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B E S U R E T O R E A D T H I S F I L E This file contains information concerning each of the new versions of K9X. All changes up to and including version 8.50 are now included in the various DOC files. All newer than v8.50 changes/additions covered in this file replace any information contained in K9X.DOC dealing with the same subject(s). Since new features are added and old features are changing, this entire file should be reviewed (along with the K9X.DOC file(s)) before attempting to use K9X. Most of the problems encountered are due to users not reading the documentation before "diving in". K9X is an intricate piece of software with many features other comm programs only "dream of having"! Even if you are fortunate enough to get it up and running, you will more than likely miss out on alot of features that would make your modeming life alot easier! Please take the time to read the documentation! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - K9X v4.01 - v4.37 K9X v4.40 Dated Feb01, 1987 K9X v4.50 Dated Feb11, 1987 K9X v4.52 Dated Feb15, 1987 K9X v5.00 Dated Feb28, 1987 K9X v5.01 Dated Mar12, 1987 K9X v5.02 Dated Mar15, 1987 K9X v5.10 Dated Mar21, 1987 K9X v5.11 Dated Apr27, 1987 K9X v6.00 Dated May15, 1987 K9X v6.00 Dated May24, 1987 K9X v6.10 Dated Jul24, 1987 K9X v6.10A Dated Aug13, 1987 K9XHOST v6.10B Dated Aug27, 1987 K9XHOST v6.10C Dated Sep03, 1987 K9X v6.10G Dated Sep29, 1987 K9XCNF v6.10H Dated Sep29, 1987 K9WX, K9WY, COLORWX and COLORWY v1.42 Dated September 29, 1987 K9X v7.00 Dated Apr15, 1988 K9X v7.01 Dated May05, 1988 K9X v7.02 Dated Jun20, 1988 K9X v8.01 Dated Aug15, 1988 K9X v8.02 Dated Sep10, 1988 K9X v8.03 Dated Nov23, 1988 K9X v8.04 Dated Dec03, 1988 K9X v8.10 Dated Dec28, 1988 K9X v8.20 Dated Dec29, 1988 K9X v8.30 Dated Jan21, 1989 K9X v8.40 Dated Jan27, 1989 K9X v8.50 Dated Feb23, 1989 - Increased the Modem Init, Hangup, Dial and Host string length from 20 to 65 characters. - Modified the Alt-V Review Buffer cursor keys so that you can scroll the screen in the same way a text editor does. - Added Cut and Paste features to the Alt-V Review Buffer - including a special Save to file option. - Added .PAK, .PKA and .ZIP support to file finding "Display archives only" feature. - Modified the use of the cut and paste upload buffer so that it can be used in single file mode. The sequence is: Initiate the upload on the BBS hit Up Arrow at the BBS filename prompt. Hit PageUp when ready to begin the upload. - Added Call Log flag to K9X.CNF - Made facility to enter the dialing directory when online - Modified the List Dialer so that you can have complete dialing directory access while in the List Dial, Tag, and Untag mode. - Updated the K9X.DOC to reflect all changes upto and including this version K9X v8.60 Dated Jun25, 1989 - First and foremost, protocol support has been increased to a maximum of 45 protocols (36 internally supported and 9 user defined, external)! At the present time, K9X supports 13 Single file protocols and 17 Batch type protocols. Navigation around the Protocol Menu is performed via the Arrow Keys (Up/Down/Left/Right) or by directly entering the protocol number. Additionally, the Upload and Download Cut and Paste Buffers support all of these new protocols! The new additions are: DSZ True Ymodem Batch This protocol works identically to the other DSZ batch protocols. If the upload cut and paste buffer is used or multiple filenames are specified, K9X will create the file K9XBATCH.LST containing the filenames to be transferred. K9X will then pass K9XBATCH.LST to DSZ in the form @C:K9XBATCH.LST. Downloading only requires your commencing the transfer via the PgDn key (or via the corresponding Command Gateway Menu Files Command) when you are ready. Lynx Single File and Batch Mode This protocol requires the presence of the LYNX.EXE protocol driver. It is a relatively new protocol and is supported in K9X in either Batch or Single file modes. As is the case with all of the batch protocols used in single file mode, the difference is how K9X handles the initiation of the transfer: When the single file mode is used, K9X checks for the existance of a duplicate file prior to starting the transfer. When is batch mode, K9X simply gathers the filenames and shells out to the protocol with no duplicate file checking. Note that Lynx automatically renames any duplicate files it may find. The K9X/Lynx interface is the same as explained in the DSZ True Ymodem Batch section above. In the case of Lynx, it supports a Resume feature which allows you to Resume an aborted transfer. To this end, there are two new parameters in K9X.CNF and both parameters are user-configureable via K9XCNF. Lynx Use Resume - This tells Lynx whether or not it is to enable the Resume Aborts feature. If this flag is set... and you are using the single file mode... and a duplicate file exists... K9X will confirm if you wish to Resume the transfer. If you answer No to the internal K9X "Resume Transfer" prompt, K9X will prompt you for a different filename. Lynx Use Current Date - Another feature of Lynx is the ability to specify whether or not the datestamp on the file should remain the same as the sending file's datestamp or be updated to the reflect the date and time the file was