NComm 1.92 - released the 8th of April, 1991 // A terminal program for the \X/ AMIGA ====================================================================== --- INDEX --- 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Distribution info 1.7 Manual info 1.2 Version Number 1.8 How to contact the authors 1.3 Development info 1.9 Future expansion 1.4 History 1.10 Disclaimer 1.5 Credits 1.11 Summary of functions 1.6 Programming info 2. SETUP AND FILES USED 2.1 Files included 2.2 Information about NComm Host Script 2.3 Change in file formats (upgrade info) 2.4 How to install new files 2.5 How to setup NComm: assignment 2.6 Using your own NewCLI command 2.7 Sharing the serial port 2.8 Startup and command line option 2.9 Single-drive note 2.10 How to configure NComm for use with MBBS 2.11 A note about Ymodem-G and high speed modems 2.12 How to obtain high transfer rates with HST modems 2.13 Icon stack size 3. COMMANDS IN SYSTEM MENU 3.1 Commands available 3.7.2 Load Macrokeys 3.2 About NComm 3.7.3 Save Macrokeys 3.3 Status window 3.7.4 Leaving things unchanged 3.3.1 Send delay 3.7.5 Installing new macrokeys 3.3.2 Scrollback buffer 3.8 Output to printer 3.4 Load configuration 3.9 Starting a new CLI 3.5 Save configuration 3.10 Logging calls 3.6 Execute script 3.11 Setting Priority 3.7 Macrokeys window 3.12 Quit NComm 3.7.1 Control characters 4. COMMANDS IN FILE MENU 4.1 Commands available 4.8.5 Zmodem resume 4.2 ASCII capture 4.8.6 Zmodem autodl 4.3 ASCII send 4.8.7 Zmodem autoul 4.4 Message upload 4.8.8 Zmodem ack 4.5 Download 4.8.9 Kermit host 4.6 Upload 4.8.10 Kermit 1k blocks 4.7 Protocol 4.8.11 External XPR setup 4.7.1 Xmodem 4.8.12 External XPR query 4.7.2 Ymodem 4.8.13 Create icons 4.7.3 Ymodem-Batch 4.9 Default directory 4.7.4 Ymodem-G 4.10 Load scrollback buffer 4.7.5 Zmodem and HST note 4.11 Save scrollback buffer 4.8 Options 4.12 View scrollback buffer 4.8.1 CRC 4.13 Search in buffer 4.8.2 Chop files 4.14 Save marked block 4.8.3 G&R protocol 4.15 Send marked block 4.8.4 G&R host mode 4.16 Disable adding 5. COMMANDS IN SERIAL MENU 5.1 Commands available 5.7.1 None 5.2 Baud 5.7.2 Xon / Xoff 5.3 Data length 5.7.3 RTS / CTS 5.4 Parity 5.8 Set Device 5.5 Stop bits 5.9 Set Unit 5.6 Duplex 5.10 Set Adjust Factor 5.6.1 Full duplex 5.11 Shared Mode 5.6.2 Half duplex 5.12 Send Break 5.7 Handshaking 6. COMMANDS IN TRANSLATE MENU 6.1 Commands available 6.3.9 FR7 6.2 End of line 6.3.10 SP7 6.3 Character set 6.3.11 IT7 6.3.1 ISO 6.3.12 SF7 6.3.2 IBM 6.3.13 DE7 6.3.3 IBN 6.4 Del <-> BS 6.3.4 IBP 6.5 Show HEX chars 6.3.5 NO7 6.6 ANSI mouse 6.3.6 US7 6.7 ANSI capture 6.3.7 UK7 6.8 Destructive backspace 6.3.8 GE7 6.9 Pad out blank lines 7. COMMANDS IN SCREEN MENU 7.1 Commands available 7.8 Bell 7.2 Title bar 7.9 Cursor blink 7.3 Interlace 7.10 Reset 7.4 Colours 7.11 Workbench screen 7.5 Palette 7.12 Close Workbench screen 7.6 Split screen 7.13 OS 2.0 snapping 7.7 Style 7.14 Window Gadgets 8. COMMANDS IN PHONE MENU 8.1 Commands available 8.6.8 Busy string 8.2 Phonebook 8.6.9 Redial delay 8.2.1 Dial 8.6.10 Auto-speed and "locking" info 8.2.2 Edit 8.6.11 DTR hangup 8.2.3 New 8.6.12 Accepting the edit 8.2.4 Abort 8.7 Phonebook edit window 8.2.5 Load 8.7.1 Name 8.2.6 Save 8.7.2 Phone # 8.2.7 Delete 8.7.3 Comment 8.2.8 Sort 8.7.4 Config 8.2.9 Print 8.7.5 Macros 8.3 Dial # 8.7.6 Script 8.4 Hang up 8.7.7 Password 8.5 Redial 8.7.8 Baud rate 8.6 Modem setup 8.7.9 Data length 8.6.1 Init string 8.7.10 Parity 8.6.2 Exit string 8.7.11 Stop bits 8.6.3 Dial prefix 8.7.12 Duplex mode 8.6.4 Dial suffix 8.7.13 Character set 8.6.5 Hang-up string 8.7.14 Swap Del/Backspace 8.6.6 Disconnect string 8.7.15 Transfer protocol 8.6.7 Connect string 9. INFORMATION ABOUT DIAL MENU 10. HOT KEYS AVAILABLE ====================================================================== CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 NComm is GiftWare. This means that if you think we desverve a contribution, feel free to send us a gift (beer, cookies, chocolate, whisky, Alka-Seltzer, 68030 cards etc. ;-) Thanks to Frederick Page for giving us this idea by sending a box of "Aachener Printen" cookies 8-) The program is freely distributable and is intended for personal use only. Sale of this program except for REASONABLE media costs is prohibited. NComm must be distributed in its original archive format, without any files being added and/or ommited. 1.2 NComm version 1.92 was written by Torkel Lodberg. It was built on NComm 1.9 by Daniel Bloch & co. 1.3 This program was developed using Lattice C 5.x, and is the result of a project started in Oslo in 1988, using the Rodeløkka (M)BBS to coordinate the initial efforts. 1.4 History ================================================================= Many of the communication programs on the market today *look* nice, but after testing them for a few minutes you find out that they are so bug-ridden that even the old Basic-program you used on the Commodore 64 would be preferable. We thought that no Amiga communication program fulfilled our needs, and figured out that the only way to get a program that did everything we wanted, was to make it ourselves! Luckily the source for Comm 1.34 was available. It had all the basic functions, so we could concentrate on what we thought was missing. Our goal wasn't to make a program with a lot of functions you never use, but with the functions that we needed - and they had to work! Our national characters have been ignored and mistreated, but NComm puts an end to that. 1.5 The project was led by Daniel Bloch, and chief contributors to the design so far, apart from Daniel, have been: Trym Hansen Conrad Helgeland Torkel Lodberg Jørn Lokøy Per Hansen Geir Atle Storhaug Arvid Johansen Geir Inge Høsteng Anders Herbjørnsen Bjørn Melbye Eric Wheatley Marek Rzewuski Heiko Schlichting Miguel Casteleiro Øyvind Harboe Thomas Baetzler Nils-Arne Dahlberg Maximilian Hantsch Thanks go to Mike Robertson (who gave us the necessary information for the G&R protocol, and helped us out with a few other things) and Dj James (for the source to Comm 1.34). Also thanks to all the Beta-testers. Feedback from the users is the most important thing when developing a program! The XPR spec. was created by Willy Langeveld. NComm would have been nothing without it... Phone icon created by Bjørn Rybakken. He also made the new NComm fonts - thanks! 1.6 All changes since V1.9 were done by Torkel Lodberg, so please don't flame Daniel Bloch if you find any bugs or simply don't like the new version :-) 1.7 This manual is based on the original Comm manual. It was written by Torkel Lodberg, with help from Conrad Helgeland and Eric Wheatley. 1.8 We welcome bug reports and comments about NComm and the documentation. Send your comments to this address: Torkel Lodberg, Pilotveien 10, N-0384 Oslo 3, Norway. Email: torkell@ifi.uio.no (Internet) Torkel Lodberg @ 2:502/15 (Fidonet) Or call: The NComm Support BBS, 24 hours, two nodes. Phone # +47 2 493210 (international) (V32/V42bis/HST) (02) 493210 (Norway) Phone # +47 2 495201 (international) (300-2400 bps) (02) 495201 (Norway) ===================================================== Rodeløkka (M)BBS at 300-19200 baud, 24hrs, two nodes. Phone # +47 2 380949 (international) (V32/MNP5/PEP) (02) 380949 (Norway) 1.9 A probable future expansion is the addition of more protocols. We welcome debugged and documented C-source of other protocols, as lack of time prevents us from writing them ourselves... XPR libraries are also welcome! A final note: Please read this documentation carefully. Most things should be explained here. 1.10 Disclaimer: ----------- We have made every effort possible to ensure that NComm will function as described, but no warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, is made by us. We will not be liable for any direct or indirect damages to either machinal equipment or mental health arising from a failure of the program to operate in the manner desired by the user. In no event will we be liable for any loss of profits or savings. 