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NComm 1.921 - released the 26th of August, 1991
//
A terminal program for the \X/ AMIGA
======================================================================
--- INDEX ---
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Distribution info 1.7 Manual info
1.2 Version Number 1.8 How to contact the authors
1.3 Development info 1.9 Future expansion
1.4 History 1.10 Disclaimer
1.5 Credits 1.11 Summary of functions
1.6 Programming info
2. SETUP AND FILES USED
2.1 Files included
2.2 Information about NComm Host Script
2.3 Change in file formats (upgrade info)
2.4 How to install new files
2.5 How to setup NComm: assignment
2.6 Using your own NewCLI command
2.7 Sharing the serial port
2.8 Startup and command line option
2.9 Single-drive note
2.10 How to configure NComm for use with MBBS
2.11 A note about Ymodem-G and high speed modems
2.12 How to obtain high transfer rates with HST modems
2.13 Init string for TBK 9600+
2.14 Icon stack size
3. COMMANDS IN SYSTEM MENU
3.1 Commands available 3.7.2 Load Macrokeys
3.2 About NComm 3.7.3 Save Macrokeys
3.3 Status window 3.7.4 Leaving things unchanged
3.3.1 Send delay 3.7.5 Installing new macrokeys
3.3.2 Scrollback buffer 3.8 Output to printer
3.4 Load configuration 3.9 Starting a new CLI
3.5 Save configuration 3.10 Logging calls
3.6 Execute script 3.11 Setting Priority
3.7 Macrokeys window 3.12 Quit NComm
3.7.1 Control characters
4. COMMANDS IN FILE MENU
4.1 Commands available 4.9.3 G&R protocol
4.2 ASCII capture 4.9.4 G&R host mode
4.3 ASCII send 4.9.5 Zmodem resume
4.4 Message upload 4.9.6 Zmodem autodl
4.5 Download 4.9.7 Zmodem autoul
4.6 Upload 4.9.8 Zmodem ack
4.7 Server Commands 4.9.9 Kermit host
4.7.1 Kermit Finish 4.9.10 Kermit 1k blocks
4.7.2 Kermit Bye 4.9.11 External XPR setup
4.7.3 Kermit CD 4.9.12 External XPR query
4.8 Protocol 4.9.13 Create icons
4.8.1 Xmodem 4.10 Default directory
4.8.2 Ymodem 4.11 Load scrollback buffer
4.8.3 Ymodem-Batch 4.12 Save scrollback buffer
4.8.4 Ymodem-G 4.13 View scrollback buffer
4.8.5 Zmodem and HST note 4.14 Search in buffer
4.9 Options 4.15 Save marked block
4.9.1 CRC 4.16 Send marked block
4.9.2 Chop files 4.17 Disable adding
5. COMMANDS IN SERIAL MENU
5.1 Commands available 5.7.1 None
5.2 Baud 5.7.2 Xon / Xoff
5.3 Data length 5.7.3 RTS / CTS
5.4 Parity 5.8 Set Device
5.5 Stop bits 5.9 Set Unit
5.6 Duplex 5.10 Set Adjust Factor
5.6.1 Full duplex 5.11 Shared Mode
5.6.2 Half duplex 5.12 Send Break
5.7 Handshaking
6. COMMANDS IN TRANSLATE MENU
6.1 Commands available 6.3.9 FR7
6.2 End of line 6.3.10 SP7
6.3 Character set 6.3.11 IT7
6.3.1 ISO 6.3.12 SF7
6.3.2 IBM 6.3.13 DE7
6.3.3 IBN 6.4 Del <-> BS
6.3.4 IBP 6.5 Show HEX chars
6.3.5 NO7 6.6 ANSI mouse
6.3.6 US7 6.7 ANSI capture
6.3.7 UK7 6.8 Destructive backspace
6.3.8 GE7 6.9 Pad out blank lines
7. COMMANDS IN SCREEN MENU
7.1 Commands available 7.8 Bell
7.2 Title bar 7.9 Cursor blink
7.3 Interlace 7.10 Reset
7.4 Colours 7.11 Workbench screen
7.5 Palette 7.12 Close Workbench screen
7.6 Split screen 7.13 OS 2.0 snapping
7.7 Style 7.14 Window Gadgets
8. COMMANDS IN PHONE MENU
8.1 Commands available 8.6.8 Busy string
8.2 Phonebook 8.6.9 Redial delay
8.2.1 Dial 8.6.10 Auto-speed and "locking" info
8.2.2 Edit 8.6.11 DTR hangup
8.2.3 New 8.6.12 Accepting the edit
8.2.4 Abort 8.7 Phonebook edit window
8.2.5 Load 8.7.1 Name
8.2.6 Save 8.7.2 Phone #
8.2.7 Delete 8.7.3 Comment
8.2.8 Sort 8.7.4 Config
8.2.9 Print 8.7.5 Macros
8.3 Dial # 8.7.6 Script
8.4 Hang up 8.7.7 Password
8.5 Redial 8.7.8 Baud rate
8.6 Modem setup 8.7.9 Data length
8.6.1 Init string 8.7.10 Parity
8.6.2 Exit string 8.7.11 Stop bits
8.6.3 Dial prefix 8.7.12 Duplex mode
8.6.4 Dial suffix 8.7.13 Character set
8.6.5 Hang-up string 8.7.14 Swap Del/Backspace
8.6.6 Disconnect string 8.7.15 Transfer protocol
8.6.7 Connect string
9. INFORMATION ABOUT DIAL MENU
10. HOT KEYS AVAILABLE
======================================================================
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 NComm is GiftWare. This means that if you think we desverve
a contribution, feel free to send us a gift (beer, cookies,
chocolate, whisky, Alka-Seltzer, 68030 cards etc. ;-) Thanks to
Frederick Page for giving us this idea by sending a box of
"Aachener Printen" cookies 8-)
The program is freely distributable and is intended for personal
use only. Sale of this program except for REASONABLE media costs
is prohibited. NComm must be distributed in its original archive
format, without any files being added and/or ommited.
1.2 NComm version 1.921 was written by Torkel Lodberg. It was built
on NComm 1.9 by Daniel Bloch & co.
1.3 This program was developed using Lattice C 5.x, and is the
result of a project started in Oslo in 1988, using the Rodeløkka
(M)BBS to coordinate the initial efforts.
1.4 History
=================================================================
Many of the communication programs on the market today *look*
nice, but after testing them for a few minutes you find out that
they are so bug-ridden that even the old Basic-program you used
on the Commodore 64 would be preferable.
We thought that no Amiga communication program fulfilled our
needs, and figured out that the only way to get a program that
did everything we wanted, was to make it ourselves! Luckily the
source for Comm 1.34 was available. It had all the basic
functions, so we could concentrate on what we thought was
missing.
Our goal wasn't to make a program with a lot of functions you
never use, but with the functions that we needed - and they had
to work! Our national characters have been ignored and
mistreated, but NComm puts an end to that.
1.5 The project was led by Daniel Bloch, and chief contributors to
the design so far, apart from Daniel, have been:
Trym Hansen Conrad Helgeland Torkel Lodberg
Jørn Lokøy Per Hansen Geir Atle Storhaug
Arvid Johansen Geir Inge Høsteng Anders Herbjørnsen
Bjørn Melbye Eric Wheatley Marek Rzewuski
Heiko Schlichting Miguel Casteleiro Øyvind Harboe
Thomas Baetzler Nils-Arne Dahlberg Maximilian Hantsch
Thanks go to Mike Robertson (who gave us the necessary
information for the G&R protocol, and helped us out with a few
other things) and Dj James (for the source to Comm 1.34). Also
thanks to all the Beta-testers. Feedback from the users is the
most important thing when developing a program!
The XPR spec. was created by Willy Langeveld. NComm would have
been nothing without it...
Phone icon created by Bjørn Rybakken. He also made the new NComm
fonts - thanks!