transferred by you. Setting this flag to Yes tells Lynx to update the datestamp to the current date... a No tells Lynx to leave the datestamp alone! Lastly, the CTS monitoring is governed by the status of the universal Check CTS flag. Kermit Batch This protocol works identically to the already supported Kermit Single file protocol with the exception that you must supply the file specification that K9X is expected to pass to the driver. Batch Kermit will not support the use of the upload cut and paste buffer for multiple filenames. You may however, use wildcards in your filespec. BiModem Batch This protocol allows you to send, receive and chat with the host computer all at the same time! You may use the upload and download cut and paste buffers to collect the names of the files that you wish to transfer. Depending on the host system, you may specify either all of the send or all of then recieve filenames first. The process here is: Specify all of the filenames to be sent.. then all of the filenames to receive... and finally, commence the transfer via the PgDn key. or Specify all of the filenames to be received.. then all of the filenames to sent... and finally, commence the transfer via the PgUp key. You may of course, use Bimodem to send only or receive only files. When sending files, K9X will build the required BIMODEM.PTH file internally before shelling out to the Bimodem driver. When receiving files, K9X simply shells out to the Bimodem driver. Please note that K9X does not supply any other parameters to the Bimodem driver. The BIMODEM.CFG file that is created via the Bimodem driver contains all of the required parameters. Be sure that the default download path within the Bimodem configuration is the same as that in K9X.CNF. If you are using the built in K9X file finder, you do not have to specify any default upload directory within Bimodem... If you are not using the K9X file finder, be sure that the default upload path within Bimodem is the same as that in K9X.CNF. Please note that registration of K9X DOES NOT include the registration fees for the Bimodem driver. If you use this protocol, you should support the author's work by registering the package. Please refer to the Bimodem documentation for information on the use and registration of this protocol. QMXFER Imodem MNP Single File This protocol requires the presence of the QMXFER.COM protocol driver and functions identically to the QMXFER Ymodem-G protocol except that Imodem is a single file MNP protocol that sends its data in 128 byte blocks (as opposed to then Ymodem-G 1024 byte blocks) CIS/B The CIS/B driver was supported in version 8.5... there are several changes that must be noted. First off, you may now specify CIS/B as a dialing directory entry default protocol. If this is the case, K9X will immediately execute the CIS/B driver upon connection. thus eliminating the need to do it manually. Upon initial CIS/B startup, K9X changes the default protocol to Xmodem so that you may return to K9X and reinitialize the CIS/B driver while online. The other major change here is that the CIS/B command line is now user configureable via K9XCNF and is stored within the K9X.CNF file. There are 6 parameters which may be used when building the command line: $P = parity $D = data bits (word length) $S = stop bits $1 = port number $2 = baud rate $5 = prompt for command K9X will open a window and prompt you for any/all command parameters you wish to pass to the CIS/B driver. If you don't want to add/supply any parameters (via the $5 param), just hit [Enter]. K9X will simply remove the $5 from the command line. Note that K9X will only replace each parameter with the corresponding value and will NOT remove or add any space delimiters. Notice that the first character of each parameter is the dollar sign $ not the appersand sign & The default CIS/B command line is: CIS $1 $2 $P $D $S -x -v All of the newly added protocols build the command line parameters internally and then pass these parameters to the appropriate external protocol driver. For those users already using either the Shareware K9X version SW85 or the Registered K9X version 8.50, I have included the utility 85TO86.COM which will convert your current K9X dialing directory default protocols to the new format. Simply execute 85TO86.COM from your main K9X directory and the utility will do the rest! - This version also allows you to specify up to 9 external protocols via K9XCNF. Each external protocol record contains the follwoing information: Protocol Name 15 characters maximum. Although K9X requires that you must change the protocol name from the default "---", The protocol name is purely cosmetic and may be any name you desire. Protocol Type This single character MUST be either S for single file or B for batch type. Send Command Line This is the full command line that K9X is to use when sending file(s). It must include the protocol driver name (with or without extension). Receive Command Line This is the full command line that K9X is to use when receiving file(s). It must include the protocol driver name (with or without extension). There are 5 parameters which may be used when building the send and receive command lines: $1 = port number $2 = baud rate $3 = default upload path when sending file(s) or default download path