unless you have problems, i.e. blank or missing displays. "/Q Quiet beeper" - Use Y to suppress most of the beeps and bells. "/U Supress ^U" - Enter a Y to stop ATO from sending a ^U before it sends a command. Generally you need to leave this set to N unless you're using a network that cannot accept, or which otherwise uses a ^U for it's own purposes. "/G Prompt char - As already explained, the prompt character that AUTOSIG normally recognizes is ^G, a bell control character. If you want to use another prompt character enter the new one here. The ctrl character is a shifted 6 key followed by the character rather than an actual ctrl-whatever. If you use other communications programs for CompuServe and you'd prefer to use something other than the BEL (^G) I'd suggest ^B. 2. Using Command Line Switches for PC Options The "slash" options described above can be specified when you load the AUTOSIG.EXE program by adding a space, "/", and a letter (upper or lower case) to specify the option: AUTOSIG /T /B /C In effect, this command sets the /T, /B, and /C options to Y, overriding whatever you have set within AUTOSIG using the Edit Options menu. There are other option "switches". They are described in Appendix B. Page 17 AUTOSIG Users Guide IV. Customizing Your Copy of AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ C. THE HOST CONFIGURATION OPTIONS MENU 1. Setting Up to Call CompuServe AUTOSIG will automatically log onto CIS, but only if it has certain information which only you can provide: the phone number to dial, your user id, your password, and your BAUD rate. To set these and other options important for logging on select the appropriate host entry via a number and then hit F4 -Edit Host Options- from the Item Selection menu. This will call up the Host Configuration Options menu (figure 3). (The word "host" refers to the computer system that you want ATO to access via the telephone--in this case, CompuServe. It is also often used here to refer to a particular configuration that you have set up here.) Figure 3. Host Configuration Options Menu F10=Exit ESC=Abort PgDn/PgUp to edit next HOST --------------------------------------------------- --------------------| HOST Configuration Options | | Host Selection |-------------------------------------------------| |-------------------| Host name CIS300 | | »0) CIS300 | CIS phone number 111-1111 | | 1) CIS1200 | Your userid 70000,0000 | | 2) CIS2400 | Your password password | | 3) Tymnet | Tymnet address | | 4) CIS | Logon SCRipt file | | 5) CIS | Userid: prompt User ID: | | 6) CIS | Password: prompt Password: | | 7) CIS | What BAUD rate 300 | | 8) CIS | Modem dial commands ~ATM0V1DT | | 9) CIS | COMmunications port COM1 | |-------------------| Modem Connect text CONNECT | | Modem Disconnect text NO CARRIER | | Modem Hang-up command ~+++~ATH | | Modem Reset command ~+++~ATZ} | | Host 1st ready prompt CompuServe|Executive | | Forum function prompt Forum ! | | Bulletin file name | | HOST connect response ^C | | File transfer d:\path | --------------------------------------------------╜ AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 18 IV. Customizing Your Copy of AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ C. THE HOST CONFIGURATION OPTIONS MENU 2. Host Configuration Options Even if you never call any other service than CIS, it's often convenient to have several different host entries, as in the example: one for each baud rate you expect to use, and one for each node (telephone number) you may want to call. "Host name" - identifies the system that you are calling. Enter a one to 17 character name of your choice, including blanks, commas, or any other characters. The Host names in the example indicate the baud rate. "CIS phone number" - enter your local CIS or net telephone number. If you access CIS through TYMNET, prefix the number with a T, e.g. T555-1212. If you use TELENET, prefix the number with the letter G, e.g. G555-1212. If the phone number is too long to fit in this field, place the first part of it at the end of the Modem Commands field. ATO sends both fields to the modem when dialing. "Your userid " - enter your CIS numbers separated by a comma, e.g. 70000,0000. "Your password " - enter your CIS password. (Special note: remember that your password will now be on your diskette or hard disk and remember to keep it secure. Though it may be a hassle, do change your password on CIS periodically and go through the routine of changing it in your configuration file; it's worth the extra time and trouble.) "Tymnet address " - if you are using Tymnet to access CIS, you may enter the host name here. If omitted, the default is CIS02. "Logon SCRipt file" - Enter the name of any external script file that should be executed at logon. The script file is not executed until you are logged on to CIS. See the ATOADV.ARC file for more information on scripts. "Userid prompt" - No need to change this, unless CIS changes its logon prompt (doubtful). "Password prompt" - See comment on "Userid prompt." "What baud rate" - Enter the modem speed to be used, normally a value of 300, 1200, 2400, or 9600. Other speeds such as 450 baud may be specified, but will work only if your CIS node supports them. ATO will not change the baud rate while you are connected. You must log off to change the baud rate. If you wish to run the port at a high rate, ATO will run the port up to 19,200 baud. "Modem dial commands" - The default commands are for the Hayes modem and should be retained--unless, of course, your modem is not Hayes- Page 19 AUTOSIG Users Guide IV. Customizing Your Copy of AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ C. THE HOST CONFIGURATION OPTIONS MENU compatible, in which case enter the appropriate commands here. This field may also be used to extend the telephone number. The default contains "M0"; if you want to hear the handshaking between ATO and CIS, delete these two characters, or change them to "M1". If you have trouble calling in change the dial string to ATDT (my personal preference). You may also include in the modem dial commands any necessary setup commands that you did not want to make permanent in your modem setup when you first installed ATO. "COMmunications port" - enter either COM1: for COM1 or COM2: for COM2 if your use either comm port COM1 or COM2. After that it's a bit tricky; there's no one standard for COM3 and COM4 so ATO defines thru COM9 to cover all the possible permutation. If you know what address and IRQ your comm port uses consult appendix C for a list of comm addresses and IRQ's associated with each ATO COMn "name". If you don't know the address your comm port uses no problem, just use the comm port you use with other communications program. If you use COM3 try COM3 in ATO. If you use COM4 try COM4 in ATO. If this doesn't do it (and you'll be able to tell because ATO won't dial) try using another comm port "name" in ATO. Other ATO "names" for COM3 addresses are COM7 and COM9. Another ATO "name" for COM4 is COM8. Sorry for the complications but there's just no one standard for these addresses. "Modem Connect text" - tells ATO what your modem sends when the phone is connected. The default is "CONNECT". "Modem Disconnect text" - tells ATO what your modem sends when the phone becomes disconnected. The default is "NO CARRIER". ATO also checks for "BUSY" and "NO DIALTONE". The special character ~ (tilde, or squiggle) may be used to have ATO pause one second, a } (right curly brace) to send a carriage return, and a ^ (caret, or the shifted 6 key) to indicate a control character such as ^D. "Modem Hang-up command" - tells ATO what to send to the modem to disconnect the phone. The default for a Hayes-compatible modem is ATH. "Modem Reset command" - tells ATO what to send to the modem to reset it. The default for a Hayes-compatible modem is "~+++~ATZ", which results in a one-second pause, sending three plus sign characters, another one-second pause, and then the command ATZ. "Host 1st ready prompt" - tells ATO what the Host will send when it is ready for your requests. The default is "CompuServe" or "Executive". "Forum function prompt" - is used to tell ATO what prompt you see when you arrive in a forum. If you have your options set to immediately AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 20 IV. Customizing Your Copy of AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ C. THE HOST CONFIGURATION OPTIONS MENU log you into the message section, change the prompt to "Messages !". For Auto use, this MUST be "Forum !" (the default). NOTE CAREFULLY that there is a space between "Forum" and "!", and that the word "Forum" has a capital "F" and remaining lower case letters. The same rules apply to "Messages !" as what appears in this field must match what CIS sends as a prompt. "Bulletin file name" - If you want ATO to save all CIS logon messages until the first Forum command is sent, enter a filename here, such as AUTOSIG.BUL, for ATO to use. Otherwise the bulletins will not be saved. Include the drive and path with the filename if the file is not to be kept in AUTOSIG's own disk or directory. "HOST connect response" - This is the code you send CompuServe to tell it you're ready to go. Normally a ^C is what you'll want to use. In the case of 2400 or 9600 baud MNP nodes you'll want to use the tilde to delay sending the ^C. The following entry should be adequate: ~~~~~~~^C This allows 7 seconds for MNP handshaking after the CONNECT message before the sending of the ^C. "File transfer d:\path" - If you want file downloads to go somewhere other than the default drive or sub-directory, enter the path for downloads, followed by a trailing backslash. The following would cause all downloads to go to a sub-directory on drive C: called DOWNLOAD: C:\DOWNLOAD\ Please ensure that the path you define is a sub-directory that actually exists on your disk! Page 21 AUTOSIG Users Guide IV. Customizing Your Copy of AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ D. THE FORUM CONFIGURATIONS OPTION MENU The Forum Selection List comes preset with several predefined, standard forum entries. None of them is required, but if you intend to access CompuServe Mail, you MUST have an entry containing the word "mail," such as, well, MAIL. Adding your favorite forums to the Forum Selection List, or deleting those already there, or otherwise changing the presets, will be explained below. To add a forum to the Forum Selection List, so that you can access it automatically using AUTOSIG, choose Item F5, "Add a New Forum." AUTOSIG will take you to the Forum Configuration Options menu (Figure 4) for the next unused letter in the list--in this example, I. Figure 4. Forum Configuration Options Menu +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Forum Configuration Options | Forum Selection List | |------------------------------------------------+-------------------------| | SIG name,1-7 char Email | A) Email M) *none* | | GO to page Mail | B) IbmCom N) *none* | | Hostname override | C) IbmApp O) *none* | | Files drive:\path | D) IbmHw P) *none* | | Starting msg # or N N | E) Practice Q) *none* | | Append msg file y/n N | F) IbmNew R) *none* | | Log sessions y/n Y | G) IbmPro S) *none* | | Stay connected y/n N | H) IbmSys T) *none* | | Send forum ^P y/n N | I) *none* U) *none* | | Sections (# or ALL) | J) *none* V) *none* | | PPN file name | K) *none* V) *none* | | ATO file ext [.ATO] .ATO | L) *none* X) *none* | +------------------------------------------------+-------------------------+ F10 when finished PgUp prev forum Use cursor keys for movement PgDn next forum AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 22 IV. Customizing Your Copy of AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ D. THE FORUM CONFIGURATIONS OPTION MENU The menu provides a list of options for you to specify. Several of them have already been filled from entries in the previous Forum on the Selection List. Change those that are incorrect--for example, the forum name and "GO to page"--or that don't reflect what you want AUTOSIG to do. "SIGname" - this is the name you will give to the Forum (SIG). Enter a name of up to SEVEN characters. This name is displayed on the Function Menu. Since this name is used to create files, be sure that it contains valid DOS filename characters. That is, do not use * (asterisk), ? (question mark), or . (period). If the name you give is too long, ATO will truncate it after the 7th character. "GO to page" - enter the forum "page number" or, even better, the "quick reference word," e.g. IBMCOM. You may also include a gateway name, with the syntax gate:forumname, e.g. PCM:UTILFORUM. Appendix A provides a list of forum names and their quick reference words. For the most current list, GO INDEX on CIS and capture it as an ASCII file. "Hostname override" - if you want access to a Forum to be made through one particular Host, then supply the name of that Host here. For example, a Host called "CONFERENCE" may be useful for defining a 300 baud Host for CB or conferences. "Files drive:\path" - tells ATO which drive and directory to use for access to its files. If left blank, ATO will use the current directory on the current drive. You may supply a drive and/or path name--for example, C:\ATO. If the drive and/or path are not valid, this field is set to "*** INVALID ***". Exceptions: The AUTOSIG.DFN file and the log (AUTOSIG.mth) files must be in the same subdirectory as AUTOSIG itself. All other files may be accessed from the drive and path named here. "Starting msg # or N" - normally N is used initially so that all New messages are processed. After you have used ATO to download messages or headers, ATO will show the last message number read here. When you go on-line again, ATO will use this number in place of the CIS High Message Number (HMN) for the Q, H, F, T functions. If you want to reset this to N and let CIS use its HMN, you can just enter the Alt-N command at the Forum Function Menu. If you want to review all messages available in the forum, you can reset this field to 0. "Append message file" - Enter an N to erase the current message file and create a new one whenever messages are downloaded. Enter a Y to accumulate messages in the current message file. (An alternative way to accumulate messages in a file is to S>ave them as you read them within AUTOSIG.) If you do enter "Y", be sure to watch free disk space carefully, and edit message files with your editor or word Page 23 AUTOSIG Users Guide IV. Customizing Your Copy of AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ D. THE FORUM CONFIGURATIONS OPTION MENU processor (or erase them using AUTOSIG's K>ill command) when space gets short. "Log sessions" - Enter a Y to record on-line time in a log file. The log file name is AUTOSIG.mmm, where 'mmm' is an abbreviation for the current month. Enter an N to disable logging. The log file contents are used by ACLS for accounting purposes if you wish to use it. "Stay connected" - Enter a Y if you wish to remain connected after a message upload/download session. If you want to visit other areas of the forum for downloading or whatever during the current call this option should be set to Y. Enter an N to disconnect from CIS after exiting this particular forum. (The "AUTO" option keeps you connected until you have visited all the specified forums, regardless of how you have set this option.) "Send forum ^P" - Enter a Y to instruct ATO to send a ^P immediately after a GO page command. This suppresses all CIS messages before the Forum ! prompt. This mode is NOT recommended simply for the reason that you may miss important information in the forum "news flash". "Sections (# or ALL)" - Leave this blank if you intend to access all Forum setions (subtopics), or if you prefer to use the CIS OPtion command to manage your sections (subtopics). Otherwise, enter a list of section numbers (example: 1 3 4-8 12 means sections 1, 3, 4 through 8, and 12). ATO will only access messages from those sections. You may wish to leave the default "ALL" setting for now. When you are online with ATO in Terminal Mode, you may use ALT-G to "gather" a list of the sections in each forum; you can then see that list by pressing ALT-N in the Forum Configuration Options Menu. "PPN file name" - If you wish to use the AUTOSIG ppn (user id) directory facility enter the filename that should be used to store user ids and names. (PPN is also called UID on CIS.) "ATO file exe [.ATO]" - normally, the file extension for all files is .ATO; you may use another extension by specifying it here, or on the command line with the /Lext option, e.g. /LBAK to use .BAK as the ATO file extension. When all the Forum Configuration Options are set, they are saved by using the F10 key, and the new forum is added to the Forum Selection List. When you have finished configuring AUTOSIG they will be saved in your AUTOSIG.DFN file. The DFN file should be on the same disk and in the same directory as AUTOSIG.EXE. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 24 IV. Customizing Your Copy of AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ D. Setting Options on CompuServe AUTOSIG expects to work with CompuServe in particular ways. In order for ATO to work properly Autosig requires certain options. These include command mode instead of menu mode (no need for menus when you're going full blast), a prompt character that provides a "cue" for ATO actions and other options. You may set these options manually or you can allow ATO to do it. To keep setup confusion to a minimum the "Autojoin" function is discussed here, however the complete setup routine is included in appendix H since we want you to know what Autosig is doing and in the event you want to do it yourself. There are three basic areas of CIS you'll have to set up. First come the Forums, where ATO will get up a prompt character that ATO can recognize and change a few other options. Next comes the Terminal section, where you'll tell CompuServe what sort of terminal you have, what display and scrolling options you want, etc. And last, you'll set up CompuServe Mail to send and receive mail for you with ATO. It's important that each of these options be set. Otherwise AUTOSIG will not see what it expects to see and run into problems, so it's a good idea to spend some time to double check them. The time you spend double checking will be more than paid back in your first AUTOSIG session. 1. Forum Options To set your forum options you'll want to use the ATO "join" function to set them. Select the first forum in your list and choose the "Go on-line" function. ATO will dial CompuServe and automatically go to the first forum. When ATO reaches the forum hit the ESC key to enter ATO terminal mode and type Alt-J(oin). ATO will then set all your forum options as well as collect section and library names for off-line use. To go to the next forum hit Ctrl-D. Reply "N" to the "logoff" question. Reply "N" to the "Have you left the xxxx forum" question. PgDn to go to the next ATO forum. Select "Go on-line". ATO will send you to that forum. Use the Alt-J function. Continue this cycle for each forum on your forum list. Page 25 AUTOSIG Users Guide IV. Customizing Your Copy of AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ D. Setting Options on CompuServe It's very important that you NOT use any manual "GO" commands during this process as ATO needs to do it for you in order to keep track of what forums to store info in. If you elect to join a new forum where you're not currently a member just add it to your forum list. ATO will detect that you're not a member and will automatically "join" you using the name you supplied to ATO. All other forums options will be automatically set. OPTIONAL: ATO will set the EDIT option, the on-line editor without line numbers. This is the editor recommended for use with ATO's fast message upload method but you may want to change to LINEDIT, the editor with line numbers. Your message uploads will be fatest with EDIT but you might find that EDIT is a little harder to use if you leave messages in "real time". Like many options in AUTOSIG, this area is as flexible as possible. * ATOTIP - ATOjoin will put you in command mode and you may want to use the forum outside of ATO from time to time but will feel uncomfortable without menus. No problem! While I encourage you to eliminate menus (as they can use a lot of time) you can send the command OP;UM YES;S (OPtion;Use Menus YES;Session only) at the top forum prompt to enable menus. Since this setting is only for your session, command mode will be restored for the next time you use ATO. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 26 IV. Customizing Your Copy of AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ D. Setting Options on CompuServe 2. Terminal Options You must also make sure that CompuServe's settings for your terminal are set so that ATO will work properly. Actually, CompuServe maintains different configurations for your user ID at 300, 1200, 2400, and 9600 baud. You must log onto CIS at each transmission speed to change the settings for that speed. You will probably want to use AUTOSIG at 300 baud for conferences, CB, and other services that require you to stay online to use them (300 baud is generally fast enough to keep up with the pace of online discussion, and is much cheaper in such a format), and at your highest modem speed (usually 2400 or 9600, depending on your hardware) when downloading or uploading messages or Library files. Go online with ATO prompt, enter GO TERMINAL. 1) Select menu item 2, "Change Permanent settings" 2) Select menu item 2, "Logon/Service Options" Set CompuServe Mail waiting to NOTIFY ONLY Set First Service at logon to MAIN Personal menu established to NO 3) Hit a carriage return to exit. 4) Select "Display Options" Set "PAGED Display" to NO Set "BRIEF Prompts" to YES Set "CLEAR between pages" to NO Set the others to YES 5) Hit a carriage return to exit 6) Select "Make session settings permanent". Reply YES that you want to make the changes permanent. 7) Hit a carriage return to exit Believe me, it's not as complicated as it looks. E. CompuServe Mail/Easyplex Settings While you're on-line, you should set yourself up in CompuServe Mail, even if you don't currently use it. GO MAIL to get there and select menu option #5, "Address Book", then entry #5, "Enter/Change your NAME". That's it. Now you're ready for the next step--going on-line with AUTOSIG! Page 27 AUTOSIG Users Guide IV. Customizing Your Copy of AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ D. Setting Options on CompuServe AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 28 V. Working On-Line with AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ Okay, lots of work so far and no fun. Now that the Host and Forum configurations are complete and correct let's go online and access a forum. Select the Forum you want to visit from the Forum Selection List. When you do so, you will see the Forum Function Menu (figure 5). This lays out all the things AUTOSIG can do for you, and the keystroke commands to give. Figure 5. Example Forum Function Menu Host: CIS300 Forum: IbmCom Status: Offline ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Online Message Processing | Offline Message Processing | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | F Read Forward all messages | R Read and reply offline | | Q Quick Scan message headers | D Download marked messages | | H Scan headers in message order | M scan and Mark msgs offline | | J Scan headers in thread order | P Preview Leave/Reply file | | T Read Thread all new messages | S Send new messages online | | U Read CIS-marked messages only | V View SAVEd messages offline | | I Read all messages from this ID | W Write new messages offline | | Y Read all messages to this ID | L List bulletins file | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------─| | 1 AUTO first pass | B Beeper ON/off | E Shell for DOS commands| | 2 AUTO second pass | K Delete files | O Change Forum options | | G Go online/terminal | N Update DFN file | C Reconfigure forum/host| | Z Send OFF and disconn | X Exit to system | ESC Change PC options | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------─ next host «- -» next forum »_« Select a function Memory 26036 HMN N Date 04-04-91 Time 1:46:13p ______________________________________________________________________________ The menu is divided into several different areas. Across the top you see a reminder of what Forum you will be accessing, and what Host you will be dialing to access it. You can change the Host from this menu by using the up and down arrow keys; and if you've called up the menu for the wrong Forum, you can find the right one using the PgUp and PgDn keys or the Left/Right cursor keys. AUTOSIG functions that can be performed on-line on CIS are listed on the left; those you do before or after a CIS access are on the right. Page 29 AUTOSIG Users Guide V. Working On-Line with AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ A. Function Menu Commands (B) Beep on/off toggle This toggles the BEEP that ATO sends when a session sequence or error has occurred. The default is BEEP on. (C) Reconfigure Press C to switch to the Main menu. This is, among other things, a quick way to select another forum. (1) AUTOmatic first pass (2) AUTOmatic second pass Invokes AUTO routines to access several SIGs automatically in one CIS session--discussed in detail elsewhere in this manual. (E) Shell to new copy of COMMAND Invokes DOS so that you may run other programs or enter DOS commands. ATO remains active and in memory, but the communications line is suspended. To return to ATO, enter the EXIT command to DOS. (G) Go online, terminal mode. Press G when you want to use AUTOSIG as a simple terminal program, for example when downloading from or uploading to a forum Library. ATO will dial CIS and log on, and then leave you to issue your own commands. See below for details about the function-key and alt-key commands available in this mode. To leave terminal mode and use AUTOSIG's automatic functions, enter ctrl-D or ctrl-X. (K) Delete file Use this option to erase/delete the message (M), save (S) file, header (H) file, bulletin (B), or reply (R) file for the current Forum. You are asked to confirm the request and may respond with an N if you change your mind. (L) List bulletins If you have supplied a bulletin file name in the Host Configuration menu, press L to read any bulletins stored in it. As you read the bulletins, press enter to read the next page; any other key will exit the bulletin AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 30 V. Working On-Line with AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ A. Function Menu Commands file and return you to the menu. (N) Update DFN file. This function writes all ATO information to the DFN file. This is normally done when ATO is properly exited, but you can use it whenever you want to be sure, for whatever reason, that the DFN file has been updated. (O) Change Forum Options Press O to switch to the Forum Configuration menu, where you can change the settings for the current forum (or, by using the PgUp and PgDn keys, for any other forum). Pressing <F3> will have the same effect. (P) Preview Leave/Reply file. Press P to "preview" the replies and original messages you have already written, so that you can revise or delete any of them if you wish before leaving them in the forum. ATO loads [forumname]L.ATO file in the message editor and presents the messages to you one by one. When you have disposed of the last message, AUTOSIG rewrites the [forumname]L.ATO file to include your changes. You may use the preview function on a reply to change the privacy of the message and to change whether you want CIS to "reformat" the message (change the end-of-line word wrap, tabular format, etc.) You may also use the preview function to change the message from a reply to a new message (which also starts a new thread). If you send a new message, you can also use preview to change the message section within the forum and the addressee's name and ppn. (S) Send new messages online. Press S to send the original messages and replies in [forumname]L.ATO to the forum. AUTOSIG provides insurance in case you have replied to a message that has been deleted before you got back online. If the forum software can't find the original message, your reply will be left as if it was an original message to the same addressee and with the same subject. Once the messages are successfully POSTed, ATO erases the file. Page 31 AUTOSIG Users Guide V. Working On-Line with AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ A. Function Menu Commands (V) View SAVEd messages. If you have saved individual messages while reading them using the S>ave command, you can view them from within AUTOSIG by pressing V. (W) Write new messages offline In addition to replies, new messages can be prepared offline. Press W and you are placed in the Message Editor--discussed later on--and asked to name the addressee and supply a subject description. (X) Exit to system When you have finished an AUTOSIG session, and when you have logged off from CIS, press X to leave AUTOSIG and return to the DOS prompt. If you are still connected when you press X, you will see this message at the bottom of the screen: "Exiting to DOS without logging off. OK? (y/N)" Hit enter to return to the forum menu where you can then use the Z (send OFF and disconnect) command, or, if you really want to exit ATO while connected, reply with a 'Y'. (Z) Send OFF and disconnect This command allows you to send the OFF command to CIS and "hang up" the phone. Use this option if you are finished with a CIS access, have the Forum Function menu on screen, and see the "PC IS CONNECTED" message at the bottom of the menu. There is a pause of about four seconds after disconnection so that you may see any final messages, such as your connect time, followed by the prompt "[Disconnect detected]". Press ENTER to return to the Function Menu. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 32 V. Working On-Line with AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ B. Online Download Functions The most commonly used methods for reading sequences of CIS forum messages are available on this menu. Certain others, like RI (Read Individual msg#) and RS (Read Search), are available only in terminal mode. (D) Download marked messages If you have downloaded message headers, and then have gone offline to mark messages to be downloaded, the (D) command is used to go online and issue the CIS commands download them. Of course, you may stay online and mark messages, and then download them. AUTOSIG sends a RT # ONLY (if the headers reflect threads) or RI # (if the headers indicate individual messages) command to CIS. The downloaded messages are captured in a file named [forumname]M.ATO - M for messages - that can be read and replied to within AUTOSIG. This function is automatically part of AUTO /2 whenever AUTOSIG finds a file of marked headers. (F) Read Forward Downloads all messages in message number order by using the CIS forum software Read Forward command. The messages are read beginning with the High Message Number specified in the Forum configuration option. AUTOSIG will update this number each time you use this function. (Q) Quick Scan Downloads message headers using the CIS Quick Scan command. Each message header represents one or several messages in a thread, and includes the message number (for the first in the current thread), subject, subtopic, and number of replies only. When all of the message headers have been downloaded, ATO returns to the Forum Function Menu, where you can use the (M)ark function (see below) to select the messages you want to download and read. (H) Scan Headers in message order is similar to Q, except that the message headers are downloaded in message number order using CIS's Scan Forward command, and each represents only one message each. These headers include the From, To, and Date fields in addition to those that are included when you quick scan. Page 33 AUTOSIG Users Guide V. Working On-Line with AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ B. Online Download Functions (J) Scan headers in thread order J is similar to H except that headers are downloaded in thread order rather than in numerical order. (T) Read Thread Downloads all messages in thread order starting with the high message number (or N) that you supplied in the Forum Configuration menu. This function also updates the High Message Number in your configuration. (U) Download marked messages to you is the equivalent of CIS's Read Marked from the Forum ! prompt. It will read all new messages on the forum that are addressed to you. (I) Download messages you sent Downloads messages that you have sent by using the Read Select command with your ppn. (Y) Download all messages to you Downloads all the messages addressed to your ppn that are still on the message board, using the Read Search command and specifying your user id in the "To:" field. U, I, and Y are useful for a quick check to see if a message you left has been read by the addressee or had any replies, or to delete messages to or from you that have served their purpose and have no general interest (or are private and therefore inaccessible to other forum members). They are otherwise not a very efficient way to use the Forums or AUTOSIG. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 34 V. Working On-Line with AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ C. Intervening in an AUTOSIG session During automatic operation, any keyboard input (except ESCape) is sent to CIS. Thus, if an error occurs, you can type in the correct command or response. Often, when CIS responds to your typed command, AUTOSIG will pick up its automatic routine and carry it through. If you wish to stop automatic processing, for example if problems develop that don't stop AUTOSIG by themselves, hit the ESCape key TWICE to enter Terminal Mode and regain control. Pressing ESCape ONCE during an AUTO /1 or /2 operation will cause AUTOSIG to stay connected at the end of the operation. This is useful if you are not set to STAY CONNECTED and you change your mind as AUTO is running. Page 35 AUTOSIG Users Guide V. Working On-Line with AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ D. Function Menu Special Keys In addition to the labelled letter keys, these special keys are also available from the Forum Function Menu: ESCape You may select the PC Options Menu, for reconfiguring your default options, by using the ESCape key. PgUp Moves to the previous ATO Forum entry PgDn Moves to the next ATO Forum entry left arrow Moves to the previous ATO Forum entry right arrow Moves to the next ATO Forum entry up arrow Moves to the previous ATO Host entry down arrow Moves to the next ATO Host entry alt-M Invokes the PPN (UID) Address Book processor alt-N Causes the High Message Number to be changed to New alt-W Toggles between 43 and 25 line display modes F1,F2 Call up menus that let you set a time and date for AUTO /1 or /2 to run automatically. F3 Invokes the Forum options menu for editing Forum items F4 Invokes the Host options menu for editing Host items F7 Modify AUTO list or create a new one. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 36 V. Working On-Line with AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ E. Offline Message Processing After you have used AUTOSIG to go online, you may find that each Forum menu has one or more of the Offline Message Processing options highlighted. That indicates that there is an ATO file which you can read or otherwise process by pressing that letter. Also, at the bottom of the menu a "suggestion" letter will appear in the blank above "Select a function." Normally, the letter is the one you would press anyway to perform the next logical step in dealing with forum messages; for instance, if you've just finished using the D command to download messages, the letter R (for Read) will not only be highlighted in the menu but will appear at the bottom, where it can be selected by hitting the enter key. The various menu items are discussed here in the sequence in which you are most likely to use them. (M) Scan and mark messages offline This step normally follows the downloading of message headers done by the ATO Q scanning command. Press M and AUTOSIG will list the headers one screenfull at a time, as in Figure 6: Page 37 AUTOSIG Users Guide V. Working On-Line with AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ E. Offline Message Processing Figure 6. Example (M)ark Screen Marking 'IbmHW' messages: 68 headers; HMN=104021 TOP 1-23 103900- 0: AT-Compatible S 7 / Compatibles (H) 103901- 0: VGA MONITOR<>VCR S 3 / Video/EGA (H) 103902- 0: Laptop with bus?? S 6 / Laptops (H) 103903- 0: HARD DISK DRIVES S 1 / Disk/Disk Utils (H) 103904- 0: HardCard + Power? S 1 / Disk/Disk Utils (H) 103905- 4: Miniscribe 6085?? S 1 / Disk/Disk Utils (H) 103906- 0: 3 1/2 in floppies S 1 / Disk/Disk Utils (H) 103907- 4: Epson LQ850 or ? S 2 / Printers/Utils (H) 103908- 1: DV/EMS S 4 / Misc. Hardware (H) 103910- 0: Upgrade XT class machine S 4 / Misc. Hardware (H) 103911- 0: Laptop hard disk S 6 / Laptops (H) 103913- 1: EVA/480 S 3 / Video/EGA (H) 103914- 0: EVA/480 S 3 / Video/EGA (H) 103915- 0: MegaView Availability S 3 / Video/EGA (H) 103916- 17: T1100+ Travel S 6 / Laptops (H) 103917- 1: Compaq 386 S 7 / Compatibles (H) 103918- 0: Convertible S 1 / Disk/Disk Utils (H) 103921- 0: AST286 and Brooklyn Brid S 7 / Compatibles (H) 103923- 1: EEMS memory S 4 / Misc. Hardware (H) 103924- 1: 102821 gone prematurely? S 8 / Village Inn (H) 103925- 0: 3.5" disk problems S 1 / Disk/Disk Utils (H) 103926- 0: Motherboards S 7 / Compatibles (H) 103927- 0: Tosh1000 S 6 / Laptops (H) M>ark Enter = unmark ESCape = cancel F10 = finished S>ort ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 38 V. Working On-Line with AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ E. Offline Message Processing Use the up/down cursor control keys to select messages to be marked. The PgDn key displays the next screenfull; PgUp displays the previous screenfull; HOME positions to the top line on the current screen; END positions to the last entry on the screen. Press M to mark a message to be downloaded. Press any other key to unmark a message so that it will not be downloaded. You may S>ort the headers by section number at any time while you are marking them. Once the headers have sorted, they cannot be sorted again. The sort effects the order that the messages are downloaded. That is, unsorted headers result in messages being downloaded in chronological order, while sorted headers produce messages in section number order. When the last screenfull of message headers is displayed, the top line of the screen includes the word BOTTOM: Marking messages: 28 headers; HMN= 28580 BOTTOM 6-28 The menu at the bottom of the screen offers two ways to leave the Mark function. Press F10 and your markings will be recorded for use by ATO for downloading messages. The header file is deleted. The Esc key aborts the function, discards your marks, and retains the header file. * IMPORTANT! The F10 function deletes the header file so all * desired headers must be marked in one "session". If you mark some, exit * and then return for further marking the file will no longer exist. If you have elected to use the H or J command the following display is presented: Msg# xxxxxx S3/Video/EGA (H) 30-Feb-89 23:52:29 Sb: VGA MONITOR<>VCR Fm: Sam Jones 78226,8652 To: D. Knuth 78212,308 M>ark one, T>hread, Q>uit, or Enter for Next You may M>ark the message to download the single message, use the T>hread command to download the entire thread, Q>uit, or hit the enter key to continue. When you have completed marking the message headers, download the actual messages by pressing D. If you use an AUTO /2 pass, this will take place automatically whenever ATO finds a file of headers you have marked. The downloaded messages are captured in a file named [forumname]M.ATO--M for messages--that can be read and replied to within AUTOSIG. Page 39 AUTOSIG Users Guide V. Working On-Line with AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ E. Offline Message Processing (R) Read and reply offline Press R and the messages in [forumname]M.ATO will be displayed, one at a time, for you to read and, if you wish, to answer. If a message is too long to fit on a screen, a "more" prompt will appear in the lower right hand side of the screen. Hitting the Return key will display the rest of the message; alternately, the cursor down/up keys will scroll the message forward and backward on the screen. You have two options in the display of messages. The default is the "classic" format which is identical to the on-line format. If you invoke ATO with the /N switch on the command line the message header is reformatted into two lines to allow more space for text. Try both and select the method that works best for you. Here is how to navigate through the sequence of messages: <enter> to display the next screen <PgDn> to skip to the next message <PgUp> to display the previous message <HOME> to display the first message <END> to display the last message <Up Arrow> move the message up one line <Down Arrow> move the message down one line <X> to skip out of the current thread and go to the next The following option list is displayed at the end of each message: __________________________________________________________________________ Msg: #1234 <Enter> F10 Bak/Top/End/Agn Loc/Nxt Ma Hdr/Pr/Sav Re/Ua/Join __________________________________________________________________________ AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 40 V. Working On-Line with AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ E. Offline Message Processing F10 terminates the (R)ead function and returns you to the Forum Function Menu. B>ack displays the message immediately before the current message. Multiple messages can be displayed by issuing the B>ack command several times. T>op returns you to the top of the message file, displaying the message in the file. You may also use the HOME key for this purpose. E>nd is the opposite of T>op, taking you to the last message in the file. You may also use the END key. A>gain redisplays the same message--useful when you are reading the second page of a long message and want to get back to page 1. L>ocate finds a string in the current message file. The L>ocate function searches (forward only) throughout the whole file, not simply within the particular message shown on screen. When asked to enter the text string to be located, you may type up to 128 characters including blanks, commas, or any other special characters. The search is case-sensitive; that is, you must match the capitalization of the text you are searching for. ^ (caret) locates a string just like L)ocate, but scans the message file in the reverse direction; F3 locates the next occurance of the text later in the file, and F9 locates the precious occurance earlier in the file. N>ext repeats the L>ocate search until the end of the file is reached. M>ail is like the R>eply command (see below) except that the reply is mailed via CompuServe Mail. AUTOSIG issues a MAIL command instead of the POST command. H>dr causes a printer formfeed and prints the current message to the printer. This is handy when you want a single message on hardcopy as in comparison to the P>rint command. P>rint copies the current message to the printer. A title line is printed at the top of the first page, giving the name of the forum and the current time and date. The system printer, LPT1, is used. ATO will send a form feed when it thinks that a printer page is full. Use ATO's PC Options menu to specify how many lines per page to print. S>ave appends the current message to a file named [SIGname]S.ATO for archiving. There are three ways to reply to a message, indicated by the Re/Ua/Join series of commands: R>eply addresses your new message to the sender of the original, using the Page 41 AUTOSIG Users Guide V. Working On-Line with AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ E. Offline Message Processing R>eply name and PPN (UID) as they appear there, and also uses the original message's subject description. This continues the thread to which the original message belongs. More detail in the Editor section. U>A uses the ppn of the sender of the original message, but lets you supply a new subject description. This begins a new thread. J>oin allows you to "join" a message thread in a different way than a simply reply. The J command checks the Sb: in the header to find the message # to which the message being Read was a reply. This is called the "parent" message. If it finds a parent message, the new message you create will be sent as a reply to the parent message, meaning the new message will be in the same place in the thread as the message being read. This sounds more complicated than it is so an example will help. Assume that you are Reading a message with the following header: #: 61635 Sxx/xxxxxxxxxxx [C] 05-May-91 22:03:21 Sb: #61571-Multipart messages Fm: SysOp Jim McKeown 76702,1102 To: SysOp Vern Buerg 70007,1212 If you hit J, you will be composing a message which will reply to #61571 (which is the parent message to message #61635) and be addressed to SysOp Vern Buerg 70007,1212. If no backward reference message # is found in the header (say the above header was just "Multipart messages", then ATO just creates a new message addressed to SysOp Vern Buerg 70007,1212. If you choose to reply using any of these options, you are placed in the Message Editor--discussed in detail later in this manual. Upon completing your reply, it is stored in the [forumname]L.ATO file to be sent ("left") when you go online, and the next message is automatically presented for you to read. D>el Pressing this key while reading lets you delete a message to you or from you on the next AUTO pass through the forum. Not all commands are available for every message. For example, the D>elete command is offered only for messages you wrote or that were addressed to you. This is a lot of information, but don't worry, just hit F1 at the message read screen and use the help screen until you get the hang of it or to jog your memory for those little used functions. Special Note! AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 42 V. Working On-Line with AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ E. Offline Message Processing A note not related to ATO but on general forum "procedure". It's a good idea to leave a message addressed to you posted so that others may benefit from it. It is particularly a problem if you've posted a question and delete all replies. Others will see that you didn't get a reply and it generally turns into a wheel spinning contest. It is considered good form to delete messages that wouldn't be of interest to others. This would include simple 'thanks' type messages and especially private messages. For this reason private messages display the first header line of the message in inverse video. Please be sure and delete your private messages so we can keep this facility in the forum. ATO will be pretty persistent about reminding you to delete a private message but it's for a good reason. Page 43 AUTOSIG Users Guide V. Working On-Line with AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ F. AUTOSIG working files In addition to the AUTOSIG.DFN file, ATO creates quite a few files while it runs. Each file has a name in this format: [forumname]X.ATO, where "forumname" is the name you have given to a CompuServe forum in the Forum Configuration menu and X is a one-letter code indicating the file's function. For example, file IBMCOML.ATO is a file of messages you have written that are to be "left" in the IBMCOM Forum message board. H - message headers, the result of functions Q and H. Erased after headers have been marked and the corresponding messages downloaded from CIS by AUTOSIG. M - downloaded messages, from functions F, T, D, U, I, A, and Y. L - messages to be left on CIS, from function (W) or from one of the reply options of functions (R or V). Erased after messages have been transmitted by AUTOSIG. S - an archival message file, from the S>ave option of function (R). R - a temporary file created for downloading messages and erased after those messages have been entered in the M file. If you use the archive command (alt-F10, or responding with K>eep from the S>end prompt in the editor) to save a message that you have written, the file created is named "forumname.FIL", where the "forumname" is the current Forum name. These files are searched for on the current drive and in the current directory, unless you supply an optional DOS environment setting for the ATO variable. For example, to tell ATO to use the C drive and the path named ATO, you would supply the DOS command: SET ATO=C:\ATO before starting ATO, or by adding it to your AUTOEXEC.BAT. The bulletin file always uses the current drive and directory. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 44 V. Working On-Line with AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ G. CIS High Message Number The starting message # (or "HMN") field on the Forum Configuration menu is automatically updated with the last message number scanned by AUTOSIG using the Q or H command. This prevents ATO from repeating the same headers the next time it is used to scan. It is necessary because the CIS scanning commands SF(N) and QS, which AUTOSIG uses for its own functions, do not update the High Message # in the forum. It may be that you find it easier to have the forum software manage your high message number. If so hit Alt-N at the main ATO menu and ATO's internal high message number will be reset to N>ew. Although CompuServe assigns no message numbers to CompuServe Mail messages, ATO automatically numbers Mail messages for reference purposes, and updates its HMN field accordingly. You may choose any starting number by editing the forum options for your Mail entry. Page 45 AUTOSIG Users Guide VI. Special Processing ______________________________________________________________________________ Section V has taken you through a taste of what AUTOSIG can do for you-- in one Forum. Now it's time to look at AUTOSIG's two methods for working with as many forums as you find interesting--a number that will grow. The first method lets you move around manually while visiting several forums. The second, "AUTO", lets you do the same thing automatically, while you enjoy your cup of coffee. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 46 VI. Special Processing ______________________________________________________________________________ A. Multiple Forum Sessions To "run" functions on multiple forum's you must first make sure that all but the last one you plan to visit has the STAY CONNECTED option in your Forum Options set to "Y(es)". If you haven't done that, you can simply press <F3>, either from the Forum Functions Menu or from the Main Menu. Change the option to "Y" and then use PgDn/PgUp to change it in any other forums you need to. F10 returns you to where you were. The procedure for multiple forum actions during one connect sessions are as follows: 1) Select the first forum you want to visit. 2) Select the function menu option to perform the task you want. 3) After the call is placed and the option you chose is executed you will be presented with the main AUTOSIG menu again. The message at the bottom center of the screen should say "PC IS CONNECTED". You are still connected. 4) Use the PgDn key (change to another forum) to bring up the next forum you want to visit. Or hit "C" to change to the Primary menu, and then hit a letter to choose the next forum. Then <ENTER> to return to the function menu. 5) After the new forum is selected enter the option for that forum (i.e. Q,F,H,T,S, etc.). 