Chip Hitware 3/Chip_Hitware_Vol_03.iso/chiphit3/win95/programm/digiterm/digiterm.doc

Text File | 1995-09-06 | 19KB | 490 lines

                   DigiTerm Ver1.5 for Win95

          Northern Electronics -  Douglas Southcott

                        Documentation

Ready for tomorrow's technology today!

     With DigiTerm, You can access data service networks
such as Compuserve, Canada Remote Systems, or MCI. You never
have to see a terminal window - simply have DigiTerm call
the service, do it's thing, and hang up.

Registration:
     DigiTerm is SHAREWARE, as such there are some items
which do not work until you register the program. These
include the host mode, external protocols, and Zmodem.
Registering will turn all these features on, as well as get
rid of the annoying nag screen. The price to register
DigiTerm is currently U.S. $39.99.

Canadian Orders:
     I will accept Canadian money orders, or cheques,
however cheques will need to clear your bank before I send
out the key keys to you. Orders with money orders will be
sent out the same day.
     Send orders to:
     Mr. Douglas Southcott
     Northern Electronics
     47 James Street
     Barrie, Ontario L4M 6Y3

U.S. Orders:
     The U.S. registration site is BMT Micro. Through them
you can use your VISA, MasterCard, Discover, or Acceptance
cards. They also have a 10 line BBS (Fido 1:3628/11) for
online credit card orders.
     The numbers for BMT Micro are:
     Line: 1-800-414-4268    [for orders only]
     Fax: [phone]
     BBS [phone]     [10 lines, all 14.4]

     The Programer's Guild BBS at [phone] is the
support BBS for any questions regarding the software. My
FIDO address is 1:252/128.
     Either site can send you the keyfiles, or you can call
in to pick them up. These will activate all the features.
They also keep up on the newest releases of DigiTerm, which
you can file request at any time.


Menu Items - How to

File Menu

Open & Close Capture
     The default extension is .txt.
     Both Open Capture and Close Capture should be self
explanatory for anyone who has used any kind of a terminal
program before. They simply start (and stop) whatever you
see on the screen going to a file you can review later. That
way you can capture all the lists of new files, review them
when you're off-line, then have the machine call the BBS
back in the middle of the night automatically and grab the
files you've put into a list. Then have it log off that BBS
and call the next one in the script file to get the files
you want from there. More on this later in the section on
Script files.

File Manager (Ctl+M)

     The Built-in file manager lets you run your other
software while you're on-line with the terminal program. You
can have the software running foreground or background,
minimized, maximized, etc. You can run DOS or Windows apps.
and the terminal program will do the time slicing for you.
You should not loose any files in transfer because you were
running a different application at the same time as long as
you run the app through the terminal program.

Hot Keys - Getting to the File Manager can be done by
pressing Alt+F then M, by clicking on the File menu followed
by clicking on File Manager, or by using the Ctl+M
combination to bring it up on screen in one quick shot.
Ctl+M is the fastest and easiest of the methods.

     You can access any drive - even over a network - then
select any directory and file. The selected file shows up in
(of all places) under the title "Selected Dir. or File". The
chosen file can then be edited, erased, copied, or moved. A
Selected directory can be deleted. As you change drives and
directories, delete files, toast off directories, etc. the
appropriate windows on the file manager are updated
automatically.

Make Directory:
     Where "Selected Dir. or File" is on the File Manager
you can type for example;
a:\temp then click on Make Dir. to create the directory
named temp on a: drive. I tried my best to make the program
as self explanatory as possible.

Kill Directory:
     Where it says "Selected Dir. or File" on the File
Manager you can type in the name of the directory you want
to get rid of then click on Kill Dir. to get rid of it. You
will be prompted to be sure you REALLY did want to get rid
of that directory.