when receiving files. This should be used for those protocols (like DSZ) which only require the path in which to save downloads. Note that this parameter ONLY supplies the upload or download path... K9X will not add any wildcards or other filespec via this parameter. Please note that K9X does NOT include the trailing (last) backslash. If you use this parameter, and it is not working, add a backslash to your command line immediately prior to the $3. Example: $3 becomes \$3 $4 = filespec During uploads: If you are using the upload cut and paste buffer or manually specify multiple filenames, K9X will build the list of file(s) to be sent and then pass the list filename, in the form @C:K9XBATCH.LST, to the driver. If you specify one file, via the upload buffer or manually, K9X will pass the specified filespec to the driver. During downloads: When using a single file protocol, K9X will supply the download path and the filename. When using a batch protocol, K9X will supply only the path. $5 = prompt for command K9X will open a window and prompt you for any/all command parameters you wish to pass to the driver. If you don't want to add/supply any parameters (via the $5 param), just hit [Enter]. K9X will simply remove the $5 from the command line. Note that K9X will only replace each parameter with the corresponding value and will NOT remove or add any space delimiters. Notice that the first character of each parameter is the dollar sign $ not the appersand sign & - The ICEX command line is now user configureable via K9XCNF and is stored within the K9X.CNF file. The same 6 CIS/B parameters may be used here when building the command line. The default command line is: ICEX -d - Corrected problems with the manual dial function. Also, the manual dial will now set the default protocol to the global default defined in K9X.CNF... if the manual dial is the first call made... or to the previous default protocol if not the first call made. - Corrected K9Xmodem and Super8K error control code and send routines when then port is locked. - Added CTS Monitoring support for Super8K protocol - specifically for those users who lock their ports to a higher baud rate than the actual connection. - Corrected the manual hang up (Alt-G) modem reset problem with some modems. - Corrected text color setting upon initial startup. - Corrected garbage filename which ocurred when attempting the first upload. - There have been reports from some users that the Kermit and QMXFER protocols are not working at speeds above 9600... Quite simply, that's because these protocol drivers DO NOT SUPPORT SPEEDS ABOVE 9600!!! - Corrected "free bytes" display during downloads. K9X will now use the logged drive if no default download path has been specified in K9X.CNF. - Reworked the Command Gateway Menu system and Expert Command Summary Menu so that all (almost!) of the flag/toggle settings are now displayed. The Command Gateway Menu "Miscellaneous" option has been split with all of the flag/toggle settings being move into a new "Toggle Settings" section. - Removed blinking cursor from all (most) menus. - When using the Command Gateway Menu system, the Online user info has been placed in a box for easier reading. - K9X now supports a user configureable status line. Understand that this line is displayed at Line 26 (not 25) and has no effect on the number of displayed text lines. Along with the Online/Offline status and modem settings, K9X will display the system being called, the "Last On Date" and the default protocol for that call. Additionally... since this line has no effect on the normal 25 line display... K9X uses this line as a reminder when performing a dos shell. Note that I haven't any way to test all of the various system setups the K9X users may have. To this end, I have supplied this feature as a user configureable option via K9XCNF. If your system is not capable of displaying text on line 26 (the first line of the lower border), simply startup K9XCNF and set the Status Line flag to (N). Lastly, the Status Line will remain after you exit K9X. This is only temporary and will clear itself upon the first DOS CLS command. - As a means of reminding users to register K9X, the Shareware screen has been modified to display upon startup and exit from the program. The difference between the 2 displays is that the startup display timer can be circumvented by pressing any key... the exit display requires that you sit out the timer (so register already!). - On the other side of the coin, both opening (and the new closing) display screens have been removed from the registered version. Upon startup, the registered version simply displays the 4 line logo and commences the session (SO REGISTER ALREADY!!). - In response to many requests, verison 8.6 now supports Com ports 1 thru 4. Although this version has the port addresses and IRQ's hard coded, future versions may have these values user configureable. The port parameters are in keeping with the standard IBM/MSDOS values: Address IRQ ------- --- COM 1 = 03F8 hex 4 COM 2 = 02F8 hex 3 COM 3 = 03E8 hex 4 COM 4 = 02E8 hex 3 - The File Manipulation Section now has its own built in Zip Verbose Listing option. If you are using the K9X File Finder, all that is required here is to supply the filename. If you want to override the built in