home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
OS/2 Shareware BBS: 3 Comm
/
03-Comm.zip
/
FORBROWS.ZIP
/
FORADOWN.HLP
(
.txt
)
< prev
next >
Wrap
OS/2 Help File
|
1992-09-03
|
5KB
|
112 lines
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. ForaDown Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
ForaDown - An OS/2 electronic conferencing download tool
FORADOWN is called by the FORBROWS application to assist in downloading
electronic conferencing (ie. "forum") files from the IBM host system. Forum
files must be downloaded to your disk drive before FORBROWS can view them.
FORADOWN works by sending commands and keystrokes to the IBM host conferencing
system. In essence, it provides a "programmed" PM interface to the IBM host.
Because not all host screens will accept the download commands, FORADOWN
requires that you be on the main IBMLINK screen within your host session.
FORADOWN will place downloaded files into the subdirectory you specified in the
FORBROWS "Set installation defaults" dialog.
FORADOWN Dialog Window
The dialog window contains some radio buttons, a list box, and some function
buttons.
Choose 3270 Session
These radio buttons are used to target the 3270 terminal emulator window that
is logged-on to the IBM host system. Select the session that contains the host
conferencing system.
Forum List
In the center of the ForaDown dialog is the forum list. If you have never
before downloaded any forum files, this list may be empty. You may update the
contents of this list by logging on to the IBM host conferencing system, and
using the "List" button. See the section below entitled, "Using ForaDown for
the first time", for more information.
Each entry in the forum list contains three fields.
1. The forum name is in the left-most column. This is the filename of the
forum on the host system, and will become the filename of the forum after
it is downloaded to your disk. The forum name is also used to identify
the general subject area being discussed within that forum.
2. The line number of the last append within the forum. This information
gives you a rough idea of the size of the forum. It is also used by
ForaDown to help identify later updates to the file.
3. Information from the last append in the forum. This is information that
ForaDown will later use to identify updates to downloaded copies of the
forum. If the forum has never been downloaded to your disk, this field
will say "Not yet downloaded...".
ForaDown Buttons
List - List recently updated forum files on the IBM Host. You must be
logged-on to the host system for this function to complete.
Download - Download any forums that are marked in the listbox. Mark list items
by clicking the left mouse buttons over the item you wish to download. If a
copy of the forum already exists on your disk, ForaDown will attempt to
download only the updates to the forum.
Cancel - Exit the ForaDown dialog. If you press Cancel during an download,
ForaDown will terminate its processing of the download; however it has no way
to tell either the OS/2 Communications Manager or PMHPO to terminate the
RECEIVE (download).
Update existing file(s) - when this radio button is selected, it directs
ForaDown to try to bring down only the changes to the file being downloaded,
rather than the entire forum. To reduce connect time, this is the default.
Refresh existing file(s) - when this radio button is selected, it directs
ForaDown to download the entire file, rather than just updates.
Using ForaDown for the first time
1. Log-on to IBM's OS2BBS host system using PMHPO or the OS/2 CommMgr
2. If you are an OS2BBS user, make sure you are on the IBMLink Main Menu
screen.
3. In the FORADOWN window, click on the "List" button. This will start a
sequence of interactions between FORADOWN and the OS2BBS host system.
The end result will be that a list of available "forum" files will be
downloaded and displayed in the FORADOWN list-box. This step (because of
the download time) may take a couple of minutes, depending on the line
speed of your host connection.
4. After the download completes, you will see a list of available "forum"
files, each with the comment "Not yet Downloaded..." beside it. The names
of the forum suggest the topics that are discussed within them. You may
select items to download by clicking mouse button 1 on an item. One or
more items may be selected.
5. After selecting items, click on the "Download" button. This will start
another sequence of interactions between FORADOWN and the OS2BBS host
system. As part of this step, each of the selected files will be
downloaded to your disk. Because of the size of the forum files (some are
quite large) each download may take from a few minutes up to about 30
minutes. The time will vary depending on the size of the forum file, and
the line speed of your host connection.
6. After the download completes, you may begin viewing the forum by switching
to the ForBrows window and selecting "List available fora..." under the
"Conference" menu.
7. Each time you log-on to the OS2BBS host system, you may want to perform
another "List". This will provide FORADOWN with new information about
which forum files have changed. ForaBrows keeps some information about
each of the files you have downloaded. The next time you download a forum
that you had downloaded earlier, FORADOWN will attempt to download only
the updates to the forum, rather than the entire file. The updates are
then merged with your existing copy.