Black Box 4/BlackBox.cdr/dosutils/xdosman.arj/CHAPT12.DOC

Text File | 1991-11-28 | 102.1 KB | 2,136 lines

                                  Chapter 12.



                           The Communications Program

     Introduction

          X-COM is a general data communications software package which
          allows one computer to communicate with another via modem. With
          data communications becoming a popular field among personal
          computer (PC) users, X-COM was designed to offer powerful
          functions, yet retain its simplicity, allowing it to operate on
          all PC computers and modems. X-DOS is the only operating system
          to offer a built-in, full function communications program and you
          will not need to use any additional software to carry out all
          your data communications operations.
          X-COM supports the full Hayes AT Command Set, and can be used
          with any Hayes compatible modem, which includes most modems on
          the market for PC users today.

          X-COM contains a complete range of features, including terminal
          emulation to emulate popular terminals, automatic dialing, file
          transfer capabilities (send and receive), and the ability to
          setup your modem, using the software. X-COM includes a
          comprehensive, context sensitive on-line HELP function. The
          design principle of X-COM was to make it capable of doing
          everything you need it to do, in the simplest possible way. So,
          even if you are a beginner to computerized telecommunications,
          just using the program will allow you to become very proficient.
          If you are not a beginner, you will probably be surprised by the
          range of features offered.

     Activating X-COM

          X-COM can be activated either from the command line at the X-DOS
          prompt by entering the command :

                                     X-COM

          or from the X-DOS SHELL from the utility menu of the file section
          by selecting the COMMUNICATION PROGRAM item. Once X-COM is
          activated, it will initialise the necessary communication ports
          which make take a few seconds and enter the Terminal mode.

     Basic Setup

          In order for everything to function correctly with X-COM, it is
          crucial that the settings for your modem and X-COM are correct.
          To make these settings, first load X-COM.

          Call up the X-COM Menu with the F10 key or click with the mouse




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          and use the <> arrow key, or use a mouse if you have one, to move
          the highlight bar down to the fourth item from the bottom, Basic
          Setup, and press <>. Alternatively, rather than moving the
          highlight bar, you could type the Quick key for Basic Setup which
          is <Alt>B.

          You will notice that there is a menu with a highlight bar on the
          left of the screen entitled Basic Setup, and a window on the
          right entitled Setup. You will use the lefthand Setup window to
          make your choices and these choices will then be displayed in the
          Setup window. The settings shown in the Basic Setup menu when you
          first enter this option are the settings presently being used.

          You may have to change some of them, and you may leave others as
          they are. The default settings are as detailed below.

          COM Port
          Take a look at the first item which says COM Port. A COM port is
          like a channel selector on your T.V. set. It is used by a device
          which uses a serial interface. Modems and mice are common devices
          using a serial interface. Without getting into too much detail
          the COM port defines where in the computer a given device or add-
          on card that uses a serial interface is to be found. Suppose you
          have a mouse and a modem installed in your computer, both of
          which use a serial interface. When you want X-COM to communicate
          with your modem, X-COM may accidentally communicate with your
          mouse, since this also uses a serial interface and X-COM cannot
          recognize different kinds of devices.

          To avoid this problem, different devices have to be assigned to
          different ports. For example, you have to tell your software that
          your mouse is using COM 1 and your modem is using COM 2. That way
          the software will know where to look for a particular device.
          This is further complicated by the fact that most modems have a
          hardware switch to define the modem as COM 1 or COM 2. To
          configure the COM port you must know which ports are used by
          which devices in your computer.

          If you have a mouse, you must check whether it is using COM 1 or
          COM 2. You can check this in the software you use with your mouse
          since, to use the mouse with any software, you must have defined
          the COM port. If you have assigned the mouse to the COM 1 port
          and you then wish to install a modem, you must configure it to
          use the COM 2 port.
          This may involve setting a dip switch on the modem. If you have
          configured your modem to use the COM 2 port you must then tell X-
          COM to look for the modem on the COM 2 port. To do this, first
          make sure that the highlight bar is over the first item in the
          Basic Setup menu, COM Port, and press <>.

          In the Enter COM Port menu you can then use the <> and <> arrow
          keys, or your mouse to move the highlight bar over your desired




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          selection. This way you can select any one of four COM ports.
          Thus, to select COM 2, position the highlight bar over COM 2 and
          hit <>. As soon as you do this, the Enter COM port menu will
          disappear and COM 2 will appear next to the COM Port setting in
          the Setup window.

          Connection Mode
          The next item in the Basic Setup menu is the COnnection Mode. You
          can see in the Setup window that the default is shown as Modem.
          To see what other choices are available, highlight the COnnection
          Mode item in the Basic Setup menu and press <>.

          Modem Connection
          You can see that you have two choices, Modem Connection and
          Direct Connection. If you are going to use your modem to
          communicate with other modems, then the default setting of "Modem
          Connection" should be retained. This will probably be the choice
          in most cases.

          Direct Connection
          The Direct Connection mode allows you to connect your computer
          directly with another computer, using a null-modem cable and no
          modem. In most cases this kind of connection will be to a
          mainframe computer or another PC. This kind of connection will
          allow you to send and receive data directly between two
          computers.

          To quit the Connection Mode menu without making any changes,
          press <Esc> and you will be returned to the Basic Setup menu. In
          this case the default setting of Modem in the Setup window will
          not be altered. If you do wish to select Direct Connection,
          highlight this entry and press <Enter>. Direct Connection will
          appear in the Setup window next to the Connection Mode item.

          Dial Mode
          The next item in the Basic Setup menu is the Dial Mode. Highlight
          this entry and press <Enter> to see your choices.

          You have two choices, Touch Tone dialing (i.e. digital) and Pulse
          dialing. The option you select will depend on the kind of
          telephone system installed in your area.

          Touch Tone or Pulse Dialing?
          To use Touch Tone Dial, the telephone network in your area must
          use a newer digital system. If the older pulse system is still
          employed, you will have to choose the Pulse Dial option.
          Generally speaking, areas that support touch tone dialing also
          support pulse dialing, but areas that support pulse dialing do
          not necessarily support touch tone dialing. Also note that, even
          though you may have a push button telephone, this does not
          necessarily mean that your area supports touch tone dialing.





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          To check, dial a number on your push button telephone. If a
          connection is made immediately after you have finished keying in
          the phone number, your telephone network must be digital. If,
          after keying in a number, there is a delay and a faint sound of
          mechanical clicking over the telephone, then your network must
          still be of the pulse dialing variety.

          If you are not sure which system you should use, try dialing a
          number with both modes and see which way works best. Within X-COM
          it is very easy to change any of the settings and any changes
          made, can be modified later. If you want to retain the default as
          Touch Tone Dial, press <Enter> to return to the Basic Setup menu.
          If you wish to select Pulse Dial, highlight this entry and hit
          <Enter>. The change will be registered in the Setup window.

     Modem Init

          Modem init is short for Modem Initialization. Highlight this item
          and hit <Enter>.

          You are asked to enter a modem initialization string, though you
          may have no idea what that is. You may remember that when you
          loaded X-COM, a message saying "INTIALIZING MODEM" appeared on
          your screen.
          That message is related to what you type in this Entry Box. To
          initialize means to prepare, or to configure. You may enter some
          commands in this window so, whenever you load X-COM, these
          commands will be automatically sent to your modem to configure
          it. That way you can be sure that, as soon as you have loaded X-
          COM, your modem is set up the way you want it and you do not have
          to enter the same commands every time you start using X-COM.

          As we mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, to send
          commands to a modem, you have to use the Hayes Command Set. The
          kind of commands you might wish to enter in the initialization
          string could be a command to define how many times you want your
          modem to ring before it "answers" an incoming call; and/or how
          many seconds you want your modem to try ringing a number before
          it hangs up; and/or how long your modem should wait for a dial
          tone on the telephone line before attempting to dial a number,
          etc.

          These settings may not mean much to you now, but they will
          probably come in very useful when you are more familiar with
          telecommunications and wish to expand your capabilities. Note
          that whatever setting you enter here can be altered at any time.

          If you are familiar with the Hayes Command Set, you can enter a
          command, or a string of several commands, in this Entry Box. For
          instance, if you wish to configure your modem to automatically
          answer an incoming call after two rings, just type in the command
          ATS0=2 and press <Enter>. This command will be entered in the




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          Setup window. It is perfectly alright to leave this entry blank
          if you are not sure what commands to enter. To return to the
          Basic Setup menu, press <Esc>.

          Default Set
          Highlight this item and press <Enter>. Unless you have been
          galloping ahead of us and entering data by yourself in the
          dialing directory, a message will appear saying there are no
          default set. The default set draws data from the Phonebook, but
          since you have not yet entered anything in the Phonebook, there
          is no default set. In X-COM a Set consists of a name, a telephone
          number, and all the relevant communications settings for that
          telephone number. If you specify a default Set, this means that
          whatever settings you have made in that particular Set, including
          bps rate, stop bit, echo, emulation etc., will automatically be
          loaded each time you load X-COM. Thus, you can create a Set with
          the parameters you use most of the time and then these settings
          will be automatically loaded when X-COM is loaded.
          This way you will avoid having to reset the parameters of X-COM
          each time you use it. This will become much clearer when you have
          made some entries in the telephone directory, so further
          information about this particular entry is contained in the
          section dealing with the configuration of the dialing directory.
          For the moment you can just press <Enter> to leave this entry
          blank and return to the Basic Setup menu.

