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Omega-Term User Manual Page 1 Omega-Term A telecommunications package for the IBM-PCjr, IBM-PC, and its true compatibles. Requires 128K (or more) of memory, 1 disk drive (or more), a modem, a printer (optional), and DOS version 2.0 or later. Omega-Term User Manual Page 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents Introduction to Omega-Term............................4 How to Use this Manual................................5 How to Use Omega-Term, a Beginner's Guide.............6 Additional Commands and Features, Advanced............8 Changing Default Drive................................8 File-System...........................................8 Changing File Attributes..............................8 Create Subdirectory...................................9 Erasing a Subdirectory................................9 Downloading a File....................................9 Exiting to DOS........................................9 Deleting a File.......................................9 Changing Path.........................................9 Uploading a File.....................................10 Shelling to DOS......................................10 Showing Disk Free Space..............................10 Showing a Directory..................................10 Quitting the File-System.............................10 Viewing a File.......................................10 Renaming a File......................................10 Parameters Menu......................................12 Communications Parameters............................12 Direct Execution of a Program on Disk................12 Shelling to DOS......................................12 "Shelling" to DOS or to a Program....................12 Buffer Sizes.........................................12 Modem/Printer Control................................14 File Names...........................................14 CR/LF Replacements...................................14 Windows/Colors.......................................16 Dialing Directory/Redial.............................16 Autodial.............................................16 Erasing an Entry.....................................16 Loading Another Directory............................16 Paging through the Directory Entries.................17 Updating a Directory Entry...........................17 Manual Dialing.......................................17 Omega-Term User Manual Page 3 Table of Contents Table of Contents Quitting Dialing Directory...........................17 What is a Protocol and How do You Choose One?........19 XMODEM...............................................19 ASCII with Buffer Control............................19 XMODEM Checksum......................................19 ASCII................................................19 Uploading/Downloading................................19 XON/XOFF.............................................20 XMODEM CRC...........................................20 YMODEM...............................................20 Function Key Editor..................................21 What is a Function Key and How do You Use One?.......21 Changing a Key.......................................21 Erasing a Key........................................21 Special Key Commands.................................22 What is a Sustained-Break?...........................23 Echo.................................................23 What is a Null?......................................23 Printer Initialization...............................23 Hang-Up..............................................23 Sending a Null or Sustained-Break Signal.............23 Clear Screen.........................................24 Modem Initialization.................................24 Time/Date............................................24 Clearing the Buffers.................................24 Aborting the Sending of a Function Key...............24 Sound................................................24 Stripping/Converting Characters......................25 Session Captures.....................................26 Buffer Control.......................................26 Screen Dumps.........................................26 Glossary.............................................30 New Additions to Omega-Term..........................33 Omega-Term User Manual Page 4 Introduction to Omega-Term Introduction to Omega-Term Omega-Term is a program designed for the IBM-PCjr, the IBM-PC and its true compatibles, that enables you to use your modem to communicate with other computers using your tele- phone lines. Written in 100% assembly language, the program was designed for modem users by modem users, with the con- cepts of power, ease of use, and speed all in mind. Both beginning and advanced telecommunications users will find this program to be of benefit. For the beginning user, Omega-Term offers powerful commands which can be called-up with easy-to-remember keystrokes. For the intermediate or advanced user, Omega-Term can perform tasks that few other communications packages do, thus making the computer perform the tedious tasks while you, the user, are free to enjoy yourself on the phone lines. Many user's will appreciate the on-screen clock feature. This can be used to keep track of how long you have been on the telephone, thus keeping any long-distance charges down. For more on the clock, please refer to the section on the time and date. The file-system of omega-term can perform functions that rival those of DOS. Any directory listing will show ALL files on the diskette, including hidden files, read-only files, and subdirectories. A small check-mark is placed under the heading of the file-type. A few other features of the file-system include: renam- ing a file, creating subdirectories, viewing a file, deleting a file, shelling to DOS or directly to a program, and chang- ing file attributes. For more information on all of the fea- tures of the file-system and what they do, please consult the section regarding the file-system in the table of contents. The best way to learn about using Omega-Term is to try it. If you are unsure on what various functions do, try them. You cannot harm anything. If you are about to do something that you will regret, such as accidentally deleting a file, Omega-Term will give you warning messages to confirm that you really do want to continue. This manual has been arranged so that it either can be used as a tutorial, or be used as a reference guide. Some users will use it as a tutorial, and some will immediately use it as a reference guide. Good luck and enjoy yourself! Omega-Term User Manual Page 5 How to Use this Manual How to Use this Manual This manual can be used as either a tutorial or as a ref- erence guide. Whichever way you use it, it assumes that you are familiar with the operation of your computer and the DOS operating system. If you are not familiar with these con- cepts, please consult the appropriate manuals. As a tutorial: If you wish to use this manual as a tutorial, please consult the following section: "How to Use Omega- Term, a Beginner's Guide." This will tell you how to get started in Omega-Term. From then-on, you can refer to the command summary (activated by pressing the "Home" key), or by looking-up that command in this manual through the table of contents. If there is any word that you do not understand, try the glossary and see if you cannot find it in there. As a reference: This was chiefly how this manual was organ- ized. Just look up the feature that you wish to know more about in either the table of contents or in the index. Any word that you do not know can be looked-up in either the glossary. Omega-Term User Manual Page 6 How to Use