1.6 All changes since V1.9 were done by Torkel Lodberg, so please
don't flame Daniel Bloch if you find any bugs or simply don't
like the new version :-)
1.7 This manual is based on the original Comm manual. It was written
by Torkel Lodberg, with help from Conrad Helgeland and Eric
Wheatley.
1.8 We welcome bug reports and comments about NComm and the
documentation. Send your comments to this address:
Torkel Lodberg, Pilotveien 10, N-0384 Oslo 3, Norway.
Email: torkell@ifi.uio.no (Internet)
Torkel Lodberg @ 2:502/15 (Fidonet)
Or call: The NComm Support BBS, 24 hours.
Phone # +47 2 493210 (international) (V32/MNP5)
(02) 493210 (Norway)
=====================================================
Rodeløkka (M)BBS at 300-19200 baud, 24hrs, two nodes.
Phone # +47 2 380949 (international) (V32/V42bis/PEP)
(02) 380949 (Norway)
1.9 A probable future expansion is the addition of more protocols.
We welcome debugged and documented C-source of other protocols,
as lack of time prevents us from writing them ourselves... XPR
libraries are also welcome!
A final note: Please read this documentation carefully. Most
things should be explained here.
1.10 Disclaimer:
-----------
We have made every effort possible to ensure that NComm will
function as described, but no warranty of any kind, expressed or
implied, is made by us. We will not be liable for any direct or
indirect damages to either machinal equipment or mental health
arising from a failure of the program to operate in the manner
desired by the user. In no event will we be liable for any loss
of profits or savings.
1.11 Summary of functions:
o Works on any Amiga with 512K RAM or more. Menu driven.
o ANSI / VT100 terminal emulation with full 8 colour text
support. IBM graphics (optional). Optional translation of
styles. Interlaced screen (optional). PAL and NTSC support.
Works with WB overscan. Can be run on WB screen. OS 2.0
support. Close Workbench option.
o Full support for all European languages (both character-
sets and keymaps). Thirteen translation modes.
o Baud rates up to 115200 baud supported
(31250 baud on a M68000-Amiga)
Xon/Xoff and CTS/RTS handshaking. Fast screen I/O.
Optional shared mode. Adjust option. DTR hangup option.
o Fast file transfer protocols: ASCII, Xmodem, Xmodem-CRC,
Ymodem, Ymodem-Batch, Ymodem-G (for error correcting modems).
Fast Zmodem and Kermit protocols using external libraries.
Full support for custom XPR libraries. Autochop on receive
files - disabled for ARC, ZOO, PAK, ZIP. Optional translation.
Batch uploads and downloads. Optional icon creation.
o Autodownload feature for MBBS or systems with G&R protocol.
G&R host mode. Zmodem autodownload and autoupload features
for use with any system.
o Script language - simple text language automates sessions.
Advanced Host-Mode script follows program.
o Optional scrollback buffer - view or save text that
previously has been displayed on screen. Block functions.
Real-time scrolling.
o Hot Keys for most program functions, including dialing of
up to 10 phone numbers.
o Split screen mode for conferencing.
o Dialing directory, queued dial, redial until carrier
received.
o Support for non-Hayes type modems.
o 46 entry fast phonemenu. Phone requester with unlimited
entries.
o 20 keyboard macros using function keys.
o Optional real time printing of incoming text.
o Internal multitasking.
o Log writes.
CHAPTER 2: PREPARATION
2.1 The following files should be included in this package:
( Dir ) Host
( 1223 bytes) Install
( 148048 bytes) NComm
( 1297 bytes) NComm.config
( 83559 bytes) NComm.doc
( 1 bytes) NComm.keys
( 0 bytes) NComm.log
( 30295 bytes) NComm.news
( 685 bytes) NComm.phone
( 2616 bytes) NComm1.8
( 264 bytes) NComm1.font
( 572 bytes) NComm2.8
( 264 bytes) NComm2.font
( 11468 bytes) PbConvert
( 14360 bytes) PbConvert.c
( 1563 bytes) PbConvert.doc
( 9144 bytes) PbView
( 2805 bytes) PbView.c
( 18123 bytes) Script.doc
( 838 bytes) mbbs.script
( 18012 bytes) req.library
( 19104 bytes) xprkermit.library
( 17752 bytes) xprzmodem.library
Be careful not to mix these files with old Comm 1.34 or NComm
1.01 files that may be lying around. The datafiles are
incompatible.
2.2 Read the file 'host.doc' for information about the NComm Host
Script.
2.3 The NComm.config format has been changed since NComm 1.8. If you
haven't used V1.9, all configuration files should be deleted!
The NComm.phone format has also been changed since V1.8, so
convert old phonebook files to the new format using the program
PbConvert. See the file PbConvert.doc for information about how
to use this program.
A minor change has been made to the V1.92 phonebook format. All
V1.9 phonebooks will have "Xmodem" as their default protocol.
PbConvert may be used for changing all entries to another
protocol.
2.4 NComm uses two fonts for emulating IBM graphics. They must
reside in the directory named FONTS:. NComm also uses two
external protocol libraries for supporting Kermit and Zmodem. A
Requester Library is being used for many of the requesters. All
of these files must be installed before NComm can be used.
To install NComm, enter the following command in CLI;
(or just click on the Install icon from WorkBench)
1> Execute Install
This batchfile will copy the font files used by NComm to the
FONTS: directory. First (of course) you have to assign FONTS:
to the directory where you keep your fonts. Unless you assign
these fonts correctly, the IBM graphics emulation will not work!
Important!
----------
Users of NComm V1.9 should reinstall the fonts, since they have
been redesigned by Bjørn Rybakken! Users of V1.8 MUST reinstall
the fonts since they had a bug.
The batchfile will also copy the XPRZmodem.library to the LIBS:
directory. This is a public domain Zmodem library that was
created by Rick Huebner - thanks a lot! The file MUST be
present, or the Zmodem protocol won't work! The version number
included is 2.1.
The XPRKermit.library will also be copied, and is necessary for
Kermit to work. It was made by Stephen Walton. The version number
included is 1.5. This version is told to contain several bugs,
and Stephen is working hard on a new release which is expected
soon. I highly recommend switching to the new version when it
arrives.
Finally, the batchfile file will copy the Req.library V2.5 to
LIBS: and set up an NComm assignment to the current directory.
2.5 Data files
----------
It is important for NComm to know where it can find its data
files, and we must help it on its way. If NComm was unarced in
the ROOT directory of a floppy disk, relabel the disk as
"NComm". This can be done by the following command if NComm
resides on df1:
1> Relabel drive df1: name "NComm"
If the files were unarced within a directory or on a harddisk,
you must assign "NComm:" to the directory that NComm resides in
including full device and path names.
Examples:
1> Assign NComm: "df1:"
...expects NComm to reside in the ROOT directory of drive "df1:"
1> Assign NComm: "dh0:NComm_1.921"
...expects NComm to reside in directory "NComm_1.921" on "dh0:"
If you do not wish to name the disk that NComm resides on
'NComm', it is probably a good idea to edit the
"s:startup-sequence" file and add the assign command that you
just entered.
2.6 NComm has an inbuilt command for opening a new CLI. If NComm
should not use the normal "NewCLI" command for opening the CLI,
this can be done by using the SetEnv command in WB1.3. For
example:
1> setenv NEWCLI "NewSHELL *"newcon:0/11/640/245/NCommShell*""
2.7 NComm normally opens the serial.device in "exclusive" mode. If
the serial device could not be opened, the message "Can't open
serial device" will be displayed (workbench users will notice a
flash on the workbench screen if NComm of some reason can't run).
If another program is using the serial port, NComm will not be
able to run in "exclusive" mode. The internal "shared" mode
option must then be stored in your configuration file if you want
to use the two programs simultaneously.
2.8 NComm has the following synopsis when started from CLI:
1> NComm [SCRIPTFILE] [-cCONFIGFILE] [-mMACROFILE]
[-pPHONEBOOK] [-sSCROLLBACK] [-d(ISABLE ADDING)]
From WorkBench, just click on the NComm icon.