          Greetings String
          Highlight the Greetings String item in the menu and press
          <Enter>. The Greetings String is the greeting message that will
          appear on the screen of any remote computer which connects to
          your computer. For instance, suppose you enter "WELCOME TO X-COM"
          in the Greetings String Entry Box. Then, if your friend down the
          street connects to your computer by modem, as soon as a
          connection is made, the message "WELCOME TO X-COM" will appear on
          his screen. Any message up to 28 characters long can be entered
          here. Once you have typed in your desired message, press <Enter>
          and your message will appear in the Setup window. If you do not
          wish to enter any greetings string press <Esc> to return to the
          Basic Setup menu.

          Host Password
          Highlight this entry in the Basic Setup menu and press <Enter>.
          The Host Password is the password that is required to be entered
          by another user connecting to your computer when your computer is
          in the Host mode. Thus, suppose you enter the password COMPUTER.
          If someone calls up your computer over a modem, wishing to copy a
          file from your computer to his computer, he will first have to
          enter the password COMPUTER before he will be granted access to
          any data.

          If you do not enter a password, then it will not be necessary for
          another user, calling up your computer, to enter a password




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          before having access to your files. If you do not wish to enter a
          password, hit <Esc> to return to the Basic Setup menu. If you
          wish to enter a password, type any combination of up to 10
          characters and hit <Enter>. The password you have selected will
          appear in the Setup window. We suggest you enter a password now,
          even if you are not sure what the Host mode is. When you have
          read the section detailing the Host mode, you will understand the
          purpose of this password.

          Saving Settings
          The new settings you have made in the Basic Setup menu are
          automatically recorded by X-COM when you press <Esc> to exit the
          Basic Setup menu. The Basic Setup menu and the Setup window will
          disappear and you will be returned to the X-COM Menu. Please
          note, that having changed the settings, you may call up the Basic
          Setup menu at any time and alter your choices. Whatever settings
          you have entered will automatically be loaded when X-COM is
          loading, so you will not have to repeat the operations detailed
          here until you decide to make changes.

     Edit Phonebook

          Having finished configuring your system and X-COM with the Basic
          Setup functions, you can now go on to making some entries in the
          X-COM Phonebook. Let's move one item up in the X-COM Menu to the
          item marked Edit Phonebook.

          With the Edit Phonebook item highlighted press <Enter> and the
          Edit Phonebook menu will appear on the left of your screen and on
          the right, a window showing the Current Phonebook Set. The
          Phonebook allows you to input more than just a phone number and a
          name. Along with each phone number you can also specify all the
          important data transmission parameters for each individual number
          such as bps rate, number of data bits, emulation, etc.

          This means that, in the future when you want to call a number,
          you can simply select the name of the person or system you want
          to call and X-COM will dial that number. All the communication
          parameters related to that particular number will automatically
          be loaded as soon as you select the number. Once you have made
          your settings, you should never have to change them.

          You will notice that when you first call up the Edit Phonebook
          function the Current Phonebook Set window has a blank next to the
          Name of Set and Telephone entries and that the other settings are
          TTY, 1200bps, None, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, Full Duplex, CR. The
          Init Sequence entry is also blank. The reason we have filled in
          these settings is because, in the vast majority of cases, these
          are the settings you can use for normal transmission. If you are
          going to use your modem to call into mainframe computers and
          certain databases you may need to alter some of these settings.
          If you are in doubt as to what settings to use, the default




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          settings displayed here are a good place to start. Now, let's
          look at each of the settings in more detail.

          Phonebook Directory
          If you select this item and press <Enter>, the message No set
          name available will appear. This is because you have not yet
          entered any numbers in your Phonebook, so your Phonebook cannot
          be displayed. We will come back to this later.

          Modify/Add Set
          Highlight this entry and hit <Enter>. An Entry Box will appear,
          asking you to Enter Set Name.

          A Set consists of a name, a telephone number and all the
          communication parameters related to that telephone number. The
          list of Set names you enter will be shown in your Phonebook so
          the Set name should be such that, when you see it in your
          Phonebook, you know what it means. For instance, if you want a
          Set in your Phonebook to enable you to call a database called
          NewsBBS, you could enter NEWSBBS as the Set name in the Entry
          Box. Then, when you see it in your Phonebook you will know what
          it is for. A Set name can consist of up to eight alphanumeric
          characters.

          Remove Set
          Skip this item for the present since you have not yet made any
          entries. This item is explained at the end of this section since
          you cannot use it until you have created some Sets in the
          Phonebook.

          Telephone
          Select this item and enter the telephone number corresponding to
          the name you have just given your Set. For instance, in the
          example above, if the number for the NewsBBS database was 123-
          4567 then this will be the number you should enter.

          This number may be up to 26 digits long and can include
          international codes, area codes and commas which can be used to
          pause dialing operations. Details of why you might want to insert
          commas in a telephone number are given in the section entitled
          Dialing a Number with X-COM. Note that you may also include
          dashes (-) and spaces for the sake of clarity and these will be
          skipped over by X-COM when the number is dialed. Having entered
          the number press <Enter>.

          Emulation
          Select this item and press <Enter>. The Emulation window
          containing six entries will appear.

          What Is Emulation And Why do you Need to Use It?
          Transmission of data with computers used to be restricted to
          professional engineers, who mainly operated with mainframe and




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          mini computers. It is only in recent years, with the advent of
          the PC, that this field has become opened up to the public. The
          terminals of mainframes and minicomputers use different codes to
          perform certain display tasks, with each manufacturer having its
          own proprietary display codes.

          A PC can therefore not be used to display data from a mainframe,
          unless the PC can behave like a terminal designed specifically
          for that mainframe. That is where emulation programs come in. An
          emulation program enables a PC to "pretend" it is a terminal of a
          given computer. Thus, if you select the VT100 emulation, your PC
          will emulate a VT100 terminal when it is displaying data. That
          allows your PC to communicate with any minicomputer which
          supports VT-100 terminals.

          In summary, the emulation function does the following two things:

          1. It produces the screen display you would expect if you were
             using the terminal being emulated.


          2. It allows you to use the keyboard commands employed by the
             terminal being emulated.

          Each kind of emulation offered by X-COM is detailed individually
          below:

          TTY
          This is the most basic emulation program and can be used in most
          cases to communicate with other PC's installed with a modem. If
          in doubt of which emulation to use, you should always try this
          emulation first.

          VT-52
          The VT52 is a popular terminal produced by Digital Equipment
          Corporation (DEC). Thus, this emulation should be used when
          communicating with VT52 compatible systems.

          VT-100
          This is another commonly used terminal, also produced by Digital
          Equipment Corporation. It may be necessary to use this emulation
          to log into some BBS's (Bulletin Board Systems).

          ANSI-BBS
          This is a commonly used emulation program by BBS's all over the
          world. The X-COM ANSI implementation supports the full range of
          ANSI features including support for colors. If you use X-COM to
          access a BBS you should normally use this emulation type.

          Chat Mode
          This emulation enables you to "talk" and exchange messages with
          another user on a remote computer. The data received and




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          transmitted appears in two different windows, making it easier to
          read. The upper window is entitled REMOTE and will contain the
          messages being sent from the remote computer. The lower window is
          entitled LOCAL and will display the messages that you enter, and
          which are sent to the remote computer. Under this emulation, once
          you are connected to a remote computer, you can type in a message
          on your keyboard and it will appear directly on the monitor of
          the computer, with which you are connected. It will also appear
          on your monitor as you type it and the remote user may then
          likewise type in a message on his keyboard which will appear
          directly on your monitor. This allows you to "chat" with a remote
          operator using your computer monitors.

          Host Mode
          The HOST MODE allows a remote user to access files on your
          computer, and carry out file transfer operations on those files.
          The host mode contains special features, and is explained
          separately later in this chapter.

          Selecting an Emulation
          The above emulation programs will allow you to communicate with
          virtually all computer systems. If you are not sure which
          emulation to use, check the specifications of the remote
          computer. As noted before, for most normal PC telecommunications
          the TTY emulation can be used. If you wish to retain the default
          TTY setting, press <Esc> to return to the Edit Phonebook menu,
          otherwise select a new option and press <Enter>.

          Speed
          Select the Speed item to specify the bps rate to be used for data
          transmission. The speed you select will depend on the
          specification of your modem. X-COM offers you settings from 110
          bps to 19200 bps. If you have a 1200 bps modem then the default
          setting of 1200 should be retained. If you have a 2400 bps modem
          you can alter the speed to 2400.