Omega-Term, a Beginner's Guide How to Use Omega-Term, a Beginner's Guide In order to use Omega-Term, you must first start it. To do this, have your Omega-Term disk in the default drive and type-in "Omega" followed by the return key. After you have done this, a logo will appear on the screen along with other information pertaining to the use and distribution of the program. Please read this carefully! If Please read this carefully! you would like to know more about the use and distribution of this program, refer to the section entitled "Use and Distri- bution of Omega-Term." Press any key to continue with the program. Another screen will appear instructing you to press the "Home" key for a command summary and asking to you refer to "OMEGA.DOC" for documentation. This is the terminal mode. You are now ready to use your modem and Omega-Term together. Currently, Omega-Term is acting as a "Dummy" terminal. That means that anything begin sent to you over the telephone lines will be displayed on the screen, and anything you send will go over the telephone lines and be displayed on the screen. If you are not able to see what you type at any time during the program, please press the Alt-E key. If you wish to see the commands that Omega-Term has available to you currently, please press the "Home" key. A small window will appear on the screen showing you all com- mands that are available to you. Press any key on the key- board to remove this window and return to the terminal mode. In order to communicate with another computer over the telephone lines, you must first dial-it-up. If you have a manual modem (that is, a modem that cannot do dialing for you), dial the number and continue reading the next para- graph. Otherwise, if you have a automatic modem (one that can do the dialing for you), continue reading this paragraph. You must first set-up Omega-Term so that it will know the commands for dialing on your modem. If you have a Hayes(tm) or compatible modem, Omega-Term is already set-up for you at 300 baud. Otherwise, refer to the section entitled the "Parameter Menu." This will tell you how to set-up Omega-Term for your purposes. Now you must tell Omega-Term to dial for you. If you have a manual modem, you still will want Omega-Term to dial (though it really won't dial, it just will believe it has dialed). This way, you can have the telephone number on the screen if you wish and can automatically set-up the baud rate, parity type, number of stop bits, etc. . . Omega-Term User Manual Page 7 Omega-Term gives you the option of either dialing manu- ally, or storing the telephone number for later use. Please see the section entitled "Dialing Directory/Redial." This will tell you how to store the number you wish to dial, or dial the number manually (that is, from your keyboard). You are now communicating with your host computer. If you cannot see what you are typing-in from the keyboard, or everything that you type appears twice on the screen, press the Alt-E key. This will turn local echo on or off. Please see the section "Echo." Anytime that you wish, you can use the advanced commands of Omega-Term, such as capturing what is being sent into a file, uploading, downloading, etc. . . In order to use these commands, please look-up on the command summary what you wish to do, or look-at what you want in the table of contents or index. Omega-Term in one session. Therefore, we suggest that you feel free to experiment. Remember that you cannot cause any harm to your computer. Anytime that you might do some- thing you could regret, such as accidentally deleting a file from your disk, you will be warned and asked if you wish to continue with what you are doing. If at any time you wish to hang-up your modem, press the Alt-H key. This should disconnect your modem if you have configured Omega-Term correctly for it. Omega-Term User Manual Page 8 The File-System The File-System The file-system enables you to handle files on disks from Omega-Term, without having to exit to DOS. In addition to this, it has many commands that you cannot use from DOS. File-system is brought-up with the Alt-F key combination. You will then see a menu of various commands the file-system has. You may select these commands by either pressing the letter that is next to the command you wish to select, or by using the cursor keys to move to the item you wish to use, and then pressing the enter key. Here is a list of the various commands and what they do. It is recommended that while you are learning these commands, that you work on a scratch diskette. This will help if you accidentally corrupt or erase some files on your disk, so that you don't destroy some precious program(s) of yours. File-System Command Summary Changing Default Drive: This command enables you to change your default drive to another drive. For example, if your current default drive is the A drive, this command will enable you to change to the B drive. If you quit the program and return to DOS after having changed the default drive, this new default drive will remain in effect. Changing File Attributes: With this command, you can change the file attribute of any file. The file attribute is a byte that stores various information about the file. Here is a description of what this information is and how to use it: Read-Only: This indicates that the file can only be read, and can not be written to or deleted. Useful for files that you do not wish to change or delete. Hidden: With this, you can set-up file so that it will not normally show-up when the "DIR" command is executed while you are in DOS. System: All this indicates is that the file is part of DOS. This really has no value, since it does not affect usage of the file. Volume Label: Indicates that this really is not a file, but rather the name is to be used as the volume label of the disk. Although you are able to change this on screen, DOS will not permit the change to actually occur. Subdirectory: Indicates that this is a subdirectory, and not a file. Although you are able to change this on screen, DOS will not permit the change to actually occur. Omega-Term User Manual Page 9 Archive Bit: Indicates that the file needs to be backed-up with the "BACKUP" command of DOS. This is really only of significance to those people with hard disks. Changing Path: Identical to the DOS "CD" function. With this, you can change the current default directory to the one you wish. For more information, refer to your DOS manual under "CD." Create Subdirectory: Identical to the DOS "MKDIR" command. With this, you can create a new subdirectory on your diskette. Refer to you DOS man- ual for more information. Deleting a File: This command enables you to remove a file from your disk. Once you have deleted a file, it cannot be recovered, so use this command with caution! Create Subdirectory: Allows you to create a new subdirectory. This is equivalent to DOS' MKDIR function. See your DOS manual for further details. Deleting a File: Permits you to delete a file from the current directory. If you change your mind about deleting that file, you will be given an option to cancel the operation. Downloading a File: Allows you to transfer the file over the telephone lines. Refer to the section entitled "Upload- ing/Downloading for more information. Exit to DOS: Allows you to quit Omega-Term and return to DOS. A small warning screen will appear asking you if you are sure you want to exit. Press Y if you wish to exit to DOS with your carrier signal being left off, C to quit to DOS with your carrier signal being left on, and N if you have decided that you do not wish to exit Omega- Term. Erasing a Subdirectory: This will remove a subdirectory from a disk. If there are any files contained in the subdi- rectory, it