1.11 Summary of functions: o Works on any Amiga with 512K RAM or more. Menu driven. o ANSI / VT100 terminal emulation with full 16 colour text support. IBM graphics (optional). Optional translation of styles. Interlaced screen (optional). PAL and NTSC support. Works with WB overscan. Can be run on WB screen. OS 2.0 support. Close Workbench option. o Full support for all European languages (both character- sets and keymaps). Thirteen translation modes. o Baud rates up to 115200 baud supported (31250 baud on a M68000-Amiga) Xon/Xoff and CTS/RTS handshaking. Fast screen I/O. Optional shared mode. Adjust option. DTR hangup option. o Fast file transfer protocols: ASCII, Xmodem, Xmodem-CRC, Ymodem, Ymodem-Batch, Ymodem-G (for error correcting modems). Fast Zmodem and Kermit protocols using external libraries. Full support for custom XPR libraries. Autochop on receive files - disabled for ARC, ZOO, PAK, ZIP. Optional translation. Batch uploads and downloads. Optional icon creation. o Autodownload feature for MBBS or systems with G&R protocol. G&R host mode. Zmodem autodownload and autoupload features for use with any system. o Script language - simple text language automates sessions. Advanced Host-Mode script follows program. o Optional scrollback buffer - view or save text that previously has been displayed on screen. Block functions. Real-time scrolling. o Hot Keys for most program functions, including dialing of up to 10 phone numbers. o Split screen mode for conferencing. o Dialing directory, queued dial, redial until carrier received. o Support for non-Hayes type modems. o 46 entry fast phonemenu. Phone requester with unlimited entries. o 20 keyboard macros using function keys. o Optional real time printing of incoming text. o Internal multitasking. o Log writes. CHAPTER 2: PREPARATION 2.1 The following files should be included in this package: ( Dir ) Host ( 1223 bytes) Install ( 144760 bytes) NComm ( 1297 bytes) NComm.config ( 81254 bytes) NComm.doc ( 1 bytes) NComm.keys ( 0 bytes) NComm.log ( 23181 bytes) NComm.news ( 685 bytes) NComm.phone ( 2616 bytes) NComm1.8 ( 264 bytes) NComm1.font ( 572 bytes) NComm2.8 ( 264 bytes) NComm2.font ( 11468 bytes) PbConvert ( 1563 bytes) PbConvert.doc ( 9144 bytes) PbView ( 2805 bytes) PbView.c ( 18123 bytes) Script.doc ( 838 bytes) mbbs.script ( 14360 bytes) pbconvert.c ( 18012 bytes) req.library ( 19104 bytes) xprkermit.library ( 18764 bytes) xprzmodem.library Be careful not to mix these files with old Comm 1.34 or NComm 1.01 files that may be lying around. The datafiles are incompatible. 2.2 Read the file 'host.doc' for information about the NComm Host Script. 2.3 The NComm.config format has been changed since NComm 1.8. If you haven't used V1.9, all configuration files should be deleted! The NComm.phone format has also been changed since V1.8, so convert old phonebook files to the new format using the program PbConvert. See the file PbConvert.doc for information about how to use this program. A minor change has been made to the V1.92 phonebook format. All V1.9 phonebooks will have "Xmodem" as their default protocol. PbConvert may be used for changing all entries to another protocol. 2.4 NComm uses two fonts for emulating IBM graphics. They must reside in the directory named FONTS:. NComm also uses two external protocol libraries for supporting Kermit and Zmodem. A Requester Library is being used for many of the requesters. All of these files must be installed before NComm can be used. To install NComm, enter the following command in CLI; (or just click on the Install icon from WorkBench) 1> Execute Install This batchfile will copy the font files used by NComm to the FONTS: directory. First (of course) you have to assign FONTS: to the directory where you keep your fonts. Unless you assign these fonts correctly, the IBM graphics emulation will not work! Important! ---------- Users of NComm V1.9 should reinstall the fonts, since they have been redesigned by Bjørn Rybakken! Users of V1.8 MUST reinstall the fonts since they had a bug. The batchfile will also copy the XPRZmodem.library to the LIBS: directory. This is a public domain Zmodem library that was created by Rick Huebner - thanks a lot! The file MUST be present, or the Zmodem protocol won't work! The version number included is 2.0, since I have been told that V2.1 has problems with DataPak and batch suploads - it may even skip files without reason. The XPRKermit.library will also be copied, and is necessary for Kermit to work. It was made by Stephen Walton. The version number included is 1.5. This version is told to contain several bugs, and Stephen is working hard on a new release which is expected soon. I highly recommend switching to the new version when it arrives. Finally, the batchfile file will copy the Req.library V2.5 to LIBS: and set up an NComm assignment to the current directory. 2.5 Data files ---------- It is important for NComm to know where it can find its data files, and we must help it on its way. If NComm was unarced in the ROOT directory of a floppy disk, relabel the disk as "NComm". This can be done by the following command if NComm resides on df1: 1> Relabel drive df1: name "NComm" If the files were unarced within a directory or on a harddisk, you must assign "NComm:" to the directory that NComm resides in including full device and path names. Examples: 1> Assign NComm: "df1:" ...expects NComm to reside in the ROOT directory of drive "df1:" 1> Assign NComm: "dh0:NComm 1.92" ...expects NComm to reside in directory "NComm 1.92" on "dh0:" If you do not wish to name the disk that NComm resides on 'NComm', it is probably a good idea to edit the "s:startup-sequence" file and add the assign command that you just entered. 2.6 NComm has an inbuilt command for opening a new CLI. If NComm should not use the normal "NewCLI" command for opening the CLI, this can be done by using the SetEnv command in WB1.3. For example: 1> setenv NEWCLI "NewSHELL *"newcon:0/11/640/245/NCommShell*"" 2.7 NComm normally opens the serial.device in "exclusive" mode. If the serial device could not be opened, the message "Can't open serial device" will be displayed (workbench users will notice a flash on the workbench screen if NComm of some reason can't run). If another program is using the serial port, NComm will not be able to run in "exclusive" mode. The internal "shared" mode option must then be stored in your configuration file if you want to use the two programs simultaneously. 2.8 NComm has the following synopsis when started from CLI: 1> NComm [SCRIPTFILE] [-cCONFIGFILE] [-mMACROFILE] [-pPHONEBOOK] [-sSCROLLBACK] [-d(ISABLE ADDING)] From WorkBench, just click on the NComm icon. 2.9 Note: ----- Single-drive users have to execute these commands in a bit different manner. Either you can copy the needed commands into RAM: and assign c: to RAM:, or you may enter the desired commands with just a question mark as command-line. You will then be given a long prompt, at which you should enter the normal command-line" with drive specified as df0:. As an example, here is how to relabel a disk... Boot your AmigaDOS disk in df0: and enter this at the prompt: 1> Relabel ? "DRIVE/A,NAME/A" now appears on the screen. Now put your new NComm disk in df0: and enter this: drive df0: name "NComm" 2.10 How to configure NComm for use with MBBS. ----------------------------------------- To get the most from NComm when using the MBBS program, you should log in at the MBBS boards you are going to use. In the utility menu, there are several options that have to be turned on. Walk to the utility menu with the (U)tility command, and select (M)ode changes. Answer 'YES' at all prompts. The message 'User profile updated' will be displayed. Now, if you're using a PAL machine, you probably want to configure a larger number of lines per page than what has been configured by MBBS. Select (L)ines per page, and enter '29' at the prompt. Finally, select IBM graphics by using the (S)et character set command. Enter 'IBN' at the prompt. Some options must now be turned on in NComm. Walk to the 'Transfer' menu, and turn on the 'G&R Protocol'. Configure the default directories for these transfers if you don't have enough memory to use the RAM DISK. Now, examine that your 'Com' setup is 8N1. Always use this setup when connecting to MBBS boards, otherwise high bits will be stripped. Turn the 'IBN character set' on in the 'Translate' menu. Turn the '8 Colour' mode on in the screen menu, and 'Reset' the colours by opening the palette. You now have true ANSI graphics! Remember to save the present configuration. 