Stars of Shareware: DFÜ und Kommunikation

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Stars of Shareware: DFÜ und Kommunikation / SOS-DFUE.ISO / programm / dos / terminal / dcterm21 / dcterm.doc < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1993-11-27 | 233.6 KB | 5,295 lines

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │░ │ ────────────────────── │░ │ DC TERM v2.14.00 │░ │ ────────────────────── │░ │ │░ │ │░ │ November 8, 1993 │░ │ │░ │ │░ │ Copyright (c) 1992-93, Durand Communications Network │░ │ All Rights Reserved │░ │ │░ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 1.0 ■ INTRODUCTION ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Thank you for trying DC TERM! A revolutionary new way of viewing on-line hosts. This graphics based terminal program is the latest release of the DC NET image viewing and graphical terminal program. This new release of DC TERM is a complete replacement of all earlier versions of DC TERM. If you have downloaded earlier versions of DC TERM, you should erase them and install this new version according to the instructions within. DC TERM version 2.0 is a composite communications program made up of earlier releases of DC TERM and RIPterm 1.53.00 from TeleGrafix Communications, Inc. As a user of DC TERM, you should be aware of its licensing agreement. The following information details how, when and where DC TERM may be distributed. Read this section very carefully. ┌───────────────────── SPECIAL NOTE ───────────────────────┐ │ │░ │ There are essentially two (2) communications programs in │░ │ this set of files, they are DCTERM.EXE and DCTERMXL.EXE. │░ │ DCTERM.EXE is the RIPscrip compatible communications │░ │ program and DCTERMXL is the ANSI only version. You have │░ │ your choice of running either program although it is │░ │ generally recommended that you run DCTERM.EXE if you have│░ │ a mouse and a SVGA moniter and video card. │░ │ │░ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 1.1 ■ DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ You are free to distribute DC TERM to anyone you wish based upon the following terms and conditions. DC TERM is ShareWare only in the sense that you may distribute it governed by the following restrictions: DC TERM may NOT be freely distributed as part of a commercial package without written authorization from Durand Communications Network. DC TERM may not be modified in any way without prior written consent from Durand Communications Network. There are two exceptions to the license that do not violate the license agreement. They are: a) You may supply a DCTERM.PCX file in 640x350 (16 color) format which will be displayed while DC TERM is starting up. The purpose is to offer an advertising mechanism for your host. The lower 1/7th (50 scan lines) of the intro screen is reserved for DCN's copyright information. Altering of the DCTERM.EXE file to change the copyright violates this license agreement and is a crime under copyright laws. b) You may also provide a dialing directory file (DCTERM.PHO) with your host telephone number entered in. DC TERM may not be distributed unless accompanied by all of the following files (either in diskette or archive form): DCTERM.EXE <- The DC TERM with RIPscrip executable program DCTERMXL.EXE <- ANSI version of DC TERM version 2.0 with RIPscrip FIXED.DAT <- Color palette data FIXEDPAL.DAT <- Fixed color palette information DCTERM.HLP <- DC TERM help file DCTERM.DOC <- DC TERM documentation (this file) DCTERM.FNT <- DC TERM system font data file DCTERM.RES <- DC TERM image resource file DCTERM.SCN <- DC TERM screen resource file DCTERM.PCX <- DC TERM logo file (Customizable) WHATSNEW.DOC <- Details new things in this release DIALCONV.EXE <- Dialing directory conversion utility DCTERM.APP <- Data file for external applications DCTERM.CNF <- Data file for modem configuration DCTERM.DAT <- Data file for DC TERM configuration DCTERM.DB <- Data file for text variables PATCH.EXE <- Executable for updating DC TERM BOLD.CHR <- Graphical Font (Bold Font) EURO.CHR <- Graphical Font (European Font) GOTH.CHR <- Graphical Font (Gothic Font) LCOM.CHR <- Graphical Font (Complex Font) LITT.CHR <- Graphical Font (Small Font) SANS.CHR <- Graphical Font (Sans Serif Font) SCRI.CHR <- Graphical Font (Script Font) SIMP.CHR <- Graphical Font (Simplex Font) TRIP.CHR <- Graphical Font (Triplex Font) TSCR.CHR <- Graphical Font (Triplex Script Font) UNIVESA.EXE <- Universal VESA Driver for non-standard VGA Cards UNIVESA.DOC <- Documentation for Universal VESA Driver If you choose the customization features mentioned previously when distributing DC TERM, you may provide the following files in addition to the files listed above: DCTERM.PCX <- Logo file to promote your host DCTERM.PHO <- A "pre-configured" dialing directory file <icon files> <- Icon files for your host ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 1.2 ■ LIMITED WARRANTY │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. DURAND COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED IN THIS SOFTWARE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR THAT THE OPERATION OF THIS SOFTWARE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR- FREE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS WITH THE USER. SHOULD THE SOFTWARE PROVIDED BE DEFECTIVE, YOU (NOT DURAND COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK) ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. THIS WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS AND YOU MAY ALSO HAVE OTHER RIGHTS WHICH VARY FROM STATE TO STATE. IN NO EVENT WILL DURAND COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST SAVINGS OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE EVEN IF DURAND COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY OTHER PARTY. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. YOU MAY NOT SUBLICENSE, ASSIGN OR OTHERWISE TRANSFER THIS LICENSE OR SOFTWARE EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED IN THIS AGREEMENT. ANY ATTEMPT TO OTHERWISE SUBLICENSE, ASSIGN, OR TRANSFER ANY OF THE RIGHTS, DUTIES OR OBLIGATIONS HEREUNDER IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED AND WILL TERMINATE THIS AGREEMENT. BY INSTALLING OR USING THIS SOFTWARE, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ THIS AGREEMENT, UNDERSTAND IT, AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY ITS TERMS AND CONDITIONS. YOU FURTHER AGREE THAT IT IS THE COMPLETE AND EXCLUSIVE STATEMENT OF THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN US, WHICH SUPERSEDES ANY PROPOSAL OR PRIOR AGREEMENT, ORAL OR WRITTEN, AND ANY OTHER COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN US RELATING TO THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS AGREEMENT. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 1.3 ■ REQUIREMENTS │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ DC TERM requires that you be using an IBM-PC compatible computer system running MS-DOS version 3.0 or higher. You must have 430K of available RAM or more. A hard disk is strongly recommended. You must have an EGA or higher video adapter and a modem connected to serial port COM1 through COM4. A mouse and a color monitor are not required, but are strongly recommended. This software does not require Extended (XMS) or Expanded (EMS) memory, but can take advantage of either if present to improve software performance. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 1.4 ■ IMPORTANT INFORMATION │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Complications may arise currently if you have a SERIAL mouse installed instead of a BUS mouse. If you get garbage on the screen when you move the mouse, then there is a conflict with the MODEM port and the MOUSE port. Try deleting the DCTERM.CNF (DC TERM's configuration file) and restarting DC TERM. Once inside DC TERM, press ALT-O (for Options) and verify that your settings are correct for your PC's configuration. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 1.5 ■ INSTALLATION │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Create a directory on your hard disk called DCTERM. Under that directory, create another directory called ICONS and a second one called FONTS. For example: md \DCTERM md \DCTERM\ICONS md \DCTERM\FONTS Copy all .ICN, .MSK, and .HIC files into the ICONS directory. Copy all .CHR files into the FONTS directory and all remaining files into the DCTERM directory. Type DCTERM to start up the software. It will ask you which port your modem is connected to, the baud rate to use and what printer port your printer is connected to (if any). If you forget to perform any of these steps, or you UNZIP DC TERM from the distribution archive without extracting sub-directory info, DC TERM will accommodate the oversight by prompting you to copy the necessary icon files over to the correct ICONS\ and/or FONTS\ directories. ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 1.6 ■ THINGS TO KNOW ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ DC TERM may have been accompanied by a number of icon files. If so, they must be located in the ICONS\ directory. We recommend that you install DC TERM into a directory called DCTERM. The ICONS\ directory would be located under the terminal directory as in the following example: C:\DCTERM\ICONS. All icon files end in an extension of .ICN, .MSK or .HIC. If the icons are not located in the ICONS\ directory, then DC TERM will not load them when instructed to do so. DC TERM will try to sense if the icons are easily locatable, and if so, prompt you to move them to the correct location when you run DC TERM. There are also ten separate graphical font files that are included with DC TERM. Like the Icon files, they too need to be located in their own sub-directory. All font files end in a .CHR file extension and should be located in the FONTS\ sub-directory under your DC TERM directory. If you make a mistake and try to boot-up DC TERM with fonts or icons in the current DC TERM directory, the software will prompt you to move the files over to the proper directories. You may choose to let DC TERM do this for you automatically. If you instruct DC TERM not to move the files, you will receive the message about files being in the wrong place each time you load DC TERM until the problem is taken care of. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 1.7 ■ GLOSSARY OF TERMS │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ host - refers to the system you are connected to. This can be a BBS, a mainframe, a network application, whatever. icon - an icon is a bit map graphic of varying size. Icon files may end in .ICN, .MSK (mask files), or .HIC (hot icons - used with buttons) ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 1.8 ■ TRADEMARKS │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ DC TERM, the DC TERM logo, Durand Communications Network and the DCN logo are all trademarks of Durand Communications Network All other trademarks are trademarks of their respective holders. ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 2.0 ■ PROGRAM INFORMATION ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ DC TERM has a number of features which make it a useful terminal program. Among the features are the following: ■ Ability to view PCX, TIF, TGA, GIF, BMP and CMP files online ■ Ability to print images on or offline with DC Slideshow ■ RIPscrip graphics viewing ability ■ Graphics mode operation - 16-color, 640x350 resolution ■ Scrollback mode to review text transmitted from host ■ Editable Keystroke Macros with load/save ability ■ Log-to-Disk ability ■ Printer-Log ability ■ Full ANSI support (plus some VT-102 and VT-52 support) ■ Supports COM1 through COM4 ■ Custom IRQ and base I/O address settings ■ Context sensitive, keyword driven help system ■ Pull-down menu operation as well as complete hot-key support ■ Fully configurable modem settings ■ Auto-redial feature ■ Auto-answer mode ■ Batch upload/download ability ■ Auto Z-Modem downloads ■ Upload ASCII files with optional line/character pacing ■ Shell to DOS capability ■ EMS/XMS overlay support to maximize memory efficiency ■ Local external Application system - run favorite programs from inside DC TERM. ■ Simplified software setup ■ Shell to EMS/XMS/Disk for maximum memory usage in a DOS Shell ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 2.1 ■ GETTING ON-LINE HELP │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ The help system of DC TERM is easy to use. Simply hit F1 for help. To return to the Table of Contents at any time, click on the "Contents" button at the bottom of the screen. If you have navigated through various help screens, you can back-up to the previous screen by clicking on the "Back" button. Any words or phrases which are highlighted (light blue on color monitors) are "keywords" which you can click on to jump to that help topic. You may use the UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT keys to navigate through the help screen's keywords, or you may use the TAB or SHIFT-TAB to highlight different keywords. Tap <ENTER> and the currently selected keyword will be selected, and you will be taken to that help screen. The Help System Table of Contents may also be accessed by clicking on "F1=help" in the Status Bar. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 2.2 ■ STARTING DCTERM │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ There are a number of options that you may choose from when starting up DC TERM. These options are specified as "parameters" on the DOS command line. Each option is preceded with either a hyphen (-) or a forward slash (/). Each option is described below: -N ... Suppress the intro screen -M ... Disables all mouse activity -O ... Indicate you are already on-line (don't init modem) -E ... Disable extended keyboard support -Z ... Disable zooming windows -D<entry#> ... Dial <entry#> upon start up (from 1-100) -P<file> ... Use an alternate phone directory file -R<file> ... Play-back .RIP file upon start up -S<file> ... Use an alternate setup file Command line options are not case sensitive. You may specify these options together (for single character options), or as separate parameters on the command line. For example, to suppress the intro screen, disable zooming windows and indicate that you are already on-line, you could execute the following DOS command: DCTERM -noz Each of these options are described more fully in the following sub-sections: ┌──────────────────────────────────┐ │ -N ... Suppress the Intro Screen │ └──────────────────────────────────┘ When you choose this option, the start up logo screen is disabled. You will be placed directly into DC TERM's session screen providing there are no configuration problems, or other questions that DC TERM must ask you in order to run properly. ┌────────────────────────────────────┐ │ -M ... Disables all Mouse Activity │ └────────────────────────────────────┘ When you choose this option, DC TERM will not check for a mouse. In fact, regardless of whether or not a mouse is installed, DC TERM will not use it. Generally speaking, you will probably never need to use this option unless you find that DC TERM doesn't operate properly with your mouse. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ -O ... Indicate you are already on-line (don't init modem) │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ When you choose this option, DC TERM will not initialize the modem for you (if your default mode is "modem connection" mode). If you are in this state, DC TERM will simply start up and press the <ENTER> key. This is done to (ideally) display some kind of prompt on the host for you (or at least something). Note that DC TERM will auto-sense if you are already on-line and do this for you if it detects you're on-line. This only applies to modem connection mode. If you are in non-modem connection mode and you specify this option, DC TERM will start up and do absolutely nothing. It will not press the <ENTER> key for you. It will simply enter the session screen and sit there waiting for you to do something. ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ -E ... Disable extended keyboard support │ └──────────────────────────────────────────┘ This option is primarily for use when you are trying to troubleshoot the "doorway mode". Doorway mode will take advantage of a 101-key enhanced AT computer keyboard. If you enable 101-key keyboard mode, and you do not have a 101-key keyboard (or DC TERM doesn't think you have one), DC TERM might lock-up. If you inadvertently saved this to the setup, the next time DC TERM starts up, it could freeze up on you when you enter doorway mode again. In this case, use this start up option to "override" 101-key keyboard mode so that you can disable it and fix things for normal operation. This option should almost never be necessary except in troubleshooting situations. ┌────────────────────────────────┐ │ -Z ... Disable Zooming Windows │ └────────────────────────────────┘ This option will disable the zooming windows feature of DC TERM for the duration of the current DC TERM session. This mode overrides the setup option for zooming windows. If you select Save Setup from the Modem menu, this override will become permanent (until changed and saved). Some people find the zooming windows feature annoying in that it slows down operation of opening and closing windows a little bit. For these power users, you may use this option, or simply save the zoom windows off setting to your setup. ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ -D<entry#> ... Dial <entry#> upon start up (from 1-100) │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ This option will instruct DC TERM to automatically dial a particular entry in the dialing directory immediately after it initializes the Modem (if necessary). Whether or not the connection can be established or not is unimportant, DC TERM will remain active regardless. Use this option from within a batch file if you frequently start up DC TERM and need to dial a particular number. You may specify a dialing directory entry from 1-100. An example of using this option is as follows: DCTERM -D15 The above example starts up DC TERM and places a call to dialing directory entry #15 just as if you had selected it manually. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ -P<file> ... Use an alternate Phone Directory file │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ This option instructs DC TERM to load a dialing directory file other than DCTERM.PHO upon start up. This option is useful if you frequently use a special dialing directory file for certain applications. This option can be used with the command line option to automatically dial a directory entry upon start up. In other words, you can combine the -P and -D parameters together on the same command as in the following example: DCTERM -Pmyfile.pho -D3 The above example would load DC TERM, load the directory file called MYFILE.PHO, initialize the modem, then automatically dial entry number 3 in the MYFILE.PHO dialing directory file. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ -R<file> ... Play-back .RIP file upon start up │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ This option allows you to execute a local .RIP file upon initial start up of DC TERM. This allows you to draw some graphics, or even set up a screen with modem configuration mouse buttons. This allows for a great deal of flexibility. This option also serves as a good mechanism to test RIPscrip graphics for the RIPaint/RIPdraw artist. ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ -S<file> ... Use an alternate setup file │ └──────────────────────────────────────────┘ This option allows you to specify an alternate DC TERM setup file upon start up. By default, DC TERM will load DCTERM.CNF (or create one if necessary). Use this option if you frequently start up in a particular configuration (e.g., using a COM port other than the standard default port that is recorded in DCTERM.CNF). This option may be combined with any other command line parameter for DC TERM as in the following example: DCTERM -nz -Pmyfile.pho -Smysetup.cnf -D10 The above example suppresses the intro logo screen, instructs DC TERM not to use zooming windows, loads the dialing directory file MYFILE.PHO, loads configuration file MYSETUP.CNF and automatically dials directory entry #10 upon start up. This is about as complex of a start-up example as you can get. This is typically nothing like what you would ever use with DC TERM unless you are what is commonly referred to as a "Power User", whereby this stuff would be old hat to you anyway. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 2.3 ■ HELP ON THE MENUS │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Selecting the "Pull-Down Menu Help" option from the PROJECT menu allows you to view help information on the various menu options. A window will appear instructing you to select a pull-down menu option for help. Simply click on the right mouse button and pull down the desired menu. Select an option, and a Help Screen will appear on that item. When finished, press the <ESC> key to exit "Menu Help" mode. You may also select menu options via the keyboard by using the F10 key to activate the menu system. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 2.4 ■ PULL-DOWN MENUS │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ To activate the pull down menus, move the mouse pointer to the top of the screen and press and hold down the right mouse button. A menu bar will appear at the top of the screen. Move the mouse pointer to any of these items and a list of menu options will appear below the menu bar. At this point, move the mouse down into this list of items and as you move over different items, they will be highlighted. To select any given item, release the right mouse button while the desired option is highlighted. You may access the menu system without the mouse by pressing the F10 key. When selected, the menu bar will appear with one of the menu items highlighted. Use the RIGHT and LEFT keys to highlight the desired menu item, then press the PGDN, DOWN or ENTER keys to display a list of menu contents for the specified topic. Use the UP/DOWN keys to highlight a particular item in the list. The HOME and END keys work as you would expect them to. While a menu is displayed completely, you may use the LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to move to an adjacent menu topic. Pressing PGUP or ESC while a menu is displayed will remove the list of menu options, and return you to the menu bar only. Pressing ESC again will terminate the menu bar mode and return you to your DC TERM session. If you select options while accessing the menu with the keyboard, when the option is finished executing, you will be returned to the pull-down menu so that you can execute other options quickly. All options in the pull down menus have corresponding hot-keys that you can use. Hot-keys are keyboard short cuts for menu options. Hot-keys make it so that you do not have to use the mouse to access the menu. Some menu options are "toggle" items. If an option is toggled ON, then you will see a check-mark beside the option indicating that it is active. Select these options to toggle the state ON or OFF. The remaining portion of this section describes each menu, and how each option functions. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 2.4.1 ■ THE "PROJECT" MENU │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ This menu contains many general DC TERM functions: ┌───────────────┐ │ ABOUT DCTERM │ └───────────────┘ This option will display a help screen displaying the copyright information for DC TERM. ┌─────────────┐ │ SYSTEM INFO │ └─────────────┘ This option will display the amount of RAM memory currently available as well as the amount of disk space free on the currently selected hard disk. ┌─────────────┐ │ HELP SYSTEM │ └─────────────┘ This option will display the help system's Table of Contents. ┌───────────────┐ │ HELP ON MENUS │ └───────────────┘ This option will allow you to view help information on the menus. A window will appear instructing you to select a menu option. Depress the right mouse button and pull down the desired menu. Select an option, and a help screen will appear for that item. When finished, press <ESC> to exit "Menu Help" mode. ┌───────────────┐ │ OPEN LOG FILE │ └───────────────┘ A log file captures text transmitted from the host into a text file. ANSI color codes and RIPscrip graphics commands are filtered out for your convenience. This command can be very powerful on hosts where you want to save data coming across the screen to a file that you can read when off-line, at your leisure. A log file can be as big as you want, subject to the amount of currently available disk space. To open a log file, select "Open Log File" from the menu. You will be prompted for a filename. When a log file is open, the menu option "Open Log File" changes to "Pause/Close Log" and the status bar will show the log file name in the third spot from the left, where the terminal emulation is normally displayed. If a log file is currently open, selecting "Pause/Close Log" from the menu, or clicking on the filename in the status bar will give you the option to either pause the log, or to close the file. Pausing "suspends" logging to disk temporarily so that you can do things without saving them to the log file. If you are currently paused, selecting "Pause/Close Log" again or clicking on the filename in the status bar will prompt you to either resume, or close the log. If a log file is open, and you choose EXIT DCTERM, it will be closed automatically. ┌─────────────┐ │ JUMP TO DOS │ └─────────────┘ The "Jump to DOS" feature allows you to shell out to an MS-DOS command line while remaining in DC TERM. You would use this if you wanted to obtain a DOS directory, or to run an editor, or use DOS in general. To return to DC TERM from the DOS command line, type "EXIT". DC TERM will display a special DOS prompt indicating that are currently running DC TERM, but executing a DOS shell. You may use any disk drive you want, or change directories. When you type "EXIT", DC TERM will return to your default DC TERM directory so that it can re-load files for you. When you return to your DC TERM session, the current graphics screen is restored as well as any mouse fields, or other parameters. See the section on external applications for more details about the DOS Shell feature. ┌──────┐ │ EXIT │ └──────┘ This exits DC TERM and return you to DOS. If your modem configuration is set to "modem dialing", and you are currently on-line, a dialog box will appear asking if you wish to hang-up before exiting. If you choose NO at this prompt, you will remain on-line even after you have exited to DOS. Use this option with caution, as if you forget that you are on-line, you could charge up a considerable long distance bill. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 2.4.2 ■ THE "OPTIONS" MENU │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ This menu contains many options that can be used to alter DC TERM's basic mode of operation: ┌─────────────┐ │ STATUS LINE │ └─────────────┘ The status line displays various important information about the current State of DC TERM. Information displayed left to right: ┌───────────┬─────────────┬──────────┬─────────────────┬ │ F1 = Help │ F10 = Menus │ RIPscrip │ 38400 ■ N81 FDX │ └───────────┴─────────────┴──────────┴─────────────────┴ (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) ┬──────┬──────────────────┬─────────┐ │ COM1 │ DC TERM v2.00.00 │ Offline │ ┴──────┴──────────────────┴─────────┘ (6) (7) (8) (1) How to get the help system table of contents (2) How to use the keyboard only to select from the menus (3) What terminal emulation is in use, or the name of the log file if one has been opened, or the LPT port that it being printed to. (4) The baud rate, parity setting, data bits and stop bits (5) Full-duplex (FDX) or half-duplex (HDX) settings (6) The COM port that is currently in use (7) The current version number of DC TERM (8) Whether you are "on-line" or "off-line" To display or hide the status line, press ALT-SPACE. ┌────────────────┐ │ BUTTON HOTKEYS │ └────────────────┘ A new option is available to the DC TERM user: Button hotkey release mode. This allows the user to determine whether his keystrokes should be checked with the BBS buttons or not for activation. In other words, if the BBS places a button on the screen like this: ┌────────────────┐ │ │ │ (E)nter name │ │ │ └────────────────┘ ...where the hotkey for the button is "E", simply pressing the "E" key on your keyboard would normally activate this button. This may not be desirable if you're trying to send a message to another user with the letter "E" in it. Now, there's a way around this: Hotkey Release Mode. Hotkey Release mode is linked to your SCROLL-LOCK key on your keyboard. If Scroll Lock is lit, then hotkeys are processed. If it is not lit, then the character will be sent to the BBS directly, bypassing any button hotkeys. ┌──────────────┐ │ DOORWAY MODE │ └──────────────┘ This mode is of use on a number of host packages that take advantage of "Doors". When in Doorway mode, any keystroke that you enter on your keyboard is transmitted to the host regardless of the fact that the keystroke might be a menu shortcut, or something that DC TERM would normally process locally. This allows you to use special keystrokes (like INSERT, DELETE, PGUP, Function Keys, etc.) on a host program that can take advantage of it. The most popular program that takes advantage of this mode is DOORWAY (tm) by Marshall Dudley. DC TERM's support for Doorway operation is a complete implementation of the Doorway interface. It fully supports the Printer Re-direction feature as well as Special Character Overiding for non-printable ASCII characters (control characters). DC TERM v2.0 is one of the first terminals to be released to the general "market" with complete Doorway support. PROGRAMMER'S NOTE ----------------- For the technical minded who want to know how this works, this is what's going on: ■ The keystroke is recorded using BIOS interrupt 0x16, sub-function 0x00 for non-101-key keyboards, or sub-function 0x10 for 101-key keyboards. ■ If register AL contains a value (the ASCII character), and AH is equal to 0, then it is sent to the host by transmitting the character directly over the comm port (e.g., 'A', 'z', '3', etc). ■ If AH is not 0, then transmit the contents of AH instead to the host by transmitting a null (0), then the contents of AH. If AL == E0, and AH != 0, then it is an enhanced 101-key scancode and should be sent to the host as a null (0), followed by an 0xE0, then followed by the raw scan code (AH). ┌─────────────┐ │ PRINTER LOG │ └─────────────┘ By toggling this option ON, your current online session will be echoed to your local printer (if any). Any ANSI/ASCII text that is displayed on your screen will also be sent to your local printer on whatever Printer Port (LPT) you have configured DC TERM to use. If DC TERM has not been configured for a printer, then this option will not operate (it will refuse to print). When this mode is active, you will see a message on the status bar saying "--LPT1--" or whatever port you have configured for your printer. Simply clicking on this field in the status bar will turn off printer log mode. ┌───────────────────────┐ │ CLEAR GRAPHICS WINDOW │ └───────────────────────┘ DC TERM uses two windows in RIPscrip graphics mode, a graphics window and a text window. The text window is where all non-graphical data is displayed. The graphics window is where all graphical RIPscrip commands are displayed. Choose this option to clear the graphics window only. If the graphics window overlaps the text window, then some of the text may be erased in the process. The window is cleared to the current background color, which by default is BLACK. NOTE: The graphics window is ALWAYS set to the full screen in this version of DC TERM (v2.00.00). ┌───────────────────────┐ │ CLEAR THE TEXT WINDOW │ └───────────────────────┘ DC TERM uses two windows in RIPscrip graphics mode, a graphics window and a text window. The graphics window is where all graphical RIPscrip commands are displayed. The text window is where all non-graphics data is displayed. Choose this option to clear the text window only. If the text window overlaps the graphics window, then some of the graphics may be erased in the process. The window is cleared to BLACK and the cursor moved to the upper left corner of the window. NOTE: The text window, by default, is full screen. This may be changed by RIPscrip graphics commands. ┌───────────────────┐ │ RESET ALL WINDOWS │ └───────────────────┘ This command will reset the text and graphics windows to full screen. In addition, the screen is cleared and the cursor moved to the upper left hand corner of the screen. This is equivalent to a clear screen command in other software packages. The color palette is reset to the standard 16 ANSI colors, the font is reset to the system default you have selected and any mouse fields/buttons are deleted from the screen. ┌────────────────────────┐ │ VIEW SCROLLBACK BUFFER │ └────────────────────────┘ This option will activate the text scrollback system. This allows you to view previously displayed text information that has come across the modem. You may set the scrollback buffer size to 5k - 64k of memory. Within scrollback, you may choose from the following options: SAVE buffer page to a text file SAVE entire buffer to a text file PRINT the current buffer page, or the entire buffer SEARCH for a particular piece of text SEARCH AGAIN for a previously searched for text string At the top of the scrollback screen are buttons for the above commands. In addition, there are buttons for scrolling up and down, paging up and down, or moving to the beginning or end of the buffer. NOTE: The scrollback buffer filters out ANSI color codes and RIPscrip graphics for an uncluttered text display. ┌────────────────────────┐ │ KEYSTROKE MACRO EDITOR │ └────────────────────────┘ Macros are functions that you can define to perform short-cut operations on the host. For example, you can instruct DC TERM to make the F5 key type your User-ID and press <ENTER> for you. This would allow you to log-on quickly by simply pressing a single key. DC TERM's macro system is easy to use, and very powerful! You can save your macro keys to the default macro file (DCTERM.KEY), or if you need to have multiple macro configurations, you can save macros to different files. ┌─────────────┐ │ SYSTEM FONT │ └─────────────┘ The System Font allows you to select the font that is used in the text/ANSI mode. It does not have any effect on the graphics shown. Any subsequent text/ANSI displayed on the screen will appear in the chosen system font unless the host explicitly tells DC TERM to use another font for the text window. This mode allows you to specify how "large" text is when you are in full-screen text mode. You have five separate System Fonts to choose from. They are: 80x43 - default 80x25 - normal DOS screen size 40x25 - low-resolution font 91x43 - get more columns of text at once 91x25 - get more columns of text at once ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 2.4.3 ■ THE "MODEM" MENU │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ The Modem Menu is for making the modem do something. From this menu you can make the modem dial-out to another system, configure certain hardware specific things pertaining to your modem ports and otherwise control how your online sessions are handled in a general sense. ┌───────────────────┐ │ DIALING DIRECTORY │ └───────────────────┘ This option displays the current dialing directory on your screen. From this dialog box, you may dial, edit or otherwise manipulate any of the dialing directory entries in any way you wish. There is a complete section of this document devoted specifically to the dialing directory. Read on for details. You may also access this mode by clicking on the "off-line" field of the status bar. This field will automatically change to "on-line" when connected to a host. Clicking on this field when on-line will activate the hang-up option. ┌────────────────┐ │ MANUAL DIALING │ └────────────────┘ This command will prompt you to enter the telephone number to dial. You may enter any digits from 0-9. Hyphens are ignored. If you need to obtain a delay before continuing the rest of the phone number, enter a comma (,) for a 1/2 second pause. After entering the phone number, the DIALING window will appear showing you the current status of DC TERM as it dials the modem. ┌───────────────────┐ │ HANG-UP THE MODEM │ └───────────────────┘ This option will attempt to disconnect the modem, thus logging you off of whatever host you are connected to. You may also hang-up the modem by clicking on the "On-line" field of the Status Bar. If for some reason, DC TERM was unable to successfully disconnect the modem, the message "Hang-up Failed" will be displayed and your system beep to indicate a problem has occured. ┌──────────────────┐ │ INITIALIZE MODEM │ └──────────────────┘ Choosing this option will reset the modem, and send the modem initialization string to the modem. This will effectively reset the modem to the configured default settings. The commands sent to the modem can be altered by choosing modem settings from the Setup menu, or by pressing ALT-O. ┌───────────────────┐ │ MODEM AUTO-ANSWER │ └───────────────────┘ This command will transmit the modem auto-answer command string to the modem. This command instructs the modem to answer the phone after a certain number of rings (one ring by default). The commands sent to the modem can be altered by choosing modem settings from the Setup menu, or by pressing ALT-O. ┌─────────────────────────────┐ │ SERIAL PORT INTERRUPT SETUP │ └─────────────────────────────┘ THIS IS AN ADVANCED OPTION AND SHOULD NOT BE USED UNLESS YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH IBM-PC INTERRUPTS AND HARDWARE SETUP! This option allows you to customize the Interrupt (IRQ) settings for each of your four COM ports. Normally this isn't necessary. However, some PC's have special configurations that require the terminal's setup to be altered if the serial ports are to function properly. There are five different interrupts that can be selected for each COM port (2, 3, 4, 5, and 7). If two serial ports in the computer use the same interrupt (i.e., a conflict), then problems may arise. ┌───────────────────────────┐ │ SERIAL PORT ADDRESS SETUP │ └───────────────────────────┘ THIS IS AN ADVANCED OPTION AND SHOULD NOT BE USED UNLESS YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH IBM-PC BASE I/O ADDRESSES AND HARDWARE SETUP! This option allows you to customize the base I/O addresses of the four COM ports that DC TERM can utilize. Normally, you will not need to alter these settings. If you are a PC technician, or you have a serial port configuration that doesn't comply with the COM1-COM4 standards, you may need to alter your addresses for these ports to make DC TERM function properly. The standard addresses for COM1-4 are as follows on an AT compatible computer: Normal IBM-AT Micro Channel (ISA/EISA) (PS/2) PORT ADDRESS IRQ PORT ADDRESS IRQ ---------------------- ---------------------- COM1 3F8 4 COM1 3F8 4 COM2 2F8 3 COM2 2F8 3 COM3 3E8 4 COM3 3220 3 COM4 2E8 3 COM4 3228 3 NOTE: The first time you install DC TERM, it will auto-sense if you are on a Micro Channel machine, and if so, will attempt to customize the Addresses and IRQ's for COM3 and COM4 itself. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 2.4.4 ■ THE "TRANSFER" MENU │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ This menu contains options for transferring files TO (downloading) or FROM (uploading) your system. These commands make use of File Transfer Protocols (see below). ┌─────────────────┐ │ DOWNLOAD A FILE │ └─────────────────┘ This command downloads (receives) a file from the host to your system. This is done by what's called a "protocol" transfer. A protocol is like a language that humans speak. There are a number of languages like French, English, and Italian. If two people are speaking in different languages, the net result is that no communication occurs. The same goes for protocols. Both the host and the terminal (DC TERM) must use the same protocol if they are to communicate properly. To download a file, instruct the host which file you want to transfer. Select a protocol from the menu of available protocols. When the host says "Ready to download..." or "Ready to send...", choose the download option of DC TERM and select the same protocol that you chose on the host. Enter a filename to save to your local hard disk and the file transfer will commence. When the transfer is done, you will be returned to terminal mode and the file will either exist on your hard disk, or will be incomplete or missing entirely if an error occurred. The currently supported protocols are: X-Modem (checksum) X-Modem (CRC) X-Modem-1K X-Modem-1K (G) Y-Modem (Batch) Y-Modem (G) Z-Modem Kermit ASCII (text files only!) ┌───────────────┐ │ UPLOAD A FILE │ └───────────────┘ This command uploads (sends) a file to the host from your system. This is done by what's called a "protocol" transfer. A protocol is like a language that humans speak. There are a number of languages like French, English, and Italian. If two people are speaking in different languages, the net result is that no communication occurs. The same goes for protocols. Both the host and the terminal (DC TERM) must use the same protocol if they are to communicate properly. To upload a file, instruct the host to upload, and give the host a filename. Select a protocol from the menu of available protocols. When the host says "Ready to upload..." or "Ready to receive...", choose the upload option of DC TERM and select the corresponding protocol that you chose on the host. Enter a filename to send from your local hard disk and the file transfer will begin. When the transfer is done, you will be returned to terminal mode and if there were no errors in transmission, the file will exist on the host. The currently supported protocols are: X-Modem (checksum) X-Modem (CRC) X-Modem-1K X-Modem-1K (G) Y-Modem (Batch) Y-Modem (G) Z-Modem Kermit ASCII (text files only!) ┌───────────────────────┐ │ ASCII UPLOAD SETTINGS │ └───────────────────────┘ This option modifies the default settings for ASCII (text) uploads. Some hosts are picky about how fast they can take text data being uploaded to them. With this in mind, you can set a short delay in between each line of text sent to the host, and/or you can set a delay in between each character sent to the host. Fine tuning this can make ASCII text uploads fast and the most optimized they can be for the host you call. One last setting determines how "blank lines" are handled. For example, if you upload a text file into an Email message on a BBS and the file has blank lines in it, when that blank line is uploaded to the system it might (depending on the BBS package) show a command prompt instead of accepting the blank line as "raw text". DC TERM allows you to "transform" blank lines into a single space character followed by a carriage return. This in effect, tricks the BBS into thinking you typed something in, but at the same time makes it look like a real blank line in your message. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 2.4.5 ■ THE "DATA" MENU │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ The Data Menu is for controlling DC TERM text variables and using the local DC TERM database (or viewing the contents of it). DC TERM's ability to store data over long periods of time gives it quite a bit of flexibility. The following sections describe the various features available in this menu. ┌─────────────────┐ │ CREATE VARIABLE │ └─────────────────┘ This option enters a piece of information into the DC TERM database. This information will be saved for future use by either yourself or by a host. You may store just about any piece of information in this database. Each piece of information is associated with a "name". Any information entered must be from 1-60 characters in length. The name of the information (also called the variable name), is from 3-12 characters in length. An example of this might be: Variable Information Stored in variable -------------- ------------------------------ FIRST_NAME John LAST_NAME Doe ADDRESS 123 Anywhere Street PHONE_NUMBER 555-1212 You may choose to save a data variable either to internal memory, or to the permanent database. This database is "indexed" for high speed access of information. In the event that the Index becomes corrupted due to a power failure or something of that nature, it will be automatically re-indexed for you. ┌────────────────┐ │ SHOW VARIABLES │ └────────────────┘ This option displays all text variables that have been stored to the local DCTERM.DB database file. All variables are listed to the current text window, but are not sent to the host. This allows you to see what is currently in your database. NOTE: The variables are appended to the scrollback buffer. You can view them by selecting text scrollback from the Options menu, or pressing ALT-B. ┌────────────────────┐ │ BUILT-IN VARIABLES │ └────────────────────┘ This displays the contents of all text variables that are built into DC TERM. Some variables are pre-defined in the sense that DC TERM doesn't need you to instruct it with information. Among the various pre-defined variables are things like $DATE$, $TIME$, and other such variables that change frequently. Some variables do not contain valid text data due to their nature. These might include variables like $SBARON$, or $SBAROFF$ which display or hide the Status Bar. When listing these variables, the contents are listed as blank. NOTE: The variables are appended to the scrollback buffer. You can view them by selecting text scrollback from the Options menu, or pressing ALT-B. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 2.4.6 ■ THE "SETUP" MENU │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ The Setup Menu provides you with a centralized place to alter DC TERM's overall configuration. You may modify the modem's conifiguration, many various General Settings and also the way in which telephone numbers are dialed. The following sections describe the various options in detail. ┌────────────────┐ │ MODEM SETTINGS │ └────────────────┘ This dialog box will allow you to modify your modem configuration. You may alter the modem initialization commands, the auto-answer string or the modem reset command string. These options use standard Hayes-compatible modem commands. If you wish to insert a "pause" into the command, simply insert a comma (,) or a tilde (~). In addition to modem commands, you may set the current COM port, the data bits, stop bits, parity setting and baud rate. Standard settings are either 8 data bits, 1 stop bit and NO parity (8N1), or 7 data bits, 1 stop bit and EVEN parity (7E1). Additional options allow you to specify the number of seconds to wait for a connection (redial time), whether to add CR/LF combinations and whether DC TERM is connected directly to a modem or not. You may also specify flow control for the serial port as RTS/CTS control (hardware flow control, the most reliable). If you specify RTS/CTS flow control, make sure your modem cable can support the specific signals that would make this mode work properly. Most commonly available serial cables support this feature now. If you have an internal modem, then this mode should work for you automatically. One final option on this dialog box is the "Use Modem" option. If selected (the default), then DC TERM assumes it is connected to a modem. If it is disabled, then DC TERM thinks it is connected to another computer directly using a modem eliminator cable (also known as a "NULL MODEM" cable). To alter the serial port IRQ settings, choose the INTERRUPT SETUP option from the Modem Menu. To alter serial port addresses, choose the option SERIAL ADDRESSES from the OPTIONS menu. These settings are part of the setup, so once you alter them, you should choose the SAVE SETUP option to make them permanent. ┌──────────────────┐ │ GENERAL SETTINGS │ └──────────────────┘ The General Settings dialog box controls various miscellaneous settings for the DC TERM environment. The various settings in this dialog box are: Download Directory .......... Directory where downloaded files are stored. Upload Directory ............ Directory where files to be uploaded are stored. Scrollback Size (in K) ...... The size of the scrollback buffer (from 5-64k) Printer Port configuration .. The LPT port that your printer is connected to or zero (0) for no printer. Status Bar .................. If checked, then the Status Bar is displayed on screen. Zooming Windows ............. If checked, all windows will "zoom in/out". Enable Beeps ................ If enabled, any CTRL-G (bel) character that is received will "beep" your local console. VT-102 Emulation ............ When enabled, DC TERM will utilize VT-102 extensions of ANSI text graphics. Shell to EMS/XMS ............ If checked, when you choose a DOS Shell DC TERM will swap all but 5.5k of your 640k memory to EMS or XMS memory giving you all memory for your DOS Shell. Mouse Field Select .......... When selected, you may use the TAB/SHIFT-TAB key combinations to select "mouse fields" on the screen. If disabled, the TAB key functions normally (ie, transmitted to the BBS). 101-key keyboard ............ If enabled, this option will provide 101-key support for Doorway Mode. Hot-key mode ................ If enabled, then Mouse Button Hotkeys for BBS menus will react when you hit the proper key on the keyboard, thus activating the option. Data security ............... This mode prevents any BBS from querying info from your terminal without you being given the opportunity to approve the information transfer. Zmodem Recovery ............. When active, Zmodem will attempt to recover from an aborted transfer if a file by the same name exists on the local hard disk. When disabled, Zmodem will always overwrite any file. Auto Zmodem Download ........ When selected, you will not have to indicate that a download is in progress - Zmodem transfers will automatically begin the moment the BBS begins sending. In other words, you don't have to hit PGDN to say that a download has begun. Force DTR on exit ........... This option allows you to control whether the modem signal DTR is left ON or OFF after exiting DC TERM. Some modems act differently depending on the setting of DTR. Consult your modem guide for more details on its DTR support. ┌──────────────────┐ │ DIALING PREFIXES │ └──────────────────┘ This option allows you to alter your dialing Prefix and Suffix settings. These settings are used for every system you try to dial to begin the dialing operation (prefix), and to finish the dialing process (suffix). You are allowed up to three choices for each, and any one of those three entries can be set to be the "Default" prefix/suffix. See the Dialing Prefix/Suffix section below for more details. ┌────────────┐ │ SAVE SETUP │ └────────────┘ This option will save a number of configuration parameters for DC TERM. Among the various items maintained in the Setup are: ■ All of the "Modem Settings" ■ All of the "General Settings" ■ All of the "Modem Prefix/Suffix" settings ■ All "ASCII Upload Settings" ■ Serial Port IRQ Interrupt settings (for all four ports) ■ Serial Port I/O Address settings (for all four ports) ■ System Font setting ■ Dialing Directory TOGGLE status Each time you load DC TERM, the setup is loaded and used for the current session. Setup information is contained in a file called DCTERM.CNF by default. This can be altered by using the -S parameter when starting up DC TERM. This option instructs DC TERM to use an alternate setup file (e.g., DCTERM -Smysetup.cnf). ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 2.4.7 ■ THE "EXTERNAL" MENU │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ The External Menu is used for manipulating and configuring external MS-DOS application programs to be used from within DC TERM. The following sections give a brief overview of what the options in this menu do. For more detailed explanations of external applications, see the section of this document devoted to the subject. ┌───────────────────┐ │ EDIT APPLICATIONS │ └───────────────────┘ This option allows you to edit up to ten (10) different configurable application programs. The Application feature allows you to "plug-in" external programs into DC TERM to do various things. From this menu option, you can edit the configurations of all ten "Application slots". You may custom tailor how the programs are run, what slot they are associated with, whether they should be run 'on' particular files that you download, and various other settings that may pertain to running external programs. ┌──────────────────┐ │ RUN APPLICATIONS │ └──────────────────┘ This menu allows you to select an external application to run. When chosen, the "command line" for the program is processed and if any text variables (see below) are present it will process them as well to construct a complete MS-DOS Command Line. When all processing on the command line is complete, DC TERM will physically "shell-to-DOS" and run the specified program. ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 3.0 ■ DCTERM SETUP ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ In the following sections are the features of DC TERM which control the setup and configuration of DC TERM. Since this is a communications program, you may notice that there are a large number of configuration options to choose from. This section is designed to answer the most frequently asked questions about what a particular option does so that you can make the right choices for your configuration. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 3.1 ■ MODEM SETUP INFORMATION │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ When you choose the Modem Options feature, a dialog box appears to edit many of the available modem settings that are a part of DC TERM. The dialog box looks similar to the following: ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Modem Options ║ ║ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ║ ║ Modem Init │ AT &C1 &D2 E1 V1 X4^M │ ║ ║ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ ║ ║ Auto Answer │ AT S0=1^M │ ║ ║ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ ║ ║ Modem Reset │ AT Z^M │ ║ ║ ├────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║ ║ Redial Time │ 45 │ ┌──────────────┐ ║ ║ └────┘ Com Port │ 1 │ ║ ║ ├──────────────┤ ║ ║ Use Modem ■ Port Lock ■ Baud Rate │ 9600 │ ║ ║ Add CR/LF ■ Local Echo ■ ├──────────────┤ ║ ║ RTS/CTS ■ DTR hangup ■ Data Bits │ 8 │ ║ ║ ├──────────────┤ ║ ║ Parity │ None │ ║ ║┌────────┐┌────────┐┌────────┐┌────────┐ ├──────────────┤ ║ ║│ OK ││ CANCEL ││ SAVE ││ HELP │ Stop Bits │ 1 │ ║ ║└────────┘└────────┘└────────┘└────────┘ └──────────────┘ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ This dialog box is for modifying your modem configuration. You may alter the modem initialization commands, the auto-answer string and the modem reset command string. These options use standard Hayes-compatible modem commands. If you wish to insert a "pause" into the command, simply insert a comma (,). In addition to modem commands, you may set the COM port, data bits, stop bits, parity, and baud rate. Standard settings are 8 data bits, 1 stop bit and NO parity (8N1), or 7 data bits, 1 stop bit and EVEN parity (7E1). Additional options allow you to specify the number of seconds to wait for a connection (redial time), whether to add CR/LF, and whether DC TERM is connected directly to a modem or not. To alter the serial port IRQ settings, choose the interrupt setup option from the modem menu. These settings are part of the setup, so once you alter them, you should choose the SAVE button at the bottom of the dialog box. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 3.1.1 ■ GENERAL MODEM SETTINGS │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌─────────────┐ │ REDIAL TIME │ └─────────────┘ The "redial time" setting allows you to specify how many seconds DC TERM should wait before assuming that the dialed system isn't answering. This value is set by default to 45 seconds. You might need to extend this to a higher value if you're calling through an elaborate telephone system. Shortening the duration may be desirable if you are dialing a number where the Host connects quickly and you don't need the extended redial times. ┌──────┐ │ PORT │ └──────┘ This option allows you to specify which communications port will be used to dial the modem. Valid ports are COM1 through COM4. Of course, your system must have the given port in order to be able to dial out on it. DC TERM will normally initialize the modem upon initial bootup providing the "Use Modem" option is selected. ┌──────┐ │ BAUD │ └──────┘ This option allows you to specify the default baud rate in which DC TERM should operate. Valid baud rates are 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, and 115200 baud. ┌───────────┐ │ DATA BITS │ └───────────┘ This option allows you to alter the number of data bits that will be used for a given communications link. Valid settings are 7 data bits, or 8 data bits. You will find that most hosts use 8 data bits. 7 data bits are commonly used when calling mainframe computers, or large hosts like TymNet, TeleNet, GEnie, CompuServe, or other nationwide network services that use the X.25 network protocol. When in doubt, try 8 data bits. If you get garbled information, try 7. ┌────────┐ │ PARITY │ └────────┘ This option allows you to alter the parity setting that will be used for a given communications link. Valid settings are EVEN, ODD or NONE. The vast majority of hosts in the world use a setting of NONE, for "No Parity". Situations where you will choose something other than NONE would be if you were calling a mainframe computer, or dialing up via a nationwide network like TymNet, TeleNet, GEnie, CompuServe, or other such X.25-based hosts. If in doubt, try NONE. ┌───────────┐ │ STOP BITS │ └───────────┘ This option allows you to alter the number of "Stop Bits" that are used for the communications link. Valid settings are 1 stop bit, or 2 stop bits. Typically, 1 stop bit will be used for the vast majority of hosts. In the last three sub-sections, you've seen settings for data bits, parity, and stop bits. In nearly 100% of every situation, there are only two combinations of these three values that are used. They are: 8 data bits 7 data bits No parity Even parity 1 stop bit 1 stop bit ----------- ----------- 8-N-1 7-E-1 <- referred to as eight-none-one seven-even-one <- pronounced ┌───────────┐ │ USE MODEM │ └───────────┘ If selected, DC TERM will assume that it is directly connected to a physical modem device. This is the normal, default situation. If you are using DC TERM to connect directly to another computer via a serial link (i.e., a "null modem"), then you would not want to have this option set. If this option is enabled, then DC TERM will send the "Modem Init" command string to the modem when DC TERM boots up. If this option is not selected then DC TERM will simply tap the <ENTER> key for you when it boots up to get some kind of a response from the BBS that its directly connected to. ┌───────────┐ │ ADD CR/LF │ └───────────┘ This option will add CR/LF combinations at the end of text lines. Normally, this is not necessary. Some hosts however, require that CR/LF's be ON for you to see text properly. Normally, this option is OFF. You may toggle it ON if need be. If text coming across the modem does not move to the next line, then you need to turn this option ON. If every line of text is separated by a blank line, then you need to toggle this OFF. ┌─────────┐ │ RTS/CTS │ └─────────┘ This option determines whether any "flow control" should be used between your computer and your modem. With DC TERM, flow control is very important at high baud rates. It is critically important with high speed file transfers with protocols like Zmodem or Ymodem. Without flow control, the BBS might be sending data faster than the terminal can take it in. RTS/CTS is a form of "hardware flow control". What this means is that the hardware (i.e., Modem & computer) know how to tell each other "I'm ready for more data now, continue...". In order to take advantage of this mode of operation you need to make sure you have a full "hardware handshaking" serial cable. 99% of all serial cables you can purchase for an IBM-PC now'a'days are these types of cables. If for some obscure reason, RTS/CTS flow control is not usable on your particular PC configuration, DC TERM will issue the error message: "CTS is inactive, so RTS/CTS handshaking is disabled" What this means is that DC TERM sensed that RTS/CTS was not allowable and it will automatically shut off that mode for you so that DC TERM will function properly. NOTE, THIS ERROR MESSAGE CAN ALSO OCCUR IF YOU BOOT-UP DCTERM WHILE YOUR MODEM IS TURNED OFF! When viewing RIPscrip graphics at high baud rates (9600 baud and higher), this form of flow control is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! Without it you could easily have garbled graphics. The reason for this is when you're working in a graphical environment, you are doing a lot of stuff "behind the scenes" to show even so much as a single line on the screen. Since graphics mode can be so CPU intensive, sometimes it is necessary to tell the BBS to "hold on" while the terminal "catches up" with the BBS. That is what flow control is used for and why DC TERM really would like to have this mode active. ┌───────────┐ │ PORT LOCK │ └───────────┘ Port Lock is used with high speed modems. Before explaining why you need it, let's discuss how a regular modem works with Baud Rates. Normally, a modem must be set for the exact same baud rate as the connection. For example, if the modem says: "CONNECT 2400" then DC TERM must be set for 2400 baud if it is to talk to the remote Host (BBS). DC TERM will automatically see this CONNECT 2400 message and automatically switch baud rates for you (auto-baud detect). Now with High Speed modems the situation is a bit different. Most high speed modems achieve higher baud rates by compressing data, transmitting it, and letting the modem on the other end of the connection de-compress the data. Now, image a connection like this: ┌───────┐ │ │ │ │ 9600 ┌─┴───────┴─┐ baud ┌─────┐ │ Computer │════│Modem│ └───────────┘ └─────┘ /9600 ║ ┌───────┐ Telephone / baud ║ │ │ connection\ 9600 │ │ \ ┌─────┐ baud ┌─┴───────┴─┐ │Modem│════│ Computer │ └─────┘ └───────────┘ Notice that the links between each computer and their respective modems are set for 9600 baud. Also, the telephone connection itself is also at 9600 baud. Now, lets say one computer sends a 10k packet of data to its modem. The modem compresses that data into a smaller packet, say 5k for the point of discussion. Now that data takes half as long to transmit. The modem on the other end of the connection decompresses the packet to get the original 10k packet again and it shoots it out the serial port to the computer. Now if another 5k compressed packet is coming over the phone line immediately after the first one, the modem has to decompress that packet and send it to the computer as well. If the link between the computer and the modem is THE SAME SPEED as the telephone link (modem-to-modem) then the act of decompressing data packets might create more data than the computer can accept at the given baud rate. It is possible to LOSE data because of serial port speeds. The solution in situations like this is to set the baud rate of DC TERM to a value higher than the highest connection speed. For example, if you have a 14,400 baud modem, you might be inclined to set your baud rate in DC TERM to 19,200 baud (the next highest setting). In practice though, modems can compress data better than that. The next highest setting is 38,400 baud which is a very good choice. However, for optimal results, you would want to set DC TERM at a rate like 57,600 baud (roughly 4 times the speed of the modem). This insures that even if the modem decompressed a packet that was compressed down to 25% of its original size, the computer could receive the data at full speed from the modem. Now, back to PORT LOCK. Port Lock is used for high speed modems to tell DC TERM NOT to perform auto-baud detection when connecting to other systems. What this means is that the baud rate indicated in the dialing directory will not change even if the two modems sync-up at a lower baud rate. In this way, the speed between the computer and the modem are at a fixed rate always and the baud rate between the two modems can vary. When Port Lock is enabled, DC TERM will let the modems worry about getting their speeds "just right". Even if your high speed modem only connected at 300 baud, DC TERM could still talk to the modem at 57,600 baud. The modem would handle all of the details about "flow control" between the computer/modem to make sure that data doesn't get stuffed into the modem faster than the telephone connection can handle. ┌────────────┐ │ LOCAL ECHO │ └────────────┘ This command will toggle whether DC TERM should echo keystrokes to the terminal locally, or let the host perform the echoing. Normally, the host will do this for you, so echo is OFF by default. In some situations though, you may wish to toggle ECHO ON. One such situation is if you are directly connected to another person's computer via modem and are typing to them in a "chat-like" manner. ┌────────────┐ │ DTR HANGUP │ └────────────┘ DTR hangup is often referred to as "quick hangup". When activated, DC TERM will lower the DTR signal on the modem for 1 second to try to tell the modem to "hangup". Many modems will respond to this form of hangup command. In order for the modem to recognize this mode of operation, make sure you have the "AT &D2" command in your modem initialization command string. This is the modem command to tell your modem to disconnect if DTR is inactive. If for some obscure reason DTR doesn't hangup the modem, DC TERM will attempt to hangup the modem by issuing the typical hangup command: +++ATH0^m If after trying both methods the modem still hasn't hung-up, DC TERM will say "Hangup Failed" and beep your PC Speaker. ┌────┐ │ OK │ └────┘ When chosen, OK will take all of the modem options and make them current. It will re-initialize the serial port if necessary and make any of the changes active. The changes are not automatically saved to the DC TERM setup file - you must do that yourself. After choosing this item, the dialog box will close and you will be returned to the terminal window. ┌────────┐ │ CANCEL │ └────────┘ When chosen, any changes in the Modem Options dialog box will be discarded. Whatever settings were active before entering this dialog box will be restored. You will be sent immediately to the terminal window. ┌──────┐ │ SAVE │ └──────┘ This option will close the dialog box and automatically save the current settings to the DC TERM setup file. ┌──────┐ │ HELP │ └──────┘ This will display a help screen for the modem options dialog box. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 3.1.2 ■ MODEM COMMAND STRINGS │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Modem command strings are how you configure DC TERM to work with the wide variety of modem on the market. All modem commands begin with an "AT", short for 'ATtention'. You may specify control characters in a modem command string by preceding the character with a caret (^). For example, a CTRL-C would be ^C and carriage return (CTRL-M) would be ^M. Each modem command string should end with a ^M (carriage return), as shown in the Modem Options dialog box above. You may also use the tilde (~) to insert a 1/2 second pause in your modem command strings. For more information on modem commands, consult your modem's manual. ┌───────────────────┐ │ MODEM INIT STRING │ └───────────────────┘ This field is the modem command that is sent to the modem when DC TERM starts up. All modem commands begin with an "AT", short for 'ATtention'. You may specify control characters in a modem command string by preceding the character with a caret (^). For example, a CTRL-C would be ^C. ┌──────────────────────────┐ │ MODEM AUTO-ANSWER STRING │ └──────────────────────────┘ This modem command is what would be sent to the modem to set it for "auto-answer" mode. Auto-answer means that the modem will answer the phone automatically when it rings. The default auto-answer string which should work on nearly any modem is "AT S0=1^m" where the "1" indicates that the modem should pick up the phone after the 1st ring. ┌────────────────────┐ │ MODEM RESET STRING │ └────────────────────┘ This is the modem command string that is sent when the modem needs to be reset. This may be necessary if you "hang-up" the modem, abort a dial attempt, or exit DC TERM. For most modems, this command is Z, which would be entered as "ATZ^m". ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 3.2 ■ GENERAL SETUP INFORMATION │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ DC TERM has a number of configurable settings for you to choose from to alter the way in which the software runs on a normal basis. You may opt to modify the Modem Options, or the General Settings which do not directly pertain to the modem itself. The General Settings dialog box looks similar to the following: ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ General Settings ║ ║ Scrollback Size(k)║ ║ Status Bar ■ 101-key keyboard ■ ┌────┐ ║ ║ Zooming Windows ■ Hot-key mode ■ │ 64 │ ║ ║ Enable Beeps ■ Data security ■ └────┘ ║ ║ VT-102 Emulation ■ Zmodem Recovery ■ Printer Port ║ ║ Shell to EMS/XMS ■ Auto Zmodem Download ■ ┌────┐ ║ ║ Mouse Field Select ■ Force DTR on exit ■ │ 1 │ ║ ║ Alarm Sounds ■ └────┘ ║ ║ ║ ║ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ║ ║ Download Dir │ FILES\ │ ║ ║ ├──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ ║ ║ Upload Dir │ FILES\ │ ║ ║ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║ ║ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ║ ║ │ OK │ │ CANCEL │ │ SAVE │ │ HELP │ ║ ║ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ ┌────────────┐ │ STATUS BAR │ └────────────┘ If selected, the status bar will be displayed at the bottom of your DC TERM screen. When this option is not checked, the status bar will not be displayed and your text window will be one line taller. The status bar is used to access frequently viewed information and to see the current status of various aspects of the DC TERM system. ┌──────────────┐ │ ZOOM WINDOWS │ └──────────────┘ In DC TERM, whenever a window or dialog box pops up on the screen, it will "zoom in" and "zoom out" giving a visual feeling of the window opening or closing. This will slow down operation of the windowing system a small amount. For optimal performance of DC TERM, toggle zoom windows off. However, the visual impression of windows opening or closing can be quite useful. ┌──────────────┐ │ ENABLE BEEPS │ └──────────────┘ This will enable the Beep character (ASCII character 7, BEL) to make an audible sound on your PC speaker when recieved from the host. If this option is not selected, DC TERM will be "quiet" by not making hardly any beeps. Only BEEP characters from the BBS will be enabled or disabled. The musical sounds received when you achieve a connection or when a download are complete will not be affected by this setting. ┌─────────────┐ │ VT-102 MODE │ └─────────────┘ This command enables the VT-102 terminal emulation mode. This makes the following keystrokes send something to the Host: F1 ... ESC [ M F2 ... ESC [ N F3 ... ESC [ O F4 ... ESC [ P F5 ... ESC [ Q F6 ... ESC [ R F7 ... ESC [ S F8 ... ESC [ T F9 ... ESC [ U F10 ... ESC [ V PGUP ... ESC [ I PGDN ... ESC [ G HOME ... ESC [ H END ... ESC [ F INSERT ... ESC [ L CURSOR UP ... ESC [ A CURSOR DN ... ESC [ B CURSOR LEFT ... ESC [ C CURSOR RIGHT ... ESC [ D In addition, many ANSI escape sequences function slightly differently than in normal ANSI mode. When in this mode, DC TERM tries to act like a VT-102 compatible terminal. ┌──────────────────┐ │ SHELL TO EMS/XMS │ └──────────────────┘ By default, DC TERM will swap the contents of memory out to a temporary disk-file when you choose the DOS Shell option or if you run an external application program. If your IBM-AT has any EMS (expanded) or XMS (extended) memory, you can enable this option to make your DOS Shell/applications execute faster. If chosen, this option will physically swap the contents of your conventional memory to expanded or extended memory instead of to the slower disk-based storage. If you run into any problems trying to get your DOS Shell to work properly, try disabling this option. ┌────────────────────┐ │ MOUSE FIELD SELECT │ └────────────────────┘ This option, when check marked, will use TAB and SHIFT-TAB to select, in order, the mouse fields defined on the screen. If this item is not check marked, the TAB character (control-I) is transmitted to the host. ┌──────────────┐ │ ALARM SOUNDS │ └──────────────┘ When this option is chosen, DC TERM will make various blips, beeps and sounds when things happen in DC TERM like successful downloads, establishing a connection to a host, beeping when you make a mistake and other such things. If you want DC TERM to be as quiet as possible, turn Alarm Sounds off. If you also set Enable Beeps to OFF, DC TERM will make NO sounds what so ever. ┌──────────────────┐ │ 101-KEY KEYBOARD │ └──────────────────┘ This mode is used in the "doorway mode". It allows you to send extended 101-key keyboard codes to the doorway system running on the host. This mode is only available on AT computers with a 101-key enhanced AT keyboard. If this option locks up your system, disable it. This value is part of the DC TERM setup, saved in DCTERM.CNF. If you set this option ON, and it locks your system, and your system locks whenever you start-up DC TERM, then the option has been saved to your setup. You should run DC TERM with the -E option, like this: DCTERM -E The first thing you should do is disable the 101-key keyboard option and save your setup with ALT-S. The -E option overrides Enhanced 101-key keyboard support for the duration of the current session of DC TERM. ┌──────────────┐ │ HOT KEY MODE │ └──────────────┘ This option allows the user to determine whether his keystrokes should be checked with the BBS buttons or not for activation. In other words, if the BBS places a button on the screen like this: ┌────────────────┐ │ │ │ (E)nter name │ │ │ └────────────────┘ ...where the hotkey for the button is "E", simply pressing the "E" key on your keyboard would normally activate this button. This may not be desirable if you're trying to send a message to another user with the letter "E" in it. Now, there's a way around this: Hotkey Release Mode. Hotkey Release mode is linked to your SCROLL-LOCK key on your keyboard. If Scroll Lock is lit, then hotkeys are processed. If it is not lit, then the character will be sent to the BBS directly, bypassing any button hotkeys. ┌───────────────┐ │ DATA SECURITY │ └───────────────┘ This option gives you control over host data queries to your system. This option defaults to ON, giving you the ability to scrutinize any queries by the host to ask your system for a piece of information. This does not apply to pre-defined text variables, just variables that contain data that you've entered. How does this apply to you? Well, RIPscrip has the inherent ability to pop-up dialog boxes onto your screen asking you for a piece of information. Depending on the request, this information might be stored to your local DC TERM database for future use (by the same host, or potentially another). This option exists so that if a host asks your terminal for a piece of information, you have the ability to intervene (i.e., prevent the information from being sent). This override feature is for security purposes in the event that your database contains sensitive information that you do not want to be given out without your explicit consent. ┌─────────────────┐ │ ZMODEM RECOVERY │ └─────────────────┘ This option controls whether Zmodem should attempt to recover from a failed transmission. In the event that a file transfer was aborted for whatever reason, Zmodem will normally try to pick up where it left off. If this option is selected, then Zmodem will automatically try to resume where it left off. If this mode is not enabled, then Zmodem will physically re-transmit the entire file over again. ┌──────────────────────┐ │ AUTO-ZMODEM DOWNLOAD │ └──────────────────────┘ When this option is selected, Zmodem downloads will begin automatically the moment the BBS starts the transfer. If for some reason this operation is desirable, this option is provided so that you can disable this. When disabled, you will need to initiate the Zmodem download on your own. A Zmodem download can easily be spotted if you see the sequence "**" on your screen. If DC TERM sees this sequence, and the Auto-Zmodem Download option is enabled, it will automatically begin the Zmodem transfer without you having to intervene - thus making the process simpler. ┌───────────────────┐ │ FORCE DTR ON EXIT │ └───────────────────┘ This option defaults to ON. When On, DC TERM will physically keep the DTR signal active after exiting DC TERM. This is so that if you have exited DC TERM while still online (and say not to hangup) then it will keep DTR enabled so that the modem doesn't try to disconnect you. This also comes into play on direct serial connections. Some modems however do not like this type of operation, especially if the modem is not physically connected to another computer via a telephone line after exiting DC TERM. In cases like this, set this option to OFF. When OFF, DC TERM will physically lower (and keep low) the DTR signal when it is finished with a particular Serial Port. This has the net effect of ending any connection that might exist on that port and also prevent some modems from answering the phone if an incoming call is detected. Some modems, even if you instruct them to pick up the phone on the first ring, will not answer the phone if DTR is low. This is so because the modem assumes that if DTR is low, that there is no terminal program running on the PC to receive the call so why should it answer the phone? Not all modems work this way. ┌─────────────────────┐ │ SET SCROLLBACK SIZE │ └─────────────────────┘ This option sets how much memory DC TERM should use for the scrollback buffer. The valid settings are from 5k - 64k of memory. Depending on how much conventional memory you have on your computer, this may limit the amount of memory you can allocate to scrollback. We recommend that you set it to somewhere around 32k unless you know that your PC has quite a bit of its 640k memory free for use. If you have numerous memory resident programs (TSR's) loaded, you may need to drop the size of your scrollback buffer to a smaller value for proper operation of DC TERM. If DC TERM runs out of memory, it will begin to discard old scrollback buffer information until it can satisfy the memory request. ┌──────────────┐ │ PRINTER PORT │ └──────────────┘ DC TERM allows you to print information to your local printer if you wish. In order to perform these types of operations, DC TERM needs to know which port your printer is connected to. Valid ports are LPT1 through LPT3 (1-3). If you do not have a printer, or you do not wish printer services to be available in DC TERM, you may enter a value of "0" to indicate "no printer". If you set DC TERM to "no printer" status, choosing any of the print operations in the software will issue a message indicating that you cannot print. ┌────────────────────┐ │ DOWNLOAD DIRECTORY │ └────────────────────┘ The download directory setting allows you to determine where files that are downloaded from Host BBS'es will be stored on your hard disk. By default, DC TERM will place files that are downloaded into the current DC TERM directory (e.g., C:\DCTERM\). You can plug in your own directory name in this field if you wish to place files into another location. This option is most often used to prevent files in your DC TERM runtime directory from being overwritten, or from cluttering up your DC TERM directory with a lot of files. ┌──────────────────┐ │ UPLOAD DIRECTORY │ └──────────────────┘ The upload directory setting allows you to instruct DC TERM where files that you will SEND to a BBS are located. By default, files are assumed to be in the local DC TERM directory unless this field contains an MS-DOS Drive/path value. Any settings must correspond to an existing DOS directory. You are not 100% restricted to uploading files from this directory only. If you wish to upload a file from some other directory, you do not have to alter this setting if you don't want to. When prompted to enter a filename to upload, simply type the path to the file directly. DC TERM is smart enough to recognize that you gave it an "explicit path" to the file and will temporarily overide the default upload directory setting for that one file only. ┌────┐ │ OK │ └────┘ When chosen, OK will take all of the general settings and make them current. The changes are not automatically saved to the DC TERM setup file - you must do that yourself. After choosing this item, the dialog box will close and you will be returned to the terminal window. ┌────────┐ │ CANCEL │ └────────┘ When chosen, any changes in the general settings dialog box will be discarded. Whatever settings were active before entering this dialog box will be restored. You will be sent immediately to the terminal window. ┌──────┐ │ SAVE │ └──────┘ This option will close the dialog box and automatically save the current settings to the DC TERM setup file. ┌──────┐ │ HELP │ └──────┘ This will display a help file for the general settings dialog box. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 3.3 ■ DIALING PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Dialing prefixes affect the way your modem dials telephone numbers. Prefixes and Suffixes are used to allow you to dial some numbers a certain way and other numbers in a totally different manner. In order for your modem to dial a phone number, it must be issued a particular command. Under most circumstances this command is the same for every number you dial in your dialing directory. This can change though if you have different types of systems you call. For example, on some BBS'es you might have to disable error correction on your modem to connect. You wouldn't want to put the modem AT commands into your telephone number to accomplish this because it just won't work. To better illustrate how Prefixes and Suffixes are related to dialing, consult the following: <Prefix> <Phone Number> <Suffix> ATDT 555-1212 ^M The normal Prefix is "ATDT". This stands for (AT)tention (D)ial (T)ouch-tone. If you were dialing out on a rotary phone line, that would be (P)ulse dialing (i.e., "ATDP"). This would be a typical use for a dialing prefix. Also, if you had say several modems connected to your machine and you dialed out on different ones for different services, you could have one prefix setup that dialed a "9" to get an outside number, and a different setting for a "direct outside line". Prefixes would be "ATDT 9," and "ATDT" respectively. Another use for Dialing Prefixes are for phone number passwords. If you work for a company that requires you to enter a password in order to dial-out, you could accomplish this as follows, "ATDT 1234567~". The 1234567 is your password and the tilde (~) is used for a 1/2 second pause. After the pause the remainder of the phone number in the dialing directory will be dialed followed by the Dialing Suffix. The Modem Prefix/Suffix Editor dialog box looks similar to the following: ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Modem Prefix/Suffix Editor ║ ║ ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐ ┌────────────────────┐ ║ ║ │ Modem Prefixes │ │ Modem Suffixes │ ║ ║ │ ┌─────────────────────────────┐ │ │ ┌───────────┐ │ ║ ║ │ 1 X │ ATDT │ │ │ A X │ ^M │ │ ║ ║ │ ├─────────────────────────────┤ │ │ ├───────────┤ │ ║ ║ │ 2 ■ │ ATDP │ │ │ B ■ │ ^M │ │ ║ ║ │ ├─────────────────────────────┤ │ │ ├───────────┤ │ ║ ║ │ 3 ■ │ ATDT 9, │ │ │ C ■ │ ^M │ │ ║ ║ │ └─────────────────────────────┘ │ │ └───────────┘ │ ║ ║ └──────────────────────────────────────┘ └────────────────────┘ ║ ║ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ║ ║ │ OK │ │ CANCEL │ │ HELP │ ║ ║ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Notice that in the Modem Prefix section of the dialog box that there are three different settings labeled 1, 2 and 3. Just to the right of each of these labels is a set of check-boxes. Only one of them can be selected at any one time. Whichever one is selected is actually the "default" Prefix in DC TERM. You may set your dialing directory entries to use the "default prefix". Then if you need to change all your directory entries to use a different dialing method quickly, simply change which prefix is the default and you're done. Similar to the Prefix section of the dialog box, the Suffix section also has the ability to set a "default suffix". The method is the exact same as that for prefixes except that each suffix is labeled A, B and C respectively. If you choose a Prefix setting of "Default", then whichever of the three Prefix definitions you have tagged as "Default" will be used. You may also explicity set a Prefix of 1, 2 or 3 to select a particular Prefix. The idea behind the Default option is evident if you have your entire directory set to "default", then you take your computer somewhere where you need to dial say, "9" to get an outside line and you need to change your entire configuration quickly. A Dialing Suffix is the last thing that is transmitted to the modem when dialing a phone number. The first thing transmitted is the dialing Prefix, followed by the phone number, then the suffix. Typically, the suffix is only a carriage return (^M). However, you could get fancy with it and put other things before the carriage return like a phone number password (if it has to be entered "after" the phone number". This would be useful if you wanted to apply this to all dialing directory entries simultaneously. ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 4.0 ■ THE DIALING DIRECTORY ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ When you choose the "Dialing Directory" option, a dialog box similar to the following will appear: ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Dialing Directory: DCTERM.PHO ║ ╟───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╢ ║ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬─┐ ║ ║ │ 1. DC Network 1-805-964-2833 2400 8N1 COM1 ││ ║ ║ │ 2. ├─┤ ║ ║ │ 3. ││ ║ ║ │ 4. ││ ║ ║ │ 5. ├─┤ ║ ║ │ 6. ├─┤ ║ ║ │ 7. ││ ║ ║ │ 8. ││ ║ ║ │ 9. ├─┤ ║ ║ │ 10. ││ ║ ║ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┴─┘ ║ ║ ┌────────┬────────┬────────┬────────┬────────┬────────┐ ║ ║ │ Edit │ Mark │ Unmark │ SaveAs │ Load │ Find │ ║ ║ ├────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┤ ║ ║ │ Dial │ Cancel │ Kill │ Print │ Toggle │ Help │ ║ ║ └────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┘ ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ At the top of the dialing directory dialog box, the filename of the dialing directory is displayed (e.g., "RIPTERM.PHO"). Whenever you change dialing directory files, this will change to reflect the current file in use. In the middle of the dialog box is a listing of available hosts to choose from. Ten hosts are displayed at any one time, and each directory can contain up to 100 entries. You can scroll through the available hosts quickly by using the UP/DOWN arrows on the right of the display. Just underneath the UP arrow, and above the DOWN arrow are two different buttons; these are used for PGUP, and PGDN. The UP ARROW, DOWN ARROW, PGUP, PGDN, HOME, and END keys work intuitively. Any one of the ten lines in the window can be highlighted by pressing ALT-1 through ALT-0 (10). Any previously highlighted entries will be un-highlighted and the given line in the window will be highlighted. If you simultaneously hold down the SHIFT key while pressing ALT-1 through ALT-0, then the associated line will be highlighted in addition to any previously highlighted lines (highlight merge). Do not confuse ALT-1 through ALT-0 with the numbers listed on the left side of the window. The numbers in the window are the entries in the entire directory, not the window line number. Pressing an ALT-1 through ALT-0 will highlight the window line number. To highlight a specific directory entry, see the MARK mode below. Each host displays an entry number, the host name, telephone number, baud rate, data bits (7 or 8), parity (E, N, O), stop bits (1 or 2), and the COM port (COM1 - COM4). There are twelve buttons at the bottom of the dialog box to choose from. They function as follows: ┌──────┐ │ EDIT │ └──────┘ Clicking this button edits one or more dialing directory entries. At least one entry must be highlighted (marked). When clicked, a dialog box will appear for each host highlighted allowing you to edit each host's characteristics. See the next section for details on the Dialing Directory Editor. ┌──────┐ │ DIAL │ └──────┘ Selecting DIAL calls one or more selected directory entries. If more than one entry is highlighted, they will be dialed in numerical order. If a connection is established to any host, it will be un-highlighted in the dialing directory so that later re-entry into the directory will allow you to dial the remaining hosts. This option is automatically highlighted as the "default option" if at least one directory entries is highlighted. ┌──────┐ │ MARK │ └──────┘ This option will mark (highlight) one or more dialing directory entries for subsequent action. When chosen, a dialog box will appear allowing you to enter information. In this dialog box, you can enter one or more numbers indicating which directory entry(s) to highlight. There are a number of options you may choose from for highlighting entries. Some examples are: Examples: --------- 1 ... highlight entry 1 1, 2, 3 ... highlight entries 1, 2 and 3 1 2 3 ... highlight entries 1, 2 and 3 1;2;3 ... highlight entries 1, 2 and 3 1-10 ... highlight entries 1 through 10 15- ... highlight entries 15 to the end (100) -5 ... highlight from Start (1) to entry 5 - ... highlight ALL entries 1-5, 10, 95- ... highlight 1-5, 10 and 95-100 In addition, you can also specify a "Mark Merge". This mode allows you to combine your Marked entries with any entries that are already marked. To use Mark Merge mode, enter a plus sign (+) as the first character. For example, if entries 3 and 5 are highlighted, and you mark "+ 10-15", then entries 3, 5, and 10-15 will be highlighted. One final option is the Mark Exclude mode. This mode is similar to Mark Merge, except that all entries EXCEPT those highlighted are marked. In other words, anything that you would think would be highlighted, would not be, and anything that shouldn't be highlighted, will be! This odd way of doing things can become very handy when combined with some of the other options in the dialing directory. To choose Mark Exclude mode, specify an exclamation mark (!) as the first character. You can combine Mark Merge, and Mark Exclude modes together. To do this, enter the sequence "+!" as the first two characters in the dialog box. Mark Mode will be automatically chosen if you begin typing something that appears to be a mark sequence. In other words, you do not have to select Mark mode in order to Mark entries. For example, from the dialing directory dialog box, simply typing "1" will bring up the Mark dialog and place "1" in the editing field automatically and allow you to continue typing in your Mark expression. ┌────────┐ │ CANCEL │ └────────┘ This will abort the dialing directory window. Any previously highlighted entries will remain highlighted the next time you enter the directory. You are returned to the terminal screen. ┌────────┐ │ UNMARK │ └────────┘ This will un-highlight any previously highlighted directory entries. You may also press the Space Bar to choose this option. ┌──────┐ │ KILL │ └──────┘ This option will delete all previously highlighted directory entries. You will be prompted to make absolutely sure that you truly wish to erase the entries. All calling statistics for those entries will be erased as well. Once an option is killed, it is permanently deleted. If no entries are highlighted, this option has no affect. ┌─────────┐ │ SAVE AS │ └─────────┘ This option will save either the entire dialing directory, or just the highlighted entries to another directory file. This allows you to create new directory files quickly and easily for specific purposes. If one or more entries are highlighted, only those entries are copied to the new file. If no entries are highlighted, then the entire dialing directory file is copied. You will be prompted to enter the destination filename. If the destination file exists, it is checked to see if it is a DC TERM dialing directory file. If it is, you will be prompted to either merge the highlighted entries into destination file, or to overwrite the file with just the highlighted entries. In the event that the destination file becomes full, a message to the effect will be displayed informing you how many entries couldn't be copied. This "directory merge" feature is unique to DC TERM. NOTE: Modifications to the dialing directory are automatically saved to the current directory file. You do not need to choose SAVE AS every time you add or edit an entry. ┌───────┐ │ PRINT │ └───────┘ This prints the contents of the dialing directory (or highlighted entries) to either a disk file, or to a printer attached to the configured printer port. Choosing the disk option will prompt you for a filename. Before printing/saving occurs, you will be asked what type of output you wish. You have two choices: TABLE format, or DETAILED BREAKDOWN. Table format will print one entry per line, formatted for an 80-column display. System Name System Phone Number =========================================== continued next line Durand Communications Network 1-805-964-2833 Baud COM COM Last Mod Rate Vals # Calls Call ? Direc. continued from previous ==================================== 2400 8N1 1 39 1/30/93 Y ARENA Specifying detailed mode will output a multi-line record for each entry. The format of detailed breakdown mode is similar to the following: Host Name: Durand Communications Network Telephone #: 1-805-964-2833 Baud Rate: 2400 Data Bits: 8 Parity: NONE Stop Bits: 1 COM Port: 1 Directory: ARENA Connections: 39 Last Call: 01/30/93 ┌──────┐ │ LOAD │ └──────┘ This option allows you to load up another dialing directory file. The current directory file will be closed and the specified file will be loaded in its place. All entries are un-highlighted, and the window will automatically display the newly loaded entries. ┌────────┐ │ TOGGLE │ └────────┘ This option alters what information is displayed in the dialing directory window. By default, the following information is displayed on each line in the window: Entry # Host Name Phone Number Baud Rate Data Bits, Parity and Stop Bits (e.g., 8N1) Communications Port (e.g., COM1) When you choose the toggle option, the information displayed will be changed to the following: Entry # Host Name Total # of calls Last call date Directory ID (see below) Modem or Serial-Port connection This is a simple toggle. Each time you choose this option, the information displayed will change to the opposite mode. Your favorite toggle setting can be saved to your permanent DC TERM setup. To do this, choose the toggle mode you like the best, exit the dialing directory, then choose Save Setup. ┌──────┐ │ FIND │ └──────┘ This option will highlight one or more entries that contain the specified search text. Once you choose this option, a dialog box will appear prompting you to enter a piece of text to search for throughout the dialing directory. Any entries that contain the chosen text will be automatically highlighted. Search is not case sensitive. The host name, phone number and directory-ID fields are searched for the text. Text can appear anywhere in any of these three fields and will still be found. You may choose Find Merge mode, or Find Exclude mode (or both) exactly the same way as you can with the Mark mode. The command characters (+ and !) are not added to the search string, and must be the first characters specified in the search string. Merge mode can be quite useful if you wish to highlight all entries in a specific area code, or that contain a common theme (like "business", or "daily"). ┌──────┐ │ HELP │ └──────┘ This option displays the help screen for the dialing directory. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 4.1 ■ EDITING DIALING DIRECTORY ENTRIES │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ When you choose to edit one or more dialing directory entries, a dialog box similar to the following will appear on your screen allowing you to edit the various entries: ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Phone Entry Editor ║ ╟────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╢ ║ ┌─────────────────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ║ ║ Name │Host name goes here... │ Com Port │ 1 │ ║ ║ ├─────────────────────────┤ ├──────────────┤ ║ ║ Number │1-805-964-2833 │ Baud Rate │ 9600 │ ║ ║ ├────────────┬────────────┘ ┌─┐ ├──────────────┤ ║ ║ DIR │Directory │ Modem │X│ Data Bits │ 8 │ ║ ║ └────────────┘ ┌───────────┐└─┘ ├──────────────┤ ║ ║ ┌──────┬──────┐ Prefix │ Default │ Parity │ None │ ║ ║ │ QUIT │ HELP │ ├───────────┤ ├──────────────┤ ║ ║ ├──────┴──────┤ Suffix │ 1 │ Stop Bits │ 1 │ ║ ║ │ OK! │ └───────────┘ └──────────────┘ ║ ║ └─────────────┘ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ The significance of each of these fields are described below: ┌──────┐ │ NAME │ └──────┘ The name field is the name of the host that will appear in the dialing directory window. This is the name that will be displayed to you whenever you dial the host, and is used in general to describe the host. You are allowed 25 characters for the host name. ┌────────┐ │ NUMBER │ └────────┘ This is the telephone number (if any) that is used to dial the host. You are allowed up to 25 characters for the number. Valid characters are digits 0-9, hyphens and parenthesis (if your modem permits it). You may also enter a comma (,) to indicate a half-second pause. This pause is handled by your modem, not by DC TERM. On some modems, this pause may be two or three seconds. Check your modem's documentation to determine the delay value. If you wish for DC TERM to perform a half-second pause instead of the modem, insert a tilde (~) instead of a comma (,). Some examples of Telephone Numbers are as follows: 555-1212 ... Dial 555-1212 1-714-555-1212 ... Dial (714) 555-1212 9,555-1212 ... Dial a 9, then pause, then 555-1212 ┌─────┐ │ DIR │ └─────┘ This field takes a bit more explaining than the other fields in the directory editor. Each entry in the directory has the ability to have a separate sub-directory associated with it. This is used mainly when RIPscrip graphics are being viewed on the host. Any icon (.ICN, .MSK, .HIC) or RIPscrip (.RIP) files that are received by the host should be placed in the designated sub-directory. This in effect, helps keep your icons separated from each other. If you omit a directory name in this field, and you dial into a RIPscrip host that requires icons or RIPscrip files, DC TERM will look for them automatically in the ICONS\ sub-directory. It is recommended that you keep host specific files in their proper sub-directories for elegant file maintenance. You do not need to create the sub-directory yourself. The first time that you specify a directory in the DIR field, it will be created when you click on the OK button. If the DIR field is non-blank, indicating a sub-directory should be used for that specific host, DC TERM will check in that directory first for any necessary icons or RIPscrip files. If the needed files are not found in that sub-directory, DC TERM will check the ICONS\ sub-directory afterward to see if it is there. This facilitates the concept of "file overide". This "file override" is best explained by an example. Let's say you call several different RIPscrip hosts. Each of them have numerous icons that they use for their host. Now as you are probably aware, each sysop of each host thinks of his host as the only host in the world. With that in mind, they would probably not give a great amount of thought to the names that they give their icon or RIPscrip files (i.e., not considering that other hosts might have files with the same names). Files like EMAIL.ICN or FILES.ICN would be used on nearly any host! If all these files were located in the same directory, only the very latest installed files would be used when you call a host! In other words, when you call host XYZ, you might see host ABC's EMAIL icon! This is obviously not how it should work. With this in mind, keeping files in separate sub-directories resolves this problem quite nicely. Even if a sysop chooses to use the standard DC TERM EMAIL icon, he can do that too. All he has to do is NOT provide you with his own EMAIL icon. DC TERM will find the correct file for you automatically. It would first check host XYZ's directory (presumably directory "XYZ\"), and after finding that the file is not there, would check the ICONS\ sub-directory and find it there. In this fashion, the sysop has the ability to overide standard icons with his own without affecting the standard icons in any way. Keep in mind, that if you dial a host by issuing modem commands directly (not using the dialing directory), then the correct directory may not be used since DC TERM has no way of knowing which dialing directory entry you are calling. In other words, you should use the dialing directory to call ALL RIPscrip hosts! NOTE: DC TERM supports a "block protocol" mode for hosts that can support it. This mode allows the host to send files to your computer for subsequent use. Any files received in this mode are automatically placed in the proper host DIR directory. If no host DIR field is specified, then the ICONS\ sub-directory is chosen as the destination sub-directory. The download directory as set in the General Settings dialog box is not used in this situation as the destination directory. ┌───────┐ │ MODEM │ └───────┘ This button is a toggle-type button. It can be either ON or OFF. If it is enabled (the default), then when this entry is dialed, it will be assumed that it is calling the host via a modem device. If it is off, then DC TERM will assume that the host is connected to your computer via a direct serial connection. If the modem option is activated, DC TERM will monitor the modem for a "CONNECT" message of some kind. Other messages that can affect the dialing process are "ERROR", "NO DIALTONE", "VOICE" or "BUSY". If this option is inactive, typically, connection is made instantly, and you will be presented with some kind of an intro message. DC TERM will automatically press <ENTER> to the host to try to activate the connection for you. ┌──────┐ │ PORT │ └──────┘ This option allows you to specify which communications port will be used to dial the given host. Valid ports are COM1 through COM4. Of course, your system must have the given port in order to be able to dial out on it. Before the host is called, DC TERM will initialize the given port (if it hasn't already) and if everything is OK, will dial the host (or press <ENTER> if it's a non-modem host). ┌──────┐ │ BAUD │ └──────┘ This option allows you to specify the baud rate at which the connection should be made (or at least attempted). Valid baud rates are 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, and 115200 baud. If a CONNECT message is received indicating a baud rate other than the specified rate, DC TERM will automatically adjust the baud rate on its end to ensure that communication will take place (this is often called "auto-baud detect" mode). This auto-baud detection is only performed if PORT LOCK in the Modem Options dialog box