home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Hall of Fame
/
HallofFameCDROM.cdr
/
comm1
/
tfig312e.lzh
/
START
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1991-03-05
|
11KB
|
306 lines
Starting a Telix Session
To start the Telix program type the following while at the DOS prompt:
Telix [O] [Q] [B] [Sfilename] [Cfilename] [Ffilename]
The letters in the square brackets are optional command line switches affect-
ing what Telix will do upon start-up. The square brackets should not be
entered. The order and case of the options does not matter but they MUST be
separated by at least one blank.
Specifying the 'O' option upon start-up tells Telix that you are already
online (connected to a host systems), and that it should not try to initialize
the modem.
The 'Q' option in the command line chooses quiet mode for the current session.
When quiet mode is on Telix will not sound any alarms (e.g., when a file
transfer is over), no matter what the default setting for alarms is. This is
useful for those late night sessions. Any bell characters sent by the remote
system are still sounded however.
Specifying 'B' in the command line forces Telix to use the PC's BIOS for all
screen write operations, whatever the default setting for screen writes might
be. This is useful when you want to run Telix in a multi-tasking environment
such as Topview or MS Windows for just one session. Note that Telix is
DESQview aware, so you do not have to use this mode for DESQview.
The 'S' option indicates that a script file (explained elsewhere) is to be run
immediately upon start-up. The 'S' should be followed immediately (no blanks)
by the name of the script file to execute.
The 'C' option indicates that another Telix configuration file than the
standard TELIX.CNF should be used. If it doesn't exist, it will be created. In
this way, you may have multiple configurations for Telix. The name of the
configuration file should immediately follow the 'C', and should include the
extension.
The 'F' option indicates that another dialing directory (FON) file than the
default TELIX.FON should be loaded at start-up. The name should immediately
follow the 'F'. Note that another dialing directory file may also be loaded
from within Telix (in the dialing directory screen).
Upon starting, Telix will display a title screen for a period of 25 seconds or
until you press a key. Please read the message on the title screen carefully.
After you are past the title screen, you will be in 'terminal mode' unless
Telix can't find the configuration file (usually TELIX.CNF), in which case it
will ask you a few questions about your machine and modem, and then will write
a configuration file for you.
Terminal Mode
Immediately after starting Telix, and for most of the time while using it, you
will be in Telix's terminal mode. While in this mode any normal (ASCII)
characters you type will be sent to the modem port, and any incoming charac-
ters will be printed on the screen. It is from the terminal mode that most
Telix commands are initiated. Most commands are selected by pressing two keys
at the same time. For example, to access the dialing directory, you would
press Alt-D. That is, while holding down the Alt key, you press the D key.
The Help/Status Screen
While in terminal mode, pressing the Alt-Z sequence will switch you to a help
screen showing you a summary of all the available commands. If the key for a
command is pressed while the help screen is still on, the screen will be
turned off and the command will be executed.
On the bottom of the help/status screen is some information regarding some
current settings and the status of the current connection, as follows (in
slightly compressed form).
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Time..10:39:00 Online .... No | Capture...Off │
│ Date..06-29-88 | Printer...Off │
│ Baud..2400 Terminal .. VT102 | Script....None │
│ Comm..N,8,1 Port ...... COM1 | Reg. Key..TELIX.KEY │
│ Echo..Off Add LF .... Off | Dial Dir..TELIX.FON │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Items included are: the current time and date, the connect status, the elapsed
time for the call in progress, the current communications parameters, the
state of the capture file and printer, the currently executing script file (if
there is one), the current dialing directory, the current keyboard macro
definition file, and a few other items.
The Status Line
Telix has an optional status line which may be displayed at the bottom or top
of the screen (it may be controlled via the Telix Configuration Menu). The
status lines displays the current communications setting such as baud rate and
parity, the state of the Capture file, whether or not the printer is on, the
currently executing script file (scripts are explained elsewhere), and whether
Telix is On-line or Off-line.
Communications Parameters
Pressing Alt-P allows you to change the Communications Parameters. This is the
format in which Telix sends data over the modem, and expects to receive it in.
After pressing Alt-P a window is displayed with the current parameters at the
top, and the options in the rest of the window. To change a value press the
letter of the setting you want.