          Please note, however, that the speed you select should also
          depend on the capabilities of the modem with which you wish to
          communicate. Even though you have a 2400 bps modem it is no use
          sending data at 2400 bps to a modem which supports a maximum
          speed of 1200 bps. If you do, there will certainly be an error in
          the transmission of the data. Select the highest bps rate
          supported by both your modem and the remote modem. If you are
          using a direct connection with a null-modem cable, you should use
          19200 bps for maximum speed.

          Parity
          This will depend on the settings of the remote computer with
          which you are communicating. In most cases you can retain the
          default value.

          Data Bits




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          In most cases either seven or eight data bits are used. Again you
          are best advised to retain the default value unless you know that
          another setting is required by the computer to which you will be
          connected.

          Stop Bits
          Retain the default value of one stop bit unless you are sure that
          two stop bits are required. This also depends on the settings of
          the computer, to which you will be connected.

          Duplex Mode
          The duplex mode you choose will depend on the settings of the
          remote computer. Select either full or half duplex mode.

          CR Translation
          This item means Carriage Return Translation. Highlight this item
          and hit <Enter>. You will see that you have a choice between
          CR/LF (Carriage Return/Line Feed) and CR (Carriage Return). This
          setting will also affect the way in which data is displayed on
          your screen. Whichever option you choose should be synchronized
          with the computer you intend to connect to. If you select CR then
          the remote computer should select CR/LF. If you select CR/LF then
          the remote computer should select CR.

          The reason is, if a remote computer is transmitting data to your
          screen and you both have set a CR setting, you will have no Line
          Feed. Thus, when data is transmitted and the end of the line is
          reached, the next batch of data will be displayed on top of the
          first line. This is because there is no Line Feed instruction to
          tell the computer that the data should be printed on the next
          line.

          Similarly, if your computer and the remote computer are both
          configured with the CR/LF setting then, upon reaching the end of
          a line of data, the remote computer will be instructed to jump
          down one line. Your computer will then tell it to jump down one
          line again, so the result will be double spaced text appearing on
          your screen. Ideally you should check with the remote operator to
          ensure you have complementary settings, otherwise you will have
          to adjust this setting through trial and error.

          Init Sequence
          The Initialization sequence in the Edit Phonebook menu is similar
          to the initialization string in the Basic Setup menu. The Init
          Sequence here is used to set up parameters related to single
          phonebook entries. The phonebook initialization sequence can
          contain any Hayes commands which will be activated when the Set,
          in which they are written, is used to dial a number.

          Macro File
          Macro Files are used to automate repetitive tasks you find
          yourself doing again and again. Connecting to a BBS system is an




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          example of a repetitive task. You have to go through the same
          procedure every time. Use a Macro file to simplify your logon
          procedures. Details of what Macro files are and how to use them
          are given later in this chapter.
          Notes on Making Phonebook Sets

          Try entering a few numbers into your Phonebook. To do this, first
          enter the name and then the telephone number using the Edit
          Phonebook menu. The name and number you enter will appear in the
          Phonebook window. For each Set you enter, check whether you
          should alter the communication parameters. When you have
          completed a Phonebook Set, it is not necessary to save it as X-
          COM automatically stores your Sets as you type them in. To type
          in another Set just go back to the Modify/Add Set item and type
          in a new name.

          Once you have typed in a new Set name, all other entries in the
          Phonebook window will return to the default values. As soon as
          you enter a Set it is saved. To check that each Set has been
          saved in the Phonebook, go back to the first item in the Edit
          Phonebook menu, Phonebook Directory. If you call this function up
          now, the Phonebook Directory will appear on the left side of the
          screen.

          The name of each Phonebook Set you have entered will be shown.
          Scroll through the set names you have entered and you will see
          that the settings shown in the Current Phonebook Set window will
          change, according to the settings you have made for each Set
          name. If you find you have made an error in a Set, go to the
          Modify/Add Set menu and enter the name of the set you wish to
          modify. Make the necessary changes, using the Edit Phonebook
          menu, and then check the result again using the Phonebook
          Directory.

          Remove Set
          If, after having made some entries in your Phonebook, you decide
          that you wish to delete a Set, highlight this option. A list of
          Set names will appear on your screen, just as in the Phonebook
          Directory option.
          Move the highlight bar over the Set you wish to delete and press
          <Enter> and that Set will be removed from the Phonebook. To check
          that it really has been deleted, go back to the Phonebook
          Directory function and check the contents of the Phonebook. You
          will see that the Set you have just deleted is no longer there.
          Note that the Remove Set function can only be used to remove a
          whole Set, not one single parameter within a Set. To change
          single items within a given Set, use the Modify/Add Set menu.

     Dialing and Making a Connection with X-COM

          If you have never used your computer to connect with remote
          computers over the telephone line before, you are probably




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          unfamiliar with the basic dialing procedures. We give you a short
          guide here to the general principles involved in using modems to
          dial telephone numbers, and to what you can expect when you make
          a connection.

          In order to send and receive data successfully, you must do
          things in the right order. It does not matter whether you dial a
          number with the Phonebook, with the Number to Dial function, or
          by using the Hayes Command Set. The basic order of operations
          will always be the same.

          If you wish to send data you should:
          1. Use X-COM to dial the correct telephone number.

          2. Wait for a connection, as shown by the result code on your
             screen (see later in this section for details on result
             codes).

          3. Send (upload) the desired data.

          4. Disconnect.

          If you wish to receive data you should:
          1. Use X-COM to dial the correct telephone number.

          2. Wait for a connection.

          3. Receive (download) the desired data.

          4. Disconnect.

          Please note that these instructions only give the basic steps
          involved. In between each of these steps, you may have to perform
          other operations, such as entering a file name, selecting a file
          transfer protocol etc. However, the basic order of these main
          operations will always apply. Exactly what happens when you
          connect to a remote computer will depend on the nature of that
          remote computer and the kind of communications software used by
          the remote computer. Remember that you must logoff (disconnect)
          when you have completed operations, otherwise your modem will
          stay online waiting for a command, which could result in a rather
          large phone bill!

          Result Codes
          A Result Code, as its name implies, tells you the result of the
          call you have just made. For instance, if you dial a number which
          is busy, X-COM will send the result code Line is busy. If there
          is no modem, or nobody, to answer the number you called, after a
          certain period of time the modem will send the result code No
          Carrier Detected. If you dial one of your friends' number to log
          onto his computer, your screen will show Communication
          established if a connection is made.




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          When you use the X-COM dialing facilities, the result codes
          issued by X-COM may differ from those specified in your modem
          manual because X-COM translates result codes into a special
          format. Standard result codes and the X-COM equivalents are given
          on the following page:

              Standard Result Codes             X-COM Equivalents
                NO CARRIER                      No Carrier Detected
                CONNECT                         Communication Established
                NO DIALTONE                     No Dial Tone Detected
                BUSY                            Line is Busy
                NO ANSWER                       No Answer

          If you dial with the Hayes commands at the Terminal Screen, and
          do not use the X-COM menus, the result codes you see will be in
          the standard format.

          Using the Phonebook to Dial a Number
          In the X-COM menu select the first entry, Phonebook, and press
          <Enter>. On the left of the screen is the Dial from Phonebook
          menu which contains a list of the Set names you entered when you
          configured the Phonebook. Remember that each Set name refers to a
          particular telephone number with a matching set of communications
          parameters for that number. On the right is the Current Phonebook
          Set window.

          When you select the Phonebook, the name of the first Set you
          entered will be highlighted. The settings shown in the Current
          Phonebook Set window will correspond to that of the first Set
          name. With the <UP> and <DOWN> arrow keys or with your mouse,
          move the highlight bar up and down in the Phonebook. You will see
          that, as you highlight each Set, the settings which you defined
          for that Set, will appear in the Current Phonebook Set window.

          So how do you go about dialing a number? Simple! Highlight the
          name of the Set which you wish to dial and press <Enter>. That is
          all you have to do. As you can see from the message on your
          screen, the number corresponding to the Set which you have
          selected is being dialed. If you have entered an Initialization
          String in the Set being dialed, X-COM will first prompt you with
          a message Initializing Modem before displaying the Modem is
          Dialing message. When a Phonebook Set is dialed, X-COM
          automatically configures itself according to the settings you
          specified for that Set, as shown in the Current Phonebook Set
          window. How do you know X-COM has done this?

          Just take a look at the Status Line at the bottom of your screen.
          You will see that the name of the Set you are dialing has
          appeared at the far left, along with all of the other parameters,
          including; Emulation, bps rate, number of Data Bits etc. The
          items on the Status Line now reflect those of the Set you are




                                     12-13





          dialing.

          Thus, you can see that once you have entered a Set into the
          Phonebook, all you have to do to dial it is call up the Phonebook
          menu, select the desired Set name and press <Enter>. X-COM will
          do everything else for you!

     Automatic Redialing

          If X-COM displays the message Line is Busy on your screen, you
          will probably want to keep trying until you get through. X-COM
          features an automatic dial facility, so you do not actually need
          to do anything.
          When X-COM encounters a busy line, it will automatically redial
          the number five times at 20 second intervals. If you wish to exit
          from this redial sequence, press <Esc>. If no connection is made
          after dialing five times, the call will be aborted. This feature
          works when you dial with the Phonebook and the Number to Dial
          function, which is detailed later in this chapter.

