BBS Toolkit/BBS Toolkit.iso/doors_2/snarf102.zip/SNARF.DOC

Text File | 1991-04-20 | 10KB | 227 lines

            Snarf v1.02, copyright 1990, 1991 by Graham Mainwaring.
                             All rights reserved.






INSTALLATION


To install Snarf, simply place SNARF.EXE in a directory somewhere
convenient, such as a utilities or communications directory.  In addition,
make sure you have a copy of DSZ from Omen Technologies somewhere in your
DOS search path.  Snarf is now installed and ready to run.  However, for best
results, you will probably want to configure some of Snarf's options to match
your system and preferences.  The next section will tell you how to do this.




CONFIGURATION


To configure Snarf, run the command "SNARF CONFIG".  This will bring up a
screen of options.  Use the up and down cursor keys, or the tab and
shift-tab keys, to move between options.  Use the left and right cursor keys
to move within an option.  The meanings of the individual options follow.

COM Port Option Group:
   COM Port Number
      Hardware Port
      Hardware Interrupt
   Baud Rate
   Fixed Baud Rate

The first group of options deals with the basic configuration of your modem
port.  If your modem is at a standard address like COM1 or COM2, you can
just set the value "COM Port Number", and the two hardware settings will
automatically change to the appropriate values.  If your modem is at an
unusual address, you can set the hardware port address and interrupt line.
If you set the hardware options so that they correspond with a standard
address, the COM port number field will automatically change to show the
address you have chosen.

The other options in the first group concern the baud rate.  If you have a
high-speed or MNP modem which uses a fixed DTE speed to communicate with the
computer, you should set "fixed baud rate" to yes, and set the baud rate
field to the speed your modem uses.  If you have a regular modem, you
should set "fixed baud rate" to no, and set the baud rate to the highest
speed your modem supports.  When Snarf is not told to use a fixed baud rate,
it uses the connect messages from the modem to determine what speed to use
with the remote computer.

Modem Option Group:
   Modem initialization
   Modem dial prefix
   Modem connect result

This group of options deals with modem configuration.  Snarf automatically
operates so as to work with all fully Hayes-compatible modems. However, many
modems have extensions and changes to the original standards, and if you
have such a modem you will need to tell Snarf how to initialize it.  The
modem initialization string is usually blank, but if it is filled in with a
command, the command will be sent immediately following Snarf's default
initialization.  Snarf's default initialization sends the following
commands:

   &C1   - On most newer modems, sets DCD to follow actual carrier.
   &D2   - On most newer modems, sets DTR processing active.
   X4    - Most modems detect a busy signal correctly at this setting.
   V1    - Verbose result codes.  Snarf does not work with numeric results.
   M1    - Speaker on.
   S2=43 - Sets escape character to the standard + sign.

Snarf understands that some of these commands may not be recognized by the
modem.  For example, &C1 and &D2 are only applicable to newer modems, and
are generally not valid on older ones.  Snarf will recognize the error
result from the modem correctly, and set the other parameters anyway.

These values are designed to provide good results on the widest variety of
modems possible.  However, if your modem requires additional parameters for
initialization, or especially if some of these parameters are incorrect, you
can use the initialization field to override the default values and
correctly reset the modem.

The modem dial prefix is generally left the way it is, unless your phone
system requires pulse dialing or you want a global prefix (dial 9 to get
out, for example).  In addition, some not-totally-compatible modems use
different commands for dialing.

The connect result should almost never need to be changed.  The reason it is
in here is that a friend of mine has a modem which is 100% Hayes-compatible
in all respects other than that it says "Accept" instead of "CONNECT" when
it makes a connection.  There should be no reason to change this field if
your modem is not peculiar.


DSZ Option Group:
   Make DSZ invisible
   DSZ send command line
   DSZ receive command line

These options control how the DSZ protocol driver is accessed.  The send and
receive command lines are simply the commands to be given to DSZ when you
want to send or receive a file.  There is no need to worry about port,
speed, or filename parameters, as these are handled automatically by Snarf.
The purpose of these options is to allow you to configure DSZ to use
Compressed, CRC-32, Moby Turbo, Crash Recovery, or other such options.
Details of DSZ command-line settings can be found in the documentation
accompanying DSZ.