file finder (or you aren't using it), you will have to specify the full DRIVE:\PATH\Filename. In any case, K9X will retrieve and read the Zip file! After displaying the Zip file comment (if present), K9X will display a list of all Zip file members along with their associated information (size, date, etc.) and finally display the total file(s), unZipped size and Zipped size. Upon completion of its listing, K9X will recycle you back to the Filename prompt so that you may perform the ZIP/V on multiple Zip files. When you are done, simply hit [Enter] at the Filename prompt. - Lastly, the MiniNet File Finder Search pattern (see the main K9X.DOC) has been modified. If you were using this feature in earlier versions, K9X would only look for any "number" file (those filenames that started with a character zero (0) to character nine (9)) in the default upload directory, default download directory, the "catch-all" directory (NA) and the second (00) directory name. Version 8.6 modifies this by looking for any "number" filenames in the default upload directory, default download directory, the "catch-all" directory (NA) and ANY directory name beginning with the number character (#). Additionally, the MiniNet File Finder Search pattern requires that ALL directories are located in the drive root directory (C:\# C:\NA D:\P1 etc.) In other words: the old 00 directory should be renamed to # and you may now specify more than one number file directory be simply naming additional number file directories as C:\#1, C:\#2, etc. Again, this "number" file change only effects the file finding when you have the K9XCNF "Full Search Flag" set to (N). Enjoy- K9X v8.6a - v8.6c Dated Jun25, 1989 - Jun28, 1989 These have been maintenance releases to correct miscellaneous problems and to add some cosmetic changes... nothing major though! K9X v8.6d Dated July10, 1989 More maintenance stuff here! - Corrected a status line problem that existed when the status line was not being used and ANSI graphics was being received. This problem only existed for EGA users. - Corrected the single semi-colon delimiter problem within the editor. With most BBS using the semi-colon as a delimiter, the semi-colon delimiter within the editor made it very difficult to edit macros! The new delimiter is a double semi-colon (;;). - On the same note... what with having to handle all of the new protocols and all, K9X will now look for and also save any messages created by the editor in the main K9X directory rather than the SUPP subdirectory. Of course, you can override the default location be specifying a full drive and path along with the message file name. After checking my SUPP subdirectory, I found a bunch of old messages I had created over the months and forgot to delete after they were uploaded to BBSes! Having them saved in the main directory should help keep the hard disk cleaner (I hope)! - Corrected the 0 bps error when a manual dial was the first call made. - Corrected the crash problem within the List Dialer when a character was input instead of numbers. - Corrected several minor dialer problems/bugs... mainly in the displays. - There have been some reports of confusion on the part of the user when editing a dialing directory entry. Seems they were not able to press the S key to save the changes! The Save prompt has been changed to: Ready to Save" (Y/n) Any input other than an N (or n) will save the record and exit the dialer directory editor. - The external protocol records have been modified to include a flag which tells K9X whether or not it is to "fix" the port upon return from a transfer. Seems that some compilers (and software authors???) leave the comm ports in a mess after they are done with them! Usually, the symtom for this type of situation is that your keyboard will be dead upon return from a transfer. If this happens, simply set the "FixP" flag to Yes! That should correct the problem! Since K9XCNF automatically creates the K9XPROTS.LST file upon startup, I have included a small utility that will convert your current K9XPROTS.LST file to the new format. Simply run PRO86C2D.COM from the main K9X directory and it will add the flag to each protocol record. If you have not edited any of your current external protocol records, you can simply erase the K9XPROTS.LST file from your SUPP directory, erase the PRO86C2D.COM utility and startup K9XCNF at the DOS prompt. This will create a new K9XPROTS.LST for you. - Modified the K9X/SuperK transfer log format to conform with the DSZ log. If a transfer is aborted, K9X will now substitute an E, in place of the R or S, as the first character in the log file line - Modified the way in which the SuperK protocols calculate the approximate transfer times. - This version adds a brand new SuperK protocol! What with more and more users switching to MNP modems, I have developed an MNP version of the Super8K protocol! MNP Super8K-G must be used in conjunction with an MNP modem... but end result is a dramatic increase in transfer speed! As is the case with all of the SuperK protocols, MNP Super8K-G supports both single file and batch modes.. and sports its own transfer window colors! On the same note, the SuperK driver has also been updated to include MNP Super8K-G, pushing the available protocols in SuperK to 16! - Lastly, there have