          If the No Carrier Detected message appears, you will
          automatically be returned to the Terminal Mode. If you want to
          try the number again you will have to call up the X-COM Menu
          again and repeat the dialing operation.

     Aborting a Call

          If you decide to abort a call while the modem is dialing, press
          <Esc>. The Phonebook will immediately disappear from the screen
          and you will be returned to the Terminal Screen.

     Making Connection

          When a connection is made with a remote computer, a result code
          will be displayed to show that you are connected (see the
          previous section on Result Codes). Then the Phonebook will
          disappear from your screen and you will be returned to the
          Terminal Mode, i.e. your screen will be blank except for the
          Status Line. What happens next will depend on the nature of the
          computer, with which you are connected.

     Disconnecting

          After you have dialed a number and made a connection, the next
          step is often to send or receive a file. This is explained in the
          next section entitled Sending and Receiving Files. Before you go
          to that section, however, we suggest you first learn how to
          disconnect your modem, which means terminating the connection. If
          you want to abort a connection, press the <F10> function key to
          call up the X-COM Menu. Move the highlight bar down over the item
          Disconnect and press <Enter>. A window will appear in the center
          of your screen with the message Please Wait. Disconnecting Line.




                                     12-14





          After a few seconds, you will be returned to the Terminal Screen,
          and the line should be disconnected. The <Alt> H key command and
          <Alt> D can also be used to disconnect and this can be entered
          directly from the Terminal Screen without calling up the X-COM
          Menu.

     Using the Number to Dial Item

          Sometimes you may wish to dial a number that is not in your
          Phonebook. Maybe you want to first test a number or maybe it is a
          number that you will rarely use, so you do not wish to enter it
          into your Phonebook. In this case you should select the second
          item in the X-COM Menu, Number to Dial.

          You are asked to enter the number, so type in the number from
          your keyboard. You may also enter commas in the number to cause a
          pause. This is especially useful if you are dialing through a
          switchboard, which often needs one digit followed by a delay
          before a dial tone is given. For example, suppose you have to
          dial "0" to get an outside line, before dialing the actual
          telephone number.

          When you dial 0 there is a delay of about two seconds before you
          get an outside line. So you should enter your number as:

                              0,[telephone number]

          This will result in the modem dialing a zero, and then waiting
          for two seconds before dialing the telephone number. If you want
          a longer delay, you can enter several commas. Please note that
          the length of the delay caused by entering a comma, will depend
          on the configuration of your modem. The default Hayes setting is
          two seconds but this setting may have been altered on your modem.
          The length of the pause can be altered with a Hayes command.

          For the sake of clarity you can also include dashes (-) in the
          number when you type it in. X-COM ignores the dashes when it
          dials the number. If you make an error when typing in the number,
          just use the <Backspace> key to delete unwanted digits. Or if you
          want to start all over again, press the <F7> function key to
          clear the Entry Box. You may also use the <Ins> (Insert) key to
          toggle between Insert and Overwrite mode and use the <LEFT> and
          <Right> arrow keys to move the cursor within the entry to make
          corrections in the middle of a number. Once you are satisfied
          that the number you have entered is correct, press <Enter>. The
          number you have entered will be dialed. To find out what to do
          then look at the next section on sending and receiving Files.

     Sending a File

          We are now going to assume you wish to send a file entitled
          LETTER1.DAT which is a letter you have written with your text




                                     12-15





          editor. For the purpose of this example it would be useful if you
          wrote a short data file with the X-DOS text editor and call it
          LETTER1.DAT. Refer to Chapter 9 in this manual for details on how
          to use ED.
          Having written a file, you now wish to send this file LETTER1.DAT
          to your friend who also has a PC installed with a modem. After
          having made a connection, you can send the file.

          To send a file, first press the <F10> function key to call up the
          X-COM Menu. It doesn't matter whether you are connected to
          another modem or not, you can always use the <F10> function key
          to call up the X-COM Menu. Calling up the menu will not cause you
          to be disconnected or affect the connection in any way. Also,
          remember that you can use the <Alt> keys to enter commands
          directly rather than calling up the X-COM Menu every time.

          Choosing a Send File Protocol
          Having called up the X-COM Menu, select the the third item, Send
          File. The entries in the Send File Protocols menu may not be
          familiar to you at this stage. Basically, the Send File Protocols
          menu contains a list of transmission protocols, any of which you
          can choose. A transmission protocol is the way in which data is
          sent. Data can be sent in one long stream, it can be sent in
          blocks of a certain number of bytes at a time, it can be sent and
          echoed back to your screen so you can see the data as it is being
          transmitted etc. etc.

          Each of the transmission protocols listed in the Send File
          Protocols menu sends data in a certain way. Whichever protocol
          you use, the end result will be the same, i.e. in our present
          example, the file LETTER1.DAT will be sent to your friend's
          computer. Using a different protocol simply means that the data
          is transmitted in a different way. So how do you know which one
          to select? A look at the features and advantages and
          disadvantages of each protocol are given later in this chapter.
          We suggest you skip that for now and accept our word for the
          moment that XMODEM would be a good choice.

          Select the third item in the File Sending Menu, which is XMODEM.
          You are told to Enter File Name to Send. In our present example
          we wish to send the file LETTER1.DAT, so type in this name. Then
          press <Enter>. Your friend will now have to access the Receive
          File menu on his computer and select XMODEM as the receiving
          protocol.

          This window is entitled XMODEM Transfer Status. It gives you
          details of the transmission currently in progress which in our
          example is the sending of the file LETTER1.DAT. Each item
          displayed in the XMODEM Transfer Status window is detailed below,
          going from top to bottom.

          Transmission Mode




                                     12-16





          Next to this entry Transmit will be displayed, since you are now
          transmitting a file not receiving one. When you are receiving,
          Receive will be displayed.

          File Name
          Next to this entry is the name of the file you are presently
          transmitting, which in this case is LETTER1.DAT.

          Packet number
          When XMODEM transmits data, it does so in "packets" of 128 bytes.
          That means it divides the data to be sent into packets of data of
          128 bytes and sends each packet until all the data has been
          transmitted. The packet number tells you which packet is
          presently being transmitted. When you first activate the XMODEM
          transfer function, this will read "1", since the first packet is
          ready to be sent. If you are sending a long file, the number
          shown next to Packet Number will count through 1, 2, 3, 4, .....
          until all the packets have been transmitted. The number of
          packets sent will depend on the total length of the file being
          sent. For example, if you send a file 5,120 bytes long, this will
          consist of 40 packets (5,120 divided by 128 = number of packets).
          Some other communication packages and BBS systems refer to a
          packet as a block.

          There is of course no need for you to make any calculation, as
          XMODEM will do this for you.

          Number of Errors
          Hopefully this item is blank. Errors refer to errors in the
          transmission of data. Errors may occur because of a fault in the
          telephone line or modem, or a fault in the file being sent.
          However, if an error occurs, this does not necessarily mean that
          your transmission has failed.

          If XMODEM sends a packet and an error occurs, it will notify you
          that one error has occured and it will automatically go back to
          the beginning of the packet and try to transmit it again. If the
          error was due to some temporary interference on the telephone
          line, chances are that the second attempt at transmission will be
          successful and XMODEM can then continue to the next packet. If
          the error is repeated, XMODEM will keep trying. Each time an
          error occurs, it will add one to the number of errors recorded.
          If you see that the number of errors is increasing and that the
          packet number being sent is not changing, then you will know that
          there is a fault in the system or the file, or the line is just
          too noisy to transmit data on at your current speed, and you
          should abort the transmision by pressing the <Esc> key. XMODEM
          will automatically abort the file transfer if it encounters ten
          consecutive errors.

          Type of XMODEM
          Either Checksum or CRC will be displayed next to this item.




                                     12-17





          Checksum and CRC are two methods of error correction. X-COM
          supports both methods and the correct method will automatically
          be selected according to the method used by the remote modem.

          Transmission Mode
          The message Wait Initialization is shown next to this item at
          first. That means that your modem is being initialized prior to
          the transmission taking place. While you are sending a file the
          message Transmission running should appear. If you were to abort
          the transmission of the file by pressing the <Esc> key, the
          message User Cancel will be shown. This item tells you the
          present status of the transmission.

          At the bottom of the window is the message Press any key to
          return to menu. So if you suddenly realize that you are sending
          the wrong file, or you for some reason want to abort the
          transmission, you can press the <Esc> key, and the transmission
          will be terminated.

          We are presently sending the file LETTER1.DAT. If transmission
          goes ahead without any problems, when all the data has been
          transmitted, the message at the bottom of the screen will change
          to Press any key to return to menu.

          To disconnect the line after a successful transmission of a file,
          use the Disconnect function in the X-COM Menu or use the <Alt> D
          command.