will not be erased. Rename file: With this command, you can rename a file on disk to a file with a different name. This is the same as the DOS "RENAME" command, except that it has one enhancement. By chang- ing the name of the file to a the same name, but a dif- ferent subdirectory name, it will successfully move your file to the new subdirectory. Here is an example. Sup- pose you had a file on your disk with the name of "TEST.ABC" which is located in the root directory, and you wish to move it to the subdirectory by the name of "OMEGA ." By giving the file the new name of "OMEGA\TEST.ABC," you will successfully move it from the root directory to the subdirectory. Exiting to DOS: Allows you to exit from Omega-Term to DOS. Omega-Term User Manual Page 10 Quitting the File-System: Allows you to return to terminal mode. Shell to DOS: This will enable you to go to DOS from Omega- Term, and return to Omega-Term from where you have left off in it. The disk drive will spin, and then the DOS command line will appear. While in DOS, you can execute other programs, give disk directories, copy files, and all of the other things of DOS. And when you wish to return to Omega-Term, type-in the command "EXIT." This tells DOS that you wish to quit using DOS and return to Omega-Term at the same point that you left-off. You will then be back in Omega-Term. WARNING: If you have shelled to DOS, then use any "memory- resident" programs with caution. These are programs that will install themselves in memory and will stay in memory as long as you are using the computer. Doing so might cause your computer to do strange and unreliable things upon returning to Omega-Term! WARNING: Shelling to a version of DOS different than the one you booted the computer with can cause unreliable results to occur, such as a system crash. Showing a Directory: This command will enable you to show the file stored in a directory, along with their corre- sponding date, time, and attributes (see change file attributes for more information). Another plus is that any hidden files will appear with this directory, unlike the "DIR" command from DOS. If a file is hidden, a check-mark will appear under the heading of "HIDDEN FILE." Showing Disk Free Space: This will tell how many bytes are available on the disk you select. Just press the letter of the drive in which you wish to see how much space is available. Uploading a File: Allows you to transfer the file over the telephone lines. Refer to the section entitled "Upload- ing/Downloading for more information. Viewing a File: With this command, you can successfully see what is stored in a file. This is useful if you wish to see if a download occurred correctly, or if you wish to see instructions on some program and the instructions are stored on disk. You can successfully see the con- tents of the file until you reach the end of it, one screenful at a time. The computer will then wait for you to press the spacebar to view more of the file, or Esc to stop viewing the file. Omega-Term User Manual Page 11 Parameters Menu Parameters Menu The parameters menu is invoked by pressing Alt-P. It enables you to change miscellaneous information such as the color and location of things being displayed on the screen, the commands your modem uses for such things a dialing, the names of various files that Omega-Term uses, buffer sizes, and many other things. To select an item on the parameters menu, either press the letter next to the option you desire, or use the cursor keys to move around and press the enter key when you have reached your desired selection. Here is a description of the various commands available: Buffer Sizes: This is an advanced feature. If you are a beginner, we recommend that you skip this section until you are more familiar with Omega-Term. This feature enables you to change the sizes of the buf- fers dealing with capturing, downloading, uploading, trans- mission of data, reception of data. Here is a list of the three buffers available, what they do, and how to use them: Download Buffer: This buffer is used for downloading, cap- turing of a file, and downloading. It can be thought of as the "Jack Of All Trades" buffer. Its minimum size is 512 bytes, but we recommend a larger size if you have the memory capacity. We recommend a size of around 16,000 bytes. Receive Buffer: Any data coming in from the communications port is sent through this buffer. Its recommended size is around 1,000 bytes. Transmit Buffer: Any data being sent to the communications port by Omega-Term is sent through this buffer. Its recommended size is around 1,000 bytes. Communications Parameters: This section enables you to assign to active communications port used by Omega-Term, the parity, stop bits, and number of data bits, the option to append linefeeds to carriage returns, and many other options. It is recommended that you familiarize yourself as best you can with this section, as it is important if you desire to use Omega-Term effectively. Here is a detailed list of the options available on this menu and what they do: Active Port: This is a number that indicates which communi- cations port you are using your modem with. Only the numbers 1 and 2 are accepted. Baud Rate: Indicates the baud rate in use at the time. Valid values are 110, 150, 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600. Use only a number that your modem can handle. Omega-Term User Manual Page 12 Parity: Indicates the error-checking method in effect. Valid entries are N(o parity), E(ven parity), O(dd parity). Data Bits: Indicates the actual number of bits used to send the character. Valid values are 7, 8. 7 is usually used with even or odd parity, 8 is usually used with no parity. Also, 7 is only used for text transfer, while 8 is used for both program transfer and text transfer. Stop Bits: Indicates the number of bits used for each charac- ter that indicate where the end of the character is located at. Usually only 1 stop bit is used. Local Echo: This shows whether the host computer (the one you are calling) echoes back what you have typed-in. A value of local echo on is also known as "Full Duplex" while a value of local echo off is known also as "Half Duplex." Add LF to CR: Indicates that whether Omega-Term should add a linefeed character for every carriage return character received. XON/XOFF: This indicates that the host computer is handling your buffer. Ansi Graphics: Many BBS' have the capability of giving you graphic and/or color displays. In order to do this, you must have Ansi Graphics ON. Also, your CONFIG.SYS on your DOS disk must have the following statement in it: DEVICE=ANSI.SYS If you fail to do this, and request a graphic or color display from your host computer, you may get a strange read- out of anything coming in from the host computer. Sound: Indicates whether the speaker should be used. If you do not wish the computer to make sound out of the speaker while using Omega-Term, just turn sound off, otherwise turn sound on. Strip/Convert: This has the capability of changing any char- acter sent by the host computer into another character. You must give a 3-digit ASCII code of each character to strip and of the character to replace it with. Refer to the section on "Quick Guide to Keyboard Commands, 'Cheat Sheets'" for more information on what the ASCII codes are for various features. This is an advanced feature, and most beginners need not concern themselves with this feature. Omega-Term User Manual Page 13 CR/LF Replacements: When you enter a long "string" of char- acters for such things as printer commands, modem com- mands, function keys, etc., you might want to have car- riage return or a linefeed contained in this string, since these are used by you from the keyboard to signify