home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Cream of the Crop 3
/
Cream of the Crop 3.iso
/
comm
/
140xpcom.zip
/
XPCOM140.CMP
/
XPCOM14
/
HELP
/
XPGEN.HLP
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1993-10-31
|
13KB
|
604 lines
*Introduction
Welcome to XPCOM. This program was written to fill a void that
has existed in commercial software for digital communications.
The user interface has been designed to reduce the overall
"learning curve' normally associated with this type of
product.
XPCOM was written originally for the MFJ1278, however, has
also been structured to work with the AEA PK-232. Operation of
the PK-232 has been optimized to use AEA's HOST mode.
I hope that you will find this program both user friendly and
easy to use. Special thanks go to Mike Henry N5AQM, Morgan
Hoaglin WW7B, Larry Winslow W0NFU, Gary Moore AH6KM, Jack
Buekelman AA6OK, Fred Griffee N4FG and Doug Alspaugh for their
ideas for the product, as well as BETA testing XPCOM.
73
Gary Johnson
KF7XP
*Keyboard / Mouse
`keyword(Keyboard Entry,*Keyboard Entry); `keyword(Mouse,*Mouse);
XPCOM supports both mouse and keyboard user interface. It must
be noted that the mouse is strictly optional and that ALL
program operation may be made with the keyboard.
*Keyboard Entry
After loading, the program will be loaded with the default
parameters from the last time the program was run. To activate
the Main Menu, all that is required is to press the F10
function key. At this point the top menu bar will be
displayed.
Each entry in the top menu bar has an associated 'Hot Key' .
The Hot Key is designed in red. By pressing the hot key the
user will be taken to that item. To activate the current menu
item all that is needed is to press the return key. This will
display the menu options. The menu options also are HOT KEYED
allowing for rapid user interface.
The cursor and tab keys are active during keyboard input,
allowing the user to easily move from option to option.
When the user is entering a text string it will first be
necessary to press the return / enter key to activate the
item. An example of this entry form can be found under the
AMTOR SELCAL and ARQ modes. To complete the entry the user
should press enter.
During all operations the ESC key may be used to cancel the
current event. If the event is the Main Menu bar the program
will return to normal operation.
*Mouse
A mouse (not required) may be used for over 95% of all program
operations. To bring up the Main menu press one of the mouse
buttons momentarily. To exit the menu, press the mouse button
when the mouse cursor is located outside the active menu area.
*General Program Information
This section is intended to give the user an overview of the
various components of XPCOM.
Main Screen
The main screen consists of three individual components.
`keyword(Receive Window,*Receive Window);
`keyword(Transmit Window,*Transmit Window);
`keyword(Status Window,*Status Window);
All window attributes are user definable, including background
color, text color and border types (XP Windows).
*Receive Window
The receive window is used for displaying the incoming text
in all modes, except the AEA Host mode Packet operation.
During Host mode Packet operation the receive window is used
as the Monitor window allowing the user to view channel
traffic separately from connected traffic.
*Transmit Window
The transmit window shows the outgoing text from the user. The
text is sent to the TNC based on the setting of WORDOUT and
LINEOUT. See TNC Parameters section for a detailed description
of Lineout and Wordout.
During AEA Host packet operation a separate transmit window is
established for each stream. This allows the user to type a
command (without carriage return) switch to a different stream
send a packet then come back to the original stream and hit
the return key to send the packet.
*Status Window
The status window is used to provide information to the
user on :
Operating Mode
Baud Rates
Unacknowledged Packet (Host Mode)
AMTOR Status (Host Mode)
Free Memory
Date (GMT)
Time (GMT)
Connect Status
Various sections of the status window change during
operation of XPCOM. This is normal and will give
information that is pertinent to that mode of
operation.
*Scrolling Buffer
XPCOM offers 32K of scroll back buffer. Additionally,
any or all of the buffer may be saved to disk, a later
version will allow printing directly. For now use the file
print command.
To enter the scroll buffer, press either the 'UP' or 'DOWN'
arrow keys. This will put the system into the scroll mode.
The communication ports are disabled during these operations.
The following keys are available for movement within the
buffer.
HOME - This will move to the top of the buffer.
END - This will move to the end of the buffer.
PGUP - This will move up one screen or to top.
PGDN - This will move down one screen or to the end.
UP arrow - Move up one line.
DN arrow - Move down one line.
F1 - This key marks the TOP of the section to be saved.
F2 - This key marks the END of a section to be saved.
F3 - This will SAVE the marked section to disk.
F4 - Copy Marked text to Paste Buffer. This text may be
sent after exiting Scroll back by pressing
the INSERT key.
Any other key pressed will return back to the current
operating mode.
XP Windows Scroll Back (AEA Host Mode)
When operating packet on the PK-232 TNC it is possible
to define a separate scroll back buffer for each open
stream. The size of the scroll back buffer may be defined
as follows.