2.11 A note about using NComm with Ymodem-G and High Speed modems ------------------------------------------------------------ Characters may sometimes disappear when using NComm with baud rates above 9600 baud. This is not due to a bug in NComm, but is caused by a problem with either the serial.device or the Amiga hardware. If you want to perform file transfer with modems like the US Robotics HST, we recommend using the Zmodem error checking protocol. It is not safe to use the Ymodem-G protocol at high baud rates even if the modem is having MNP available - errors may occur!. We apologize for this, and hope this will be fixed in a future version of the Amiga software or hardware! We have tried to shorten down the cable between the modem and the machine but that didn't seem to help. We have checked every other Amiga comms program available, and the same thing seems to happen with them. 2.12 How to obtain high transfer rates with HST modems ------------------------------------------------- Some people have reported that they are not able to obtain high transfer rates with the Zmodem protocol. I personally have no problems reaching 1700 CPS with NComm on a standard Amiga 2000 with many programs waiting in the background. Please read trough this list of possible faults before sending any more complaints. * Some versions of the serial.device miscalculate the baud rate by 1.1% and may therefore either slow transfers down, or cause errors. If you experience such problems, try setting the adjust factor to -11 (it should normally be set to zero!) * Use the newest version of serial.device, i.e 34.104 or above. Test your version number with the following command... 1> version serial.device * The sending protocol and the hardware used by the BBS is also very important, as well as noise on the telephone line. If you have problems with reaching high baud rates, this may be a problem with the BBS program or the telephone line. * With the standard Amiga serial.device you should NOT lock the baud rate at anything else than 19200 baud (unless you are using a machine equipped with a 68020 or 68030 card). A standard Amiga does only handle transfers at a maximum of 31250 baud... * When using the ASDG Dual Serial Board, you must remember to lock the baud rate at 38400 baud. Otherwise the buffer might overflow. * Check the cabling. The RS232 cable should be as short as possible, and protected against electrical interference. The same thing goes for the telephone cable. The cabling is very important for obtaining high transfer rates. * Your modem must be set up correctly. These US Robotics HST settings have been tested and work very well: Courier HST (non-V32/V42 version) --------------------------------- AT &F B1 X4 &A3&B1&C1&D2&G0&H1&I0 AT &J0&K0&L0&M4&N8&P0&R2&S0&X1&Y1 &W Courier HST Dual Standard (V32/V42 version) ------------------------------------------- AT &F B0X4 &A3&B1&H1&K3&R2&S1S28=20 &W * Don't multitask, i.e don't have anything running in the background since this will slow things down and cause errors. Even a simple operation like bringing another screen or window to front, may cause errors! * Utility Programs like PopCLI, QMouse, VirusX, Mach and so on, may be quite cruel to the system, especially if they run at a high priority - try removing them if you experience problems. * Use TWO colours, NO interlace, NO overscan. Everything else will slow transfers down and cause errors. * Turn on CTS/RTS handshaking in NComm. To be able to use this hardware handshaking, your modem must also be set up correctly! You will have to use a cable with pins 4 and 5 connected. The CTS and DSR signal must be constantly on before starting NComm. See your modem users manual if you don't know how to configure it correctly. * Zmodem ACKknowledge should be turned OFF. Transfers should go to RAM: or a fast harddisk. Otherwise, Zmodem will HAVE to acknowledge for every 16th block received. * Setting the priority of NComm to one or higher will normally give best results. We recommend setting the priority to at least one. Setting the priority to 16 or higher is NOT recommended. * Transfer to RAM: or a fast harddisk. Floppy drives do not handle transfers at anything more than 9600 baud! Some harddisks hog the CPU when reading or writing. This can cause errors during transfers. If you experience such problems, I recommend that you use RAM: as your default download directory, and transfer the files to a permanent media after having logged off the bulletin board. 2.13 If you want to use another icon than the one supplied with NComm, remember to set the stack size to 10000 bytes. Otherwise, you may experience that NComm gives you a software failure from time to time - not funny at all. CHAPTER 3: COMMANDS IN SYSTEM MENU 3.1 Here you control all system functions. From here you can load and save settings, view the status, edit the macrokeys, turn on and off the printer, and start a new CLI. You can also choose whether NComm should add entries to the logfile when you connect with a board. You may also exit NComm from here, as well as execute script-files. 3.2 About NComm Will tell you a few things about NComm and the author. Simply click in the window to close it... 3.3 Status This will bring up a status display showing the amount of memory available, the state of the printer and capture buffer toggles. If the capture buffer has been turned on, the filename will also be displayed. Here you will also find a slider gadget for use with the "ASCII send" and "message send" functions. Some Bulletin Board Systems lose data if is being sent too fast, so this function can be very useful. 3.3.1 You can select a time to delay after transmitting each character by using this slider gadget. The gadget can be adjusted from approx 20ms (Fast) to 300 ms (Slow) delay between transmitted characters. The slider can be adjusted while a file is being sent to allow for fine tuning. With the slider in the (default) far left position, there is no delay. 3.3.2 A scrollback buffer can be set with the second slider gadget. This can be useful if you often loose CARRIER while entering messages or if you are bothered by pages often scrolling past your screen. Here you can set the buffer size, i.e. how much NComm at all times shall remember of the incoming data. If you are using a 512K Amiga, it may be wise to use only a small scrollback buffer. Set the scrollback buffer to '0K' if you want to turn off this option, or want to clear the buffer. 3.4 Load config Will load a new NComm configuration. All menu options and the status window settings are covered by this function. The macrokeys and the phonebook must be loaded separately. A file input requester will appear in the center of the screen. Only files with a ".config" suffix will be shown. 3.5 Save config Will save the current NComm configuration. All menu options and the status window settings are covered by this function. The macrokeys and the phonebook must be saved separately. A file input requester will appear in the center of the screen. 3.6 Script This function will execute a scriptfile. A file input requester will appear in the center of the screen. Select the script you want to run. The text SCR' will be displayed on the status line. To stop a script, select this entry again. See the file "Script.doc" for detailed information on scripts. 3.7 Macrokeys This will bring up a requester that lets you edit the macrokeys. Here you may also load new macros and save the text stored on the different macrokeys. The function keys definable are F1 to F10 and SHIFT F1 to F10. A macro definiton can be 512 bytes maximum. Not all keys have to be defined. To edit a macro just click in one of the requester text input boxes and enter your definition. The macros can contain control characters which can be represented in two ways. These characters can also be used in the modem setup requester. 