that you are done typing-in the string. Therefore, in order to have these characters in your string, some other means must be used. The method that is in use by Omega-Term (and for that matter, most other communications packages), is to allow the user to choose rarely used characters from the keyboard, and use these in place of the carriage return and linefeed char- acters. For example, if the carriage return replacement character is "{" and the linefeed replacement character is "}", then if you typed-in a string for a function key that said "JOHN DOE{}", this would tell the computer that you really mean "JOHN DOE<CARRIAGE RETURN><LINEFEED>." The default replacement characters are "{" for carriage return replacement, "}" for linefeed replacement. These characters are rarely used by most people. However, if you use these characters frequently, or just don't like these choices, feel free to change replacement characters. Just make sure that you use something that is rarely used. "A" would be a poor choice, while the "`" might be a good choice. File Names: This section enables you to set the default path for downloading, the name of the file containing the dialing directory, the name of the file for screen- dumps, and many other filenames used by Omega-Term. Here is a list of the choices available and what their purpose is: Path for Download Files: This gives the default path for any files that are downloaded. Dialing Directory Name: Gives the name of the file in which the dialing direc- tory is stored. Session Capture File: Gives the name of the file in which all session captures are sent. Function Key File: Gives the name of the file in which the function keys are stored. File Name for Screen Dumps: Gives the name of the file in which all screen dumps are sent. Every time you press Shift-PrtSc, (Fn-PrtSc on the PCjr), a copy of the whole screen is sent to this file. Modem/Printer Control: Here you can set-up the commands used to set-up your printer, tell you modem how to dial, and many other things related to the utilization of your modem and printer. The following is a list of the options available and what they do: Omega-Term User Manual Page 14 Printer Initialization String: Gives the string of charac- ters to send to the printer whenever the printer is to be initialized. This is automatically done when Omega- Term is brought-up, or you can re-initialize the printer by pressing Alt-L. The string of characters you want for initialization is in your printer manual. Modem Initialization String. Gives the string of characters to send to the modem whenever the modem is to be ini- tialized. This is automatically done when Omega-Term is brought-up, or you can re-initialize the modem by press- ing Alt-M. The string of characters you want for ini- tialization is in your modem manual. Dialing Prefix: This is the set of characters that proceed the telephone number you wish to dial on your modem. This is in your modem manual. Dialing Suffix: This is the set of characters that follow the telephone number you wish to dial on your modem. See your modem manual. Baud Change String: This set of characters is used to tell your modem you are about to change baud rates. See your modem manual. Hang Up String: This set of characters tells your modem to hang-up. See your modem manual. Connect Prompts: Here you can have up to four sets of char- acters that are sent by your modem which indicate that you have connected with another computer. Please see your modem manual. N/C Prompts: Again you can have up to four sets of charac- ters that are sent by your modem indicating that it has failed trying to connect to another computer. See your modem manual. Milliseconds Delay Between Characters for Dialing: This indicates how many milliseconds Omega-Term must wait between each character as it sends them to your modem for dialing. Usually there are 0 milliseconds between characters, but your modem might not accept this, and thus you should consult your modem manual. Redial Delay (Seconds): This tells Omega-Term how many sec- onds to wait between a N/C prompt and another attempt at redialing the telephone number. Please refer to your modem manual. Omega-Term User Manual Page 15 Cancel Call Delay (Seconds): This tells Omega-Term how many seconds it takes your modem before it hangs-up after an unsuccessful attempt at dialing. Please refer to your modem manual. Windows/Colors: From here you can select the location and colors of various windows displayed on the screen by Omega-Term. Omega-Term User Manual Page 16 The Dialing Directory The Dialing Directory The Dialing Directory enables you to reference a tele- phone number by an entry number (such as 1, 2, 3, etc. . .) without having to memorize the telephone number itself. It also enables you to write brief comments about an entry, automatically set-up parity, data bits, stop bits, etc. for each number dialed, and to automatically redial a number if no successful completion found, plus much more. Dialing Directory is invoked by pressing Alt-D. The com- puter will then ask you to type-in the number of your selec- tion, press return to see the directory, or type-in the num- ber you wish to dial. If you type-in a number from 1 to 100, it will dial that corresponding entry. If you type in a num- ber longer than three digits (and it doesn't even have to be a number. It can also be other characters such as letters.), it will send that to the modem. If you press return, it will bring-up the list of entries. Assuming that you have pressed return and brought-up the list of entries, here is a list of your options available, what they do, and how to use them: Autodial: Press the number of the selection you wish to dial, and the computer will automatically dial the tele- phone number of this selection for you. It will also set-up the baud rate, proper number of data bits, parity type, stop bits, and strip/convert characters (see sec- tion on striping/converting characters). If it fails to connect, it will attempt to redial the entry up to five times, after which it will abort its attempt at redial. If you desire to continue redialing, press Alt-R. This brings-up the redial function, which attempts to redial the last number dialed up to 50 times before aborting the redial process. Erasing an Entry: This will enable you to erase the contents of an entry. Do this only if you are sure you wish to erase the entry. Loading in Another Entry: The dialing directory can store up to 100 entries. However, for some users this is not enough. Therefore, you can create another directory which has the capability for 100 more entries. In order to use these entries, just call-up the new directory, and the one currently in memory will be replaced with the new directory. Omega-Term User Manual Page 17 Manual Dialing: This gives you the ability to dial a tele- phone number entry manually without having to store the number in the dialing directory. You will be asked for the number, baud rate, number of data bits, parity, and number of data bits. Also, if you wish for any strip/convert capabilities (see section on strip- ping/converting characters), you must set that up also. Although you may enter name and comments, this has no real effect since the entry is not actually stored in the dialing directory. Paging Through Directory Entries: The dialing directory can hold 100 entries. However, in order to look at the entries, you cannot fit all 100 entries on the screen at once. This is solved by displaying only ten items at once (called a "page"). In order to look at the next ten items or the previous ten items, you can use the "+" key to jump to the next page, and the "-" key to look at the previous page. Quitting the Dialing Directory: By quitting the dialing