Delrina FreeComm 1.0 User's Guide Delrina FreeComm 1.0 1995, Delrina (Delaware) Corporation. All rights reserved. The use and copying of this product is subject to a license agreement. Any other use is prohibited. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system or translated into any language in any form by any means without the prior written consent of Delrina (Canada) Corporation. Information in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of the vendor. Federal copyright law permits you to make a backup of this software for archival purposes only. Any other duplication of this software, including copies offered through sale, loan, rental or gift is a violation of law, and subject to both criminal and civil penalties. Delrina (Canada) Corporation, as a member of the Software Publishers Association (SPA), supports the industry's effort to fight the illegal copying of personal computer software. Report copyright violations to: Software Publishers Association, 1101 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 901, Washington, DC, U.S.A. 20036. Trademarks Delrina FreeComm is a trademark of Delrina (Wyoming) Limited Liability Company. WinComm PRO is a trademark of Delrina (Delaware) Corporation. FormFlow, PerForm, WinFax, DosFax, Delrina Fax and Delrina are trademarks of Delrina (Canada) Corporation. WinComm is a trademark of Delrina (Delaware) Corporation. Adobe and PostScript are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems, Inc. AT&T is a registered trademark of American Telephone and Telegraph Company Compaq is a registered trademark of Compaq Computer Corporation CompuServe is a registered trademark of CompuServe, Inc. dBASE and Paradox are trademarks of Borland International. DEC and VT, registered trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation DESQView, registered trademark of Quarterdeck Office Systems Hayes, Smartmodem, and ESP, registered trademarks of Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. Hewlett-Packard, HP and LaserJet are registered trademarks, and Deskscan II is a copyright, of Hewlett-Packard Company. HyperPilot, HyperProtocol, HyperTerminal and HyperGuard are registered trademarks of Hilgraeve Inc. IBM, OS/2, PC AT and PC XT are registered trademarks, and DB2 is a trademark, of International Business Machines, Inc. Intel and SatisFAXtion are trademarks of Intel Corporation. Kermit, developed by Columbia University, is included at no additional charge. Microsoft, MS and MS-DOS are registered trademarks, and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Oracle and SQL*NET are registered trademarks, and Oracle Server and SQLPLUS are trademarks of Oracle Corp. Procomm and Procomm Plus are registered trademarks of Datastorm Technologies, Inc. TrueType is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Type Director and Intellifont are registered trademarks of Agfa Corporation. All other product names are copyright, trademarks or tradenames of their respective owners. Delrina (Canada) Corp. Contents Chapter 1 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Chapter 2 On-Line Operations. . . . . . . . . .10 Chapter 3 Transferring Files. . . . . . . . . .15 Chapter 4 Defining and Calling Systems. . . . .22 Chapter 5 Working with Files and DOS. . . . . .28 Chapter 6 Editing Text Files. . . . . . . . . .33 Chapter 7 Automating Communications . . . . . .40 Chapter 8 Answer Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 Chapter 9 FreeComm-to-FreeComm Communications .55 Chapter 10 Menu Reference. . . . . . . . . . . .62 Appendix A Modems, COM ports and Cables. . . . .73 Appendix B Glossary of Program Messages. . . . .75 Appendix C Terminal Emulator Characteristics . .91 Appendix D File Transfer Protocols . . . . . . .94 Appendix E FreeComm Host Commands. . . . . . . .96 Appendix F Safe Communications . . . . . . . .100 1.1 Getting Started ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Delrina FreeComm(tm) is a complete communications software package for accessing on-line services, bulletin boards, other PCs, or mainframes, through modems, communications devices, or RS232 cable. FreeComm(tm) offers the ideal balance of simplicity and power. It's easy to learn and use, yet has the depth to handle diverse needs. Its wealth of convenience features makes communicating fast, efficient, and productive. And you can customize FreeComm to your taste and application. It can even learn to communicate for you! Using on-screen help ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Whenever you are unsure of what to do next in running FreeComm, remember on-screen help is always available. Press ALT-H once for information on your present location, and again for the Help Index. Learning more about Delrina products For more information on the complete line of Delrina products, contact Delrina. Call: 1-800-268-6082 or, in the United Kingdom, 0-181-207-3163 (for sales information only). Write: Canadian Headquarters U.S. Sales & Operations U.K. Office 895 Don Mills Road 6320 San Ignacio Ave. 6 Elstree Gate 500-2 Park Centre San Jose, California Elstree Way Toronto, Ontario 95119-1209 Borehamwood M3C 1W3 Herfordshire, WD6 1JD CompuServe: Use Delrina forum on CompuServe to express comments and questions. 1. Sign on to CompuServe. 2. Type... GO DELRINA ...and press ENTER from anywhere on the system. 3. Select the appropriate section for information about Delrina products including FreeComm. Delrina BBS: Call 416-441-2752. 416 is a Toronto, Canada area code. To start FreeComm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To start FreeComm with various options, refer to the following table. Use this option To start Delrina FreeComm and ... DFC /A Waits for calls, as if you selected "Answer" and "Wait" for data calls. DFC/B Displays through BIOS instead of direct to video memory to stop screen flicker or snow. DFC/BW Use monochrome display mode; may look better with monochrome, LCD, or plasma monitors. DFC/CS Goes straight to Comm screen. The settings loaded are from the first system in System List. DFC/K Used prior to remote control, to allow use of programs that otherwise ignore keys typed by callers. DFC/NC Displays no clock, for compatibility with voice-synthesis or screen-saver utilities. DFC/NL Turns off file locking, so that FREECOMM may be used on networks without encountering the message "That system is in use by another instance of the program." DFC Run a sequence (macro, command, or script). You can include inputs for the sequence as in Chapter 7. DFC"DIAL " Run a sequence named DIAL, which calls the specified system. (You must first create the DIAL sequence as described in Chapter 7.) System Requirements ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To run FreeComm, your computer must be running Dos 3.x or higher. You should have 475K of available conventional memory and 1.5 Mb of hard disk space. Note: If you are running FreeComm in a Windows DOS box, you may experience COM port conflicts. To quit Delrina FreeComm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To quit FreeComm, press ALT-M to display the Main menu, then press Q to select "Quit". FreeComm will save all open files and exit gracefully. Note: To avoid losing data, be sure to quit FreeComm before turning off or rebooting your computer. Using the keyboard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The bottom line of each screen lists keys you can use to jump to other areas of the program or to perform functions above and beyond the regular menu options. When asked to enter information in FreeComm menus, type the desired entry. To complete the entry, press ENTER, TAB, or SHIFT-TAB. Prior to pressing ENTER, TAB, or SHIFT-TAB to complete the entry, you can make corrections with these keys. BACKSPACE Delete character to left of cursor LEFT AND RIGHT ARROW KEYS Move cursor to left or right DEL Delete character at cursor INS Toggle between overtype and insert modes CTRL-DEL Deletes present menu entry CTRL-INS Re-inserts entry deleted with CTRL-DEL CTRL-HOME Moves cursor to right of directory in filenames Often FreeComm offers proposed entries that you can accept, correct or overtype with another entry. 1.2 The System List ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When you start, FreeComm displays the Main menu. The Main menu is the thoroughfare of FreeComm and offers many valuable features including a dialing directory, called the System List. Note: The System List can hold up to 2,000 systems. You can view and sort the System List in many ways. To view statistics such as when and how often you have called systems, select "Define system settings" and "View". FreeComm automatically keeps the systems you call *most often* at the top of the System List, for your convenience. To sort alphabetically or by order of most recent use, select "Define system settings" and "Sort". The clock in the lower right corner shows how long you have been on line. It resets to zero each time you connect, and stops when you disconnect. When you link with another computer via cable, it may run continuously or not at all. 1.3 Adding systems to the System List ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To add a system to the System List: 1. Select "Define system settings" and "Add". 2. At the prompt "Enter system to add:", enter the system name up to 20 characters. 3. When the System settings menu displays with the cursor at "Telephone number", enter the number of the remote system. You can use parentheses and hyphens for readability, and include any numbers you must dial to get an outside line. If you need to wait for a dial tone, include one or more commas at that point in the number (each comma pauses 2 seconds). 4. Change the settings for "Rate", "Bits per character", etc., to agree with recommendations from the remote system. 5. Systems with unusual requirements might also call for a few changes on submenus reached by selecting "ASCII protocols", "File transfer protocols," etc. When you are done, press ESC to return to the Main menu. 1.4 The Communications screen ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FreeComm's terminal communications screen, or Comm screen, is where your interaction with remote systems takes place. FreeComm places you on the Comm screen after it connects you with a remote system. You can reach the Comm screen instantly from any FreeComm menu (even when you're not connected with a remote system) by pressing ALT-C. When you first come the Comm screen, it is blank (except for the bottom line). Any characters you type at this point are merely sent to your modem. After FreeComm connects you with a remote system, information sent by that system will display here. If text from a remote system is arriving quickly and you want to read it before it scrolls off the screen, press SCROLL LOCK to stop scrolling. Press SCROLL LOCK again to resume. While most text that you type on the Comm screen is sent, keys of special significance to FreeComm are not, such as ALT-O, -M, -L, -R, -F, -H, and keys that run automatic sequences. Pressing ALT-O displays the Comm screen options, which you are likely to use often while on-line. To select an option, press its first letter (or move the pointer to it with the ARROW KEYS, TAB, or SHIFT_TAB, and press ENTER). You can use the Main menu or other FreeComm menus even while you are on-line. To reach the Main menu, press ALT-M. Any information that you receive from the remote system while you're on the menus will appear later, when you return to the Comm screen. Now that you know how to get around in the program, you will want to explore FreeComm. 1.5 Changing program preferences ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For you to feel at home in any new program, the program must be in harmony with both your hardware and your taste. The Preferences menu serves both purposes. It lets you change modem and port selections that you made during installation, and set up the program to look, sound, and act the way you like best. Select P from the Main menu. Sliding and exploding menus ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leave this set to "Yes" to make menus slide or "explode" onto the screen. Set this to "No" to make menus appear without special effects, which is faster on LCD screens or other slow monitors. Virus filter ~~~~~~~~~~~~ This activates HyperGuard, a unique real-time virus filter, which checks every file that you receive with any file transfer protocol, copy with ALT-F Copy, or unpack with ALT-F Unpack, for known viruses. For more information, see Appendix F. Beep duration ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This sets the length of beep caused by errors and program messages. Normally this is 50 msec. After entering a new beep duration or frequency, you can test the results by pressing any key this menu does not use, such as Z. Frequency of beep ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This sets the tone of the beep. Normally it's 1000 Hz. Larger settings give higher tones and smaller settings, lower tones. Working directory ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When you enter a filename without a directory, FreeComm will assume your current directory, unless you have defined a working directory. You can also define specific directories for files that you send or receive, as described in Chapter 10. The remaining options change certain settings program-wide. For example, you might select "Rate" and enter a value, to replace baud rate settings for every system in the System List, and Answer mode. (These settings can be changed individually as described in Chapters 4 and 8.) The following options display menus which show reference values for each setting; only settings that you change will take effect. Rate ~~~~ Select "Rate" to make a program-wide change to the baud rate. You might wish to do this, for example, if the Install program set all baud rates to 1200, and you prefer 2400 (or vice versa). Communications port ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Select "Communications port" to make a program-wide change to the port type or settings. (See Chapter 10 for information on settings.) Changing port settings might be useful, for example, if you specified the wrong port when you ran the Install program, or if you were to switch your modem from one port to another. Hardware ~~~~~~~~ Select "Hardware" and then "Modem" or "Printer", to make program-wide changes to modem or printer settings. Selecting "Modem" might be useful if you chose the wrong modem type when you ran the Install program, or if you purchase a new modem. Colors ~~~~~~ Select "Colors" if you wish to change colors throughout the program. If you prefer to change colors on a system-by-system basis, see Chapter 10. 1.6 For those switching from Procomm ... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you are switching to FreeComm from Procomm or Procomm Plus, this section will be helpful. Even without this section, you should find FreeComm refreshingly easy. You'll notice immediately that FreeComm looks nothing like Procomm or Procomm Plus. It takes a fresh, new approach, and does much more. The more you use FreeComm, the more comfortable it is. However, to help smooth the transition, you can: þ Keep using keys you're familiar with (see Optional Keys). þ Learn structural differences by reading How to Change Settings. Optional Keys ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This optional set of keys duplicates keys available in several other programs, enabling you to perform functions with a single keystroke that might otherwise take several keystrokes. (Certain keys available in other programs are not duplicated, due to structural differences.) Here are the keys and their functions: PGUP Send files ALT-A Editor PGDN Receive files ALT-B Break signal* CTRL-PGUP (see Zmodem, below) ALT-C Clear Comm screen CTRL-PGDN (see Zmodem, below) ALT-D Main menu CTRL-\ Debug or monitor mode ALT-E Duplex toggle CTRL-] Bottom line toggle ALT-G Screen snapshot to disk ALT-F1 Capture on/off ALT-J Initialize modem ALT-F2 Capture pause/resume ALT-Q Start Answer mode ALT-F3 CR-CR/LF toggle ALT-U Reset terminal ALT-F4 Jump to operating system ALT-V View a file ALT-F5 Run a script ALT-X Quit FreeComm ALT-F6 Review buffer ALT-Y Auto answer ALT-F7 Change directory ALT-Z Show list of these keys *ALT-B is one of FreeComm's regular keys, but listed here for completeness. These keys are available throughout FreeComm. You may view a list of these keys by pressing ALT-Z. Each key is also listed on the Keys menu, along with the automatic sequence that it runs. You may use the Keys menu to edit sequences or change keys to which they are assigned. These keys perform functions that can be performed in other ways which are described throughout this manual. So, if you like, you can discard or temporarily disable these keys. You can discard them by deleting them one at a time on the Keys menu, or disable them by entering a new .KEY file as described in Chapter 7. How to Change Settings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ People familiar with other programs are often surprised by how much more control FreeComm gives them over settings. FreeComm maintains a complete, separate group of settings for every system you call, right down to the port, modem, modem setup commands, and display colors. When it comes to changing settings, you can take your pick from among several methods, ranging from simple and quick, to complex and powerful. "Simple, Sweeping Changes"-- You can change the baud rate, port, modem, or color settings of for systems in the System List and Answer mode by using the Preferences menu (see Chapter 1). "Selective Changes"-- To change settings for each system in the System List individually, select Define system settings, Modify, and the desired system on the Main menu (see Chapter 4). Changing Groups of Systems To change settings for several systems, select "Define system settings", "Modify", press CTRL-ENTER, select the systems, and press CTRL-ENTER again. Other advantages ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FreeComm can learn almost anything while other programs can scarcely learn trivial tasks like logging on to remote systems. Other programs simply record keystrokes, FreeComm has "Discerning Learning" (the ability to decipher your intentions). Where other programs learn only on their terminal screen, FreeComm also learns on its menus. This means other programs can't learn tasks that use both the terminal screen and the menus tasks like capturing messages, transferring files, or placing complete calls. FreeComm can learn such tasks, start to finish, so you can automate without having to write scripts. Here are some other features