3.7.1 1. C-style slash conventions. The following sequences are supported: \n, \r Carriage Return \t Tabulator \f Form Feed \b BackSpace \v Vertical Tabulator \e Escape \\ Backslash \" Quote \p Phonebook Password \w .5 second Delay \l 250 ms Line Break \m Macro 2. The caret followed by a letter, meaning CTRL+letter. If you need the line feed character, for example, use ^J. '^^' will send the caret itself. A scriptfile may be started from a macro by entering {script} followed by the name and path of the scriptfile you want to execute. Example: {script}RAM:test.script You can have nested macros by using the \m## option, where ## is a number from 1 to 20 - with 1 representing macro F1 and 11 and 20 representing Shift F1 and Shift F20 respectively. Examples: commodore ;Will not add a carriage return. at \\N3\n ;AT \N3 plus a carriage return. ^pread ;The control-P code, followed by 'read'. \m1\m2run testfile\r ;The text stored on macro F1 and F2, plus ;the text 'run testfile' and a CR. 3.7.2 Selecting the 'Load' gadget will bring up a file requester in the center of the screen. From here you may load new macrokeys. Remember to save the current macrokeys if any changes have been made. Entering "NComm.keys" will load the macrokeys that are normally loaded at startup. 3.7.3 Selecting the 'Save' gadget will bring up a file requester in the center of the screen. From here you may save the current macrokeys. Enter the name "NComm.keys" if you want the macrokeys to be loaded on startup. 3.7.4 Selecting the 'Cancel' gadget will leave everything unchanged and remove the macrokeys window. 3.7.5 Selecting the 'OK' gadget will close the window and install the new macros. 3.8 Printer Toggles the printer ON/OFF. When ON, text received from the serial port will also go to the printer via the PRT: device. The text 'PRT' will be displayed on the status line. 3.9 New CLI Works like the "NewCli" command, which must be present in the C: directory together with the 'RUN' command. Will open up a command line interface on the Workbench screen. Type 'EndCli' to exit the CLI and return to NComm. 3.10 Log Calls When this option is turned on, NComm will log all calls made within NComm. The information will be added to a textfile called "NComm.log". 3.11 Set Priority This option allows you to increase or decrease the NComm priority a bit. Bumping the priority is especially recommended when using high speed modems. This will decrease the number of errors and also increases the transfer rate. 3.12 Quit NComm Selecting this entry will close all open files and windows and exit back to the operating system. CHAPTER 4: COMMANDS IN FILE MENU 4.1 This is the file transfer menu. From here you can start a transfer and select the different transfer options i.e protocol, handshaking etc. When the upload or download function is selected, a file input requester will appear, that is if you have not selected the G&R mode. Click on the "Ok" gadget when you have selected a file. 4.2 Start ASCII Capture All data received from the serial port is also saved into the named file. The text is buffered and written to the disk in 8K blocks. If you are using a translation table, the incoming data will be translated. Select the 'ISO' character set to avoid this. When this mode is selected, the text in the MENU entry is changed to "Stop ASCII Capture". Selecting this entry will flush the data buffer to the disk and close the file. When capturing is enabled, the word "CAP" will be visible on the status line. When entering a filename for data capture, NComm will check to see if this file already exists. If it does, a requester will appear informing you of that fact. You may then choose to CONTINUE using the filename entered or CANCEL and enter another filename. If you choose to CONTINUE, you will be presented with another requester. You can APPEND data to the existing file or DELETE the existing data and start with a fresh file. 4.3 Start ASCII Send The named file will be read and sent to the serial port. If the file does not exist, a message to that effect will be printed. If you are using a translation table, the outgoing data will be translated. Select the 'ISO' translation to avoid this. When this mode is selected, the text in the MENU entry is changed to "Stop ASCII Send". Selecting this entry will stop the transfer and close the disk file. 4.4 Message upload The named file will be read and sent to the serial port. If the file does not exist, a warning message will be printed. If you are using a translation table, the outgoing data will be translated. Select the 'ISO' translation to avoid this. This function will perform almost like "Start ASCII send", but the message will be packed. Blank lines will be translated into spaces. This can be useful when uploading to systems with a certain pagewidth, or if your message contains blank lines (usually you will exit the editor when a blank line occurs in a message you upload with the ASCII send function.) Select this entry again to stop the transfer and close the disk file. 4.5 Download The named file will be created on the disk and the transfer will be started using the protocol you have selected in the TRANSFER menu. If the specified file already exists, a requester will appear; asking if you want to CONTINUE or CANCEL the use of that filename. Selecting CONTINUE will overwrite the old existing file with the new one. Selecting CANCEL will bring up the INPUT WINDOW allowing you to enter another file name. A window will pop up that among other things will display the name of the file being transferred, a running total of the bytes received, the number of NAKs and the last block to be NAKed. The transfer can be aborted by hitting the ESC key, or by pressing the upper left-hand close gadget. The serial port parameters will be saved and changed to 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit for the transfer. Upon completion, the old settings will be restored. 4.6 Upload Use this selection to transmit a file to a system. The named file will be opened on the disk and the transfer will be started using the error checking method (CRC or Checksum) selected by the receiving end. Ymodem-Batch/G and Zmodem support batch uploading. Hold down the SHIFT key if you want to select multiple files in the file requester. If the specified file does not exist, a requester will appear informing you of this fact. You only have the option to CONTINUE, which will bring up the INPUT WINDOW allowing you to re-enter the filename or CANCEL the upload. A window will pop up that among other things will display the name of the file being transferred, a running total of the bytes sent, the number of NAKs and the last block to be NAKed. The transfer can be aborted by hitting the ESC key, or by pressing the upper left-hand close gadget. As described in the Download section, the serial port parameters are temporarily changed to 8N1 for the transfer. 4.7 Protocol Here you select the protocol you want used for the upload and download functions. 4.7.1 XMODEM This is the protocol originally written by Ward Christensen. It is used by almost every type of personal computer. This is a good protocol to use if the line quality is poor. Its biggest drawback is that it transfers data in 128 byte blocks making it slower than YMODEM. 4.7.2 YMODEM This is basically XModem-CRC with 1024 byte blocks. This means that there is less handshaking, which saves time. YMODEM is faster than XMODEM as long as the line quality is acceptable. 4.7.3 YMODEM-BATCH This is a more intelligent version of the YMODEM protocol. Multiple files may be sent as a packet, and the protocol automatically sends information about filename and filesize. 4.7.4 YMODEM-G This is basically YMODEM-BATCH without error checking. It may only be used when two error correcting modems are communicating with each other. Configure this with boards supporting MNP or ARQ. Please see above for a note about using this protocol with high speed modems. 4.7.5 ZMODEM This is currently one of the fastest file transfer protocol available. With the Zmodem protocol, you may reach a transfer rate around 1700 CPS with the HST. It depends on the XPRZmodem.library, which should be situated in the LIBS: directory. A file is normally sent in 1024 byte blocks, but this changes depending on the system performance and line quality. The reason for its outstanding performance is that it uses continuous data-streaming, and doesn't wait for an OK from the remote system before sending the next block. This is not only a fast method to transfer data, but is also necessary on packet networks. 4.7.6 KERMIT This is a protocol that is widely used on many old machines and network systems. It depends on the XPRKermit.library, which should be situated in the LIBS: directory. Due to the small blocks sent/received, kermit is a quite slow protocol but is *very* reliable and works with just about any system configuration, independent of handshaking and number of data bits. Some implementations of Kermit support compression of the transferred data. 4.7.7 EXTERNAL XPR Use this function for selecting an external XPR protocol. Only enter the name of the protocol, do not include "XPR" or ".library". If you for example want to use the XPRQuickb.library, enter "QuickB" in the string gadget. 