          Following is a brief introduction to the windows for each of the
          other transmission protocols. We suggest you go back to the X-COM
          Menu, select Send File, and then highlight each protocol in turn,
          to call up the relevant window. Note that in order to view some
          of the transmission protocol screens, you will have to enter a
          file name. It does not matter what file name you enter but it
          must be a real file, or the error message File Unknown will
          appear on your screen. We suggest that, for the purpose of
          experiment, you use the LETTER1.DAT file, or any other text file
          you have stored in your computer. Note that you do not have to be
          connected to another computer to view the protocol screens.

          ASCII
          Note that when you call up the ASCII Transfer Status window, even
          though you are not connected to a remote computer and even though
          you may not have connected your modem, the number of bytes shown
          will count up in units of 256. How can the file be sent when you
          have not even dialed a number? Well of course the file is not
          being sent anywhere, but the ASCII transmission portocol still
          counts through the file just as if it was sending it. This will
          in no way harm the file or your computer.

          ASCII ECHO
          The ASCII ECHO protocol works in exactly the same way as ASCII,




                                     12-18





          except that ASCII ECHO echoes everything it transmits to your
          screen too. Thus, when you use ASCII ECHO, no ASCII Transfer
          Status window will appear on your screen. Instead the text of the
          file you are transmitting will be written onto your screen. Only
          when the transmission is completed will the ASCII Transfer Status
          Window appear. It is exactly the same as for ASCII, and will show
          you the total number of bytes transmitted and the entry Transfer
          Status should read Transmission ended OK.

          YMODEM
          EXPLANATION OF YMODEM TRANSFER STATUS WINDOW
               YMODEM Mode              There are different versions of the
                                        YMODEM protocol. This entry tells
                                        you which version is
                                        currently being used.

               Transmission Mode        Same as XMODEM

               File Name                Same as XMODEM

               File Size (Bytes)        YMODEM counts the total number of
                                        bytes in a file before transmitting
                                        the file. This entry tells you the
                                        total number of bytes in the file
                                        you wish to transmit.

               File Number              Only applicable in YMODEM Batch
                                        (see below).

               Packet Number            Same as XMODEM

               Number of Errors         Same as XMODEM

               Current Status           Same as XMODEM

          YMODEM BATCH
          The file transfer protocol window for YMODEM Batch is the same as
          for YMODEM, as the basic transmission specifications are exactly
          the same. YMODEM Batch, however, is capable of multiple file
          transfers. This means that, when you enter the name of the file
          you wish to transmit, you can use wildcard characters such as '?'
          and '*'. If you entered *.TXT as the name of file to transmit,
          YMODEM Batch will send ALL files in the current directory with
          the extension .TXT. YMODEM Batch can also send packets of either
          128 bytes or 1024 bytes long.

               YMODEM Mode              This will read YMODEM Batch, to
                                        tell you that you are using this
                                        mode of YMODEM.

               Transmission Mode        Same as XMODEM





                                     12-19





               File Name                Same as XMODEM

               File Size (bytes)        Same as YMODEM above.

               File Number              YMODEM Batch is capable of multiple
                                        file transfers and this item tells
                                        you the number of the file
                                        presently being transmitted.

               Packet number            Same as XMODEM

               Number of Errors Same as XMODEM

               Current Status           Same as XMODEM

          KERMIT
          EXPLANATION OF KERMIT TRANSFER STATUS WINDOW

               Transmission Mode        Same as XMODEM

               File Name                Same as XMODEM

               File Size (bytes)        KERMIT counts the number of bytes
                                        in a file that is to be sent.

               File Type                Not yet implemented

               File Number              Not yet implemented

               Compression              Not yet implemented

               Elapsed Transfer Time    Shows the time elapsed since the
                                        start of the current file transfer.

               Packet Number            Same as XMODEM

               Bytes Transferred        Shows the number of bytes that have
                                        already been sent.

               Current Status           Same as XMODEM

          COMPUSERVE B
          Compuserve is the name of a popular Bulletin Board System in the
          United States. The Compuserve B file transfer protocol can only
          be used to call up the Compuserve BBS, so you will only use it if
          you subscribe to the this BBS.

          EXPLANATION OF COMPUSERVE B TRANSFER STATUS WINDOW

               Transmission Mode        Same as XMODEM

               File Name                Same as XMODEM




                                     12-20






               Packet Number            Same as XMODEM

               Number of Errors         Same as XMODEM

               Current status           Same as XMODEM

     Receiving a File

          Having sent your file LETTER.DAT to your friend, you now wish
          your friend to send you a file that is stored in his computer.
          Let us suppose there is a file called README on your friend's
          computer and you wish to be able to receive this file on your own
          computer. To receive a file on your computer, you must tell X-COM
          what file transfer protocol is going to be used to carry out the
          transmission. Also, the protocol you select to receive on must be
          the same as the protocol used by your friend to send the file.
          The process is almost exactly the same as for sending a file. You
          must first call up your friend with the X-COM Phonebook or Number
          to Dial item. Or, if you want him to pay for the call, let him
          call you. When you are connected, as shown by the Communication
          Established result code on your screen, call up the X-COM Menu
          and select the Receive File item.

          You will notice that the Receive File Protocols menu is almost
          exactly the same as the Send File Protocols menu, except that the
          first entry reads ASCII Receive instead of just ASCII. Let us
          suppose you have agreed with your friend to use the ASCII
          protocol to carry out the file transfer. The highlight bar is
          already over the ASCII Receive function when the Receive File
          Protocol menu first appears, so just press <Enter> to select this
          item.

          You will be asked to Enter the file name to receive. In our
          example you want to receive the file README, so type this into
          the space provided. It makes no difference whether you use upper-
          or lower-case letters when typing in file names. The file name
          you type is the name under which the file will be saved on your
          computer and you can choose any legal file name. The file name
          does not necessarily have to be the same as the name of the file
          on the remote computer. Having typed in the file name, press
          <Enter> and the ASCII Transfer Status window will appear on your
          screen.

          What happens then? Nothing, until your friend sends the file.
          Remember, the receive file function only prepares your computer
          to receive a file. The actual transmission of the file must be
          initiated by the remote user, who must use the send file
          procedure. That is why you can select a different filename. When
          your friend sends you the README file, if you entered a different
          file name, for example MESSAGE, then you will receive the README
          file but it will be saved on your computer under the name




                                     12-21





          MESSAGE. You cannot use the Receive File function to select any
          file on a remote computer and download it to your computer,
          unless the remote computer is configured in the host mode.

          It is not necessary for us to explain the individual transmission
          protocol screens for receiving a file since they are similar to
          those for sending a file. Equally, the choice of protocols for
          receiving a file will be based on the same factors as the choice
          of protocol for sending a file. If you are in doubt as to what
          protocol to use, a safe choice would be XMODEM which is probably
          the most commonly used protocol for sending and receiving files
          with Personal Computers. When you have received a file from
          another computer, how do you know your computer has received it?
          Where will it be stored on your disk? To find the answer to these
          questions, please take a look at the next section, File
          Functions.

     File Functions

          When you are sending and receiving files, you will probably be
          using files in different sub-directories. X-COM allows you to
          look for files in different sub-directories and even to carry out
          a multi-directory file search.

          Please note, however, that the file functions provided by X-COM
          can only be used on the drive from which X-COM was loaded. That
          means that, if you load X-COM from your C: fixed disk drive, you
          may only view and change to directories on the C: drive. You
          cannot access files on the A: or B: drive.

          To access the file functions, call up the X-COM Menu and
          highlight the File Functions item.

          Current Directory
          Current Directory, the first item in the menu, will be
          highlighted. Press <Enter> to see what this function does. A
          window called Directory will appear. In this window, a list of
          all the files in the current directory is displayed. The list may
          not fill the window completely, or there may be too many files to
          be displayed in the window at one time.

          You can use the <UP> and <DOWN> arrow keys to move the highlight
          bar down the list (or of course you can use your mouse). When you
          reach the bottom of the window keep pressing the <DOWN> arrow
          key. Any files not displayed will come into the window one by
          one. When you have reached the bottom of the list, your computer
          will "beep" if you continue to press the <DOWN> arrow key. You
          may then use the <UP> key to scroll back up through the list of
          files and, again, when you reach the top your computer will
          "beep". Thus, this function allows you to view a list of all the
          files contained in the present directory. To quit the Directory
          list and return to the Files/Dir Functions menu, press <Esc>.




                                     12-22






          Change Directory
          The next function allows you change to another directory from
          that which you are presently in. Remember that you cannot change
          to another drive but only to another directory. Highlight this
          function and press <Enter>. You are asked to enter the name of
          the directory you wish to change to. Suppose you loaded X-COM
          from a sub-directory named COMM and you now want to view files in
          the subdirectory DATAFILE, which is a subdirectory of COMM. In
          this case enter DATAFILE and press <Enter>. Note that it is not
          necessary to write the letter of the drive, since the action will
          automatically be carried out on the drive, from which X-COM was
          loaded. Thus, if you loaded X-COM from a floppy disk in the A:
          drive, then X-COM will look for the sub-directory DATAFILE on the
          A: drive; if you loaded X-COM from your fixed disk drive, C:,
          then X-COM will look for the sub-directory on the C: drive.