you may appreciate in FreeComm: þ Faster file transfer protocols þ Review buffer more powerful and more convenient þ Editor is built in, not a slow-to-use separate program þ Convenient built-in file management features (use ALT-F) þ Guards against downloading or copying files containing viruses þ Lets you run programs remotely (similar to Carbon Copy) 1.7 WinComm PRO ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Select W for WinComm PRO Upgrade and order your copy of WinComm PRO! You can access on-line services, transfer files and send e-mail across the Internet easier than you ever thought possible. New Delrina WinComm PRO s friendly graphical Windows interface, intuitive icons and fully customizable button bar and phonebook make all your on-line communications push-button simple. To upgrade to WinComm PRO today and save $80, call 1-800-268-6082 or simply complete the on-line registration and click OK. Don't wait. Get WinComm PRO and see for yourself why PC Computing said WinComm PRO is ...intuitive enough for a novice user and yet still packed with enough sophisticated features to keep an on-line junkie happy. (January 1994) 2.1 On-Line Operations ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Remote systems can be valuable information resources, and the ideal tool is FreeComm. In this chapter, you learn how to use information that remote systems displays on your screen. Using the powerful yet simple tools introduced here, you can: þ Control the flow of information onto your screen, so you can read and respond to it at the pace you're comfortable with. þ Direct the arriving information to your printer as well, so you can have a hard copy of it for later reference. þ Capture the information to disk, so you can use it later. þ Reduce the keystrokes involved in printing or capturing, to make these routine processes even easier. þ Review information that has already left your screen it remains in memory for instant access! þ Select, print, and save information at your leisure, even after you've gone off-line. 2.2 Reading & typing on the Comm screen ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once you connect with a system, your keystrokes display on the Comm screen along with information from the system. What you should type varies from one system to the next, because each system has its own commands. The Comm screen supports several mouse actions to let you interact with remote systems quickly and easily. With systems that display choices and expect you to type a single-letter selection, you can point to the desired letter and click the right button. With systems that expect you to enter a word, point to that word and double-click; FreeComm will send all characters left and right of the pointer (up to the first space or non-alphanumeric character) plus ENTER. For the Comm screen to display text and react to screen control codes properly, FreeComm must be set to emulate the type of terminal that the system supports. The terminal emulator also defines PC keys to use in place of special terminal keys. For example, CTRL-BREAK on your PC is equivalent to a terminal's BREAK key. To learn which keys to use, press ALT-H on the Comm screen, and scroll down to the table for the terminal you are emulating (or see Appendix B). You can read information as it arrives or after it leaves your screen. To prevent information from leaving the screen, press SCROLL LOCK to stop scrolling. Press SCROLL LOCK again, when you want scrolling to resume. While SCROLL LOCK is on, "S-lock" appears in the bottom line. To review information that has scrolled off, press ALT-O, select Review, "then" use UP ARROW KEY, DOWN ARROW KEY, PGUP, and PGDN to display the information you want, as described later in this chapter. 2.3 Printing incoming information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To print text as it arrives on the Comm screen, press ALT-O, then select "Print" and "Begin". ("prn" appears in the bottom line to indicate that printing is on; text is buffered, so your printer may not begin immediately.) To end printing, press ALT-O, then select "Print" and "End". Any text that arrives on the Comm screen while printing is on, will be printed. Text flows first into a buffer whose size can be set as in Chapter10. The flow control method used to prevent buffer overflow is set as in Chapter 10. To position text conveniently on each page, you can define top and left margins, and lines per page (see Chapter 10). A form feed is automatically sent to the printer to eject each page, and to eject the final page when you select "End". To stop printing without ejecting a page, select "Suspend"; to begin again on that page, select "Resume". You can have FreeComm direct printer output to a printer attached to any LPT or COM port, as described in Chapter 10; initially it is set for LPT1. Other methods for printing þ Most non-alphanumeric characters that occur in received information are filtered out before printing. To let them through, turn off filtering on the Receiving text menu (see Chapter 10). þ Information that has already arrived on (or scrolled off) the Comm screen can be printed from the Review buffer as described later in this chapter. Printing from the Review buffer is particularly handy with remote systems whose display techniques cause the Comm screen "Print" option to give jumbled printouts. þ To print a snapshot of the entire Comm screen, press ALT-O, and select "Display" and "Print". þ To print a file already on your disks, press ALT-F to bring up the Files options, select "Print", and enter the filename. þ You can print a snapshot of any FreeComm screen by pressing the PRINT SCREEN key (SHIFT-PRTSC, on some PCs). Your PC itself provides this function; it works with all programs. 2.4 Capturing incoming text to disk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To capture text as it arrives on the Comm screen, press ALT-O, then select "Capture" and "Begin". Either press ENTER to capture text into the proposed file, enter a new filename, or press ALT-D to display a directory and select a filename. ("cpt" appears in the bottom line to indicate that capturing is on; text is buffered, so you may not see immediate disk activity.) To end capturing, press ALT-O, then select "Capture" and "End". Note: Text being saved to disk flows first into a buffer whose size you can set as in Chapter 10. Buffer overflow can be prevented by selecting the proper flow control methods on the ASCII Receiving menu and Standard comm port menu; see Chapter 10. You can turn capture on and off as often as you like, either capturing to a different file each time or to the same file. When capturing into an existing file, select "Append" to add text to the file or "Overwrite" to replace existing file contents. For greater convenience you can pre-define a different capture file for each system you call, by listing the filename on the Receiving text menu as described in Chapter 10. It's easy to capture separate segments of text into a single file, and avoid capturing unwanted text that arrives between segments. Begin capturing as above, but when the first segment you want ends, select "Suspend"; after unwanted text passes by and the next segment you want is about to begin, select "Resume". After the last segment, you can select "End" to close the capture file if you like. If you leave capturing suspended, FreeComm will close the file for you automatically when you begin capturing to another file or when you quit FreeComm. Other ways to save text you receive ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ þ Most non-alphanumeric characters that occur in received information are filtered out before text is written to disk. To let them through, turn off filtering on the ASCII Receiving menu (see Chapter10). þ Text that has already arrived on or scrolled off the Comm screen can be saved to disk from within the Review buffer as described later in this chapter. If you find that Capture creates files with a jumbled appearance due to display methods of a remote system, try using the Comm screen "Display" option, instead. þ To save a snapshot of the entire Comm screen to a file, press ALT-O, and select "Display:" and "Write". þ Text that you capture can be corrupted or lost due to noise on the line. When possible, you should receive text files using one of the error-free file transfer protocols discussed in the next chapter. 2.5 To capture or print with fewer keys... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The basic procedures for printing and capturing given in Chapter 2 can't be beat for simplicity and uniformity: You'll get comfortable with this easy-to-learn procedure right away. Once your transfers settle into a routine, however, you may want to streamline the process by eliminating a few of the keystrokes. This section shows how to print or capture with fewer keystrokes by using some of FreeComm's powerful automation tools. In Chapter 7 you'll learn more about them and how they can transform other aspects of your communications. To print with fewer keystrokes: 1. On the Comm screen, press ALT-L to have FreeComm start learning a sequence that will let you begin printing with a single key. 2. Press ALT-O, select "Print", and then select "Begin". 3. Press ALT-L, select "Stop-learning", enter a sequence name such as BEGINPRN, and select "Stay-here". Press the key you want to use to start printing, such as CTRL-P. 4. Press ALT-L again, to have FreeComm start learning a sequence that will end printing with a single key. 5. Press ALT-O, select "Print", and then select "End". 6. Press ALT-L, select "Stop-learning", enter a sequence name such as ENDPRN, and select "Stay-here". Press the key you want to use to run this sequence, such as CTRL-END. From now on, you can press CTRL-P to begin printing and CTRL-END to end printing. To capture with fewer keystrokes: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. On the Comm screen, press ALT-L to have FreeComm start learning a sequence that will begin capturing with a single key. 2. Press ALT-O, select "Capture", and select "Begin". 3. Press ALT-L, select "Stop-learning", enter a sequence name such as BEGINCPT, and select "Stay-here". Press the key you want to use to begin capturing, such as CTRL-B. 4. Since you do not really want to capture any text at the moment, press ESC now, rather than entering a capture filename. 5. Press ALT-L again, to have FreeComm start learning a sequence that will end capturing with a single key. 6. Press ALT-O, select "Capture", and then select "End". 7. Press ALT-L, select "Stop-learning", enter a sequence name such as ENDCPT, and select "Stay-here". Press the key you want to use to end capturing, such as CTRL-E. From now on you can begin capturing by pressing CTRL-B and entering a filename, and end capturing by pressing CTRL-E. 2.6 Reviewing text after it scrolls off ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Text that scrolls off the Comm screen is stored in the Review buffer. To bring the Review buffer onto your screen, press ALT-O and select "Review". You can scroll through the Review buffer to read the text, or choose portions to print or save to disk. Text from the Comm screen continues to accumulate in the Review buffer until you delete it or quit the program, so it's available to you at any time, even after you are no longer connected with a system. When you first enter the Review buffer you see the latest text received on the Comm screen; this text occupies the very bottom of the Review buffer. To see older, previously received text, scroll up (press UP ARROW KEYor PGUP). The oldest text is at the top of the Review buffer. An indicator in the left border shows whether you're near the bottom, middle, or top of the Review buffer. Use these keys to move around in the Review buffer: Key Moves Cursor LEFT ARROW Left one character RIGHT ARROW Right one character CTRL-LEFT ARROW Left one word CTRL-RIGHT ARROW Right one word UP ARROW Up one line DOWN ARROW Down one line HOME Left end of line END Right end of line CTRL-HOME Top of current screen CTRL-END Bottom of current screen PGUP Up one screen PGDN Down one screen CTRL-PGUP Top of Review buffer CTRL-PGDN Bottom of Review buffer ESC Exits the Review buffer To mark a place so that you can return to it quickly, press ALT-O and select "Tag". To jump to it from anywhere in the Review buffer, press ALT-O, then select "Jump" and "Tag". To jump to a particular line number, press ALT-O, select "Jump" and " Line-number," and enter the number. (The top line is line 1.) To find a particular string (character, word, or phrase) press ALT-O, select "Find", enter the string, and select "Down" or "Up" to select the search direction. To leave the Review buffer and redisplay the Comm screen, press ALT-C or ESC, or press ALT-O and select "Quit". The Review buffer normally holds up to 10,000 characters (about 8 typewritten pages). The percent filled is shown at the top of the Review buffer screen. W hen the buffer is full, old text is discarded a page at a time to make room for new text. Note: You can set the Review buffer's size as high as 250K for increased capacity; see Chapter 10. With systems that display new text by erasing or overwriting old text, without ever scrolling the old text off the screen, the Review buffer will merely display the most recent screen and never accumulate text. Each time the Comm screen holds information you want, however, you can copy a snapshot of it into the Review buffer by pressing ALT-O, and selecting "Display" and "Copy" to Review. 2.7 Printing & saving text after it arrives ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To print or capture a snapshot of the Comm screen, press ALT-O, select "Display", and then select "Print" or "Write". After text has scrolled off the Comm screen, you can still print or save it using the Review buffer: 1. Press ALT-O and select "Review". 2. Move the cursor to one end (top or bottom) of the text you want to print or save. 3. Press ALT-B to mark the beginning of a block of text. 4. Move the cursor to the end of the block of text you want to print or save. The selected text will be highlighted. 5. Select "Print" or "Write". (After selecting "Write", enter a filename; if the file already exists, select "Overwrite" or "Append".) 2.8 Capturing or printing retroactively ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FreeComm gives you a choice between capturing text as it arrives, or saving it later from the Review buffer. But you can begin saving text in the Review buffer, and continue capturing when you return to the Comm screen. The same holds true for printing. 1. After text you want to print or save has begun to arrive, press ALT-O and select "Review". 2. Press ALT-B with the cursor at the very last (bottom-most) character in the Review buffer, then move the cursor to the top of the text you want to write to disk or print. 3. Select "Write" or "Print". (After selecting "Write", enter a filename and select "Overwrite" or "Append", if necessary.) 4. To return to the Comm screen, press ESC or ALT-C (or press ALT-O and select "Quit"). This not only writes the block of text to disk or prints it, it turns on "Capture" or "Print" on the Comm screen, so text arriving next continues to be captured or printed. The key to this operation is that marking the very last character of the Review buffer prior to selecting "Write" or "Print" turns on the Comm screen "Capture" or "Print" option. If you prefer that "Capture" or "Print" not be turned on, avoid marking the last character of the Review buffer. 2.9 Editing or deleting text you have received ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After you select "Review", you are actually using the FreeComm Editor to look at the Review buffer. The Editor provides powerful tools for revising text you've received: You can delete unwanted text, add notes, or change the appearance of received text before you print or save it. How to use these and other capabilities of the Editor is discussed in Chapter 6. Any editing that you have done to the bottom-most screenful of the Review buffer will also display when you return to the Comm screen. Any character attributes (bold, underline, colors, etc.) which were displayed on the Comm screen prior to editing will be gone. 3.1 Transferring Files ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The ability to exchange files with other systems is one of the greatest benefits of computer communications. With FreeComm, it's easier and faster than ever before. You can have a remote computer transfer documents, database files, spreadsheets, or entire programs directly onto your disks, ready to use. You can also transfer files directly from your disks to those of a remote computer. To ensure that data is transferred correctly, computers use protocols (established methods for exchanging data along with instructions that coordinate the process). Most protocols sense when data is corrupted or lost due to noise on your connection and automatically re-send the affected data until it is received correctly. FreeComm offers a wide variety of protocols: HyperProtocol (a state-of-the-art protocol), Kermit, Zmodem, Ymodem, Ymodem G, 1K-Xmodem, Xmodem CRC, Xmodem Checksum, CompuServe B, and Text (or ASCII) protocol. Having so many protocols gives you the ability to transfer files with remote systems that offer only one or two protocols. Independent tests prove FreeComm's protocols are substantially faster than the same protocols in other programs, due to superior implementation. And HyperProtocol is the fastest of all. You should definitely take advantage of HyperProtocol whenever the remote system also has it. Every remote PC that has FreeComm has HyperProtocol. HyperProtocol is also available on many bulletin boards, minicomputers, and mainframes. This chapter first gives basic instructions on how to transfer files, and introduces these exciting, new capabilities: þ A handy point-and-shoot method for selecting files for sending. þ Tricks for power-users, such as pre-listing files for batch sending. þ Powerful slash options for doing special kinds of transfers. þ How to accomplish transfers with fewer keystrokes. þ How to fend off viruses in files you receive (see Appendix F). 3.2 How to begin a file transfer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Regardless of the remote system, the overall procedures for sending and receiving files are similar: 1. On the Comm screen, type commands to the remote system to prepare it for the transfer. Each system has its own commands, so you may need a user's guide from the system to know what to type. If that system is also using FreeComm, see Chapter 9. Note: Before sending files, you can get estimates of how long the transfer may take (see Chapter 5). 