directory, you will be brought back to the terminal mode of Omega-Term, and will exit the dialing directory. Updating an Entry: This will allow you to modify the name, baud rate, number of data bits, parity type, number of stop bits, strip/convert entries (see section on strip- ping/converting characters), and comments on the entry. Omega-Term will prompt you on all of these values. Omega-Term User Manual Page 18 Shelling to DOS or to a Program Shelling to DOS or to a Program Omega-Term gives you the ability to execute another pro- gram, or to call-up DOS without having to leave Omega-Term. When you are done with either one of these, you will be brought back to where you left-off in Omega-Term. Here is a description of what "Shelling to DOS" and "Executing a Pro- gram" do: Shelling to DOS: This gives you the ability to bring-up your computer's DOS and use it like you would at any other time. In order to return to Omega-Term, just type-in "EXIT" at the DOS prompt. WARNING: If you shell to DOS, please make sure that you shell to the same version of DOS as you booted your computer with. Not doing so may cause your computer to do strange and unreliable things, such as crashing your system. Executing a Program: With this, you can call-up another program from Omega-Term. When you have left the program, you will be returned to where you left-off on Omega-Term. WARNING: Executing a program that makes itself "Memory Resident" (that is, makes itself reside in the computer's memory after you have quit it), could possibly cause your computer to do strange things upon returning to Omega-Term. While this is not always the case with all programs, it does happen on a few. If you do decide to do this, remember that you have been forewarned. Omega-Term User Manual Page 19 Uploading/Downloading Files Uploading/Downloading Files Uploading/Downloading are the abilities to exchange files between your computer and the computer to whom you are con- versing. This is useful since you can give any files to someone else and receive files from someone else. Uploading is the process of sending a file that you have to another computer. This process is also known as transmit- ting a file. Downloading is the process of receiving a file from another computer. This process is also known as receiving a file. In order to upload or download a file, you must first decide on a protocol in which to communicate with the other computer. This is nothing more than a method in which both your computer and the computer at the other end of the tele- phone lines send the contents of the file. Both your com- puter and the computer at the other end of the telephone lines must be using the same protocol when uploading or down- loading a file. Here is a list of the protocols Omega-Term has available, their advantages and their disadvantages: ASCII: In this protocol, each character in a file is sent as a 7-bit ASCII character. Therefore, only the first 128 characters of the ASCII character set can be received, which is a severe limitation. This protocol is only useful if you are exchanging text files. Another limi- tation is that if any information is corrupted while being sent over the telephone lines, the corruption will not be detected. However, since this protocol sends a file as it is, and there are no extra characters sent as part of the protocol, it is usually faster than most other protocols. ASCII with Buffer Control: This is basically the same as the ASCII protocol with one exception. The only difference is that information is not actually sent do disk until the sender says it wants the receiver to do so. XMODEM: This is the famous protocol developed for CP/M by Ward Christenson. Information is exchanged 8-bits at a time, instead of the 7-bits used by the ASCII protocols. This means that all characters of the ASCII character set can be exchanged properly. Also, this protocol ver- ifies that data is being exchanged correctly, and has not been garbled by the telephone lines. If any infor- mation has been garbled, it will be re-sent to the receiver until either it is correctly received or until either the sender or receiver gives up after many unsuc- cessful attempts. Omega-Term User Manual Page 20 A disadvantage that XMODEM suffers from is that any file that is sent can have its length increased by up to 127 bytes. However, in most instances, this poses no problem. XMODEM has two methods in which it verifies the data being sent. These are called "XMODEM Checksum," which is the orig- inal method developed by Ward Christenson, and "XMODEM CRC." XMODEM Checksum is guaranteed to be utilized by any com- puter that has the XMODEM protocol, which is not true of XMO- DEM CRC. However, its disadvantage is that any corruption of data that does occur is less reliably detected than by the CRC protocol. XMODEM CRC is far more reliable at detecting any corrup- tion of data than XMODEM Checksum. Better than 99% of all errors are detected. The disadvantage CRC suffers is that not all computers have the CRC protocol implemented. In Omega-Term, if you select XMODEM, it will automati- cally find-out if the source computer is utilizing CRC or not, and if it is, Omega-Term will automatically implement XMODEM CRC, due to the higher reliability. There are no advantages to utilizing XMODEM Checksum when CRC can be used. If the computer you are communicating with gives you a choice between checksum and CRC, then use CRC. This will help insure that any problems that do occur in the process of exchange will be caught and corrected. XON/XOFF: This is a form of the ASCII protocol, and there- fore the advantages/disadvantages of ASCII apply to this protocol. The difference is that when the receiver's disk buffer is full, the receiving computer notifies the sending computer to stop sending data (called "XOFF"). When the receiving computer is then ready to receive again, it notifies the sending computer to continue sending the data (called "XON"). YMODEM: This protocol evolved from the XMODEM CRC protocol, and thus has many similarities. The difference is that YMODEM can send data somewhat faster and more effi- ciently than XMODEM can. Though YMODEM has the ability to send many files at once (called "Batch" mode), this release of Omega-Term does not have that capability. YMODEM's chief disadvantage is that not all computers can utilize this protocol, being relatively new and advanced. Therefore, do not be surprised if your host computer does not give you the option of uploading or downloading with the YMO- DEM protocol. Omega-Term User Manual Page 21 Function Keys: How to Use and Modify Them Function Keys: How to Use and Modify Them One of the great powers of Omega-Term is that you can use the function keys to simulate your pressing any series of keys on the keyboard whenever you want. In addition to being able to utilize the normal function keys, you can use the Ctrl, Shift, and Alt with the function keys to simulate forty function keys instead of ten. In order to set-up the function keys, you must call-up the function key editor, which is invoked by Alt-K. You will then be presented with a screen showing the current defini- tions for the function keys. Since there are 40 function key combinations, and each can be 127 characters long, there is no conceivable way that they can be shown on the screen at once. This is remedied by showing only ten function keys at once. The ten being shown have indicated at the top of the screen whether you must invoke them by pressing the corresponding function key by itself, or with Shift, Ctrl, Alt when you wish to use them from the terminal mode. When the editor is invoked, you are given the option of modifying a key, erasing a key, moving to the proceeding or following page, or quitting