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MAGCOM Communications Program for OS/2 Version 2.30 (C)Copyright Gilmore Systems - 1989,1993 All Rights Reserved Voice: (805) 379-3210 FAX: (805) 379-1341 BBS: (805) 379-3450 Gilmore Systems 679 Switzar Lane Thousand Oaks, California 91360 U.S.A. Program by Chuck Gilmore MAGCOM Communications Program for OS/2 Page 1 Introduction MAGCOM is a companion communications program to Magnum BBS software for OS/2 from Gilmore Systems. The purpose of MAGCOM is to provide EVERYONE with an OS/2 communications program at no charge. This is our way of asking you to consider our commercial product, MAGNUM BBS for OS/2, for your OS/2 host telecommunications needs. MAGNUM BBS, is perhaps one of the most powerful BBS packages available on ANY platform. Although Magnum BBS software for OS/2 is a commercial package, MAGCOM communications software for OS/2 is not. This particular version of MAGCOM is a no-frills, but solid comm program for OS/2 which supports most of the modem handling features that other packages leave out such as CTS flow control (hardware handshake), DTE speeds higher than DCE, Support for redirected serial ports on LAN's, Zmodem, Ymodem-G, Auto-Zmodem detect, Zmodem crash recovery, etc. Although a fullscreen text application, you may also run it as a windowed text application. MAGCOM is free, as long as the copyright information remains intact, the programs are not altered or reverse engineered, and this unaltered document accompanies the package. The programs comprising MAGCOM are: MAGCOM.EXE, ULFILE.EXE and DLFILE.EXE - 3 programs in all. ULFILE.EXE and DLFILE.EXE are called by MAGCOM.EXE when you choose to upload or download files, meaning they don't use any memory unless file transfers are in progress. This frees up memory upon completion of file transfers. MAGCOM is very easy to use. Basically, all you need to do is place MAGCOM.EXE, ULFILE.EXE and DLFILE.EXE in the same directory, make that directory the current directory, then run MAGCOM.EXE - you'll find everything you need to know by hitting your F1 key for help. You can also optionally place the file MAGCOM.ICO in that directory if you wish to have a custom icon for MAGCOM. MAGCOM is complementary. We sell multi-node OS/2 BBS software, our specialty. So all we ask in return for your use of MAGCOM communications software, is that you call our BBS to see the power of Magnum BBS software for OS/2, or call voice (or write or Fax) to request information on Magnum BBS software, and that you consider Magnum BBS as your choice of BBS software when you're ready to purchase an OS/2 BBS. IBM is a trademark of International Business Machines, Inc. Hayes is a trademark of Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. USRobotics is a trademark of US Robotics Corporation MultiTech is a trademark of MultiTech Corporation Microsoft is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation Magnum BBS is a trademark of Gilmore Systems OS/2 is a trademard of IBM and Microsoft MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems MAGCOM Communications Program for OS/2 Page 1-1 MAGCOM's Initialization File (MAGCOM.DAT) - Getting Started MAGCOM reads your initialization file to send your modem the proper initialization parameters. This file is MAGCOM.DAT and will be created if it does not exist. To alter this file, simply load it into your text editor and make the necessary changes. Note that when MAGCOM creates this file, it assumes a 2400-baud modem. You'll need to change the baudrate and any other parameters with your text editor accordingly. Baudrates are also adjustable for each of the 200 phone numbers you can store in MAGCOM's dialing directory (MAGCOM.PHO). If you wish to create the MAGCOM.DAT file yourself or modify the existing MAGCOM.DAT file, you'll need to supply the following Keywords and Parameters: MODEM: MultiTech 224Eh BAUD: 9600 INIT1: AT Z INIT2: AT $BA0 $SB9600 INIT3: AT E1 V1 S0=0 M1 &E1 &E4 &E15 RESET: DEVICE: COM1 PARITY: N DATABITS: 8 STOPBITS: 1 OPENMODE: N CTSFLOW: Y The MODEM: keyword will accept up to an 80-character text line (including the MODEM: keyword) describing your modem as in the example above. The BAUD: keyword is the baudrate at which your modem will be initialized at. For modems that accept a higher DTE (computer to modem) speed than DCE (modem to modem) speed, you'll want to set this value at the highest DTE it can handle. In the above example, the MultiTech 224Eh modem is a 2400 baud modem but can accomodate a DTE speed of 9600. Another example is the USRobotics dual standard modem which is a 14400 baud modem but can accomodate a DTE speed of 19200 (38400 if used with a coprocessor card such as Artic or Digiboard in conjunction with the proper drivers). With OS/2 version 2.1 & above, you may also use DTE speeds of up to 57600 baud if your modem supports it. OS/2 1.x only supports speeds of up to 19200 baud. The INIT1:, INIT2: and INIT3: parameters are modem startup strings which can accomodate a text line (including