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ReadMe.txt for MicroPhone II for Windows.
September 6, 1991
USING NOTEPAD TO VIEW ON-LINE DOCUMENTS
=======================================
* If you enlarge Notepad to its maximum size, this document
will be easier to read. Just type Alt-space followed by X.
* If you have not yet installed MicroPhone II, you may do so
now by exiting Notepad and following the instructions on the
"Getting Started" card included in your MicroPhone II package.
* To exit Notepad and return to Windows, double-click the
Control-menu or choose Exit from the File menu.
CONTENTS
========
This document contains important information not included in the
printed documentation. These are the topics covered:
* Installing MicroPhone II
* After Installation
* Color Icons Library
* Incorrect Settings Cause Lost Data
* Windows Communication Driver (COMM.DRV)
* Differences from the Macintosh version
* Addendum to the documentation
+ AutoSize - Control-menu Command
+ New Settings - Replace Existing Document Option
+ Using DDE - Quotation Marks
+ Script Command - Move Cursor to ...
+ Script Command - Repeat
+ Script Command - Set Term Param Connection Parameter
+ Script Command - Signal Send IOCTL
* Contacting Software Ventures
INSTALLING MICROPHONE II
========================
Instructions for installing MicroPhone II are provided in "Getting
Started," Chapter 1 of the User's Guide. A short version is
provided on the "Getting Started" card included in your MicroPhone
II package. Information about using MicroPhone II's installer and
the location of MicroPhone II files is provided in the Install.txt
file on the MicroPhone II program disk.
AFTER INSTALLATION
==================
The tutorial chapters in the User's Guide provide information about
using MicroPhone II. The Reference Manual provides explanations of
MicroPhone II's menu and script commands. Below is an outline of
where to look for instructions on using MicroPhone II.
If you have never used a modem:
______________________________
Start at the beginning of the User's Guide. The "Getting Started"
chapter helps you set up your system. The "Connecting
Automatically" chapter leads you through a tutorial that explains
how to connect to a remote computer.
Configuring MicroPhone II to work with any remote computer:
__________________________________________________________
Follow the steps in the "Exchanging Files" chapter of the User's
Guide. The tutorial shows how to set MicroPhone II with the
correct baud rate and other settings. This chapter assumes you
understand the basic concepts of telecommunications explained in
previous chapters.
Transferring files between computers:
____________________________________
Follow the steps in the "Exchanging Files" chapter of the User's
Guide. Once you set MicroPhone II to communicate with the remote
computer, you can exchange files. This chapter explains how to send
and receive files created in any application. More information
about file transfer protocols is provided in "The Transfer Menu"
chapter of the Reference Manual. These chapters assume you
understand the basic concepts of telecommunications explained in
the beginning chapters of the User's Guide.
Automating telecommunications with MicroPhone II scripts:
________________________________________________________
Begin with "Building a Script with Watch Me" in the User's Guide.
You will learn how MicroPhone II records your telecommunications
activities and then plays them back, sending commands to the
remote computer. The "Editing a Script" chapter provides
instructions for editing scripts in MicroPhone II. "The Script
Commands" and "Expressions, Operators, and Functions" chapters of
the Reference Manual provide details about the script language.
Setting your computer so you can call it from anywhere:
______________________________________________________
Follow the steps in the "Using the Mini BBS" chapter of the User's
Guide. Following the step-by-step instructions, you will learn to
set your computer so you can call from another computer to access
your files. You can also set it so other people can send electronic
mail and exchange files.
Writing a MicroPhone II interface to an electronic mail service:
_______________________________________________________________
Follow the steps in the "Building Custom Interfaces" chapter of the
User's Guide. Following the step-by-step instructions, you will
create a custom electronic mail interface to CompuServe using the
MicroPhone II Interface Template. By following the instructions for
CompuServe, you will learn the scripting principles for developing
interfaces to other electronic information service.
More Information:
________________
The first chapter of each book provides more information about
what is covered in the documentation.
COLOR ICONS LIBRARY
===================
The MicroPhone II application (MP2.EXE) contains color icons that
can be assigned to settings documents (or any other file) as part
of a Windows 3.0 group. Review your Windows 3.0 documentation for
details on assigning icons and group items.
