Magnum One

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Magnum One / Magnum One (Mid-American Digital) (Disc Manufacturing).iso / d7 / commo50.arc / MACRO.DOC < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1991-09-06 | 110.5 KB | 3,268 lines

____________ {COMMO} (tm) ____________ "A New Standard in Telecommunications" by Fred P. Brucker Post Office Box 9103 Santa Rosa, CA 95405 Macro Programming Guide Release 5.0 August 28, 1991 This program and associated documentation are the property of the author and may not be sold without permission. They may be freely distributed, unaltered and as a unit, via electronic bulletin board systems. Permission to distribute on diskette or in any other manner must be obtained in writing. See the file LICENSES for additional licensing and distribution details. The author does not guarantee this program to be free from defects and may not be held responsible for loss caused by such. Your use of this program constitutes your acceptance of these terms. (C)Copyright 1989,1991 Fred P. Brucker All Rights Reserved {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page ii ======================== Registration Information ======================== {COMMO} is not a public domain program and is not free. It is classified as "SHAREWARE." What this means is that you may use the program for 30 days to determine its suitability to your application. If after that time you decide to continue using {COMMO} you must pay the registration fee. {COMMO} is a unique program and represents many thousands of hours of work. A lot of functionality has been compressed into a small package, and more features are being added on a continuing basis. If you find {COMMO} useful and enjoyable, you can help support future improvements by registering your copy. A single-user license is $35.00. A {COMMO} diskette will be provided for a $5.00 handling fee (specify current or next release, 5.25" or 3.5") . Send cash, check or money order (US funds) to the address below. Details and a multi-user (site) license fee schedule are provided in the file REGISTER.FRM. See also the enclosed file LICENSES for complete licensing, distribution and copyright information. My (voice) telephone number for inquiries and support for registered users is (707) 573-1065. Please restrict calls to business hours (Pacific time). Thank you, and I hope you enjoy {COMMO}. Fred P. Brucker P.O. Box 9103 Santa Rosa, CA 95405 {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page iii ======== Contents ======== Programming {COMMO} Macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Macro Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Macro Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Macro Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Macro Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 How to Use Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Reserved Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Executing Macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Additional Macro Execution Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Cancelling a Macro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Description of Functions (Alphabetical) . . . . . . . . . . . 9 ABAUd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 ALARm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 ASCIiup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 AUTO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 BEEP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 BREAk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 CALL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 CAPMode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 CAPTure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 CHATmode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 CLEAr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 COMPare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 CURSor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 DECRement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 DIAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 DISPlay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 DOORway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 DPARms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 EDIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 ELAPse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 EXECute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Using the Direct Switch: exec-D . . . . . . . . . . 20 EXECute Preview Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 EXIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 GETString . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 GOLOok . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 GOTO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 HANGup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 HELP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 HFLOw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 HOLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 IFCArrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 IFCOndition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 IFERrorlevel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 IFEXist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page iv INCRement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 INITmodem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 INPUt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 INSTring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 LENGth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 LIGHts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 LOCAlecho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 LOOKfor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 MACLoad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 MACRo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 MARK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 NOOP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 PARMs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 PASSword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 PAUSe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 POPStack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 PRINtlog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 PUSHstack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 RCLOse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 READ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 RETUrn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 ROPEn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 RXMOdem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 SCREen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 SCROllback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 SEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 SETEsc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 SETGet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 SETLook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 SETVariable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 SHELl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 SFLOw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 SOUNd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 SPOCtrl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 STATusline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 STOP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 SUBString . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 SXMOdem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 TOGGles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 UNMArk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 VTCUr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 VTPAd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 WCLOse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 WOPEn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 WRITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Appendix A Table of {COMMO} Key-labels . . . . . . . . . . 50 Enhanced Keyboard Key-labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Appendix B Macro Functions Listed by Class . . . . . . . . 