4.8 Options 4.8.1 CRC This function selects the type of error checking to be used during Xmodem transfers. If CRC is not turned on, the checksum method will be used. The original Christensen protocol used an 8 bit checksum for error checking. It is about 97% effective in catching errors. All implementations of XMODEM can use the checksum method. Only use the cheksum method when in doubt, the CRC method is much more secure. A later addition to the protocol was the 16 bit (two byte) Cyclic Redundancy Check ( CRC ) which is about 99.997% effective in detecting errors. Not all implementations of XMODEM can use the CRC method. 4.8.2 Chop Files File transfers will increase the size of a file to the next largest multiple of 128 bytes for XModem transfers and 1024 bytes for YModem. The CHOP FILES option will remove the padding on the end of the file. This is always required when transferring executable binary files. CHOPing files is therefore desired. Note: It is not desireable to CHOP an .ARC, .ZOO, .PAK or .ZIP file. As it is very easy to forget to turn off the CHOP mode for these files, NComm will check the receive-filename for such an extension. If this is found, it will temporarily disable CHOPing for this file and on completion of transfer the CHOP flag will be reset to its previous value. 4.8.3 G & R Protocol This is an auto up/download protocol for use with the MBBS system. You must remember to also turn on G&R in your MBBS user account to make it work. By using this protocol, you no longer have to enter the desired protocol and filename in NComm when transferring files to and from an MBBS system. This means that you do not have to deal with the tedious file requester. 4.8.4 G & R Host Mode This feature is meant to be used when two NComm programs (or one NComm and one GLink program) are connected to each other. You may use a nullmodem cable or two modems. When one of the programs have been set to utilize this feature, the file transfer can be controlled from that machine. All you have to specify is protocol, filename and up/download. 4.8.5 Zmodem RESUME If this feature has been turned on, NComm will not discard existing data when using Zmodem download. Data will be appended to the file until the filesize is correct. No requester will appear. Turn this feature on if you for example loose carrier during a Zmodem download - you will then only have to transfer the bytes that are missing. 4.8.6 Zmodem AUTODL If this feature has been turned on, NComm will automatically jump into receive mode when the string '**^XB00' is received. This means that you won't have to select Download from the menu when transferring with Zmodem. 4.8.7 Zmodem AUTOUL If this feature has been turned on, NComm will pop up with a file requester when the string '**^XB01' is received. This means that you won't have to select Upload from the menu when transferring with Zmodem. 4.8.8 Zmodem ACK This option turns on Zmodem ACK, and will force Zmodem to acknowledge each 16th block received. This will of course slow transfers down so only turn ACK on if you are transferring to a very slow device (errors may then occur if this feature has NOT been turned on). NComm will automatically turn Zmodem ACK on when transferring to DFx: at speeds greater than 9600 baud. 4.8.9 Kermit host If this option is turned on, the host Kermit is assumed to be in server mode. You will be prompted for file names when you request a Kermit receive, and this file name will be sent to the server in form of a Kermit GET command. 4.8.10 Kermit 1k blocks Will set the Kermit packet length to 1024 bytes and set 16-bit CRC block checking. This should increase the transfer speed a bit. A packet length of 94 will be used if this feature is turned off. Not all Kermit implementations support long packets. 4.8.11 External XPR setup Use this option for setting an init string with options that should be used by the External XPR library. 4.8.12 External XPR query This functions asks the External XPR library for a "query". The library will then display the different options that can be set and their default values. You may change the options as you wish. 4.8.13 Create icons Turn this option on if you want NComm to create an icon for all files that you download. 4.9 Default directory Here you may specify the default paths and directories for uploading and downloading, or change the path for the log file. A file requester will appear, select a path and directory and click on the OK gadget when you are satisfied with your selection. NComm will default to these directories, but as long as you are not using the G & R protocol, you may change the path and directory yourself before an upload or download. It may be wise to set these directories to RAM: for fast file transfers, since transferring to disk causes a delay. 4.10 Load scrollback buffer Use this function if you want to load a text file into the scrollback buffer. A file requester will appear on screen. 4.11 Save scrollback buffer Use this function if you want to save what is stored in the scrollback buffer. A file requester will appear on screen. 4.12 View scrollback buffer This function will bring up a window containing two proportional gadgets and two line-by-line gadgets. By using these gadgets, you may view what is stored in the scrollback buffer and perhaps see if it is worth saving. The scrollback bytesize will be displayed in the window header, as well as the current buffer position and number of lines. The cursor keys may also be used for moving around; Up - One line up Down - One line down Left - Move half a page to the left Right - Move half a page to the right Shift-Up - Step one page up Shift-Down - Step one page down Shift-Left - Beginning of buffer Shift-Right - End of buffer Text may be marked by first clicking on the first line that you want to mark and then clicking at the last line. Click twice at the same line for removing all marks. Some hotkeys are supported; "/" - Search in buffer "N" - Next occurence of string "L" - Load scrollback "S" - Save scrollback "B" - Save block Space bar - Paste block to serial port Press the CloseGadget or ESCape to close the window. Please note that the scrollback will slow down when using a 8 or 16 colour screen. 4.13 Search in buffer This function search for a string in the scrollback buffer, and marks the line if found. Enter the string you want to search for in the string requester that pops up. 4.14 Save marked block Select this function if you want to save the contents of a marked block onto a file. A file requester will appear on screen, asking you for path and filename. 4.15 Send marked block Select this function if you want to send the contents of a marked block in the scrollback to the serial port. 4.16 Disable adding By turning this option on, you temporarily disable the adding of characters to the scrollback. Turn the adding on again by selecting this function once again. CHAPTER 5: COMMANDS IN SERIAL MENU 5.1 Serial device parameters are changed here. The serial settings are completely independent of the settings in preferences. 5.2 Baud Baud rates from 300 to 115200 baud can be selected. This entry, however, may be overridden by the default baud rate in the phonebook. IMPORTANT !!! Do NOT use baud rates above 31500 baud with a standard Amiga (68000/10 processor). The processor is to slow for handling these speeds, and the serial hardware will therefore discard most of the characters received via the serial port. Some 68020 cards also have problems when operating at high speeds. Note: This selects the serial speed of the port, the actual data throughput rate depends upon whether the capture buffer is active, if printer capture is selected, if a scrollback is used and upon the screen I/O speed. With no printer or file capture, the throughput rate depends on the screen I/O speed. If you select a baud rate greater than 2400 baud, you may lose characters unless handshaking is being used. If you own a 68030 machine and use the program CpuBlit by Eddy Carroll, the screen I/O will stick with much higher baud rates. CpuBlit also removes the flashing seen when scrolling color text. It is highly recommended that you use CpuBlit. 