INCORRECT SETTINGS CAUSE LOST DATA
==================================
Sometimes characters from the remote computer may not appear in
MicroPhone II's terminal window. This is usually caused by
incorrect communications settings, particularly baud rate and
parity.
The most common settings are Bits per Character - 8, Parity - None
and Stop Bits - 1. (Set stop bits to Auto in MicroPhone II.) The
next most common settings combination is Bits per Character - 7,
Parity - Even and Stop Bits - 1.
If characters do not appear on the screen properly, the remote
computer is using different settings than the local computer.
Check your settings and try the other combination shown above. If
this does not correct the problem, contact the system
administrator, SYSOP or customer service for the remote computer
and verify the correct communications settings.
Data can be lost at baud rates of 19,200 and above because most PC
communications hardware is unable to maintain communications at
those speeds. This can be fixed by using serial communications
hardware designed for high speed transfers. Contact our BBS at
(510) 849-1912 for the latest information.
WINDOWS COMMUNICATIONS DRIVER (COMM.DRV)
========================================
The Windows 3.0 Communications Driver (COMM.DRV) does not support
baud rates above 19,200 baud. MicroPhone II uses COMM_SVC.DRV, a
modified version of COMM.DRV, to support higher data transfer
rates. There aren't any other modifications in COMM_SVC.DRV.
MicroPhone II's installer automatically installs COMM_SVC.DRV and
modifies SYSTEM.INI to identify the new driver. It will be used
by all Windows Communications applications after you restart
Windows.
To disable the modified driver and return to the standard Windows
Driver, change the SYSTEM.INI entry from COMM_SVC.DRV to COMM.DRV.
DIFFERENCES FROM THE MACINTOSH VERSION
======================================
MicroPhone II for Windows differs slightly from MicroPhone II for
the Macintosh. Appendix G of the Reference Manual explains the
differences. Read this appendix before converting scripts from the
Macintosh to Windows.
ADDENDUM TO THE DOCUMENTATION
=============================
The new script commands and features added to the program after
the manuals were completed are documented below.
AUTOSIZE - Control-menu Command
______________________________
The Autosize command was added to the Control-menu. Choosing this
command will resize MicroPhone II's window to show all lines and
columns of the terminal window. This size is normally 80 columns
by 24 rows, but it can be adjusted by the rows, columns and font
settings in the Terminal Settings dialog box.
If the MicroPhone II window on your screen is shorter than the
Rows setting of your terminal, the cursor will move below the
window, and you will not see new text as it is received. Click the
scroll bar to move to the window's bottom where text is being
received. You can also use the Autosize command in the
Control-menu to resize the window to match the terminal settings.
TURNKEY STARTUP - Keep Connection Open Preference
_________________________________________________
MicroPhone II's default setting causes the communications port to
be opened when a settings document is opened. This creates a
conflict if another settings document is open and trying to use
the same connections. If this occurs, a message indicating the
conflict will appear and script execution will pause. When you
dismiss the message, the connection is closed and script execution
will continue.
If the script expects the connection to be open, it may not work
properly until you correct the port conflict and open the
connection. You can avoid the conflict by deselecting the Keep
Connection Open option in the Preferences dialog box. With this
change, the connection is not automatically opened when the
settings document is opened; however, using Dial Service will
attempt to open the connection.
For more information about Keep Connection Open, see "The Settings
Menu" chapter in the Reference Manual.
NEW SETTINGS - Replace Existing Document Option
_______________________________________________
When you choose New Settings from the File menu, MicroPhone II
closes the current settings document before creating a new one. If
you want MicroPhone II to open a new window for the new document
and leave the other document open, place "New Settings=1" in the
Preferences section of the MicPhone.ini file. Removing the entry
will reset MicroPhone II to the default behavior.
USING DDE - Quotation Marks
___________________________
MicroPhone II can be linked to other applications using DDE.