been a number of users who have run into problem with the Status Line on line 26. As noted earlier in this document, I have no way of testing the compatability of this status line on all of the various system configurations... and, since the status line is actually located on the first line of the screen border, some setups cannot handle my "tinkering" with the monitor card ports! If you run into a problem where K9X will not startup or does "funny" things with the screen... simply startup K9XCNF, go to the toggles section and set the "Display Status Line" flag to NO. Most of the problem seems to be stemming from EGA/VGA configurations... I am looking into a fix but did not want to hold up this release for such a minor problem! Enjoy- K9X v8.6e Dated July15,1989 - The comm port buffer size has been doubled in an effort to accomodate the faster modem speeds (and in preparation to 38400 and 57600 bps support)! - This Status line thing still persists with some EGA users! Hopefully this version will finally take care of the problem (although EGA users will not be able to use the Status Line)! EGA users... if, after turning the status line off, your problem still persists, be sure your border color setting is set to black (0). The status line and border color are the only 2 places where I "mess" directly with the monitor card. If this does not solve your problem, then I am afraid I'll have to dig a little deeper for you! Again, this problem only exists with SOME (not ALL) EGA systems! If I must add EGA specific code to K9X in order to enable the Status Line with EGA systems, it will require MAJOR reorganization of the current code in order to "make room" for the EGA code! Since the original intent of K9X was to function WITHOUT ANY Status Line and code space is already at a premium, I may have to leave it as it stands... with the Status Line being available to CGA users only (sorry about that)! In any case, I WILL look into it further before making a decision about the extra EGA code. - Updated the Lynx transfer interface to take advantage of the new pop up window in Lynx v2.12. If you have K9X set to do Direct Screen Writes, Lynx will be called with the /S parameter... if not, Lynx is called using normal bios writes. Although the window colors used by Lynx are acceptable, you may change them by SETting a DOS environment variable: LYNXCO - This variable defines the screen colors when the /S command line option is used. To use this variable, you must pass 6 values, 3 digits each, separated by spaces or commas. The parameters set the following colors (in order of appearance): - Status attribute 014 - Status label attribute 015 - Fatal error message attribute 012 - Window frame attribute 014 - Window header attribute 011 - Window footer attribute 010 The default configuration is equivalent to: LYNXCO=014,015,012,014,011,010 To calculate the color attributes, use the following formula: attribute = (background * 16) + foreground The following values can be used for color combinations: Black = 0 Dark Gray = 8 Blue = 1 Light Blue = 9 Green = 2 Light Green = 10 Cyan = 3 Light Cyan = 11 Red = 4 Light Red = 12 Magenta = 5 Light Magenta = 13 Brown = 6 Yellow = 14 Gray = 7 White = 15 Please see the Lynx documentation for more details. - On another note... there has been some confusion on the use of Alt-1 to abandon the dialing list... When dialing a list of numbers, there is an "abort flag" assigned to each number in the list. When you press the Escape Key, K9X sets the abort flag for that one number. In previous versions, you would have had to press the Escape key for each number in the list - and only after all abort flags had been set, would K9X abondon the list and exit the dialer. The use of Alt-1 while within the dialing windows provides an immediate means to accomplish the same thing. In effect, an Alt-1 within the dialing windows immediately sets all of the abort flags and thus exits the dialer. However, the list is not totally abondoned - simply aborted. In order to totally abandon the dialing list, you must ALSO initiate the Alt-1 when you have returned to the terminal mode (or the Command Gateway Menu "Dial a Friend" section). - Finally, the Shareware screen display when exiting the Shareware Evaluation version DOES NOT HANG your system! It is set on a non-abort timer which will expire in about 90 seconds... In other words, you don't have to reboot your system... simply wait out the timer (or register K9X and get the registered version WITHOUT the opening or closing screens)!!! Enjoy- K9X v8.70 Dated Aug15, 1989 - The K9X registered version now has both a serial number and the registered user's name imbedded into the program. This action was necessary because of a user who decided that his own simple-minded greed was more important than the U.S. Copyright laws and the work I've put into this program. He managed to pursuade a registered user to give him a copy of the registered version. A word of caution to any others who may be contemplating this sort of thing... K9X is fully protected by the United States Copyright laws and all violators will be sought out and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. - Cleared up a few dialer bugs... these bugs were exposed by users who are operating modems that have the CTS line