5.3 Data Length Selects the length of a data word as 7 or 8 bits. Most computer systems today will operate with 8 bits. Note that during binary transfers, serial port data length is set to 8 bits and restored to the previous value on completion. 5.4 Parity Selects ODD, EVEN or NO parity. Most computer systems today will operate with NO parity. Note that during binary transfers, serial port parity is set to NO parity and restored to the previous value on completion. 5.5 Stop Bits Selects the number of stop bits transmitted as 1 or 2 bits. Most computer systems today will operate with 1 stop bit. Note that during binary transfers, serial port stop bit length is set to 1 bit and restored to the previous value on completion. The Amiga hardware does not allow 2 stop bits to be used with an 8 bit data word length. 5.6 Duplex Selects whether NComm or the remote system should echo key strokes to the screen. 5.6.1 Select FULL duplex when the remote machine will echo your key strokes. You will normally be using this option. 5.6.2 Select HALF duplex when the remote system does not echo your key strokes. That is when the remote system seems to be responding to your commands, but you cannot see what you are typing. 5.7 Handshaking Enables or disables the serial driver check for flow control characters. 5.7.1 Select 'None' when you do not wish to use flow control. 5.7.2 Select 'XON/XOFF' when you wish the driver to use the XON/XOFF type of flow control. Normally this is used at baud rates greater than 2400 baud to avoid losing characters. 5.7.3 Select 'RTS/CTS' when you wish the driver to use the hardware RTS/CTS type of flow control. This should only be used with modems which support it. Note: In some cases, when the XON/XOFF mode is selected, NComm may receive an XOFF character ( noise or otherwise ) and appear to be hung -- that is, no characters appear on the screen yet the menus still function properly. Whenever NComm appears to be hung, typing a Ctrl-Q will re-start the serial line. If the problem was due to an XOFF character received, this will restore everything to normal. 5.8 Set Device If you are using something else than the inbuilt serial port, this function makes it possible to change the type of serial device used for this port. A string requester will pop up, asking you for the name of the new device. 5.9 Set Unit If you are using something else than the inbuilt serial port, this function makes it possible to change the number of the unit used for this port. A number requester will pop up, asking you for the number of the new unit. 5.10 Set Adjust Factor Some versions of the serial.device miscalculate the baud rate by 1.1% and may therefore either slow transfers down, or cause errors. If you experience such problems, try setting the adjust factor to -11 (it should normally be set to zero) 5.11 Shared Mode If another program is using the serial port, NComm will not be able to open the serial.device. Setting the "Shared mode" option allows NComm to share the serial port with another program. The disadvantage is that CTS/RTS handshaking can not be used when sharing the serial port. 5.12 Send Break Sends a 250 ms break signal. CHAPTER 6: COMMANDS IN TRANSLATE MENU 6.1 This is where you define the translation of out- and ingoing data and the special keyboard keys. 6.2 End of Line You can select how End of Line characters are handled on the screen and when sent out the serial port. By default, EOL is just a CARRIAGE RETURN character, but you can change this to CR and LINEFEED pairs. Use this option if all text seems to be printed on one line. 6.3 Character set NComm offers twelve different translation tables, and they can be selected here. Please observe that you have to use the 'CLI' SETMAP command to be able to write your national characters correctly. 6.3.1 ISO NComm will use the standard Amiga character set, without any translation. This should be used when using Amiga systems, and will only work in 8N1. Please note; if no translation of the in or outgoing data is wanted when using the ASCII capture or ASCII send option, switch to ISO before transfer. 6.3.2 IBM Should be used with bulletin boards running on PC/MS-DOS machines that use the IBM extended character set. NComm will utilize a special IBM font containg all the IBM graphic characters. This will only work in 8N1. 6.3.3 IBN Should be used with Norwegian bulletin boards running on PC/MS-DOS machines that use the IBM extended character set. This is a version of the character set that contains two norwegian characters that are missing in IBMs original character set. NComm will utilize a special IBM font containing all the IBM graphic characters. This will only work in 8N1. 6.3.4 IBP Should be used with Portuguese bulletin boards running on PC/MS-DOS machines that use the IBM extended character set. This is a version of the character set that contains some special Portuguese characters that are missing in IBMs original character set. NComm will utilize a special IBM font containing all the IBM graphic characters. This will only work in 8N1. 6.3.5 NO7 Use this option when the host uses the Norwegian ISO 7 bit standard. 6.3.6 US7 Use this option when the host uses the American ISO 7 bit standard. 6.3.7 UK7 Use this option when the host uses the English ISO 7 bit standard. 6.3.8 GE7 Use this option when the host uses the German ISO 7 bit standard. 6.3.9 FR7 Use this option when the host uses the French ISO 7 bit standard. 6.3.10 SP7 Use this option when the host uses the Spanish ISO 7 bit standard. 6.3.11 IT7 Use this option when the host uses the Italian ISO 7 bit standard. 6.3.12 SF7 Use this option when the host uses the Swedish/Finnish ISO 7 bit standard. 6.3.13 DE7 Use this option when the host uses the Danish ISO 7 bit standard. 6.4 DEL <-> BS Here you may configure whether the backspace and del keys are to be exchanged. This can be useful when communicating with a machine that runs Unix, VMS or Tops-20, amongst others. 6.5 Show HEX chars This option will translate all incoming text to HEX numbers, as well as displaying the text to the right. Perfect for debugging. 6.6 ANSI mouse If this option is turned on, mouse clicks will be translated into ANSI codes that move you to the current mouse position. The codes will be sent out to the serial port. 6.7 ANSI capture ANSI escape codes will normally be filtered out when using the "ASCII capture" function. Turn this option on if you want to leave these codes untouched when doing an ASCII capture. 6.8 Destructive Backspace Incoming "backspace" codes will normally just move the cursor one position to the left. Turn this option on if you want NComm to delete the character to the left of the cursor. 6.9 Pad out blank lines Most line editors used by bulletin boards enter the "command" prompt when RETURN is pressed on a blank line. This is normally not desirable when doing an "ASCII send". By turning this option on, NComm will always send a blank (SPACE) before sending RETURN on a new line when using the "ASCII send" function. CHAPTER 7: COMMANDS IN SCREEN MENU 7.1 This is where you may configure what your screen should look like. 7.2 Title bar Toggles the title bar on and off 7.3 Interlace This option will make NComm use an interlaced screen, which will double the vertical resolution but cause a lot of flicker if you haven't invested in a flicker-fixer card or a long-persistance monitor. 7.4 Colours From here you may choose whether NComm shall use a 2, 4, 8 or 16 colour screen. If you choose the eight colour mode, you will get full ANSI colour emulation. The 16 color mode will set up NComm for extended ANSI emulation, but will slow down the program a lot. See chapter 5.2 for more information about this. Choose the two or four colour mode if you prefer faster screen updates. 7.5 Palette This will bring up a requester that lets you configure the colours for the current screen mode. Each screen mode has its own palette. Click 'RESET' to use the colours that NComm was shipped with. To edit a color, click in the color box and use the slider gadgets. 