is NOT set. ┌───────────┐ │ DATA BITS │ └───────────┘ This option allows you to alter the number of data bits that will be used for a given communications link. Valid settings are 7 data bits, or 8 data bits. You will find that most hosts use 8 data bits. 7 data bits are commonly used when calling mainframe computers, or large hosts like TymNet, TeleNet, GEnie, CompuServe, or other nationwide network services that use the X.25 network protocol. When in doubt, try 8 data bits. If you get garbled information, try 7. In the last three sub-sections, you've seen settings for data bits, parity, and stop bits. In nearly 100% of every situation, there are only two combinations of these three values that are used. They are: 8 data bits 7 data bits No parity Even parity 1 stop bit 1 stop bit ----------- ----------- 8-N-1 7-E-1 <- referred to as eight-none-one seven-even-one <- pronounced ┌────────┐ │ PARITY │ └────────┘ This option allows you to alter the parity setting that will be used for a given communications link. Valid settings are EVEN, ODD or NONE. The vast majority of hosts in the world use a setting of NONE, for "No Parity". Situations where you will choose something other than NONE would be if you were calling a mainframe computer, or dialing up via a nationwide network like TymNet, TeleNet, GEnie, CompuServe, or other such X.25-based hosts. If in doubt, try NONE. ┌───────────┐ │ STOP BITS │ └───────────┘ This option allows you to alter the number of "Stop Bits" that are used for the communications link. Valid settings are 1 stop bit, or 2 stop bits. Typically, 1 stop bit will be used for the vast majority of hosts. ┌────────┐ │ PREFIX │ └────────┘ This option lets you choose from one of several different ways to place a call with your modem. In order for your modem to dial a phone number, it must be issued a particular command. Under most circumstances this command is the same for every number you dial in your dialing directory. This can change though if you have different types of systems you call. For example, on some BBS'es you might have to disable error correction on your modem to connect. You wouldn't want to put the modem AT commands into your telephone number to accomplish this because it just won't work. To better illustrate how Prefixes and Suffixes are related to dialing, consult the following: <Prefix> <Phone Number> <Suffix> ATDT 555-1212 ^M The normal Prefix is "ATDT". This standards for (AT)tention (D)ial (T)ouch-tone. If you were dialing out on a rotary phone line, that would be (P)ulse dialing (i.e., "ATDP"). This would be a typical use for a dialing prefix. Also, if you had say several modems connected to your machine and you dialed out on different ones for different services, you could have one prefix setup that dialed a "9" to get an outside number, and a different setting for a "direct outside line". Prefixes would be "ATDT 9," and "ATDT" respectively. Another use for Dialing Prefixes are for phone number passwords. If you work for a company that requires you to enter a password in order to dial-out, you could accomplish this as follows, "ATDT 1234567~". The 1234567 is your password and the tilde (~) is used for a 1/2 second pause. After the pause the remainder of the phone number in the dialing directory will be dialed followed by the Dialing Suffix. If you choose a Prefix setting of "Default", then whichever of the three Prefix definitions you have tagged as "Default" will be used. You may also explicity set a Prefix of 1, 2 or 3 to select a particular Prefix. The idea behind the Default option is evident if you have your entire directory set to "default", then you take your computer somewhere where you need to dial say, "9" to get an outside line and you need to change your entire configuration quickly. ┌────────┐ │ SUFFIX │ └────────┘ A Dialing Suffix is the last thing that is transmitted to the modem when dialing a phone number. The first thing transmitted is the dialing Prefix, followed by the phone number, then the suffix. Typically, the suffix is only a carriage return (^M). However, you could get fancy with it and put other things before the carriage return like a phone number password (if it has to be entered "after" the phone number". This would be useful if you wanted to apply this to all dialing directory entries simultaneously. ┌────┐ │ OK │ └────┘ This will accept any changes you have made and return you to the dialing directory dialog box. Any changes you made in the editor will be reflected in the dialing directory window. If you have highlighted multiple entries to edit, then the remaining entries (if any) that haven't been edited will be edited before you are returned to the dialing directory screen. ┌──────┐ │ QUIT │ └──────┘ This will cancel any modifications you have made in the directory editor. You will be returned to the dialing directory automatically. If you have chosen to edit multiple directory entries (by highlighting more than one), and there are entries that haven't been edited yet, they will be edited before you are eventually returned to the dialing directory. ┌──────┐ │ HELP │ └──────┘ This option bring up the help screen for the directory editor. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 4.2 ■ DIALING DIRECTORY CONVERSION UTILITY (DIALCONV.EXE) │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ For your convenience, a utility program has been included with DC TERM to convert dialing directory files from other popular terminal programs to DC TERM format. This program currently supports the conversion of Telix and TeleMate directory files to DC TERM format. Conversion is "one way". In other words, you cannot convert a DC TERM directory file to Telix format, but you can go the other way around (Telix to DC TERM conversion). Use of DIALCONV is quite simple. The program will auto-detect what type of dialing directory file is to be processed and will automatically use the appropriate conversion method necessary for the given file. To convert a directory file, enter a command similar to: DIALCONV TELIX.FON DCTERM.PHO In the preceding example, DIALCONV would convert the Telix directory file TELIX.FON to a DC TERM directory file called DCTERM.PHO. DC TERM uses the extension of .PHO to designate dialing directories. All "statistical" data in the source directory file are converted into the new DC TERM file. For example, the last date a host was called, and total number of calls you have made to that host are converted as well and are made part of the DC TERM directory file. In addition, COM port, baud rate and other settings are converted as well for your convenience. If you wish to simply view the contents of a Telix or TeleMate directory file without conversion (to make sure that conversion would take place properly), you can choose an optional "view" option for DIALCONV by specifying the "-v" switch on the command line. For example, to list out all the valid entries in a Telix directory file called TELIX.FON to the screen, enter the following command: DIALCONV -v TELIX.FON All entries will be displayed to the screen for you. Output can be captured to a text file if you wish by using the MS-DOS redirection feature. Using the preceding example, let's say you wanted to print all entries in the Telix directory file to the text file TELIX.LST, enter the following command: DIALCONV -v TELIX.FON >TELIX.LST Note the use of the redirection symbol ">" followed by the filename to redirect output to. You could just have easily directed the programs output to the Printer with the following command: DIALCONV -v TELIX.FON >PRN ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 4.3 ■ DIALING DIRECTORY FILE FORMAT │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ For the technically minded, this section of the document defines the internal structure of the DC TERM dialing directory file. This is provided for programmers who wish to create directory maintenance utilities. A DC TERM dialing directory file is a "flat-file" database with no index. Each record is of fixed length and is stored in numerical order from 1-100. Each entry is exactly 100 bytes in length, so a dialing directory file is exactly 10,000 bytes in length. Blank entries are identified by the NAME, PHONE and HOST_ID fields being entirely blank (i.e., NULL's). The C data structure for each record is as follows: --------------------------------------------------- struct phone_entry { char name[25]; /* Name of System */ char phone[25]; /* Phone Number of System */ /* -------------------------- */ int com_port; /* COMx to use (0=default) */ long baud; /* Baud Rate to dial at */ char data_bits; /* Data Bits (7-8) */ char stop_bits; /* Stop Bits (1-2) */ char parity; /* Parity Setting */ /* -------------------------- */ char system_id[13]; /* System-ID (resource filenm)*/ long total_connects; /* Total # of connections */ int last_date; /* Last Date connected */ int reserved; /* Reserved field */ char connected_to; /* 0=modem, 1=computer */ char prefix; /* Dialing Prefix (0=def, 1-3)*/ char suffix; /* Dialing Suffix (0=def, 1-3)*/ char spare[17]; /* Spare space for upgrades */ }; /* TOTAL SIZE: 100 bytes */ The LAST_DATE field is an integer. This variable uses the MS-DOS method of encoding Dates into a 16-bit number. Consult the MS-DOS Programmer's Reference Manual for details on the internal format of DOS Dates. ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 5.0 ■ EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ DC TERM has a powerful feature which allows it to link-in external MS-DOS programs into DC TERM to do things quickly and easily from within the software. You are allowed up to ten different applications to be programmed into DC TERM. At the touch of a key you can fire off one of your application programs to do things like run Microsoft Windows (tm), run text editors, offline mail readers or view graphics files like GIF files. What makes DC TERM's application system even more powerful is that you can link application programs to particular file extensions. The significance of this may not be readily apparent until you think about what happens when you download files off of a BBS with the same extension as that of another application program. For example, let's say that application #5 is defined as being your local GIF file viewer program. If you link that application to files with a .GIF extension, then whenever you download a GIF file you viewer will be run immediately instructing it to view the file you just downloaded! To make situations even nicer, DC TERM will physically return to MS-DOS (text mode) and swap as much of DC TERM's data out of your 640k conventional memory as possible before running your application. When running applications, DC TERM frees up almost all of your 640k memory except for 5.5k that must remain to reload DC TERM when your application is complete. When DC TERM is swapped out of memory it will by default store all the program code and data to a temporary disk file, unless you have the "Swap to EMS/XMS" option selected in the General Settings dialog box. If you do have EMS/XMS swapping enabled, then DC TERM will place all of the necessary data into Expanded and/or extended memory (if there's enough available). Swapping to EMS/XMS is considerably faster than swapping to disk naturally so it is the most desirable method for running your applications. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 5.1 ■ THE APPLICATION EDITOR │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ In order to take advantage of external applications, you need to edit an application program entry from the EXTERNAL pull-down menu. Choose the "Edit Applications" option - you will be presented with a list of ten different applications or application "slots". To insert a new application, choose a blank slot. You will be placed in the Application Editor. The application editor appears similar to the following: ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Application #0 Editor ║ ╟────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╢ ║ Never ■ ║ ║ Description Extension Ask X ║ ║ ┌──────────────────────────────┐ ┌───────┐ Always ■ ║ ║ │ Edit a text file │ │ .TXT │ ║ ║ └──────────────────────────────┘ └───────┘ PAUSE ■ ║ ║ Command Line ║ ║ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ║ ║ │ EDIT.COM $FILENAME$ │ ║ ║ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║ ║ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ║ ║ │ OK │ │ CANCEL │ │ HELP │ ║ ║ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ At the top of the dialog box it says which application slot you are currently editing. Slots are identified as slots #0 through slot #9. By convention, we recommend that slot #0 be used for an external text editor. In this way, even if a BBS instructs your terminal to edit a text file by running application #0, your DC TERM system should be able to handle it. For more information on how a BBS can run application programs on your local terminal, see the following sections. To make your external applications accessible from within DC TERM, you need to define them. That's what the Application Editor is all about. Each of the fields in the Application Editor dialog box is explained below: ┌─────────────┐ │ DESCRIPTION │ └─────────────┘ The description data field allows you to enter a description for the application that will appear in the external application listing. This is intended to give you the user of DC TERM a visual idea of what the application does. ┌──────────────┐ │ COMMAND LINE │ └──────────────┘ This is where the real meat and potatoes of the application editor lies. This is how you define what program to run and how to run it. Simply insert the name of the application program (or a batch file) in this data field along with any parameters you wish to utilize. You may only execute .EXE, .COM or .BAT files and they must be either in the current directory, or accessible in your MS-DOS PATH= statement. Consult your DOS manual for more details about the PATH setting. In addition to being able to specify which program to run, you can also utilize one of DC TERM's most advanced features to customize your application to suit your needs. For example, if you were going to edit a text file, you need to tell your editor what file you wish to edit. In the screen displayed above showing the Application Editor, you will notice the Command Line of "EDIT.COM $FILENAME$". Notice the $FILENAME$ portion of the command line. When you try to run this particular application, the phrase $FILENAME$ will be replaced with a filename of your choice. Actually, that is a simplistic way of looking at it. $FILENAME$ is really a DC TERM text variable (see section 7.4.2 for more details on Text Variables). Text variables are like Macros - they get replaced with another piece of information or text. Depending on the variable, it might be replaced with some piece of information that DC TERM knows already (like the date for example), or it might insert a piece of text that you physically type in. In the case of $FILENAME$, DC TERM will pop-up a dialog box on your screen allowing you to enter the filename to edit. The $FILENAME$ text variable is sometimes called a "magic text variable". It has special meaning in the External Application system of DC TERM. When you physically choose a particular application to run, it will prompt you to enter a filename. If on the other hand, you link an application to a downloaded file, this text variable is automatically "filled in" with the name of the file you just downloaded, thus preventing you from having to type in the filename at all. You are not only limited to just simple text variables. You can also use "Pick-List" definitions (again, see the section on text variables and Keystroke macros for more details). This allows you to pop-up a listing of available choices. You might conceivably use this to specify different command-line switches to modify the behavior of a particular program - something that may be different each time you run the program. You do not need to place a ^M at the end of your command line. A carriage return will be added automatically when the program is run. NOTE: Leaving the command line blank will result in a simple DOS Shell being executed when you run the application. ┌───────────┐ │ EXTENSION │ └───────────┘ As stated previously, you have the ability to link particular application programs to files with certain extensions. For example, if you wanted to link a GIF image viewer to files with .GIF extensions, simply enter "GIF" in this field. Then whenever you download a file with a .GIF extension, the given application will run and the $FILENAME$ text variable will be replaced with the filename of the file you just downloaded! Neat, huh? There are three ways that applications can link to downloaded files. They can be run NEVER, ALWAYS or it can prompt you if you really want to run the application on the particular file you downloaded (ASK). ┌────────────────┐ │ OPTION - NEVER │ └────────────────┘ When this option is chosen, the Extension field of the application will be ignored. In other words, the application you are editing will never be automatically executed for particular files that you download. Use this option to completely disable auto-download application execution for a given application slot. ┌──────────────┐ │ OPTION - ASK │ └──────────────┘ When this option is selected and the Extension field contains a DOS Extension, DC TERM will check every file that you download to see if it has the same extension and if so, it will pop-up a window on your screen asking if you wish to run the given application on the file you just downloaded. This is the most "secure" way of using application mode. This gives you complete control over what gets run when and where. ┌─────────────────┐ │ OPTION - ALWAYS │ └─────────────────┘ This option, when combined with the Extension field, will automatically run the given application every time a corresponding file with the same extension is downloaded. You will not be prompted if you want to run the application on the file, it will be done for you immediately when the download is complete. The only way that you can interact with the act of running the application is if you have inserted pick-list definitions or text variable definitions into the command line field ($FILENAME$ doesn't count). ┌────────────────┐ │ OPTION - PAUSE │ └────────────────┘ When this option is chosen, DC TERM will physically pause before returning to DC TERM after your application has completed execution. Use this option when you want to have a "Hit any key to return to DC TERM" message appear after your application is complete. For example, you might use this option if you have instructed DC TERM to run PKZIP to view the contents of each ZIP file you download. Naturally, you would like the information to stay on your screen after the listing is complete so that you can examine the contents of the file. If you did not select this option, then as soon as the ZIP file's contents were displayed on the screen, DC TERM would resume and the listing would vanish immediately giving you no opportunity to look at the listing. ┌────┐ │ OK │ └────┘ Choosing this option approves any modifications you might have made in the application editor and saves that application for future use in DC TERM. ┌────────┐ │ CANCEL │ └────────┘ This option abandons all modifications in the Application Editor, restoring the application slot to the state it was in previous to entering the Application Editor. ┌──────┐ │ HELP │ └──────┘ This option displays a help screen to assist you in editing applications. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 5.2 ■ APPLICATION TEXT VARIABLES │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ You can run applications directly from your keystroke macros if you wish. This makes your application programs accessible at the touch of a key. This means that you don't have to pull down the EXTERNAL menu and select "Run Application" every time you wish to run your favorite programs. Similar in concept to the $FILENAME$ text variable described above, you can also insert application text variables directly into your keyboard macros in DC TERM. When executed the macro will automatically run the designated application. Application Text Variables are $APP0$ through $APP9$. Each one corresponds to a particular application slot. If a slot is blank, DC TERM will simply execute a DOS Shell. Unlike the $FILENAME$ text variable though, $APP0$ through $APP9$ do not get replaced with any piece of text. For example, if you had the following macro set up: F5: HELLO $APP0$ WORLD Then whenever you hit the F5 key in DC TERM, your macro would send the sequence "HELLO " to the BBS, then run application #0 (presumably your text editor), then after that is complete, transmit " WORLD" to the BBS as the final part of your macro. Note that we did not use the $FILENAME$ variable inside the macro itself - that is specified in the command line portion of the application editor. ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 6.0 ■ DIALING THE MODEM ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Press <ALT-M> to bring up the phone number dialog box. Enter the telephone number you wish to dial. You may enter any numeric digits (0-9). Hyphens are ignored. Enter a comma for a 1/2 second delay (e.g., 9,1-805-964-2833). You may need to add delays if you have to use a special service or a switchboard to obtain an outside line dial-tone. The dialing window will appear when DC TERM is attempting to dial the modem. On this window will be displayed the number of seconds that have elapsed, the time that dialing started, the time of the last re-dial attempt, the telephone number and other information about the dialing state. Pressing <ENTER> will abort the current dialing attempt and start over. Pressing <ESC> or clicking "Cancel" will abort dialing. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 6.1 ■ THE DIALING WINDOW │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ When DC TERM dials a host, it will display a dialog box showing you the progress when dialing the host. The dialog box looks similar to: ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ┌─────────────────────────────────┐ ║ ║ Host │ Host name goes here... │ ║ ║ ├─────────────────────────────────┤ ┌─────┐ ║ ║ Phone # │ 1-805-964-2833 │ Attempt │ 005 │ ║ ║ ├──────────┬───────────┬──────────┤ ├─────┼─┐ ║ ║ Started │ 08:23:25 │ Current │ 08:31:42 │ Remain │ 10 ││ ║ ║ ├──────────┴───────────┴──────────┴───────────┴─────┴─┤ ║ ║ Message │ Host is Busy. Redialing... │ ║ ║ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║ ║ ╔════════════╗ ┌────────────┐ ┌────────────┐ ║ ║ ║ REDIAL ║ │ CANCEL │ │ DELETE │ ║ ║ ╚════════════╝ └────────────┘ └────────────┘ ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Each field is described more fully in the following sections: ┌──────┐ │ HOST │ └──────┘ This field displays the name of the host that is being dialed. This field may be blank if you choose to dial via the manual dialing method (ALT-M). If you are dialing by choosing entries from the dialing directory, whatever host name is displayed will be shown in this field when that entry is dialed. ┌─────────┐ │ PHONE # │ └─────────┘ This displays the telephone number that is being used when dialing the designated host. It is shown in this field exactly as it is transmitted to the modem. ┌─────────┐ │ STARTED │ └─────────┘ This field shows the time that this dialing attempt began. The format of this field is HH:MM:SS. Whenever a number is dialed, or the dialing window cycles to the next number, this field is updated with the current time that the telephone number is issued to the modem to dial out. ┌─────────┐ │ CURRENT │ └─────────┘ This field displays the current time. This field will constantly change as the dialing progresses. It is intended to give you a visual reference to the time, compared to the start time. ┌─────────┐ │ MESSAGE │ └─────────┘ Periodically through the dialing process, various status messages may need to be displayed to give you more information on what is going on. Of the various messages, you might see things like, "Host is Busy. Redialing...", or "Time elapsed without connection". This is generally used to tell you what is going on. ┌─────────┐ │ ATTEMPT │ └─────────┘ This shows how many attempts have been tried thus far for this phone number. If the host is busy, then it will try again after a brief pause. If you have many hosts "queued" up to dial, then this shows the attempt number only for the given host being dialed at the moment. Up to 999 attempts will be made before DC TERM stops all dialing attempts to a particular host. ┌────────┐ │ REMAIN │ └────────┘ This message displays how many seconds remain before the current dialing attempt will terminate. By default, redial time is set to 45 seconds, but this can be changed from within the modem options dialog box. High speed modems, or long distance calls frequently need more than 45 seconds to complete an outgoing call. To the right of this field are two small arrows, an UP arrow, and a DOWN arrow. These are for temporarily increasing or decreasing the redial time for the rest of this dialing attempt. ┌────────┐ │ REDIAL │ └────────┘ This button will cause what's commonly known as a "cycle" to occur. This is used when you have highlighted a number of entries to dial. By clicking on redial, it will stop calling whichever host is currently being dialed, and will cycle to the next highlighted host in your dialing list and begin to dial that number. If you are only dialing one host, this will stop the current dialing attempt and re-dial the same number again. ┌────────┐ │ CANCEL │ └────────┘ This option will stop dialing. You will be returned to the DC TERM session screen. Any entries in the dialing directory that you were trying to dial will remain highlighted the next time you enter the dialing directory. ┌────────┐ │ DELETE │ └────────┘ This option will remove an entry from your dial list. What this means is that whatever host is currently being dialed will have its dialing attempt stopped, and then it will be un-highlighted in the dialing directory, then DC TERM will attempt to dial the next highlighted number (if any). If no more entries are available in the dialing list, DC TERM will abort all dialing and return to the DC TERM session window. ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 7.0 ■ OTHER DCTERM FEATURES ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ DC TERM has a great many other features to make your online access quicker and easier than ever before. Some features are advanced and some are simple. In the following sections you will read up on the various other features of DC TERM to help make your adventure in the online world as simple as possible. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 7.1 ■ SCROLLBACK MODE │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Scrollback mode allows you to review previously displayed text information that has come across the modem. You may set the scrollback buffer size to 5k - 64k. Within scrollback, you may choose from the following options: ■ SAVE buffer page to a text file ■ SAVE entire buffer to a text file ■ PRINT the current buffer page, or the entire buffer ■ SEARCH for a particular piece of text ■ SEARCH again for a previously searched for text string At the top of the scrollback screen are a number of icons for the above commands. In addition, there are icons for scrolling up, down, paging up and down or moving to the beginning or end of the buffer. NOTE: The scrollback buffer filters out ANSI color codes and RIPscrip graphics for an uncluttered text display. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 7.2 ■ THE STATUS BAR │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ At the bottom of the screen is the status bar (normally on). This gives you information about the current configuration of DC TERM. It also provides you with a quick and easy way to access several of the basic features of DC TERM without having to use the menus. You may toggle the status bar ON and OFF quickly by pressing ALT-SPACE. The host might turn the status bar ON or OFF for you, using RIPscrip commands. If it mysteriously vanishes for some reason, keep in mind that the host you are connected to probably did it because it needs the extra line for text or graphics! There are a number of different "fields" in the Status Bar. They are: ┌───────────┬─────────────┬──────────┬─────────────────┬ │ F1 = Help │ F10 = Menus │ RIPscrip │ 38400 ■ N81 FDX │ └───────────┴─────────────┴──────────┴─────────────────┴ (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) ┬──────┬──────────────────┬─────────┐ │ COM1 │ DC TERM v2.00.00 │ Offline │ ┴──────┴──────────────────┴─────────┘ (6) (7) (8) (1) How to get the help system table of contents. (2) How to use the keyboard only to select from the menus. (3) What terminal emulation is in use, or the name of the log file if one has been opened or the LPT printer port being used for printer logging. (4) The baud rate, parity setting, data bits and stop bits. (5) Full-duplex (FDX) or half-duplex (HDX) settings. (6) The COM port that is currently in use. (7) The current version number of DC TERM. (8) Whether you are "on-line" or "off-line". Each one of the fields just described can be clicked on (if the status bar is on). Once clicked, a different action is performed based upon the current state of DC TERM, and what field you clicked on. Each of the various fields are described below: ┌────────────────────────┐ │ HELP TABLE OF CONTENTS │ └────────────────────────┘ This option displays the Help Table of Contents. From here, you can access any area in the Help System quickly and easily. ┌─────────────────────┐ │ ACCESSING THE MENUS │ └─────────────────────┘ When you click on this option, the menu bar at the top of the screen will be highlighted for you. You may then use the keyboard to navigate through the menus quickly and easily to choose options. ┌─────────────┐ │ MISC. FIELD │ └─────────────┘ This field serves three purposes. If you are current logging your session to a disk "log file" the filename (without extension) of the log file will be displayed in here. In this mode, clicking in this field will close (or pause) the log file. If you are not logging your current session to disk, but to a printer instead, you will see this field as something like "--LPT1--" or whatever printer port is currently being printed to for session printer logging. If you are not logging your session at all, then this field will display the phrase "RIPscrip", indicating that you are using a RIPscrip compatible terminal program. Clicking on this field in this mode will bring up a help screen telling you more about RIPscrip graphics in general. ┌─────────────────────────┐ │ COMMUNICATIONS SETTINGS │ └─────────────────────────┘ This field indicates what the current communications parameters are. The baud rate (300-115,200 baud) is displayed as well as the data bits (7 or 8), parity ( N = none, E = even and O = odd), and stop bits (1 or 2). If local-echo is enabled, then the phrase "HDX" is displayed which means "Half Duplex". If this is disabled (no echo), then the phrase "FDX" is displayed indicating "Full Duplex" mode is in effect. Clicking on this field brings up the Modem Settings dialog box. ┌─────────────────────┐ │ COMMUNICATIONS PORT │ └─────────────────────┘ This field displays what communications port you are using. Clicking on this field brings up the modem settings dialog box. ┌─────────────────────┐ │ DCTERM INFORMATION │ └─────────────────────┘ This field displays the version number of DC TERM that you are using. Clicking on it brings up a help screen corresponding to "About DC TERM" in the Project menu. It displays information about the current version of DC TERM. ┌────────────────────────────┐ │ ON-LINE/OFF-LINE INDICATOR │ └────────────────────────────┘ This field displays whether you are on-line or off-line. When DC TERM is starting up, you might see the phrase "Loading..." in this field; this is just a status indicator telling you DC TERM is doing something. The purpose of this field is for you to be able to, at a glance, determine if you are still connected to a host or not. This field is updated whenever your on-line status changes in any way (providing your modem is configured for carrier detect!). Clicking on this field will do one of two things depending on what the current on-line/off-line status is. if you are on-line, clicking on this field will ask you if you wish to hang-up (providing you are using your modem to connect to a host). If it says you are off-line, clicking on this field will bring up the dialing directory, thus allowing you to dial a host. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 7.3 ■ ASCII UPLOAD SETTINGS │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ When you select the ASCII Upload Settings option, the following dialog box will appear on your screen: ╔════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ASCII Upload Settings ║ ╟────────────────────────────────────╢ ║ ┌────┐ ║ ║ Line Delay │ 10 │ ║ ║ ├────┤ ║ ║ Character Delay │ 0 │ ║ ║ └────┘ ║ ║ ┌──┐ ║ ║ Blank Expansion │XX│ ║ ║ └──┘ ║ ║ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ║ ║ │ OK │ │ CANCEL │ ║ ║ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════╝ The significance of each field is as follows: ┌────────────┐ │ LINE DELAY │ └────────────┘ Sometimes when uploading ASCII files to a host, it is necessary to pause in between each line so that the host can process the data. If you find that data is becoming lost, or garbled by the host when you perform an ASCII upload, you may need to increase the Line Delay option for ASCII uploads. You may specify a time value in 1/10ths of a second. Therefore, if you specify a value of 11, it would be a 1.1 second pause in between lines. ┌─────────────────┐ │ CHARACTER DELAY │ └─────────────────┘ Under some circumstances, when performing an ASCII upload to a host, it is necessary to insert pauses in between each character that is sent to the host. This may be necessary in situations where the host must process each character as it is sent, rather than every line of text sent. You may specify a time value in 1/10ths of a second. Therefore, if you specify a value of 11, it would be a 1.1 second pause in between lines. ┌─────────────────┐ │ BLANK EXPANSION │ └─────────────────┘ When this option is chosen, DC TERM will expand blank lines that are uploaded in ASCII mode to a space character followed by a carriage return. Under most circumstances, this tricks the BBS into thinking that you typed something in, but still shows up as a blank line. This is most often the case inside E-Mail editors. Turn this option off if you do not want blank line expansion to be enabled. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 7.4 ■ MACRO EDITOR │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Macros are functions that you can define to perform short-cut operations on the host. For example, you can instruct DC TERM to make the F5 key type your user-id and press <ENTER> for you. This would allow you to log-on quickly by simply pressing a single key. DC TERM's macro system is easy to use, and very powerful! You can save your macro keys to the default macro file (DCTERM.KEY), or if you need to have multiple macro configurations, you can save macros to different files. When you choose the macro editor option, a dialog box similar to the following will be displayed: ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ DC TERM Macro Editor ║ ║ ┌──────────────────────────────────────┬─┐ ┌────────────┐ ║ ║ │ CTRL-F2: This is Macro #1 ......... ││ │ EDIT │ ║ ║ ├──────────────────────────────────────┼─┤ ├────────────┤ ║ ║ │ ALT-G: This is Macro #2 ......... │ │ │ DELETE │ ║ ║ ├──────────────────────────────────────┤ │ ├────────────┤ ║ ║ │ F2: This is Macro #3 ......... │ │ │ CLEAR │ ║ ║ ├──────────────────────────────────────┤ │ ├────────────┤ ║ ║ │ SHIFT-F9: This is Macro #4 ......... │ │ │ SAVE │ ║ ║ ├──────────────────────────────────────┼─┤ ├────────────┤ ║ ║ │ CTRL-F10: This is Macro #5 ......... ││ │ LOAD │ ║ ║ └──────────────────────────────────────┴─┘ └────────────┘ ║ ║ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ║ ║ │ OK │ │ CANCEL │ ║ ║ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ The currently defined macros are displayed in the scrolling window on the left side of the dialog box. On the right side, are buttons which allow you to add/edit macros, delete existing macros, Clear all macros, load a macro file and save all macros to a macro file. When selecting macros to edit/delete, you may click on an existing macro then click on EDIT or DELETE. If you wish to edit/delete more than one macro at the same time, click on each macro while holding down the SHIFT key. If you click on EDIT without any macros being highlighted, you go into ADD macro mode. You may store multiple macros into Macro .KEY Files for future use. You may have as many macro files as you wish limited only by the amount of available disk space. ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ENTER KEYSTROKE FOR THE MACRO EDITOR │ └──────────────────────────────────────┘ Type the keystroke that you wish to record a macro for. For example, if you wanted to record a macro for the F5 key, simply press the F5 key. You may specify CTRL, ALT or SHIFT keys as well. DC TERM's macro editor allows you to define literally hundreds of macros using nearly as complex a keystroke as you want. To exit the ADD mode, simply press the <SPACE> key. Beware that you probably would never want to make CTRL-M (return), CTRL-H (backspace) or ALT-K (keystroke macros) into macros themselves. This would make it difficult to use DC TERM with the keyboard. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ TEXT TO SEND HOST WHEN THIS KEY IS PRESSED │ └────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Enter the text that should be sent to the host (or the modem) if this macro is entered. In other words, enter the text that you want to be associated with this macro. For example, if you wanted to send the text "Hello World" to the host when you press F5, simply type in "Hello World". You may enter control characters into your macros by using a caret (^), followed by the letter of the control key you want to send. For example, a CTRL-C would be represented as ^C. A carriage return (<ENTER>) is specified as ^M. Also, an ESCAPE is generated by the sequence ^[ ... There are a number of different combinations of CONTROL CHARACTERS that you may choose from (see the following sections for more details). In addition to control characters, you can also insert TEXT VARIABLES or POPUP LISTS (see below) into your macros. ┌──────────────────────────────┐ │ SAVING YOUR MACROS TO A FILE │ └──────────────────────────────┘ Enter the filename that you want to save your defined macros to. By default, the Macro File DCTERM.KEY is prompted. If you do not wish to store your existing macros as the "Default DC TERM" macros, save them to a different file. ┌─────────────────────────────────┐ │ LOADING YOUR MACROS FROM A FILE │ └─────────────────────────────────┘ Enter the filename of the macro .KEY file you wish to load. Macro files are contained in the current DCTERM directory unless otherwise specified. By default, DCTERM.KEY is prompted, so that you can load the default macros quickly and easily. If you wish to load a custom, non-default macro file, simply backspace over the existing filename and enter the filename you wish to load. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 7.4.1 ■ CONTROL CHARACTERS │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Not all hosts will allow you to use control characters. Regardless of that, the capability to send any control character exists in your keystroke macro editor. The most commonly used control characters are: INDIVIDUAL CONTROL CHARACTERS SPECIAL KEYSTROKES ---------------------------------- ---------------------- ^G ... Beep ^[[A ... Up arrow ^L ... Clear screen (top of form) ^[[B ... Down arrow ^M ... Carriage return ^[[C ... Right arrow ^C ... Break (on some hosts) ^[[D ... Left arrow ^H ... Backspace ^[[H ... Home key ^[ ... Escape character (ESC) ^[[K ... End key ^S ... Pause data transmission (X-OFF) ^[[L ... Control home ^Q ... Resume data transmission (X-ON) ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 7.4.2 ■ TEXT VARIABLES │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ A special feature of DC TERM allows it to understand what a text variable is. A text variable is a string of text that DC TERM knows represents something more. For example, the text variable $DATE$ is known to represent the current date on your system. The host may ask your system what the values of one or more of these variables are, and if your terminal knows that particular text variable, it will send that information to the host. There are two types of text variables. There are built-in text variables that DC TERM will ALWAYS know about. Then there are also user text variables that can contain a variety of information depending on what the DC TERM user entered at the time the variable was created. For example, the host might ask you what the contents of the $FULL_NAME$ variable is, and if DC TERM doesn't know, it would pop-up a field on the screen and ask you about it. From then on, DC TERM will remember that piece of information for the next time it is needed by a host. You may use either the pre-defined text variables, or the user text variables at any place that allows text variables (i.e., keystroke macros). ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 7.4.2.1 ■ USER TEXT VARIABLES │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ User text variables are text variables that you create. A host might tell you, "Create this text variable for me", or you might create one yourself. The difference is really unimportant. However, a brief explanation of their purpose might prove insightful. User text variables are used to store information either permanently, or temporarily. This information can then be re-used without you having to type them in again. The time-saving aspect of this feature is only one small benefit of its ability. Having the capability to store information over potentially long periods of time is VERY useful! There are three types of user text variables: 1. Permanent (database) variables 2. Temporary (in memory) variables 3. Volatile (discardable) variables The significance of each type of variable is described below: ┌────────────────────────────────┐ │ PERMANENT (DATABASE) VARIABLES │ └────────────────────────────────┘ Permanent text variables are saved in a local DC TERM database file called DCTERM.DB. This file is automatically indexed for high-speed retrieval of information. The index file for this database is called DCTERM.IDX. Both files are stored in the current DC TERM directory for safe keeping. Any permanent text variable that is created is stored in this file. A permanent text variable can be created by yourself manually by choosing option "Store Data" from the Data menu, or interactively by a host via a special RIPscrip command ("Define Text Variable"). Once you create a variables, they are stored forever, or until you either delete the database file, or modify the entry. These variables may be accessed by yourself, or a host (if you wish it). This can be quite useful in preventing you from having to type the same information in over and over again in future on-line sessions. Imagine if you could sign-up on a host without having to type a single character? Sound too good to be true? With text variables, you (and other sysops) could do this! ┌─────────────────────────────────┐ │ TEMPORARY (IN MEMORY) VARIABLES │ └─────────────────────────────────┘ Temporary (in memory) text variables are just like permanent text variables, except that they are not stored in a database file. They are stored in your computer's memory. They remain until you exit DC TERM. Other than that, they are identical in nature to permanent text variables. Until you exit DC TERM, they will exist and will be accessible to you (via macros), or to a host. ┌──────────────────────────────────┐ │ VOLATILE (DISCARDABLE) VARIABLES │ └──────────────────────────────────┘ A volatile (discardable) text variable is somewhat different than the previously described text variables. They do not remain in memory or in any database for any period of time. They are used solely to ask you a simple question, transmit the information to the host, then the contents of the variable are destroyed forever. Why would you (or a host) want something like this? This question is answered differently for YOU or for a host. A volatile text variable for you can be useful during keystroke macros. Let's say you have a very complex macro that you've devised for doing something in a game (for example) to another user on the host. Should you have to edit the macro each time you want to use it for someone different? Of course not! Simply place a reference to an "undefined" text variable in your macro. When you execute the macro, DC TERM will look through its list of text variables (pre-defined, in-memory and permanent), and if it doesn't find a corresponding variable, it would pop-up a quick dialog box asking you to enter something for that variable. Whatever you type into that dialog box for the variable is replaced in your macro right then and there, and is immediately discarded after the macro is finished. For example, let's say you have the following macro setup to attack another player in a game on some host you call: F2: ATTACK $USERNAME$ FIERCELY^m When you execute macro F2, DC TERM will transmit "ATTACK " to the host, then find the text variable $USERNAME$ in it. It will check its internal tables for this variable, and if it doesn't find it, it will pop-up a window asking you to enter the following: ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Please enter "USERNAME" ║ ║ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ║ ║ │ █ │ ║ ║ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Simply type in the name of the user you wish to attack, and the result will be sent to the host in place of the variable name $USERNAME$. After that, the remainder of the macro will be transmitted to the host (i.e., " FIERCELY") followed by a carriage return (^M is the carriage return). Once the macro is complete, the contents of USERNAME will not exist (unless it was a previously defined "permanent" text variable or a Temporary (in memory) text variable. A host can also ask you to enter something for a volatile text variable. Why would a host want to do this and not save the response somewhere? What if you asked a host to download a file. It could present you with a menu like the following: ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ File Download ║ ║ ┌─────────────┐ ┌────────────────────┐ ║ ║ │ Protocols │ │ Enter Filename │ ║ ║ ├─────────┬───┤ └────────────────────┘ ║ ║ │ X-Modem │ │ ╔════════════════════╗ ║ ║ │ Y-Modem │ │ ║ Begin Download ║ ║ ║ │ Z-Modem │ X │ ╚════════════════════╝ ║ ║ │ Kermit │ │ ┌────────────────────┐ ║ ║ └─────────┴───┘ │ Cancel Download! │ ║ ║ └────────────────────┘ ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════╝ The options on the left allow you to specify the file transfer protocol that you wish to use for the transfer. The "Enter Filename" button though is the one we're interested in. When you click on this button, you would think that DC TERM should pop-up a dialog box on your screen asking you what filename you want to download, right? Would you think that the filename you enter should become a permanent part of DC TERM's configuration? Of course not. It saved only temporarily until such time as you click on either "Begin Download" or "Cancel Download!". Its value is used specifically when you click on "Begin Download" whereby DC TERM looks at all of the buttons on the screen and instructs the host to begin the download in a certain way (e.g., using Z-Modem protocol to download file XYZ.EXE for example). As you can clearly see, you would not want the filename field to be part of your permanent DC TERM configuration. In this manner, volatile text variables can be extremely useful! ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 7.4.2.2 ■ USER TEXT VARIABLE SECURITY │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ All this discussion about user text variables, and hosts asking your terminal for information, you might be concerned about calling some host you've never called before and letting it ask your terminal questions about itself (and YOU)! We don't blame you for thinking this. That is why we've put a security precaution into DC TERM. It is called "Data Security". This option (available from the Data menu) allows you to preview any user text variable question to determine if you really and truly want to send that information to the host. This allows you to edit the text variable that will be sent to the host so that you are in control at all times of what information is sent to the host. Any variable that is queried by the host will be prompted on your screen allowing you to edit the response. In the event that you do not wish to divulge the information to the host, simply backspace over your text and send a "blank" response. In the event that the host won't permit a blank response, enter something like "NONE" or "N/A". If this mode is disabled, you may still be prompted to edit your variable if the host asks for an "interactive query". The host can ask for a non-interactive text variable query, which means that the host will "try" to ask your terminal the contents of a text variable. If the variable exists, it will send the contents to the host without you even knowing that it was sent! In some ways, it is up to the honor of the sysop of the host to set all variable queries as interactive by default. But considering the fact that this is not an entirely "equal" world, having the ability to override variable queries with a Data Security option becomes quite important. This option defaults to "ON" when DC TERM is initially installed. In other words, all data queries are considered "secure" by default. It is up to you to disable this security measure. Use this option with caution if you're not sure about trusting the hosts you call. As a note worth mentioning, a RIPscrip command to query the contents of your terminal's text variables may be possible if you read an electronic mail message from an ingenious user who knows the RIPscrip protocol language. In situations like this, you would definitely want to use data security mode to prevent unauthorized information transmittal to other people (e.g., credit card numbers, or other information). ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 7.4.2.3 ■ PRE-DEFINED TEXT VARIABLES │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Pre-defined text variables are something that DC TERM always knows about. They are "built-in" to DC TERM, and a host can always get an answer to. These types of variables are defined to provide the host with some kind of information about your terminal software, not about something you (or your terminal) knows. In other words, pre-defined text variables can be used to send a piece of information to the host saying "what time is it", or "what is the date where you are", or "where is the mouse located?". They function exactly like any other text variable except that DC TERM knows they exist even if you haven't created them yet. By nature, the values that these variables return to the host are rarely the same. They change depending on the nature of each variable. The following is a list of pre-defined text variables: $DATE$ ... Date in short format (e.g., 12/19/92) This Text Variable will be transformed into the current Date. It will be displayed in the format MM/DD/YY. Example: $DATE$ = 12/19/92 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $MONTH$ ... Month Name This text variable will be transformed into the name of the current month. It will be not abbreviated (e.g., "November" instead of "Nov") Example: $MONTH$ = December ----------------------------------------------------------------- $MONTHNUM$ ... Month (in format 1-12) This text variable is transformed into a number representing the current month. January=01 and December=12. Therefore, the possible values for $MONTHNUM$ can range from 1 to 12. Example: $MONTHNUM$ = 12 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $DAY$ ... Day in numeric form (e.g., 31) This text variable is transformed into a number representing the day of the month. The range of values for this variable are from 01-31. Example: $DAY$ = 05 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $DOY$ ... Day of year (001-366) This text variable will be transformed into a number representing the day of the current year. Since a year contains 365 days (unless it is a leap-year where it contains 366), then the possible values that $DOY$ can be are 001-366. Example: $DOY$ = 214 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $YEAR$ ... 