always on and the RTS line ignored. I've done what I can with the dialer code as it is... any additional modifications to accomodate these users will require major dialer overhaul - which will take some time to accomplish. Until such time, I'm afraid there will be some features that will not work for you. Sorry, but I'm afraid you will have to put up with K9X as it is for the time being. - A TANDY 1000 user has mentioned that he is unable to perform certain Alt-Key expert commands... this is NOT a K9X problem... rather an imcompatibility problem with the TANDY machine(s) keyboard return codes. The only solution at this time is to switch to the Novice Command Gateway Menu System. Hopefully, the TANDY Home key code is the same as the IBM Home key code. - Thanks to the feedback you've given me on the K9XTEST program I placed online, I've been able to correct the border color setting routine for VGA users! VGA and CGA users should see the border color change to the K9X.CNF setting when K9X detects a carrier. K9X will (should) change the color back to black when carrier is lost. I know this works for CGA users and it should now work for VGA users too! As for you EGA users... again, my apologies... it's not that I can't add the EGA support code... it's the fact that EGA specific code has to be placed in the main .COM file and will eat up alot of remaining code space. With the 64K limit on code space, I don't have that much to spare and feel it is better utilized for more "important" features. - I've added a seperate color code for SuperK WXmodem transfers. You can configure it (along with the other SuperK window colors) via K9XCNF. - For those users who are running "quick" machines, I have modified the List Dialer recycle delay and the Hangup routines. In the case of the Hangup Options within the dialer itself and the terminal mode, both timing delays have been linked to the "Modem Escape Time" value held within K9X.CNF. This will give you facility to change the delay time to whatever value works for your setup. In the case of the List dialer, I have added the full redial timing routine which allows you to R)ecycle now or C)hange the delay value. The delay value used here is the same value used in the Redialer... namely the Redial Delay Value held within k9X.CNF. In both the Redialer and the List Dialer, the value held here is in seconds and the system clock is monitored to assure the full delay time is used before recycling and/or redialing. Again, this method not only allows you to change the value to suit your system setup, it also performs in accordance to the speed of your system. - In an effort to help the PC-Pursuit users, I've added new macro support to allow the immediate send of a string without a "lookfor" being specified. The format for this new macro line is: `send string Note that the lookfor/send delimiter (`) must be the first character of the line. When K9X encounters this "No Lookfor" line, it sends the "send" portion immediately... then reads and sets up the next line in the macro file. HOWEVER - unlike the normal macro lines, this line will not accept the secondary "how many times" parameter. - The K9X Editor has been modified to accept the "No Lookfor" macro line. On the same note, I had one user complain that the length of the K9X editor line was too long for some BBS systems. To this end, I have slimmed down the message line length to 70 characters instead of 72. - Upon receipt of Phil Katz new version of PKZIP, I quickly modifed K9X to support the new "Implode" compression method! I have also modified the "Unknown" method header to read "Unknown" rather than a set of question marks. - The JBA.COM - the K9X Jmodem transfer module has been recompiled and updated to the equivilant of Jmodem v1.20. This should eliminate the inconsistancies of using the old JBA.COM to communicate with a later version of JMODEM.COM. Although there was no problem with the old JBA.COM "talking" to another K9X or a BBS that was using SuperK... unfortunately, there are some users (and SysOps) who have chosen not to use K9X or SuperK. Anyway, this should clear up that problem area! On the same note here, I've modified the new JBA.COM so that K9X produces the header line within the Jmodem window rather than having it pop up and dissapear when Jmodem is invoked... no big deal - just a little cleaner! - In response to some users having problems with the batch SuperK protocols when it recycles... I've added a slight delay on the receiver's side to allow for the sending side to clear its buffer and commence its recycle. Although it really isn't required when a transfer is successful, it does definitely help when a transfer is aborted! Note that the delay is only activated during batch transfers and only on aborted transfers. - This version adds an Auto-Learn Macro feature! The Control-End key activates the feature and will automatically create a logon macro for you! When activated, K9X will prompt you for a macro filename. All that is required for input is the filename without extension or path. Since all macro files have a .K9X extension and reside in the SUPP subdirectory, K9X takes care of all of this for you. Once you have entered the filename, K9X will check for a duplicate filename let you know if one is found. The Learn Macro feature may be activated and terminated at any time... however, K9X will automatically close the Learn Macro file upon loss of carrier. When the Learn Macro feature is terminated, K9X will ask if you wish to link the macro file name to the current dialing directory entry and will even do that for you too! Both the Expert Help Screen and the Novice mode Command Gateway Menu System Toggles sections will display the status of the Learn Macro flag. The only words of wisdom I can offer here are as follows: 1) Load the newly created macro into your K9X editor and verify that all lines are in order. 