52 {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 1 ========================== Programming {COMMO} Macros ========================== IMPORTANT! Please read the next few pages before you attempt to write any macros! The rules for writing {COMMO} macros are few in number, but must be followed carefully. Examples of more complex macro programming are given in the sample Macro File COMMO.MAC, in the supplied file MACROS.TXT and in the various Host and Guide macros. The following sections assume familiarity with {COMMO}'s key commands and with other features of the program. Since many macro functions have corresponding key commands, duplicate explanations will not be given here. Refer to the description of the key command in COMMO.DOC. {COMMO}'s Macro File may contain any number of macros. The only size limitation on the file is that the Dialing Directory and Macro File combined must total 64k bytes or less. Alternate Macro Files may be loaded using the MACLoad function (the original file is replaced and may be reloaded at a later time). Only macros within the currently loaded Macro File are available for use. Macros added using the Internal Editor are available immediately. Macro Structure =============== Macros consist of a series of items enclosed in curly braces. Items may be placed on the same line or on as many lines as desired. The file is entirely free-form. Lines may be up to 255 characters in length and all text outside the curly braces is ignored. There are two types of items: "functions" and "labels." Functions are action items that perform operations. Some are equivalent to {COMMO} key commands, such as DIAL, while others are unique to the macro language. Labels are macro entry points and may be placed anywhere within a macro. Macro Functions =============== All macro functions are described in detail later in this document. See also Appendix B "Macro Functions Listed by Class." {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 2 The general form of any macro function is: {name-switches arg1,arg2,...,argn} name The function name describes the operation to be performed and consists of four or more characters. Only the first four are significant and case is ignored. switches These are used to alter the operation of a function. Each switch is a single letter and may have a "1" or "0" appended to indicate "yes" or "no" respectively. The default (switch not present) may be either 1 or 0 depending on the function. Switches must be separated from the name with a hyphen and have no intervening spaces. They may be upper or lower case. See individual function descriptions for details (note that only certain functions have switches). args Arguments follow the function name and switches separated by a SINGLE SPACE. Individual arguments are separated with commas and may contain no extraneous spaces (all spaces are significant). NOTE: Curly braces may be represented within macro functions by using ^( for { and ^) for }. Examples: {send Hi, how are you?} This function sends the string "Hi, how are you?" to the modem. SEND has only one argument -- the string to send out. Since the string is the last argument, it may contain commas and spaces. Quotes are not used to define strings. {ifcon-LE label1,label2} The IFCOndition function tests for conditions set by other functions, such as COMPare. Here two switches are present, telling {COMMO} to test for less than or equal: L Test for "less than." E Test for "equal." The two arguments are labels to GOTO depending on the conditions. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 3 Notice that "name-switches" may be written in a number of different ways: ifco-LE ifcondition-EL ifcond-LE {asci-S0E1 pathname} The ASCII Upload function here will send the file indicated by "pathname." The switches override current settings and tell {COMMO}: S0 Do NOT strip linefeeds. E1 DO expand blank lines (may also be written "E"). {sound} {sound yes} The first function will TOGGLE Master Sound ON/OFF (since there is no argument). The second will turn the sound ON. One very important function is the STOP function. It is used to terminate macro processing and may appear in either its long form or short form: ... {stop} long form ... {} short form Macro processing continues until a STOP function is executed. Be sure to use one or processing will continue into the next macro! Macro Labels ============ Labels are identifiers consisting of one or more characters. When a label is defined, it must be preceded by a colon. References to labels, such as {goto label}, do not require the colon. Only the first eight characters in a label are significant. Case is ignored. All characters are allowed in labels except the following: colon ":" space " " comma "," slash "/" curly braces "{" or "}" Examples: {:mailrun} {call login} ... {:start-here} {:another.entry} {send Begin now!} ... {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 4 A number of three character labels are reserved and are called "key- labels." When the corresponding key is pressed from the Terminal Screen, {COMMO} will look for the key-label in the current Macro File. If the key-label is found, macro processing will begin at that location. Any default key assignment may be overridden using a key-label. For example, pressing Alt-D normally enters the Dialing Directory. But suppose this line is in the Macro File: {:ald} {clear} {} Now pressing Alt-D will clear the screen. See the Appendix A "Table of {COMMO} Key-labels" for a complete list of keys that may be assigned. Macro Variables =============== {COMMO} maintains a String Variable Space in which variables appear in the form: name,string name An identifier consisting of one or more characters of which only the first eight are significant. Case is ignored. The following are the only valid characters that my be used in a variable name: "A" through "Z" "a" through "z" "0" through "9" "_" underline. All other characters will terminate the name. string A text string. The string must not contain any control characters below ASCII 28. It may be null (0 characters). Strings consisting of only the digits 0-9 and representing a decimal number from 0 to 65535 are also numeric variables (there is no other difference between string and numeric variables). The maximum length of strings is 240 characters. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 5 The String Variable Space may be viewed from within the Macro Processor window by pressing "V". The amount of unused string space is shown at the bottom of the screen. Once a variable is defined, it remains in String Variable Space until it is redefined or deleted (set to null). Therefore variables should be deleted or re-used to prevent String Variable Space from becoming full. How to Use Variables ==================== {COMMO} variables may be used in macro functions and also in the telephone number field of the Dialing Directory. See "Alt-D Dialing Directory" in COMMO.DOC for this latter usage. When a variable name appears within a function, the string assigned to the name is substituted for the name. If the variable is null, then the name is replaced with 0 characters. {COMMO} will expand the variables in a function before processing it. In order to distinguish variable names, they must be preceded with a percent sign "%" (use two percent signs if a percent sign is needed in the data). The end of the variable name is indicated with another "%" or with the first character that is not allowed in a name (see above). A variable definition example: {setvar animal,Elephant} or {setvar %animal,Elephant} Notice that the "%" is not required (but is permitted) when the variable name is the first argument of a function that defines, modifies or tests the value of a variable. Other such functions include INPUt, GETString, INCRement, DECRement, COMPare, SUBString, INSTring, READ. If the variable name in this situation needs to be a variable, then use two percent signs: {setv %%animal,Elephant} Variable usage examples: {setvar animal,Elephant} {send %animal} Sends "Elephant" to the modem. {send animal} Sends "animal". {send %animal%s are large animals} {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 6 Sends "Elephants are large animals". Note that the trailing "%" is required here. {setvar animal,Elephant} {setv creature,animal} {send creature} Sends "creature". {send %creature} Sends "animal". {setv %%creature,Giraffe} {send %animal} Sends "Giraffe". IMPORTANT: Variables may NOT be substituted within the function name or switches. They may be substituted anywhere else, even for the commas separating arguments. Reserved Variables ================== Certain variables have fixed names so that {COMMO} can find them whenever they are needed. You must define some of these to enable special program features. Others are defined by {COMMO} based on operating conditions. Reserved variable names begin with an underline character "_" to distinguish them from ordinary variables. If you define a variable using a reserved name, it will override the original reserved variable. Variables such as "_hom" are defined by {COMMO} only at startup and will therefore be lost for the session. Here is a list of reserved variables that are entered in String Variable Space: _modini Modem Initialization String _dialpf Default Dialing Prefix _dialsf Default Dialing Suffix _dialsr Dialing Success responses _dialfr Dialing Failure responses _uselog Pathname of Usage Log Here is a list of "built-in" variables that do not appear in String Variable Space: _hom {COMMO} home directory: c:\commo\, etc. _set Filename of Setup File _fon Filename of Dialing Directory _mac Filename of default Macro File _cap Current Capture File pathname _scr Current Screen Image File pathname {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 7 _err Errorlevel from last EXEC-D, RXMOdem or SXMOdem _pos Position in string _len Length of string _por Current serial port number: 1, 2, etc. _spe Current serial port speed: 2400, 9600, etc. _mod Last speed reported by modem _pas Current Password String _ela Elapsed time in minutes _dat Full date, mm/dd/yy _mon Month, mm _day Day of the month, dd _yea Year, yy _tim Full time, hh:mm xm (am or pm) _24h 24 hour, hh _12h 12 hour, hh _amp Am/pm indicator, xm _min Minute, mm _sec Second, ss Any variable that starts with the same four characters as a built-in variable will be considered the same variable. For example "_pas" may be written "_password" and "_yea" may be written "_year". NOTE: Any attempt to set a built-in variable will make an entry in variable space, thus effectively redefining it (it's built-in value will not be available until this entry is defined as null). Executing Macros ================ Macro execution may be started in any of the following ways: 1) Open the Macro Processor window by pressing Alt-M. Position the Selector Bar at the desired starting point and press [Enter]. The Macro Processor will begin processing at the first macro label or function on the line. NOTE: Macros started with the Selector Bar do not need macro labels and may be started at any point within the macro. 