2. After the remote system displays a message indicating that it is ready for the transfer to begin, press ALT-O and select "Transfer", to prepare your PC for the transfer. 3. Select "Send" to send files to the remote system or "Receive" to receive files. 4. Select the protocol you want to use. You must use the same protocol as the remote system. For information on protocols, press ALT-H on the protocol selection menu, or see Appendix D. 5. Enter a filename or directory as described in Chapter 3. Note: For less keystrokes when performing steps 2-5, see Chapter 3 for tips that cut keystrokes dramatically. If you take too long performing steps 2-5, the remote system may stop waiting for the transfer to start. Repeat the steps again more quickly. To speed up the process, see Chapter 3 for help. The transfer now begins. What you see depends on the protocol you've selected. Text protocol displays the file contents, while error-correcting protocols display a screen that lets you oversee the file transfer. If errors occur due to a noisy connection, the transfer screen will show that data is being re-sent. Once the transfer is under way, it requires little participation on your part, though the screen does provide some interesting information. When you send a single file, a bargraph shows what percent has been sent so far. When you send multiple files, a second bargraph shows the total amount sent. Elapsed time, estimated time remaining, and overall throughput are dynamically updated. When you receive files, the same information displays, except that bargraphs and time remaining appear only with protocols that pass file size at the outset. Note: This does not apply to Xmodem. The figures that are displayed are particularly interesting if you are performance- or cost-conscious. You'll see that throughputs and elapsed times can vary widely, due to outside influences. Throughputs may be below your baud rate setting due to noisy phone lines or sluggish remote systems, or several times your baud rate setting when you're using HyperProtocol. After FreeComm displays a message saying that the transfer is complete, press ENTER to continue. To cancel a transfer in progress, press ESC. Exchanging cancellation messages takes a few seconds; if you don't want to wait, or you suspect messages are not being exchanged, press ESC again to abort the transfer. FreeComm logs every transfer in the log file specified on the Miscellaneous menu (normally CALL.LOG), which you can examine with the Editor. This file shows the time, date, and name of every file, and the outcome of each attempted transfer. This is especially helpful when you need to look up the names or locations of received files, or for auditing unattended communications. While logging and virus filtering seldom add appreciable delay, disabling these features assures the fastest possible transfers, and is the only fair way to benchmark test FreeComm against programs which lack these features. List as the log file, and disable virus filtering on the Preferences menu. 3.3 Entering filenames and directories ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Entering filenames when you're sending ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To send a single file, enter its filename including a drive and/or directory name. If you enter no drive or directory, FreeComm assumes you mean your sending directory; if no sending directory is defined (Chapter 10), it assumes your working directory; if no working directory is defined (Chapter 1), it assumes your current directory. To send a group of files, enter a filename that includes wildcards * or ?. To send all the files from a directory, enter the directory name. Another way to send file groups is to press CTRL-ENTER to begin multiple-entry mode, type the first filename, press ENTER, type another filename, press ENTER, and so on. Each filename may include * or ?. To end multiple-entry mode and begin sending, press CTRL-ENTER again. Note: Xmodem, 1K Xmodem, and Text protocols are incapable of sending groups of files. Entering filenames or directories when you're receiving ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Note: To skip this step entirely, simply turn off Prompt for filename when receiving. FreeComm will save files to your directory without prompting you. For more details, see Chapter 10. To receive a single file, enter the filename you want the file to have (you need not use the same name as the remote system). You can include a drive and/or directory name. For example, you might enter C:\FINANCE\STOCKS.QTS. To receive a group of files, enter the drive and/or directory where you want them stored, instead of entering a filename. If you enter nothing at all, FreeComm stores the file or files in your receiving directory; if no receiving directory is defined (Chapter 10), it uses your working directory; if no working directory is defined (Chapter 1), it uses your current directory. Files are stored under the same filenames as the remote system uses, unless a file by that name already exists (in which case, the received filename is changed by adding a number to the left of the period). Note: Xmodem and 1K Xmodem protocols are incapable of receiving groups of files. When FreeComm prompts you to enter the filename or directory, it often proposes a filename which may be appropriate. You might be interested to know the source of such filenames. In preparing to transfer a file, you typically command the remote system to transfer the file just before you reach this step, so the desired filename may be on the Comm screen. FreeComm scans the Comm screen and proposes the last filename it finds. If it finds no filename, it proposes the last filename that you sent or received. You may use the proposed filename in these ways: þ To accept the proposed filename as is, press ENTER. þ To substitute a new filename or directory name, just type the new name; the proposed filename is erased when you begin typing. þ To edit the proposed filename, press any cursor-movement or editing key (RIGHT OR LEFT ARROW KEYS, HOME, END, INS, BACKSPACE or DEL), then make the desired changes. þ To add a path to the filename, press HOME and type the desired path. When no path is specified, your current working directory is used. (To change your working directory, see Chapter 1). 3.4 Point-and-shoot file selection ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Instead of entering the names of files to send, FreeComm gives you a convenient alternative: You can display directories and simply point and shoot at the files you want. This applies both to sending of single files and multiple files. Sending single files with point-and-shoot selection ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Prepare to send as described in Chapter 3, up to the point where you would normally enter a filename. 2. To display a list of files from which to select, press ALT-D and enter a drive, directory or filename (which can include * or ? as wildcards). 3. Move the pointer to the file you want to send and press ENTER to begin the transfer. (Use UP AND DOWN ARROW KEYS to move up and down, CTRL-LEFT ARROW KEY and CTRL-RIGHT ARROW KEY to move between columns.) Sending multiple files with point-and-shoot selection ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Prepare to send as described in Chapter 3, up through the point where you would normally enter a filename. 2. Press CTRL-ENTER to begin multiple-entry mode. 3. To display a list of files from which to select, press ALT-D and enter a drive, directory or filename (which can include * or ? as wildcards). 4. Move the pointer to each of the files you want to send and press ENTER. 5. If there are other files you want to send which are not in the displayed list, repeat steps 3 and 4 to bring up and select from a separate list (or type each filename and press ENTER). To deselect a file, move to it and press ENTER a second time. 6. When all the files you want to send have been selected, press CTRL-ENTER to begin sending. Keep in mind that if you take too long to select files for sending, the remote system may give up waiting for the transfer to begin; most systems give you about « to 1« minutes. If you need more time than this or often send the same group of files, use the approach in Chapter 3 instead. 3.5 Sending pre-selected groups of files ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To save the work of re-entering groups of files you send often, or to pre-select files for sending before you go on-line, you can use file batches. File batches are files containing lists of files to be sent. Creating a file batch is easy; see Chapter 5 to learn how. You can send file batches using HyperProtocol, Zmodem, Ymodem, Ymodem G, or Kermit. Prepare to send as in Chapter 3, but instead of entering a normal filename, enter /B, a space, and the name of the file batch. For example, to send files whose names are listed in the file batch NYOFFICE.FLS, you would enter /B NYOFFICE.FLS. Note: You can use /B only during regular entry mode, not multiple-entry mode. 3.6 Slash options for special operations ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In addition to the /B option, there are other powerful slash options for accomplishing special types of file transfers with HyperProtocol, Kermit, Zmodem, Ymodem, and Ymodem G. To use slash options, prepare to send or receive as in Chapter 3, but when entering the filename and/or directory, begin by typing the desired slash option(s) and a space. These are the available options: Slash options to use when receiving ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ /O This lets received files Overwrite existing files with identical filenames. When /O is not used, any received filenames that match existing filenames are automatically renamed (a number is inserted to the left of the period). /N Use this to update groups of files or entire directories. From among files a system attempts to send, this accepts only the New files and refuses the rest. This lets files with newer times and dates overwrite your existing, older files; those with new filenames are also accepted. Note: /N can be used only with protocols that allow the receiver to reject files unilaterally: HyperProtocol, Zmodem, and Kermit. /P This stores files using the Path included in received filenames; if the path contains directories that do not exist on your disks, they are created. Slash options to use when sending ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ /S This sends files not just from a directory, but from its Subdirectories as well. /B See Chapter 3. Example applications ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ þ To receive a group of document files and have them overwrite any similarly named files in your \WP directory, you might command a remote system to send *.DOC, then enter /O \WP to prepare to receive them. þ To get from the above system only those files that are newer than those already in your \WP directory, you might command the system to send *.DOC, and enter /N \WP when preparing to receive them. þ You could send all files with the .DAT extension from the \DB directory or its subdirectories by entering /S C:\DB\*.DAT when preparing to send as in Chapter3. þ To transfer the entire directory structure and all files from another PC with FreeComm to your own PC, connect with that PC as shown in Chapter 9 and enter on your keyboard the command HSEND /S \*.*. This commands the other PC to send the desired files using HyperProtocol. Then prepare your PC to receive as in Chapter 3, and enter /P \, to instruct your PC to store files using the path specified in the received filenames. The net effect: The other PC's directory structure and files are duplicated on your disk. þ To repeat the previous transfer, moving only files that are new, you'd again issue the command HSEND /S \*.* to the other PC, but enter /P /N \ to prepare your PC to receive. Fine points regarding use of /P and /S ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To enjoy the full power of the /P and /S options, you need to understand how these options use paths and directories, and to understand that, you must already be familiar with using paths and directories yourself. Files received using /P are put wherever the path in each received filename specifies. If the path includes directories that do not exist, they are created. If the path extends to the root directory (has \ at its left), the new directories are created in the root; if it does not extend to the root, the new directories are created in the directory whose name you entered along with /P (or in your working directory, if you entered no directory name). Clearly, to have /P put files where you want them, you must be able to control (or predict) the paths the sender supplies with filenames. If the remote system has FreeComm, you can control this by commanding it to send using /S. (If it has other software, you may need to experiment to determine what paths, if any, it supplies.) When you have files sent by entering /S and a wildcard filename with a directory (omitting the directory implies the current directory), any matching files in that directory are sent with no path; matching files in subdirectories are sent with paths consisting of subdirectory names only. Now that you know more about /P and /S, a couple more examples will help you see how useful these options can be. More example applications ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ þ A PC that has answered your call using FreeComm has a C:\BILLING\DATA directory, which has many subdirectories, each containing data on individual customer accounts. You want to transfer these subdirectories and their contents, but you want the subdirectories to be in your C:\REVENUE directory. So you enter HSEND /S C:\BILLING\DATA\*.* on your keyboard to command the other PC to send, and enter /P C:\REVENUE when preparing your PC to receive. þ While connected with the PC in the previous example, you decide you had better update its accounts payable files, which it keeps in subdirectories of its C:\PAYABLE\DATA directory. You have the most recent information on your PC, in subdirectories of your C:\EXPENSES directory. In order to transfer only those files that have changed, you enter HREC /P /N C:\PAYABLE\DATA to command that PC to receive, and enter /S C:\EXPENSES\*.* to prepare your PC to send. 3.7 Transferring files with fewer keystrokes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The basic procedure for transferring files given in this chapter are simple and uniform: with this one, easy-to-learn procedure, you can send and receive with every protocol. Once your transfers settle into a routine, however, you may want to streamline the process by eliminating a few of the keystrokes. This section shows how to cut keystrokes from each transfer by using some of FreeComm's powerful keystroke-reduction features. To receive files with fewer keystrokes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There are several steps you can take to reduce the keystrokes required to receive files. First of all, rather than pressing ALT-O, T for "Transfer", and R for "Receive", you can simply press PGDN. PGDN runs a macro (named DOWNLOAD) which issues ALT-O, T, R, performing in one keystroke what would otherwise take three. The next step in the receiving process is to select a protocol. You can eliminate this step entirely with any remote system where you know in advance what protocol you will be using. Once you define a default protocol as described in Chapter 10, you will no longer be prompted to select a protocol. The final step specifying the filename or directory where the received file should be saved can also be eliminated. Simply turn off "Prompt" for filename when receiving on the Protocol defaults menu, as described in Chapter 10. From then on, FreeComm will no longer pause for you to specify a directory or filename, but will automatically save files into your receive directory. If you haven't defined a receive directory, it uses your working directory; if you haven't defined a working directory, it uses your current directory. There you have it ... one-key receiving using PGDN! The only thing that could beat that is no-key receiving. And that's exactly what you get with FreeComm's Zmodem and CompuServe Quick B protocols. With remote systems that support these protocols, all you need to do is command the remote system to begin s ending; FreeComm will begin receiving automatically. To send files with fewer keystrokes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rather than pressing ALT-O, T for Transfer, and S for Send, you can press PGUP. PGUP runs a macro (named UPLOAD) which issues ALT-O, T, S, performing with one keystroke what would otherwise take three. The next step in the sending process is to select a protocol. You can eliminate this step with any remote system where you know in advance what protocol you will be using. Once you define a default protocol, you will no longer be prompted to select a protocol. 3.8 Solving file transfer problems ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ While file transfers are generally trouble-free, excessively noisy phone lines can make even error-correcting protocols fail. Try redialing or switching to a different long-distance telephone service. If you think your phone system is to blame, ask the phone company for help. The next most common cause of problems is faulty procedure not doing the right steps or doing them in the wrong order. One common mistake is to select "Transfer" without first typing commands to the remote system to make it begin the transfer. Each system has its own commands, so only the system can tell you what you should type. Remember also that you must both use the same protocol. If, FreeComm is receiving files, and it asks the remote system to re-send packets suspiciously often (say, through apparently noise-free connections or with error-correcting modems), there are two causes to investigate. þ Those with error-correcting modems may have selected the wrong modem or entered the wrong modem commands on FreeComm's menus. The modem must be configured to pass XOFF/XON characters, and both it and FreeComm must be configured to use RTS/CTS flow control. þ It could also be that a memory-resident program is stealing snatches of time, preventing FreeComm from picking up every character. Try selectively removing such programs from memory until you find the culprit. To transfer files with some systems, you may need to adjust your protocol settings. To reach the settings, select "Define", "Modify", and the system name from the Main menu, then ASCII protocol or File transfer protocol from the System settings menu. Once you're on the desired protocol menu, you can press ALT-H for explanations of menu items (or see Chapter 10). The need to change settings is more common with Text protocol than other protocols. Changes to the others are generally needed only to accommodate systems that deviate from standards. For example, CompuServe's Xmodem is slower than most, and may require that you set larger (relaxed) timing parameters on the Xmodem menu (see Chapter10). Remote systems with old-fashioned implementations of Xmodem may be unable to exchange files with you unless you set the error-checking method to checksum and turn off compression. 