Copy or Move Files:
     Click on any file and it shows up in "Selected Dir. or
File". Then, where the form says "Selected Dir. or Dest."
type in the drive and path where you want the file copied or
moved to. Clicking on "copy" will of course copy the file
and leave the origional where it was at. Clicking on "move"
will move the file to the new location and delete the file
from the starting location.

Example: Move a:\tp9\ati.cfg to a:\
     Click on the drive, then the dir. to see the files,
     click on the ati.cfg file so it shows up under
     "Selected Dir. or File"
     Go to "Selected Dir. or Dest" and type in a:\
     Then click on the Move button.
     The file ati.cfg has now been moved from the a:\tp9
     directory to the root of a: drive. It's that easy.

     To make it easier to find the file you wanted the file
manager has the ability to show only the files with
extensions you want to see in the files list box. You can
show all, only .exe., etc., or the files with whatever
extension you want. Clicking on the dot below *.com then
typing in the box beside it *.grp will show only the files
with the .grp extension. The are so many really exotic
extensions I could have had the listing go on forever, the
easiest way to do it and to allow the best use of screen
space was to simply allow the user to put in whatever
extension they wanted to look for if it wasn't already in
the short list.
     Any file listed in "Selected File" can be run
foreground, background, etc. You can also run DOS apps by
clicking on "Run DOS app" You then type in the path and
filename of the program you want to run and hit enter to run
it.
     When you choose to erase files or delete directories
you will be prompted to be sure you really did want to do
that.

Edit Menu:

Cut & Paste: You can now use the clipboard with the modem port the same as with any other Windows item.
The hotkeys are Ctl+C for copy to the clipboard and Ctl+P for paste from the clipboard to the modem port.
This could have alot of uses: sending out a pretyped letter , a fancy ansi, to grab descriptions, etc. you see on
screen. The list goes on to whatever you want to use it for.


Setup:

Port:
     Clicking on Port will bring up a form where you choose
your port, baud rate, etc.  Ports are currently limited to 1
to 4 and speeds up to 57,600 Baud (Not many people currently
go faster than that right now).

Terminal:
     This will bring up a form where you can choose your
foreground and background colors, your font, font size (good
if you have bad eyesight), bold, etc. You can also say
whether your monitor is color, gray scale, or monochrome.
You can use any font that you have installed under Windows
but you should try to be sure you use one like "terminal"
that allows the use of upper ASCII characters.


Modem:
     This brings up a form where you can choose from over
445 modems. Don't worry - if you pick the wrong one it WILL
tell you! Scroll up and down to pick your make of modem,
then choose the particular model. Type in your port number
and click OK and you're all set with the factory settings.
Included modem strings are available for Zyxel, Zoom, Boca,
Cardinal, etc. etc. From the modem form you can choose to
edit your settings, add a modem, and pack the database.

Edit Settings:
     You can change the make, model, init strings, etc.
Clicking on OK will save your altered settings to the
database.

Add a Modem:
     Design your own fancy strings for your modem and save
them to the database. Looking at some of the choices (or
your modem's manual) could help you figure better settings
than those in the available database.

Delete Modem:
     This deletes the currently highlighted modem under
"model". BE CAREFUL! If you accidentally delete a modem you
can go to DOS and copy modems.bak to modems.dat but any
changes you've made since you set up the program will be
lost.

Pack Database:
     Pack database will do just that - pack the database.
This is an Access1.1 database (as is the external protocols
setup). If you've made lots of changes to the database you
should pack it to be as compact as possible.

FastKeys:
     These are short cuts keys you use while in the terminal
program. You use them to send strings out of the modem port,
this could be your name. password, whatever you'd like it to
be. I have three different passwords I use so when I log
onto a system I simply hit the button to send out my name
then whichever password. It speeds things up alot for me
here.