2) If a macro label is also a key-label, then you may press that key from the Terminal Screen. Note that if the same key-label appears more than once, the first occurrence will be used. 3) A macro may be linked to a Dialing Directory entry. In this case {COMMO} will GOTO the macro when a connection is established with that system (or optionally CALL it, see the DIAL function). 4) A macro to run when {COMMO} is started may be specified in the Setup File using the "{mac=label}" item. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 8 5) A macro to run when {COMMO} is started may be specified on the command line with the switch "/:label". This will override the Setup File macro. 6) A macro may be an argument of another function such as CALL, GOTO, DIAL or SETLook (these are detailed in a later section). Some macro functions show their current action on the status line at the bottom of the screen. In addition, a "face" character in the middle of the status line indicates that a macro is executing. Additional Macro Execution Rules ================================ ASCII keys may be typed to the serial port during LOOKfor, GETString, PAUSe and HOLD functions. The Macro Processor will execute functions in order until one of the following conditions occurs: 1) A CALL, GOTO, RETURn, STOP, EXIT, etc. is encountered. 2) Control is transferred to an alternate macro from certain functions when a special condition occurs. An example of this is the SETLook function. The alternate will execute when a subsequent LOOKfor times out. 3) A macro error occurs. This will bring up the Macro Processor window with the Selector Bar on the problem line. The macro is terminated. 4) The end of the Macro File is reached. Cancelling a Macro ================== The [Esc] key is used to terminate macro processing. To send an <esc> code to the remote (ASCII 27) during macro execution, press Ctrl-[ (Ctrl + left bracket). Current function execution may be terminated by pressing [Ctrl-Break]. For example, this can be used to terminate a LOOKfor, PAUSe or HOLD prematurely. Macro processing will advance to the next function. If a macro contains a function that brings up a {COMMO} window (Dialing Directory, Capture File Options, etc.), then [Esc] will exit the window and processing continues with the next function. To terminate macro processing from a window, press [Ctrl-Break]. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 9 NOTE: The SETEsc function may be used to prevent premature termination of macros. ======================================= Description of Functions (Alphabetical) ======================================= The purpose of this section is to show the syntax of each function and the meaning of its arguments through examples. All functions are listed here, but details on functions which are also default key commands are found in COMMO.DOC under "{COMMO} Key Commands." Function names are shown with their four-letter abbreviations in uppercase. For consistency, the following conventions are used in many functions: "y" or "yes" is used to indicate "yes", "on", "open", etc. "n" or "no" is used to indicate "no", "off", "close", etc. ABAUd ----- Default key: none Description: Set AutoBaud toggle. Examples: {abaud} Toggle AutoBaud on/off {abaud y} Turn on AutoBaud {abaud n} Turn off AutoBaud ALARm ----- Default key: none Description: Ring the alarm. Examples: {alarm} Ring alarm, use ring count in Setup File. {alarm 2} Ring alarm 2 times. {COMMO} will wait until the alarm has stopped ringing before proceeding to the next macro function (the alarm may be terminated early by pressing a key). {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 10 ASCIiup ------- Default key: Alt-A Description: Upload an ASCII (text) file. General form: {ASCIiup pathname[\],pace} pathname The complete path and filename (if the path is absent, the current directory will be used). If a "\" is placed at the end of the pathname, the path will appear as a prompt in the ASCII Upload window. pace The pacing character to be used. Switches: E1 or E Expand blank lines. A space will be sent when a zero-character line is encountered. E0 Do not expand blank lines. S1 or S Strip linefeeds from outgoing text. S0 Do not strip linefeeds. If a switch is absent, the current setting of the toggle will be used. The toggles can be set in the Setup File or by using the Alt-T key command. Switches apply to the current function only and do not affect the setting of the toggles. Examples: {asci} Open ASCII Upload window. {asci-S} Open ASCII Upload window, strip linefeeds when file is sent. {asci %uldir%\} Open ASCII Upload window, prompt with the current value of the variable "uldir". {asci c:\msgs\file.xyz,:} Upload "file.xyz." Use ":" for pacing. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 11 {asci-E0 c:\msgs\file.xyz} Same, but use current pacing character, do not expand blank lines. {asci c:\msgs\file.xyz,} Same, but no pacing. {asci ,?} Set current pacing character to "?" {asci ,} Set current pacing to "no" pacing. The pacing character may be entered according to the rules in Appendix D "ASCII Character Representation." For example, "^m" or "|" may be used to represent the carriage return. AUTO ---- Default key: none Description: Maintain Auto Receive strings. General form: {AUTO label,string} label Label to GOTO when the string is received. string String to look for, may be up to 32 characters. Examples: {auto} Clear all Auto Receive strings. {auto zmodem,^XB00} Zmodem Auto Receive string. Note that only 8 Auto Receive strings may be in effect at the same time (including any strings defined in the Setup File). Use this function with no arguments to clear all strings when necessary. BEEP ---- Default key: none Description: Sound a beep. Example: {beep} No arguments. BREAk ----- Default key: Alt-B Description: Send a break. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 12 Example: {break} No arguments. CALL ---- Default key: none Description: Execute another macro. Example: {call abc} Execute macro abc. If the macro "abc" executes a RETUrn function, then control returns to the function following the CALL. Note that macros may be nested up to 32 deep. See also RETUrn, PUSHstack, POPStack. CAPMode ------- Default key: none Description: Set Capture Mode. Examples: {capmode screen} Set Capture Mode to SCREEN. {capmode filter} Set Capture Mode to FILTER. {capmode raw} Set Capture Mode to RAW. CAPTure ------- Default key: Alt-1 Description: Capture File Options. Examples: {capture} Open Capture File Options window. {capture y} Open current Capture File. {capture n} Close current Capture File. {capt y,c:\commo\file.xyz} Open indicated Capture File. {capt n,c:\dl\newfile.cap} Close current Capture File, set new file as indicated. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 13 NOTE: The current Capture File will always be closed when a new file is opened. See also CAPMode. CHATmode -------- Default key: Alt-- (Alt minus) Description: Set Chat Mode toggle. Examples: {chat} Toggle Chat Mode on/off. {chat y} Turn on Chat Mode. {chat n} Turn off Chat Mode. CLEAr ----- Default key: Alt-C Description: Clear Terminal Screen to default colors. Example: {clear} No arguments. COMPare ------- Default key: none Description: Compare a string or numeric variable. General form: {COMPare name,string} name The name of a variable. string A string of ASCII characters. Examples: {comp pword,aardvark} Test if the variable "pword" is set to "aardvark." {comp pword} Test if "pword" is null. {comp pword,} Test if "pword" is null. {comp nmbr,5} Compare a numeric variable. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 14 {comp abc,%xyz} Test if the variable "abc" is equal to the variable "xyz." A numeric variable is a string of ASCII digits, 0-9, forming a positive integer in the range from 0 to 65535. If the number is outside this range or contains non-numeric characters, the results of the compare will be unpredictable. COMPare will set flags which can be tested with the IFCOndition function. The Condition Flag will be set to "true" if the two arguments are identical strings (case is ignored). Otherwise it will be set to "false." The Numeric Flag will be set to "equal", "less than" or "greater than." This flag is unpredictable unless both arguments are valid numerics. A variable may be tested for being null (no entry in variable space) by omitting the second argument (or by comparing to a null variable). See also IFCOndition. CURSor ------ Default key: none Description: Terminal Screen cursor on/off. Examples: {cursor} Toggle Terminal cursor on/off. {curs y} Turn on Terminal Screen cursor. {curs n} Turn off Terminal Screen cursor. DECRement --------- Default keys: none Description: Subtract an amount from a numeric variable. Examples: {decr number,200} Subtract 200 from "number". {decr count} Subtract 1 from the variable "count". Numeric variables and the amounts to be subtracted may range from 0 to 65535. The default amount is 1. Results less than 0 will be set to 0. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 15 If the variable is not numeric, the results will be unpredictable. See also INCRement. DIAL ---- Default keys: Alt-D, Alt-U Description: Dialing Directory. General form: {DIAL tries,label} tries The maximum number of dialing tries. If no connection is established when the try count is exhausted, the macro in the second argument will be started. May be 0 to 999. "0" means unlimited. Default is 0. label A macro to GOTO if the try count in the first argument is exhausted. If no macro is specified or if the macro label is invalid, control will pass to the next function. Default is none. Switches: C1 or C Specifies that a Linked Macro (from the Dialing Directory) will be entered via CALL (instead of GOTO). When the Linked Macro executes a RETUrn, control returns to the DIAL function and Multi Number Dialing will resume (see below). C0 Enter the Linked Macro via GOTO (default). Examples: {dial} Open Dialing Directory window (like Alt-D). {dial ,} Multi Number Dial (like Alt-N). {dial 25,abc} Multi Number Dial with try count. {dial-C ,} Multi Number Dial, CALL Linked Macros. Marked numbers will be redialed in sequence. Numbers may be marked in one of several ways: 1) Manually in the Dialing Directory window. 2) By placing Dialing Strings on the {COMMO} command line. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 16 3) Using the MARK macro function. If a connection occurs and a valid Linked Macro is specified in the Dialing Directory, the macro will be started (via GOTO unless the "C" switch is present). If no macro is specified in the Dialing Directory, control is passed to the next function. To automatically resume Multi Number Dialing at the end of a Linked Macro, use one of the following methods. 1) Execute the following sequence at the end of each Linked Macro (or GOTO it): ... {setlook 60} {lookfor ^jNO CARRIER^m} {dial ,} {} This allows more than one system to be called without operator intervention. This method will also work when using Dialing Strings on the command line or when pressing Alt-U after marking systems for dialing. 2) Use the "C" switch in the DIAL function. Each Linked Macro should end with a RETUrn which will transfer control back to the DIAL. When all numbers have been called, the DIAL will pass control to the next function in sequence. See also: MARK, UNMArk. DISPlay ------- Default key: none Description: Display a string to the screen. General form: {DISPlay row,col,attr,string} row The row where the string will display. col The column where the string will display. attr The attribute (colors) of the string. string The text of the string (no quotes). Examples: {display 12,20,17,Hello!} Display "Hello!" at row 12, column 20. Colors are white on blue. {disp ,,,Hello, again.^m^j} Display "Hello, again." at the current cursor using the current attribute, followed by a cr/lf. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 17 {disp 3,40} Position the cursor at row 3, column 40. The attribute is specified in the same manner as the colors in the Setup File (press F10 in the Internal Editor to display the Color Chart). Setting background colors to high intensity values will cause blinking (for example, using "9" instead of "1" will still give a blue background but the foreground character will blink). After the string is displayed, the previous Terminal Screen attribute will be restored. Note that translation is performed on the string according to the rules in Appendix D. DOORway ------- Default key: Alt-= Description: Toggle Doorway Mode. Switches: S1 or S Status Line on when entering Doorway Mode. S0 Status Line off (default). M0 Do not display Doorway enter/exit messages. M1 Display enter/exit messages (default). Examples: {doorway} Toggle Doorway Mode on/off. {door-S} Status Line on when entering Doorway Mode. {doorway-M0} Do not display enter/exit messages. The "S" switch is ignored when exiting Doorway Mode (the Status Line will be restored to its prior state). DPARms ----- Default key: Alt-P Description: Set Dialing Default Terminal Parameters General form: {DPARms speed,format,comport,terminal-type,delay} {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 18 speed The bps rate: 2400, 9600, etc. format The data format: 8n1, 7e1, etc. comport The serial port number: 1, 2, 3 or 4. terminal The terminal-type: A, V or T. delay The inter-character delay factor: 0-999. Examples: {dparms 2400,8,1,,20} Set 2400 bps, 8n1, Com1, delay = 20. {dparms ,,4,V} Set Com4 VT102. {dparms 19200,7o1} Set 19200 bps, 7o1. Note that omitted parameters are not changed. See also PARMs. EDIT ---- Default key: none Description: Edit an external file. Example: {edit c:\autoexec.bat} Edit AUTOEXEC.BAT file. EDIT may be used to edit any text file up to 64k in length. The rules are the same as for editing a support file with the Internal Editor. Be aware of the following: 1) Control characters (below ASCII 28) may not be typed. 2) Blank lines at the end of the file and end-of-file marks will be removed prior to editing. 3) The file will be "saved in place" (no backup) when Alt-F or Esc is pressed. ELAPse ------ Default key: none Description: Reset the elapsed timer to 0 minutes. Example: {elap} No arguments. The elapsed timer is automatically reset whenever dialing begins and when a connection is made with a remote system. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 19 EXECute ------- Default key: none Description: Execute a DOS command. Switches: A1 or A Sound the alarm at the end of command execution. A0 Do not sound the alarm (default). D1 or D Execute an external program directly, without use of the command processor (see details below). D0 Use the command processor (default). N1 or N Do not clear the screen before execution. This is useful when running programs that clear or rewrite the screen. Also for simple DOS functions like changing directories, renaming files, etc. N0 Clear the screen (default). W1 or W Wait (pause) before restoring the Terminal Screen. This is useful if you need to see the results of the command execution. W0 Do not wait (default). Examples: {exec-AW dsz port %_por speed %_spe sz %uldir%\%file} {COMMO} will prepare the DSZ command by expanding the "%" variables, then call DOS to execute the program. See the section "Macro Variables" for complete details on variable substitution. The alarm will sound at completion (the "A" switch) and {COMMO} will wait for a keypress (the "W" switch) before restoring the Terminal Screen. {execute-DN c:\utils\list.com %_cap} The LIST program will be directly executed with the current Capture File pathname as a command line argument. The screen will not be cleared (LIST will rewrite the screen). {COMMO} will return immediately to the Terminal Screen when LIST exits. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 20 The EXECute function enables you to "build" a command to be executed by DOS. The DOS command processor (COMMAND.COM) is normally used (see below), which implies that you may specify any command as you would type it from the DOS prompt. Thus you can execute batch files and internal DOS commands (REN, DEL, etc.). Also you can omit command paths and extensions (if the command is in your PATH or in the current directory). Character translation is performed in the EXECute function. This enables you to specify control characters. For example: {exec echo ^L> prn} Send a formfeed to the printer See Appendix D for details on translation. Note that the vertical bar "|" is not translated to a carriage return in an EXECute function. Using the Direct Switch: exec-D ------------------------------- Use this switch to execute .EXE and .COM programs without the use of the command processor (COMMAND.COM, usually). The program's Exit Code (called ERRORLEVEL in batch files) is saved and may be tested with the IFERrorlevel function. The Exit Code is also available in the variable "_err". There are several advantages to using the "D" switch: 1) Only the memory needed to run the program is required (the command processor requires that about 32k be available, even if the program being run is much smaller). 