4.1 Defining and Calling Systems ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You'll find it remarkably easy to define and call systems with FreeComm. Its extensive call-support features far surpass those of other programs and advance your communications in new and unexpected ways. In this chapter, you'll learn more about procedures for calling and adding systems, and learn about these new capabilities: þ Store and instantly dial phone numbers for voice calls þ Get calls through to phone numbers that are usually busy þ Fire off calls to multiple systems in rapid succession þ Use the System List like a Rolodex, using the Find option þ Maintain a System List with up to 2,000 entries adding, modifying, and deleting systems as needed þ Modify settings of many systems at once, saving time and effort þ Sort the System List in 3 ways for quick, convenient access þ Export or import systems with other FreeComm users Whether you communicate with many systems or just one, the features in this chapter that are perfectly suited to your needs. 4.2 The System List ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Each line of the System List contains the name of a system and a brief summary of the settings used to connect and communicate with it. The System List can contain up to 2,000 systems. Press PGUP or PGDN to page through it, CTRL-PGUP or CTRL-PGDN to go to the beginning or the end. An ARROW symbol displays to the left of the system whose settings FreeComm is currently using. Each line containing a system actually represents a complete group of settings on the System settings menu and its submenus (you can examine or modify these settings as described in Chapter 4). Each system's settings define the procedure for connecting with the system, the parameters used for exchanging data, and the hardware configuration your PC uses during communications with that system. FreeComm comes with an assortment of systems. You may delete any systems you do not use, except for "Proposed settings", which contains the settings that FreeComm proposes when you add a system. Running the Install program adjusts certain settings in "Proposed settings" and the other supplied systems to adapt them to your hardware and preferences. 4.3 The many ways to call a system ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once a system is in the System List, you can connect with it using your choice of these methods: Select "Call a system" and "Data-call" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is the most common way to place calls. 1. Select Call a system and Data-call 2. Enter the system name or choose it using UP AND DOWN ARROW KEYS, PGUP, PGDN, and press ENTER. FreeComm changes to the Comm screen, makes the connection, loads the settings for this system, runs the Logon script (if one is listed), and returns control to you. Busy phone numbers are re-dialed automatically. All calls and transfers are logged in a file listed on the Miscellaneous menu (usually CALL.LOG). Note: Even when you are making a direct connection where phone lines are not used, you can establish the connection by using "Call a system" and "Data-call". Placing calls with a mouse ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To place a call instantly, simply double-click the desired system in the S ystem List. Double-clicking on a system has the same effect as selecting "Call a System" and "Data-call". Select "Call a system" and "Voice-call" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To place voice calls, you need to have a telephone plugged into your modem; most modems have a second jack for this purpose. With modems having only one jack (such as early Hayes Smartmodems), you must plug a 2-into-1 telephone adapter (available at any telephone store) into the wall jack, then plug the modem and telephone into it. 1. Select "Call a system" and "Voice-call". 2. Enter the system name.. 3. After FreeComm dials the modem and displays a message, pick up your telephone receiver. 4. If someone answers, press ENTER and begin speaking; if there's no answer or a busy signal, press SPACEBAR to redial or ESC to quit. To end a voice call, hang up the receiver and press ESC (this logs the call into the CALL.LOG file). To convert a voice call to a data call, tell the other party to command his modem to answer an incoming call; parties with FreeComm an use the Answer menu Emit carrier option, and those without can use the ATA Hayes command. When you hear the continuous, high-pitched carrier tone, press ENTER, hang up the receiver, and begin data communications on the Comm screen. Multiple calls with "Data-call" or "Voice-call" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can place multiple data or voice calls that connect with the first system that isn't busy or connect with each of many systems. Connecting with the first non-busy system is convenient for data calls to busy mainframes, services, or bulletin boards that have several phone numbers (list each phone number as a separate system). This is efficient for voice calls as well. Connecting with each of many systems is useful for picking up electronic mail from several services, or transferring files with numerous remote offices. 1. Select "Call a system", then "Data-call" or "Voice-call". 2. Press CTRL-ENTER to begin multiple entry mode. 3. Enter each system name. Note: To retract a choice, select it a second time. 4. After you've entered all the desired systems, press CTRL-ENTER to end multiple-entry mode. 5. Select "Rotate-among-systems-until connect" to reach only the first system that answers, or "Connect-to-all" to reach everyone. If you select "Data-call" and "Connect-to-all", you must then specify how many times to retry calling each system, should its Logon script fail. Data calls are dynamically queued: Disconnecting from one system triggers the call to the next; busy systems and retries move to the end of the queue. With voice calls you must press ESC when you're ready for the next call. To cancel subsequent calls, press ALT-A. Note: Data calls to a series of systems can occur automatically if the login script you list for each system automates the entire call to that system. To automate calls to PCs that have FreeComm, see Chapter 9. Select "Call a system" and "Learn-logon" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This will call a system and learn (or relearn) the steps you perform upon connecting with the system. The resulting logon script will do the steps for you automatically in subsequent calls. 1. If there is an existing logon script for this system, you may want to make a backup copy before proceeding, as the following steps will overwrite the existing script. (To make a backup, copy the file whose name consists of the script name plus the .HP extension). 2. Select "Call a system" and "Learn-logon". 3. Enter the system name. 4. After the connection is established, perform any steps that you routinely do upon connecting (enter your password, etc.). After you've completed the steps you want to have learned, press ALT-L and select "Stop-learning"; typically, you must stop learning before doing any steps which may vary from call to call. 5. When you are asked if the script should be compiled, select "Yes". When you stop learning, a script file is created which contains characters you typed, prompts that displayed, and suitable functions from the HyperPilot language. Compiling this creates an encrypted, binary file, which FreeComm can run to duplicate your steps. Both filenames begin with the logon script name; the first file has the .HP extension and the second has the .RDY extension. (To learn about compiling, see the FreeComm Scripting Manual.) Note: If you're afraid someone may examine your scripts to find your passwords, put the .HP files away on a floppy for safekeeping. (Only the .RDY files need be present and they are unreadable.) If you prefer not to have your passwords learned at all, you can have your logon scripts pause for you to enter them (see Chapter 7). Select "Call a system" and "Find" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you cannot remember the full name of a system you want to call and do not want to search the whole System List: 1. Select "Call a system" and "Find". 2. Enter any character(s) you know are in the system name. This displays only the systems whose names contain those characters, and is not case-sensitive. 3. You can then select "Data-call", "Voice-call", or "Learn-logon", and select the system quickly from this shorter list, or select "Find" and try other characters. (To redisplay the full System List, press ESC.) Calling from the Comm screen, without using "Call a system" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When you place calls using "Call a system", this actually executes CALL.RDY, a complex script capable of establishing connections through a broad spectrum of modems, devices, and direct-cable connections. In circumstances which make using "Call a system" unsuitable or impractical, you may prefer to establish connections yourself by using the Comm screen directly: 1. Make sure your settings are correct for calling the remote system. You can do this by selecting "Define system settings", then "Load", and choosing a system whose settings are appropriate (using "Load" merely installs settings without dialing or running the logon script). 2. Press ALT-C to display the Comm screen. 3. Manually issue commands to establish the connection. Typically this entails typing a dialing command given in your modem manual (such as ATDT), plus a phone number. Making calls with automatic sequences ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can use automatic sequences--macros, commands, or scripts--to automate calls placed with any of the previous methods. Use a macro to fire off a call with just one key. Use a command to launch calls from any FreeComm screen or menu, or to have calls begin at designated times. Use scripts to automate more complex calls. Chapter 7 introduces these automation tools, and gives many ideas and examples that show how automation can help you. Note: To place calls from the DOS prompt, enter the command you normally use to start FreeComm, a space and the name of a macro, command or script which calls the desired system. For example, you might enter DFCDOS MCI. 4.4 Adding systems ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Before you can call a system from the Main menu, you need to add it to the System List using your choice of these methods. Selecting "Define system settings" and "Add" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The most commonly used method for adding new systems is: 1. Select "Define system settings" and "Add". 2. Enter the system name. Each must be unique. You can make it long and descriptive (up to 20 letters), or short for quick entry. 3. When the System settings menu appears with the cursor at "Telephone number", enter a phone number (or , if you want to be asked for a number each time you call). You may include parentheses, hyphens, or spaces for readability. You need not include the modem dialing command (FreeComm already knows that), but do include any numbers you must dial for long distance calls, to get an outside line, or to disable call-waiting. You may enter such numbers along with the telephone number, or as a telephone number prefix as described in Chapter 10. Note: If you plan to connect to a system through a cable without a modem, use in place of a phone number. 4. If the original settings for Rate, Bits per character, Parity, Stop bits or Emulation disagree with recommendations from the remote system, correct them. You may also need to change settings on submenus reached by selecting ASCII protocols or other options listed below it. For details on submenus' settings, press ALT-H or see Chapter 10. Note: When connecting to a cable without a modem, select "Hardware", "Modem" and set the modem type to "Direct-cable". 5. Enter the name of a Logon script which already exists for this system or enter a new name (up to 8 letters) to have a one learned when you first log on. (If you prefer logging on manually, press ENTER to accept .) Entering a new system name as you place a call ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To add a system while placing a call: 1. Select "Call a system" and "Data-call", "Voice-call", or "Learn-logon". 2. Enter the new system name and select "Yes" when asked if you want to add the system. 3. Follow steps 3 through 5 of Selecting and Define system settings and Add, and then select "Yes" to proceed with the call. Copying an existing system and modifying it ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can also add systems by copying a system and modifying it: 1. Select "Define system settings" and "Copy". 2. Enter the name of the system whose settings are to be copied. 3. Enter the name for the new system to which the settings are to be copied (or enter the name of an existing system, in order to replace its settings with the copied settings). After the settings have been copied to the new system, you can modify them as described in Chapter 4. Adding systems by importing them ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Systems exported from FreeComm to disk files can be added (or imported) as described in Chapter 4. 4.5 Modifying system settings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once a system is in the System List, you can modify its settings by the following methods. Modifying system settings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Select "Define system settings" and "Modify". 2. Enter the name of the system whose settings are to be modified. 3. Select each setting to be modified on the System settings menu and its submenus, and enter the desired value. For detailed information on the settings on each menu, press ALT-H (or see Chapter 10.) 4. When you're done modifying the settings, press ESC, ALT-M, or ALT-C to leave the System settings menu or its submenus. The settings remain loaded, complete with the modifications. Modifying settings of more than one system at a time ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When some change in your communications requires identical modifications to many systems (for example, if you switch to a different modem or port), use this procedure. 1. Select "Define system settings" and "Modify". 2. Press CTRL-ENTER to begin multiple-entry mode. 3. Enter the name of each system whose settings are to be modified. To select all systems, type * and press ENTER. To deselect any system, select it a second time. 4. After you've entered all the system names, press CTRL-ENTER to end multiple-entry mode. 5. Initially, all settings on the System settings menu and its submenus are blank; enter values only for the settings that are to be globally modified. 6. When you're done with the settings, press ESC, ALT-M, or ALT-C to leave the System settings menu or its submenus. Modifying settings while you're on-line ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It is generally fine to modify settings while you're connected with a remote system. Here are some items you should consider: þ While changing to incorrect settings may cause you to lose your connection, incorrect settings cannot harm your PC or modem. þ When you're on-line with a system, you may load a different system in order to invoke different settings, but if those settings are incorrect for your present call, you may lose your connection. þ Sometimes it is possible to figure out which settings are correct for a particular remote system by modifying settings on-line. Change only settings with which you are familiar: Modify the setting and check its effect on the Comm screen. If the change did not have the desire results, return the setting to its original value and try another setting. 4.6 Managing the System List ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can manage the System List by selecting Define system settings and using the following options. Add ~~~ Select "Add" to add new systems to the System List, as described in Chapter 4. Modify ~~~~~~ Select "Modify" when you want to change system settings. Delete ~~~~~~ Select "Delete" and enter the name of the system you wish to remove from the System List. To remove more than one, select "Delete", press CTRL-ENTER to begin multiple-entry mode, enter the system names, and press CTRL-ENTER to end multiple-entry mode. Copy ~~~~ Select "Copy" in order to copy settings from one system to another. Next, enter the name of the system whose settings are to be copied, then enter the name of the new or existing system to which the settings are to be copied. Print ~~~~~ Select "Print" to print a copy of the System List for reference or archival purposes. (For a detailed printout of settings associated with a particular system, load that system and display the System settings menu or its submenus, then press PRINT SCREEN or SHIFT-PRTSC.) Find ~~~~ Select "Find" and enter a character or series of characters from a system name, either to locate a particular system or seek out a group of systems whose names have something in common. This temporarily replaces the System List with a list of systems that contain the character(s). You can then select any option described in this section and choose from the displayed systems. Or you can use "Find" again with different characters. To redisplay the System List, press ESC to quit the Define system settings option. Load ~~~~ Select "Load" and enter a system name, in order to switch to that system's settings without initiating a call to the system. Use this to load alternate settings while on-line, or to load settings before you manually initiate a call on the Comm screen. Sort ~~~~ The System List initially is sorted by Frequency-of-use, which lists first the systems you use most often. To change how it is sorted, select Sort, then Alphabetically, to sort by system names or Order-of-use, to put the most recently used first. (Proposed settings is always last.) Note: FreeComm keeps track of systems you call most and keeps them at the top of the System List for your convenience. View ~~~~ Select "View" to change the type of information which the System List displays. The initial view, entitled Basic settings, shows systems' names, phone numbers, and settings. Select "Phone" numbers to view names and phone numbers only, or "Statistics" to view the number of calls and date of the last call to each system. You can copy systems into disk files for archival purposes or for distribution to other FreeComm users. This is called exporting. Once a system has been exported into a file, it can be imported back into your FreeComm program or into another person's FreeComm. Importing systems ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Select "Define" system settings and "Import". 