2) Do not activate the Learn Macro feature on an initial logon to a new BBS as there will be quite a bit of editing to do to remove the initial logon "lookfors" and "sends". 3) Since this feature is basic in nature, you may want to read the documentation to see how you can make your macros smaller and more efficient. Even though the macros that K9X creates will work for you, there are many other macro commands that are not supported by the Learn Macro feature. 4) K9X will add a "plain vanilla" escape key to your macro line but will not acknowledge any of the K9X Expert command key sequences or the Home key. Additionally, it does not recognise the "Open BBS Door" dumb terminal mode or back space keys and will replace any tab characters with one space character. 5) Keeping with the new "No Lookfor" macro command, K9X will recognise any carriage returns which are sent prior to any received text and will record a "No Lookfor" macro line. 6) Do not worry if you have to drop to DOS while in the Learn Macro mode... K9X will close the macro file before shelling to DOS and will reopen it upon return to K9X. 7) Lastly, in order to activate a newly linked macro, you will have to dial the number from scratch. That is, an immediate redial of the same number will not recognise the existance of the new macro file link. A note on K9X sending the macro lines and any programmed function keys... K9X uses the modem command intercharacter delay. If you find that K9X is sending the data too fast, simply go into K9XCNF and increase the value of the intercharacter delay. - The major addition here is the implementation of a Resume mode for K9Xmodem, Super8K-G and Super8K Single File AND ALL of the SuperK batch protocols except for Jmodem Batch! The Resume mode supports an inactive and 2 active states. Here's how it works... The setting of the Resume mode is accessible via the K9XCNF Toggles section, the Control PgDn Expert Command, the Command Gateway Menu System Toggles Section and is stored in EACH dialing directory entry! Unlike the other toggles, the Resume mode cycles through the 3 states rather than simply toggling on/off. The 3 states are: No = Normal operation with the Overwrite flag setting in control of how duplicate filenames are handled. Auto = Automatic Resume if and only if the receiver's file is smaller than the sender's file AND the receiver's file is some multiple of 8K (the SuperK default block write size). Prompt = If a duplicate file is found on the receiving end and the duplicate file meets the Resume criteria (see Auto above), K9X will prompt for Resume instructions. Your options here are: Resume Y Pressing Y (or any key other than N or S) commences the resumption of the tranfer appending the new data to the end of the receiver's existing file. Resume N Pressing N cancels the receipt of the file and moves on to the next file if using any SuperK batch protocol - or to terminal mode if using Super8K/Super8K-G/K9Xmodem Single file mode (Other Single FIle protocols do not support the Resume feature). Start Over Pressing S will inform K9X that you wish to start the transfer anew. K9X will erase the receiver's existant file and request that the sender start the transfer at the beginning of the file. Please note that the Prompt mode is on a timer loop that will timeout in about 15 seconds. If no user input is received before timing out, K9X will default to whatever the default Overwrite flag is set to... Overwrite set to Yes = Start transfer from 0 bytes Overwrite set to No = Cancel transfer and move on Since all of the SuperK protocols have a default block write of 8K and each 8K block has been CRC checked before being written to disk, there isn't any CRC check made on ANY resumed transfer. Again... NO CRC CHECKS ARE MADE ON THE EXISTANT PORTION OF A RESUMED FILE> If a resume is requested on a file that is less than 8K in size, the file is automatically resent in its entirety. In sumary... with the resume mode active, the receiving side waits for the filesize from the sending side and then checks for an already existant file. If a file exists and the size in less than the filesize sent by the sender and the file is an exact multiple of 8K, K9X will resume the tranfer. If the size of the existant file is equal to or greater than the filesize sent by the sender, the receiver will refuse the file and move on. Because the 8K block writes hold true for all of the SuperK protocols, you may change your protocol and request a Resume regardless of which protocol you were using to transfer the original file! I have included (yet) another conversion utility for those of you who are currently using K9X version 8.6x. The utility 86TO87.COM will convert your current K9X phone directory to include the SuperK Resume State for each entry. Since this utility does a universal conversion, the resume state should be set to N (No) or P (Prompt) to begin with. You can then go into the dialing directory editor and selectively set the resume state for each entry. And lastly, until the new version of K9X and SuperK get circulated around, be aware that if you are "talking" to a previous K9X/SuperK version and request a Resume receive, IT WILL NOT WORK! IF THIS HAPPENS THERE ARE 2 THINGS YOU MUST DO: 1) Reset the SuperK Resume mode to No via the ^PgDn or Command Gateway Menu System Toggles Section. 