          When you change directories, it is also possible to go to the
          sub-directory of a sub-directory. When you are asked to enter a
          new directory, you could enter a command such as
          \BUSINESS\LETTERS, which would change the default directory to
          the LETTERS sub-directory of the BUSINESS sub-directory.

          Find File
          Sometimes you may forget in which sub-directory a file is stored,
          and indeed whether the file is stored on your disk drive at all.
          In this case the Find File function provided by X-COM can be
          extremely useful. Suppose you want to send a file called
          LETTER1.DAT using X-COM, but you have forgotten in which sub-
          directory this file is stored and you are not really sure if you
          called it LETTER1.DAT or LETTER.DAT. Select the Find File item in
          the Files/Dir Functions menu. You are asked to enter a file name
          so type in *.DAT and press <Enter>. A window will appear saying
          Please wait. Searching file(s). X-COM will now find all files
          matching the filespec *.DAT. How long you have to wait will
          depend on the capacity of your disk drive, but it should be no
          more than a few seconds.

          When completed the display will list all files matching the
          filespec you entered. Also, you will be able to see that the file
          should be LETTER1.DAT if no file called LETTER.DAT is found.

          Again please note that the file search is only carried out on the
          drive from which X-COM was loaded.

          View/Edit File
          This item can be selected when you wish to edit an existing text
          file with the text editor included with X-DOS. You may also
          create new text files with the X-DOS text editor. To call up the
          X-DOS text editor, select the View/edit file item in the
          Files/Dir Functions menu. Full details of how to use the text
          editor look at the chapter on ED in the X-DOS manual.




                                     12-23






          Capture
          The Capture function allows you to "capture" everything displayed
          on your Terminal Screen and store it on your disk drive under any
          file name you may choose for it. You can also capture files
          directly to your printer. Suppose you have called up a database
          and you want to see a directory of files currently stored in that
          database. Not only do you want to see the directory of files on
          your screen but you also want to be able to store that directory
          for reference in the future. In this case you would use the
          Capture function to ensure that the information sent to your
          computer by the database is stored on your disk drive.

          When you decide you want to store the incoming information, call
          up the X-COM Menu and select the Capture menu.

          You have two options, Begin Capture and End Capture. Of course,
          you must first select Begin Capture. Select this item and you
          will be asked for a Capture File Name. This file name will be the
          file name under which the captured data will be stored on your
          disk drive. Enter any file name of eight letters with a three
          letter extension if desired, and press <Enter>.

          Notice that the entry to the right of the box marked CD (or NCD)
          on the Status Line at the bottom of your screen, now shows CA
          (Capture), to indicate that a Capture is in progress. When all
          the data you wish to capture has been sent to your computer, call
          up the Capture function again and select the End Capture option
          to finish the operation. The CA in the Status Line will go back
          to blank. You can now use the X-COM File Function to check that
          the file you just captured was saved to your disk drive under the
          filename you gave it. You can then use the editor to view the
          contents of the captured file at any time.

          Capturing to your Printer
          If you want captured data to be sent directly to your printer
          instead of stored on your disk drive, the operation for capturing
          the file is the same. Select the Begin Capture function in the
          Capture menu. Then, when you are asked to enter the Capture file
          name, type:

          PRN <Enter>
          The captured data will be sent directly to your printer. When you
          wish to end the Capture function, select the End Capture option
          in the Capture menu, just as with capturing a file to disk.

          Gateway to DOS
          This function allows you to jump between X-COM and DOS without
          actually leaving X-COM. You will often find, when you are using
          any program, that you will need to use some of the utilities
          provided by DOS. It would be very inconvenient if you had to quit
          X-COM to access the DOS functions, and then reload X-COM.




                                     12-24






          The Gateway to DOS function allows you to jump to DOS, do
          whatever you want to do, and then jump straight back to X-COM,
          even when you are online with a remote system. To use this
          function, select the Gateway to DOS item in the X-COM Menu. The
          X-COM screen will be cleared, and you will be returned to DOS.
          Once in DOS you can perform any DOS function such as making a
          directory, checking what files you have on any of your disk
          drives, etc etc. You can even run another application program if
          you have enough memory.

          When you want to return to X-COM type EXIT <Enter> at the the DOS
          prompt and you will be returned to the Terminal Screen of X-COM,
          just as if you had never left it.

     An Introduction to Macro Files

          A Macro File is a file which "remembers" a given sequence of
          actions and can repeat them automatically. If that sounds
          complicated, let's start with an example to give you a clearer
          picture.
          Suppose you have a Set in your Phonebook called NEWSBBS, which
          you want to use to call a BBS (Bulletin Board System) by that
          name. Suppose you have named the Macro file for the NEWSBBS Set
          NEWSMAC. Now, you want to use this NEWSBBS Set to call the
          NewsBBS BBS for the first time.

          So you call up the NEWSBBS Set in the Phonebook, and press
          <Enter> to cause it to dial. When you log on to the NewsBBS BBS,
          you are first asked for your first name, so you type this in.
          Then, NewsBBS wants to know your last name, so you type this in.
          Finally, NewsBBS wants you to specify a password, and you type
          this in. You then perform some other operations which we will
          ignore for now. You then hang-up and quit NewsBBS.

          Half an hour later you decide you want to call NewsBBS again, so
          you select the NEWSBBS Set and dial the number. This time, when
          NewsBBS asks for your first name, family name and password, you
          can sit back and have a cup of coffee. The Macro file has
          remembered what you typed in the first time, and will now
          automatically type it in for you without you having to lift a
          finger.

          That is what Macro files do. They remember something when you do
          it the first time around and, when activated, will repeat your
          key-strokes EXACTLY as you executed them, including the delay
          between each key-stroke. Macro files are especially useful when
          you call BBS systems that ask you for your name, password, zip
          code, driver's license number, etc. every time you call up. With
          Macro files, when you have entered this information one time, you
          will never have to type it in again. The macro file will take
          over and do it for you every time you call up that particular




                                     12-25





          Set.

          Macro files are saved on your diskette or fixed diskette with the
          file extension MAC. This extension is automatically given to
          macro files by X-COM and you do not have to enter it, even when
          you are calling up a previously saved Macro file. You cannot edit
          macro files directly, they must be saved as detailed below.

          Entering a Macro File in the Phonebook
          Having explained what macro files are, let's start from the
          beginning again and teach you how to use them. You are in the
          Edit Phonebook menu and have finished entering all the Settings
          for a Set which you have called BBS1. You now come to the last
          entry, Macro File. What do you do? With the entry Macro File
          highlighted, press <Enter>.

          Why is the name BBS1 already in the Name of Macro window when you
          have not entered anything yet? When you first call up the Macro
          File option, the function will assume you want the name of the
          Macro file to be the same as the name of the Set you are editing.
          This is a reasonable assumption since, by calling it the same
          name, you will know to which Set the Macro file refers. If you
          wish to keep the Macro file with the same name as the Set, press
          <Enter>. Of course, you may want to give your Macro file a
          different name, so you should use the <F7> function key to clear
          the default and then type in the name of your choice, followed by
          <Enter>. The name of the Macro file will appear in the Current
          Phonebook Set window.

          Once a name is given to a Macro file in the Phonebook, the Macro
          file will automatically record all your key-strokes when you
          first use that Phonebook Set. The message MAC will appear in the
          Status Line, indicating that a Macro file is recording.

          You must end the Macro file or it will continue recording your
          key-strokes, even if you have disconnected from the number you
          are dialing. To see how to do this, read the section below.

          Defining the Length of a Macro File
          When you call a BBS, certain operations, such as entering your
          name and password, have to be done every time you call that BBS.
          These are the operations that you will want included in the Macro
          file. But having entered your name and password, you might then
          want to select different options in the BBS. You might want to
          retrieve a file, you might want to transmit a file, or you might
          want to take a look in the mailbox to see if there are any
          messages for you. Of course the Macro file cannot read your mind,
          so it has no way of knowing which of the above actions you want
          to perform, once you have entered the preliminary information.

          So, what you want to do is to tell your Macro file to auto-
          matically enter your name and password and probably stop there.




                                     12-26





          The commands entered after that will be different each time,
          depending on what you want to do, unless you check your mailbox
          everytime you logon. In this case you would want to include this
          operation in your Macro file.
          Taking the example of calling up the BBS1 Set we used above, you
          want to call the BBS1 Bulletin Board System for the first time
          and we will assume that the BBS called by the BBS1 Set always
          asks for your name and a password when you log on. Then the BBS
          shows you a variety of options to choose from. You want your
          Macro file to enter your name and password and then let you take
          over manually.

          First, call up the BBS1 entry in the Phonebook and press <Enter>
          to dial the number. When you log on, the BBS asks for your first
          name, so type it in (remember this is the first time you are
          calling this number, so the Macro file is recording everything
          you type). There is a pause of about five seconds while the BBS
          records your name. You are then asked for the password and you
          type it in. That is all you want recorded in the Macro file, so
          how do you stop recording your entries? Easy enough. Press the
          <F10> function key to call up the X-COM Menu onto your screen and
          select the Macros item, or if you are becoming familiar with the
          <Alt> keys in X-COM, you could use the <Alt> M command.