2.9 Note:
-----
Single-drive users have to execute these commands in a bit
different manner. Either you can copy the needed commands into
RAM: and assign c: to RAM:, or you may enter the desired
commands with just a question mark as command-line. You will
then be given a long prompt, at which you should enter the
normal command-line" with drive specified as df0:. As an
example, here is how to relabel a disk...
Boot your AmigaDOS disk in df0: and enter this at the prompt:
1> Relabel ?
"DRIVE/A,NAME/A" now appears on the screen. Now put your new
NComm disk in df0: and enter this:
drive df0: name "NComm"
2.10 How to configure NComm for use with MBBS.
-----------------------------------------
To get the most from NComm when using the MBBS program, you
should log in at the MBBS boards you are going to use. In the
utility menu, there are several options that have to be turned
on. Walk to the utility menu with the (U)tility command, and
select (M)ode changes. Answer 'YES' at all prompts. The
message 'User profile updated' will be displayed. Now, if
you're using a PAL machine, you probably want to configure a
larger number of lines per page than what has been configured by
MBBS. Select (L)ines per page, and enter '29' at the prompt.
Finally, select IBM graphics by using the (S)et character set
command. Enter 'IBN' at the prompt.
Some options must now be turned on in NComm. Walk to the
'Transfer' menu, and turn on the 'G&R Protocol'. Configure the
default directories for these transfers if you don't have enough
memory to use the RAM DISK. Now, examine that your 'Com' setup
is 8N1. Always use this setup when connecting to MBBS boards,
otherwise high bits will be stripped. Turn the 'IBN character
set' on in the 'Translate' menu. Turn the '8 Colour' mode on in
the screen menu, and 'Reset' the colours by opening the palette.
You now have true ANSI graphics! Remember to save the present
configuration.
2.11 A note about using NComm with Ymodem-G and High Speed modems
------------------------------------------------------------
Characters may sometimes disappear when using NComm with baud
rates above 9600 baud. This is not due to a bug in NComm, but
is caused by a problem with either the serial.device or the
Amiga hardware.
If you want to perform file transfer with modems like the US
Robotics HST, we recommend using the Zmodem error checking
protocol. It is not safe to use the Ymodem-G protocol at high
baud rates even if the modem is having MNP available - errors
may occur!.
We apologize for this, and hope this will be fixed in a future
version of the Amiga software or hardware! We have tried to
shorten down the cable between the modem and the machine but
that didn't seem to help. We have checked every other Amiga
comms program available, and the same thing seems to happen with
them.
2.12 How to obtain high transfer rates with HST modems
-------------------------------------------------
Some people have reported that they are not able to obtain high
transfer rates with the Zmodem protocol. I personally have no
problems reaching 1700 CPS with NComm on a standard Amiga 2000
with many programs waiting in the background. Please read trough
this list of possible faults before sending any more complaints.
* Some versions of the serial.device miscalculate the baud rate
by 1.1% and may therefore either slow transfers down, or cause
errors. If you experience such problems, try setting the
adjust factor to -11 (it should normally be set to zero!)
* Use the newest version of serial.device, i.e 34.104 or above.
Test your version number with the following command...
1> version serial.device
* The sending protocol and the hardware used by the BBS is also
very important, as well as noise on the telephone line. If you
have problems with reaching high baud rates, this may be a
problem with the BBS program or the telephone line.
* With the standard Amiga serial.device you should NOT lock the
baud rate at anything else than 19200 baud (unless you are
using a machine equipped with a 68020 or 68030 card). A
standard Amiga does only handle transfers at a maximum of
31250 baud...
* When using the ASDG Dual Serial Board, you must remember to
lock the baud rate at 38400 baud. Otherwise the buffer might
overflow.
* Check the cabling. The RS232 cable should be as short as
possible, and protected against electrical interference. The
same thing goes for the telephone cable. The cabling is very
important for obtaining high transfer rates.
* Your modem must be set up correctly. These US Robotics HST
settings have been tested and work very well:
Courier HST (non-V32/V42 version)
---------------------------------
AT &F B1 X4 &B1&C1&D2&G0&H1&I0 <cr>
AT &J0&K0&L0&M4&N8&P0&R2&S0&X1&Y1 &W <cr>
Courier HST Dual Standard (V32/V42 version)
-------------------------------------------
AT &F B0X4 &A3&B1&H1&K3&R2&S1S28=20 &W <cr>
* Don't multitask, i.e don't have anything running in the
background since this will slow things down and cause errors.
Even a simple operation like bringing another screen or window
to front, may cause errors!
* Utility Programs like PopCLI, QMouse, VirusX, Mach and so on,
may be quite cruel to the system, especially if they run at a
high priority - try removing them if you experience problems.
* Use TWO colours, NO interlace, NO overscan. Everything else
will slow transfers down and cause errors.
* Turn on CTS/RTS handshaking in NComm. To be able to use this
hardware handshaking, your modem must also be set up
correctly! You will have to use a cable with pins 4 and 5
connected. The CTS and DSR signal must be constantly on
before starting NComm. See your modem users manual if you
don't know how to configure it correctly.
* Zmodem ACKknowledge should be turned OFF. Transfers should go
to RAM: or a fast harddisk. Otherwise, Zmodem will HAVE to
acknowledge for every 16th block received.
* Setting the priority of NComm to one or higher will normally
give best results. We recommend setting the priority to at
least one. Setting the priority to 16 or higher is NOT
recommended.
* Transfer to RAM: or a fast harddisk. Floppy drives do not
handle transfers at anything more than 9600 baud! Some
harddisks hog the CPU when reading or writing. This can cause
errors during transfers. If you experience such problems, I
recommend that you use RAM: as your default download
directory, and transfer the files to a permanent media after
having logged off the bulletin board.
2.13 There has been some problems with setting up the TBK 9600+
auto-dialling modem for use with NComm. I recommend the following
initialization, which has been tested and works very well:
Modem should be used with 19200 baud constant local speed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AT &F Reset modem to factory configuration
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AT B0 &C1 &D2 CCITT, DCD track on, DTR hang-up on
AT &S0 (Very important!) Constant DSR signal
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AT &G0 M0 (M1)? Guard tone off, Loudspeaker off (on)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AT %C0 +C1 +D0 MNP5 off, Constant speed, 1300 Hz off
AT \N3 \Q3 Auto-MNP on, RTS/CTS flow control
AT +Q3 +T1 Extra result codes, Trellis on
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AT &W0 &W1 Store new config in both setups
AT Z And reset modem to new config
-----------------------------------------------------------------
And now, remember to turn on CTS/RTS in NComm.
2.14 If you want to use another icon than the one supplied with NComm,
remember to set the stack size to 10000 bytes. Otherwise, you may
experience that NComm gives you a software failure from time to
time - not funny at all.
CHAPTER 3: COMMANDS IN SYSTEM MENU
3.1 Here you control all system functions. From here you can load
and save settings, view the status, edit the macrokeys, turn on
and off the printer, and start a new CLI. You can also choose
whether NComm should add entries to the logfile when you connect
with a board. You may also exit NComm from here, as well as
execute script-files.
3.2 About NComm
Will tell you a few things about NComm and the author. Simply
click in the window to close it...
3.3 Status
This will bring up a status display showing the amount of
memory available, the state of the printer and capture buffer
toggles. If the capture buffer has been turned on, the
filename will also be displayed.
Here you will also find a slider gadget for use with the
"ASCII send" and "message send" functions. Some Bulletin
Board Systems lose data if is being sent too fast, so this
function can be very useful.
3.3.1 You can select a time to delay after transmitting each
character by using this slider gadget. The gadget can be
adjusted from approx 20ms (Fast) to 300 ms (Slow) delay
between transmitted characters. The slider can be adjusted
while a file is being sent to allow for fine tuning.
With the slider in the (default) far left position, there is
no delay.