2 digit year (without century) (00-99) This text variable will be transformed into a two-digit number representing the current year. Example: $YEAR$ = 92 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $FYEAR$ ... 4 digit year (with century) (0000-9999) This text variable will be transformed into a four-digit number that represents the current year. Example: $FYEAR$ = 1992 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $TIME$ ... Time in standard format (e.g., 12:03:14) This text variable will be transformed into the current time. The time will be in military format (hours from 00-23). Example: $TIME$ = 18:09:33 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $HOUR$ .... Hour (format HH) - normal style This text variable will be transformed into a two-digit number representing the current hour. This variable may be anywhere from 01-12. This does not use military format. Example: $HOUR$ = 11 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $MHOUR$ ... Hour (format HH) - Military style This text variable will be transformed into a two-digit number representing the current hour in military format. This variable may range anywhere from 00-23. Example: $MHOUR$ = 17 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $MIN$ ... Minutes (00-59) This text variable will be transformed into a two-digit number representing the current minutes in the hour. Possible values for this variable are 00-59. Example: $MIN$ = 45 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $SEC$ ... Seconds (00-59) This text variable will be transformed into a two-digit number representing the current seconds of the minute. Possible values for this variable are 00-59. Example: $SEC$ = 59 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $AMPM$ ... Returns either AM or PM depending on time This text variable will be transformed into a two-character value of either "AM" or "PM" depending on what time it is. Example: $AMPM$ = PM ----------------------------------------------------------------- $DATETIME$ ... Date & Time (e.g., Sat Dec 19 14:38:50 1992) This text variable will be transformed into a combination date and time. The format is somewhat different than standard time/date notation. The format used is: DAY-OF-WEEK MONTH DAY-OF-MONTH HH:MM:SS YEAR Example: $DATETIME$ = Sat Dec 19 14:38:50 1992 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $TIMEZONE$ ... Time Zone or "NONE" if unknown (e.g., Pacific) This text variable will be transformed into a a word/phrase that describes the current time-zone you are in. This may be returned as anything like "PST" for Pacific Standard Time, "EDT" for Eastern Daylight Time, etc. If the time-zone is not set on your system, this variable will respond with "NONE". Example: $TIMEZONE$ = PST ----------------------------------------------------------------- $DOW$ ... Day of week fully spelled out (e.g., Friday) This text variable will be transformed into the current day of the week. The name will be fully spelled out. This variable can be any of the values: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Example: $DOW$ = Saturday ----------------------------------------------------------------- $ADOW$ ... Abbreviated Day of Week (e.g., Mon, Tue, etc.) This text variable will be transformed into the current day of the week, in abbreviated form. This variable may be any of the following values: Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri and Sat. Example: $ADOW$ = Mon ----------------------------------------------------------------- $WDAY$ ... Weekday where 0 is Sunday (0-6) This text variable will be transformed into a one-digit number representing the number of the day of the week. Possible values for this variable are 0-6, where 0=Sunday (the first day in the week). Example: $WDAY$ = 2 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $WOY$ ... Week of current year 00-53; Sunday=1st Day of Week This text variable will be transformed into a number from 00-53, representing the week number in the current year. Even though there are 52 weeks in a year, a week might not begin exactly on the first day of the year, so a maximum value for this variable can be 53 under these circumstances. For this variable, SUNDAY is considered to be the first day of the week. Example: $WOY$ = 32 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $WOYM$ ... Week of current year 00-53; Monday=1st Day of Week This text variable will be transformed into a number from 00-53, representing the week number in the current year. Even though there are 52 weeks in a year, a week might not begin exactly on the first day of the year, so a maximum value for this variable can be 53 under these circumstances. For this Variable, MONDAY is considered to be the first day of the week. Example: $WOYM$ = 32 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $RIPVER$ ... RIPscrip version (e.g., "RIPSCRIP015300") This text variable will be transformed into a key-phrase which will identify a RIPscrip software package. It is designed to be used by a host to detect what version of RIPscrip graphics your terminal can support. When this text variable is used, it will respond back with "RIPSCRIP" followed by the full version number (e.g., 01.53.00), without the periods. Example: $RIPVER$ = RIPSCRIP015300 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $STATBAR$ ... If Status Bar is on, returns YES, otherwise NO This text variable will be transformed into a "YES" if the status bar is currently ON. If the Status Bar is not visible, then this variable will be "NO". Example: $STATBAR$ = YES ----------------------------------------------------------------- $X$ ... X Mouse location (format: XXXX) This text variable is for reporting the current X location of the mouse to the host. This could be used interactively by the host (or a game on the host) to determine the location of the mouse cursor. Only the X value of the mouse (X,Y) location is returned to the host. The value will be 0000-9999 depending on what the current position is. Example: $X$ = 0523 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $Y$ ... Y Mouse location (format: YYYY) This text variable is for reporting the current Y location of the mouse to the host. This could be used interactively by the host (or a game on the host) to determine the location of the mouse cursor. Only the Y value of the mouse (X,Y) location is returned to the host. The value will be 0000-9999 depending on what the current position is. Example: $Y$ = 0244 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $XY$ ... X/Y Mouse Location (format: XXXX:YYYY) This text variable will be transformed into a combination of both the X and Y locations of the mouse. A colon (:) is used to separate the two values. Either the X or Y values may range from 0000-9999 depending on the current location. The format that this value takes on is: XXXX:YYYY Example: $XY$ = 0297:0321 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $XYM$ ... X, Y & button status (format: XXXX:YYYY:LMR) This text variable will be transformed into a combination of the X and Y mouse location, and a status of which mouse buttons are pressed (if any). The format of the returned text is XXXX:YYYY:LMR where XXXX is the X cursor location in the range 0000-9999. YYYY is the Y cursor location in the range 0000-9999. Finally, LMR stands for Left/Middle/Right. If either of these buttons are depressed (clicked), then the corresponding position will contain a 1. If a button is NOT depressed, then it will contain a 0. Example: $XYM$ = 0123:0297:110 This means that the (X,Y) location of the cursor is (0123,0297), and that the left and middle buttons are depressed, but that the right mouse button is not depressed. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $M$ ... Mouse Button Status: LMR (e.g., 101) This text variable will be transformed into a 3-character code representing what the status of each mouse button is. This variable can work with either 2-button mice, or 3-button mice. In either event, the format of the code is LMR where L = Left, M = Middle (if any), and R = Right. If any of these buttons are depressed (i.e., clicked), then the code for that button would be a "1". If the button is not depressed, it is a "0". So, a value of "100" would mean that the left mouse button is depressed, but none of the others are. Example: $M$ = 001 ----------------------------------------------------------------- $MSTAT$ ... Mouse Status (format: YES/NO) This text variable will be transformed into a "YES" if there is a mouse installed on the DC TERM computer. If no mouse is installed, this variable will contain "NO". Example: $MSTAT$ = YES ----------------------------------------------------------------- TWH ... Current text window's height This variable returns the height of the currently active text window. If the window is Disabled, then the height will be 0. Example: $TWH$ = 25 ----------------------------------------------------------------- TWW ... Current text window's width This variable returns the width of the currently active text window. If the window is Disabled, then the width will be 0. Example: $TWW$ = 80 ----------------------------------------------------------------- TWX0 ... Upper-left X coordinate of text window This variable returns the upper-left X coordinate of the text window. This value is 0-based and can range from 0-90. If the window is disabled, it will result in 0. Example: $TWX0$ = 5 ----------------------------------------------------------------- TWY0 ... Upper-left Y coordinate of text window This variable returns the upper-left Y coordinate of the text window. This value is 0-based and can range from 0-42. If the window is disabled, it will result in 0. Example: $TWY0$ = 3 ----------------------------------------------------------------- TWX1 ... Lower-right X coordinate of text window This variable returns the lower-right X coordinate of the text window. This value is 0-based and can range from 0-90. If the window is disabled, it will result in 0. Example: $TWX1$ = 75 ----------------------------------------------------------------- TWY1 ... Lower-right Y coordinate of text window This variable returns the lower-right Y coordinate of the text window. This value is 0-based and can range from 0-42. If the window is disabled, it will result in 0. Example: $TWY1$ = 23 ----------------------------------------------------------------- TWWIN ... Returns YES if text window active, otherwise NO If the text window is currently active, this variable returns a value of "YES". If it is disabled, it returns a "NO". Example: $TWWIN$ = YES ----------------------------------------------------------------- TWFONT ... Current System Font number in use or 0 for none This variable returns the current MicroANSI font number + 1. If the text window is disabled, then no MicroANSI font applies and the variable will result in 0. A value of 1 indicates an 8x8 MicroANSI font, a value of 2 indicates a 7x8 field, and so on. Subtract 1 from the value to obtain the correct MicroANSI font index number (providing the text window is active). Example: $TWFONT$ = 1 ----------------------------------------------------------------- CURX ... Returns the current X cursor coordinate If the current text window is disabled, this variable returns 0. If it is active, it returns the current X position of the cursor in the range of 1-91. Example: $CURX$ = 18 ----------------------------------------------------------------- CURY ... Returns the current Y cursor coordinate If the current text window is disabled, this variable returns 0. If it is active, it returns the current Y position of the cursor in the range of 1-42. Example: $CURY$ = 21 ----------------------------------------------------------------- CURSOR ... Returns YES if the cursor is visible, otherwise NO If the text cursor is displayed this variable returns a "YES". If the text window is disabled, or the cursor is off, it returns a "NO". Example: $CURSOR$ = YES ┌───────────────────────┐ │ Active Text Variables │ └───────────────────────┘ These text variables are somewhat different than the other text variables described above. Rather than send something back to the host, it performs a specific operation, such as toggling the status line. In this respect, it is considered an ACTIVE TEXT VARIABLE. It evaluates to a null string (nothing). $SBARON$ ... Turn ON the Status Line This text variable's sole purpose in life is to enable the Status Line. It evaluates to a null string (nothing). ----------------------------------------------------------------- $SBAROFF$ ... Turn OFF the Status Line This text variable's sole purpose in life is to disable the Status Line. It evaluates to a null string (nothing). ----------------------------------------------------------------- $ETW$ ... Erase Text Window This command erases the current text window (much like a clear screen code does). This command is particularly useful in host commands when you click on a mouse area, and after it is finished clicking, it could erase the text window THEN transmit the remainder of the host command (if any) to the host. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $DTW$ ... Disable Text Window This text variable disables the current text window (preventing any received text from showing up on screen). ----------------------------------------------------------------- $EGW$ ... Erase Graphics Window This text variable it erases the current graphics window (much like a reset windows command does). This command is particularly useful in host commands when you click on a mouse area, and after it is finished clicking, it could erase the graphics window THEN transmit the remainder of the host command (if any) to the host. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $MKILL$ ... Kill all Mouse Fields currently defined This text variable deletes all currently defined mouse fields exactly like the RIPscrip RIP_KILL_MOUSE_FIELDS command does. The net benefit of this is that when the user clicks on a mouse button, the mouse fields are removed, but the graphics remain on the screen so that the fields could be subsequently re-defined quickly and easily without having to re-transmit an identical menu over again. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $BEEP$ ... Beeps the terminal (like a CTRL-G does) This command issues a beep to the terminal, thus producing a CTRL-G sound. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $BLIP$ ... Makes a short "blipping" sound This active text variable is much like the BEEP variable, except that the sound produced is different. It produces a sound more akin to a "barrier" sound; something that sounds like you're bumping into a wall or something to that effect. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $MUSIC$ ... Makes a musical (cheerful) sound This active text variable also produces an audio result. The sound that is generated is a cheerful sound, representing some kind of success. The sound is exactly the same as the sound you would hear when you receive a successful download, or when you achieve a connection when dialing the modem in DC TERM. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $ALARM$ ... Makes an alarm-like warning sound When executed, this variable will issue a sound that gives you the impression that something is definitely wrong. It is the same sound that DC TERM will use when a download fails for some reason. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $PHASER$ ... Makes a space-like Phaser Sound This variable will produce a descending continuous tone from 2500 hertz down to 50 hertz. The transition is very smooth and makes it seem like some spaceship is firing its phasers at you. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $REVPHASER$ ... The exact reverse sound of $PHASER$ This text variable is identical in nature to the $PHASER$ variable except that the sound is produced in the opposite order (ie, an ascending phaser-like sound). ----------------------------------------------------------------- $PCB$ ... Paste Clip Board at last location This command pastes the contents of the clipboard at the last location where the clipboard was "clipped" from. This even works with icons that are loaded. The last location taken in this situation, is the location the icon was stamped when it was originally loaded. This text variable is very useful in situations where you want to "pop-up" a dialog box on the screen (saving the previous area behind the dialog onto the clipboard), and when the user clicks on the "OK" button, restoring the screen contents (by adding a $PCB$ in the host command string). ----------------------------------------------------------------- $SMF$ ... Save Mouse Fields This text variable will save all currently defined mouse fields and mouse buttons to a temporary file for later retrieval. This is designed especially for the graphical designer who wishes to pop-up a dialog box on the screen with one or more mouse fields, and when finished, to restore the screen and original mouse fields (if any) so that the user is not left "floating". This command is intended to be used with the restore mouse fields text variable $RMF$. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $RMF$ ... Restore Mouse Fields This text variable restores any previously saved mouse fields saved with the $SMF$ text variable. You may have only one set of mouse fields saved at any one time. If there were no mouse fields saved, or if the number of mouse fields that were saved was 0, then no mouse fields will be active. Any fields that were defined at the time of this command's execution will be erased. Due to technical details, this should be the last piece of text or the last text variable in any mouse host command (or button host command). Having subsequent text variables or host command text after this variable (in a mouse field) can lead to unpredictable and potentially disastrous results. NOTE: You may restore mouse fields more than once if you wish. In other words, if you perform a "Save Mouse Fields" command, you may execute Restore Mouse Fields one or more times after that point. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $COFF$ ... Disable the text cursor This command will physically shut off the ASCII text cursor that is normally seen in the text window. This is automatically reset whenever a $CON$ command (Cursor ON) or a Reset Windows command is received. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $CON$ ... Re-displays the text cursor This command will physically turn ON the ASCII text cursor. This is the exact opposite of the $COFF$ command which disables the text cursor. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $STW$ ... Save text window information This command will physically store all of the text window settings. The window's X/Y dimensions are preserved, as is the current cursor location, ANSI attributes, cursor ON/OFF status and the vertical scrolling margins. Even the current System Font will be saved (if necessary). ----------------------------------------------------------------- $RTW$ ... Restore text window information This command will restore the text window to whatever settings were active when the $STW$ (save text window) command was issued. The cursor, ANSI attributes and any other piece of text window information will be restored (including the System Font setting). ----------------------------------------------------------------- $SCB$ ... Save Clip Board This command will save the Clipboard to disk for later retrieval by a subsequent Query or Host Command. If the clipboard does not exist, then the temporary file is deleted automatically to indicate to the Restore Clip Board that there shouldn't be a clipboard active. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $RCB$ ... Restore Clip Board This command restores the clipboard from the temporary disk file called RIPCLIP.BRD. This file is created by $SCB$ (save clip board). Not only is the actual clipboard contents saved, but so is the last clipboard location, so that the Paste Clip Board command ($PCB$) will restore the clipboard's location as well. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $VT102ON$ ... Turn VT-102 emulation mode ON This command enabled the VT-102 terminal emulation mode. This makes the following keystrokes send something to the Host: F1 ... ESC [ M F2 ... ESC [ N F3 ... ESC [ O F4 ... ESC [ P F5 ... ESC [ Q F6 ... ESC [ R F7 ... ESC [ S F8 ... ESC [ T F9 ... ESC [ U F10 ... ESC [ V PGUP ... ESC [ I PGDN ... ESC [ G HOME ... ESC [ H END ... ESC [ F INSERT ... ESC [ L CURSOR UP ... ESC [ A CURSOR DN ... ESC [ B CURSOR LEFT ... ESC [ C CURSOR RIGHT ... ESC [ D In addition, many ANSI escape sequences function slightly differently than in normal ANSI mode. When in this mode, DC TERM tries to act like a VT-102 compatible terminal. The purpose of having this as a text variable is that the Host can instruct the terminal to enter this mode automatically, thus making it simpler on the user. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $VT102OFF$ ... Turn VT-102 emulation mode OFF This variable disables the VT-102 mode, returning your keyboard to the standard keyboard operation. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $DWAYON$ ... Turn Doorway Mode ON This variable enabled Doorway Mode. This is intended to be used by a Host system that wishes to take advantage of the Doorway mode available in Marshall Dudley's Doorway (tm) software package. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $DWAYOFF$ ... Turn Doorway Mode OFF This variable disabled the Doorway keyboard mode. This will return the keyboard to normal operation. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $SAVE$ ... Save graphics screen The SAVE variable will completely save the contents of the entire graphics screen to a disk file called DCTERM.SAV. No Mouse Fields, Text Window locations or Clipboard data are saved - just the graphics screen. The entire 640x350 region is saved to disk. If you wish to save the entire state of the DC TERM system, use the following text variables all at the same time (spaces are added for clarity): $SAVE$ $STW$ $SCB$ $SMF$ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ --- Save Mouse Fields \ \ \ \ \ ------- Save ClipBoard \ \ \ ----------- Save Text Window \ --------------- Save Graphics Screen ----------------------------------------------------------------- $RESTORE$ ... Restore graphics screen The RESTORE command will read the saved file DCTERM.SAV in from disk and restore the graphics as they were originally saved with the $SAVE$ command. Only the graphics screen is restored, not the Clipboard, Mouse Fields or Text Window settings. To restore the entire context of the graphics environment, issue the following text variables: $RESTORE$ $STW$ $SCB$ $SMF$ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ --- Restore Mouse Fields \ \ \ \ \ ------- Restore ClipBoard \ \ \ ----------- Restore Text Window \ ------------------ Restore Graphics Screen ----------------------------------------------------------------- $SAVE0$-$SAVE9$ & $RESTORE0$-$RESTORE9$ ... Save/Restore screens These ten text variables are identical in nature with $SAVE$ described above with sole exception to the fact that the temp files (DCTERM0.SAV - DCTERM9.SAV) are immediately deleted when restored. The $SAVE$ and $RESTORE$ commands do not do this. With this, you can keep restoring screens if you use $SAVE$. These ten variables are provided so that you can have more than one screen saved simultaneously. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $HKEYON$ ... Enable Button Hotkeys This option enables button hotkeys. Any Button that is created by a BBS that has a hotkey will be activated if you hit the corresponding key on your keyboard. This will light-up the Scroll-Lock key on your keyboard indicating that Button Hotkey mode is ON. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $HKEYOFF$ ... Disable Button Hotkeys This option disables button hotkeys. Any Button that is created by a BBS that has a hotkey associated with it, will not be activated even if the user hits that key on his keyboard. The only way to activate a button in this mode is with the mouse. The Scroll-Lock key on your keyboard will go dim, indicating that Button Hotkey Mode is disabled. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $TABON$ ... Enable TAB to execute mouse fields When this variable is processed, you can use the TAB key to navigate through the Mouse/Button fields on your screen. In this mode, you can access the fields without a mouse. The side- effect is that the TAB key cannot be used directly with the Host. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $TABOFF$ ... Disable TAB to execute mouse fields When this variable is processed, you cannot use the TAB key to navigate throug the Mouse/Button fields on your screen. In this mode, whenever the TAB key is hit, it is sent directly to the Host as a TAB character. Any fields that are already hilighted when this variable is received will be de-hilighted. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $SAVEALL$ ... Performs the following: SAVE STW SCB and SMF This command combines a number of other "save" commands together into one short, quick command. This command combines the $SAVE$, $STW$, $SCB$ and $SMF$ commands into one command. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $RESTOREALL$ ... Performs the following: RESTORE RTW RCB and RMF This command combines a number of other "restore" commands together into one short, quick command. This command combines the $RESTORE$, $RTW$, $RCB$ and $RMF$ commands into one command. ----------------------------------------------------------------- $RESET$ ... Resets the screen (like ALT-R in DC TERM) This command performs a RIP_RESET_WINDOWS command to clear the screen and otherwise reset the GUI environment. Be sure to be aware of when this is used from within a Mouse Field/Button! ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 7.4.2.4 ■ SPECIAL TEXT VARIABLES - LOCAL RIP PLAYBACK │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ You can re-play a .RIP file that you have locally on your hard disk from a keystroke macro easily. The format of the variable is somewhat different than user variables, or pre-defined text variables. After the initial dollar sign ($), enter the greater-than symbol (>) followed by the filename (with or without the .RIP extension), then ending in another dollar sign ($). Several examples of this are as follows: $>MYFILE.RIP$ $>FILE1$ $>FILE1.RIP$$>FILE2.RIP$$FILE3$ When loaded, the data is not sent to the host; it is strictly echoed on your local screen. If the file is a .RIP file, it will replay any graphics that were in the file and if any Mouse Regions are defined, it will create those fields for you as well, thus allowing you to pop-up dialog screens or other such things that are not built-in to DC TERM normally. Each "local RIP playback" variable you enter will search for the .RIP file in the current host's icon directory. If it cannot find the file in that directory, it will check the ICONS\ directory. If you have RIPaint, you could conceivably use this mode to place a dialog box on your screen allowing you to alter your modems setup quickly with your mouse, dial particular phone numbers or other such things. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 7.4.3 ■ POP-UP LISTS │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ In your keystroke macros you can take advantage of a unique feature of DC TERM - popup pick-lists. A popup pick-list is simply a list that pops up allowing you to choose from one of several available values. Whichever entry in the list you choose will be inserted into your keystroke macro in place of the list definition. In order to use popup pick-lists in your keystroke macros, you must define the list in the text of your macro. A list is created by putting the special list instructions inside of two parenthesis (( and )). The list instructions consist of an optional question, followed by one or more entries to put in the List. For example, ((Send E-Mail to?::Sysop,Cosysop,Joe)) says to Pop-Up a list asking you "Send E-Mail to?", giving you the choices of "Sysop", "Cosysop", and "Joe". By default, if you press <ESCAPE> instead of picking an entry in the list, then nothing will be inserted into the text of your macro. You can indicate that the user MUST pick an entry by putting an asterisk (*) at the beginning of the question. For example, ((*Send Mail to?::Sysop,Joe)). This would make it so that the User MUST choose either SYSOP or JOE. In the previous examples, SYSOP, COSYSOP and JOE are the text responses that are inserted into your macros. These commands are also the same things that are displayed in the listing. If you want to use something else instead of the "return text", you can. When you enter the list entry, add an @description to the end of it. Example: ((Send Mail To?::Sysop@The Head Honcho,Cosysop,Joe)) One final feature of popup pick-lists allow you to specify a hotkey for each entry in the list. For example, if you wanted the first character of each entry to be highlighted (thus allowing you to select that character to activate the entry), simply put a tilde (~) or an underline (_) before and after the keystroke. For example "_S_ysop" would highlight the "S" in "Sysop". You can highlight more than one character, but only the first one will be the active hotkey. If you omit the second tilde or underline, then the remainder of the description will be highlighted. NOTE: If you use a tilde or an underline in the text response command (not the description), then those characters will be automatically inserted into your macro when it gets transmitted to the host. This is probably not what you would want to do. Bottom line, only use hotkey features on list entries where you specify a description! If you do not specify a question, then the list will ask you: "Choose one of the following:" You may specify up to twenty list entries for any one list. Examples: ((Send E-Mail to?::Sysop,Joe,Mike)) ((*Send E-Mail to?::Sysop@The Head Honcho,Joe,Mike@My Brother)) ((::Sysop@_T_he Head Honcho,Joe,Mike@My _B_rother)) ((Sysop,Joe,Mike,George)) ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 8.0 ■ ONLINE DEMONSTRATIONS ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ If you would like to see an example of RIPscrip graphics in action, you may log-on to one of the following hosts free of charge: ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 1. Durand Communications Network "The Major BBS" software │ │ This is Durand Communications Network BBS │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ PHONE: (805) 964-2833 > Create an account for yourself on the system by > typing "NEW" at the log-on prompt. Answer the > questionnaire and at the main menu, type "RIP ON". > Press <ENTER> to redisplay the menu & away > you go! This is a subscription service, but you do > not need to subscribe to see an on-line demonstration. > If you discover that your icon files are out of date, > send E-mail to SYSOP or download the file ARENAICN.ZIP > from the RIPICONS file library section. ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ APPENDIX A ■ TROUBLESHOOTING/PROBLEMS ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Modem communications is not a simple thing. There are many different technical factors that can affect DC TERM, making it work erratically, or unreliably. This section is intended to try to help you figure out what's wrong and get yourself up and running as quickly as possible. Check through the remainder of this section to see if the particular problem you're having is addressed. If you are having some sort of difficulty not covered below (or the instructions that follow do not resolve the problem), contact the Durand Communications Technical Support department as noted in APPENDIX B. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ A.1 ■ "BUS" MOUSE DOESN'T WORK │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Make sure your mouse driver is loaded into memory before you run DC TERM. Without a mouse driver loaded, DC TERM will not be able to use your mouse. Consult the manual that came with your mouse under the section INSTALLATION or SOFTWARE INSTALLATION. Most mouse drivers come in two flavors, a .SYS file, or a TSR program ending in a .COM file extension. A .SYS file must be loaded into your C:\CONFIG.SYS file as any other device driver. An example of loading your MOUSE.SYS driver would be as follows: CONFIG.SYS file: FILES=40 BUFFERS=40 DEVICE=C:\MOUSE\MOUSE.SYS If your mouse came only with a MOUSE.COM driver, then you must edit your C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT file and add a line calling mouse driver so that it can be loaded into memory each time your system boots up. Add a line similar to the one that follows: AUTOEXEC.BAT file: PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\MOUSE PROMPT $P$G MOUSE Modifications may vary - consult your Mouse Manual. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ A.2 ■ "SERIAL" MOUSE DOESN'T WORK │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ If you are using a serial mouse, and it is not responding, you might be experiencing a "conflict" between your modem serial port, and your mouse serial port. Under most circumstances, a conflict like this will NOT arise in normal applications programs that don't use both a mouse and a modem simultaneously. Below you should find a list of correct and incorrect modem/mouse configurations. CORRECT COMBINATIONS INCORRECT COMBINATIONS ======================= ======================= Modem=COM1 / Mouse=COM2 Modem=COM1 / Mouse=COM3 Modem=COM1 / Mouse=COM4 Modem=COM2 / Mouse=COM4 Modem=COM2 / Mouse=COM1 Modem=COM3 / Mouse=COM1 Modem=COM2 / Mouse=COM3 Modem=COM4 / Mouse=COM2 Modem=COM3 / Mouse=COM2 Modem=COM3 / Mouse=COM4 Modem=COM4 / Mouse=COM1 Modem=COM4 / Mouse=COM3 If you are knowledgeable about IBM-PC hardware, and how to install add-on cards, you may be able to circumvent the above recommended port combinations. To do this will require removing the PC cover and changing the interrupt (IRQ) setting of either the modem serial port, or the mouse serial port (if possible). In order to get both the mouse and the modem operating properly, the two serial ports must use different IRQ settings! If none of this makes sense to you, we would recommend sticking to the above recommended layouts. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ A.3 ■ MODEM ISN'T RESPONDING │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ If you have a serial mouse, you may be experiencing a conflict between your mouse and your modem. A serial mouse can be identified if it plugs into one of your IBM-PC communications ports COM1 through COM4. Not all systems have 4 COM ports, so your system may be somewhat different. A serial mouse typically has a 25-pin connector shaped like an elongated "D". Another type of serial mouse has a 9-pin connector also shaped like a "D". Check to make sure you modem is plugged in and turned on (if it is an external modem). Make sure that the serial cable connecting the modem to your computer is securely fastened to the proper COM port. Check your modem settings to make sure they are set correctly. You may edit these settings by pressing ALT-O (Modem Options). Things you should check for: 1. Make sure it is set for the correct port (COM1 - COM4) 2. Make sure the baud rate is set to a speed your modem can support (or lower). Settings for this would be 300, 1200, 2400, 9600, 19,200 baud. Consult SECTION 4.1 above to determine if you are using an incorrect COM port configuration for your serial mouse and your modem. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ A.4 ■ NOISY TELEPHONE CONNECTIONS │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ If you get a noisy telephone connection, the graphics that you see might become garbled in some fashion. Since DC TERM does more than simply display pictures on the screen, this can disturb underlying (invisible) operations as well. Solutions: Hang-up and try calling again. Often times, this can resolve the problem. Long distance connections are typically the noisiest connections. Check with your operator and find out if you can use a different "Long Distance Carrier" like MCI, AT&T, US Sprint, etc. Use an Error-Correcting modem (provided the host you are calling can support one). ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ APPENDIX B ■ Supported ANSI Sequences ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ ESC [ ! ... Auto-Sense RIPscrip terminal ESC [ 0 ! ... Auto-Sense RIPscrip terminal ESC [ 1 ! ... Disable RIPscrip processing ESC [ 2 ! ... Enable RIPscrip processing ESC [ Pn @ ... Insert Pn spaces at cursor position ESC [ Pn P ... Delete Pn characters at cursor position ESC [ Pn ; Ln P ... Doorway Mode - Print Ln chars to LPT (Pn) NOTE: LPT (Pn) is ignored. ESC [ Pn L ... Insert Pn lines at cursor position ESC [ Pn M ... Delete Pn lines at cursor position ESC [ Pn A ... Move cursor up Pn lines (no scrolling) ESC [ Pn B ... Move cursor down Pn lines (no scrolling) ESC [ Pn D ... Move cursor left Pn columns (no wrapping) ESC [ Pn C ... Move cursor right Pn columns (no wrapping) ESC [ Pn Z ... Performs a Backtab Pn times ESC [ An ; Fn ; Bn m ... Display Attributes ESC [ J ... Clear screen from cursor to LR of screen ESC [ 0 J ... Same as ESC [ J ESC [ 1 J ... Clear screen from cursor to UL of screen ESC [ 2 J ... Clears the entire screen & homes cursor ESC [ K ... Clear to end of line ESC [ 0 K ... Same as ESC [ K ESC [ 1 K ... Clear from beginning of line to cursor ESC [ 2 K ... Clears entire line - leave cursor alone ESC [ g ... Clear tab stop at current cursor position ESC [ 0 g ... Same as ESC [ g ESC [ 3 g ... Clears all tab stops ESC [ Py ; Px H ... Move cursor to (Px,Py) ESC [ Py ; Px f ... Move cursor to (Px,Py) ESC [ s ... Saves current cursor position ESC [ u ... Restores saved cursor position ESC [ 5 n ... Device status report - returns ESC [ 0 n ESC [ 6 n ... Device status report - returns cursor pos as ESC [ y ; x R ESC [ c ... Device attribute report ESC [ Pl ; Pn r ... Set scrolling region between lines Pl - Pn ESC [ S ... Scrolls the screen UP one line ESC [ ? 6 l ... Sets Home Position to UL of screen ESC [ ? 7 l ... Sets line character wrapping OFF ESC [ ? 15 n ... Device status report - reports NO printer ESC [ ? 7 h ... Sets line character wrapping ON ESC 7 ... Saves current cursor position ESC 8 ... Restores saved cursor position ESC c ... Reset terminal emulation to initial state ESC Z ... Same as ESC [ c ESC D ... Cursor DOWN (scroll if at bottom) ESC E ... Cursor to next line (column #1) w/ scroll ESC M ... Move cursor UP (scroll if at top) ESC H ... Set Tab Stop at current column ESC ( A ... Selects UK character set as G0 ESC ( B ... Selects US character set as G0 ESC ( 0 ... Selects line drawing character set as G0 ESC ) A ... Selects UK character set as G1 ESC ) B ... Selects US character set as G1 ESC ) 0 ... Selects line drawing character set as G1 ESC [ = 255 h ... Doorway mode: Enter doorway mode ESC [ = 255 l ... Doorway mode: Exit doorway mode ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ APPENDIX C ■ TECHNICAL SUPPORT ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ This program is as bug-free as possible. In all reality, there are most likely some bugs that have not as of yet been discovered. Should any bugs be discovered, they should be reported to the authors as soon as possible at the following address: ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Durand Communications Network │ │ 5276 Hollister Avenue Suite 405 │ │ Santa Barbara, CA 93111 │ │ │ │ Voice .. (805) 964-4899 │ │ Fax .... (805) 683-7690 │ │ Data ... (805) 964-2833 - BBS │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ DCTERMXL INSTRUCTIONS ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ INTRODUCTION ============ DC TERM is a terminal program used to access the picture viewing and report printing capabilities of the DC NET on-line photograph database. There are also many additional enhanced capabilities of DC TERM which allow you to perform off-line functions with photographs such as off-line Slideshow and print photograph capabilities. As the DC Network turn-key applications develop, there are many more features which will be implemented through updates to DC TERM. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS ===================== IBM or Compatible Computer, 2 MB or RAM or more, Hard disk VGA Video Card and VGA monitor (SuperVGA recommended) REGISTRATION ============ To register the shareware version DC TERM, call Durand Communications Network five days a week during normal business hours. Have your credit card number and expiration date ready. You must also know the serial number of the shareware version you are using. To ascertain this number, start DC TERM and then exit it. Upon exiting, the closing screen will display the serial number. Registration of DC TERM will entitle you to voice technical support and free UPDATES to the registered features of DC TERM. Updates are not the same as upgrades. Any major revision of DC TERM is considered an upgrade. For example, if you are using DC TERM Version 1.2 and DC TERM Version 1.3 comes out, you are entitled to receive Version 1.3 automatically. If you are using 1.2 and version 2.0 is released, this is considered an upgrade and you will be required to reregister your copy of DC TERM by calling the number below. The number to register is 805-964-4899. Visa and Master card accepted. MOVING AROUND DC TERM ===================== Keyboard Users You may use the left and right arrow keys to move between buttons, fields, and windows on any screen. Within a particular field or window, use the up and down arrows to select your choice. When you are on a button, you can press <ENTER> to press it. You may also use the "Hot Keys", which are identified in YELLOW on every screen. You can use a hot key by holding down the <ALT> key and pressing the letter in yellow. On many screens, simply pressing the letter will suffice, without you having to hold down the <ALT> key. Mouse Users If you have a mouse and your mouse driver is loaded, you can use your mouse to select buttons and fields within a selection box. Not all areas of DC Terminal are mouse-accessable; the mouse cursor will disappear and reappear automatically to reflect different areas of the program. Viewing Images To view images or photographs using DC Term, simply press I for images or click on the images button if you are a using mouse. A listing of all images available for viewing will appear. You can use your mouse or the arrow keys to scroll through the images. When you find an image you would like to see, press V or click on the highlighted line with your mouse. While the image is being transferred to your computer you have the ability to move around the record information if different "pages" are available. A transfer bar located in the lower right corner will also keep you informed on the progress of the file transfer. When you are done viewing the image press ESC (escape button) on your keyboard. If there was only one image to be viewed you will return to the record information. If there were two or more images available you will return to the image directory menu. If you are using the shareware version of DC Terminal, then you will have to download each image every time you want to view it. If, on the other hand, you have registered DC Term, then each successive time you view the same image, you will not have to wait for a download, since images are stored locally on your hard drive. You can easily see which images you have already viewed by observing the "No Wait" flag on the "Transfer Time" area of the images window. Viewing Text Files The process of initiating a text file transfer is identical to that of a image file. You can recognize a text file in the image directory by the ".TXT" file extension. Once the file has transferred to your computer you will have a variety of features available to you. The text box that encloses the file can be manipulated in many ways. To move the box around your screen, position the mouse cursor to the top of the text box and while holding down the left mouse button "drag" the box where you want it. To change the size of the text box move the mouse cursor to the bottom right corner and drag the corner vertically and/or horizontally to met the size of your liking. To maximize the size of the text box click your mouse on the up/down arrow at the top right corner of the box. To minimize the box repeat the function. To scroll through the text file you may use your mouse or your keyboard. If you prefer your mouse click the left mouse button on the arrows at each end of the scroll bar or click directly on the scroll bar itself. If you are using your keyboard use the arrow keys or the Page Up and Page Down keys. Note: In order to maximize/minimize, move or change the size of the text box a mouse is required. CONFIGURING YOUR MODEM ====================== Setting the Phone Number The phone number entered in the configuration screen will automatically be dialed every time you press "D" for dial from the main menu. If you wish to change this number, you can do so by pressing "N" for Number and then entering the full telephone number of the host system you would like to call. If you do not want DC Terminal to automatically dial a phone number, then leave this field blank. Modem Initialization Strings The INITIALIZATION string varies for different manufacturers of modems. You should always reference your modem operations manual when setting the initialization string to be used with DC TERM. We have set the default init string with the shareware version of DC TERM to a very generic setting. You will probably want to replace it with a string that is recommended with your modem. If you erase the default init string packaged with INSTALL.EXE, you can type it back in again. The string to use is: AT E1 V1 X4 &C1 &D2 Communications Ports The first time you run DC TERM, you must first specify the communications port your modem is on, the baud rate, and the initialization string you would like to use. This is a one-time setup. Once you have entered this information, you will have to change it only if you move or replace your modem. Configuring Your Printer When printing any report from the DC TERM or DC NET database, make sure you have IBM character fonts enabled. Reference your printer manual to see how to enable printing of IBM extended ASCII graphics characters (128-255). If you wish to print photographs using DC TERM, you must have placed your laser printer into Hewlett Packard LaserJet II or compatible mode. In later versions of the terminal program, extended printer driver support will be available. Modem BAUD Speed Setting In order to set your modem baud rate in the configuration of DC TERM, you should reference your modem manual if you do not already know the maximum speed at which your modem can communicate. In setting the modem baud rate, you should specify the fastest available speed your modem can handle. If the system you are calling does not support the higher baud rates, your modem will automatically drop down in speed so as to negotiate the fasted possible communications available. If you have a 9600 baud modem and you have specified in your initialization string to enable hardware compression, then it is possible to set your modem baud rate to 38,400 baud. If you have a 14,400 baud modem with hardware compression enabled in the initialization string, you can set your modem configuration baud rate to 57,600 baud. DIALING YOUR HOST SYSTEM (BBS) ============================== Before dialing your host system, you must first enter the number of the system into the "Phone Number" box from the configuration screen. To do this, press "C" from the main menu. Or, using your mouse, press the button marked "Configuration" from the main menu. Then, in the black box marked "Phone Number," type in the telephone number of your host system. If the system you will be calling is out of your area code, you must make sure to put a number 1 and the area code before the number. Once you have entered the number of the host system you will be dialing to access on-line photographs, you simply press "DIAL MODEM" from the main menu. Auto-Redial is built into DC TERM as a standard feature. If you wish to cancel the dialing, press the CANCEL button or press "C". SLIDESHOW ========= Registration of DC TERM Shareware Slideshow is a REGISTERED ONLY feature of DC TERM. To register a shareware copy of DC TERM, call Durand Communications Network at 805-964-4899, 7 days a week and have your credit card number and serial number of DC TERM ready. To view the serial number of your copy of DC TERM, run DC TERM and then press "X" to exit. On the closing screen of DC TERM, you will see the serial number. Registration of DC TERM costs only $19.95. In addition to being able to use Slideshow to view images and text files off-line, you will also be able to print the files. Note: In order to print image files you must have an HP LaserJet II or compatible printer. Viewing Images To view images or photographs using slideshow, you must have first received the images from the on-line system. Start Slideshow by pressing "S" from the main menu of DC TERM. A listing of all images available for viewing will appear. You can use your mouse or the arrow keys to scroll through the images. When you find an image you would like to see, press V to view it. Once you have finished viewing the image press ESC (escape button) to bring you back to the slideshow directory. The process of viewing a text file using slide show is identical to that of viewing a image file. See section 5.4 for more details on viewing text files. Changing Image Descriptions To change any description of an image, you must first select the image using either the arrow keys or the mouse. Then select the "Edit" button. While at the description field, you can edit the description of the photograph or image. These changes are saved permanently to your hard disk. This feature is useful if your host BBS has made all of it's image descriptions "Frontal View", "Back View", "Inside View", etc, in which the description doesn't mention what subject of the image actually is. Using the edit feature, you can make a note, for yourself, of exactly what the image is. Note: The process of changing a text file is identical to that of an image file. UPLOADS AND DOWNLOADS ===================== To activate the upload or download functions, you use the PAGE-UP and PAGE-DOWN keys respectively. If you are uploading a file to a host system, a menu will pop up asking you to enter the path and file name you intend to upload. ZMODEM is the only transfer protocol used in DC TERM. HELP ================ To receive help on using DC TERM, call Durand Communications Network at 805-964- 4899. ONLY registered users of DC TERM will receive voice technical support. If you are a shareware user of DC TERM, you can call the Durand Communications Headquarters BBS for technical support free of charge. For hardware assistance, refer to your modem and computer manuals.