6) Repeat this process for as many forums as you want to visit. 7) Unless the last forum you visit has the "Stay connected" option set to "N(o)" in the configuration, select the Z option from the main AUTOSIG menu to send CIS a OFF command to disconnect. Page 47 AUTOSIG Users Guide VI. Special Processing ______________________________________________________________________________ B. AUTO - Automatically Access Several Forums AUTO is a feature of ATO that enables an internally-generated batch file for AUTOSIG. Menu-driven, it permits specifying a routine for ATO to follow for online sessions. The batch file is stored in the DFN file. There are three parts to AUTO: - the AUTO list, which you create by pressing <F7> at the ATO main menu. See CREATING YOUR AUTO LIST, below. - the first AUTO pass, also referred to as /1 or 1 or F1; in which ATO automatically accesses CIS to download Mail messages, messages headers, or message threads. On this first AUTO pass, ATO will also upload any replies you have waiting from a previous session. - the second AUTO pass, also referred to as /2 or 2 or F2; in which ATO processes your offline requests such as sending replies or download messages whose headers you have marked. 1. STARTING AUTO AUTO can be started in many ways: by using " /1" as part of your command to load AUTOSIG, e.g., "AUTOSIG /1" or "AUTOSIG /2. (The space before the slash is necessary.) Use the " /1" extension only if a AUTO List has already been created. Or you can select the pass 1 (F1) or pass 2 (F2) items from the Primary menu, or use the 1 or 2 commands from the main Function menu. If you use the command line switches " /1" or " /2", you can also select which of your Host settings will be used. Enter the number (0-9) of the Host: i.e., AUTOSIG /13 will do /1 using Host 3. The F1 and F2 keys require that you enter the time of day when AUTO is to execute. (See Figure 7) If you just press the <enter> key, AUTO begins immediately. Otherwise, you may enter the time and/or day when AUTO is to run. The time must be supplied in the format "hh:mm" where "hh" is the hour in military/24 hour format, and "mm" is the minutes. For example, if you want AUTO pass 1 to begin at 4:35 pm, you would enter 16:35. If AUTO is to start on another day, you supply the date after the time in the format ",mm-dd" where the coma is required between the time and date, and "mm" is the current month number (e.g. 9 for September), and the "dd is the day of the month. For example, to start AUTO at 4:35 pm on September 9, enter "16:35,09-09" when asked "When?". If you'd like to start your AUTO pass from the command line and bypass the menu/function keys you can use the "switch" /@hh:mm where hh:mm is the time of day when the AUTO function is to run. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 48 VI. Special Processing ______________________________________________________________________________ B. AUTO - Automatically Access Several Forums Figure 7. AUTO /1 and /2 Display for Delayed Operation Building AUTO list | A | | B | When? ENTER to run immediately, | C Email___f | or HH:MM,MM-DD [13:30,01-15] | D | or ESCape to cancel. | E IBMCOM__t | | F IBMHW___q | | G IbmNew__q | | H IBMSYS__uq | | I | | J | | K | | L | | M | 2. AUTO features For forums selected on the AUTO list, AUTO will S>end or D>ownload messages automatically as well. After the first pass with AUTO, the "2" option can be used. Selecting this causes AUTO to scan your disks to see if there are messages waiting to be sent or downloaded. If there are, ATO will go online again to perform those functions. AUTO stays in this mode until you return to DOS. Because of this, you can use the (Q) option for a quick scan; use "2" to download the messages; R>ead them offline; compose replies offline; and then use "2" again to S>end replies. * IMPORTANT: Whenever you select AUTO, whether AUTO1 or AUTO2, it checks * all forums in the AUTO list which have commands to see if there are any * (D) or (S) files. If a listed forum has no commands next to it (all * blanks), it is not checked, whether there are (D) or (S) files for it * or not. * Also note that since both AUTO passes automatically S>end and D>ownload, * there is no need to put "S" or "D" by your active forums on the AUTO * list. If you'd prefer to use ATO without AUTO, it can still help. You can use "/2" anytime you want to go online to download messages you marked offline, or to send new messages. It's a good way to see how quickly AUTO works, and you won't be taken back online unless you have a live D> or (S) file. In use, the Main Menu item of choice offline becomes "C". Also, your O>ption choice of "Y" or "N" for "Stay connected y/n" in your AUTOSIG.DFN file is overridden by AUTO, so there's no need to change it Page 49 AUTOSIG Users Guide VI. Special Processing ______________________________________________________________________________ B. AUTO - Automatically Access Several Forums from what you normally use 'manually.' You can exit out of AUTO at any time by hitting <Esc> <Esc>. If you do it before your modem responds with "CONNECT", AUTO will hang up and return you to the Main Menu. 3. Creating your AUTO list If you have never defined an AUTO list, you will need to do so now. From the primary menu (first ATO screen) or a forum menu, press <F7>. You are then presented with an AUTO list of forums and commands. (See Figure 7) Move the cursor next to a forum you wish to access automatically. Enter the letters for each command that you wish to perform, e.g. Q to download Quick Scan headers. Forums where you make no choices will not be part of /1 or /2. NOTE: Only "F" should be chosen for Mail. Press <F10> when you are finished, and you are returned to the Primary menu. Your AUTO list has now been stored in the AUTOSIG.DFN file. It will maintain this configuration until you change it again. Figure 8. AUTO Set-Up Menu | A CLM_____ | Command letter options | B DDJ_____ | --------------------------------- | C Email___f | F Read Forward all messages | D IBMAPP__q | Q Quick Scan message headers | E IBMCOM__q | H Scan Forward message headers | F IBMHW___q | T Read Thread all new messages | G IbmNew__t | U Read CIS-marked messages only | H IBMSYS__q | A Read new messages to ALL | I IBMPro__t | I Read all messages from this ID | J DDJFOR__ | Y Read all messages to this ID | K HamNet__u | --------------------------------- | L IBMjr___ | Next to the forum name, enter | M IBMEUR__ | the letter(s) for each function | N PCVENA__t | to perform, up to five commands. | O IPX_____ | --------------------------------- | P PCVENB__q | | Q LotusA__ | Press F10 when finished | R PCWEEK__q | | S | | T | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 50 VII. Electronic Mail (CompuServe Mail) Operation ______________________________________________________________________________ Although forum messages are one way of communicating when you know that the addressee will check the forum, AUTOSIG makes sending messages via CIS's electronic mail system ("CompuServe Mail") simple. It's a good idea to use CompuServe Mail when you're not sure if the recipient is going to be on the forum in time to pick up the message before it scrolls off. In AUTOSIG's MAIL routine, messages are reformatted so they can be handled just like forum messages. You may also send MAIL by composing a reply to a forum message and then using the M or MA option. Page 51 AUTOSIG Users Guide VII. Electronic Mail (CompuServe Mail) Operation ______________________________________________________________________________ A. Setting Up Your Mail "Forum" Select the menu letter for MAIL ('A' as of this writing), then select the Edit HOST Options item, F3. You are presented with a Forum Configuration Options Menu. You can rename the "mail" Forum if you like, but the name must contain "MAIL", "Mail" or "mail" in order to work. The CIS page number for this Forum must be "MAIL" The importance of the set up can't be stressed enough, if they aren't properly set up ATO just won't work. Basically don't mess with the defaults and you'll be okay. With the correct parameters, Mail will appear to be identical to the forums, with only a couple of exceptions: - The "To:" prompt normally takes the name of the person you are sending a message to, with the PPN (UID) going on the next line. However, the "Id:" line will accept a CIS ID number, a MCI Mail number, a FAX number, or an INTERNET address, but only up to 24 characters. If the name and address of the person you're sending to is longer than 24 characters and not a CIS address, you'll need, for the time being, to use the workaround given in Appendix E. Please see the following page for more info on FAX/MCI. - Some AUTOSIG menu options, because of the way electronic mails works are not available. <Q>uick scan and <M>ark, for example don't work with CompuServe Mail and are therefore not on the menu. - Mail messages are numbered by ATO beginning with number 1. You may change this starting number by selecting the Edit Forum Options item from the Primary menu, and changing the High Message Number (HMN) for your MAIL forum. - If you want to send a Mail message with a return receipt requested enter /REC in the Section field of the message send window. Note that there is an additional charge ($) for this service. Now that your Mail forum is set up, you'll need to do one more thing--go on-line and add your name to your CompuServe Mail Address Book. The CompuServe Mail address book is a list maintained by CompuServe of names and PPNs (UIDs) that you enter. Using it means that you can send Mail by name, and the address book will supply the PPN. For ATO's MAIL functions to work properly you need to enter at least your own name and PPN in the list; you'll find it convenient to add the names of people you're in touch with often. The prompt character is not used by ATO during Mail operation. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 52 VII. Electronic Mail (CompuServe Mail) Operation ______________________________________________________________________________ B. Special Features in CompuServe Mail 1. Using the Address Book When you are using AUTOSIG to send Mail to someone who's in your online Address Book, you'll need just an * and the name, as *Joe Smith. Otherwise, ATO will prompt you for a full PPN (UID). 2. Binary Mail You can send and receive binary Mail--program files, ARC'd documents, etc.--via CompuServe Mail. To send binary Mail you must be in terminal mode and use the CompuServe Mail UPLOAD command. You will need to know the recipient's PPN (UID), unless it is in your online Address Book. Or, you can automate the binary Mail upload process with a script. If you receive a binary MAIL message, AUTOSIG will download it automatically, using the CIS B protocol. It will not be part of the regular MAILM.ATO file; each binary message will be saved in a separate MAILMSG.nnn file, where 'nnn' is the message number assigned by ATO. 3. Sending Mail to MCI Subscribers You can send Electronic Mail directly to subscribers on the MCI Mail network through CompuServe Mail. You'll need to know the recipient's MCI "address". Prepare your message in the usual way; the only difference is that when you type the "Id:" section, you'll need to format the address as follows: >MCIMAIL: MCI ID 4. Sending FAX messages via Mail This service enables you to send text files to anyone, anywhere, with a FAX machine. You'll need to know the FAX machine's phone number, of course. Create your message in the usual way, either by typing it, or by importing it into your editing area (See instructions in Message Editor section) and put the "Attn:" name in the "To:" area of the "send window". and then put >FAX:nnnnnnnnn in the "Id:" area of the send window. Page 53 AUTOSIG Users Guide VII. Electronic Mail (CompuServe Mail) Operation ______________________________________________________________________________ B. Special Features in CompuServe Mail As MCI and FAX are somewhat new, we suggest you GO EASY and HELP MCI and HELP FAX to get the most current information on specific addressing information. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 54 VIII. ATO Terminal Mode ______________________________________________________________________________ A. Overview In addition to automatic access to CompuServe, ATO can be used as a simple terminal program. This enables you to - go to other CIS areas - upload or download files from the forum libraries - save CIS information in a disk file - use split screen in a conference 1. Entering Terminal Mode Terminal mode is entered by selecting function option (G). You are given the option to automatically logon to CIS. The current configuration setting is used for dialing and page information. When you enter the forum via the "Go on-line" function ATO sends the string "OP;SM N;S" which will put you in non-stop mode. You may manually send OP;SM A;S to put you back into stop-between-message mode. Terminal mode is also entered when the "ESCape" key is entered twice from the keyboard while ATO is online. The function that is being performed will be aborted, and you will go directly into Terminal mode. You can also use the "ESCape" key to tell ATO to first finish the function or Auto pass it is doing and then go into Terminal mode. To do this, press "ESCape" ONCE. When the function or Auto pass that is being performed finishes, you will be left in Terminal mode. 2. Leaving Terminal Mode To exit terminal mode, and return to the Function Menu, enter a "ctrl-D" key combination. You are asked: "Have you left forum-name? (y/N) If you went to another forum while in terminal mode, reply Y. Otherwise, press enter. If you have set "Stay connected" in your forum options to No, you are asked: "Stay connected? (Y/n)". Reply Y if you want to stay connected and access more forums. Otherwise, reply N and ATO will log you off. You can avoid this prompt by using ctrl-X instead of ctrl-D to return to the main Forum function menu. 3. Vidtex Escape Sequences If your CIS terminal parameters have you defined as a Vidtex terminal, ATO recognizes most of the special escape sequences for clearing the screen and positioning the cursor. Please note that Vidtex escape sequences are NOT processed until you enter terminal mode! This is done only to improve performance. Once you are on-line in terminal mode all Vidtex escape sequences will be executed. Page 55 AUTOSIG Users Guide VIII. ATO Terminal Mode ______________________________________________________________________________ B. Terminal Mode Function Keys The keyboard keys F1 through F10 are available as Program Function Keys. Pressing one of these keys "sends" a command that you have assigned to the key. You may create a separate set of Function key definitions for each forum. These sets are saved in the DFN file for each forum. You create (or modify) these definitions by using the "alt-K" key combination. 1. Defining Function Keys Alt-K results in a display of the current key definitions. This is a small window in the upper right corner of the display. (See Figure 9, below) Use the cursor positioning keys and other keyboard keys to add or modify data. The Enter key moves to the next key definition line. All function key strings are sent automatically when pressed. A carriage return is automatically appended to your key definition unless you end the definition with a left brace { character. You do not need to be online to define these keys. Select G>o online for AUTOSIG's Main Menu, and you'll be prompted to determine if you want to go online. Reply "N", and then hit the Alt-K key combination. Use the F10 key to end the editing of the key definitions, and to return to Terminal Mode. The first six characters of each key are displayed, as a reminder, on line 25 of the display whenever Terminal Mode is entered. You may remove the line 25 display by using the alt-C keys. 2. Special Characters for Function Keys The function key text may contain these special characters: { left brace, suppresses adding a carriage return to the text ~ tilde, causes a one second pause before processing the next character. The tilde is not transmitted. ^ caret, identifies the next character as a control character, for example: ^C for control-C, ^P for control-P, etc. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 56 VIII. ATO Terminal Mode ______________________________________________________________________________ B. Terminal Mode Function Keys Figure 9. Terminal Mode Function Keys ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- === TERMINAL MODE === === FUNCTION KEY MENU ==== 1 ^O 2 ^O~~skall 3 ust 4 op;sm a;s 5 rm 6 t 7 dl0 8 bro 9 sen job{ 10 m Press <F10> when finished 1^O 2^O~~s 3ust 4op;sm 5rm 6t 7dl0 8bro 9sen j 0m ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 57 AUTOSIG Users Guide VIII. ATO Terminal Mode ______________________________________________________________________________ C. Terminal Mode Special Keys In addition to the Function keys you assign (above), ATO provides a number of other Terminal Mode functions to special keys. They may be used at any time while in Terminal Mode. You can see a display of these keys anytime in Terminal Mode by pressing Alt-A. alt-A Terminal Mode Help, displays a list of alt- keys that you may use alt-B toggles the sending of beeps and bells alt-C clears the screen and removes the line 25 display of the F-key definitions. Use ctrl-HOME to restore the display of the bottom line f-keys alt-D (same as alt-L) Opens a capture file that records everything that appears on the screen until you close it by pressing alt-D or alt-L again. alt-E invokes a DOS shell so that you may execute other programs without exiting ATO. After executing the other program, you will be able to return to ATO at the same point you left. alt-F displays the directory of a selected drive alt-G Gathers the forum section/topic names and saves them in the DFN file. You can display these with the alt-N command, or at the Leave/Reply prompt by entering a question mark (?). You must be on-line for this function. HINT: use ^D to be sure that ATO is set to the same forum you are on-line in. alt-H sends modem commands to hang up and disconnect alt-I lets you execute one script command immediately alt-K displays the function keys and lets you to edit them alt-L (see Alt-D) alt-M invokes the ATO PPN (UID) Address Book processor alt-N display section/topic names for this Forum alt-O Copies the current F- function key definitions to ALL your other forums alt-P Toggle the system printer on or off to print received data alt-R Invokes the PC Options menu so that you may change screen colors or other options alt-S Splits the screen (for conferences). All keyboard input is taken from the bottom line and is held in a buffer until a AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 58 VIII. ATO Terminal Mode ______________________________________________________________________________ C. Terminal Mode Special Keys carriage return is entered. The buffered line is then sent to CIS. alt-T execute SCRipt file alt-U initiate an ASCII (paced) file upload alt-V toggles menus on (verbose) or off (terse) alt-W Toggles the screen width from 43 to 25 lines. Requires an EGA or VGA display and may only be effective for some. Your monitor must be in 43-line mode, and you must start ATO with the /43 option before using alt-W. alt-X Immediately exits to DOS. The modem is NOT reset. alt-Y toggles the command line /Y (quick logon) option alt-Z Toggles auto-logoff; when on, ATO will exit to DOS, rather than to the forum menu, when you log off. ctrl-HOME Displays function key hints on the bottom line PgDn Invokes an automatic download using CIS Quick B protocol. Use this only at the Disposition! prompt in the Data Libraries. PgUp Invokes uploading of an ASCII file using prompts Page 59 AUTOSIG Users Guide VIII. ATO Terminal Mode ______________________________________________________________________________ D. "Intermediate" Mode This one is easier to use than to explain, but in prior versions of ATO you had two basic options in terminal mode when you wanted to perform a function; do it manually or hit ctrl-D to bring up an ATO forum menu. There is now a new "mini-menu" function. Start ATO with the /V switch and when you're thru with one forum hit ctrl-D and you'll get a one line prompt. You can then enter any valid ATO function letter at this prompt or, just as you can in the forum screens, use the PgUp and PgDn keys to run thru your forum list. Give it a try, it's easier to use than to describe. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 60 VIII. ATO Terminal Mode ______________________________________________________________________________ E. Protocol File Transfer Files from the Forum Libraries may be "downloaded" from CIS to your system by using ATO in the Terminal Mode. You tell CIS to download a file by using commands such as READ, TYPE, or DOW when you are given the LIB ! prompt by CIS, or from the file prompt given at the file level during the BRO command while in the Data Libraries. To enter Terminal Mode, select the (G) Go Online function from the Function Menu, or press the ESCape key while ATO is performing an automatic function such as T or simply change the forum option to "stay connected". ATO uses CIS "Quick B" protocol if you need to know. Chances are it's so automatic the point will be moot as we'll see. 1. Downloading with "B" protocol If you use the BRO command just hit the PgDn key at the Disposition! prompt for the file you've selected, and everything from there on out will be automatic. The filename used by the Library will be used on your system. If you are using the READ or SCA command, you must tell CIS to DOWnload the file, and you must specify the name you would like the file to bear on your disk. Either way, where the file ends up on your system is determined by you: If you have made an entry in the "File transfer d:\path" field in the HOST configuration the file will be placed in that directory or drive; otherwise it will be in the current drive or sub-directory. After that, the transfer is automatic. You'll see received block # messages, and after the transfer you'll see number of characters transferred, elapsed time and characters per second. The NAK value represents the number of times CIS requested that a block be retransmitted. The ENQ value should be zero. If not, CIS has tried to interrupt the file transfer and ATO may have trouble continuing. The top line of the display during CIS Quick B file transfers tells you the name of the file and when the transfer started. If you are uploading a file, the file's size is also displayed. The bottom line of the display is a status line. It tells you the number of bytes of "File:" that have been transferred to or from a file, the number of bytes "Sent:" and "Rcvd:", and the number of "Naks:" negative response due to errors and re-transmissions. The "File:" count represents the number of bytes of the actual file that have been recorded; "Rcvd" will be a higher figure, since it includes protocol overhead as well as extra bytes representing blocks which had to be re-sent. Because Quick B is capable of changing block size depending on line conditions, the rate at which the counters go up may vary (but it's not likely). Files may also be uploaded (sent) to forum libraries using "B" protocol. Use the UPL command at the LIB! prompt, and follow the directions from Page 61 AUTOSIG Users Guide VIII. ATO Terminal Mode ______________________________________________________________________________ E. Protocol File Transfer CIS. Please follow file name conventions. Basic programs saved as ASCII files should be uploaded with the extension, .BAS. Text files may have any three-letter extension. Please refer to the file LIB.HLP in Download Help Library 1 of IBMNEW for further information on filename conventions. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 62 VIII. ATO Terminal Mode ______________________________________________________________________________ F. Non-Protocol Transfers Although a protocol transfer is the way to go for program files, and will guarantee an error-free transfer for other files, there are occasions when you will want to use a non-protocol transfer, either to capture a short file in a buffer to read off-line, or to "log" a session or conference. 1. Using a Log or Capture Buffer File If you wish to record a conference you're taking part in, or simply "capture" a text file in the Libraries as it reads across your screen, or just to catch everything that happens on the screen, ATO will create a "log" file for you. The "alt-L" or "alt-D" key combination will open a disk file and begin logging. Any data sent by CIS - messages, etc. - is written to this file until "alt-L" or "alt-D" is pressed again. If you haven't closed it before you leave Terminal Mode, ATO will close it for you. The letter C appears in the lower right corner of the screen to remind you that file capture is in progress. 2. Downloading Text Files or Basic ASCII Files To "download" text files or Basic programs saved in ASCII format, while you're BROwsing through the Library, select "R" (without <Enter> ); hit Alt-L; name the file as requested by ATO and then hit <Enter> twice. When the download is complete (CIS sends 'Key <Enter> to continue) hit Alt-L again to close the file on your PC, followed by <Enter>. 3. Non-Protocol (ASCII) Upload from disk The "alt-U" key combination initiates an ASCII (not protocol) upload operation. You may supply a prompt character for ATO to wait for, or you may let ATO upload the file without any delays. You supply the name of a file to be transferred to CIS. Page 63 AUTOSIG Users Guide IX. Message Editor ______________________________________________________________________________ The AUTOSIG editor is a key part of the program. Its purpose is to let you reply to messages you have downloaded for reading, or to compose send new messages, almost as if you were on-line. Actually, of course, it's much better than being on-line: You can do things you could never do on-line, including: * Glance back as often as you like at the message you are replying to, * Conveniently edit your work, reformat, cut-and-paste, etc. * Import other files into your message * Automatically insert the recipient's name and PPN (UID) from your ATO PPN list for new messages. * And much more--all off-line so you don't have the meter ticking. The Message Editor will allow you to send messages in nearly any form: with CIS formatting, or without; Privately with CIS formatting, or Privately without; via Mail, FAX or to a user on another Mail system. You also have the opportunity to change any of those choices before sending. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 64 IX. Message Editor ______________________________________________________________________________ A. General Description The AUTOSIG editor is a full screen editor which makes use of most of the special function keys on the PC keyboard as well as ALT key combinations. Generally speaking most of the commands and functions are intuitive if you've used a text editor before. Because it is a full screen editor you can move around the screen using the cursor keys and make changes as you wish. The screen consists of 25 rows by 80 columns. The first 23 rows contain message lines. Row 24 contains the addressee and subject information for the Leave or Reply message. Row 25 lists the function key definitions. You may hit the F1 function key for help in the editor. Each message line is numbered, from 1 to 80, in column 78 of each display row. You may position the cursor to any line on the display, or use the <Enter> key to position to the next line. The maximum number of lines you may enter is 198, but Forum messages are limited to about 2000 characters, or about 25 lines. The editor will warn you of this when you reach the 2000th character. You should end the message, and start a new one if necessary to continue. The limit of 198 lines is permitted for CompuServe Mail messages which can be much larger than Forum messages. The editor has full wordwrap. It will advance to the next line at an appropriate point. In addition you can force a reformat of the the rest of a paragraph as you edit by using the Alt-f function. Any lines beginning with a slash, /, are sent without the slash. Double slashes at the beginning of a line are sent. Page 65 AUTOSIG Users Guide IX. Message Editor ______________________________________________________________________________ B. Using the Message Editor's functions 1. Insert and Delete Functions The message editor will function in either insert or overwrite mode. You choose the default in the PC Options setup area of AUTOSIG (Press <ESC> at the Main Menu), by answering Y or N to /J Insert Mode. Whichever mode you selected at that point, you can use the Insert key to toggle back and forth while you're in the Message Editor. If you want to make a permanent change, though, you'll have to go back to the PC Options. [F5] Inserts a blank line after the current line. [ENTER] At bottom of message: Adds blank lines In Insert mode: Splits line at cursor In Overwrite: Moves to next line, inserting one if necessary. F6 Deletes the entire current line--even if you are not at the beginning of the line. Ctrl-END Erases from the cursor to the end of current line. Ctrl-left Deletes the current word Ctrl-T Deletes from the cursor to the next word [Ins] Toggle between insert and typeover mode. The letter "I" appears on line 25 to indicate that the keyboard is in "insert" mode. [Del] Delete character presently at cursor location [Backspace] Except at the beginning of line, deletes character to the left of the cursor. At the beginning of a line, it moves the line to the end of the preceding line. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 66 IX. Message Editor ______________________________________________________________________________ B. Using the Message Editor's functions 2. Moving Around in the Editor There are many ways to move around within the message you are composing: Cursor keys Move cursor in the arrow direction. [Enter] Move to new line, creating a new line if needed [Enter] again moves the cursor to next line. With Insert mode enabled, splits the current line. [Home] Move to start of line. [End] Position to end of text on current line. [PgUp] Display prior 11 lines. [PgDn] Display next 11 lines. Ctrl-PgUp Position to first line of text. Ctrl-PgDn Position to last line of text. Ctrl-Home Position to first line of message. [TAB] Moves the cursor to the next TAB column. The TAB columns are 1, 9, 17, 25, etc. [Ctrl][Left Arrow] Skips to the previous word. [Ctrl][Right Arrow] Skips to the next word. Page 67 AUTOSIG Users Guide IX. Message Editor ______________________________________________________________________________ B. Using the Message Editor's functions 3. Block Operations and Formatting As you write and edit, you may want to add or delete portions of the message, or rearrange them to a new order. The Message Editor has a full assortment of tools for the purpose. [Backspace] At beginning of line, joins the current line to the end of the previous line. Alt-B Break (split) message into a linked thread Alt-F Reformat rest of paragraph, beginning at cursor. Alt-J Join following line to current line. Alt-S Split line at current cursor position Alt-L Mark line as top or bottom of a block. Alt-C Copy marked block to current cursor position. Alt-M Move block to current cursor position. Alt-D Delete marked block. Alt-U Unmark marked block. Alt-T Transpose current/previous character. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 68 IX. Message Editor ______________________________________________________________________________ B. Using the Message Editor's functions 4. Message Editor Function Keys While creating new messages (W), or replying (R) to a message, line 25 of the screen displays the following function key assignments: 1Help 2Quit 3Remind 4n/a 5Insert 6Delete 7Alter 8n/a 9Import 10Send - - - - - - - - - -- Nearly the same set is available when previewing (P) and editing the messages you have already written but not sent: 1Help 2Quit 3n/a 4n/a 5Insert 6Delete 7Alter 8SendALL 9Import 10Send - - - - - - - - - -- ____________________________________________________________________________ The list below shows the action of the function keys. The W, P, R in parentheses indicates where there are different actions for Write, Reply or Preview. F1 Help (WPR) Display editor help info. F2 Quit (WR) Abort the current message and return to Main Menu. Omit (P) Delete the current message from the Leave/Reply file. (WPR) You will be asked to verify abort/delete. If you wish to skip verification, you may use ALT-F2. F3 Remind (R) Redisplays the message being replied to. You may use the cursor keys to scroll the message up and down. F4 n/a Not used F5 Insert (WPR) Insert a line after the current line. F6 Delete (WPR) Delete the current line. F7 Alter (WPR) Allows you to change your original choices for addressee, subject, section #, method of sending F8 Sendall(P) Confirms keeping the current message and all subsequent messages in the forumL.ATO file for sending. Useful when you need to alter one message, and do not want to F10 through all the others in the file. F9 Import (WPR) Read a file into the editor work area. See EDITOR IMPORT FUNCTION below. Page 69 AUTOSIG Users Guide IX. Message Editor ______________________________________________________________________________ B. Using the Message Editor's functions F10 Save (WPR) Save current message (in forumL.ATO). While P>reviewing, the message is kept in the Leave/Reply file to be sent. Alt-F10 (WPR) Hitting Alt and F10 at the same time will save your message to forumL.ATO just as F10 does, and also to a file with the extension .FIL. This is useful for keeping chronological files of your messages, which is useful in Mail, where you cannot read your messages online once they have been sent. When you are finished editing and use F10 to save the message, you receive the prompt: S>ave, A>lter mode, C>arbon copy, R>eturn to editing, K>eep a copy where: S>ave stores the message in forumL.ext for sending later A>lter presents the Send Window for changes C>arbon stores the message and presents the Send Window for entering To: for another recipient R>eturn returns to editing K>eep