3.3.2 A scrollback buffer can be set with the second slider gadget.
This can be useful if you often loose CARRIER while entering
messages or if you are bothered by pages often scrolling past
your screen. Here you can set the buffer size, i.e. how much
NComm at all times shall remember of the incoming data. If
you are using a 512K Amiga, it may be wise to use only a small
scrollback buffer. Set the scrollback buffer to '0K' if you
want to turn off this option, or want to clear the buffer.
3.4 Load config
Will load a new NComm configuration. All menu options and the
status window settings are covered by this function. The
macrokeys and the phonebook must be loaded separately. A file
input requester will appear in the center of the screen. Only
files with a ".config" suffix will be shown.
3.5 Save config
Will save the current NComm configuration. All menu options
and the status window settings are covered by this function.
The macrokeys and the phonebook must be saved separately. A
file input requester will appear in the center of the screen.
3.6 Script
This function will execute a scriptfile. A file input
requester will appear in the center of the screen. Select the
script you want to run. The text SCR' will be displayed on
the status line. To stop a script, select this entry again.
See the file "Script.doc" for detailed information on scripts.
3.7 Macrokeys
This will bring up a requester that lets you edit the
macrokeys. Here you may also load new macros and save the
text stored on the different macrokeys. The function keys
definable are F1 to F10 and SHIFT F1 to F10. A macro
definiton can be 512 bytes maximum. Not all keys have to be
defined. To edit a macro just click in one of the requester
text input boxes and enter your definition. The macros can
contain control characters which can be represented in two
ways. These characters can also be used in the modem setup
requester.
3.7.1 1. C-style slash conventions. The following
sequences are supported:
\n, \r Carriage Return
\t Tabulator
\f Form Feed
\b BackSpace
\v Vertical Tabulator
\e Escape
\\ Backslash
\" Quote
\p Phonebook Password
\w .5 second Delay
\l 250 ms Line Break
\m Macro
2. The caret followed by a letter, meaning
CTRL+letter. If you need the line feed
character, for example, use ^J. '^^' will send
the caret itself.
A scriptfile may be started from a macro by entering {script}
followed by the name and path of the scriptfile you want to
execute. Example: {script}RAM:test.script
You can have nested macros by using the \m## option, where ##
is a number from 1 to 20 - with 1 representing macro F1 and 11
and 20 representing Shift F1 and Shift F20 respectively.
Examples:
commodore ;Will not add a carriage return.
at \\N3\n ;AT \N3 plus a carriage return.
^pread ;The control-P code, followed by 'read'.
\m1\m2run testfile\r ;The text stored on macro F1 and F2, plus
;the text 'run testfile' and a CR.
3.7.2 Selecting the 'Load' gadget will bring up a file requester in
the center of the screen. From here you may load new
macrokeys. Remember to save the current macrokeys if any
changes have been made. Entering "NComm.keys" will load the
macrokeys that are normally loaded at startup.
3.7.3 Selecting the 'Save' gadget will bring up a file requester in
the center of the screen. From here you may save the current
macrokeys. Enter the name "NComm.keys" if you want the
macrokeys to be loaded on startup.
3.7.4 Selecting the 'Cancel' gadget will leave everything unchanged
and remove the macrokeys window.
3.7.5 Selecting the 'OK' gadget will close the window and install
the new macros.
3.8 Printer
Toggles the printer ON/OFF. When ON, text received from the
serial port will also go to the device you specify in the
requester (PRT: is recommended). The text 'PRT' will be
displayed on the status line.
3.9 New CLI
Works like the "NewCli" command, which must be present in the
C: directory together with the 'RUN' command. Will open up a
command line interface on the Workbench screen. Type 'EndCli'
to exit the CLI and return to NComm.
3.10 Log Calls
When this option is turned on, NComm will log all calls made
within NComm. The information will be added to a textfile
called "NComm.log".
3.11 Set Priority
This option allows you to increase or decrease the NComm
priority a bit. Bumping the priority is especially recommended
when using high speed modems. This will decrease the number of
errors and also increases the transfer rate.
3.12 Quit NComm
Selecting this entry will close all open files and windows and
exit back to the operating system.
CHAPTER 4: COMMANDS IN FILE MENU
4.1 This is the file transfer menu. From here you can start a
transfer and select the different transfer options i.e protocol,
handshaking etc.
When the upload or download function is selected, a file input
requester will appear, that is if you have not selected the G&R
mode. Click on the "Ok" gadget when you have selected a file.
4.2 Start ASCII Capture
All data received from the serial port is also saved into the
named file. The text is buffered and written to the disk in
8K blocks. If you are using a translation table, the incoming
data will be translated. Select the 'ISO' character set to
avoid this.
When this mode is selected, the text in the MENU entry is
changed to "Stop ASCII Capture". Selecting this entry will
flush the data buffer to the disk and close the file.
When capturing is enabled, the word "CAP" will be visible on
the status line.
When entering a filename for data capture, NComm will check to
see if this file already exists. If it does, a requester will
appear informing you of that fact. You may then choose to
CONTINUE using the filename entered or CANCEL and enter
another filename. If you choose to CONTINUE, you will be
presented with another requester. You can APPEND data to the
existing file or DELETE the existing data and start with a
fresh file.
4.3 Start ASCII Send
The named file will be read and sent to the serial port. If
the file does not exist, a message to that effect will be
printed. If you are using a translation table, the outgoing
data will be translated. Select the 'ISO' translation to
avoid this.
When this mode is selected, the text in the MENU entry is
changed to "Stop ASCII Send". Selecting this entry will stop
the transfer and close the disk file.
4.4 Message upload
The named file will be read and sent to the serial port. If
the file does not exist, a warning message will be printed.
If you are using a translation table, the outgoing data will
be translated. Select the 'ISO' translation to avoid this.
This function will perform almost like "Start ASCII send", but
the message will be packed. Blank lines will be translated
into spaces. This can be useful when uploading to systems
with a certain pagewidth, or if your message contains blank
lines (usually you will exit the editor when a blank line
occurs in a message you upload with the ASCII send function.)
Select this entry again to stop the transfer and close the
disk file.
4.5 Download
The named file will be created on the disk and the transfer
will be started using the protocol you have selected in the
TRANSFER menu.
If the specified file already exists, a requester will appear;
asking if you want to CONTINUE or CANCEL the use of that
filename. Selecting CONTINUE will overwrite the old existing
file with the new one. Selecting CANCEL will bring up the
INPUT WINDOW allowing you to enter another file name.
A window will pop up that among other things will display the
name of the file being transferred, a running total of the
bytes received, the number of NAKs and the last block to be
NAKed. The transfer can be aborted by hitting the ESC key, or
by pressing the upper left-hand close gadget. The current file
can be skipped by pressing the gadget marked "Skip File".
The serial port parameters will be saved and changed to 8
bits, no parity, 1 stop bit for the transfer. Upon
completion, the old settings will be restored.
4.6 Upload
Use this selection to transmit a file to a system. The named
file will be opened on the disk and the transfer will be
started using the error checking method (CRC or Checksum)
selected by the receiving end.
Ymodem-Batch/G and Zmodem support batch uploading. Hold down
the SHIFT key if you want to select multiple files in the
file requester.
If the specified file does not exist, a requester will appear
informing you of this fact. You only have the option to
CONTINUE, which will bring up the INPUT WINDOW allowing you to
re-enter the filename or CANCEL the upload.
A window will pop up that among other things will display the
name of the file being transferred, a running total of the
bytes sent, the number of NAKs and the last block to be
NAKed. The transfer can be aborted by hitting the ESC key, or
by pressing the upper left-hand close gadget. The current file
can be skipped by pressing the gadget marked "Skip File".
As described in the Download section, the serial port
parameters are temporarily changed to 8N1 for the transfer.
4.7 Server Commands
These commands are only valid when the Kermit protocol has
been selected. XPRKermit.library must be present in LIBS:
4.7.1 Kermit Finish
Tells a Kermit server that you are done. The remote server
will stop being a server.