2. Press ENTER to import from the file named SYSTEM.EXP or enter another filename. You can precede the filename with a drive and/or directory name. If a system you import has the same name as one already in the System List, the name of the imported system is changed (a number is added to its end). Exporting systems ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Select "Define system settings" and "Export". 2. To export a single system, select the system. To export more than one system into a single file, press CTRL-ENTER to begin multiple-entry mode, enter each system name, and press CTRL-ENTER to end multiple-entry mode. 3. Press ENTER to export to the file named SYSTEM.EXP, or enter a filename you prefer. The filename can be up to eight characters, a period, and up to three additional letters, and can be preceded with a drive and/or directory name. 5.1 Working With Files and DOS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From anywhere in FreeComm, you can instantly bring up the Files options to do routine file management tasks or to perform these useful file operations. þ Display directories of files sorted by name, extension, date or size þ Search an entire disk and/or subdirectories for a particular file þ Check estimated transfer times for a file or group of files þ Pre-select a group of files for sending þ Unpack ZIP files that you have received from remote systems þ Scan files on your hard or floppy disks for computer viruses (see Appendix F for details) In addition to covering these operations, this section tells how to use the Use DOS to run DOS commands or other programs from within FreeComm. The Use DOS menu has the following uses: þ Run operating system commands or programs such as MKDIR, RMDIR, FORMAT or RENAME. þ Run utility programs. For example, you can run file compression programs like PKZIP, disk management programs like Norton Commander or XtreePro, or file backup programs like Fastback. þ Run word processing, database, spreadsheet programs, or other application programs. þ Once FreeComm has established the connection, run file transfer modules such as DSZ (a Zmodem module) or Jmodem, or run other terminal emulation programs. 5.2 The Files options ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Any time ALT-Files is present in the bottom line, you can press ALT-F to pop up the Files options, which perform a variety of convenient file management operations. You can use the Files options as described in Chapter 5, or display directories as described in the same chapter. When you're finished with the Files options, press ESC to clear the Files options from your screen. 5.3 Displaying and using directories ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When the Files options are displayed or when you're in a menu entry that calls for a filename, ALT-Dir appears in the bottom line, and you can press ALT-D to examine disk directories or to select files from directories by moving a pointer. Displaying a directory ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Press ALT-D. Enter a directory and/or filename, or press ENTER to see all files in your working directory. You can include * or ? in the filename as wildcards. For example, to display a directory of files on drive A, enter A:. To display all the files ending in .LTR that are in the \MAIL directory on drive C, enter C:\MAIL\*.LTR. Note: The working directory is the directory FreeComm offers when you press ALT-D, and the directory FreeComm assumes when you enter filenames without directories. You can define the working directory as described in Chapter 1. When the directory contains more files than fit on the screen, you can press PGUP and PGDN to page through them. Names that are followed by are subdirectories. Selecting from a directory ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Whenever you're at a menu entry that calls for a filename, you can use ALT-D to display a directory, then simply point-and-shoot to select the file. Prior to making a selection you may use ALT-D repeatedly, to seek out the specific file or directory you want. Selecting multiple files ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When you're at a menu entry that accepts multiple filenames, press CTRL-ENTER to begin multiple entry mode. Use ALT-D to display a directory from which to select. To select each file, move the pointer to it and press ENTER. To remove a selection, select it again. When finished selecting files, press CTRL-ENTER to end multiple-entry mode. During multiple-entry mode, you can use ALT-D repeatedly to display and select from one directory after another. You can also mix selection methods, selecting some files by point-and-shoot, and others by entering filenames. Point-and-shoot is often handier for selecting individual files, while entering filenames with * and ? can be faster for selecting files whose names have something in common. 5.4 Routine file management operations ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Press ALT-F to select ALT-Files from the bottom line and use these options to perform routine file management operations: Copy ~~~~ Select "Copy" to copy a file. Enter the name of the file or select it from a directory. To copy more than one, include * or ? in the filename or use multiple-entry mode. Next, enter the drive and/or directory to copy to (if you're copying only one, you can type a filename as well). When copying a file will overwrite an existing file, you have four options. Select: Yes Overwrites the existing file No Skips copying this file, to avoid overwriting Always Overwrites this and any subsequent files whose filenames match the files being copied Don't_ever Skips copying this file and any subsequent file which would overwrite an existing file Del ~~~ Select "Del" to erase a file. Enter the name of the file or select it from a directory. To delete a group of files, include * or ? in the filename or use multiple-entry mode. The number and total size of the affected files will then display. Select "Yes" to proceed, or "No" to cancel. Move ~~~~ Select "Move" to copy a file to a different drive or directory and delete it from its present drive or directory. Enter the name of the file or select it from a directory (to move more than one file, include * or ? in the filename or use multiple-entry mode). Next, enter the drive and/or directory to move files to. If a file you move already exists in that drive or directory, you have the same overwrite options as with Copy (see above). Newdir ~~~~~~ Select "Newdir" to make a new directory. Enter the name of the new directory, just as you would if you were using the DOS MKDIR or MD command. If you enter no path with the directory name, the new directory will be located in your current (or working) directory. Print ~~~~~ Select "Print" to print a file. Enter the name of the file or select it from a directory; to print more than one, include * or ? in the filename or use multiple-entry mode. Printing may not begin immediately, because text is buffered on its way to the printer. If you want to cancel printing, return to this option and enter . A form feed is sent to the printer after each file, to eject the last page. (To set the tab spacing used for printing, see Chapter 6; to set margins and other printing details, see Chapter 10.) Ren ~~~ Select "Ren" to rename a file. Enter the present name of the file or select it from a directory. Then enter the new name. This option can rename only one file at a time. 5.5 Sorting directories ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To change the way files are sorted in directories displayed with ALT-D, select "Sort" from the Files options. Then select: þ "Name", to sort alphabetically by filename. þ "Extension", to sort alphabetically by file extension (the extension is the portion of the filename to the right of the period). þ Date to sort files by date and time. þ Size to sort files by size (number of bytes). Each directory is displayed according to the method you have chosen until a different sorting method is selected. Note that "Sort" affects only FreeComm directory displays, not arrangement of files on your disks, or directory displays by your operating system or other programs. 5.6 Estimating transfer times ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Before you send a file or group of files, you may want to select "Time", to get an estimate of how long the transfer may take. Estimates take into account protocol efficiency, file size, and baud rate. Actual times may be greater due to line noise, network delays, or sluggish remote software; actual times may be less due to file compression. To use "Time": 1. Select the Files options and use ALT-D to display a directory containing files whose estimated transfer times you wish to determine. 2. Select "Time". 3. Select the protocol. 4. Enter the baud rate to be used. The estimated transfer time for each file is shown in the directory, along with the total transfer time for the entire directory. 5.7 Unpacking .ZIP files ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Files available for downloading from most bulletin boards are stored in a compressed format. The most common format is that of .ZIP files (files compressed using the PKZIP program, having filenames ending with .ZIP). After you receive a .ZIP file, you must unpack (or decompress) it, before the file or files it contains will be usable. Until now, unpacking .ZIP files has been a time-consuming, multi-step process: After picking up a .ZIP file, you had to exit your communications software and run PKZIP to unpack the file. There has also been some risk associated with .ZIP files, as .ZIP files may contain computer viruses. FreeComm solves both problems! Decompress .ZIP files without exiting FreeComm by using the Unpack option as follows: 1. Select "Unpack" from the Files options. 2. Enter the name of the .ZIP file. 3. Enter the drive and/or directory where you want the unpacked files to be located. Files that you unpack using this method are also checked for viruses, if "Virus filter" is set to "Yes". 5.8 Pre-selecting groups of files for sending ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To save the work of re-entering a group of files that you often send, you can use file batches, which contain lists of files to be sent. To make a file batch: 1. Select "Batch" from the Files options. 2. Enter a filename for storage of the file batch. For example, you might enter NYOFFICE.FLS. 3. Enter the names of the files to be sent (see Chapter5 for instructions on selecting multiple files). Note: People you authorize to call and control your computer remotely can also command it to send file batches. See Chapter 9 and Appendix E for details. You can send file batches using HyperProtocol, Zmodem, Ymodem, Ymodem G, or Kermit. Prepare to send as in Chapter 3, but instead of entering a normal filename, enter /B and the filename of the file batch (/B NYOFFICE.FLS, for example). You can use /B only during regular entry mode, not multiple-entry mode. You can have any number of file batches. To make changes to a file batch, you either recreate it or edit it with a text editor. File batches have a simple ASCII format, so it is possible to have scripts or other programs create or modify them. They contain two types of lines: those consisting of + (plus) followed the name of a file to send (which can include * or ?), and those consisting of - (minus) followed by a filename not to send (which cannot include * or ?). All filenames must include the drive and directory. 5.9 The Use DOS menu ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can use the Use DOS menu to run DOS commands or programs even while on-line. FreeComm copies itself into a temporary file to free up memory, but maintains your connection. To reach the Use DOS menu, select it from the Main menu. You can run commands or programs either by typing their names or by listing them in advance, to save typing them each time. You can also jump (shell) to the DOS prompt without specifying which commands you intend to use, and jump back into FreeComm when you are done. This is how to use each of the Use DOS options. Start a DOS command or program ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After you select this, you can do one of the following. þ Type a DOS command or program and press ENTER (the proposed entry is erased when you begin typing). þ Press ENTER to accept the proposed entry (the DOS command or program that appears at the top of the list). þ Use UP AND DOWN ARROW KEYS to select another DOS command or program from the list, and then press ENTER. Before you press ENTER, you may use RIGHT AND LEFT ARROW KEYS, HOME, END, BACKSPACE, INS, or DEL to edit. For example, to create a new subdirectory in your current directory, you could use the DOWN ARROW KEY to select MKDIR and press END to move to the right of this command, then type a name for the directory and press ENTER. Jump to DOS prompt ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Select this when you want to leave FreeComm temporarily to access the DOS prompt, to run DOS commands or programs. When you're ready to resume running FreeComm, enter EXIT. Redefine a line in the list below ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Select this option to list the commands and programs you use most often. Use UP OR DOWN ARROW KEYS to move to the desired line. Type the new command or program, or edit an existing one. To run one command or program after another, separate them with semicolons (for example, CHDIR;WORD could be used to change to the directory and run Microsoft Word). Though most programs can be run from the Use DOS menu, certain TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) programs may not work. You can run other communications programs, terminal emulators, or file transfer protocol modules (say, DSZ or Jmodem), but if they reconfigure your PC's port or interrupts the connection may be lost. 5.10 Automating use of DOS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Only after you understand the scope of the FreeComm learning and automation features will you realize the true potential of the Use DOS menu. By applying the automation features on these menus, you can: þ Jump out to the operating system command prompt from anywhere in FreeComm, by pressing a single key. þ Run an operating system command or start another program from any of FreeComm's screens or menus. þ Learn an automatic sequence that you can run anywhere in FreeComm, which lets you enter information that is passed to an external program in the command line which starts the program. For example, you could enter the name of a file that the program is to load as it begins to run. Chapter 7 introduces the automation tools you need to get full performance from the Use DOS menu with a minimum of keystrokes. 6.1 Editing Text Files ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The FreeComm Editor is a powerful tool for creating messages, documents, or other text files, and for revising text you've received. Typing new text is easy, and so is finding, deleting, or replacing text. With just a few keystrokes, you can mark blocks of text to move, copy, delete, print, reformat, transmit, spell-check, or write to disk. You can even split the screen and work with two files at once. In addition to describing how to use the Editor, this chapter tells how you can integrate an external text editor or word processing program, in case you'd rather use that one instead. 6.2 Ways to reach the Editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The tools the Editor provides are useful in a number of distinctly different situations because you can reach the Editor in a number of ways. The Editor is accessible from the Comm screen to use the Review buffer, from the Keys menu to work on scripts, or from the Editor menu. To display the Editor menu, select Editor from the Main menu. Edit a file ~~~~~~~~~~~ Select this to edit a file or to resume editing a file you were working on earlier. You can enter an existing or new filename or press ENTER to resume editing the file whose name is proposed. Note: Instead of entering a filemane, you can use ALT-D to display a directory, move the pointer to the file you want, and press ENTER. Capture file editing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Select this to edit text that you collected by using Capture on the Comm screen. You can press ENTER to edit the file you last captured text into, or enter the name of some other file. Transfer file editing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can select this to edit a file you've received or one you plan to send. You can select either: Receive FreeComm proposes the name of the file you last received, so you can edit it just by pressing ENTER. If you want to edit a different file, enter its name. (You cannot edit received files whose contents are non-textual.) Send To edit a file that you plan to send, enter a new or existing filename. Later, when you select "Transfer" and "Send" from the Comm screen, FreeComm will propose this filename, to save you the work of entering it again. Review buffer editing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Select this to edit text in the Review buffer. The Review buffer is not a file; it is text from the Comm screen that accumulates in your computer's memory. Note: You can reach the Editor by selecting any of the previous 4 options, each of which loads a particular type of file for editing. Define command that starts external editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This option is discussed in Chapter 6. 