Communications:

Phone Book (Ctl+D):

Hot Keys - Getting to the phone book can be done by pressing
Alt+C then P, by clicking on the Communications menu
followed by clicking on Phone book, or by using the Ctl+D
combination to bring it up on screen in one quick shot.
Ctl+D is the fastest and easiest of the methods.
     The phone book is an Access database where you can
store the information about all the numbers you call. From
here you can add, delete, and dial the numbers you choose.
Scripts, baud rate, etc. can all be linked to the entries
name. Scripts can also be linked so you can execute the
script as soon as the number is dialed.

Host Mode:
     Sets your modem to answer the phone on the first ring
and establish a connection at the best settings for the
caller. This toy is real handy when using a call back
verifier with BBS's you're calling.

Port Open:
     Opens or closes the com port.

Hang Up:
     Hangs up the phone - breaks the connection with the
remote system.

Interval:
     Sets the interval in Msec. that the I/O buffer is read
to a file. Helps keep out those "bad CRC" messages you get
from trying to unzip a file you transferred in the
background.

Clear Screen:
     Clears off the screen in the terminal window. Good in
case you got a screen full of garbage due to line noise, a
bad connection, etc.

File Transfer

Download (PgDn):
     Internal transfer protocols include X/Y/Zmodem and
several others; along with the external ones you add
yourself. Tell the BBS to start the download, hit Pgdn, pick
your protocol, and there you go - here comes your files. A
box pops up on screen to tell you the percent of file
transferred, etc.

Upload (PgUp):
     Tell the BBS you want to upload, hit PgUp, click on the
protocol and choose the filename - there you go you're
uploading a file. Note: You have to put in the whole
filename (click to high light the file.) Transfers are
aborted by clicking "Cancel".

Internal Protocols:
     Selects your default internal protocol. Available
protocols include X/Y/Zmodem as well as ASCII, CompuServe
B+, and Kermit.

External Protocols:
     Use your arrow keys to scroll through the available
choices. I am assuming you have some currently set up with
Telix (or whatever). I also decided why should you, the end
user of my product, have to have the necessary files in two
places to use them with my terminal program - why waste the
drive space for duplicate files? Thus the setup is as
follows:


1) Click on "add"
2) Type in the protocol's name - what you want shown in the
"Entries" list window.
3) Then type in the FULL command line. As most are written
to run under DOS you type as    follows:
     COMMAND.COM /C   <path.filename>
   See the provided bimenu choice to clarify any doubts as
to how.
4) Click on "OK"

     From then on you simply use your arrow keys to scroll
through the entries list then click "Run" to run the
protocol. It's that easy.

Delete:
     This will delete the listed entry (NOT the protocol
files themselves). It is polite enough to ask if you're sure
before it deletes the entry.

OK:  Clicking here simply closes the external protocols
form.

Scripts:

Record Script:
     When you record a script, DigiTerm logs all your
keystrokes and received data, and writes a script for you,
which you can then play back, reproducing your actions as
you log into a host system.
     Pick where you want to record your script and the name
you want the file to have. From then on all input from the
modem and the keyboard will be recorded to the file. To stop
recording simply click on "record script" again.
     Call the host system either manually by typing in "ATDT
XXX-XXXX" <ENTER>
(where XXX-XXXX is the phone number) or by selecting Phone
Book from the Communications menu. If you selected the phone
book option, you can add the
host system to your phone book and click the Dial button.
     If for any reason you wish to abort the process at any
time, you can press escape. Once you've connected, do
whatever you want to record (i.e. log in, download a file,
etc.) and hang up if you want. Once you've completed the
task or you simply want to stop recording, select Record
Script from the Script menu again to stop recording.


Play Script:
     Select from the scripts you have recorded to have it
play back. You can set scripts to start as soon as the
number is dialed by putting it in with the number it's for
in the phone book.


Edit Script:
     Brings the selected script up into the Windows Notepad.
From here you can edit the script, clean it up so it's
easier to read, add commands, etc. You may notice that some
SEND commands are broken up among two or more commands. For
example, if you entered a password and the host system
echo's back a period for every character you type, your
script might look like this:

    SEND "Passw"
    WAITFOR "..."