4.7.2 Kermit Bye
Tells a Kermit server that you are done; the server will exit
and log you off the remote machine.
4.7.3 Kermit CD
Changes the default directory for files sent or received by
the Kermit server. Examples of the directory name would be
'/bin' or 'user:[username.amiga]'.
4.8 Protocol
Here you select the protocol you want used for the upload and
download functions.
4.8.1 XMODEM
This is the protocol originally written by Ward Christensen.
It is used by almost every type of personal computer. This is
a good protocol to use if the line quality is poor. Its
biggest drawback is that it transfers data in 128 byte blocks
making it slower than YMODEM.
4.8.2 YMODEM
This is basically XModem-CRC with 1024 byte blocks. This
means that there is less handshaking, which saves time.
YMODEM is faster than XMODEM as long as the line quality is
acceptable.
4.8.3 YMODEM-BATCH
This is a more intelligent version of the YMODEM protocol.
Multiple files may be sent as a packet, and the protocol
automatically sends information about filename and filesize.
4.8.4 YMODEM-G
This is basically YMODEM-BATCH without error checking. It may
only be used when two error correcting modems are
communicating with each other. Configure this with boards
supporting MNP or ARQ. Please see above for a note about using
this protocol with high speed modems.
4.8.5 ZMODEM
This is currently one of the fastest file transfer protocol
available. With the Zmodem protocol, you may reach a transfer
rate around 1700 CPS with the HST. It depends on the
XPRZmodem.library, which should be situated in the LIBS:
directory. A file is normally sent in 1024 byte blocks, but
this changes depending on the system performance and line
quality. The reason for its outstanding performance is that
it uses continuous data-streaming, and doesn't wait for an OK
from the remote system before sending the next block. This is
not only a fast method to transfer data, but is also necessary
on packet networks.
4.8.6 KERMIT
This is a protocol that is widely used on many old machines
and network systems. It depends on the XPRKermit.library,
which should be situated in the LIBS: directory. Due to the
small blocks sent/received, kermit is a quite slow protocol
but is *very* reliable and works with just about any system
configuration, independent of handshaking and number of data
bits. Some implementations of Kermit support compression of
the transferred data.
4.8.7 EXTERNAL XPR
Use this function for selecting an external XPR protocol. Only
enter the name of the protocol, do not include "XPR" or
".library". If you for example want to use the
XPRQuickb.library, enter "QuickB" in the string gadget.
4.9 Options
4.9.1 CRC
This function selects the type of error checking to be used
during Xmodem transfers. If CRC is not turned on, the
checksum method will be used.
The original Christensen protocol used an 8 bit checksum for
error checking. It is about 97% effective in catching errors.
All implementations of XMODEM can use the checksum method.
Only use the cheksum method when in doubt, the CRC method is
much more secure.
A later addition to the protocol was the 16 bit (two byte)
Cyclic Redundancy Check ( CRC ) which is about 99.997%
effective in detecting errors. Not all implementations of
XMODEM can use the CRC method.
4.9.2 Chop Files
File transfers will increase the size of a file to the next
largest multiple of 128 bytes for XModem transfers and 1024
bytes for YModem. The CHOP FILES option will remove the
padding on the end of the file. This is always required when
transferring executable binary files. CHOPing files is
therefore desired.
Note:
It is not desireable to CHOP an .ARC, .ZOO, .PAK or .ZIP file.
As it is very easy to forget to turn off the CHOP mode for
these files, NComm will check the receive-filename for such an
extension. If this is found, it will temporarily disable
CHOPing for this file and on completion of transfer the CHOP
flag will be reset to its previous value.
4.9.3 G & R Protocol
This is an auto up/download protocol for use with the MBBS
system. You must remember to also turn on G&R in your MBBS
user account to make it work. By using this protocol, you no
longer have to enter the desired protocol and filename in
NComm when transferring files to and from an MBBS system.
This means that you do not have to deal with the tedious file
requester.
4.9.4 G & R Host Mode
This feature is meant to be used when two NComm programs (or
one NComm and one GLink program) are connected to each other.
You may use a nullmodem cable or two modems. When one of the
programs have been set to utilize this feature, the file
transfer can be controlled from that machine. All you have to
specify is protocol, filename and up/download.
4.9.5 Zmodem RESUME
If this feature has been turned on, NComm will not discard
existing data when using Zmodem download. Data will be
appended to the file until the filesize is correct. No
requester will appear. Turn this feature on if you for
example loose carrier during a Zmodem download - you will then
only have to transfer the bytes that are missing.
4.9.6 Zmodem AUTODL
If this feature has been turned on, NComm will automatically
jump into receive mode when the string '**^XB00' is received.
This means that you won't have to select Download from the
menu when transferring with Zmodem.
4.9.7 Zmodem AUTOUL
If this feature has been turned on, NComm will pop up with a
file requester when the string '**^XB01' is received. This
means that you won't have to select Upload from the menu when
transferring with Zmodem.
4.9.8 Zmodem ACK
This option turns on Zmodem ACK, and will force Zmodem to
acknowledge each 16th block received. This will of course
slow transfers down so only turn ACK on if you are
transferring to a very slow device (errors may then occur if
this feature has NOT been turned on). NComm will automatically
turn Zmodem ACK on when transferring to DFx: at speeds greater
than 9600 baud.
4.9.9 Kermit host
If this option is turned on, the host Kermit is assumed to be
in server mode. You will be prompted for file names when you
request a Kermit receive, and this file name will be sent
to the server in form of a Kermit GET command.
4.9.10 Kermit 1k blocks
Will set the Kermit packet length to 1024 bytes and set 16-bit
CRC block checking. This should increase the transfer speed a
bit. A packet length of 94 will be used if this feature is
turned off. Not all Kermit implementations support long
packets.
4.9.11 External XPR setup
Use this option for setting an init string with options that
should be used by the External XPR library.
4.9.12 External XPR query
This functions asks the External XPR library for a "query".
The library will then display the different options that
can be set and their default values. You may change the
options as you wish.
4.9.13 Create icons
Turn this option on if you want NComm to create an icon for
all files that you download.
4.10 Default directory
Here you may specify the default paths and directories for
uploading and downloading, or change the path for the log
file. A file requester will appear, select a path and
directory and click on the OK gadget when you are satisfied
with your selection. NComm will default to these directories,
but as long as you are not using the G & R protocol, you may
change the path and directory yourself before an upload or
download.
It may be wise to set these directories to RAM: for fast file
transfers, since transferring to disk causes a delay.
4.11 Load scrollback buffer
Use this function if you want to load a text file into the
scrollback buffer. A file requester will appear on screen.
4.12 Save scrollback buffer
Use this function if you want to save what is stored in the
scrollback buffer. A file requester will appear on screen.
4.13 View scrollback buffer
This function will bring up a window containing two
proportional gadgets and two line-by-line gadgets. By using
these gadgets, you may view what is stored in the scrollback
buffer and perhaps see if it is worth saving. The scrollback
bytesize will be displayed in the window header, as well as
the current buffer position and number of lines. The cursor
keys may also be used for moving around;
Up - One line up
Down - One line down
Left - Move half a page to the left
Right - Move half a page to the right
Shift-Up - Step one page up
Shift-Down - Step one page down
Shift-Left - Beginning of buffer
Shift-Right - End of buffer
Text may be marked by first clicking on the first line that
you want to mark and then clicking at the last line. Click
twice at the same line for removing all marks.
Some hotkeys are supported;
"F" - Search in buffer
"N" - Next occurence of string
"L" - Load scrollback
"S" - Save scrollback
"B" - Save block
"Z" - Zoom/expand window
Space bar - Paste block to serial port
Press the CloseGadget or ESCape to close the window. Please
note that the scrollback will slow down when using a 8 or 16
colour screen.
4.14 Search in buffer
This function search for a string in the scrollback buffer,
and marks the line if found. Enter the string you want to
search for in the string requester that pops up.