6.3 Typing and moving through a file ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Regardless of how you reach the Editor, its basic appearance and operation are the same. To examine the Editor now, select Edit a file from the Editor menu, and enter the name of a text file, or press ENTER with no filename. Except when the Editor options are displayed (ALT-O brings them up and ESC puts them away), you may type text, erase mistakes, or move around in the file. Use these keys to move around in the Editor: Key Moves Cursor LEFT ARROW Left one arrow RIGHT ARROW Right one character CTRL-LEFT ARROW Left one word CTRL-RIGHT ARROW Right one word UP ARROW Up one line DOWN ARROW Down one line HOME Left end of line END Right end of line CTRL-HOME Top of current screen CTRL-END Bottom of current screen PGUP Up one screen PGDN Down one screen CTRL-PGUP Top of file or Review buffer CTRL-PGDN Bottom of file or Review buffer BACKSPACE Erases character to left of cursor INS Toggle between insert and overtype DEL Deletes the character at the cursor CTRL-DEL Deletes entire line ALT-O Brings up Editor options ALT-B Begins block operations CTRL-INS Inserts copied/deleted block of text ESC Exits the Editor Identifying your position in the file ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When the double-arrow in the left border is near the top, you are at the file's beginning. When it's near the bottom, you are at the file's end. You can identify which column you are in by the column counter in the upper-right corner. Erasing a mistake ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Press DEL to delete the character at the cursor, or BACKSPACE to erase the character left of the cursor. To delete more than one character, press ALT-B, mark a block of text, and press DEL, as described in Chapter 6. For tips on how to delete words or lines with a single keystroke, see Chapter 7. Tagging and jumping to a location ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To be able to return to a particular location quickly, press ALT-O and select "Tag" to mark that place (the tag appears as an ARROW symbol in the left border). To jump to it from anywhere in the file, press ALT-O, select "Jump", and then select "Tag". Jumping to a particular line number ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Press ALT-O, select "Jump" and "Line-number", and then enter the line number. (The top line in a file is line number 1.) Inserting or overtyping text ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Editor is normally in insert mode; characters you type are inserted between existing characters. Press INS to switch to overtype mode; the cursor changes from an underline to elongated block, and characters you type overwrite existing characters. To switch back, press INS again. Ending one line and starting a new one ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can end lines yourself by pressing ENTER, or let the Editor end lines for you when you type past a set width (normally 75 characters; to change this, select Configure and Width). To make line ends easy to see, the Editor displays a DOWN ARROW symbol for the line feed that occurs at the end of each line. To suppress these symbols, select Configure and Symbols. (Though the Editor does not show this, there is also a carriage return at the end of each line.) Making new paragraphs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To separate paragraphs from one another, you can leave a blank line between them or press TAB to begin each paragraph. TAB inserts a tab code, which normally displays as RIGHT ARROW. Text typed after a tab appears to the right of the next tab stop. Tab stops are located at set intervals (normally every 8 characters; to change this, select "Configure" and "Tabs"). Files containing tabs may look different when displayed by programs that use different tab settings. Typing special characters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To insert a control or graphics character, hold ALT down while typing the character's decimal value on the numeric keypad. For example, to insert a form feed character at a point in a file where the printer should advance to the next page, you would use ALT-12. Avoid using control and graphics characters with remote systems and printers that misinterpret them. 6.4 The Editor options ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When the Editor options are not displayed, you're free to type text, correct mistakes, or move around in the file. To perform other operations that are convenient when editing files, press ALT-O to display the Editor options. To select an option, press its first letter, or use RIGHT AND LEFT ARROW KEYS, TAB, or SHIFT_TAB to move to it and press ENTER. The following sections tell how and why to use the various options. To clear the Editor options from the screen, press ESC. To quit the Editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There are several ways to quit the Editor. To return to the screen from which you reached the Editor, you can press ESC, or press ALT-O and select Quit. Or press ALT-C or ALT-M to go to the Comm screen or Main menu. You don't have to save files to disk before leaving the Editor. Text you've been editing remains in memory, so you can resume editing later. Note: Before sending a file that you've edited, be sure to save it as in Chapter 6. 6.5 Finding particular words ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To find a particular string (a character, word, or phrase): 1. Press ALT-O. 2. Select "Find". 3. Enter the string to find. To include a control or graphics character. To find tabs, include ALT-9; to find line ends, include ALT-8. 4. Select "Down" to search toward the file's end or "Up" to search toward its beginning. 5. After the first occurrence is found, you can select "Repeat" to find the next occurrence, or "Quit". Searches performed by the Editor are not case-sensitive, that is, all occurrences are found regardless of whether they match the case of your entry. To make the Editor case-sensitive, select "Configure" and "Case", then select "Yes". 6.6 Replacing text ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To find a particular string (a character, a word, or phrase) and replace it with another string: 1. Press ALT-O. 2. Select "Replace". 3. Enter the string to be replaced. To include a control or graphics character. To find tabs, include ALT-9; to find line ends, include ALT-8. 4. Enter the string to substitute. It may include control or graphics characters. 5. Select "Down" to search toward the file's end or "Up" to search toward its beginning. 6. As each occurrence of the string is found, select: Replace Replaces this occurrence and moves to the next No-change Leaves this unchanged, but moves to the next Change-all Replaces this and all subsequent occurrences Quit Leaves this and subsequent occurrences unchanged Searches performed by the Editor are not case-sensitive, that is, all occurrences are found regardless of whether they match the case of your entry. To make the Editor case-sensitive, select "Configure", "Case", and "Yes". 6.7 Doing block operations ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To copy, delete, move, print, reformat, transmit, spell-check, or write a block of text, you first select the block: 1. Move to one end of the block of text. 2. Press ALT-B. 3. Move the cursor to the other end of the block of text. 4. Select "Copy", "Delete", "Move", "Print", "Reformat", "Transmit", "Spell_check", or "Write" by pressing the first letter. You cannot select these options with LEFT ARROW KEY or RIGHT ARROW KEY because these keys are used for marking text. Once you've marked a block of text, these are the operations you can perform on it: Copying blocks of text ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After marking a block of text, you can select "Copy". To insert the last-copied or last-deleted block of text, move the cursor to the desired location, and press CTRL-INS (or press ALT-O and select Paste). Deleting text ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After marking a block of text, press DEL or select Delete. For tips on deleting words or lines with one keystroke, see Section 7.2. Note: To undo a deletion, press CTRL-INS (or ALT-O and then P). You can undo a deletion any time, up until the next block operation. Moving text ~~~~~~~~~~~ After you mark a block of text and select "Move", the text is deleted from its present location; position the cursor at the new location for the text and press ENTER. (To move text from one file to another, "Delete" the text, then insert it with CTRL-INS or Paste, instead.) Printing text ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To print a block of text, mark it and select "Print" (make sure your printer is on). To position text conveniently on each page, you can set a top margin, left margin, and lines per page as in Section 10.13. Reformatting text ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Reformatting is helpful when lines are too wide, too narrow, or irregular in width. Use "Reformat" as described in Section 6.11. Transmitting text to remote systems ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Select Transmit to jump to the Comm screen and send a marked block of text using Text protocol (you must be on-line). When you want to respond quickly to something you've just read on-line, you can use the Editor to compose and send a quick response. Or, if you make a mistake when entering a lengthy remote system command on the Comm screen, you can come to the Review buffer, correct the mistake, and re-send the command. Spell-checking text ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To check for misspelled words, select the desired block of text (or select no text, to check the whole file), then select "Spell-check". Each misspelled or unrecognized word is highlighted in turn. Select "Ignore" to leave the word unchanged, Correct to correct it, or "Add-to-dictionary" to include the word henceforth in the list of accepted words. Spell-checking messages before sending them helps you avoid embarrassment, and projects a more professional image. Writing text to disk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After you mark a block of text and select "Write", enter the name of the file the text should be written to, or press ENTER to accept the proposed filename. The filename can include a drive and/or directory. If the file already exists, you're asked whether to append to or overwrite the file. 6.8 Saving a file ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's not essential that you save each file before leaving the Editor, because the text you've been editing remains in memory. However, it is important to save files before you send them, or else changes you have made in the Editor will not be sent. To save a file from within the Editor: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Press ALT-O and select "Save". 2. Press ENTER to save to the current file, or enter the name of another file. The filename can include a drive and/or directory. If you enter the name of an existing file, you are asked to select "Overwrite" or "Append". To leave the original file intact, save to a new filename. If you quit FreeComm when there is text in memory that contains unsaved changes, you are notified and given an opportunity to save the text. Changes will be lost if you turn off or reboot the PC without first quitting FreeComm. 6.9 Loading a file ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ While you're in the Editor, you can load a different file as follows. 1. Press ALT-O and select "Load". 2. Enter the name of a file, or use ALT-D to display a directory and select the file. If you enter a filename that does not exist, you are asked if you want to create it. 3. The file you load will take the place of any text currently in the Editor, so if that text contains unsaved changes, you're given a chance to save it: Either select "Yes" and enter a filename, or select "No" to discard the changes. The Review buffer is not a file, it is text maintained in memory; you can load it into the Editor by entering instead of a filename. 6.10 Using two windows ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A window is the area of the Editor screen where text appears. The Editor normally starts with a single window open. You can open another window as you work. The second window is useful when you want to: þ Work on two files at the same time. þ Work on two different parts of one file. þ Copy text from the Review buffer to a file in the other window. þ Refer to received messages in the Review buffer as you type responses into the other window. You can change the size of windows, making them as large or small as you like. If you no longer need two windows, you can close one and continue work in the other. To open a window, select "Window" and "Open". Initially, the current file occupies both windows and editing in either window affects the file. To load another file into one of the windows, move to that window and follow instructions in past section. To move from one window to the other, select "Window" and "Switch". To close the window you are in, select "Window" and "Close". If you've made changes since you last saved the file, you are asked to select "Yes" to save them or "No" to discard them. To enlarge the window you are in, select "Window" and "Enlarge". This increases the window one line at a time, so you can use it repeatedly to reach the desired size. To shrink a window, move to and enlarge the other window. 6.11 Giving text the desired appearance ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can control the overall appearance of text as you're typing it, or you can go back and reformat it afterward. You can get pleasing results very quickly. Typing a new paragraph of the desired shape ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. After pressing ENTER to end the previous paragraph, press ENTER once more, so there will be a blank line between the paragraphs. The Editor considers them separate paragraphs only if there is a blank line between (no blank line is needed if you begin the next paragraph with a tab). 2. Before you begin typing the first line, set the indent by typing spaces or tabs (or both) to move the cursor the desired distance from the left border. 3. Begin typing text. When the cursor goes beyond the maximum line width (set as described below) and drops down to the second line, set the paragraph's left margin by adding or deleting spaces to the left of the second line. 4. Finish typing the paragraph. By using the above steps, you can type paragraphs with the desired left margin, with no indent, with indent, or with hanging indent. If you add or delete words from an existing paragraph, you may want to reformat it with the following method. Reformatting an existing paragraph ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. To set the indent, add or delete spaces at the beginning of the paragraph's first line. 2. To set the paragraph's left margin, delete or add spaces at the beginning of the second line. 3. Move the cursor to one end of the block of text you want to reformat and then press ALT-B. 4. Move the cursor to the other end of the block of text you want to reformat and select "Reformat". Note: To reformat a paragraph quickly, just move the cursor into the paragraph, press ALT-B, and select "Reformat". Settings that affect formatting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Before you type or reformat text, you may also want to set the maximum line width and tab stops the Editor uses. 1. Press ALT-O. Select "Configure". 2. Select one of the following options: Width-- Enter the width (expressed as a number of characters) at which the Editor should end a line you're typing and start a new line. To avoid having the Editor end lines for you, you can set this to 250 (the greatest width allowed) and press ENTER to end each line. Tabs-- Enter the distance between tab stops, expressed as a number of spaces. This establishes how tabs display, and how they print, whether you're using the Editor's "Print" option or the "Files Print" option discussed in the previous chapter. Files that contain tabs may look different when displayed or printed by other programs, which may use different tab stops. Symbols-- Select "Yes" to display line ends as DOWN ARROW and tabs as RIGHT ARROW, or "No" to suppress these symbols. Case For information on this option, see Chapter 6. 6.12 Customizing the Editor's use of keys ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After you are accustomed to the Editor, you may want to define single-key functions to speed up operations you do often. For example, you might want to create automatic sequences that delete a word or a line in a single keystroke, instead of the several keys normally required. You can also make the Editor work like your favorite text editor or word processor, by defining sequences and assigning them to keys you're accustomed to using with that program. Defining keys is easy. Chapter 7 tells all about automatic sequences, and gives some examples on how to make sequences for the Editor. 6.13 Using an external editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you have an editor or word processing program that you want to use instead of the FreeComm Editor: 1. Select "Define command that starts external editor" from the Editor menu. 2. Enter the command you would use at the operating system command prompt to start the external editor and load a file, but in place of a filename, type . If the editor requires that you change to its drive or directory before starting it, precede this entry with CD, a space, the drive or directory name, and a semicolon. For example, to change to the \WORD directory and start Microsoft Word, you might enter CD \WORD5;WORD . Note: Due to speed, memory, and other practical limitations, the Review buffer and "Keys" menu will continue to use FreeComm's Editor. When you create files for sending with Text protocol, have the external editor save them as plain ASCII files. For instructions on how to create such files, refer to that program's manual. 