the editor and returning to the terminal mode. Here is a brief list of the options, what they do, and how to use them: Erasing a Function Key: Press the corresponding key to the one you wish to erase on that page. Pressing any other function key will abort the erase function and leave that definition intact. Modifying a Key: Press the key corresponding to the one you wish to modify on that page. A small window will then appear on the top of the screen, showing the current defini- tion of that key and asking you to type-in the new defini- tion. Press the return key alone if you wish to leave that key intact, or type-in the new definition if you wish to change that key. Paging Backwards/Forwards: Pressing the "+" key will bring you to the next page, pressing the "-" key will bring you to the proceeding page. Quit Function Keys: If you have modified any keys while in the editor, it will store these new definitions on disk and return to terminal mode. If you have not, it will just return to terminal mode. Omega-Term User Manual Page 22 Now that you know what the keys do and how to edit them, you probably would like to know how to use them. Basically, they can simulate your typing something on the keyboard. That is, you can define the F1 key to simulate your typing "WELCOME TO OMEGA TERM," or you can make it simulate your typing Alt-D and then "12" and then the return key. As a matter of fact, you can make a function key simulate your pressing any key on the keyboard, including arrow keys, back- space, punctuation, "Home," "PgDn," or any other key! Suppose that you wish to have the F3 key automatically type "I love Omega-Term." In order to do this, bring-up the function key editor and indicate that you wish to modify the normal F3 key. Now type-in "I love Omega-Term." and press the return key. Press Q to return to terminal mode. The disk drive should spin a moment and then you will be in terminal mode. Press Alt-E for echo on. This will echo anything that goes to your modem back to the screen. If Omega-Term says ">>>Echo Off<<<," press Alt-E again. Now press the F3 key. You should see "I love Omega-Term" appear on the screen. This is because you have set-up the F3 key so that when you press it, Omega-Term thinks you typed-in "I love Omega-Term" from the keyboard. Suppose now that you wish F4 to simulate your pressing the return key twice. Since when you enter the F4 key defi- nition from the function key editor and have finished typing it in you press the return key to tell the editor you have finished, you cannot make return key part of the key defini- tion by just pressing return. This is solved by the CR/LF replacement characters. Nor- mally, if you type-in a "{" as part of your definition, Ome- ga-Term will change this to a return. Also, if you type-in a "}" as part of your definition, it will think that you have sent a linefeed character. NOTE: If you have changed the CR/LF characters from the parameters menu, the "{" and "}" characters will be different. Please consult the section entitled "CR/LF" replacements under the heading "Parameters Menu." If you wanted to make F4 simulate your pressing return twice, you would just enter "{{" as the definition for F4. Try it. A definition for a function key can have other special commands. These are proceeded by the "|" character. For example, "|065" would tell Omega-Term to send the ASCII code #65. This is equivalent to the character "A." If anything follows the "|" character and is not understood, it will be sent literally. For example, "|732" is not understood and thus would send "|732" literally. For a complete listing of the special commands, see the file "OMEGA.TBL." Omega-Term User Manual Page 23 Null and Sustained-Break Signals Null and Sustained-Break Signals Null and sustained-break signals are useful commands especially to those who are communicating with a mainframe computer. Here is a description of what each does: Null: Sends a "Null" character over the telephone line. That is, a character with the ASCII value of 0. This is invoked by pressing Ctrl-End. Sustained-Break: This sends an electrical pulse to your modem that tells it you wish to send a "Sustained Break." What this does depends on what the computer you are communi- cating with at the other end of the telephone lines is pro- grammed to do, and thus varies. This does not send an actual character over the phone lines, but an electrical pulse. Echo Echo Echo is the ability for your host computer to echo back to you what you have sent it. Some computers can, and some computers cannot do this. This is also known as "Full Duplex" and "Half Duplex." If echo is on from Omega-Term, it means that the computer your are communicating with does not echo back what you have sent it. If you have echo on, and your host computer does echo what you are sending it, then every character you type will appear on the screen twice. If you have echo off, then that means that the host com- puter echoes back what you are sending it. If you have echo off and the host computer is not echoing back what you have sent it, nothing will appear on the screen. NOTE: Many places that normally echo what you have sent them, will not echo anything while you type-in your password. This is so that anyone who may be watching your screen while you type-in your password will not be able to know your password. Hang-Up Hang-Up When you press Alt-H, your modem will disconnect from the telephone lines. On most modems, this is instantaneous, how- ever, on some modems, there may be a delay before hang-up actually occurs. Print Initialization Print Initialization When Omega-Term is first brought-up from DOS, or when you press Alt-L during terminal mode, the printer will be ini- tialized with the string you have entered under "Printer Ini- tialization String" in the "Modem/Printer Control" section in the "Parameters Menu." Omega-Term User Manual Page 24 Modem Initialization Modem Initialization When Omega-Term is first brought-up from DOS, or when you press Alt-L during terminal mode, the modem will be initial- ized with the string you have entered under "Modem Initial- ization String" in the "Modem/Printer Control" section in the "Parameters Menu." Sound Sound When you press Alt-S, sound is turned off or on depending on what its previous status was. For instance, if sound is on and you press Alt-S, sound will be off. Likewise, if you press Alt-S and sound is off, sound will be turned-on. When sound is turned-on, any sound that Omega-Term gener- ates will be sent to your speaker. When sound is turned-off, any sound that Omega-Term generates will not be sent through the speaker, and thus Omega-Term will be silent. Clear Screen Clear Screen When Alt-C is pressed, the screen will be cleared and the cursor will move to the upper-left-hand-corner of the screen. Time/Date Time/Date By pressing Alt-T, Omega-Term will allow you to change the computer's internal clock. First you will be asked for the current time in hours (0-24) , minutes (0-59), and sec- onds (0-59). Then you will be asked for the current date in month number (1-12), day (1-31), and year (1980-2099). When you are asked for the time, you will be given the option to show the clock. This is normally set to N for no. However, if you set it to Y for yes, then the clock will be displayed in the upper-right-hand-corner of your screen and will be updated each second. This useful if you are calling any place long-distance and wish to keep a tab on your telephone bill. Aborting the Sending of a Function Key Aborting the Sending of a Function Key If you have defined a function key to do long sequence of keystrokes for you and wish to stop the sending of these key- strokes immediately, press Ctrl-Break. The computer will then