the keyword) of up to 80 characters. You probably won't need to use all three fields but just in case you do, they are available. Note that some modems such as the Multitech 224Eh can only accept initialization strings of up to 40 characters each. The RESET: keyword holds your modem's reset string (usually AT Z) which can be up to 80 characters in length (including the keyword). The DEVICE: keyword defines the serial device that you wish MAGCOM to use when it starts up. The parameter is usually COM1 or COM2, however, it can accept any valid serial device name (ie: AUX0, AUX1, COM8, \\SRVR\SERIAL1, etc). MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems MAGCOM Communications Program for OS/2 Page 1-2 MAGCOM's Initialization File (MAGCOM.DAT) - Getting Started The PARITY: keyword can accept one of five possible parameters: N (none), E (even), O (odd), M (mark), or S (space). Usually, this setting is N (none). The DATABITS: keyword can accept one of four single digit numeric parameters (5, 6, 7 or 8). Usually this is 7 or 8. Most BBS's and dialup services are 8. The STOPBITS: keyword can accept one of four possible parameters (0, 1, 1.5, or 2). Usually, 1 is the normal value. The OPENMODE: keyword accepts a parameter of N (nonshared) or S (shared). The usual value for a multitasking operating system such as OS/2 is N (nonshared). If you choose S (shared), you run the risk of another program accessing the comport at the same time MAGCOM is and loss of data into or out of the comport, along with other unpredictable results can occur. The CTSFLOW: keyword accepts a parameter of Y (yes) or N (no). The usual paramter here is Y (yes) which indicates that hardwrare flow control is to be used. If you specify N (no), unpredictable results can occur when you choose Xmodem-1K, Ymodem, Ymodem-G or Zmodem to upload files with. If you specify Y (yes), make sure your modem initialization string(s) (INITx:) contain your modem's command to tell it to use CTS flow control. MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems Using MAGCOM Page 2-1 Introduction MAGCOM supports several special keystrokes which tell MAGCOM to do something special. These special keystrokes can be an AltKey combination (example: <Alt-X> means to hold down your Alt key and press X). <PgUp> means to press the key on your keyboard labeled PgUp, and <PgDn> means to press the key on your keyboard labeled PgDn. Whenever you press one of these special keystrokes, your screen will usually clear, and you'll be presented with a prompt or menu. MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems Using MAGCOM Page 2-2 <Alt-A> ASCII send/capture or Cancel capture When you press your <Alt-A> key, you will get a prompt asking you if you want to [S]end a file to the remote computer via ASCII transfer, [R]eceive a file from the remote computer via ASCII transfer, or [C]ancel a currently running ASCII Receive. By choosing [R]eceive, you will be prompted for a filename. From this point on (or until you choose <Alt-A> again with the [C]ancel option), everything that you receive from the remote BBS or type to the remote BBS will be captured to the filename you supply. You can review this file anytime later on with your text editor, or print it on the printer. If you specify PRN as the filename, everything will be routed to your printer instead of to a file. NOTE: Binary file transfers (see <PgUp> and <PgDn>) will be excluded from being captured to the capture file. By choosing [S]end, you can send any ASCII text file up to a remote BBS. An example of where this would come in handy might be if you were to enter a message with your text editor, and upload this message in response to (Enter a message) on a remoter BBS. It would be like typing a message while online to the remote system, but instead of typing, it sends the characters in the file instead. MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems Using MAGCOM Page 2-3 <Alt-D> Dialing Directory The dialing directory is brought to your screen when you press the <Alt-D> key. The dialing directory is self-explanatory. Basically, the dialing directory can hold up to 200 entries. Each entry consists of 7 fields: Entry Number: this is a 3-digit number ranging from 001 to 200. You needn't supply leading zeros to supply an entry number. Description of Host System: This field holds up to 35 characters describing the host system you'll be calling for this entry. The first entry in MAGCOM has already been completed for you with the description and phone number of Gilmore System's Magnum BBS system (node 1). Modem telephone number: This field holds up to 25 characters describing the modem telephone number of the host system. Acceptable characters here are 0 thru 9, A thru Z, and the following characters (without the quotes): ",-*#" where the comma character (,) represents a 2-second delay to most modems. The hyphen character (-) is merely for readibility and is ignored. The asterisk (*) and pound (#) characters have special meanings to certain telphone