The PagerGate is a CommuniGate communication module supporting wireless paging. The module uses one or several regular modems. It calls host computers of paging service companies and transfers the messages along with the recipients' pager IDs. The host computers then deliver the messages to the recipients' pagers.
As any other CommuniGate module, PagerGate can be used even if you don't have it installed on your computer or network: you can use any other CommuniGate Server with PagerGate via Internet (see below).
Since there are many companies providing paging service, and each company uses its own pager IDs, you need to know two things in order to send a message to somebody's pager: the ID of that pager, and also the name of the paging service provider.
The PagerGate module supports the TAP protocol (used by US paging services), it is multi-line, and it supports connections with several paging hosts.
The PagerGate allows you to specify a message format string for each host - this "picture" tell the PagerGate how to compose a plain-text page from the message it has to transfer.
The PagerGate can send messages of several thousand of characters in length: it can break long messages into parts of the size you define on the host-by-host basis.
When you configure the PagerGate module, you create entities ("lines") for each service company you want to be able to use for paging. When done, you address a pager as:
dddd%nnnn, or dddd@nnnn,
where dddd is the ID of the pager, nnnn is the name of the paging company.
Sample: 777777%PageMart
Installation
You should have the CommuniGate Server installed before you install PagerGate.
Place the PagerGate module into the Modules folder that has been created inside the CommuniGate Folder in your System Folder. Restart the CommuniGate Server (by restarting the MacOS on that computer).
Configuring
After the PagerGate module is placed in the Modules folder on the server computer, you can configure it from any workstation that has the "can configure" privilege.
1. Choose PagerGate from the Monitors section of the Server menu. The PagerGate Monitor window appears.
2. Choose "Add Line" from the PagerGate menu and select the "Communication Line" option. The menu appears and lists the serial ports available on the server computer. The LineShare ports are shown in bold. The ports currently in use with other applications modules have their names dimmed. Select the serial port you want to use for PagerGate connections and click "Create". The Line monitor appears in the PagerGate Monitor window.
Note: PagerGate only makes calls, it never receives incoming calls. So, there is no need to use a LineShare port for PagerGate: your regular Modem, and/or Printer Ports are OK. PagerGate opens a port only when that port is not in use with some other application or module, and closes it immediately after a connection with a paging service host is closed.
3. If you have several modems to be used for paging, create more Communication Lines using the Add Line menu command.
4. Choose Add Line from the PagerGate menu again. Select the "Host Descriptor" radio button and enter the paging service company name you want to use. Make sure there is no spaces and other non-alphanumeric characters in the name. Click Create, and the Host record should appear in the PagerGate Monitor window.
5. Click on the Service Host element and select Line Settings… from the PagerGate menu. The Host Settings dialog box should appear. Enter the phone number of that service host (always include the area code there, like 415-555-6666). Most of the services have 800 numbers. If that paging company uses passwords to access their systems, enter one you were given in the Password field. Almost all companies do not use passwords.
Below are the numbers for some providers:
PageMart - 800 864 9499
MetroMedia - 800 655 6555
MetroCall - 800 795 3689
Put the number of minutes the PagerGate module will wait between calls to the same host.
Sometimes paging service hosts have internal problems, so no connection cannot be made. In order to avoid unnecessary redialing, the PagerGate module will wait for several minutes before trying to contact that host again. You set that delay time with the "Delay after Failure" option.
The message format string specifies how messages will appear on pagers served with this host (see below).
Some hosts do not accept messages containing end-of-line (<Return>) symbols. The Strip End-Of-Line Symbols option makes the PagerGate to substitute all end-of-line charactes with
spaces: messages will be divided into lines by a pager itself. You may want to disble this option and send a multi-line message to that host: if the message does not get through, you should keep the Strip End-Of-Line Symbols option selected for that host.
If your format string allows to create long messages, those long messages can be cut either by the paging company host software or by recipient pagers. To transfer long messages you can specify the maximum page length for this paging service. If the message to be sent is longer that that, it will be sent as several paging messages, and the additional messages will start with the n: prefix (where n is the number of the message part).
6. Repeat steps 4-5 if you want to send messages via several paging service companies.
Sending Page Messages using your CommuniGate Server
When the PagerGate module is installed, its icon appears in the Address Book panel: you can select that icon, and type the pager address in the form dddd%nnnn, where dddd is the pager ID, nnnn is the name of the service company (an entry for that company should have been already made, see above). You may also add the pager address to any entity in your address book.
Type in the message subject and the message text, and send it. The PagerGate will convert the message to a string, find the service host record, dial the host number, connect, and transfer your message. The service provider system will then transfer the message to the pager with that ID.
Sending Page Messages via e-mail (no PagerGate installed)
If friends.server.com is a domain name of a CommuniGate Server with the PagerGate installed, you can use PagerGate there by sending e-mail to: ddddd%nnnn@friends.server.com
Your message will be delivered to that server via Internet, then it will be routed to the PagerGate module on that server, then (if the ID and company name are OK), it will be delivered to the host of the service company "nnnn" , and then it will be sent to the pager with ID "dddd".
Formatting paging messages
Pagers can only store text strings of a limited size. The maximum size depends on the type of pager device used, and usually that size is between 100 and 240 characters. The PagerGate module converts each message to a single text string using the "Message Format" string.
The Message Format string contains regular symbols and "formatting elements".
Regular symbols are just copied into the paging string.