4.15 Save marked block
Select this function if you want to save the contents of a
marked block onto a file. A file requester will appear on
screen, asking you for path and filename.
4.16 Send marked block
Select this function if you want to send the contents of a
marked block in the scrollback to the serial port.
4.17 Disable adding
By turning this option on, you temporarily disable the adding
of characters to the scrollback. Turn the adding on again by
selecting this function once again.
CHAPTER 5: COMMANDS IN SERIAL MENU
5.1 Serial device parameters are changed here. The serial settings
are completely independent of the settings in preferences.
5.2 Baud
Baud rates from 300 to 115200 baud can be selected. This
entry, however, may be overridden by the default baud rate in
the phonebook.
IMPORTANT !!! Do NOT use baud rates above 31500 baud with a
standard Amiga (68000/10 processor). The processor is too slow
for handling these speeds, and the serial hardware will
therefore discard most of the characters received via the
serial port. Some 68020 cards also have problems when
operating at high speeds.
Note:
This selects the serial speed of the port, the actual data
throughput rate depends upon whether the capture buffer is
active, if printer capture is selected, if a scrollback is
used and upon the screen I/O speed.
With no printer or file capture, the throughput rate depends
on the screen I/O speed. If you select a baud rate greater
than 2400 baud, you may lose characters unless handshaking
is being used.
If you own a 68030 machine and use the program CpuBlit by
Eddy Carroll, the screen I/O will stick with much higher baud
rates. CpuBlit also removes the flashing seen when scrolling
color text. It is highly recommended that you use CpuBlit.
5.3 Data Length
Selects the length of a data word as 7 or 8 bits. Most
computer systems today will operate with 8 bits.
Note that during binary transfers, serial port data length is
set to 8 bits and restored to the previous value on
completion.
5.4 Parity
Selects ODD, EVEN or NO parity. Most computer systems today
will operate with NO parity.
Note that during binary transfers, serial port parity is set
to NO parity and restored to the previous value on completion.
5.5 Stop Bits
Selects the number of stop bits transmitted as 1 or 2 bits.
Most computer systems today will operate with 1 stop bit.
Note that during binary transfers, serial port stop bit length
is set to 1 bit and restored to the previous value on
completion.
The Amiga hardware does not allow 2 stop bits to be used with
an 8 bit data word length.
5.6 Duplex
Selects whether NComm or the remote system should echo key
strokes to the screen.
5.6.1 Select FULL duplex when the remote machine will echo your key
strokes. You will normally be using this option.
5.6.2 Select HALF duplex when the remote system does not echo your
key strokes. That is when the remote system seems to be
responding to your commands, but you cannot see what you are
typing.
5.7 Handshaking
Enables or disables the serial driver check for flow control
characters.
5.7.1 Select 'None' when you do not wish to use flow control.
5.7.2 Select 'XON/XOFF' when you wish the driver to use the XON/XOFF
type of flow control. Normally this is used at baud rates
greater than 2400 baud to avoid losing characters.
5.7.3 Select 'RTS/CTS' when you wish the driver to use the hardware
RTS/CTS type of flow control. This should only be used with
modems which support it.
Note:
In some cases, when the XON/XOFF mode is selected, NComm may
receive an XOFF character ( noise or otherwise ) and appear to
be hung -- that is, no characters appear on the screen yet the
menus still function properly. Whenever NComm appears to be
hung, typing a Ctrl-Q will re-start the serial line. If the
problem was due to an XOFF character received, this will
restore everything to normal.
5.8 Set Device
If you are using something else than the inbuilt serial port,
this function makes it possible to change the type of serial
device used for this port. A string requester will pop up,
asking you for the name of the new device.
5.9 Set Unit
If you are using something else than the inbuilt serial port,
this function makes it possible to change the number of the
unit used for this port. A number requester will pop up,
asking you for the number of the new unit.
5.10 Set Adjust Factor
Some versions of the serial.device miscalculate the baud rate
by 1.1% and may therefore either slow transfers down, or cause
errors. If you experience such problems, try setting the
adjust factor to -11 (it should normally be set to zero)
5.11 Shared Mode
If another program is using the serial port, NComm will not be
able to open the serial.device. Setting the "Shared mode"
option allows NComm to share the serial port with another
program. The disadvantage is that CTS/RTS handshaking can not
be used when sharing the serial port.
5.12 Send Break
Sends a 250 ms break signal.
CHAPTER 6: COMMANDS IN TRANSLATE MENU
6.1 This is where you define the translation of out- and ingoing data
and the special keyboard keys.
6.2 End of Line
You can select how End of Line characters are handled on the
screen and when sent out the serial port. By default, EOL is
just a CARRIAGE RETURN character, but you can change this to
CR and LINEFEED pairs. Use this option if all text seems to
be printed on one line.
6.3 Character set
NComm offers twelve different translation tables, and they can
be selected here. Please observe that you have to use the
'CLI' SETMAP command to be able to write your national
characters correctly.
6.3.1 ISO
NComm will use the standard Amiga character set, without any
translation. This should be used when using Amiga systems,
and will only work in 8N1.
Please note; if no translation of the in or outgoing data is
wanted when using the ASCII capture or ASCII send option,
switch to ISO before transfer.
6.3.2 IBM
Should be used with bulletin boards running on PC/MS-DOS
machines that use the IBM extended character set. NComm will
utilize a special IBM font containg all the IBM graphic
characters. This will only work in 8N1.
6.3.3 IBN
Should be used with Norwegian bulletin boards running on
PC/MS-DOS machines that use the IBM extended character set.
This is a version of the character set that contains two
norwegian characters that are missing in IBMs original
character set. NComm will utilize a special IBM font
containing all the IBM graphic characters. This will only
work in 8N1.
6.3.4 IBP
Should be used with Portuguese bulletin boards running on
PC/MS-DOS machines that use the IBM extended character set.
This is a version of the character set that contains some
special Portuguese characters that are missing in IBMs
original character set. NComm will utilize a special IBM font
containing all the IBM graphic characters. This will only
work in 8N1.
6.3.5 NO7
Use this option when the host uses
the Norwegian ISO 7 bit standard.
6.3.6 US7
Use this option when the host uses
the American ISO 7 bit standard.
6.3.7 UK7
Use this option when the host uses
the English ISO 7 bit standard.
6.3.8 GE7
Use this option when the host uses
the German ISO 7 bit standard.
6.3.9 FR7
Use this option when the host uses
the French ISO 7 bit standard.
6.3.10 SP7
Use this option when the host uses
the Spanish ISO 7 bit standard.
6.3.11 IT7
Use this option when the host uses
the Italian ISO 7 bit standard.
6.3.12 SF7
Use this option when the host uses
the Swedish/Finnish ISO 7 bit standard.
6.3.13 DE7
Use this option when the host uses
the Danish ISO 7 bit standard.
6.4 DEL <-> BS
Here you may configure whether the backspace and del keys are
to be exchanged. This can be useful when communicating with a
machine that runs Unix, VMS or Tops-20, amongst others.
6.5 Show HEX chars
This option will translate all incoming text to HEX numbers,
as well as displaying the text to the right. Perfect for
debugging.
6.6 ANSI mouse
If this option is turned on, mouse clicks will be translated
into ANSI codes that move you to the current mouse position.
The codes will be sent out to the serial port.
If you only want to activate the NComm window without sending
any ANSI codes, click in the NComm status window.
6.7 ANSI capture
ANSI escape codes will normally be filtered out when using the
"ASCII capture" function. Turn this option on if you want to
leave these codes untouched when doing an ASCII capture.
6.8 Destructive Backspace
Incoming "backspace" codes will normally just move the cursor
one position to the left. Turn this option on if you want
NComm to delete the character to the left of the cursor.
6.9 Pad out blank lines
Most line editors used by bulletin boards enter the "command"
prompt when RETURN is pressed on a blank line. This is
normally not desirable when doing an "ASCII send". By turning
this option on, NComm will always send a blank (SPACE) before
sending RETURN on a new line when using the "ASCII send"
function.