          Select the item End Macro and press <Enter>. That is it! You have
          told the Macro file to finish recording after you have typed in
          your name and password, so any further key-strokes you make will
          not be recorded in the Macro file. Press <Esc> to remove the X-
          COM Menu from the screen and you may then go ahead and do
          whatever you want to do in the BBS1 database.

          The next time you call BBS1, the Macro file will automatically
          enter your name and password and you can then take over and
          choose any of the options available. In our example above we
          mentioned that, when you call BBS1, there is a five second pause
          between entering your password and your name. Won't the Macro
          file type in information too quickly? Don't worry! Macro files
          not only remember the keys you type, they are also good
          timekeepers. Macro files actually remember the amount of time
          between key-strokes and will EXACTLY duplicate all entries
          including the time it takes to make them. If, when you entered
          your name, you made a typing error and used the <Backspace> key
          to delete a character, the Macro file will also repeat this
          operation. ANYTHING and EVERYTHING you type on the keyboard will
          be EXACTLY duplicated.

          Changing and Deleting Macro Files
          Suppose you have recorded a Macro file in a Phonebook Set and you
          then want to change it. Actually, you cannot change it. You will
          have to delete it and record the Macro file again. So remember -
          you cannot edit a Macro file. Once you have saved it, you will
          have to either stick with it or get rid of it and record a new




                                     12-27





          one. To delete a Macro file, you work directly from the Macros
          entry in the X-COM Menu.

          Let us use our BBS1 example above. If you remember, the BBS you
          call with the BBS1 Set in your Phonebook requires that you enter
          your name and password. For some reason your password has
          changed, so of course you cannot use the old Macro file. To
          delete the old Macro file, you must know the filename. If you
          cannot remember the Macro filename, just go to the BBS1 Set in
          the Phonebook, and it will be displayed. In our example the name
          of the BBS1 Set Macro file is BBS1. Call up the X-COM Menu with
          the <F10> function key and select the Macros item. The Macros
          menu will appear on your screen

          Highlight the item Delete Macro and press <Enter>. In the window
          that appears, type in the name of the Macro file that you wish to
          delete, in our example, BBS1. Then press <Enter> and the Macro
          file will be deleted.

          Please note, however, that when you delete a Macro file, the
          entry in the phonebook Set is NOT deleted. Thus, if you delete
          the BBS1 Macro file and then go to the Phonebook and call up the
          BBS1 Set, you will see that there is still an entry entitled BBS1
          next to the Macro File entry. That means, that if you now want to
          save a new Macro file with the same name for the BBS1 Set in your
          Phonebook, you do not need to do anything except dial the BBS1
          number with the Phonebook. When you are connected, you will then
          enter your name and the new password and this will be recorded in
          the new Macro file. When everything you want recorded in the
          Macro file has been recorded, you then call up the Macros item
          from the X-COM Menu and select End Macro.

          Aborting a Macro File
          If you have called up a number with an attached Macro file from
          the Phonebook and you wish to cancel the automatic entry of data
          by the Macro file, this is easily done. Simply press any key on
          your keyboard and the Macro file will be aborted, allowing you to
          enter data manually from the keyboard.

          For example, suppose there is a BBS you often call and always
          enter your name, password and the command "S" to enter the Send
          File menu. Normally when you call this number, the Macro file
          will automatically enter your name, password, and then enter the
          letter "S" to enter the Send File menu. But this time you want to
          go to the Receive File menu, not the Send File menu. So, just
          call the number as usual from the Phonebook, let the Macro file
          enter your name, and password and then press any key on your
          keyboard. The Macro will be discontinued and REP will disappear
          from the Status Line. You can then manually enter the "R" command
          to go to the Receive File menu, overriding the Macro file which
          is programmed to select the Send File menu. This is why you
          should allow a small amount of time to elapse between entries you




                                     12-28





          make while recording a Macro, allowing you time to abort the
          Macro, if you should wish to.

          Disabling a Macro File
          Does every Set in my Phonebook have to have a Macro file? No,
          they do not. If you have a Set in your Phonebook to call your
          friend in the chat mode, to exchange messages and talk about the
          weather, obviously you do not need a Macro file since what you
          are going to enter will be different every time. In this case
          just leave a blank next to the Macro File entry. If there is no
          filename in the Macro File entry, there is no Macro file that can
          be called, so all operations will be manual. Any more questions?

          Yes. If I have entered a Macro file name, can I temporarily
          disable it without deleting the Macro file, and then maybe enable
          it again in the future? Yes, you can. To disable a Macro file,
          select the Macro File entry in the Phonebook. The Macro File Name
          window will appear with the name of the Macro file in it. Use the
          <F7> function key to clear the filename in the window and press
          <Enter>. The entry next to the Macro File in the Phonebook window
          will be blank, which means that the Macro file is disabled and
          will not go into operation when you dial the number. Note, that
          only the entry, not the file, has been deleted. So if, in the
          future, you want to re-enable the Macro file, just type in the
          same name of the Macro file in the Phonebook and it will be re-
          enabled. Remember, if there is no entry next to the Macro File
          entry in the Current Phonebook Set window, no macro file will be
          activated.

          Advanced Macro Usage
          With a little imagination, Macro files can be used to automate
          key-stroke operations in a very flexible way. They can also be
          used to memorize a string of entries which can then be replayed
          to remind you, or help you learn a series of operations. They can
          also be used to memorize Hayes commands and even messages you
          want to write to yourself.

          As a basic illustration of this, press the <F10> function key and
          select the Macros item. We will assume you wish to call a
          Bulleting Board System called BBS1 and that when you are
          connected to  BBS1, you have to type in your name and password.
          This must be done every time you call up BBS1 to gain entry. Once
          you have done that, you have a choice of three operations. You
          can either send a file, receive a file, or look in the mailbox.

          To select the Send File operation you must enter the command "S".
          You then have to enter the name of the file you wish to send, and
          tell BBS1 what protocol you want to use to send the file. To
          choose the Receive function you must type "R", enter the
          filename, and then give the protocol. To select the Mailbox
          function, you must type the "M" command, enter your full name,
          and then enter "Y" (yes) or "N" (no) as to whether you want to




                                     12-29





          retrieve the mail to your system ( i.e. have the mail files
          transmitted to your computer). You are now going to learn how to
          use Macro files to automate individual operations as far as
          possible.

          For the sake of this example, we are going to assume that you
          have to transmit a file called REPORT.NEW to the DATABASE BBS
          every week and receive a file called JOBLIST.NEW, also every
          week. We also assume that you always want mail files sent to your
          system. To automate all these processes, you must first make four
          Macro files.

          The first Macro file you should make is the one to be stored in
          the Phonebook, to enter your name and password, since this must
          be done every time. You do this by following the instructions in
          the section entitled Defining The Length of a Macro File. Having
          done this, you know that every time you call BBS1 the Macro file
          will automatically enter your name and password.

          You then have three possibilities, send, receive or look in the
          mailbox. Thus, you should make three more Macro files, one to
          send, one to receive, and one to enter the mailbox function.
          Let's look at send first. In the send Macro file you want to be
          able to enter "S" to select that option, type in REPORT.NEW since
          that is the name of the file you have to send every time, and
          type XMODEM since that is the protocol you wish to use. So, once
          you are connected to the BBS1 and the Phonebook Macro file has
          entered your name and password, select the Macros menu, and in
          the Macros menu, select Begin Macro.

          Enter a suitable filename, such as SENDDATA, and press <Enter>.
          The menu will disappear from the screen, and you will be back
          with BBS1. Now, everything you type will be recorded in the
          SENDDATA Macro file. Type "S", to enter the send file function;
          type REPORT.NEW, since this is the name of the file you want to
          send every time and then type XMODEM, since this is the protocol
          you want to use every time. Select the Macros menu and select End
          Macro. You have now made a Macro file called SENDDATA which will
          automatically enter "S", REPORT.NEW and XMODEM.

          Do the same for receive: select Begin Macro, type in a filename
          (RECDATA, for example); then type in "R", JOBLIST.NEW, XMODEM and
          then highlight End Macro in the Macros menu.

          Repeat the operation for the mailbox: Begin Macro, filename
          (DATAMAIL for example), "M", JOHN DOE, "Y".

          Once you have recorded these three Macros in this way, it is easy
          to use them. Use your BBS1 Phonebook Set to call up BBS1. The
          Phonebook Macro will enter your name and password. Then, suppose
          you want to transmit a file, select the Macros menu. Highlight
          the entry Replay Macro and press <Enter>. You will be asked to




                                     12-30





          enter the name of the macro file you wish to replay.

          Enter the relevant Macro file name, in this case SENDDATA, and
          press <Enter>. The SENDDATA Macro file will run, automatically
          typing in "S", REPORT.NEW, and XMODEM. Remember that Macro files
          remember the timing between commands, so the commands will be
          entered exactly as you entered them when you recorded the Macro
          file. If you had wanted to receive a file, you would have
          replayed the RECDATA file, and to look at your mail, you would
          have replayed the DATAMAIL file.