    SEND "ord^M"
    WAITFOR "....."

The script will work, but you may want to clean it up so
that others could read
it and understand how the script works. Here is a cleaner
version of the above
example:

    SEND "Password^M"
    WAITFOR "........"

You can edit your script file with any text editor.

Script Commands:
     Scripts can be setup to call BBS's, do a screen capture
of all the new files, download your mail packets, grab the
files you want, then hang-up and call another BBS all while
you're asleep! Then you can get up in the morning read and
reply to your mail so it's ready to be sent up automatically
the next time your computer calls out by itself. The
possibilities are endless.
     DigiTerm includes a powerful script language. Non-
programmers can record and edit scripts to accomplish such
tasks as calling a host system, reading mail, and
transferring files. The idea behind DigiTerm is that by
adding a few lines to your script, you will be able to make
calls that automatically handle the intricacies of modems.
These are the DigiTerm routines:

Interfacing with a BBS
     This guide is useful in helping you design a remote
system which is to dial a host computer and communicate with
it. Just follow the simple rules outlined here, and you'll
be dialing up in no time.

Defining the task
     The first thing you must do is define the task. For
example, let us say that the task is to call a host system,
such as a BBS, and download a file. You must manually log on
to the BBS system and make a note of all of the prompts
after which you must enter something, and also make a note
of what you have to enter to complete the task.
     Write it down on paper as you go. For example, you may
end up with an outline
that looks like this:

    Get "Name:"
    Send "Doug Southcott"

    Get "Password:"
    Send "SFA"

    Get "Menu:"
    Send "Download"

    Get "FileName:"
    Send "ALLFILES.ZIP"

    Download the file
    Hang-up

     It doesn't matter how you document the prompts and
associated commands as long
as you can understand what text needs to be received and
what text needs to be sent in response.

Implementing a Script
     You can go about writing the script in one of two ways.
The first way is to
record the script while you're on-line and play it back
later. The second is to record or write an external script
file to do the job, and play it back with the play script
routine.
     You can record scripts with DigiTerm or write one with
a text editor. The supported script commands are documented
elsewhere in this manual, but you can get the idea from the
following example which is a script file implementation of
the above sample task:

    PORT 3                    '-- Use COM3:
    SETTINGS "2400,N,8,1"     '-- 2400 baud, no parity,
                                  8 data bits, 1 stop bit.
    TIMEOUT 60                '-- Wait up to 1 minute
                                  (WaitFor)

    DIAL "733-5055"           '-- Dial the phone number
    WAITFOR "CONNECT"         '-- Wait until the modems
                                  connect

    PAUSE 3                   '-- Pause 3 seconds to allow
                              '   modems to completely connect.
    WAITFOR "Name:"
    SEND "jeff windat^M"

    WAITFOR "Password:"
    SEND "sfa^M"

    WAITFOR "Menu:"
    SEND "Download^M"

    WAITFOR "FileName:"
    SEND "ALLFILES.ZIP^M"

    PAUSE 1
    PROTOCOL "ZMODEM"              '-- Use Zmodem
    DOWNLOAD                       '-- Download files.

    HANGUP
    END


Script commands include the following:

PORT           SETTINGS            DIAL
TIMEOUT        WAITFOR             SEND
HANGUP         PROTOCOL            UPLOAD
DOWNLOAD       PAUSE               STOP
END            INPUT               CAPTURE
CLOSECAPTURE   ON_TIMEOUT_GOTO

     With these commands you should be able to do pretty
well anything you want to through your terminal. The
following is an example script for use with DigiTerm.


     This program is gauranteed only to take up space on
your hard drive. I will in no way be held liable for any
damages incurred to your machine(s), software, etc. Use of
this product denotes acceptance of these terms. It works for
me and that's all I know. Several people have used it during
Beta testing and there were no reports of damage to any
equipment or software as a result.