saves a copy of the message in forum.FIL AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 70 IX. Message Editor ______________________________________________________________________________ C. Importing Files You press F9 to tell ATO to import a file. This allows you to read a file into the editor work area. Thus, you can insert data from files directly into your messages. When you press F9, ATO asks you to where to find the file: Enter import d:\path [C:\ATO] If you know the name of the file you wish to import, you may type it in at the end of the path shown. If it is in a different directory, you may also edit the path. If you do not know the name of the file, ATO can show you a directory. Press <enter> to see a directory for the drive and path shown, or type in a new drive and path and press <enter>. ATO will then display a list of files in that directory. For example: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ AUTOSIG.DFN AUTOSIG.JUN ATODOC.001 ATO.EXE ACLS.EXE PANELS.2 IBMCOMM.ATO IBMCOML.ATO IBMCOMS.ATO File to import: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Enter the name of the file you wish to Import, or press Enter to change to another directory. If ATO cannot find the file, you will receive the message: filename not found. Key 'X' to abort; any other key to retry. Press X to cancel the import request, or press Enter to re-enter the drive and path names. When you import a file while writing a message, that file becomes part of the message you are writing, and it is displayed. Because the ATO Message Editor has a 198-line limit on message size, the file you wish to import must be within that size, or must be edited to size. The Message Editor will truncate the import after 150 lines; if the portion you need to include is further down the file, you will need to first edit it with a text editor or word processor. Page 71 AUTOSIG Users Guide IX. Message Editor ______________________________________________________________________________ D. Modes of reply When you select F10, you are presented with a Send Window: ______________________________________ | | | To: | | Id: | | Subj: | | Sec: | | Mode: | |______________________________________| | | | To: Enter user's name | | Make blank to abort | | Id: PgUp for userid PPN list | | Sec: PgDn for section list | | Mode: Enter one letter | | S> save w/CIS formatting | | U> save unformatted | | P> Private message | | X> Private unformatted | | M> Mail message via Email | | Y> Email unformatted | | | |______________________________________| If your message is a Reply, all of the fields will already be filled in for you. If you would like to change the contents of any of them, move the cursor to the field you want to change, and type the new information. Editing fields in the Send box is the same as editing the Forum or Host options. If you are writing a new message, you will have to supply the information in the Send window. Enter the name of the person to whom you wish to send the message after "To:" in the window. Place the person's user id (PPN (UID)) after "Id:". If you don't know the id, and have saved a file of user names and id's with the ATO PPN processor, press PgUp to get access to your PPN database. To send to a FAX, MCI, or other service user, place their address in the "Id:" field. The address consists of a greater-than, >, symbol, and the name of the service, and the person's address. The "To:" user name is used as the information for the service's "Attention:" request. For example, to send a FAX, you might use the following "Id:": >FAX:555-1234 Determine which section of the forum it seems most applicable to, and enter the number of that section on the next line. If you have "gathered" a forum's section (subtopic) names online - by using Alt-G AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 72 IX. Message Editor ______________________________________________________________________________ D. Modes of reply in terminal mode (see terminal mode section) - you can call up that list by pressing the PgDn key. Finally, choose a "mode" of sending the message. "S" will send the message and permit CIS to reformat it to the screen format set by anyone who reads it. "U" will send the message exactly as written. This is convenient if you include tables in a message. "P" sends the message privately on forums where this option is enabled. If the forum doesn't have private mail enabled ATO will send it to the addressee via CompuServe mail. "X" sends the message Privately, as is, and instructs CIS to not reformat it. "M" sends the message as CompuServe Mail by using the MAIL command "Y" is the same as M, but tells CIS not to reformat. Page 73 AUTOSIG Users Guide IX. Message Editor ______________________________________________________________________________ E. Long Messages 1. Message editor split The forum message system has a finite limit on the length of the message and we've found that 2,000 characters is a good rule of thumb. The ATO editor will remind you when you've reached this limit. At this point you may elect to split the message at any location. Move the cursor to the location where you want the message split and just hit Alt-B ("Break). The total number of characters contained in the first part of the message will be displayed and you'll be prompted to split at that point or continue. If you elect to split the message a "split line" will display on the screen and you can continue editing the second half of the message. Using this method the first message will be sent with a [More] indicator and each subsequent message will start with [Continued]. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 74 X. Problems and Solutions ______________________________________________________________________________ A. Internal Errors If an error occurs during execution, a message is displayed on the top line of the display, such as ERROR 52 in LINE 1020. The message contains an error code which is described in the BASIC manual, and the line number where the problem occurred. If you can't resolve the problem, make a note of the error message and give the information to one of the authors. Leaving a message in section 1 (the ATO section) of IBMCOM is the quickest way. After the error, the Function Menu is displayed. Depending on the problem, you may decide to continue or terminate. Any files created by ATO are left on the current drive. Thus, you may restart processing at a later time. By far the most common problem is a lack of response by AUTOSIG when it receives the forum "Function" prompt. Rather than giving the command based upon your menu selection it just sits there. The problem is more than likely due to an inconsistency between the prompt character that's been defined in the forum OPtion area and the ^G that ATO uses. If you are using a computer that may not be IBM compatible, the screen displays may be empty. This is due to the way ATO places data directly into the monitor's display buffer. The /T command-line parameter can be used to force ATO to write to the display without using the IBM-specific display buffer addresses. Remember that the default ATO prompt character is a Ctrl-G (Bell) character. This must be entered in the forum OPtion area as ^G (the ^ key is the shifted 6 key). The CIS OPTION program will not accept CTRL-G as a valid prompt character. Be sure to keep a backup copy of your AUTOSIG.DFN file. Many problems can be solved by using a "good" DFN file, or by recreating it. You can force ATO to update the DFN file by using the Alt-N command. Page 75 AUTOSIG Users Guide X. Problems and Solutions ______________________________________________________________________________ B. Forum and General Trouble Shooting AUTOSIG traps and recovers from all possible errors that the authors have identified. There are only two occasions when you're likely to see any indication of an error. The first is if you see ASCII 243 on your screen (the mathematical symbol for "less than or equal to"). This indicates that ATO has trapped an error at the modem. This is likely to happen once or twice both logging on and logging off, and is not a problem. If it happens repeatedly elsewhere, check your modem and the wires connecting it to the PC. Other special symbols define other modem errors. A complete list follows: x'F3' = ≤ Overrun error x'F5' = ⌡ Parity error x'F7' = ≈ Overrun and parity errors x'F9' = ∙ Framing error x'FD' = ² Parity and framing errors x'FB' = √ Overrun and framing errors x'FE' = ■ Overrun, parity and framing errors (Note: some printers may not print the actual characters) The second is if you didn't let ATO run its full course and broke out of the program or turned your computer off before returning to DOS. This will not harm your computer, but it may leave some stray files behind. No corrective action is needed, except to always try to let ATO run its full course, from DOS to execution and back to DOS. Since ATO has so many files open it's a good idea to do a CHKDSK to identify any lost clusters. This action will probably result in your "high message number" being corrupted if you use one of the AUTOSIG functions that maintains and depends on that number. Other than these two problems, if you see a message in the upper right corner of your display indicating "Error nn at Line nnnnn", please leave a message in section 1 of the IBM Communications Forum (IBMCOM). One of the authors will respond. If you're having problems with ATO's display, this is probably caused by incompatibility between your computer and some of the ATO code, which is IBM-PC specific. Although ATO runs fine "as is" on most compatibles, there are several "switches" that can get around compatibility problems. See the section on Switches. There are other problems that can arise when CompuServe is acting up and sends something ATO doesn't expect. Again, most of these problems are trapped and fixed automatically, but, given the large number of possible miscues that CIS can generate, not all can be fixed. Here are some of the possible ones: AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 76 X. Problems and Solutions ______________________________________________________________________________ B. Forum and General Trouble Shooting ATO won't dial the phone It might be that your modem is attached to COM3 or COM4 and as there's no single standard addressing for those comm port designations ATO is using the wrong address. If you set up ATO for COM3 try COM7 or COM9. If you set up ATO for COM4 try COM8 in ATO. These are just "names" for different comm port addresses but by using different names we're able to cover all the various port addresses used by different machines and modem/comm port cards. ATO freezes; No action at all Make sure that you have set your forum prompt character at ^G, especially if this happens at the Forum ! prompt. Otherwise: Wait a full minute. The problem could be that CIS is busy. If there is still no sign of activity, hit <ESCape> twice followed by CTRL-C. This should put you into direct contact with CIS at a menu that gives you several options, including logoff. Select that one and try again later. ATO logs on and immediately logs off when it reaches a forum Double check your forum options and ensure that you are in command mode rather than menu mode. The reason for the immediate log off is that ATO sees the "Press <CR> to continue" as an error condition. Message sent to wrong forum This can happen using AUTO on a very noisy phone line. What has happened is that CIS sent a false signal causing ATO to think that it had moved on to another forum. This error never happens on a good connection. There's no way ATO can fix it. FEEDBACK to CIS might help. Files Busy (Code xxnn) ... This is a CIS message that, unfortunately, gives you only two choices: wait it out or pull the plug. None of this is unique to ATO; you'd have the same problem if you logged on manually. If you choose to pull the plug, hit <ESC><ESC>, which will return you to the ATO menu with the message that the "PC is CONNECTED". Hit "Z". This will send "OFF" to CIS and disconnect the modem. Once CIS recognizes your action, it will log you off. Page 77 AUTOSIG Users Guide X. Problems and Solutions ______________________________________________________________________________ B. Forum and General Trouble Shooting {{ Characters This symbol is encountered when there is a lot of noise on the line. Your best bet is to abort ATO as quickly as possible if you see this symbol repeatedly. PC is CONNECTED This message is normal when CIS answers the call, but is incorrect if seen at any other time UNLESS YOU ARE ACTUALLY CONNECTED!! This is caused by one of two problems; the setting of DTR in your modem or a serial cable that doesn't have a full complement of pins. Actually some comm programs will let you get by with less than 5 pins. ATO, because it wants to carefully monitor what's going on, needs a DTR pin. See the suggested modem settings in the setup section. ATO freezes when entering a forum This is probably due to a mismatch between the prompt character defined to ATO and that defined in the forum options area. Double check the settings in the forum via the OPTION command and in ATO via the ESC key at the main screen. ATO stops at "Enter carriage return to continue" You need to set your forum to command mode. Hit ESC twice and check your forum OPTION area and make sure you're set for COMMAND mode or use the ATO "Autojoin" feature to set up the forum. CompuServe Mail problems You can name the CompuServe Mail "forum" whatever you like, as long as the name contains "MAIL", "Mail" or "mail". Although ATO makes CompuServe Mail look and act like a forum, when you leave a message, you are actually doing a file transfer, rather than a line-by-line dump. Message you sent arrives To: and From: YOU ATO tries in several different ways to recover from inability to send a reply to a message. As a last resort, ATO will send your message to you. If it looks like you're talking to yourself, it simply means that ATO and CIS couldn't find any other way to deliver the message. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 78 X. Problems and Solutions ______________________________________________________________________________ B. Forum and General Trouble Shooting % NTWCPR - ... % NTWJRP - Job Rec.... ATO will wait out most CIS problems and resume faultlessly. However, there is one situation (a CIS failure followed by a recovery) when CIS asks you to send a CTRL-Q. If you do this manually at the CIS prompt, ATO will recover as well. If you don't, CIS will disconnect you in about two minutes and ATO will return to the Main Menu. ATO fails sending a P)rivate message Some Sysops have chosen not to permit (P)rivate messages. Since ATO cannot possibly keep up to date on what options are available on the various forums, it's up to you to know whether you can send a private message on a given forum. If in doubt, send it public (using 'S' or 'U'), check first with the Sysop, or try it 'manually' before trying it with ATO. ATO hangs up or aborts a file transfer File transfers can fail for any number of reasons, including so much line noise that CIS simply aborts. By watching the NAK and ENQ values, you can get an idea of how smoothly a transfer is proceeding. An excessively high NAK value indicates that the line connection is poor and you should probably log off and call back. It may help to try another phone number, or lower the baud rate. Double check your download path in the ATO host configuration area. If you've incorrectly defined a path name ATO attempts to open it but DOS will refuse since it doesn't exist. ATO won't go on-line Some modems use "unusual" comm port addressing or non-standard IRQ settings. You may have this problem even tho other software works. Usually this is because the software has been especially modified to use the unique addresses/IRQ. Check your documentation carefully and consult appendix C for other comm port addresses you might want to try or change the address and IRQ on your modem. This condition is especially true of the Everex modem bundled with Bitcom. AUTO Pass 2 won't run Some modems can't handle the speed at which ATO sends commands and the hangup command from AUTO pass 1 will remain in the modems buffer. Adjust your host entry and insert delays between the modem attention command and Page 79 AUTOSIG Users Guide X. Problems and Solutions ______________________________________________________________________________ B. Forum and General Trouble Shooting the hang up command. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 80 XI. Acknowledgements ______________________________________________________________________________ AUTOSIG was inspired by a program called SUPER.SIG for the TRS100 which was written by Howard Benner. The first version of AUTOSIG was written from scratch entirely by Vern Buerg simply to save on his monthly bills. This first version was further expanded and modified by Vern Buerg, Frank Lipschutz and others as part of the what was then the INF Project Group established by Don Watkins, SYSOP of IBMNET. A sister program, ACLS, was written by Tom Neff and updated by Don Watkins. ATOBRO, ATO's library manager and download script generator was written by Vern Buerg and Don Watkins. The current version of ATO was written by Vern Buerg and Jim McKeown. A very special thanks to those who helped test the numerous interim versions of ATO. Space limits individual thanks, but without them ATO would not be where it is today. Kudos in no particular order: Steve Garcia [70022,106] Ernest Galvan [73347,226] David Turcotte [70150,540] Lee Crocker [73407,2030] Robert Ash/AMERITEL [70271,314] Holly Henry [73727,406] Steve Stern [70327,135] Steve White [74007,2331] Horia Anghel [70473,617] David Kay [74017,665] Ray Pelzer [70475,1263] Eric Smith [74017,3122] Ric Arenz [70511,105] David Klatzco [74025,1005] Tim Shields [70751,131] Dick Dennison [74270,3636] Paul Munoz-Colman [71141,1224] Vern Buerg [74375,500] BOB ZAMBENINI [71147,1565] Jim Beebe [74746,2444] Sid Schaefer/Mi [71170,2506] Jim Butler [74766,1460] Neil R. Ross [71230,3576] Howard Cherniack [75026,3723] Mark A Young [PPIFORUM] [71340,276] Paul Mullen [75300,263] Nelson Ford [71355,470] John Augustine [75300,1112] Paul Heymont [71370,3353] Randal DePriest [76004,1541] Neil Iwamoto [71410,3417] Ozzie Johnson [76004,2537] Steve Shank [71521,431] Frank Lipschutz [76010,354] John Francis [71600,300] Adam Horwitz [76013,55] Paul O'Nolan [72007,242] Bill Golden [76067,2203] Louis Vonderscheer [72117,3112] clark welden [76117,2212] Andy Walsh [72137,46] John Beaston [76117,3335] Al Vanik [72200,150] Jim Hanlon [76127,310] Paul J. Ste. Marie [72200,1324] Nate [76164,2112] Serge Laviolette [72235,210] Ranney Munro [76257,1666] Rick Ayre [PCMagNet] [72241,215] Dan Spear [76306,617] Lenny Abbey [72277,566] Ben Klausner [76337,1730] Art Mercier [72277,3255] Mike Furlan [76340,1224] Terri Hallam [72307,450] Leo Angevine [76347,2464] Mort Bass [72325,640] Bill Bechtold [76446,1736] Denis DeLaRoca [72406,1717] Tom Rush [76475,3253] Darrell Green [72406,1736] James Bach [76555,273] Art Zemon [72406,3275] Tom Neff [76556,2536] Rich Levin [72407,243] Julie Johnson [76605,3451] Page 81 AUTOSIG Users Guide XI. Acknowledgements ______________________________________________________________________________ John Augustine [72520,2237] Ron Hester [76615,1564] Mike Miller [72567,3425] Jay T. Blocksom [76657,3375] Sande Francis [72571,2223] Orest Skrypuch (Recon) [76672,1273] Bob Blacher [72677,3305] Ted Dickens [HP Forum] [76701,272] Dan Gallmeyer [73100,256] Scott -Generic Software [76702,533] Jim Burton [73210,3557] Ed Girou [PRACTICE] [76702,542] WALTER PAWLOWSKI [73220,3405] Joe MacRae [Adesk] [76702,1302] Eric Klein [73230,3376] Nate Lenow [76702,1721] Rob Blaine/ECONO-SOFT [73267,1664] Jamie Clay [76703,4204] Eric Rosenberg [73307,110] Adrian Godfrey [100012,2456] Steve Mera [73320,3341] Niall O Broin [100016,432] If you'd like to participate in ATO beta testing we'd be delighted to have you participate. Send email to 76703,750 for details. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 82 XII. Disclaimer and Trademarks ______________________________________________________________________________ IBM, Tandy, Microsoft, QuickBasic, Double DOS, DesqView, Compaq and Hayes are registered trademarks. If we missed any, our apologies. This program is, of course, offered as is. We can't guarantee it will work on every permutation of equipment. We will make an honest effort to correct and/or add any features that you ask for. If you do have a problem please be sure and let us know. Page 83 AUTOSIG Users Guide XIII. Copying and sharing AUTOSIG ______________________________________________________________________________ This document and the AUTOSIG.EXE file comprise the ATO program ("software"). This software is copyrighted material and is subject to limitations by the copyright holder ("author") as to its use and distribution. You may use the software; make copies of the software; give copies to anyone; and distribute it via electronic means. There is no charge for this software, but you must include a copy of this document file with any copies that you make. You are specifically prohibited from charging or requesting donations for any copies; from modifying the software; from distributing the software with commercial products without prior written permission; and from distributing this software, either alone or with other material, if any fee is charged. There are no exceptions without written permission. Some earlier versions of AUTOSIG were supplied with the source code. While we encourage and welcome competition in the field of navigational programs the use of ATO source towards commercial products has resulted in the source being withdrawn. Those wishing source code and commercial use agreements should contact the author. There is no warranty of any kind given. The author is not liable for damages of any kind. By using this free software, you agree to this. The software and documentation are: Copyright 1985-1991 by Vernon D. Buerg. All rights reserved. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 84 Appendix A: Forum Quick Reference Words ______________________________________________________________________________ Complete list of public forums as of August 4, 1991. Gateway. Three letter code that identifies the information provider area. When used with the GO navigation command it permits the fastest transfer between online menus or article pages. The current Gateway codes are: CIS CompuServe Infomation Service EET Electronic Engineering Times Network Service ZNT Ziff-Davis/CompuServe Information Service Page Identifier. The unique combination of letters and/or numbers that appears in the upper-right corner of an online menu or article page. To go directly to a menu or article page, type GO and its page identifier (for example: GO CIS:PCS-91). Quick Reference Word. Page identifiers that are words. As with other identifiers, enter GO and a Quick Reference Word to access a particular menu or article page online (for example: GO CIS:ATARIPRO). All Quick Reference Words can be abbreviated to six (6) characters (for example: GO CIS:ATARIP). Quick Reference Forum Name Word ---------- --------- ACIUS Forum ACIUS AI EXPERT Forum AIEXPERT ALDUS Forum ALDUS ASP/Shareware Forum ASPFORUM Access Technology Forum ACCESS Adobe Forum ADOBE Amiga Arts Forum AMIGAARTS Amiga Tech Forum AMIGATECH Amiga User's Forum AMIGAUSER Amiga Vendor Forum AMIGAVENDOR Apple II Prog. Forum APPROG Apple II Users Forum APPUSER Apple II Vendor Forum APIIVEN Aquaria / Fish Forum FISHNET Art Gallery Forum ARTGALLERY Ashton-Tate App. Forum ATAPP Ashton-Tate dBASE Forum DBASE Ask3Com Forum ASKFORUM Astronomy Forum ASTROFORUM Atari 8-Bit Forum ATARI8 Atari Portfolio Forum APORTFOLIO Atari ST Arts Forum ATARIARTS Atari ST Prod. Forum ATARIPRO Atari Vendor Forum ATARIVEN Autodesk AutoCAD Forum ACAD Autodesk Software Forum ASOFT Aviation Forum (AVSIG) AVSIG Page 85 AUTOSIG Users Guide Appendix A: Forum Quick Reference Words ______________________________________________________________________________ BASIS International Forum BASIS Bacchus Wine Forum WINEFORUM Banyan Forum BANFORUM Blyth Forum BLYTH Borland Appl. Forum BORAPP Borland International BORLAND Borland Products Forum BORDB Borland Prog. Forum A BPROGA Borland Prog. Forum B BPROGB Broadcast Pro Forum BPFORUM CADKEY Forum CADKEY CASE DCI Forum CASEFORUM CB Forum CBFORUM CDROM Forum CDROM CIM Support Forum(FREE) CIMSUPPORT Cancer Forum CANCER Canon Support Forum CANON Central Point Forum CENTRAL Client Server Computing Forum MSNETWORKS Coin/Stamp Collect. Forum COLLECT Color Computer Forum COCO Comics/Animation Forum COMIC Commodore Applications Forum CBMAPP Commodore Arts/Games Forum CBMART Commodore Service Forum CBMSERVICE Computer Art Forum COMART Computer Club Forum CLUB Computer Consult. Forum CONSULT Computer Language Forum CLMFORUM Computer Training Forum DPTRAIN Consumer Elect. Forum CEFORUM Cooks Online Forum COOKS Crafts Forum CRAFTS Crosstalk Forum XTALK DATASTORM Forum DATASTORM DEC PC Forum DECPC DTP Vendors Forum DTPVENDOR Data Access Corp. Forum DACCESS Data Based Advisor Forum DBADVISOR Desktop Publishing Forum DTPFORUM Diabetes Forum DIABETES Digital Research Forum DRFORUM Digitalk Forum DIGITALK Disabilities Forum DISABILITIES Dr. Dobb's Forum DDJFORUM Education Forum EDFORUM Educational Res. Forum EDRESEARCH Engineering Automation Forum LEAP Epson Forum EPSON Financial Forums FINFORUM Flight Simulator Forum FSFORUM Florida Forum FLORIDA Foreign Language Forum FLEFO Forth Forum FORTH AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 86 Appendix A: Forum Quick Reference Words ______________________________________________________________________________ Forum Conference Schedule OLT-120 Forum Help Area(FREE) QAFORUM Forums FORUMS Fox Software Forum FOXFORUM Game Forums and News GAMECON Game Publisher's Forum GAMPUB Gamers Forum GAMERS Genealogy Forum ROOTS Generic/Sketch Software Forum GENERIC Good Earth Forum GOODEARTH Graphics Corner Forum CORNER Graphics Forums GRAPHICS Graphics Support Forum GRAPHSUPPORT Hardware Forums HARDWARE Hayes Forum HAYFORUM Health & Fitness Forum GOODHEALTH Hewlett Packard Forum HP IBM Applications Forum IBMAPP IBM Bulletin Board Forum IBMBBS IBM Communications Forum IBMCOM IBM Desktop Soft. Forum IBMDESK IBM European Users Forum IBMEUROPE IBM Hardware Forum IBMHW IBM New Users Forum IBMNEW IBM OS/2 Forum IBMOS2 IBM Programming Forum IBMPRO IBM Special Needs Forum IBMSPEC IBM Systems/Util. Forum IBMSYS IBM Users Network IBMNET Int'l Entrepreneurs Forum USEN Investors Forum INVFORUM Javelin/EXPRESS Forum IRIFORUM Journalism Forum JFORUM LDC Spreadsheets Forum LOTUSA LDC Words & Pixels Forum LOTUSB LOGO Forum LOGOFORUM Legal Forum LAWSIG Literary Forum LITFORUM MIDI/Music Forum MIDIFORUM MS Applications Forum MSAPP MS DOS 5.0 Forum MSDOS MS Windows Advanced Forum WINADV Mac A Vendor Forum MACAVEN Mac B Vendor Forum MACBVEN Mac CIM Support Forum(FREE) MCIMSUP Mac Communications Forum MACCOMM Mac Community/Club Forum MACCLUB Mac Developers Forum MACDEV Mac Entertainment Forum MACFUN Mac Hypertext Forum MACHYPER Mac New Users Help Forum MACNEW Macintosh Appl. Forum MACAP Macintosh Forums MACINTOSH Macintosh System 7.0 Forum MACSEVEN Page 87 AUTOSIG Users Guide Appendix A: Forum Quick Reference Words ______________________________________________________________________________ Macintosh Systems Forum MACSYS Microsoft Connection MICROSOFT Microsoft Excel Forum MSEXCEL Microsoft Languages Forum MSLANG Midi Vendor Forum MIDIVENDOR Military Forum MILITARY Model Aviation Forum MODELNET Modem Games Forum MODEMGAMES Motor Sports Forum RACING Multi-Player Games Forum MPGAMES Multimedia Forum MULTIMEDIA NAIC Invest. Ed. Forum NAIC Nantucket Forum NANFORUM National Issues Forum ISSUESFORUM NeXT Forum NEXTFORUM Novell Forum A NOVA Novell Forum B NOVB Novell Forum C NOVC Novell NetWare 2.X Forum NETW2X Novell NetWare 3.X Forum NETW3X OS9 Forum OS9 Online Today Forum ONLINE Operating Sys./Dev. Forum MSOPSYS Oracle Forum ORACLE Outdoor Forum OUTDOORFORUM PC Contact Forum PCCONTACT PC MagNet PCMAGNET PC Vendor A Forum PCVENA PC Vendor B Forum PCVENB PC Vendor C Forum PCVENC PC Vendor D Forum PCVEND PC Week Extra! PCWEEK PDP-11 Forum PDP11 PR and Marketing Forum PRSIG Palmtop Forum PALMTOP Pets/Animal Forum PETS Photography Forum PHOTOFORUM Play-By-Mail Games Forum PBMGAMES Portable Prog. Forum CODEPORT Practical Periph. Forum PPIFORUM Practice Forum(FREE) PRACTICE Quick Picture Forum QPICS Religion Forum RELIGION Revelation Tech Forum REVELATION Role-Playing Games Forum RPGAMES SPC Forum SPCFORUM SYM/Norton Utility Forum NORUTL Safetynet Forum SAFETYNET Sailing Forum SAILING Science Fiction Forum SCI-FI Science/Math Ed. Forum SCIENCE Scuba Forum DIVING Sexuality Adult Forum HSX-200 Sexuality Open Forum HSX-100 AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 88 Appendix A: Forum Quick Reference Words ______________________________________________________________________________ ShowBiz Forum SHOWBIZ Software Forums SOFTWARE Software Pub. Ass. Forum SPAFORUM Space/Astronomy Forum SPACE Spinnaker Software Forum SPINNAKER Sports Forum FANS Standard Microsystems Forum FRM-42 Students' Forum STUFO Symantec Forum SYMFORUM TAPCIS Forum TAPCIS TBS Network Earth Forum EARTH Tandy Model 100 Forum M100SIG Tandy Professional Forum TRS80PRO Telecom Issues Forum TELECOM Texas Instruments Forum TIFORUM Texas Instruments News TINEWS The Intel Forum PCEO Toshiba Forum TOSHIBA TrainNet Forum TRAINNET Travel Forum TRAVSIG UK Computing Forum UKFORUM UKSHARE Forum UKSHARE UNIX Forum UNIXFORUM VAX Forum VAXFORUM Ventura Software Forum VENTURA Windows 3rd Party A Forum WINAPA Windows 3rd Party B Forum WINAPB Windows 3rd Party C Forum WINAPC Windows New Users Forum WINNEW Wolfram Research Forum WOLFRAM WordPerfect Supp. Group A WPSGA WordPerfect Supp. Group B WPSGB WordStar Forum WORDSTAR Working-From-Home Forum WORK Zmac: MacUser/MacWeek ZMAC Page 89 AUTOSIG Users Guide Appendix B: Command Line Options ______________________________________________________________________________ You may supply one or more command line options to change the default operation of ATO. Each switch must begin with the slash "/" character. Many of the switches below can be set permanently in the PC Options menu in ATO. The command line switches, if used, will override those settings, but only for one session. The command-line switch letters may be in upper or lower case. Example: AUTOSIG /1/Q/F is the same as AUTOSIG /1/q/f Here is a list of the option switches and their effects: /B tells ATO not to accept input from the keyboard during AUTO /C causes the screen to be cleared before a message is displayed /D tells ATO to bypass carrier detection /E enables error debug mode to print all error messages on LPT1 /F disables sending a form feed to the printer when printing messages /H indicates that your monitor does not require retrace testing /I tells ATO that a mouse is available for input in the Main Menu /J changes the messages editor's input mode to insert /K sets the Mail message disposition to Keep /M tells ATO to send an RM (Read Marked) when appropriate AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 90 Appendix B: Command Line Options ______________________________________________________________________________ /N selects new-style message headers for reading /O instructs ATO to use the old B protocol instead of Quick B /P tells ATO to send a ctrl-P at logon to minimize logon and forum introductory messages /Q turns off the speaker for quiet operation /S forces a sort of the Quick Scan headers by the Mark function /T tells ATO to use normal BIOS routines for displaying to the screen /U suppresses ^U prefixing (sending ctrl-U before sending commands) /V tells ATO to use command mode instead of menu mode /Y tells ATO to bypass logon messages and Mail checking (quick logon) /Z tells ATO to return to DOS after logging off Page 91 AUTOSIG Users Guide Appendix B: Command Line Options ______________________________________________________________________________ /1 invokes the AUTO first pass immediately. A number 0-9, corresponding to one of your numbered Hosts, may be added to this switch. /13, for example, will cause ATO to do an Auto first pass using your Host 3. /2 invokes the AUTO second pass immediately. You may specify a Host; see /1, above. /4 instructs ATO to run in 43-line mode with an EGA display /Gx supplies a new prompt character, where 'x' is a letter; for example AUTOSIG /GH results in ATO using the control-H character (backspace) as a prompt rather than the default control-G (BEL) character. /Lext supplies an optional file extension for ATO files; the default is ATO. For example, /LOLD would use the extension .OLD for all ATO files. /@hh:mm supplies the time of day when the AUTO function is to run. /Xf supplies the name of a script file 'f' to be execute as soon as the logon has completed, e.g. /XDL would run the file called DL.SCR. This is handy for doing automatic file transfers. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 92 Appendix C: Comm Port Addresses ______________________________________________________________________________ The filenames COM1 thru COM9 have no relationship to DOS. They are simply *internal* AUTOSIG names assigned to base port addresses (so don't worry if one of these names works but isn't how you normally think of your modem's port <smile>): Base address IRQ Line COM1 03F8 4 COM2 02F8 3 COM3 03F8 3 COM4 02F8 4 COM5 3220 3 (PS/2 COM3) COM6 3228 3 (PS/2 COM4) COM7 03E8 4 COM8 02E8 3 COM9 03E8 3 Page 93 AUTOSIG Users Guide Appendix D: Gateway Processing ______________________________________________________________________________ There are a number of areas on CIS which require ATO to pass through a "gateway". The area on the other side of the gateway will contain one or more forums with a menu structure of their own--sort of like a miniature CIS. The best-known of these areas in ZiffNet, operated by Ziff-Davis. To have ATO go through a gateway, add the gateway "name" prior to the forum name on the "GO to page" entry in the Forum menu, for example: ZNT:FORUM_NAME will result in a direct access to the NiffNet area and a GO to the forum specified. You may return to CompuServe forums by using the CIS "gateway" prefix again for your next forum. For instance: CIS:IBMCOM will take you back to CompuServe and log you into the IBMCOM forum. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 94 Appendix E: FAX and Internet addressing workaround. ______________________________________________________________________________ Because the ATO editor's "To:" field is limited to 24 characters, it can be used only for short Internet and FAX addresses. There is a workaround for those recipients you send FAX or Internet messages to regularly. First, go online and enter the recipient's name and address in your CompuServe Mail Address Book. Enter the name on the name line, and enter the FAX or Internet address on the PPN (UID) line, as >FAX:212-345-6789 or >INTERNET:JLEAH@GHOTI.LCS.MIT.EDU Once you have done this, you can send to those addresses through ATO by entering the name, preceded by an asterisk, in the "To:" field, and omitting the PPN in the "Id:" field. ATO and CIS will handle the rest. Page 95 AUTOSIG Users Guide Appendix F: ATO Color Settings ______________________________________________________________________________ Code Color 0 Black NOTE: Colors 0 to 15 may be used 1 Blue for the foreground value 2 Green (the first of the two color 3 Cyan numbers). 4 Red 5 Magenta Only colors 0 to 7 should 6 Brown be used for the background 7 White value (the second number). 8 Gray 9 Light Blue 10 Light Green 11 Light Cyan 12 Light Red 13 Light Magenta 14 Yellow 15 High-intensity White AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 96 Appendix G: Help Screens ______________________________________________________________________________ EDIT ATO Editor Help ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Cursor Pad Keys: | Other useful keys: | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | <-,->,, Left/right/up/down | <ctrl>-<End>: Erase to end of line | | <Home>/<End> Beginning/end of line| <ctrl>-< <- >: Delete current word | | <PgUp>/<PgDn> Half screen Up/Down | <ctrl>-<T>: del frm cursor to nxt wd| | <ctrl> <-,-> Previous/Next word | <Enter> with insert on: Split line | | <ctrl-PgUp/PgDn> Top/Bottom of msg | <Backspace> at beginning of line: | | | join line to previous line | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | <Alt>-key Edits: | <Alt>-key Block Edits: | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | B Break/split msg into linked thread | C Copy block | | F Reformat rest of paragraph | D Delete marked block | | J Join current and following lines | L Mark line at top/bottom | | S Split current line at cursor | M Move block | | T Transpose current/prev. character | U Unmark block | | F2 Abort current message NO CONFIRM | | | F10 Send msg & save in <forumname>.FIL | | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Character count is given at lower right of screen. | | <Alt>-S at beginning of first line inserts a line above that line. | | Use F7 to change Subject, Addressee/PPN, Send mode, or Section # | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 97 AUTOSIG Users Guide Appendix G: Help Screens ______________________________________________________________________________ READ ATO Read Command Help -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Letter Commands: | Cursor Pad Keys: | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | A Again--redisplay the current message| <Home> Go to first message | | B Back--show previous message | <End> Go to last message | | D Delete CIS message to you (D) | (up ar) Scroll message down one line| | E End--show last message | (dn ar) Scroll message up one line | | F Forward message to another section | <PgDn> Go to next message | | H Header--print message on new page | <PgUp> Go back one message | | J Join message reply (RE) | <- Go to previous forum | | L Locate a text string | -> Go to next forum | | M Mail a reply to this message (MA) |-------------------------------------| | N Next--find next occurrence of string| Other Keys: | | P Print message |------------------------------------─| | Q Quit--return to forum function menu | <Alt>-E Invoke DOS COMMAND.COM | | R Reply to this message (RE) | <Alt>-I Insert sender in PPN file | | S Save message in View file | <Alt>-W Switch 25/43 line mode | | T Top--go to first message | <Esc> Return to forum menu | | U Use addressee for reply (UA) | F3 Locate next occurrence of | | X Skip to next thread of messages | text string (same as N) | | | ^ Search backwards for text | | | F9 Locate next backwards | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 98 Appendix G: Help Screens ______________________________________________________________________________ MENU ATO Supplementary Forum Commands -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | F-Keys: | Cursor Pad Keys: | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | F1 select AUTO first pass | up select previous Host | | F2 select AUTO second pass | down select next Host | | F3 edit Forum options | | | F4 edit Host options | <PgUp> select previous Forum | | F7 edit AUTO options | <PgDn> select next Forum | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | <Alt>-Keys: | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | <Alt>-V Toggle menu/command mode | | <Alt>-M Invoke PPN processor | | <Alt>-N Change HMN to N | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 99 AUTOSIG Users Guide Appendix G: Help Screens ______________________________________________________________________________ SEND ATO Send Window Help -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Message Header: | Send Mode: | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | To: Enter addressee's name | Enter one letter: | | <PgUp> for Name/User ID list | S> save with formatting | | Enter ATTN: info for FAX | U> save unformatted | | | P> Private message | | PPN: Enter addressee's ID (PPN) | X> Private unformatted | | <PgUp> for Name/User ID list | M> Mail message via EasyPlex | | >FAX: or >INTERNET: number | Y> Mail message unformatted | | | | | Subj: Enter subject | | | Make blank to abort | | | | Sec: Enter forum section | | | <PgDn> for section directory | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Navigation and Editing: | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | <Tab>, <Return> Next field | | <Ctrl>-<End> Delete from cursor to end of field | | <Esc> Cancel message | | F10 Send message; use when all entries are correct | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 100 Appendix G: Help Screens ______________________________________________________________________________ TERM ATO Terminal Mode Help -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | <Alt>-keys | <Alt>-keys | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | B toggle Beeper and sounds on/off | S Split screen for CB/COnference | | C Clear screen | T execute a script file | | D open/close capture file | U Upload an ASCII file | | E SHELL to DOS; use EXIT to return | W toggle 25/43-line Window display | | F display Files on disk | X eXit to DOS; modem stays connected| | G Gather section SB topics |---------------------------------------| | H Hang up the phone | Other Keys: | | I execute Immediate script command |---------------------------------------| | K edit function Keys | PgDn Download a file | | M invoke ATO PPN/UserID processor | PgUp Upload a file | | N display section SB topics | <ctrl-home> Toggle bottom line | | O copy function keys to all SIGs | display | | P toggle Printer on/off | <ctrl-D> Return to ATO menu | | R Reconfigure PC options | <ctrl-X> Return to ATO menu | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Strike any key to return to terminal mode | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 101 AUTOSIG Users Guide Appendix H: Forum Options (manual) ______________________________________________________________________________ When you use the Autosig "Autojoin" feature ATO makes the following changes to your forum options: Forum OPTIONS Changed to: 1 INITIAL menu/prompt [Forum] Forum ! 2 Forum MODE [COMMAND] Command 3 PAUSE after messages [Never] Never 4 NAME [Your Name] 5 Prompt CHARACTER [^G] ATO default (^G) 6 EDITOR [EDIT] Edit 7 SECTIONS [...] 8 HIGH msg read [N] 9 REPLIES info [List] 10 TYPE waiting msgs [NO] No 11 SKIP msgs you left [NO] Enter choice! More than likely you currently use the LINEDIT option, the editor with the line numbers. You may continue to use this editor with ATO, it will work fine. Autojoin will change to EDIT, the editor without line numbers. EDIT message uploads are be faster, but you might find that EDIT is a little harder to use if you leave messages in "real time". Like many options in AUTOSIG, this area is as flexible as possible. AUTOSIG Users Guide Page 102 Index-1 AUTOSIG Users Guide __________________________________________________________________________ "B" protocol ................. 5, 61 (B),Toggle beeper ............ 30 (C),Change menus ............. 30 (D),Download messages ........ 33, 49, 98 (F),Read forward ............. 33 (G),Go online ................ 30, 55, 61 (H),Download headers ......... 30, 33, 38, 39 (I),Message you sent ......... 34 (M),Mark messages ............ 30, 37 (O),Change Forum options ..... 31, 47 (Q),Quick scan ............... 33, 49 (R),Read messages offline .... 30, 40, 44, 69 (S),Send messages ............ 13, 30, 31, 49, 50 (T),Read thread .............. 34 (U),Read marked messages ..... 34 (V),View saved messages ...... 32 (W),Write new messages ....... 32, 44, 69 (Y),Download messages to you . 34 (Z),Logoff ................... 32 .mth,Monthly log files ....... 23 /1,Auto first pass ........... 35, 36, 48, 49, 50, 90, 92 /2,Auto second pass .......... 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 48, 49, 50, 87, 92, 93 /B,Batch keyboard option ..... 15, 16, 17, 90 /C,Clear screen option ....... 15, 16, 17, 90 /F,Printer formfeed option ... 15, 16, 90 /G,Prompt character option ... 15, 17 /H,Monitor retrace option .... 15, 16, 90 /I,Mouse input option ........ 15, 90 /K,Mail keep option .......... 15, 16, 90 /M,Skip RM option ............ 15, 16, 90 /P,Logon ^P option ........... 91 /Q,Quiet beeper option ....... 15, 17, 90, 91 /S,Sort QS headers option .... 15, 17, 91 /T,Display mode option ....... 12, 15, 17, 75, 91 /V,Debug option .............. 60, 91 A>gain ....................... 41 ADDRESS book ................. 27, 36, 52, 53, 58, 95 Alt-A,Terminal mode help ..... 58 Alt-B,Toggle beeper .......... 58, 68, 74 Alt-C,Clear screen ........... 56, 58, 68 Alt-D,Open/close capture file 58, 63, 68 Alt-E,Invoke DOS command ..... 58 Alt-F10,Archive Send message . 44, 70 Alt-F,Display disk directory . 58, 65, 68 Alt-G,Gather section names ... 24, 58, 72 Alt-H,Hang up ................ 58 Alt-I,Immediate script command 58 Alt-K,Redefine function keys . 56, 58 Alt-L,log to capture file .... 58, 63, 68 AUTOSIG Users Guide Index-2 __________________________________________________________________________ Alt-M,Invoke PPN (UID) process 36, 58, 68 Alt-N,Show section names ..... 12, 13, 23, 24, 36, 45, 58, 75 Alt-O,Copy function keys ..... 58 Alt-P,Toggle printer ......... 58 Alt-R,Redefine PC options .... 58 Alt-S,Split screen ........... 58, 68 Alt-T,Execute SCRipt file .... 59, 68 Alt-U,Upload ASCII file ...... 59, 63, 68 Alt-V,Menu or terse mode ..... 59 Alt-W,Toggle 45/25 lines ..... 36, 59 Alt-X,Exit to DOS ............ 59 Alt-Y,Toggle quick logon ..... 59 Alt-Z,Toggle auto-logoff ..... 59 Append ....................... 22, 23 AUTO ......................... 5, 12, 16, 21, 24, 29, 30, 35, 36, 39, 42 46, 48, 49, 50, 55, 59, 77, 79, 90, 92, 99 B>ack ........................ 41 Bitcom,and Everex modem ...... 79 Blank line ................... 66 Bulletin ..................... 18, 21, 30, 44, 87 Capture file,logging ......... 58, 101 Caret,^ characters ........... 20, 41, 56 CIS phone number ............. 13, 18, 19 COLOR ........................ 12, 15, 16, 86, 96 Command line,options ......... 17, 40, 48, 59, 90 COMmunications port .......... 18, 20 CompuServe Mail .............. 3, 4, 8, 16, 22, 25, 27, 41, 45, 51, 52 53, 65, 73, 78, 95 Configuration Options ........ 18, 19, 22, 24, 52 D>elete ...................... 42 DesqView ..................... 17, 83 DFN,Definitions file ......... 23, 24, 29, 31, 44, 48, 49, 50, 56, 58, 71 75 Disconnect ................... 18, 20, 24, 32, 47, 58, 77, 79 Download ..................... 4, 5, 23, 24, 29, 33, 34, 37, 39, 48, 49 50, 53, 55, 59, 61, 62, 63, 79, 81, 101 Downloading .................. 3, 24, 27, 30, 37, 39, 44, 61, 63 DTR .......................... 10, 11, 78 E>nd ......................... 41 EasyPlex ..................... 3, 27, 100 EDIT,Forum editor ............ 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 23, 26, 52, 58, 64 65, 68, 71, 99, 101, 102 Environment .................. 44 Errors ....................... 61, 76 ESCape,key ................... 14, 15, 35, 36, 38, 49, 55, 61 Everex,special setup ......... 79 Extension,file ............... 24, 48, 62, 70, 92 FAX,Sending to ............... 52, 53, 54, 64, 72, 95, 100 Files drive:\path ............ 22, 23 Index-3 AUTOSIG Users Guide __________________________________________________________________________ Forum Options,Menu ........... 8, 12, 25, 29, 31, 36, 45, 47, 55, 77, 78 99, 102 Forum Selection,List ......... 12, 13, 15, 22, 24, 29 Function menu ................ 23, 29, 32, 33, 47, 48, 55, 61, 75, 98 GO to,page ................... 12, 21, 22, 23, 25, 40, 55, 94, 98 Hayes,modems ................. 10, 19, 20, 83, 87 Host 1st,ready prompt ........ 18, 20 Host name .................... 18, 19 Host options,menu ............ 12, 18, 36, 52, 99 Host Selection ............... 12, 13, 15, 18 Hostname override ............ 22, 23 Import,into editor ........... 64, 69, 71 Internet ..................... 52, 95 Item Selection,menu .......... 12, 13, 15, 18 Join ......................... 25, 26, 40, 41, 42, 68, 78, 97, 98, 102 L>ocate ...................... 41 Library ...................... 1, 5, 6, 25, 27, 30, 61, 62, 63, 81 LINEDIT,Line editor .......... 26, 102 Log sessions ................. 22, 24 Logging ...................... 18, 24, 32, 63, 76, 91 M>ail ........................ 41 Mail ......................... 3, 4, 8, 12, 15, 16, 22, 25, 27, 45, 48 50, 51, 52, 53, 64, 65, 70, 72, 73, 78, 82 88, 90, 91, 95, 98, 100 Main Menu .................... 12, 13, 30, 47, 49, 50, 56, 66, 69, 79, 90 MA,Mail message .............. 1, 19, 40, 51 Message Editor ............... 4, 32, 42, 53, 64, 66, 68, 69, 71, 74 MNP .......................... 21 Modem commands ............... 10, 19, 58 Modem Connect,text ........... 18, 20 Modem dial,commands .......... 11, 18, 19, 20 Modem Disconnect,text ........ 18, 20 Modem Hang-up,command ........ 18, 20 Modem Reset,command .......... 18, 20 Modem switch,settings ........ 10 Mouse,input device ........... 12, 13, 15, 16, 90 N>ext ........................ 41 NAK,Resend bad blocks ........ 61, 79 OP,Setting Forum OPtions ..... 6, 11, 13, 17, 29, 35, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 55, 61, 68, 75, 79, 81, 86, 87, 88, 97, 98 P>rint ....................... 16, 41 Parameters ................... 52, 55 Parity ....................... 76 Password ..................... 13, 18, 19 PC Options,MENU .............. 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 29, 36, 41, 58 66, 90, 101 PC Week ...................... 88 PgDn ......................... 12, 13, 15, 18, 22, 25, 29, 31, 36, 39, 47 59, 60, 61, 67, 72, 73, 101 AUTOSIG Users Guide Index-4 __________________________________________________________________________ PgUp ......................... 12, 13, 15, 18, 22, 29, 31, 36, 39, 47, 59 60, 67, 72, 97, 101 Preview,messages to send ..... 29, 31, 69 Prompt char .................. 15, 17 Protocol ..................... 5, 53, 59, 61, 63, 91 Q>uit ........................ 39 Reconfigure PC ............... 12, 15, 101 Reply ........................ 1, 4, 25, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 40, 41, 42 43, 44, 51, 55, 56, 58, 64, 65, 69, 70, 72 78, 98 Run .......................... 3, 12, 19, 25, 30, 36, 47, 48, 49, 60, 76 79, 92 S>ave ........................ 23, 32, 41, 44, 70 S>ort ........................ 38, 39 Script ....................... 3, 5, 6, 18, 19, 53, 58, 59, 81, 92, 101 Sections ..................... 4, 22, 24, 102 Send forum ^P ................ 22, 24 SIG name ..................... 22 Split,screen for CO .......... 55, 68, 74, 97, 101 Starting msg # ............... 22, 23 Stay connected ............... 22, 24, 35, 47, 49, 55 Switches ..................... 7, 8, 10, 11, 17, 48, 76, 90 T>op ......................... 41 Telenet ...................... 19 Terminal Mode ................ 6, 11, 24, 25, 30, 33, 35, 53, 55, 56, 57 58, 60, 61, 63, 73, 101 Terminal Parameters .......... 55 Terminal program ............. 30, 55 Tilde,~ pause character ...... 20, 21, 56 Trouble,Shooting ............. 19, 20, 61 Tymnet ....................... 12, 15, 18, 19 UA,Use addressee ............. 40, 41, 98 Upload ....................... 6, 24, 26, 48, 53, 55, 59, 63, 101 Uploading .................... 27, 30, 59, 61 Userid ....................... 18, 19, 72, 101 Vidtex ....................... 55 ^C,Interrupt CIS ............. 18, 21, 56 ^G,Default prompt character .. 15, 17, 75, 77 ^P,Interrupt transmission .... 22, 24, 56 ^U,Flush CIS read buffer ..... 15, 17, 91