systems. The letters of the alphabet (A thru Z) will be translated to the appropriate digits by MAGCOM, therefore, telephone numbers such as 1-404-HI-MODEM are possible. The next field is the Parity field (see PARITY: keyword in the previous chapter for a description). Whatever is supplied here will override the PARITY: supplied in the initialization file when you choose to dial this entry, and will remain in effect until it is overriden by a different parameter in another entry you choose to dial. The next field is the Databits field (see DATABITS: keyword in the previous chapter for a description). Whatever is supplied here will override the DATABITS: supplied in the initialization file when you choose to dial this entry, and will remain in effect until it is overriden by a different parameter in another entry you choose to dial. The next field is the Stopbits field (see STOPBITS: keyword in the previous chapter for a description). Whatever is supplied here will override the STOPBITS: supplied in the initialization file when you choose to dial this entry, and will remain in effect until it is overriden by a different parameter in another entry you choose to dial. The last field is the BaudRate field (see BAUDRATE: keyword in the previous chapter for a description). Whatever is supplied here will override the BAUDRATE: supplied in the initialization file when you choose to dial this entry, and will remain in effect until it is overriden by a different parameter in another entry you choose to dial. MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems Using MAGCOM Page 2-4 <Alt-E> Echo On/Off (full duplex/half duplex) By pressing your <Alt-E> key combination, you will toggle echo to/from on/off. Usually, BBS's will echo back every character you type - in this case, echo should be OFF. If you can't see what you're typing, MAGCOM will echo what you're typing to the screen when you toggle echo back ON. If you are seeing double characters of each key you type, you should toggle echo OFF. Each time you press <Alt-E> it toggles (reverses) the current state of the echo. In other words, if local echo is ON, pressing <Alt-E> turns it OFF. Likewise, if local echo if OFF, pressing <Alt-E> turns it ON. MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems Using MAGCOM Page 2-5 <Alt-H> Hang Up Ocassionally, you'll need to manually disconnect your modem from a host system. For instance, if you're online to a remote system and can't figure out how to disconnect from it, or the remote system seems to be "locked up" (won't disconnect you), you can disconnect manually by pressing <Alt-H>. This will close the modem port and reopen it. If your modem does not respond to this, you will either have to look in your modem's user manual to see what you can add to the initialization strings to get it to respond, or you will have to manually turn your modem off. Usually, &C1&D2 parameters need to be included in one of your initialization strings. MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems Using MAGCOM Page 2-6 <Alt-O> Shell to OS/2 Command Interpreter (CMD.EXE) While OS/2 is a multi-tasking operating system, getting to the OS/2 command interpreter (CMD.EXE) command line can be accomplished by simply switching to an OS/2 command window or OS/2 full-screen from the task list. However, we've received many requests for the ability to get to the command line directly via an Alt-Key combination from within MagCom. Hence, the introduction of the <Alt-O> function. I assume this is for those of you who wish to use external file xfer protocols not directly supported by MagCom. If this is the case, MagCom's MAGCOM.DAT file should contain S (shared) as the parameter to the OPENMODE keyword. MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems Using MAGCOM Page 2-7 <Alt-P> Set Lines/Page MAGCOM can take advantage of your display's capability of displaying up to 100 lines per screen page. Simply press <Alt-P> to choose a new setting. NOTE: If your display is capable of displaying, say, 25, 28, 43 or 50 lines per screen, then entering any value in response to this prompt will result in the nearest capability that your monitor offers. For example, if you enter 68 lines/screen, MAGCOM will change this to 50 lines/screen. MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems Using MAGCOM Page 2-8 <Alt-Q> and <Alt-S> (XON and XOFF) [Resume and Pause] MAGCOM can send XON (resume transmit) and XOFF (halt transmit) to whatever host you're connected to. Simply put, XOFF tells the host (BBS) to halt transmission until you instruct it to resume with an XON instruction. The <Alt-S> key combination will send an XOFF instruction to the host, while the <Alt-Q> key combination will send an XON instruction. NOTE: Sending an <Alt-S> (XOFF) to the host will stop the host from further transmission of text, however, the modem on the host may continue to send characters to you until its buffer is cleared! Note that XON and XOFF are reserved for ASCII (text) mode. Your modem should be configured to