package for any NEXTSTEP system, including complete
DEC VT220 and Tektronix 4010/4014 terminal emulation,
as well as standard file transfer protocols. It can be used
with various mainframe systems, and to replace Terminal.
Communicae is ideal whenever serial communications or
strict terminal emulation are required.
Using Communicae the First Time
To run Communicae, simply double-click on its icon anywhere you see it:
There will be some disk activity and the VT220 communication window will appear on your screen, along with the main Communicae menu. If you are using the default setup that came with your original Communicae disk, it will be titled "pty#" and you will see the shell prompt for your own NeXT computer, as if you had logged in via a terminal. You are now running Communicae!
You should see an almost-blank window. The window has the usual resize bar at its bottom edge, as well as a scroll bar on the left, for looking at your previous
communication, and hide and close boxes in the title bar at the top of the window.
If you want to test Communicae's VT220 features, pick the "Demo VT220" menu item, and if you want to test its graphics features, pick "Demo Tektronix".
To print a product brochure, pick "Brochure" from the "Print" menu.
Demo Version
This version of Communicae is for demonstration purposes only. It will run for ten minutes or fifteen thousand characters, whichever comes first. Inbound file transfers will not be written to disk. To obtain a full working version, contact your local dealer or Active Ingredients, Inc., 222 Third Street Suite #0174, Cambridge, MA. 02142 If you need further information, please call (617)576-2000, FAX (617)861-8967, or send electronic mail to info@active.com.
If you wish to install Communicae on your hard disk, copy the application into your home "Apps" directory, "~/Apps". Setup and tutorial files for the demonstration are contained in subdirectories inside the application for ease of transport, but these are normally placed anywhere on your system. If you have a specific task for which you wish to test Communicae's terminal emulation, you may find these pre-built setups helpful as a starting point.
If you prefer to have a step-by-step introduction to Communicae, continue on to...
Initial Set Up
In the corner of the screen, you should see Communicae's Main Menu. To pick any of the choices on the menu just click on it. If the item you want is on a sub-menu (a rightward-pointing arrow appears to indicate sub-menus) click on the sub-menu name first, then click on the item you want once the sub-menu appears. Like all applications on the NeXT computer, you can "tear off" sub-menus and place them wherever you like on the screen.
Alternatively, you can press the right mouse button to bring up a pop-up menu when your mouse is over any Communicae window. To pick any of the choices on the menu, just drag down onto it so it is highlighted, and then release the right mouse button. If the item you want is on a sub-menu, you can drag to the right, into the submenu, while still holding down the right mouse button. If you do not wish to select an item from the menu, drag the mouse back to the left until the sub-menu goes away or no item is highlighted, then release the button.
First, type a few carriage-returns. You'll see your local machine's Unix shell prompt, and you can run any text editor, database, or other application you like. If you know your way around the Unix shell, this is the best way to experiment. You can also use "telnet" or "rlogin" to connect to another system elsewhere on your network and log in there.
If you prefer, you can attempt to connect to a modem or other device via the serial port on the back of your NeXT system. (Using the "tty" devices can sometimes take a Unix expert to unravel the system software, but if you have an unmodified, "fresh-out-of-the-box" NeXT system, you'll be able to use the serial port with no trouble.) That's what we're going to do now.
First, tell Communicae that you want to communicate with a remote host computer instead of your own local NeXT computer. Choose the "Setup" item from the Main Menu, and the "Host/Port" item from the sub-menu. Now you should see the Host/Port "panel", in which you answer its various questions (or choose from among the listed available answers). Let's select the correct type of connection: simply click on the"port" button you see in the first line, to tell Communicae to use one of the "serial ports" on the back of your computer. This port is attached to the circuitry inside your computer used to talk to the modem or host computer.
Now that we have said that we're communicating over a serial port, we must determine which of the serial connectors your modem or host computer is attached to: Click and hold the button at the right edge of the "Port" item in the second half of the panel. Drag down to either the "cua" or "cub" items in the pop-up menu, and release the mouse. (You could, if you prefer, simply type the name into the field.)
Next, set the transmission speed (often called the "baud rate") used by your host computer. This is the speed at which the data is sent between two devices, measured in bits per second. If the machines on both ends of the communication line do not run at the same speed, they will not be able to communicate. Because host computer communication speeds are usually fixed in advance, it is up to you to match whatever speed your host is running at. If you are connecting to another personal computer, you need to agree on a communication speed with the person sitting at the other machine. (Usually this agreed-upon speed is dictated by the maximum speed of the modems you
are using, or, in the case of a direct connection, the quality and length of the data cable.)
Determine the proper communication speed and click on that one of the group of available speeds listed in the "Transmission speed" item. If you are directly connected by a wire to your host computer, it will probably be 9600, 19200, or 38400. Since telephone lines cannot handle as high data rates, if you have a modem the speed will often be 2400, or perhaps 9600.
Finally, exit from the panel, by clicking on the OK button or pressing Return.
You've just seen how panel items work -- either you click on the appropriate choice from among a group of options, or you type in the appropriate word, name, or other string as the answer.