2) BE SURE to upload the latest Shareware versions of K9X and SuperK to the system you are talking to so they too can take advantage of this great new feature! - For those users who have inquired about a K9X Host mode, your inquiries have not fallen on deaf ears! A host mode (actually a subset of my MiniNet BBS) is in the works and will be released to Sharware very shortly! If you haven't had a MiniNet "experience", give the Dog a call at (206) 725-9233 and see first hand what the K9X Host Mode will look like! Enjoy- K9X v8.7a Dated Sep01, 1989 Pre-released Aug19, 1989 - This version has been long in coming as it corrects an inherant problem that has plagued me ever since I began writing K9X! As of this version, users running a pure mono system should not have any difficulty in setting up and/or running K9X! With "a little help from my friends" (thanks AL!), I now have access to a mono system and have been able to find and exterminate all mono problems! And, since I now know what colors can and can not be used with a mono system, there has been a minor change in the K9XCNF color selection area in which mono users can now select various colors for the menus, incoming text, menu text, etc. Enjoy- K9X v8.7b Dated Sep04, 1989 - Oops! When I added the full mono support in v8.7a, I created a bug in the window border displays! This version corrects that problem... Sorry! K9X v8.7c Dated Sep11, 1989 - For those using the Line 26 Status line.. K9X will now remove it when it exits. - Upon request from one of the Dog's loyal users, I have added 2 new macro commands. <K>char### When this command is found in the Send portion of a macro line, K9X will send the string that has been programmed to the specified function key. The <K> may appear ANYWHERE in the Send line! The format is as follows: <K>F## Send the string assigned to Function Key ## where ## is the key number (1 through 10) <K>S## Send the string assigned to Shifted Function Key ## where ## is the key number (1 through 10) <K>A## Send the string assigned to Alt Function Key ## where ## is the key number (1 through 10) <K>C## Send the string assigned to Ctrl Function Key ## where ## is the key number (1 through 10) If <K> is placed at the start of the macro Send portion, K9X simply substitutes the <K>F## with the appropriate string and sends it to the host... Sample Macro Line: What is you First Name`<K>F4 would send whatever is programmed to your F4 key If you wish to send something prior to sending the function key string... Sample Macro Line: What is you First Name`Send This First <K>F4 If you wish to send something AFTER sending the function key string... NOTE: The semi-colon after the <F>F4 is REQUIRED! Sample Macro Line: What is you First Name`<K>F4; Send This Too If you wish to send something BEFORE and AFTER sending the function key string ... Sample Macro Line: What is you First Name`Send This First <K>F4; Send This Too <%>command When this symbol is found in the Send portion of a macro line, K9X will stop what it is doing and perform a DOS shell and execute the "command". Like the <K>, this too may may appear ANYWHERE in the Send line! The "command" may be any valid DOS command (ideally the name of a batch file). The format is as follows: If <%>command is placed at the start of the macro Send portion, K9X simply performs a DOS shell and executes the "command". Sample Macro Line: Main Menu Command`<%>LOAD Where LOAD is the name of a batch file which copies a number of files into your upload directory. After the transfer, you could have another line that would delete those files... <%>REMOVE If you wish to send something prior to performing the DOS shell... Sample Macro Line: Main Menu Command`Send This First<%>LOAD If you wish to send something AFTER performing the DOS shell... NOTE: The semi-colon after the <%>LOAD is REQUIRED! Sample Macro Line: Main Menu Command'<%>LOAD;Send This Too If you wish to send something BEFORE and AFTER performing the DOS shell... Sample Macro Line: Main Menu Command`Send This First<%>LOAD;Send This Too PLEASE NOTE: In using either the <K> or <%> macro commands, only ONE command may appear per line. If there are more lines in your macro, you must include a "Send After" string so that the host will send out some more text and your next "Look for" will come. Spaces between and "Send Prior" or "Send After" strings and the macro command are not required unless the normal format would require them. When using the <%>command, be sure THERE IS a command specified! When using the "Send After" option, you MUST include the semi-colon immediately ater the <F>char## or <%>command examples: <F>S10;string <%>LOAD;string Enjoy-