treat XON/XOFF characters as data (ignore them) otherwise binary file transfers will fail! MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems Using MAGCOM Page 2-9 <Alt-R> Review Buffer MAGCOM stores all incoming/outgoing characters (except for binary file transfers) in a circular buffer of about 16K. By pressing <Alt-R>, you can review what's in the buffer, clear the buffer, or write the contents of the buffer to a disk file. When you press <Alt-R>, you will be looking at the top of the buffer. MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems Using MAGCOM Page 2-10 <Alt-X> Exit MAGCOM By pressing your <Alt-X> key, MAGCOM prompts you as to wheter you want to exit the program or not. If you type Y (yes), MAGOM will end, otherwise if you type N (no), MAGCOM will return to normal operation. MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems Using MAGCOM Page 2-11 <PgUp> Transmit Binary File to Host. When you press your <PgUp> key, MAGCOM will prompt you first for an upload protocol to use for sending a file to the remote system, then for the filename you wish to send. Usually, you'll first tell the remote system which file you'll be sending and the protocol you'll be using to send it with. You must choose the same protocol with MAGCOM but the filename doesn't necessarily have to match. If you supply a blank for either prompt, MAGCOM will return back to terminal (normal) operation. If you supply a protocol and filename, MAGCOM will call the ULFILE.EXE program (expected to be in the same directory as MAGCOM.EXE) to transfer the file with. You'll see the copyright information and the file will be sent. When the file is finished being sent, MAGCOM will return to normal operation. You can abort the xfer by pressing <Ctrl-X> many times. MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems Using MAGCOM Page 2-12 <PgDn> Receive Binary File from Host. When you press your <PgDn> key, MAGCOM will prompt you for a download protocol to use for receiving one or more files from the remote system. If you choose a Single-File protocol (Xmodem, Xmodem-CRC, Xmodem-1K), MAGCOM will prompt you for a filename to store the received file in. If you choose a batch protocol (Ymodem, Ymodem-G, Zmodem), MAGCOM will immediately begin the transfer, and the names of the files you'll be receiving will automatically be sent to you by the host system. Whatever protocol you choose to receive files with, it must match the same protocol that you've chosen for the host (remote) system to use. Note that if you're connected to a host system which sends the auto-zmodem sequence, MAGCOM will recognize this and begin the transfer for you... you needn't bother pressing your <PgDn> key. Magnum BBS host systems will send the auto-zmodem sequence. If you supply a blank at any prompt, MAGCOM will return back to terminal (normal) operation. MAGCOM begins the transfer by calling the DLFILE.EXE program (expected to be in the same directory as MAGCOM.EXE) to trasnfer the file with. You'll see the copyright information and the file(s) will be received. When the transfer completes, MAGCOM will return to normal operation. You can abort the xfer by pressing <Ctrl-X> many times. NOTE: If you've downloaded a file with Zmodem and you get disconnected in the middle of a transfer, or the transfer aborts for any reason, you can call the remote system again and start the same Zmodem transfer again, but choose the [R]ecoverZmodem option instead of [Z]modem - this will cause the transfer to resume from where it left off. If the host sends an 'auto-zmodem' sequence, MAGCOM will recognize this and handle it for you (you needn't bother pressing <PgDn>). Magnum BBS systems send the 'auto-zmodem' sequence. MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems When Online with a "Magnum BBS" System Page 2-13 When you're online with a "Magnum BBS" System, MAGCOM will let you use the following keys when using the ANSI message editor or NotePad facility of the Magnum BBS: Up, Down, Right, Left ARROW keys... Moves cursor accordingly. <Home> ............................ Move to beginning of current line. <End> ............................. Move to end of current line. <Ins> ............................. Insert a space at cursor position. <Del> ............................. Delete character at cursor position. <Ctrl-PgUp> ....................... Move up (back) one screen. <Ctrl-PgDn> ....................... Move down (forward) one screen. Note that the <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys by themselves are reserved for initiating a binary file transfer and are therefore not used in the ANSI message editor. Use <Ctrl-PgUp> and <Ctrl-PgDn> instead. MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems Thank You Page 2-14 Thank you for using MAGCOM communications software for OS/2. Your feedback about this program is welcome. Simply dial our BBS with it and leave us a message (or [C]omment to Sysop). MAGCOM Communications for OS/2 - (C)Copyright 1989,1993 Gilmore Systems MAGCOM Communicati