7.6 Split Screen This function will divide the screen into two windows, a small one ( 4 lines ) for your typed characters and a larger one ( 19 lines when using NTSC) for characters received from the modem. You should select the half-duplex mode on the host system to prevent your typed characters from being echoed back into the receive window. To exit the split screen mode, select 'Split Screen' from the menu again. Split screen mode requires at least 1MB of memory to operate in interlaced mode. Caution: If you login to a system while in the split screen mode, your password will be echoed in the TX window. It is best to login in the single screen mode. 7.7 Style This function allows you to turn on or off the translation of the different styles (boldface, italics and underline). The reason why this function was included is that the styles are misused by many bulletin board systems. The text will appear clearer, and this will also reduce flashing when the screen is scrolling. 7.8 Bell From here you can configure what NComm should do when it receives the ASCII "bell" code. You can have an ordinary audible bell or a visible bell. You may even select 'ScreenToFront', which will bring the NComm screen to front when the "bell" code is received. You may freely mix the three or turn bell off. 7.9 Cursor blink Some people prefer having a blinking cursor, especially if they are used to the IBM Personal Computer. This function will try to emulate cursor blinking. 7.10 Reset This function will clear the screen, turn off all style settings and reset the colours. 7.11 Workbench screen Use this function for placing NComm on the Workbench screen. This will also save a small amount of memory. OS 2.0 gadget flags will be set if used. 7.12 Close Workbench screen. If you want to save a small amount of memory, you may choose to close the Workbench screen with this function. Please note that no programs or CLI's can be open on the Workbench screen when this function is selected. 7.13 OS 2.0 snapping (Only selectable if using OS 2.0) This function lets you snap text from the NComm terminal screen using the Right-Amiga-C key combination. Use Right-Amiga-V for pasting text to the terminal screen. 7.14 Window Gadgets -------------- The screen contains hidden gadgets for depth arranging the NComm window. The depth gadgets are in the upper right hand corner. CHAPTER 8: COMMANDS IN PHONE MENU 8.1 From here you may dial phonenumbers, edit the phonebook, configure the modem and redial, or hang up the phone. 8.2 Phonebook This entry will bring up the phonebook window, where you may load or save phonebooks, as well as edit, delete and add entries. The entries can also be sorted, dialled or printed. When loaded, NComm first looks for a file called NComm:NComm.phone. If not found, the phonebook will be blank. The phonebook can consist of an unlimited number of entries, but only the first 46 will be displayed in the DIAL menu, and only the first 10 can be dialled using hot keys. Only 15 entries can be displayed simultaneously in the window. To scroll through the phonebook, use the right drag bar. You may select an entry by positioning the pointer over it and then clicking on the left mouse button. When an entry is selected, it will show up in reverse video. Several entries can be selected at the same time. 8.2.1 Selecting the 'Dial!' gadget will dial the entries that are selected, starting at the top. This will bring up a small window telling you which board you are calling, and eventually which is the next to go. The phonebook window will be removed. More entries can be added while dialling by selecting them from the DIAL menu, or by bringing up the phonebook again. If a number is busy, the program will continue with the next number on the list. If redial has been turned on, NComm will start over again if no connection has been established with any of the numbers in the queue. It will not stop until a connection has been established. Abort the dialling by pressing the ESC key or closing the window by clicking in the upper lefthand gadget. To remove the current entry, press the DEL key. Press the SPACE key if you would like to go on with the next entry. You may also click within the window gadgets. 8.2.2 Selecting the 'Edit' gadget will bring up the edit window, containing the information about the first entry selected. This information can then be edited. See below for more information about how to use the edit window. Pressing the 'OK' gadget will accept the edit, 'Cancel' will leave everything unchanged. 8.2.3 Selecting the 'New' gadget will add a new entry in front of the first entry selected. However, if no entry has been selected, the entry will be placed at the bottom of the list. This will bring up a special edit window that contains the current NComm settings. See below for more information about how to use the edit window. Pressing the 'OK' gadget will add the current entry, 'Cancel' will abort the edit and not add the entry. 8.2.4 Selecting the 'Abort!' gadget will remove the window. This equals pressing the upper lefthand closegadget. 8.2.5 Selecting the 'Load' gadget will bring up a file requester in the center of the screen. For instructions on how to use this, see "The file input-requester" above. From here you may load a new phonebook. Remember to save the current phonebook if any changes have been made. Entering "NComm.phone" will load the phonebook that is normally loaded at startup. 8.2.6 Selecting the 'Save' gadget will bring up a file requester in the center of the screen. For instructions on how to use this, see "The file input-requester" above. From here you may save the current phonebook. Enter the name "NComm.phone" if you want the phonebook to be loaded at startup. 8.2.7 Selecting the 'Delete' gadget will delete the entries that are currently selected. 8.2.8 Selecting the 'Sort' gadget will sort the phonebook. If a entry has been selected, the function will only sort the entries between this entry and down. If multiple entries have been selected, the function will only sort the entries between the top and lower entry. This can be handy if you are using hot keys to dial numbers, and don't want the upper entries mixed with entries that are lower on the list, or if you prefer using the DIAL menu for dialling entries and don't want entry 45 and down to be mixed with the upper entries. 8.2.9 Selecting the 'Print' gadget will print the phonebook. Enter the name of the file in the righthand text gadget, or use "PRT:" if you want output sent to the printer. If no entries are selected, the whole phonebook will be printed. Else, only the entries selected will be printed. 8.3 Dial # This requester will dial a number which is not listed in the phonebook. If redial has been turned on, the program will try reaching the number until connection has been established. This function can be used together with the dial queue. 8.4 Hang up Selecting this entry will send the HANGUP command string to the modem. 8.5 Redial By configuring this option, NComm will try over and over again when a board you are calling is busy. 8.6 Modem setup Within this requester you may configure the things that are sent and received by the modem, and how long NComm should wait before redialling. Simply click in the text gadgets to edit them. The setup strings can contain the control characters listed under the explanation of 'macrokeys'. 8.6.1 The 'initialization string' will be sent to the modem soon after NComm opens the serial device and before keyboard input is accepted. It can be left blank, but remember that NComm requires 'echo' from the modem, so it can be clever to configure this here. This can be accomplished by the 'AT E1' command if your modem is Hayes compatible. You must also set your modem to detect the BUSY signal if it has got such a feature. If you have problems configuring your modem, the 'AT &F\n' line will load the factory configuration on Hayes compatibles. This configuration is usually accepted by NComm. 8.6.2 The 'exit string' is sent just before the serial device is closed, when exiting NComm. It is normally left blank. 8.6.3 'Dial prefix' is the command to be inserted before the phonenumber. For Hayestype modems, this should be ATDT (or ATDP for pulse dial). 8.6.4 'Dial suffix' is the string to be added after the phonenumber. For Hayestype modems, this should be '\n', which will send a carriage return. 