The "Make DSZ Invisible" option is for people who don't like a lot of
clutter on their screens.  Once you have tried a few downloads and verified
that Snarf is working correctly, you can turn this option on, and the output
messages from DSZ will be removed from the screen.  The disadvantage is that
without the DSZ messages, you don't know how much longer the transfer is
going to take.  Needless to say, this option is entirely a matter of
personal preference.


User Option Group
   User identification
   Directory for downloads

The "User Identification" field in this group lets you send a message to
BBSes you snarf from telling them who you are.  Sysops like to know who's
downloading their files, and it is generally polite to put at least
something in here.  If you have a network e-mail address, it would be
appropriate here as well.  The "Directory For Downloads" field simply sets
the directory in which received files will be placed.  If it is left blank,
received files will be placed in the current directory.




USING SNARF


The Snarf command-line is fairly simple.  The first parameter is the phone
number of the BBS you want to call, and the rest of the command line is a
list of files to download.  In addition, there are a few other parameters
you can use.  To upload a file instead of downloading it, put a ^ in front
of the filename.  To download the master file listing from the BBS, put a *
by itself.  Here is a sample command line:

   C> snarf 1-919-876-7213 latest.zip * ^comments.txt

This command causes Snarf to dial the given phone number, download the file
latest.zip, then download the master file list, and then upload the file
comments.zip.

Another way to specify Snarf commands is to use a list file.  This is
especially useful when downloading large numbers of files.  To use a list
file, place Snarf command-line arguments in a text file, one to each line.
Then run Snarf, and give the list file as a parameter, with a @ in front of
it.  For example, if the text file COMMANDS.TXT contained the following:

   latest.zip
   *
   ^comments.zip

And if you issued the Snarf command:

   C> snarf 1-919-876-7213 @commands.txt

The result would be exactly the same as the other example.  You can mix list
files with regular commands on the Snarf command line, and issue as many
commands as you want.  The primary reason to use list files instead of long
command lines is that DOS can only accept 127 characters of command at a
time, so if you are downloading more than about twelve 4{&lolzkkt%lorks, DOS
will not allow you to type ÿhem all in a single command.

In case you don't want to remember the phone number of every system you
call, Snarf will let you specify a BBS by name instead of number.  To
activate this feature, create a text file called PHONE.TXT in the same
directory as SNARF.EXE.  For each BBS you call, create a line in the file
with the name you want to use on the command line, one or more spaces, and
the phone number.  It is important not to put any spaces before the name of
the BBS, or inside the name or phone number.  Here is a sample PHONE.TXT
file:

   octopus   1-919-876-7213     The Octopus's Garden, home of Snarf
   graces    1-919-831-2759     Social Graces, Snarfable WWIV support board
   dragons   1-512-631-5841     Dragon's Den, Snarfable WWIV support board

If you were using this file, you could issue the command:

   C> snarf dragons wwiv412.zip net23.zip *

This would call the Dragon's Den at the number listed in the file, download
WWIV412.ZIP and NET23.ZIP, and download the master file list.




QUESTIONS AND BUGS

Should you have any questions concerning Snarf, or should you discover a bug
and wish to report it, please send WWIVnet e-mail to 1@9970.  If you do not
have access to WWIVnet, please use paper mail to the address listed in the
registration section.  While I try to answer all my mail, I will strongly
favor registered users for any time-consuming problem solving.




REGISTRATION

If you find Snarf useful, you are encouraged to become a registered user.
The cost to register is $25.  When you register, you will be sent a disk
containing the current version of Snarf.  At your option, you may request
that the disk not be sent until a new version is available.  When new
versions are released, registered users will be given the option to receive
the new version on disk for a $5 postage and handling charge.  Remember to
include your phone number in case of a problem.  Please make checks payable
to Graham Mainwaring.  It is unwise to send cash through the mail. North
Carolina residents please add 5% sales tax.  All correspondence should be
addressed to:

Graham Mainwaring
P.O. Box 17288
Raleigh, NC 27619