Scripts can be used to connect to an information service like
CompuServe, collect stock quotes, and pass the information to
Microsoft Excel. Documents prepared in Microsoft Word can be
directed to MicroPhone II through a Word macro, sending the
documents directly to a service bureau for printing. The beginning
of "The Script Commands" chapter in the Reference Manual provides
more information about using DDE with MicroPhone II.
Using parenthesis instead of quotation marks is an additional
feature to help DDE scripting. Normally a script command
expression must be enclosed by double quotes. Also, literal strings
in expressions are enclosed by single quotes. Restrictions on the
use of quotes by the application creating the DDE message adds to
the confusion. To alleviate this, substitute parenthesis for the
double quotes enclosing a script command expression. For example:
DDE * Execute MPServer "'[Alert * OK (''The year is ''& year)]'"
is equivalent to
DDE * Execute MPServer "'[Alert * OK "''The year is ''& year"]'"
This substitution can be used anywhere double quotes bound a
MicroPhone II script command expression.
SCRIPT COMMAND - Move Cursor to ...
___________________________________
The "Move Cursor to" script command moves the insertion point with
the cursor. This causes incoming text to appear at the same
location as the cursor. This may lead to confusing screens because
the cursor may not be where the remote computer expects it.
To avoid this problem, use the CursorRow and CursorCol script
functions to save the position of the cursor before the move. Use
Move Cursor to Absolute Row/Column to restore its position.
SCRIPT COMMAND - Repeat
_______________________
The example provided for the Repeat script command (Reference
Manual page 214) has an error in the last line. It should be:
Until Expression "done"
SCRIPT COMMAND - Set Term Param Connection Parameter
____________________________________________________
This is a subcommand of Set Term Param ...
SYNTAX: Set Term Param Connection Parameter []
ARGUMENT:
String - A comma-delimited string specifying the parameter
settings used to configure the current connection port. The comma
is omitted if there is only one parameter. This string uses the
same format returned by the ConnectionParameter script function.
RESULT:
The contents of the string are assigned to the connection port
specific parameters of the Communications Settings dialog box.
SCRIPT COMMAND - Signal Send IOCTL
__________________________________
The description for the Signal Send IOCTL script command in the
Reference Manual does not discuss sending NUL characters
(binary zero) from a MicroPhone II expression. MicroPhone II is
unable to imbed NUL characters within a literal string. Since
this can be required of the IOCTL string, an alternative is
provided for the Signal Send IOCTL script command.
To imbed a NUL character within a literal string, use '\x0'. It
may be easier to write the entire string using hexadecimal
characters in this format. For instance,
Signal Send IOCTL "'\x00\x07\x00\x03\x0\x0\x0\x0\x0'"
sends an IOCTL WRITE for 9600 bps, parity none, 8 data bits,
1 stop bit, break OFF, and 0 of 1/18.2 seconds count if the
current connection port is through Egberto Willies's device
driver, COMM-DRV.
Signal Send IOCTL "'\x00\x08\x00\x03\x0\x0\x0\x0\x0'"
sends an IOCTL WRITE for 19,200 bps, parity none, 8 data bits,
1 stop bit, break OFF, and 0 of 1/18.2 seconds count if the
current connection port is through Egberto Willies's device
driver, COMM-DRV.
For more information about the meaning of the string, review your
device driver's documentation. The '\xnn' syntax will not work in
the expressions of any other script command.
CONTACTING SOFTWARE VENTURES
============================
The last page in each manual lists the ways to contact Software
Ventures Corporation. If you are having any difficulties, call
Technical Support at (510) 644-1325 (9am to 4:30pm PST, weekdays).
You may also post messages to Software Ventures Technical Support
on the following electronic services:
AppleLink (SVCTECH)
BIX (SVC)
CompuServe (76004,2161)
GEnie (SVCTECH)
InterNet (microphone@svcdudes.com)
MacNet (PERSEPHONE)
MCI (286-6859)
Telex (650 286-6859)
When you call the Software Ventures BBS, you will find the latest
information, technical support, public domain and shareware files,
as well as new scripts, settings documents and modem drivers. The
number is (510) 849-1912.
Welcome to the world of MicroPhone II. Have a fascinating journey!