8.6.5 'Hang-up string' is the string to be sent when you choose the Hangup function. For Hayestype modems, this should be '\w\w+++\w\w\w\wATH\n' (Wait 1 sec +++ Wait 2 sec ATH CR). 8.6.6 The 'disconnect string' is the string sent from the modem when a call has ended. For Hayestype modems, this should be 'NO CARRIER'. 8.6.7 The 'connect string' is the string sent from the modem when you get connected to a board. For Hayestype modems, this string should be 'CONNECT'. 8.6.8 The 'busy string' is the string sent from the modem when the phone is busy. For Hayestype modems this string should be 'BUSY', but if your modem is having problems detecting the busy signal, enter this as 'NO CARRIER'. 8.6.9 In the delay box you may specify how many seconds NComm should wait before redialling. This delay is normally set to '3', but enter this as '0' if you have used 'NO CARRIER' as the BUSY string. 8.6.10 Auto-speed is a feature that normally should be turned on. When connected, NComm will look for the number specified right after the 'CONNECT' message, and will switch to this speed. This feature should be turned off if you have set a constant speed between the modem and the machine, or if you are certain that the hostmodem supports the speed that you are calling at. I.e, turn auto-speed off if you are using a modem that has been set up for use with locked baud rates (speed buffering). To make this feature work, it is important that you have told your modem to report the baudrate sent after the 'CONNECT' message. This is done, again on Hayes, with the command 'AT V1 X2'. 8.6.11 DTR-hangup will cause a drop of the DTR signal for a few seconds when the hangup function is selected. This function is meant to be used with dumb modems (modems that do not have some sort of a command language). 8.6.12 Pressing the 'OK' gadget will accept the edit, 'Cancel' will leave everything unchanged. 8.7 Edit window ----------- The edit window contains six text input boxes and eight gadgets. 8.7.1 In the text input box marked 'Name', enter the name of the board. The name can be up to 40 characters long, however, only the first 17 characters will be displayed in the dial menu and window, and in the logfile. You can not leave this empty. 8.7.2 In the text input box marked 'Phone #', enter the phonenumber to the current board. The phonenumber can be up to 60 digits long. If a board has multiple numbers, enter them separated by the '|' character, for example "416588|410403". Only the first 17 characters will be displayed in the dial window, and in the logfile. This field can not be omitted. 8.7.3 In the text input box marked 'Comment', enter an optional comment, like when the board is open, what the main purpose with the board is, if MNP is available or which speeds are available. The comment can be 40 characters long. 8.7.4 In the text input box marked 'Config', you may specify the name of an optional configuration file. The filename is relative to the current directory. It will be loaded just after dialling. The colors, screen mode and menu settings will be changed back to the way they were when the configuration file was saved. The phonebook settings have higher priority than the settings found in the configuration file. 8.7.5 In the text input box marked 'Macros', you may specify the name of an optional macrokeys file. The filename is relative to the current directory. It will be loaded just after dialling. 8.7.6 In the text input box marked 'Script', you may specify the name of an optional scriptfile. The filename is relative to the current directory. It will be loaded and executed just after dialling, which means that the scriptfile should not contain the 'dial' command as the first entry. 8.7.7 In the text input box marked 'Password', you may specify the name of an optional password. This can be handy if you prefer only using one scriptfile for multiple boards. The scriptfile can then contain a 'SEND "\p\n"' command line that sends the password configured for the current board. The password can also be sent by configuring '\p\n' on one of the macrokeys. Pressing 'return' in one of the text input boxes will bring the cursor to the text input box below the current box. The cursor will be brought to the top if 'return' is pressed in the bottom box. 8.7.8 Pressing the gadget marked 'Baud rate' will multiply the board rate which is to be used for the board by two. However, since NComm only supports board rates up to 38400 baud, the baud rate will revert to 300 baud when this baudrate is present. 8.7.9 Pressing the gadget marked 'Data length' will switch between 7 and 8 bits data length. This data length will be used when NComm dials the board. 8.7.10 Pressing the gadget marked 'Parity' will switch between Even, Odd and None parity. This parity will be used when NComm dials the board. 8.7.11 Pressing the gadget marked 'Stop bits' will switch between 1 and 2 stop bits. This number of stop bits will be used when NComm dials the board. 8.7.12 Pressing the gadget marked 'Duplex mode' will switch between Full and Half duplex. This duplex mode will be used when connection is established. 8.7.13 Pressing the gadget marked 'Character set' will switch between IBN, IBP, US7, UK7, GE7, FR7, SP7, IT7, DE7, NO7, SF7, ISO and IBM translation. If the IBM or IBN character set has been chosen, a special IBM graphics font will be used. ISO should be used for Amiga boards only. The other character sets should be used on machines only having a 7-bit character set available. By watching the first two letters in the translation name, you may easily find out which one is to be used for your country. This character set will be used when connection is established. 8.7.14 The 'Swap Del/BS' option will (when turned on) swap the Delete and Backspace key as soon as you connect to this board. 8.7.15 Pressing the gadget marked 'Xfer protocol' lets you choose the protocol for use with this board. Available protocols are Xmodem, Ymodem, Ymodem-Batch, Ymodem-G, Zmodem, Kermit and "External XPR" (as configured in the configuration file). CHAPTER 9: INFORMATION ABOUT DIAL MENU Use this menu for fast dialling of entries in the phonebook. Simply choose the board you would like to dial from the menu. Choosing a entry will bring up a small window telling you which board you are calling. From here you may add more entries from the menu, and set up a dial queue. The window will at all times tell you which board is the next to dial. If a number is busy, the program will continue with the next board on the list. If redial has been turned on, NComm will start over again if no connection has been established with any of the boards in the queue. It will not stop until a connection has been established. NComm will abort the dialling if it receives any text from the modem during the redial delay. Abort the dialling by pressing the ESC key or closing the window by clicking in the upper lefthand closegadget. To remove the current entry, press the DEL key. Press the SPACE key if you would like to go on with the next entry. You may also click within the window gadgets. CHAPTER 10: HOT KEYS AVAILABLE Are you fed up with menus and mice and want to use something quicker instead? Look no further - NComm offers hot keys for most important functions. Hot Key Function ------- -------- Right Amiga A About NComm Right Amiga B Sends a 250ms break signal Right Amiga C Start/end ASCII Capture Right Amiga D Download Right Amiga E Enter phonebook Right Amiga F Execute script file on/off Right Amiga G Palette Right Amiga H Hang up phone Right Amiga I Toggle interlace Right Amiga J Save scrollback Right Amiga K Split screen Right Amiga L Load configuration Right Amiga M Macrokeys Right Amiga N Dial number Right Amiga O Modem set-up Right Amiga P Printer on/off Right Amiga Q Quit NComm Right Amiga R Reset Right Amiga S Start/end ASCII Send Right Amiga T Toggle title bar Right Amiga U Upload Right Amiga W Save configuration Right Amiga Y Message upload Right Amiga Z New Cli Right Amiga ` View scrollback Right Amiga # (# is one of the keys 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0) This sequence will dial one of the first 10 entries in the phone directory. HELP key Status The CONTINUE and APPEND options can be answered with the LEFT AMIGA V key. The CANCEL and DELETE options can be answered with the LEFT AMIGA B key. You can of course click the left mouse button over these selections as well.