immediately stop sending the function key. Clearing the Buffers Clearing the Buffers If you wish to stop the data that is currently being held in the buffers from going out to your modem, then hold the Alt key down and press the "=" key twice. DO THIS ONLY IF YOU DEFINITELY INTEND TO CLEAR THE BUFFERS, as any of the buffer's contents will be lost forever. Omega-Term User Manual Page 25 Ansi Graphics Ansi Graphics Many bulletin boards will have a special color and/or graphics display on them, designed for the IBM-PC. This option is sometimes called "Color/Graphics" or "Ansi Graph- ics." To utilize this, you must do the following: First, make sure your DOS disk has the statement "DEVICE=ANSI.SYS" in the file "CONFIG.SYS" when you have booted you DOS. Second, when you are in Omega-Term, you can tell Omega- Term that you wish to utilize this feature by either going to the section entitled "Communications Parameters" under the section "Parameters Menu;" or you can press the Alt-G key. This will toggle the Ansi Graphics capabilities off or on. NOTE: If you are using a modem with extremely high baud rates (such as 4800 baud), the computer might be able handle the high speed and Ansi Graphics, and thus some data might be lost. However, if Ansi Graphics are disabled, then Omega- Term will have no problems in keeping-up with the high baud rates. Stripping/Converting Characters Stripping/Converting Characters Some host computers will send characters to you that you wish to be other characters on your computer. That is where the stripping/converting feature comes in. You must first know the ASCII code of the character that you wish to replace with another character. This can be found in the file "OMEGA.TBL." You also must know the ASCII code of the character you wish to replace with. This also be found in appendix the file "OMEGA.TBL." Second, you must tell Omega-Term that you wish to have strip/convert capabilities. You can either do this from the communications parameters menu or you can specify the strip/convert with your entry in the dialing directory by updating that directory entry. Now type-in the ASCII code number (it must be three digits in length, that is if the code number is less than three digits it must be proceeded by zeroes) of the character you wish to replace under "Strip#1" (this can also be titled "STRIP#2", "STRIP#3", or "STRIP#4"). Now do the same for the character you wish to replace with under "CONVERT#1." Omega-Term User Manual Page 26 For instance, say that you want to replace all occurrence of the character "A" with the character "Z" as it comes in on your modem. When you look up the ASCII values of "A" and "Z" in appendix the file "OMEGA.TBL," you will find that they are 65 and 90 respectively. Now, pull up the "Communications Parameters" menu which is under the "Parameters Menu" invoked by typing Alt-P. Go down to the part labeled "STRIP#1" and enter "065" as your number. Now go down to the section labeled "CONVERT#1" and enter "090" as your number. When you are back in terminal mode and using your modem, all "A"'s that come-in off of your modem ought to be "Z"'s. You can strip and convert up to 4 characters at a time. Just set the corresponding strip and convert numbers. Buffer Control Buffer Control This is used during the ASCII upload or download process. When ASCII download or upload is occurring, press Alt-B once to open your disk buffers, enabling you to receive/transmit the file then, and press Alt-B again to close the buffers. Please note that once the buffers are closed Omega-Term assumes that you have finished uploading or downloading the file. Please note that future version of Omega-Term will not have the Alt-B capability from the terminal mode, but instead will move it to the file-system. Session Captures Session Captures When you do a session capture, you actually are sending a copy of what is going over the modem to a file. This is invoked by Alt-A, and is stopped by pressing Alt-A again. The filename of the file that the capture is being sent to is defined under the "File Names" section of the "Parame- ters Menu." A common file to send output to is "PRN" which is a special filename used by DOS for the printer. "LPT1" is also the printer. The current file that the capture is being sent to has the capture appended to the end of it. That is, if the file has anything in it currently and you press Alt-A, your cap- ture will be placed at the end of the file, and will not overwrite the current contents. Screen Dumps Screen Dumps A screen dump is invoked by pressing Shift-PrtSc (Fn- PrtSc on the PCjr). The current text that is on the screen will appended to the end of a file. Omega-Term User Manual Page 27 The name of the file is set by choosing the "File Names" option of the "Parameters Menu." The filename is under the heading "FILENAME FOR SCREENDUMPS:" The filename of the file that the dump is being sent to is defined under the "File Names" section of the "Parameters Menu." A common file to send output to is "PRN" which is a special filename used by DOS for the printer. "LPT1" is also the printer. A Bit About Omega-Term from the Programmers A Bit About Omega-Term from the Programmers Before we wrote Omega-Term, we had tried many different communications packages, and could not find any that fit what we wanted in a communications package. Many of the packages that we had tried previously that came close to fitting our needs were far too large, and too slow. Having encountered this, we decided to design a package that would do what we wanted it to do. Also, we decided to make it fast and compact. However, the only way we could do that is if we wrote in assembly language. Upon writing Omega-Term, we decided to let other modem users to use it, and found that they liked it also. There- fore, we decided to distribute it to the general public, ask- ing only for a small contribution from those who liked it, which has proven to be popular with other software packages written by other programmers. Although we have made Omega-Term to fit our needs, we have found that we have been wanting it to do more and more, and other users have been asking for more features also. That is why there will be more versions of Omega-Term coming out in the future, with capabilities that pale those of the current version. We encourage you to send us your contribution if you use this program as soon as it is possible for you. $30 is the suggested amount, but we would greatly appreciate any other amount, no matter how small or large it may be. Regardless if you contribute or not, we encourage you to give away copies of Omega-Term so long as it is unmodified and is distributed with its documentation. Feel free to upload copies of this to bulletin boards, give away copies at computer meetings, or give a copy to a friend. Even if you don't like it, we still ask that you give away copies since other people may like it. If at any time you would like to give us suggestions for improvements, or report any problems with the program itself, please feel free to contact us at the address in the back of this manual. Omega-Term User Manual Page 28 We would like to thank you for your support and use of Omega-Term. What to do If You Wish to Distribute Omega-Term What to do If You Wish to Distribute Omega-Term Please feel free to distribute Omega-Term to anyone you wish. We only ask that you distribute the program and docu- mentation together and in unmodified form, and that no fee may be charged for copying. There is one exception to this, and that is for those clubs who charge some minimal fee for copying to offset costs, or if you wish to offset the cost of a diskette. This fee must not exceed $2. How to Contribute for Omega-Term How to Contribute for Omega-Term