Scroll Back Setup
a. Press mouse button or F10 key to enter main menu.
b. Move to Setup Setup menu.
c. Select Stream Setup.
d. Move to desired stream and enter a value between 1
and 32. This corresponds to a range of 1024 bytes
to 32768 bytes.
e. When finished press the 'ESC' key or click the
mouse off of the setup window. This completes
scroll back setup.
Scroll Packet Activation
The scroll back for an individual packet channel is
activated by using the following commands.
a. Select desired stream by clicking the mouse
in the stream window or using the PGUP/PGDN
keys to move to the stream. This can be monitored
by watching the "ACTIVE" indicator located
on the upper row of the stream windows.
b. After selecting the desired stream. Press
the UP Arrow key.
c. All other commands are the same as those
outlined in the Scrolling Buffer section
of this help system.
*View / Help Screens
The following section pertains to the operation of the view
windows used for the Help function as well as the View
File selection in the Files menu.
Once active, you can scroll around the help file much like
an editor. UP , DOWN , LEFT , RIGHT , HOME , END , PGUP , PGDN ,
Ctrl-PGUP , Ctrl-PGDN allow you to move around
the file. If the file is wider than the help window
you can scroll horizontally as well as vertically. The
buttons operate as follows.
Search - [S] pulls up a dialog to allow you to search
for a specific word or phrase.
Repeat - [R] finds the next occurrence specified by Search.
<<< - [<] key moves to the previous keyword.
>>> - [>] moves to the next keyword.
Previous - [P] moves to the previously active keyword.
Index - [I] moves to the original starting place.
Quit - [Q] quits the help program.
If you are using a mouse, clicking on the
button, sliders, close box,(upper left corner), or keyword
will activate the function.
To move to a keyword, you can use the tab keys or cursor
keys to move to the desired word. The keyword will
highlight . Pressing enter or double clicking on this
word will take you to additional information on this topic.
Pressing 'P' (previous) will take you back one level.
To search for a specific word/phrase, press 'S' or
click on Search. This pulls up a dialog box. To enter the
word/phrase, press 'S' again or click on the string
following the word Search. Type in the word/phrase and press
'O' or click on OK. The default search will search forward
from the current cursor location. The direction and scope
can be changed by clicking on the appropriate check box or
pressing the desired hot-key.
Forward - [ALT-F] sets the search direction to forward.
Backward - [ALT-B] sets the search direction to backwards.
From Csr - [ALT-R] search from current cursor position.
Global - [ALT-G] search from start of file.
Case - [ALT-C] if off, case is ignored.
Quit - [ALT-Q] abort the current search dialog.
OK - [ALT-O] accept parameters and find first word.
*Using The File Selector
`keyword(Path,*Path);
`keyword(Selecting Files,*Selecting Files);
`keyword(Moving Back one Directory,*Moving Back one Directory);
`keyword(Moving Forward one Directory,*Moving Forward one Directory);
`keyword(Selecting a File,*Selecting a File);
`keyword(Sorting Parameters,*Sorting Parameters);
`keyword(Canceling the File Selector,*Canceling the File Selector);
The file selector is used for all disk related activities.
This makes it very easy for the user to navigate through
the disk drive to find the file to send.
*Path
The path parameter allows the user to type in the
wanted path name for the file. This uses the same
format as the standard DOS commands. To activate
this field type "P" or use a Mouse or the TAB key
to move to this position.
The field may be cleared by pressing CTRL - Y .
After entering the path name press the return key.
*Selecting Files
Files may be selected by using either the cursor
keys or a mouse . To select the file with a mouse
point to the file and double click on the filename.
Using the keyboard, press the arrow keys to select
file and press the return key to select the file.
*Moving Back one Directory
Note all directory entries are bracketed with " <DIRECTORY > ".
To move back one directory select the
< .. >
entry and double click the Left mouse button
or press the Enter key. This will move back
one directory.
*Moving Forward one Directory
To move forward select the desired entry,
" < desired directory > ", and press the Enter key or
double click the Left mouse key.
*Selecting a File
There are two methods available to select a file.
Cursor Keys / Mouse
Using the cursor keys select the desired file
followed by the "O" (Ok) key. This will
complete the operation.
To use the mouse place the cursor on the
scroll bars and hold the left mouse button
until the desired file appears. To complete
the operation , double click on the file.
Direct Entry
The second method is to directly type in the
file name. This is accomplished by press the
"F" key. At this point cursor should be
flashing on the input line under the "File
Name" caption. Type the "filename.ext" and
press the Enter key to complete the
operation.
*Sorting Parameters
The user can select the method that the files are
sorted and displayed. There are four (4) options for
sorting. These are listed below.
Name
Extension
Size
Date / Time
To select a sorting method press the first letter of
that method. Example, to select sorting by Date / Time
press the "D" key.
*Canceling the File Selector
To cancel the file selector press either the 'ESC'
key or press the 'C' key. At this point the file
selector will be removed from the screen.