Formatting elements consist of the percent sign (%), one-letter format code, and several digits defining maximum length field. The code defines the part of the message to be copied into the paging string (subject, date, body, etc):
Sample: if the message to be sent looks like:
From: (John Smith) jsmith@qqqq.com
Subject: A test message for PagerGate
To: 777777@PageCompany
My test paging message has a 50-symbols long body.
and the Message Format string is: "$n30 -- $S20: $M200", then the following string will be sent to the pager 777777 connected to the company "PageCompany":
John Smith -- A test message for P: My test paging message has a 50-symbols long body.
The formatting element $n30 resulted in the first 30 letters of the "From:" address - "John Smith" - to be included, then the symbols "--" were copied, the $S20 element placed the first 20 characters of the Subject field - "A test message for P", then the ":" symbol was copied, and finally, the element $M200 copied the whole message body.
There is the list of the formatting element codes supported:
$F - the "real name" of the From: address
$f - the From: address in the E-mail form.
$n - the "real name" of the From: address, if it exists, otherwise - the From: address in the E-mail form.
$T - Date and time the message was sent, in the server local time.
$t - Date and time the message was sent, in the GMT.
$S - Message subject
$M - Message body. Only the text elements of the message body are used: pictures, sounds, and text styles are ignored.
You may also use the backslash symbol ("\") to add the new line (end-of-line symbols) and other signs to the string:
\r - inserts the new line symbol.
\\ - inserts the symbol "\" itself.
Sample: if the Message Format is "From:$F10<$f20>\rSubject:$S30\r--\r$M300", then the message shown above will appear on the addressed pager as:
From:John Smith<jsmith@qqqq.com>
Subject:A test message for PagerGate
--
My test paging message has a 50-symbols long body.
Attachments
The PagerGate ignores all attachments and server documents.
Routing (advanced users only)
When you select the PagerGate address type and send the message with "dddd%nnnn" as the address field, the address is converted internally to "dddd%nnnn@PagerGate". You may reroute these messages to some other machine (if you don't want to use your own PagerGate):
PagerGate = PagerGate%friends.server.com
Otherwise, the message is routed to the PagerGate.
PagerGate also accepts messages with the "e-mail" address type, if their addresses look like:
nnnn%dddddd@PagerGate
nnnn%dddddd@pager
nnnn%dddddd, or nnnn@dddddd
are accepted, too, if dddddd is the name of one of the registered paging company names.
This means that you can just send e-mail from anywhere to:
nnnn%ddddd@mydomain.com,
or to:
nnnn%ddddd%PagerGate@mydomain.com
or to
mydomain.com!PagerGate!ddddd!nnnn
all these addresses will be routed to the PagerGate installed on the server with the domain name "mydomain.com", and then they will be sent to the paging service ddddd, to the pager nnnn.
If the service host dddddd is not registered, the PagerGate module will reject the message.
Miscellaneous
You may want to modify the settings for your modem/modems. Click to select the proper port in the PagerGate Monitor window and choose "Line Settings". You may want to add additional commands into the "Special AT-commands" field. If you do add commands, do not add the AT prefix itself, i.e. you should enter L3M2, not ATL3M2.
Troubleshooting
If you cannot send a paging message, and no error code is reported (i.e. the message just sits in your Out Box and in the PagerGate queue), then check that the service you are sending messages to is registered properly: select the server icon in the PagerGate monitor window and Choose "Configure Line…". Check that the service telephone number is entered properly.
If nothing else helps, open the Server Settings… dialog box and set the log level to "All Info". Select the modem line you are using, choose "Configure Line…" and put the debug level for that modem line to "All Info". Send a message. Open and read the tail of the current Log: there is the information about the problems PagerGate has met.
Don't forget to reset the log levels after the problem is solved.
Revision History
1.4
• The Maximum Page Length setting is implemented. Sending long messages as sets of short pages is implemented.
• Bug fix: the '$n' format symbol combination worked as the '$F' combination.
1.3
• The port characteristics can be explicitly specified for each communication link now. The default port speed is now set to 1200 (it was 9600 before), so you should have much less trouble configuring your modems for paging (actually, it should allow all modems to use the default settings). For some paging hosts (outside of US) the 8 bit data format can be selected.
• The %x symbols from the Host Message format strings are $x strings now, as those used in Reply headers and Reaction letters (see the Working with Messages chapter of the CommuniGate System Guide). The '%' symbols will continue to work for some time, but note that 'F', 'T' and 't' symbols have slightly different meanings now.
• Multi-part message bodies are processed now (before, only the first text portion of a message body was used).
• Messages with attachments are not rejected, attachments are simply ignored.
• Several Log enchancements were done.
1.2.2
• The protocol reliability is improved.
1.2.1
• An "uninitilized variable" bug is fixed. On some machines, it caused the PagerGate to report that the CommuniGate Server is too old.
• Hosts icons have been fixed.
1.2
• Message Format is now set individually for each paging host;
• The Strip End-Of-Line Symbols option is implemented;
• The monitor window now displays port/host suspension times.
• Time-Outs were increased to improve reliabilty when working with slow hosts.
1.1.1
• A bug that caused crashes on 68000 machines when adding a modem line has been fixed;
1.1
• Initial negotiation protocol is made more tolerant to allow connections to more hosts;
• Sent messages are marked as "delivered", not "transferred", so if a return-receipt was requested, it is generated when a message is submitted to the paging host.