          This simple example illustrates what can be done with Macro
          files. You can use them to record any sequence of characters you
          type in from the keyboard. And you can then replay that sequence
          at any time. Even if you have a macro file attached to a
          particular Phonebook Set, you can replay that macro file at any
          time with the replay item. you do not have to use that Phonebook
          Set to be able to use it.

          Using Macro Files with Hayes Commands
          If you are familiar with the use of Hayes commands, Macro files
          can also be very useful in recording Sets of commands which can
          be used to configure a modem in a certain way. First, select
          Begin Macro in the Macros menu, and enter a file name.

          Then, type the Hayes commands, which will appear on the Terminal
          Screen. For example:

          ATS0=3 <Enter>
          ATE0 <Enter>
          ATV0 <Enter>
          ATD 4123333 <Enter>

          Finally, select End Macro in the Macros menu. The Hayes commands
          will be stored in the Macro and any time you want to send these
          commands to your modem, call up the Macros menu, select Replay
          Macro, and enter the relevant file name.

          Using Macro Files as Tutorials
          If you want to record any sequence of key-strokes so you can
          replay them later as a reminder of the correct sequence or as a
          tutorial, you can make a Macro file to record the sequence of
          key-strokes. Then, when you want to review this sequence, just
          use the Replay Macro function to "play back" what you recorded in
          the Macro file. You can use this feature to help you remember
          what you did the first time around, or to record a complicated
          series of keyboard entries. Just start a Macro file, give it a
          name, key-in the text and/or commands, and end the Macro file.
          Then use the Replay function to review what you have recorded.

          Limitations of Macros
          When making Macro files, there are two main points to consider:




                                     12-31





          1. The maximum number of characters that can be recorded in any
             Macro file is 2,000.
          2. Macro files do not store menus or selections within menus.
             They can only store characters typed from your keyboard. Thus,
             you could not record the sequence of calling up the X-COM
             menu, selecting Edit Phonebook and then making entries in the
             Edit Phonebook menu.

     The Host Mode

          X-COM provides a Host Mode facility, allowing your computer to
          act as a host for another computer. When your computer is in the
          Host mode, a remote computer can connect with your computer
          either by modem or a direct connection, and perform certain DOS
          operations on your computer. The remote user can change directory
          (CD), look in the current directory (DIR) and type any text file
          (TYPE) stored on your computer. The Host mode also allows a
          remote user to Send (UPLOAD) and Receive (DOWNLOAD) files,
          without you having to be anywhere near your computer at the time.

          In fact, when in the Host mode, your computer behaves like a mini
          BBS and remote users can call your computer and have access to
          data. X-COM provides password protection to ensure that only
          users to whom you have given this password can connect to your
          computer, thus protecting your data from uninvited "visitors". If
          you use the Host mode with a direct connection, a password is
          probably not necessary, but we highly recommend that you specify
          a password when using the Host mode with a modem for your own
          security.

          Setting up the Host Mode
          There are certain things you have to do to set up Host mode
          correctly in X-COM. The best way to do this is to create a
          Phonebook set (which you could call HOST) with all the correct
          parameters. Then, whenever you want to set your computer in the
          Host mode, you can just go to the phonebook and select the HOST
          Set. The settings to use for the Phonebook Set named HOST are
          detailed in the section below, Making a Host Set in the
          Phonebook. There is one more thing you must do to let a remote
          computer connect to your system. After setting X-COM in the Host
          mode, call up the X-COM menu and highlight the Auto Answer item.
          This enables your modem to automatically answer an incoming call
          and activate the Host mode. It is not nescessary to set X-COM in
          the Auto Answer mode when using a direct connection.

          Creating a Host Phonebook Set
          Call up the Edit Phonebook menu from the X-COM Menu. Then, within
          the Edit Phonebook menu, carry out the following steps:
          1. Call up the the Modify/Add Set entry box and type in a name
             for your Host mode Set. We suggest you call it HOST.
          2. Go to the Emulation menu and select the HOST emulation.
          3. Go to the Speed menu and select the speed, at which you want




                                     12-32





             your Host mode to operate. With a modem connection, the speed
             you select will depend on the capabilities of both your modem
             and that of your expected callers. If you expect someone with
             a 1200 bps modem to connect to your modem, you cannot specify
             a speed of 2400 bps. If you are using a direct connection you
             will probably want to select a speed of 9600 bps to allow the
             fastest communication between the two direct linked computers.
          4. Go to the Parity menu and select NONE if this is not already
             selected.
          5. Go to the Data Bits menu and select 8-bit Data if this is not
             already selected.
          6. Go to the Stop Bit(s) menu and select 1 stop bit if this is
             not already selected.
          7. Go to the Duplex Mode menu and select Full Duplex if this is
             not already selected.

          The other items in the Edit Phonebook menu need not be specified.
          Exit the Edit Phonebook menu. If you did not set a Host password
          in the Basic Settings menu as explained in earlier in this
          chapter, call up the Basic Setup menu to enter the password now.
          Specify any password up to 10 characters long. You could also
          type in a Greetings String if you have not already done so, as
          the Greetings String will appear on the screen of all remote
          users when they connect to your computer. If you need to change
          Connection Mode, you should do this in the Basic Setup menu too.

          You are now ready to set X-COM in Host mode. Call up the
          Phonebook and select the Set you specified to be the Host Set.
          Then select the Auto Answer menu if you want to use Host with a
          modem connection. Now the rest is up to the user hooking up to
          your computer.

          Connecting to the Host Mode
          If a remote user connects to your computer when it is in the Host
          mode, there are certain things he will have to do to gain access.
          The communication parameters of the remote user must be the same
          as those you have set. These parameters are Speed, Parity, Data
          Bits, Stop Bit(s) and Duplex Mode, which you set in your HOST
          Phonebook Set. The remote user should also set the CR Translation
          to CR/LF and preferably use the TTY terminal emulation.

          With all of these parameters set up correctly, a remote user
          should have no trouble in connecting with your computer. If you
          find that callers cannot connect with your computer when you are
          in the Host mode, this is probably due to a conflict in settings
          between your system and that of the remote user. In this case you
          should ask the remote user to setup his system in accordance with
          the parameters you have in your HOST Phonebook Set.

          In the direct connection mode you can connect yourself to X-COM
          from any other PC when it is in Host mode. You will need a null-
          modem cable in this case. You will also have to run a




                                     12-33





          communications package such as X-COM on the other PC.

          If someone connects to your computer, when it is configured in
          the Host mode, the remote user should receive a message on his
          screen telling him that a connection has been made and your
          computer (the Host computer) will send the Greetings String (if
          one is specified in your Basic Setup window) to the screen of the
          remote computer. The remote user must then press <Enter> or
          <Ctrl> C to cause the HOST prompt to appear on his (the remote)
          monitor.

          From here on the procedure is the same for both a direct
          connection and a modem connection.

          When the HOST prompt is displayed, the remote user must type:

                            LOGIN [password] <Enter>

          where [password] is the optional password you specified in the
          Basic Setup menu. Typing the wrong password will cause the Host
          computer to display an error message. If no password is specified
          in the Basic Setup of the Host computer, pressing the <Enter> key
          will log the user on and a list of available options will appear
          on the remote monitor. The remote user can use <Ctrl> S to pause
          the listing, and pressing any key will continue the scrolling of
          the list.

          Available Host Commands
          The following commands are available to the remote user,
          accessing your computer, when you are running the Host mode:

          CD [pathname]directory
          This command will change the current directory to the one
          specified in [pathname]directory. The remote user will only be
          able to access directories on the current drive of your Host
          computer.

          DIR [filename]
          This command will cause the contents of the current directory of
          the Host computer to be displayed on the remote computer. The
          wildcards '*' and '?' can be used in the command syntax to look
          for a specific range of files.

          DOWNLOAD protocol,filename
          The remote user can use this command to Receive a file or a range
          of files from the your computer. The KERMIT, XMODEM, YMODEM and
          YMODEM BATCH protocols can be used to carry out the transfer.
          When the Host computer is ready to send the files to the remote
          user, it will prompt him to start the transfer.

          HELP
          The remote user can type HELP to display the help message from




                                     12-34





          the your computer on his screen.

          LOGOFF
          This command will terminate the remote user's session with your
          computer.

          TYPE filename
          This command allows a remote user to display the contents of any
          text file stored on your computer on his screen. Use the <Ctrl> S
          key to pause the scrolling.

          UPLOAD protocol,filename
          With this command a remote user can send a file or range of files
          from his computer to your computer. He can choose between the
          KERMIT, XMODEM, YMODEM and YMODEM Batch protocols to carry out
          the transfer. When your computer is ready to receive files from
          the remote user, it will prompt the remote user to start the
          transfer from his computer.
          We have explained the Host mode as if a remote user was calling
          your computer when it is configured in the Host mode. Of course,
          you may also call remote users who have configured their
          computers in the Host mode. In that case, you can use the
          commands detailed above to access data stored on the remote
          computer (if the remote Host uses X-COM). If you are using a
          direct connection, you can set the computer you are connected to,
          in the Host mode, giving you easy access to the data stored on
          that computer.





























                                     12-35