(Note: If you have received an error box from Communicae as a result of clicking OK in the Host/Port panel, this usually means that the serial port which you have chosen is already in use by another program, or has been set to be unavailable to users. Perhaps you have chosen the wrong serial port to talk to? OK the error box to get rid of it, return to the Host/Port panel, and try a different port. If the error message persists, you must examine the full installation instructions and your system configuration to pinpoint the error. The most common method for making dialup ports available to all users is to log in as "root", and issue the Unix command "chmod 666 /dev/cu*". For now, you can continue with this introduction, but you will be unable to send any data to your modem or host computer.)
Connecting to a Host Computer
For the rest of this introduction, we'll assume that you are working with a modem, and are dialing up the host computer over telephone lines. Make sure that your modem is attached to your computer with the proper cable. Also make sure that the modem itself is connected to the phone line.
Modern modems usually respond to sequences of characters which you type to get the modem to dial the phone number for you. For instance, the Hayes Smartmodems require you to type "ATD" followed by the phone number. You can type these dialing commands right on your keyboard when running Communicae. In addition, Communicae may be programmed to automatically send these sequences so that you don't have to remember them. See the full manual for more details.
If you have a Hayes or compatible modem, Communicae has already been set up to dial the phone automatically. Hold down the Command key and press the "d" key. (Throughout the rest of this manual we will just say "Press Command+D".) You will be asked for a phone number; type it in. Place a comma in the number anywhere a pause in dialing should occur (such as after the 9 used to get an outside line on office phones). Press Return to start the call. You will hear the modem dialing and the computer (if there is one) answer on the other end. When the modem determines that there is a "carrier" (a tone used to transmit the data over the phone), it will shut off its speaker and report on your screen that the connection is made.
If you have a different type of modem, Communicae can be reprogrammed to dial the phone for it instead. For now, it is probably simplest to get your modem manual and look up the instructions for making it dial. Or, if possible, place the call using a regular phone attached to the same phone line.
If all goes well, you will shortly see your host computer's sign-on message. Follow any directions you may have to get that message from the host. (You might have to hit the Return key once or twice to get started on some machines.) If you don't see the sign-on message, examine your modem to see if the light labelled "carrier detect" (or"CD" or "CXR") is on. (Refer to your modem and computer system manuals for more help and information.) If this light is on, and you still don't get any text displayed on the screen, refer to the troubleshooting Appendix in the manual. (The most common problem is choosing the wrong communication speed or port -- you may wish to run through the steps we did before to make sure that the port and speed are what you want them to be.) If the carrier light is not on, try re-dialing the machine. If all else fails, ask someone who is familiar with your host computer for help in getting attached to it.
Now follow the standard log-in procedure for your host computer, using your NEXTSTEP computer as you would a terminal.
Saving the Setup
Once you have successfully gotten Communicae to talk to your host computer, you will want to record on disk the settings of the menu items so you will not have to reset them the next time you run Communicae.
To do this, select "Setup" from the Main Menu, and then "Save Setup" from the Setup sub-menu.
Communicae will ask for a file name. Press the Return key now, causing it to use the default file name. The disk will operate for a moment while the settings are saved, then you will be returned to the communication screen. If you now exit Communicae and run it again, the communication speed and other panel selections will be set up exactly as they are now. (Even the phone number you typed can be remembered. If you want, you can set Communicae to automatically dial the phone when it starts up. This is explained in the manual.
Leaving Communicae
Before leaving Communicae, you should first sign off of the host computer. Type the commands needed to tell the host computer that you want to log off, wait for them to complete, then hang up the phone. (On modems directly wired to the phone jack, logging
off your host computer or turning off your modem will usually "hang up" the phone. If your computer is directly wired to the host computer, you don't need to do anything about hanging up.)
To exit from the Communicae program, just press Command+Q, or choose "Quit" from the Main Menu. If you did not save your setup and you made changes to it, you will see a panel pop up asking you if you really want to quit. Just click on the OK button to exit, or the Cancel button if you want to remain in the program.
You are now ready to use Communicae for your computer communications -- even without having read the rest of the manual. The full manual describes in detail the features and functions of Communicae, and how to use its menus to control them.
Other Setup Files
The setup files which come with Communicae are pre-configured with auto-logon and keypad features to allow the easier use of several types of applications or host computers. For this demo, these setup files are located inside the communicae.app directory, in a subdirectory called "DemoFiles". (Normally such files can be located anywhere on your Unix path, and can be double-clicked on directly, just as if they were a Communicae "document" you were opening.) The included files demonstrate:
default.cae Runs a shell to the local host
emacs.cae Launches the Emacs text editor, and
sets up appropriate key bindings, a
large terminal size, and allows "dragging"
files into the window to automatically
find them in the editor.
mci.cae Attempts to dial MCI Mail on port A.
pty.cae Runs a shell to the local host.
ttya.cae Connects to serial port A.
ttyb.cae Connects to serial port B.
vi.cae Launches the Vi text editor, sets up a
few appropriate key bindings, and allows
"dragging" files into the editor.
vt220.cae Loads VT220 function and arrow key setup, and
displays "visual key pad" for special VT220 keys.
bc.cae Runs "bc" in a small window with a big font.
3270.cae Works with IBM mainframe protocol converters
like the Series/1 and 7171 3270-to-VT100 converter.
tn3270.cae Works with the IBM mainframe protocol built into
the Unix "tn3270" program.
communicae-mouse.el
GNU Emacs Lisp code to support mouse click cursor
positioning.
DEC and VT 220 are registered trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation.