CHAPTER 7: COMMANDS IN SCREEN MENU
7.1 This is where you may configure what your screen should look
like.
7.2 Title bar
Toggles the title bar on and off
7.3 Interlace
This option will make NComm use an interlaced screen, which
will double the vertical resolution but cause a lot of flicker
if you haven't invested in a flicker-fixer card or a
long-persistance monitor.
7.4 Colours
From here you may choose whether NComm shall use a 2, 4, 8 or
16 colour screen. If you choose the eight colour mode,
you will get full ANSI colour emulation. The 16 color mode
will set up NComm for extended ANSI emulation, but will
slow down the program a lot. See chapter 5.2 for more
information about this. Choose the two or four colour mode if
you prefer faster screen updates.
7.5 Palette
This will bring up a requester that lets you configure the
colours for the current screen mode. Each screen mode has its
own palette. Click 'RESET' to use the colours that NComm was
shipped with. To edit a color, click in the color box and use
the slider gadgets.
7.6 Split Screen
This function will divide the screen into two windows, a small
one ( 4 lines ) for your typed characters and a larger one (
19 lines when using NTSC) for characters received from the
modem.
You should select the half-duplex mode on the host system to
prevent your typed characters from being echoed back into the
receive window. To exit the split screen mode, select 'Split
Screen' from the menu again.
Split screen mode requires at least 1MB of memory to operate
in interlaced mode.
Caution:
If you login to a system while in the split screen mode, your
password will be echoed in the TX window. It is best to login
in the single screen mode.
7.7 Style
This function allows you to turn on or off the translation of
the different styles (boldface, italics and underline). The
reason why this function was included is that the styles are
misused by many bulletin board systems. The text will appear
clearer, and this will also reduce flashing when the screen is
scrolling.
7.8 Bell
From here you can configure what NComm should do when it
receives the ASCII "bell" code. You can have an ordinary
audible bell or a visible bell. You may even select
'ScreenToFront', which will bring the NComm screen to front
when the "bell" code is received. You may freely mix the
three or turn bell off.
7.9 Cursor blink
Some people prefer having a blinking cursor, especially if
they are used to the IBM Personal Computer. This function will
try to emulate cursor blinking.
7.10 Reset
This function will clear the screen, turn off all style
settings and reset the colours.
7.11 Workbench screen
Use this function for placing NComm on the Workbench screen.
This will also save a small amount of memory. OS 2.0 gadget
flags will be set if used.
7.12 Close Workbench screen.
If you want to save a small amount of memory, you may choose
to close the Workbench screen with this function. Please note
that no programs or CLI's can be open on the Workbench screen
when this function is selected.
7.13 OS 2.0 snapping
(Only selectable if using OS 2.0) This function lets you snap
text from the NComm terminal screen using the Right-Amiga-C
key combination. Use Right-Amiga-V for pasting text to the
terminal screen.
7.14 Window Gadgets
--------------
The screen contains hidden gadgets for depth arranging the NComm
window. The depth gadgets are in the upper right hand corner.
CHAPTER 8: COMMANDS IN PHONE MENU
8.1 From here you may dial phonenumbers, edit the phonebook,
configure the modem and redial, or hang up the phone.
8.2 Phonebook
This entry will bring up the phonebook window, where you may
load or save phonebooks, as well as edit, delete and add
entries. The entries can also be sorted, dialled or printed.
When loaded, NComm first looks for a file called
NComm:NComm.phone. If not found, the phonebook will be blank.
The phonebook can consist of an unlimited number of entries,
but only the first 46 will be displayed in the DIAL menu, and
only the first 10 can be dialled using hot keys.
Only 15 entries can be displayed simultaneously in the window.
To scroll through the phonebook, use the right drag bar.
You may select an entry by positioning the pointer over it
and then clicking on the left mouse button. When an entry is
selected, it will show up in reverse video. Several entries
can be selected at the same time.
8.2.1 Selecting the 'Dial!' gadget will dial the entries that are
selected, starting at the top. This will bring up a small
window telling you which board you are calling, and eventually
which is the next to go. The phonebook window will be
removed. More entries can be added while dialling by
selecting them from the DIAL menu, or by bringing up the
phonebook again.
If a number is busy, the program will continue with the next
number on the list. If redial has been turned on, NComm will
start over again if no connection has been established with
any of the numbers in the queue. It will not stop until a
connection has been established.
Abort the dialling by pressing the ESC key or closing the
window by clicking in the upper lefthand gadget. To remove
the current entry, press the DEL key. Press the SPACE key if
you would like to go on with the next entry. You may also
click within the window gadgets.
8.2.2 Selecting the 'Edit' gadget will bring up the edit window,
containing the information about the first entry selected.
This information can then be edited. See below for more
information about how to use the edit window. Pressing the
'OK' gadget will accept the edit, 'Cancel' will leave
everything unchanged.
8.2.3 Selecting the 'New' gadget will add a new entry in front of
the first entry selected. However, if no entry has been
selected, the entry will be placed at the bottom of the list.
This will bring up a special edit window that contains the
current NComm settings. See below for more information about
how to use the edit window. Pressing the 'OK' gadget will add
the current entry, 'Cancel' will abort the edit and not add
the entry.
8.2.4 Selecting the 'Abort!' gadget will remove the window. This
equals pressing the upper lefthand closegadget.
8.2.5 Selecting the 'Load' gadget will bring up a file requester in
the center of the screen. For instructions on how to use
this, see "The file input-requester" above. From here you may
load a new phonebook. Remember to save the current phonebook
if any changes have been made. Entering "NComm.phone" will
load the phonebook that is normally loaded at startup.
8.2.6 Selecting the 'Save' gadget will bring up a file requester in
the center of the screen. For instructions on how to use
this, see "The file input-requester" above. From here you may
save the current phonebook. Enter the name "NComm.phone" if
you want the phonebook to be loaded at startup.
8.2.7 Selecting the 'Delete' gadget will delete the entries that are
currently selected.
8.2.8 Selecting the 'Sort' gadget will sort the phonebook. If a
entry has been selected, the function will only sort the
entries between this entry and down. If multiple entries have
been selected, the function will only sort the entries between
the top and lower entry.
This can be handy if you are using hot keys to dial numbers,
and don't want the upper entries mixed with entries that are
lower on the list, or if you prefer using the DIAL menu for
dialling entries and don't want entry 45 and down to be mixed
with the upper entries.
8.2.9 Selecting the 'Print' gadget will print the phonebook. Enter
the name of the file in the righthand text gadget, or use
"PRT:" if you want output sent to the printer. If no entries
are selected, the whole phonebook will be printed. Else, only
the entries selected will be printed.
8.3 Dial #
This requester will dial a number which is not listed in the
phonebook. If redial has been turned on, the program will try
reaching the number until connection has been established.
This function can be used together with the dial queue.
8.4 Hang up
Selecting this entry will send the HANGUP command string to
the modem.
8.5 Redial
By configuring this option, NComm will try over and over again
when a board you are calling is busy.
8.6 Modem setup
Within this requester you may configure the things that are
sent and received by the modem, and how long NComm should wait
before redialling. Simply click in the text gadgets to edit
them. The setup strings can contain the control characters
listed under the explanation of 'macrokeys'.
8.6.1 The 'initialization string' will be sent to the modem soon
after NComm opens the serial device and before keyboard input
is accepted. It can be left blank, but remember that NComm
requires 'echo' from the modem, so it can be clever to
configure this here. This can be accomplished by the 'AT E1'
command if your modem is Hayes compatible.
You must also set your modem to detect the BUSY signal if it
has got such a feature. If you have problems configuring your
modem, the 'AT &F\n' line will load the factory configuration
on Hayes compatibles. This configuration is usually accepted
by NComm.
8.6.2 The 'exit string' is sent just before the serial device is
closed, when exiting NComm. It is normally left blank.