╔═ Comm Parameters ════════════════╗
║ ║
║ Current: 2400,N,8,1,COM1 ║
║ ║
║ Speed Parity Data ║
║ ║
║ A: 300 J: None Q: 7 ║
║ B: 1200 K: Even R: 8 ║
║ C: 2400 L: Odd ║
║ D: 4800 M: Mark Stop ║
║ E: 9600 N: Space ║
║ F: 19200 S: 1 ║
║ F: 38400 T: 2 ║
║ F: 57600 O: N-8-1 ║
║ F: 115200 P: E-7-1 ║
║ ║
║ 1: COM1 3: COM3 5: COM5 7: COM7 ║
║ 2: COM2 4: COM4 6: COM6 8: COM8 ║
║ ║
║ Choice, or <Enter> to exit? ║
╚════════════════════════════════════╝
There are a number of parameters that can be changed. The baud rate is the
speed that you want to communicate at (it should really be called bps rate,
which stands for bits per second. 1200 baud and 2400 baud are the two most
common speeds in use, and represent about 120 and 240 characters per second,
respectively. Baud rates all the way up to 115200 are supported by Telix,
however a fast PC is needed for the higher rates (a stock 4.77 MHz XT can
handle 9600 and possibly 19200 baud, higher rates need an AT class computer).
Parity is a form of error checking. Allowable parities are None, Even, and
Odd. Data bits is the number of bits in each character. Allowable values are 7
and 8. Finally, the number of stop bits parameter can be set to either 1 or 2.
The most common format for BBS use is a baud rate of 1200 or 2400, 8 data
bits, no parity, and 1 stop bit. On many large networks such as Compuserve,
the data format used is E71.
The communications parameters menu also allows you to select the communica-
tions port you want to use. Note that by default only the first four comm
ports are defined (the last four are duplicates of COM1).
Changing any parameters changes them only for the duration of the current
communications session. If you want a set of parameters to be the default when
you start Telix, use the Telix Configuration Menu.
Using Telix Menus
Whenever Telix must ask you to select an item from a group of options, it uses
the same basic type of menu. The options will be arranged vertically for a
vertically oriented menu, and next to each other for a horizontally oriented
menu. There are two ways to select the item that you want. Each menu option
has one of its letters in bold text; pressing that letter will select the
corresponding option. As well, one option in the menu is always highlighted in
inverse video. The arrow keys on the PC's keypad will move the highlight up
and down or left and right. When the highlight is over the option you want to
select, press Carriage Return.
Entering and Editing Strings
While using Telix, you will often have to enter a string of characters, for
example a filename, or a list of numbers to dial. Telix gives you full editing
powers when you enter a string. As you type characters, you may use the
Backspace key to delete previously entered characters. The Left and Right
arrow keys allow you to move back and forth in the string to edit what you
have entered. By default, any characters you enter overwrite any that are
already there. Pressing the Ins key will place Telix in insert mode, and any
existing characters are pushed ahead as you type. Pressing Ins once more
places you back in overwrite mode. Finally, pressing the Ctrl-Left and
Ctrl-Right arrow keys allows you to move back and forth in the string by
increments of a word.
Output String Translation
In quite a few instances while using Telix, the user must specify a string to
be sent out over the modem port. Sometimes this string must contain characters
which can not be printed on the screen, for example, control characters, and
even pauses. There has to be a way of indicating these special characters, and
it is done through the use of special characters called translation charac-
ters. When these translation characters are encountered in an output string
they are translated into other characters. The default translation characters
are:
^ - when this character is encountered in an output string it will make the
following character a control character. For example, ^A will send out the
code for Control-A. A few common control characters are ^M, which is the
Carriage Return character, ^J, which is the Line Feed character, and ^[, which
is the Esc character. To send out the ^ character itself, use two ^'s, as
explained above.
~ - when this character is encountered it will make Telix pause for 1/2 a
second. There is no way to send the actual ~ character out. Two in a row will
be converted to two pauses.
There is one thing to keep in mind. These characters are only translated on
strings sent out to the modem, for example, the dialing prefix, the hang-up
string, a keyboard macro, the modem initialization string, and a few other
cases.
Ending a Telix Session
To exit the Telix program, press Alt-X. Telix will ask you if you really want
to exit. Press 'Y' to confirm the exit, 'N' or Esc to return to Telix.
If Telix detects that you are still on-line (connected to another computer),
it will also present a third option, 'Hang-Up'. If this option is selected,
Telix will make sure that the connection is broken before exiting.