7.1 Automating Communications ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After you have used FreeComm for a while, you will find there are certain tasks you do often, such as typing the same remote system commands or selecting certain options from FreeComm menus. By creating automatic sequences that do such tasks, you can make your communications faster and more enjoyable. Automatic sequences can do such things as: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ þ Produce many keystrokes when you press a single key, either to send characters to remote systems or to operate FreeComm þ Wait for prompts from remote systems and send responses þ Wait for a certain time of day or wait a given length of time before executing a series of steps þ Create special menus or functions to supplement or replace menus and functions of FreeComm So that you can automate each facet of your communications with maximum efficiency, FreeComm lets you create three kinds of automatic sequences: macros, commands, and scripts. "Macros" issue series of keystrokes when you press a single key. "Commands" jump to a certain menu, perform a sequence of steps, and (optionally) jump back. "Scripts" can recognize and respond to prompts from remote computers or perform more complex functions. Creating automatic sequences is easy. You can simply have FreeComm learn steps as you perform them. In addition to learning keystrokes, it learns where and why you type them. When it repeats what it has learned, it automatically jumps to the right screen or menu and waits for the prompts you waited for. And it does things faster than you. It's possible to revise sequences or write them from scratch. Macros and commands, which consist of series of key names, are edited on a special screen reached from the Keys menu. Scripts are ASCII files written with the HyperPilot language, a language capable of automating virtually any communications process. This chapter gives basic information on the automation features, while the FreeComm Scripting Manual (available on the Delrina BBS) tells how to write scripts and use the HyperPilot language. 7.2 Creating and using macros ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Macros are the simplest of FreeComm's automating tools. When you press a macro key, it issues a series of keystrokes on whichever menu or screen is currently displayed. You can use macros to send words, phrases or ASCII codes to remote systems, or to issue series of keystrokes that operate FreeComm's menus or screens. To create a macro, you use the Keys menu. To display the Keys menu, select "Keys" from the Main menu. To create a macro: 1. Select "Create a macro". 2. Enter a macro name of up to 8 letters. Try to use a name that describes the purpose of the macro. 3. Press the key or key combination to which you want to assign the macro or press ENTER to skip assigning a key. 4. In the "Key Sequence Editor", press the keys the macro is to issue. Press ENTER when you're done. Note: To include ENTER or any key normally used for editing (UP ARROW, DOWN ARROW, LEFT ARROW, RIGHT ARROW, BACKSPACE, INS, or DEL), you must first press INS. To run a macro from anywhere in FreeComm, use one of the following methods (these methods also apply to commands and scripts). þ Press the key to which you have assigned the sequence. þ Press ALT-R and enter the sequence name. þ Press ALT-R, ALT-D, use UP ARROW, DOWN ARROW, CTRL-LEFT ARROW, or CTRL-RIGHT ARROW þ To run the sequence as you start FreeComm, enter DFC , a space, and the macro name. You can abort execution of a macro by pressing ALT-A. Example applications ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ þ If you often type a certain directory when entering filenames, you could use a macro to save keystrokes. For example, you might have a macro issue C:\DOWNLOAD\ when you press CTRL-D, so that henceforth, you could merely press CTRL-D and enter a filename. þ You can use macros to change or add emulator keys. For example, you might supplement the VT100 PF1 - PF4 function keys (equivalent to F1 - F4 on your PC) by adding custom function keys F5 - F10, having each key issue its own series of ASCII codes. (See Chapter 7 for an example.) þ You can use macros to customize the Editor. For example, for deleting one line at a time, you might want to create a macro that issues HOME, ALT-B, END, DEL, when you press CTRL-L. For deleting a word at a time, you could have a macro issue CTRL-RIGHT ARROW, ALT-B, CTRL-LEFT ARROW, DEL, when you press CTRL-W. 7.3 Learning and using commands ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commands are more powerful than macros and are context sensitive. Commands are learned and jump to given menus to "do their thing", whereas macros are created in the Keys menu, and issued keystrokes wherever you are. When you start a command, it jumps to the right screen, performs its task, then (optionally) returns to the screen you were on. Commands can select options, enter settings, or do virtually anything on FreeComm menus. To create commands, you have FreeComm learn your actions. To have FreeComm learn a command: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Bring about the situation in which the command is to be used, but stop short of doing steps the command itself should do. 2. Press ALT-L to start learning. 3. Perform the steps you want the command to do. 4. When you've finished the steps, press ALT-L and select Stop-learning. Note: To cancel learning, press ALT-L and select "Abort". 5. Enter a command name of up to 8 letters. You will find the command easiest to identify later if you use a name which describes the purpose of the command. 6. To establish where the command leaves you after it runs, select: Jump-back To have the command return you to the screen or menu from which you started running it that time. Stay-here To have the command leave you on the screen or menu where you stopped learning. 7. Press the key or key combination to which you want to assign the command or press ENTER to skip assigning a key. To run the command, use any of the methods given in Chapter 7. If you see that a command is not doing what you intended, press ALT-A to abort it. Example applications ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ þ To make calls more quickly, start learning on the Main menu, select "Call a system" and "Data-call", then stop learning, name the command DIAL, select "Stay-here", and assign it to F10. Then, from anywhere in FreeComm, you could make a call just by pressing F10, selecting a system, and pressing ENTER. (See Chapter 7for a related example.) þ While it normally takes 4 keys to reach the System settings menu (ALT-M, D, M, ENTER), you can create a command that jumps there with just one key. To do this, you could start learning on the System settings menu, stop learning, name the command MODIFY, select "Stay-here", and assign it to CTRL-M. þ To be able to jump to the DOS prompt from anywhere in FreeComm (leaving your communications on hold), start learning on the Use DOS menu, select "Jump to DOS prompt" and press ENTER. To return to FreeComm, enter EXIT at the DOS prompt (this is not learned). When you have returned to FreeComm, stop learning, name the command MSDOS, select "Jump-back", and assign it to CTRL-D. 7.4 Learning and using scripts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Scripts are the most powerful of the automating tools. Scripts can do everything macros and commands can do, plus much more. One important difference is that scripts can wait for, recognize, and respond to prompts from remote systems. To learn a script, you use exactly the same procedure as for learning a command; FreeComm determines whether the resulting sequence is a command or script. During learning, avoid typing ahead of remote system prompts. When you stop learning and are asked if the script should be compiled, it's always safe to select "Yes" (compiling is explained later in this chapter). When a script is running, it takes over operating your keyboard for you, so normally you shouldn't press keys until it finishes. If you see a stalled script, press ALT-A to abort it. Learned scripts can automate repetitive tasks those in which the critical system prompts (and your responses) are the same every time. If an expected prompt never arrives or is obscured by line noise, a script stops and displays the number of the script line which encountered the problem. When this happens, press ENTER and resume manual control. (If ENTER is not pressed within 60 seconds, the Comm screen Hang-up option is automatically selected; this is done to prevent your PC from remaining on-line indefinitely when unattended scripts fail.) By editing the script, you can make it cope with prompts that vary, make it take alternate steps under certain circumstances, and much more. (See Chapter 1 in the Scripting Manual for details.) Example applications ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ þ To pick up electronic mail quickly, you can create a script that prepares FreeComm to capture mail, and commands the remote system to send it. For example, when you connect with MCI Mail and it has mail for you, press ALT-L, ALT-O, C, B, and ENTER to begin capturing into the proposed file, then enter the MCI Mail command PRINT ALL, to make MCI Mail display all your mail; after your mail has all displayed, press ALT-O, C, E, ALT-L, and S, to stop capturing and learning. If you were to name this script GETMAIL and assign it to ALT-P, the next time MCI Mail has mail for you, you could press ALT-P (or press ALT-R and enter GETMAIL). þ CompuServe has a forum where FreeComm users can discuss FreeComm with other users or Delrina's staff. To create a script that displays new messages on the forum, you could perform the following steps: log on to CompuServe; when it displays its ! prompt, start learning; enter GO DELRINA; when you reach the Delrina forum, press ENTER; enter READ NEW THREAD; stop learning; assign the script to ALT-N and name it NEW. Next time you log on to CompuServe, you could press ALT-N (or press ALT-R and enter NEW) to read new messages. 7.5 Customizing your keyboard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To customize your keyboard, you create sequences and assign them to keys such as F1-F12; F1-F12 plus SHIFT-, CTRL-, or ALT-; or alphanumeric keys plus CTRL- or ALT-. To assign a sequence to a key: 1. Select "Assign a macro", "command", or "script" to a key. 2. Enter the name of the sequence. 3. Press the key or key combination you want to assign the sequence to, or press ENTER to assign no key. To assign ESC or ENTER, press INS and then the key. Note: Sequences cannot be assigned to CTRL-M (carriage return) or CTRL-J (linefeed), to avoid conflicts. This includes keys other programs cannot sense, but not keys your PC intercepts, like CTRL-ALT-DEL. How key conflicts are resolved ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ þ If you assign a key which is also used by one or more FreeComm menus, your key assignment is ignored on those menus. This ensures that no key assignment can render FreeComm inoperable. þ If you assign a key assignments that is also used by an emulator, the emulator's key is ignored on the Comm screen. This means you can define different emulator keys. Defining different emulator keys ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To show how to define your own emulator keys, this example changes the PC key which FreeComm's IBM3278 emulator uses as the PF1 key (F1) to the key which Digital Communications Associates IRMA emulator cards use (ALT-1): 1. On the Keys menu, select "Create a macro". 2. Enter a descriptive macro name such as PF1. 3. To specify which key will run this macro, press ALT-1. 4. In the Key Sequence Editor, press key(s) that you wish for ALT-1 to issue (F1). Press ENTER to return to the Keys menu. Keys that sequences can contain ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's usually best to avoid including in sequences any keys that you might later redefine, such as emulator keys or keys that run other sequences. Instead of emulator keys, it's better to include the ASCII codes that the emulator keys issue. And instead of keys that run sequences, include ALT-R and the sequences' names. When you run a sequence that contains an undefined key, you will hear a beep and the key will be ignored. Perhaps the key ceased to be defined because you changed emulators or key assignments. Either restore the key's definition or correct the sequence. Temporarily disabling key assignments ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On the Comm screen, you may occasionally need to disable all local key assignments (both your keys and FreeComm's ALT keys) so you can send keys' normal outputs to the remote system. There are two ways. þ Press ALT-O and select "Quote", to suspend local key assignments for the one keypress. For example, to send ALT-O, you would press ALT-O, select "Quote", and press ALT-O. þ Press ALT-O and select "Send-keys" to suspend local key assignments indefinitely. To resume local assignments, press ALT-O and select "Keep-keys". (To send ALT-O, use the method above.) Selecting Send-keys suspends local key assignments on the Comm screen only, and has no effect on FreeComm menus. FreeComm automatically toggles from Send-keys to Keep-keys when you disconnect. Using alternate sets of key assignments ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you run out of keys to assign sequences to or want to use different assignments at different times, then alternate sets of key assignments are the answer. To create an alternate set, select "File used for key assignments" from the Keys menu, and enter a new filename. (You may use any filename you like; using .KEY as the extension will make it easier to identify later.) Entering a new filename leaves the same sequences available, but frees them from old key assignments, so you can assign them to new keys. To retain some of the old key assignments, copy the present key assignment file to a new file, enter the new filename on the Keys menu, then change key assignments as needed. When you place a call to a System, you can have FreeComm automatically change to a specific key assignment file. To do this, include the desired key assignment file among settings for the system (enter its filename on the Miscellaneous menu). 7.6 Including variables & time delays ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When you're learning sequences, you can include variables, time delays and other options to enhance their usefulness. This lets you: þ Make a sequence wait for you to type information that may vary. þ Have a sequence generate filenames for you, to handle circumstances that require a different filename every time. þ Stamp the time and date on text you send, receive or edit. þ Wait for a specific time (for example, to place calls at night, when phone rates are low). To include such options, begin learning as usual. To avoid having your passwords recorded when learning logon scripts press ALT- L, B,K, E before entering passwords. This makes your scripts pause for you to enter passwords. At the point where you want the variable, time delay, or other option to occur, press ALT-L and select: "Variable-information" and then select one of the following. Keyboard-input-- At a point when a task you're learning requires input that varies (say, a remote system command, filename or menu entry), you can select this to make the sequence pause for you to type that input. Depending on how the input will be ended, select: Enter If the input ends with ENTER. This is the most common choice. Number-of-characters If the input is a fixed number of characters not ending with ENTER. ALT-R-to-resume If you wish to continue typing indefinitely, until you press ALT-R. Next, go ahead and type the input to use this time and end it using the method you just selected. Unique-filenam-- At a point when a task you're learning requires a new filename every time, select "Unique-filename" to have filenames created for you. Enter the filename from which the filenames are to be derived. Entering NEWMAIL.MSG would give NEWMAIL0.TXT, NEWMAIL1.TXT, and so on, up to NEWMA999.TXT. Date-- This is used to date stamp text that you send, receive or edit. When you're learning in the Editor, the Review buffer, or on the Comm screen, you can select this at any point where you could manually type the date. As you're learning, today's date is inserted; when you run the sequence, that day's date is inserted. Note: The format for the date is MM/DD/YY. Time-- This is used to time stamp text that you send, receive or edit. When you're learning in the Editor, the Review buffer, or on the Comm screen, you can select this at any point where it would be possible for you to manually type the time. As you are learning, the present time is inserted; when you run the sequence at a later time, that time is inserted. Note: The format for the time is HH:MM:SS. For example, one second before midnight is 23:59:59. Time-delay-- Select this to put off execution of subsequent steps until a later time. Then select: Minutes-- This is normally used to insert a delay at the beginning of a sequence, so that when the sequence is run, it waits that length of time before it goes on to perform subsequent steps. At the point in the sequence where you want the delay to occur, select this and enter a number of minutes, or press ENTER for 60. You can continue learning immediately; the delay occurs only when the sequence is run. Time-of-day-- This makes it possible to start a sequence when you leave your computer and have it perform subsequent steps at a specific time. At the point where you want the delay to occur, select this and enter the time in 24-hour format, or press ENTER for the present time. For example, you could enter 0:15 for 15 minutes past midnight or 22:30 for an hour and a half before midnight. You can continue learning immediately; the delay occurs only when the sequence is run. 7.7 Passing information to sequences ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Often it is more convenient to pass inputs to sequences at the outset. To pass input as you start a sequence, press ALT-R, enter the sequence name, a space, and the inputs. To pass inputs to a sequence as you're starting FreeComm, enter the command that starts FreeComm, followed by (within quotes) the sequence name and inputs. These examples illustrate several uses and techniques. Example applications ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ þ To simplify placing calls, start learning on the Main menu, select "Call", "Data", press ALT-L, and select "Variable-information", "Keyboard-input", and Enter. Select the system to call this time, press ALT-L, and stop learning. Name the command DIAL. If you run DIAL without passing an input, it stops for you to select a system. But if you run it by pressing ALT-R, entering DIAL, a space, and a system name, it calls instantly. You can also start FreeComm and make a call by entering DFC "DIAL ". þ Passing inputs can also be handy for changing menu settings. Take, for example, a command that changes the baud rate. To create such a command, begin learning on the System settings menu, select "Rate", press ALT-L, select "Variable-information", "Keyboard-input", and Enter, and then enter a baud rate to use this time. Next, stop learning, name the command BAUD, and assign it to a key. After this, you could change the baud rate to 2400 simply by pressing ALT-R and entering BAUD 2400. If you have a sequence that accepts more than one keyboard input, you can pass more than one. Instead of typing just one input after the sequence name, type each input in the order they are used, separated by commas. For example, if you had a sequence named SET which sets baud rate, then data bits, then parity, you could press ALT-R and enter SET 2400, 7, E to set to 2400 baud, 7 data bits, and Even parity. Or you could pass just the first of several inputs, by pressing ALT-R and entering SET 2400, 7; this would make the sequence pause for you to enter the remaining input (parity). All inputs passed to a sequence are entered in the same format (strings separated by commas), regardless of the method used to end the inputs (that is, whether they end with ENTER, with a fixed number of characters, or with ALT-R). When you pass inputs to a sequence, FreeComm ends each input for you appropriately; you need not include an ending in the input string. If an input actually contains a comma, that input must be typed within quotation marks. To include certain characters in an input, you must precede them with a slash: Use /" to include a quotation mark, // to include a slash, and /r to include ENTER. Sometimes inputs are used to make entries on FreeComm menus where there are proposed entries. If your intent is to accept a proposed entry, pass an input consisting only of a pair of quotation marks. For instance, in the example above, you could press ALT-R and enter FIX 2400, "", E to set to 2400 bps, accept the proposed entry for data bits, and set parity to Even. 7.8 Managing the sequence list ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To delete, copy, or rename a sequence: 1 . Select "Manage the macro", "command", and "script list" from the Keys menu. 2. Select "Copy", "Delete", "Rename", or "Sort". 