8.6.3 'Dial prefix' is the command to be inserted before the
phonenumber. For Hayestype modems, this should be ATDT (or
ATDP for pulse dial).
8.6.4 'Dial suffix' is the string to be added after the phonenumber.
For Hayestype modems, this should be '\n', which will send a
carriage return.
8.6.5 'Hang-up string' is the string to be sent when you choose the
Hangup function. For Hayestype modems, this should be
'\w\w+++\w\w\w\wATH\n' (Wait 1 sec +++ Wait 2 sec ATH CR).
8.6.6 The 'disconnect string' is the string sent from the modem when
a call has ended. For Hayestype modems, this should be 'NO
CARRIER'.
8.6.7 The 'connect string' is the string sent from the modem when
you get connected to a board. For Hayestype modems, this
string should be 'CONNECT'.
8.6.8 The 'busy string' is the string sent from the modem when the
phone is busy. For Hayestype modems this string should be
'BUSY', but if your modem is having problems detecting the
busy signal, enter this as 'NO CARRIER'.
8.6.9 In the delay box you may specify how many seconds NComm should
wait before redialling. This delay is normally set to '3',
but enter this as '0' if you have used 'NO CARRIER' as the
BUSY string.
8.6.10 Auto-speed is a feature that normally should be turned on.
When connected, NComm will look for the number specified right
after the 'CONNECT' message, and will switch to this speed.
This feature should be turned off if you have set a constant
speed between the modem and the machine, or if you are certain
that the hostmodem supports the speed that you are calling at.
I.e, turn auto-speed off if you are using a modem that has
been set up for use with locked baud rates (speed buffering).
To make this feature work, it is important that you have told
your modem to report the baudrate sent after the 'CONNECT'
message. This is done, again on Hayes, with the command 'AT V1
X2'.
8.6.11 DTR-hangup will cause a drop of the DTR signal for a few
seconds when the hangup function is selected. This function is
meant to be used with dumb modems (modems that do not have
some sort of a command language).
8.6.12 Pressing the 'OK' gadget will accept the edit, 'Cancel' will
leave everything unchanged.
8.7 Edit window
-----------
The edit window contains six text input boxes and eight
gadgets.
8.7.1 In the text input box marked 'Name', enter the name of the
board.
The name can be up to 40 characters long, however, only the
first 17 characters will be displayed in the dial menu and
window, and in the logfile. You can not leave this empty.
8.7.2 In the text input box marked 'Phone #', enter the phonenumber
to the current board. The phonenumber can be up to 60 digits
long. If a board has multiple numbers, enter them separated
by the '|' character, for example "416588|410403". Only the
first 17 characters will be displayed in the dial window, and
in the logfile. This field can not be omitted.
8.7.3 In the text input box marked 'Comment', enter an optional
comment, like when the board is open, what the main purpose
with the board is, if MNP is available or which speeds are
available. The comment can be 40 characters long.
8.7.4 In the text input box marked 'Config', you may specify the
name of an optional configuration file. The filename is
relative to the current directory. It will be loaded just
after dialling. The colors, screen mode and menu settings
will be changed back to the way they were when the
configuration file was saved. The phonebook settings have
higher priority than the settings found in the configuration
file.
8.7.5 In the text input box marked 'Macros', you may specify the
name of an optional macrokeys file. The filename is relative
to the current directory. It will be loaded just after
dialling.
8.7.6 In the text input box marked 'Script', you may specify the
name of an optional scriptfile. The filename is relative to
the current directory. It will be loaded and executed just
after dialling, which means that the scriptfile should not
contain the 'dial' command as the first entry.
8.7.7 In the text input box marked 'Password', you may specify the
name of an optional password. This can be handy if you prefer
only using one scriptfile for multiple boards. The scriptfile
can then contain a 'SEND "\p\n"' command line that sends the
password configured for the current board. The password can
also be sent by configuring '\p\n' on one of the macrokeys.
Pressing 'return' in one of the text input boxes will bring
the cursor to the text input box below the current box. The
cursor will be brought to the top if 'return' is pressed in
the bottom box.
8.7.8 Pressing the gadget marked 'Baud rate' will multiply the board
rate which is to be used for the board by two. However, since
NComm only supports board rates up to 38400 baud, the baud
rate will revert to 300 baud when this baudrate is present.
8.7.9 Pressing the gadget marked 'Data length' will switch between 7
and 8 bits data length. This data length will be used when
NComm dials the board.
8.7.10 Pressing the gadget marked 'Parity' will switch between Even,
Odd and None parity. This parity will be used when NComm
dials the board.
8.7.11 Pressing the gadget marked 'Stop bits' will switch between 1
and 2 stop bits. This number of stop bits will be used when
NComm dials the board.
8.7.12 Pressing the gadget marked 'Duplex mode' will switch between
Full and Half duplex. This duplex mode will be used when
connection is established.
8.7.13 Pressing the gadget marked 'Character set' will switch between
IBN, IBP, US7, UK7, GE7, FR7, SP7, IT7, DE7, NO7, SF7, ISO and
IBM translation. If the IBM or IBN character set has been
chosen, a special IBM graphics font will be used. ISO should
be used for Amiga boards only. The other character sets
should be used on machines only having a 7-bit character set
available. By watching the first two letters in the
translation name, you may easily find out which one is to be
used for your country. This character set will be used when
connection is established.
8.7.14 The 'Swap Del/BS' option will (when turned on) swap the Delete
and Backspace key as soon as you connect to this board.
8.7.15 Pressing the gadget marked 'Xfer protocol' lets you choose the
protocol for use with this board. Available protocols are
Xmodem, Ymodem, Ymodem-Batch, Ymodem-G, Zmodem, Kermit and
"External XPR" (as configured in the configuration file).
CHAPTER 9: INFORMATION ABOUT DIAL MENU
Use this menu for fast dialling of entries in the phonebook.
Simply choose the board you would like to dial from the menu.
Choosing a entry will bring up a small window telling you which
board you are calling. From here you may add more entries from
the menu, and set up a dial queue. The window will at all times
tell you which board is the next to dial.
If a number is busy, the program will continue with the next
board on the list. If redial has been turned on, NComm will
start over again if no connection has been established with any
of the boards in the queue. It will not stop until a connection
has been established.
NComm will abort the dialling if it receives any text from the
modem during the redial delay.
Abort the dialling by pressing the ESC key or closing the window
by clicking in the upper lefthand closegadget. To remove the
current entry, press the DEL key. Press the SPACE key if you
would like to go on with the next entry. You may also click
within the window gadgets.
CHAPTER 10: HOT KEYS AVAILABLE
Are you fed up with menus and mice and want to use something
quicker instead? Look no further - NComm offers hot keys for
most important functions.
Hot Key Function
------- --------
Right Amiga A About NComm
Right Amiga B Sends a 250ms break signal
Right Amiga D Download
Right Amiga E Enter phonebook
Right Amiga F Execute script file on/off
Right Amiga G Palette
Right Amiga H Hang up phone
Right Amiga I Toggle interlace
Right Amiga J Start/end ASCII Capture
Right Amiga K Split screen
Right Amiga L Load configuration
Right Amiga M Macrokeys
Right Amiga N Dial number
Right Amiga O Modem set-up
Right Amiga P Printer on/off
Right Amiga Q Quit NComm
Right Amiga R Reset
Right Amiga S Start/end ASCII Send
Right Amiga T Toggle title bar
Right Amiga U Upload
Right Amiga W Save configuration
Right Amiga Y Message upload
Right Amiga Z New Cli
Right Amiga ` View scrollback
Right Amiga ! Save scrollback
Right Amiga # (# is one of the keys 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0)
This sequence will dial one of the first
10 entries in the phone directory.
HELP key Status
The CONTINUE and APPEND options can be answered with the LEFT
AMIGA V key. The CANCEL and DELETE options can be answered with
the LEFT AMIGA B key. You can of course click the left mouse
button over these selections as well.