We recommend that you send $30 if you use Omega-Term often or if appreciate it, but any amount sent will be appre- ciated. In return for your contribution, we will send you a registered copy of the most recent version of Omega-Term. Also, we will provide you with telephone support and will put you on our mailing list for the Omega-Term Newsletter. If you send $40, we will send you $10 for each copy of Omega-Term that has been registered with your serial number on it. For example, if you sent us $40 dollars, we would send you a copy of Omega-Term, with your own personal serial number. If someone registered their copy of Omega-Term, and it had the serial number of your copy, we would sent you $10. Please note that this feature does not apply to corporations. When you send-in your contribution, please take the time to fill-in the following form and send it in also. Omega-Term User Manual Page 29 Registration Form for Omega-Term Registration Form for Omega-Term NAME: ____________________________________________________ ADDRESS: _________________________________________________ CITY: ___________________ STATE: ___ ZIP: ______________ TELEPHONE NUMBER: ________________________________________ (work) ___________________________________________ (home) AMOUNT FOR CONTRIBUTION: _______________ ($30 suggested) SERIAL NUMBER OF YOUR CURRENT COPY OF OMEGA-TERM: ___________ (This is six numeric digits followed by one letter that are displayed on the opening screen.) SUGGESTIONS: ________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ Send this form along with your contribution to: Thomas Goodson 8102 Pennfield Rd. Battle Creek, MI 49017 Omega-Term User Manual Page 30 Glossary Glossary ASCII: This stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. It is a standard means of representing characters in your computers memory. Attribute: This gives information on a file pertaining to how it may be used. This information tells the computer such information as if it is a read-only file (one that can be looked-at but not written-to or deleted), hidden (one that will not appear when you give a directory of that disk from DOS), and other information. Baud: The rate of speed in which data is transferred. Bit: An actual unit of data. It can be though of as a switch. Either it can be off (which is usually repre- sented as a 0), or it can be on (which is usually repre- sented as a 1). Buffer: This is small portion of your computer's memory that is partitioned off from the rest. It is used for tempo- rarily storing data until the computer or device that the data is being sent to is ready to handle that data. This way any if information is being sent to your com- puter to fast or if your computer is sending data to a device to fast (such as a modem), the computer or device can handle that data at its own pace. Byte: A unit of data that is 8 bits in length (and for trivial purposes, a nibble is 4 bits in length, or half a byte). Since it represents 8 bits, a byte can have any integer value ranging from 0 to 255. Character: This is a letter, a space, a number, or a symbol that your computer is capable of representing. Communications: The process in which information is transferred over the telephone lines. Crash: When your computer does strange things. During a crash, the screen may have bizarre displays, strange noises may be emitted from your speaker, and your keyboard might not respond to what you type, which may or may not include the Ctrl-Alt-Del keys when they are used to reset your computer. Checksum: This is a method used to verify that data has been sent correctly. It is very reliable at catching errors, but it is not as reliable as CRC. All host computers that have the XMODEM protocol can handle checksum. However, not all of them can handle CRC. Omega-Term automati- cally checks to see if the host computer is using check- sum or CRC during the XMODEM protocol, and selects the appropriate checking method. Omega-Term User Manual Page 31 CRC: This is a method used to verify that data has been sent correctly, and has not been corrupted. It is far more reliable at catching errors than checksum, catching over 99% of all errors. Data: Another word for information. Data Bits: Number of bits being used per character that actually contain information on that character. Valid values are 7 and 8. Delete: This means the same thing as erase. Directory: This has two meanings. The first meaning is a com- mand that shows all files on a disk. The second meaning is the name of a particular section of a disk that con- tains certain files. Disk: A machine in which data is stored. DOS: Disk Operating System. This is what your computer uses for operating the disk(s) and other functions. File: A unit in which information is stored on a disk. It can be thought of as the same thing as a file in a filing cabinet. Unlike a filing cabinet, a disk file MUST have a name. Please consult your DOS manual if you are not sure how files should be named. Host: This is the computer to whom you are talking. Modem: This is an acronym for MOdulater, DEModulater. It is a device that transmits the information your computer sends it into tones that are sent over the telephone lines. Also, any tones sent to it by another computer will be translated to information that your computer can understand. Parity: This indicates the type of error checking being used to verify that data being sent over the telephone lines is correct. Parity can be even, odd, or none. None means that no parity checking is being performed. Odd is the least often used means of parity checking. Password: When you sign-on to many host computers, in addition to asking you for your name, they will ask you for your password. A password can be thought of as a type of key. It protects the host computer by verifying that when you call, you really are who you say you are, and not someone trying to get on the system using your name to cause damage or find-out confidential information. Omega-Term User Manual Page 32 Printer: A device that prints information your computer sends to it onto paper. When the information is on the screen, it is often called a "Soft" copy. When it is on paper, it is often called a "Hard" copy. Protocol: This means a method of transferring information between computers. There are several different proto- cols that are used for different types of data. Some of them are ASCII, ASCII with buffer control, XMODEM, and YMODEM. Stop Bits: Number of bits being used to separate characters from each other. XMODEM: This is a protocol used for transferring all forms data from one computer to another. It is especially powerful because if any data is sent incorrectly, it will ask for that data to be re-sent. YMODEM: This is another protocol similar to XMODEM, only a little more advanced because it is minutely faster because it sends data in bigger chunks, known as "Blocks," and because it can send several files at once. Please note that this version of Omega-Term does not handle the capability of sending several files at once. Also, most host computers do not handle that capability either. Omega-Term User Manual Page 33 New Additons to Omega-Term New Additons to Omega-Term Here is a list of the New Additions to Omega-Term: Editing: Whenever a line is being edited, such as with a filename in the filenames option of the Parameters Menu, you have full editing capabilities. Ins turns insert on/off, del deletes a character, backspaces backspaces over a char- acter, F1 clears the current entry, F2 calls up the last entry, F10 quits. Also, the arrow keys are allowed. File System: The File System now displays the current drive and path. Also, you will if you for instance, rename a file, you will be told that the file has been renamed.