3. After selecting "Copy", "Delete", or "Rename", enter the name of the existing macro, command, or script (with "Copy" or "Rename", you are also asked for a new sequence name). After selecting "Sort", select "Name" to sort alphabetically by sequence name, or "Key" to sort by key name. Though macros, commands, and scripts appear together in one list, they are stored in different ways. Macros and commands are all stored together in the file DCL.SEQ, whereas scripts are stored as individual files with .HP or .RDY extensions. Note: Macros and commands are kept in menory for greater speed. To conserve memory, delete any macros and commands that you never use. Normally, the sequences available to you are those located in the FreeComm drive or directory. If you prefer to use sequences located in a different drive or directory, copy DCL.SEQ to that drive or directory and run FreeComm from that drive or directory. (With version 2 of DOS, you will first need to define a path to the FreeComm drive or directory using the DOS PATH command.) Any scripts that you want to continue to use must also be copied; be sure to copy CALL.RDY and ANSWER.RDY. 7.9 Placing automatic calls ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you frequently call a certain remote system to perform routine chores, you could save time by having FreeComm make the call for you. This may also reduce your phone bill, since FreeComm can do things faster than you; it can also place calls for you at night when phone rates are lower. (To automate calls to PCs running FreeComm, see Chapter 9.) Because FreeComm has many powerful automation tools macros, commands, scripts, logon scripts, and calling features of the Main menu there are many equally viable ways to automate a given call. Which way is best depends on the complexity of the call, your level of skill, and what you're trying to accomplish. The simplest way to automate a call is to automate one piece at a time. Begin by learning a whole call, logon through logoff. If the call contains steps which vary, edit the script to make it handle the different scenarios (see Chapter 7). Then place the call and watch the logon script run enough times that you're confident it can complete without your help. Finally, learn a macro or command that initiates the call; to have the call placed later, include a time delay. Automating a series of calls is similar. Learn a logon for each system as in the previous paragraph. Then learn a macro or command that places multiple calls as in Chapter 4. Another possible strategy is to create a script which initiates calls directly from the Comm screen, bypassing use of "Call a system". While feasible, this is not recommended. Such scripts forego the many benefits that "Call a system" provides (automatic loading of system settings, modem setup, dialing, redialing, logging, etc.). 7.10 Editing sequences ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When you want to change what a sequence does, you can either relearn it or edit it. To edit a sequence, select "Edit a macro", "command", or "script" from the Keys menu, and enter the name of the sequence. What happens next depends on the sequence type: Editing a macro or command ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The macro or command appears in the Key Sequence Editor as a series of characters and keys in angle brackets. You can move about and add new keys. Try to visualize the steps involved in the task the sequence performs, so you will know which keys to include. To include ENTER, UP ARROW, DOWN ARROW, RIGHT ARROW, LEFT ARROW, DEL, BACKSPACE, ESC, or INS, press INS and then the desired key¯ When you're ready to return to the Keys menu, press ENTER to save changes, or ESC to discard them. Editing a script ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The script is loaded into the Editor. Each script is an individual file containing lines of instructions in the HyperPilot language. To learn how to edit or write scripts, see the FreeComm Scripting Manual (available on the Delrina BBS). 8.1 Answer Mode ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FreeComm is as effective in letting remote users access your PC as it is in helping you access remote computers. After you put FreeComm in Answer mode, anyone who has a password can call and command your PC from their computer. From their perspective, the experience is similar to calling a computerized bulletin board. But Answer mode is not just a bulletin board. Whereas bulletin boards provide remote access for the benefit of the general public, Answer mode puts remote access to work for you. With it, you can shape remote access to meet your objectives, admitting callers you authorize, giving them the type of remote control that serves your purposes. Answer mode makes your PC act as a host so it can be accessed by PCs acting as terminals. After your PC answers a call and the caller enters their password which you assigned, the caller can type commands that make your PC do assorted operations. You can define in advance which of the following operations each caller can do. þ Examine the answering PC's disk directories or read its text files (you can restrict callers to given drives or directories). þ Command the answering PC to send a file or a batch of files. þ Command the answering PC to receive a file or a batch of files. þ Have the answering PC print files on its printer. þ Do file or disk management on the answering PC, using COPY, DELETE, RENAME, CHDIR, MKDIR, or RMDIR. þ Run scripts on the answering PC scripts written to provide custom services to callers, or to perform operations on the answering PC. þ Callers with FreeComm and HyperTerminal can see and use the answering PC's programs and operating system almost as if their monitors and keyboards were attached to the answering PC. (Other callers can start programs that update databases, compile code, process data, or perform other tasks where it is unnecessary for callers to see or interact with the program.) Note: Watching callers control your PC may feel strange at first. Keep in mind that callers control your PC by typing on their keyboards, and that you need not type anything on your keyboard to help them. Though Answer mode accepts calls from computers of all kinds regardless of the communications software they are using, callers with FreeComm enjoy faster transfers and more extensive remote control. For easy, step-by-step instructions on FreeComm-to-FreeComm communications, see Chapter 9. After you've put FreeComm into Answer mode, you can leave your PC if you like; it can accept call after call with no assistance from you. For example, you can put it into Answer mode when you leave the office, so you can access it later from your home PC, or from a laptop PC when you're on the road. Note: PCs are designed for continuous duty so you can leave it on overnight. 8.2 Preparing to answer calls ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To answer telephone calls or to act as a host to other computers through direct-cable connections, you use the Answer menu. To display the Answer menu, select "Answer" from the Main menu. To prepare to answer calls: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Set your modem switches as in Appendix A; incorrect settings may not have hindered you from placing calls, but will prevent answering. If your modem has only software switches, you may skip this step. 2. Correct Answer mode settings as needed. To change port settings, select Communications port (see Chapter 10 for a similar menu). To change modem settings, select "Hardware" and "Modem" (see Chapter 8.11). To change printer settings, select "Hardware" and "Printer" (see Chapter 10 for a similar menu). To change miscellaneous settings that affect answering, select "Assorted settings" (see Chapter 8). 3. If you want to review or change passwords, select "Manage password list" (see Chapter 8). You may want to delete the initial passwords and create new ones. 4. Select "Wait for data calls". This puts FreeComm in Answer mode, ready to receive calls. You may leave your PC now. If you're leaving for an extended period, you may want to dim or turn off your monitor, to prolong its life. Many businesses leave a PC in Answer mode around the clock, to take calls from branch offices or clients. When you're done answering calls or want to use your PC for other purposes, press ESC to return to the Answer menu. Technical details on Answer mode ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When you select "Wait for data calls", FreeComm runs the ANSWER script, which prepares the modem to answer, and interacts with callers. This script remains in control until you exit Answer mode. Source code for this script (ANSWER.HP) is available in case expert users want to make changes to it; most users are not expected to understand this long, complex script. Note: Settings on the System settings menu do not affect Answer mode. Select "Wait for data calls" without adjusting these settings. Waiting for calls in the background ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Under DOS, you can wait for calls in the background by using FreeComm with multitasking software such as DoubleDOS, DESQView, or Windows 3.X. (FreeComm does not have a built-in background mode; DOS programs with background modes often cause hardware and software conflicts.) Waiting for calls on more than one modem simultaneously ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DOS multitasking software such as DESQView, or Windows and a PC with sufficient memory, ports, and modems, you can run several copies of FreeComm simultaneously, each from its own directory, answering its own modem. Answering with "dumb" modems ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If your modem is a type which cannot be configured to autoanswer (such as a direct-connect or acoustic-coupled modem), FreeComm will instruct you to prepare it to answer. With some modems, calls can be answered only when you're present. 8.3 How callers should configure ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Callers with FreeComm do not have to adjust settings they can follow steps in the next chapter. People with other communications software should configure their software to use settings given below. Settings that callers should use: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8 data bits 1 stop bit No parity Full duplex Respond to XOFF / XON when sending Do not send line feeds at line ends Do not append line feeds to received lines Do not echo received characters Note: These settings apply only to callers. As the answerer, you need only to follow steps in Chapter 8 to have proper settings invoked automatically. A caller may use any kind of modem and any baud rate which both his modem and yours can support. When the caller connects with your PC, Answer mode automatically determines his baud rate and switches to that baud rate if necessary. 8.4 How callers connect and sign on ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For callers to connect and sign on: 1. The caller should first configure his computer as described in Chapter 8, then call your PC. 2. When the caller connects, your PC matches his baud rate and displays "Enter password:" on his screen; usually this occurs automatically. Note: Some callers may need to press ENTER a few times (about once per second), to bring it about. It is important that the caller gets the "Enter password:" prompt. 3. The caller should enter the password you've given him. Until you've defined new passwords, callers can enter limit or unlimit. Passwords may be entered in upper-, lower-, or mixed-case letters. For security, the password never displays on either computer while the caller is entering it. If Incorrect password displays, even when a caller enters a valid password, line noise may be the cause. (You can't rule out line noise just because "Enter password:" displayed properly; it's common for line noise to affect data in one direction, but not the other.) Noisy connections can be random; calling again may help. If the problem persists, contact the phone company. If the answering PC displays "Enter password:" just once, then seems to ignore the caller's attempts to enter a password, the modems may have established an unworkable connection. Modems from different manufacturers sometimes seem to connect, but then are able to pass data in only one direction. Try calling again, or using a different baud rate. 4. If prompted to do so, the caller should enter his name. He can then command your PC as described in Chapter 8. 8.5 How callers command your PC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Though the privileges you give each caller may vary, all callers use the same general procedure to command your PC. Callers are met by this prompt: Type HELP for a list of commands [DFC host] C:\DFC>_ This may look like the command prompt of the answering PC, but it is not. This is a command interface created by FreeComm, which allows only the privileges you authorize. Only callers with FreeComm, who are authorized to access your operating system, can ever reach your real command prompt (by entering DOS at this prompt). To see a list of available commands, the caller types HELP and presses ENTER. To see a detailed explanation of a particular command, the caller types HELP followed by that command. Use of each command is discussed in Appendix E. When a caller types HELP, the list of commands he will see depends on the privileges you have given him. For example, callers who use the password unlimit have unlimited privileges, and will see the list below: [DFC host] C:\DFC>HELP QUIT --disconnect from host CHAT --type messages to operator DIR --view host directories CHDIR --move to another directory FIND --find files on host TYPE --read host text files SEND HSEND KSEND XSEND YSEND GYSEND ZSEND --make host send REC HREC KREC XREC YREC GYREC ZREC --make host receive COPY DELETE RENAME MKDIR RMDIR --manage files and directories PRINT -- print files on host's printer DOS -- remotely operate host's operating system MAIL -- a special-purpose command defined by host operator For more help, enter HELP followed by one of the above commands [DFC host] C:\DFC>_ To control the answering PC, the caller enters commands after the [DFC host] prompt (which includes the current drive and directory, followed by >). To avoid confusion ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At the answering PC, resist the urge to type commands at the [DFC host] prompt, as this may confuse the caller. When at the calling PC, keep in mind that the commands you enter at the [DFC host] prompt control the answering PC only, not the calling PC. The following examples clarify this. Examples of command use ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ þ To see a directory of the answering PC's files, the caller can enter DIR, or can enter DIR followed by a directory or a filename containing * or ?. To read one of the answering PC's text files, the caller can enter TYPE followed by the filename. þ To make the answering PC send a file using Xmodem protocol, the caller could enter XSEND and a filename. When the answering PC displays Ready to send, the caller must then issue whatever commands are necessary to make the calling computer's software receive with Xmodem protocol. 8.6 Assigning passwords & access levels ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FreeComm comes with pre-defined passwords, so you won't have to define passwords at the outset. By creating new passwords, you can enhance security and give each caller the kind of access that suits your needs. To add a password: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. From the Answer menu, select "Manage password list". If a master password exists, it must be entered now to display the Password List (see Chapter 8). The list can be up to 2,000 passwords long; you can change pages with PGUP and PGDN, and jump to the beginning or end with CTRL-PGUP and CTRL-PGDN. 2. Select "Add". 3. Enter a password of up to 20 alphanumeric characters. Passwords can include regular alphanumeric characters and spaces, as well as control or extended ASCII characters. Enter no password if you want to let all callers access your PC without passwords. 4. When the Privileges menu appears, select Name of caller and enter the caller's name. If you're unsure who you'll give this password to, or if you may give it to many callers, enter no name; callers will be asked for their names when they log on. The caller name can include spaces. Its maximum length depends on the password. For example, a 6-character password would leave room for a 20-character name. 5. You may now select and set the options described below. When you're done defining privileges for this caller, press ESC to leave the Privileges menu. Read ~~~~ Set this to "Yes" to let the caller use TYPE to view your files, and SEND, HSEND, ZSEND, XSEND, YSEND, GYSEND, and KSEND to pick up files from your PC. To prevent access to files, set this to "No".