2) About 4k of memory is saved by not having a copy of the command processor resident when the program is running. 3) The program executes faster, since COMMAND.COM is not loaded from disk. 4) The program's Exit Code is preserved and may be tested with the {COMMO} IFERrorlevel function. Two important rules must be followed when using the "D" switch: 1) The full pathname of the program file must be specified, including the path where the file resides on disk and the file extension. For example: {exec-D c:\util\list.com file.txt} {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 21 2) Only .EXE and .COM files may be run (batch files and internal DOS commands cannot be executed without the command processor). EXECute Preview Mode -------------------- Use the Set Toggles key command, Alt-T, to turn on "EXECute Preview Mode." This mode is used to test your DOS commands and performs the following steps for each EXECute function: 1) The command will be displayed after expanding variables and translating control characters. 2) You will be given an opportunity to cancel the command before it is executed. 3) {COMMO} will wait before restoring the Terminal Screen after execution. This lets you see any error messages the command may have displayed. EXIT ---- Default key: Alt-X Description: Exit {COMMO}. Switches: D1 or D Drop DTR and RTS. Dropping DTR will cause the modem to disconnect if it has been properly initialized. See Appendix A. D0 Do not drop DTR and RTS. If the switch is absent, the current setting of the toggle will be used. The toggle can be set in the Setup File or by using the Alt-T key command. Examples: {exit} No arguments (return code = 0). {exit 3} With return code. {exit-D} Drop DTR and RTS. The return code will be passed to DOS. It may be tested with the IF ERRORLEVEL batch command. Range is 0 to 255. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 22 GETString --------- Default key: none Description: Input a string from the modem to a variable. General form: {GETString name,count,label} name The name of the variable to which the string will be assigned. count The maximum number of data characters allowed. A carriage return will always terminate input. May be 1 to 240. Default is 240. label A macro to GOTO if a carriage return is received and no characters have been entered (the string will be assigned as null). If this argument is omitted, control will pass to the next function. Switches: H1 or H "Hotkey" mode. When the maximum number of characters has been entered, control will pass to the next function. H0 Ignore all input after the maximum has been entered, except backspace and carriage return (default). Example: {setget 60,timeout,y,^m^j} Set GETString parameters. {gets fonum,12,badinput} Get input to "fonum." TIPS on using GETString: > The only control characters allowed (below ASCII 28) are carriage return (ASCII 13) and backspace (ASCII 8). Other control characters should be entered as ^J for linefeed, etc. See Appendix D. > Destructive backspace processing is supported for editing purposes. > GETString supports "tandem" input. Characters entered at either end will be input to the string (and displayed at both ends if echo is on (see SETGet). Turn on Local Echo to see text locally that is sent to the remote with SEND, ASCIiup, etc. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 23 > Use the "H" switch and a character count of 1 for "hotkeys" or for password input as in this example: {local y} Local echo for SENDs {setv pword} Initialize to null {setg 120,error,n} No echo, no terminator resp. {send ^m^j^jPassword: } Prompt {:passloop} {gets-h temp,1,done} Single character "hot" input {setv pword,%pword%%temp} Concatenate each character {send .} Echo "dots" {goto passloop} Loop until <cr> entered {:done} {send ^m^j} cr/lf ... > Turn off echo in the SETGet while waiting for the modem to answer (in host mode). Some modems react poorly to characters being echoed when they are generating a response (such as "RING"). > Incoming characters displayed during a GETString function are not seen by subsequent GOLOok/LOOKfor functions. See also SETGet. GOLOok ------ Default key: none Description: Set a macro label to GOTO if a string comes in during a subsequent LOOKfor function. Example construct: {setlook 60,hng,3,n|} ... {:mac} {golook aaa,string1} {golook ,string2} {golook bbb,string3} {lookfor string4} {send answer4|} {goto ccc} {:aaa} {send answer1|} {goto mac} {:bbb} {call xyz} {goto mac} {:ccc} ... In this example {COMMO} will look for four strings. When any string comes in, the LOOKfor is terminated (all strings are cancelled). It may be set up again by going back to "mac." {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 24 The GOLOok functions for string1 and string3 will GOTO "aaa" or "bbb" respectively if one of the strings comes in. In the example control returns to "mac" and the four strings will continue to be looked for. The GOLOok for string2 has a null label and control will pass to the function following the LOOKfor if the string comes in. The "," must be present. If string4 comes in, control will also pass to the function following the LOOKfor. TIPS on using the GOLOok function: > GOLOok functions should immediately precede a LOOKfor (no string compares actually occur until the LOOKfor executes). Up to 15 GOLOoks may be used for a total of up to 16 strings to scan for. > If two or more strings cause a match at the same time, the LAST such string listed is the one acted upon. For example, when "abcdef" and "def" are listed and "abcdef" comes in. > Since the LOOKfor is terminated whenever any of the strings come in (or when the LOOKfor timeout expires), this structure is unrestricted -- that is, CALLs, GOTOs, other GOLOok/LOOKfor constructs, etc., may be used freely in any of the branches. > See the PUSHstack function for an example showing how to improve the structure of the GOLOok/LOOKfor sequence. See also "TIPS on creating LOOKfor strings" in the section describing the LOOKfor function. See also: LOOKfor, SETLook, PUSHstack, POPStack. GOTO ---- Default key: none Description: Transfer control to a macro label. Example: {goto x21} Control transferred to label "x21". HANGup ------ Default key: Alt-H Description: Disconnect by dropping DTR. Examples: {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 25 {hangup} Prompt user for disconnect. {hangup y} Disconnect without prompting. HELP ---- Default key: F1 Description: Open Online Help window. Example: {help} Display topic 00 {help 5} Display topic 05 Topic numbers may range from 00 to 99. You may create your own Online Help file. See "Modifying the Help File." HFLOw ----- Default key: none Description: Set Hardware Flow Control toggle. Examples: {hflow} Toggle Hardware Flow Control on/off. {hflow y} Turn on Hardware Flow Control. {hflow n} Turn off Hardware Flow Control. HOLD ---- Default key: none Description: Hold until specified time of day (24 hour format). Examples: {hold 3:30} Hold until 3:30 am. {hold 16:10} Hold until 4:10 pm. {hold 0:00} Hold until midnight. NOTE: Incoming characters displayed during a HOLD function are not seen by subsequent GOLOok/LOOKfor functions. IFCArrier --------- Default key: none Description: Test for presence of carrier detect signal. General form: {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 26 {IFCArrier true,false} true A label to GOTO if carrier is detected. false A label to GOTO if carrier is not detected. NOTE: The default when either label is omitted is to pass control to the next function. Example: {ifcarrier c10,c20} Tip on using IFCArrier: When using a loop to wait for a change in carrier detect, you should include a short pause in the loop if you want characters to display. The following sequence will display incoming characters while waiting for carrier detect to drop: ... {:cd1} {pause 1} {ifcarrier cd1} ... IFCOndition ----------- Default key: none Description: Test for conditions set by other functions. General form: {IFCOndition true,false} true A label to GOTO if the Condition Flag is true. false A label to GOTO if the Condition Flag is false. NOTE: The default when either label is omitted is to pass control to the next function. Switches: none Test the current state of the Condition Flag. E1 or E Test for numeric equality. A numeric string contains only the digits 0-9 and is in the range 0 to 65535. L1 or L Numeric test -- if first COMPare argument is less than the second. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 27 G1 or G Numeric test -- if first COMPare argument is greater than the second. Examples: {compare var1,message} Compare and set Condition Flag. {ifcondit match,nomatch} GOTO "match" if the variable "var1" is set to "message," to "nomatch" if it is not. {compare value,200} Compare and set conditions. {ifcon-GE toobig,aok} GOTO "toobig" if "value" is greater than or equal to 200, else GOTO "aok." {instring zipcode,90} Test if "zipcode" contains the {ifcon yes,no} digits "90". If "true" GOTO "yes", if "false" GOTO "no". Switches may be used in any combination. If any numeric switches are present, the Condition Flag is not tested. The difference between testing for string equality and numeric equality is shown in this example: The strings "05" and "5" are different text strings, but are numerically equal. IFERrorlevel ------------ Default key: none Description: Test the Exit Code set by certain functions. General form: {IFERrorlevel number,true,false} number A number from 0 to 255. It will be compared to the last Exit Code that was set. true A label to GOTO if the Exit Code is greater than or equal to "number." false A label to GOTO if the Exit Code is less than "number." NOTE: The default when either label is omitted is to pass control to the next function. Example: {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 28 {iferror 1,abc,def} GOTO "abc" if Exit Code is greater than or equal to 1. Else GOTO def. TIPS on using IFERrorlevel: > The Exit Code is set by certain functions (e.g., EXECute-D, SHELl, RXMOdem, SXMOdem) and should normally be tested immediately following execution of those functions. > EXECute without the "D" switch or Shell to DOS will normally set the Exit Code to 0. > Many programs return an Exit Code greater than 0 when the result is unsuccessful. DSZ, for example, will return an Exit Code of 1 if the file transfer has failed. > The value of the Exit Code is also stored in the string variable "_err" and may be tested with COMPare. IFEXist ------- Default key: none Description: Test for existence of a disk file or files. General form: {IFEXist pathname,true,false} pathname A DOS pathname. If the path is omitted, the current directory will be used. If wildcards are used the "true" condition will hold if any files match the specification. true A label to GOTO if the file exists. false A label to GOTO if no files match. NOTE: The default when either label is omitted is to pass control to the next function. Examples: {ifex a:file.xyz,,m20} GOTO "m20" if not found. {ifex c:\data\words.txt,345} GOTO "345" if found. {ifex c:\ul\*.rep,a01,a02} Using a wildcard. INCRement --------- Default keys: none Description: Add an amount to a numeric variable. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 29 Examples: {incr number,1234} Add 1234 to "number". {incr count} Add 1 to the variable "count". Numeric variables and the amounts to be subtracted may range from 0 to 65535. The default amount is 1. Results greater than 65535 will be set to 65535. If the variable is not numeric, the results will be unpredictable. See also INCRement. INITmodem --------- Default key: Alt-O Description: Send Modem Initialization String. Example: {init} No arguments INPUt ----- Default key: none Description: Input a string from the keyboard. General form: {INPUt name,prompt} name The name of a string variable. The current value of this variable will appear in the input line. prompt A prompt string that will appear in the input window border. Example: {input upfile,Enter a filename:} Input a string to the variable "upfile." If 0 data characters are entered, the variable will be set to null. NOTE: If Esc is pressed, macro processing will be terminated unless an exit label has been defined with SETEsc. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 30 INSTring -------- Default key: none Description: Find a string within a string, return its position. General form: {INSTring name,string} name The name of a variable (string to search in). string The string to search for. Example: {inst line,abc} The variable "line" is searched for the string "abc". INSTring will set the following: 1) The Condition Flag will be set to "true" if the string is found, to "false" if the string is not found. Test with IFCOndition, no switches. 2) The starting position of the string will be returned in the built-in variable "_pos" (first character is "1"). "_pos" will be set to zero if the string is not found. NOTE: INSTring does not work with built-in variables such as "_dat" (and will result in a macro error). LENGth ------ Default key: none Description: Determine the length of a string. Examples: {leng %line} Find the length of the string in the variable "line". {leng %line1%%line2} Find the combined length of "line1" and "line2". The length will be returned in the built-in variable "_len". If the string is null, the length will be set to zero. LIGHts ------ Default key: Alt-0 Description: Set Signal Lights toggle. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 31 Examples: {lights} Toggle Signal Lights on/off. {lights y} Turn on Signal Lights. {lights n} Turn off Signal Lights. LOCAlecho --------- Default key: none Description: Set Local Echo toggle. Examples: {local} Toggle Local Echo on/off. {local y} Turn on Local Echo. {local n} Turn off Local Echo. LOOKfor ------- Default key: none Description: Look for a string in the modem input stream. Examples: {setlook 60,abc,4,n|} Set parameters. {lookfor first name?} Look for the string "first name?" {look ^(COMMO^)} Look for the string "{COMMO}". Parameters controlling LOOKfor execution are set with the SETLook function, which should be executed before any LOOKfor functions. See the description of the SETLook function for details. The LOOKfor function will scan for the requested string to appear, then macro execution will continue with the next function. Use the GOLOok function to scan simultaneously for up to 15 additional strings during a LOOKfor. TIPS on creating LOOKfor (and GOLOok) strings: > There should be just one space following the LOOKfor function name. Any spaces beyond this point are part of the string. The string ends at the right curly brace. > GOLOok and Auto Receive strings begin after the comma following the macro label. There should be no spaces unless they are part of the string. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 32 > Strings may be up to 32 characters in length (control characters like "^M" count as one). Upper/lower case is ignored. > ANSI control sequences are filtered if ANSI or VT102 emulation is enabled. > Remember that short strings may not be unique enough, long strings may not match due to line noise. > Rules for representing special characters in LOOKfor strings are given in Appendix D "ASCII Character Representation." See also: GOLOok, SETLook. MACLoad ------- Default key: none Description: Load a new Macro File. Switches: R1 or R Specifies that COMMO.MAC will be reloaded when carrier detect is lost. Normally this would occur at the end of the call. R0 Do not reload COMMO.MAC when carrier is lost (default). General form: {MACLoad filename,label} filename The new Macro File. Do NOT specify a path; the {COMMO} home directory will be used. label A label to GOTO when the new file is loaded. Optional. Examples: {macload-R vt102-1.mac} Load vt102-1.mac, reload COMMO.MAC at the end of the call. {macl newmac.fil,abc} Load newmac.fil, start macro "abc" in the new file. IMPORTANT! The new Macro File must reside in the {COMMO} home directory (do not specify a path). {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 33 The current file will be saved to disk if changes are outstanding. The new file is then loaded in place of the current one (all macros are replaced). MACLoad should be the last function in a macro, since control is not returned. MACRo ----- Default key: Alt-M Description: Open Macro Processor window. Examples: {macro} Open window at current position. {macro menu1} Open window at "menu1." NOTE: The MACRo function always terminates the currently executing macro. A string argument may be included to facilitate the creation of menus within the Macro File. The first occurrence of the argument string will become the top line of the display when the window is opened. The Selector Bar will be positioned on the first screen line that has a left curly brace, if any. Here is an example of how to structure a menu using MACRo: | (this is past col. 80) | menu111 Name of Menu | | | Selection 1 | {exec ... } {} Selection 2 | {exec ... } {} Selection 3 | {exec ... } {} | {:af1} {macro menu111} The upper line with "menu111" will be the top line of the screen. Pressing Alt-F1 will bring up the menu with the Selector Bar on Selection 1. Remember that the function itself will be found in the search since it contains the string. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 34 MARK ---- Default key: none Description: Mark Dialing Directory entries for dialing. Example: {mark joes-bbs,file-city} Mark entries for dialing. Dialing Strings may be separated by spaces or commas. {COMMO} will search the Dialing Directory for each string and mark the first entry where a match is found. Case is ignored. The strings may consist of any part of a Dialing Directory entry line (including passwords). However the following characters may not appear in a macro Dialing String: space, comma, left or right curly brace. See also: DIAL, UNMArk. NOOP ---- Default key: none Description: No-op function, does nothing Example: {noop} No arguments. PARMs ----- Default key: Alt-P Description: Set Current Terminal Parameters General form: {PARMs speed,format,comport,terminal-type,delay} speed The bps rate: 2400, 9600, etc. format The data format: 8n1, 7e1, etc. comport The serial port number: 1, 2, 3 or 4. terminal The terminal-type: A, V or T. delay The inter-character delay factor: 0-999. Examples: {parms 2400,8,1,,20} Set 2400 bps, 8n1, Com1, delay = 20. {parms ,,4,V} Set Com4 VT102. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 35 {parms 19200,7o1} Set 19200 bps, 7o1. Note that omitted parameters are not changed. See also DPARms. PASSword -------- Default key: Alt-W Description: Send current password. Example: {password} No arguments. The current password is obtained from the Dialing Directory entry whenever a number is dialed. If no password is specified no characters will be sent. PAUSe ----- Default key: none Description: Pause for up to 999 seconds. Example: {pause 25} Pause for 25 seconds. NOTE: Incoming characters displayed during a PAUSe function are not seen by subsequent GOLOok/LOOKfor functions. POPStack -------- Default key: none Description: Pop an element from the macro stack. Example: {pops} No arguments. POPStack throws away the top element on the macro stack. This element would have been the target of the next RETUrn function. See PUSHstack for a more complete description of the use of this function. See also CALL, RETUrn, GOLOok, LOOKfor. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 36 PRINtlog -------- Default key: Alt-2 Description: Set Print Log toggle. Examples: {print} Toggle Print Log on/off. {print y} Turn on Print Log. {print n} Turn off Print Log. PUSHstack --------- Default key: none Description: Push a return point onto the macro stack. Examples: {push} Push the current location. {push abc} Push the location "abc". When there are no arguments, the location pushed is the location of the PUSHstack function itself (i.e., it will be executed again when a RETUrn is encountered). Explanation: Whenever a CALL is executed, the location of the function following the CALL (the "return point") is "pushed" onto the macro stack. When a subsequent RETUrn is executed, the location at the top of the stack is "popped" and control is transferred to that location. This allows "nesting" of CALLs and RETUrns. PUSHstack will push a return point onto the macro stack without transferring control to the location (control continues in sequence). A subsequent RETUrn will transfer control to the location that was pushed. POPStack will remove the top stack element without transferring control to it (control continues in sequence). These functions may be used to set a return point for GOLOok/LOOKfor functions, so that the same GOLOok routines may be used in more than one macro. They also help to create macros with improved structure. Here is a sample construct using PUSHstack and POPStack: {:mmm} {call ggg} ... ... {:ggg} ... {pushstack} {golook aaa,string1} {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 37 {golook bbb,string2} {golook ccc,string3} {lookfor string4} {send answer4} {popstack} {return} {:aaa} {send answer1} {return} {:bbb} {send answer2} {return} {:ccc} {send answer3} {return} If strings 1,2 or 3 come in, responses will be sent and control will RETUrn to the PUSHstack (and execute it again). If string 4 comes in the element pushed will be discarded by the POPStack and control will return following the {call ggg}. See also CALL, RETUrn, GOLOok, LOOKfor. RCLOse ------ Default key: none Description: Close the read file. Example: {rclose} No arguments. IMPORTANT: The read file will be closed automatically in the following situations: 1) When an attempt is made to read past the end of the file. 2) When the macro terminates (STOP, EXIT, etc.). A macro error will result if you try to close and no file is open. See also ROPEn, READ. READ ---- Default key: none Description: Read a line from the read file to a variable. Example: {read nextline} Read the next line in the file into the variable "nextline." TIPS on reading files: > Each READ will get another line until the end of the file is encountered, at which time control will GOTO the label specified when the file was opened. If no label was specified (or the {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 38 label is invalid) control continues in sequence. In either case the file will be closed. > ALL control characters (below ASCII 28) will be discarded, including the carriage return/linefeed that terminates the line. > A file must be open for reading or a macro error will result. See also ROPEn, RCLOse RETUrn ------ Default key: none Description: Return from a CALLed macro. Example: {return} No arguments. This function will return control to a location determined by the last CALL or PUSHstack function. See PUSHstack for a more complete description of the use of CALL/RETUrn. NOTE: If a RETUrn is encountered and no CALL or PUSHstack has been executed, a STOP will occur. This is useful in macros that are CALLed and are also used standalone (such as protocol file transfer macros). See also CALL, PUSHstack, POPStack. ROPEn ----- Default key: none Description: Open a file for reading. General Form: {ROPEn name,label} name The name of a string variable. label A label to GOTO when a READ is attempted at the end of the file. Example: {ropen c:\bbs\file.txt,nomore} Open the file and set the label "nomore" to GOTO when the end of the file is reached. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 39 TIPS on using ROPEn: > Only one file may be opened for reading (and one for writing). > The file will be automatically closed when the end of the file is encountered during a READ (whether or not a label is specified). An RCLOse is not needed in this situation and will cause a macro error. See also READ, RCLOse. RXMOdem ------- Default key: none Description: Receive a file using Xmodem. Switches: C1 or C Use CRC error correction (default). C0 Use Checksum error correction. D1 or D Cancel transfer if carrier detect is lost (default). D0 Ignore state of carrier detect. A1 or A Sound the alarm at end of transfer. A0 Do not sound the alarm (default). W1 or W Wait for a keypress at end of transfer. W0 Do not wait for a keypress (default). Example: {rxmo-a c:\dl\file.zip} Receive "file.zip", sound the alarm. TIPS on using RXMOdem: > IMPORTANT: If the file already exists it will be overwritten without warning. The IFEXist function may be used to prevent this if desired. > Block size is established by the sender and may be changed on a block-by-block basis. > The transfer will be cancelled after 10 consecutive errors, if the sender cancels or if you press Esc. > The Exit Code (test with IFER) will be set at the end of the transfer. The error code will also be stored in the variable "_err". 0 means success, 1 means failure. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 40 > If the Usage Log is enabled, an entry will be made at the end of each transfer. See also SXMOdem. SCREen ------ Default key: Alt-I Description: Screen Image Save. Examples: {screen} Open Screen Image Save window. {screen y} Append screen image to current file. {screen y,commo.scr} Append screen image to indicated file. (and change current pathname). {screen n,c:\file.xyz} Change current screen image pathname (don't save screen to file). SCROllback ---------- Default key: Alt-K Description: Display Scrollback Buffer Example: {scroll} No arguments. SEND ---- Default key: none Description: Send a string to the modem (serial port). Examples: {send Fred|~~Brucker|~~%_pass%|} Send my first and last name with carriage returns and 1 second delays, then send the current password and a <cr>. {send ^[^[} Send two <esc> characters. {send } Send a space (there must be two spaces, the first is the separator). {send %line} Send the string in the variable "line". {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 41 NOTE: See Appendix D "ASCII Character Representation" for information on how to represent any character in a SEND function. SETEsc ------ Default key: none Description: Define a label to GOTO when Esc is pressed. Example: {setesc finish} GOTO "finish" when Esc is pressed. This function is used to "capture" the Esc key during macro execution, especially when a MACLoad is used to load a new Macro File. It will help prevent undesired macro terminations. After SETEsc is executed, {COMMO} will query the user whenever Esc is pressed with "A macro is running. Terminate it?." If the user answers "no," macro processing will continue as if nothing had happened. If "yes," processing will GOTO the label. The macro at the label would typically reload COMMO.MAC, thus restoring the user's familiar environment. NOTE: In the various command windows, Esc is normally used to exit the window. Use Ctrl-Break to bring up the prompt. SETGet ------- Default key: none Description: Set parameters for GETString functions. General form: {SETGet seconds,label,y/n/l,string} seconds GETString timeout. If a character is not entered in the specified amount of time, the macro in the second argument will be started. May be 0 to 999. Default is 0 (disabled). label Timeout macro. Macro to GOTO if the time in the first argument expires. If no macro is specified or if the macro label is invalid, control will pass to the function following the GETString. Default is no macro. Note that if the timer expires no variable assignment will be made. Any previous assignment will be unaltered. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 42 y/n/l Echo Status. If this is "yes", characters entered at the local or remote terminals will be echoed back to the remote and displayed locally. This is the default. If "no", characters will not be echoed to either location. This may be used where security is desired -- such as for password input. If "local", characters will be displayed locally, but not echoed to the remote. This should be used when the remote is a host system. IMPORTANT: This setting is independent of Local Echo. Turn on Local Echo if necessary for local display of data sent with SEND, ASCIiup, etc. string Terminator response. This string will be sent and/or displayed locally (in accord with the Echo Status) when a carriage return is received (input terminated). This is typically a carriage return/linefeed. May be up to 32 characters. Default is no string. Example: {setg 120,noget,y,^m^j} Set GETString parameters. The SETGet function will set parameters for all subsequent GETString functions. It may be executed at any time to modify the parameters. When macro processing terminates, the parameters will be reset to the default values. Default arguments are: GETString timeout 0 (disabled) Timeout macro none Echo status y (echo on) Terminator response none IMPORTANT: Null arguments in the SETGet function will be set to these defaults. See also: GETString. SETLook ------- Default key: none Description: Set parameters for LOOKfor functions. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 43 General form: {SETLook seconds,label,seconds,string} seconds LOOKfor timeout. Maximum time in seconds to look for a string. If the string is not found in the allotted time, the macro in the second argument will be started. May be 0 to 999. Default is 0 (disabled). label Timeout macro. Macro to GOTO if the time in the first argument expires. If no macro is specified or if the macro label is invalid, control will pass to the function following the LOOKfor. seconds Prompt timeout. During a LOOKfor function unwanted prompts may appear like "Press any key" or "More [Y/n]", etc. This argument is the time in seconds to wait at a prompt (no input from the modem) before sending the string in the fourth argument. Usually you would send "|" or "n|". When the response string is sent the timer is restarted, allowing any number of prompts to be satisfied (until the LOOKfor itself is satisfied or times out). The timer will also be restarted if any keys are typed while waiting. This allows a manual response to a prompt which the macro does not handle. IMPORTANT: The prompt timeout should be long enough (or disabled entirely) to prevent the response from being sent when there is a long delay without a prompt. This might occur right after connection while the BBS software is loading or when a "door" program is loading. Failure to heed this warning will result in "n" responses to "First name?" and other undesirable effects. May be 0 to 999. Default is 0 (disabled). string Prompt response. String to send when the time in the third argument runs out. May be up to 32 characters. Default is no string. Example: {setl 60,abc,4,n|} Set LOOKfor parameters {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 44 The SETLook function will set parameters for all subsequent LOOKfor functions. It may be executed at any time to modify the parameters. When macro processing terminates, the parameters will be reset to the default values. Default arguments are: LOOKfor timeout 0 (disabled) Timeout macro none Prompt timeout 0 (disabled) Prompt response none IMPORTANT: Null arguments in the SETLook function will revert to these defaults. See also: LOOKfor, GOLOok. SETVariable ----------- Default key: none Description: Assign a string to a variable name. General form: {SETVariable name,string} Switches: S1 or S Signifies that the second argument is a variable name containing a "subscript" and must be expanded twice. Do NOT use a "%" in front of the variable name. See example below. S0 Single expansion (default). Examples: {setv nodeid,DIRASNT} Assign the string "DIRASNT" to the variable name "nodeid." {setv-s xxx,yyy%index} Suppose the variable "index" has the value "3". It will be expanded first, then "yyy3" will be expanded and its value assigned to "xxx". SHELl ----- Default key: Alt-S Description: Shell to DOS. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 45 Example: {shell} No arguments. SFLOw ----- Default key: none Description: Set Software Flow Control toggle. Examples: {sflow} Toggle Software Flow Control on/off. {sflow y} Turn on Software Flow Control. {sflow n} Turn off Software Flow Control. SOUNd ----- Default key: none Description: Set Master Sound toggle. Examples: {sound} Toggle Master Sound on/off. {sound y} Turn on Master Sound. {sound n} Turn off Master Sound. SPOCtrl ------- Default key: none Description: Serial port output control. Examples: {spoc y} Serial port output is ON. {spoc n} Serial port output is OFF. This function will inhibit any data from being sent to the serial port. All other program operations will be normal. It is used for "local mode" in host macros (no data is sent to the modem). Serial port output will always be restored to ON at macro termination. STATusline ---------- Default key: none Description: Set Status Line toggle. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 46 IMPORTANT! The Status Line is {COMMO}'s instrument panel. You should not turn it off until you are familiar with operating the program. Examples: {statusline} Toggle Status Line on/off. {status y} Turn on Status Line. {status n} Turn off Status Line. When the Status Line is off (not visible), the bottom line of the display becomes part of the Terminal Screen. The STATusline function is ignored while in Chat Mode. STOP ---- Default key: none Description: Halt macro execution. Examples: {stop} No arguments. {} Short form. STOP always returns {COMMO} to manual operation in the Terminal Screen. It should be used to end login macros. SUBString --------- Default key: none Description: Move a substring to a variable. General form: {SUBString name,start,count,string} name The name of the variable to which the substring will be assigned. start The starting character number (first character is "1"). If it is negative, {COMMO} will count in from the end of the string. If it is too large and positive, the substring will be null. If it is too large and negative, the substring will start at the beginning of the string. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 47 count The number of characters to use. If the number is too large, {COMMO} will use as many as possible. If the count is 0, the substring will be null. string The string to use. Examples: {subs var-sub,2,4,abcdefgh} Set "var-sub" to "bcde". {subs newvar,-5,20,abcdefgh} Set "newvar" to "defgh". SXMOdem ------- Default key: none Description: Send a file using Xmodem. Switches: K1 or K Use 1024 byte block size (Xmodem-1k). K0 Use 128 byte block size (default). D1 or D Cancel transfer if carrier detect is lost (default). D0 Ignore state of carrier detect. A1 or A Sound the alarm at end of transfer. A0 Do not sound the alarm (default). W1 or W Wait for a keypress at end of transfer. W0 Do not wait for a keypress (default). Example: {sxmo-ka c:\ul\file.zip} Send "file.zip" using 1024 byte block size, sound the alarm. TIPS on using SXMOdem: > The transfer will be cancelled after 10 consecutive errors, if the receiver cancels or if you press Esc. > CRC vs. Checksum mode is established by the receiver. > The Exit Code (test with IFER) will be set at the end of the transfer. The error code will also be stored in the variable "_err". 0 means success, 1 means failure. > If the Usage Log is enabled, an entry will be made at the end of each transfer. See also RXMOdem. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 48 TOGGles ------- Default key: Alt-T Description: Set various toggle parameters. Example: {toggles} Open Set Toggles window. UNMArk ------ Default key: none Description: Unmark Dialing Directory entries. Example: {unmark joes-bbs,file-city} Unmark listed entries. {unmark} Unmark all entries. See the description of the MARK function for the rules on writing macro Dialing Strings. See also: DIAL, MARK. VTCUr ----- Default key: none Description: Define a VT102 cursor (arrow) key. Example: {vtcur ^[[A|^[OA} Define up-arrow key strings. The first string is sent when cursor mode is active; the second string is sent when application mode is active (these modes are controlled by the host). The two strings must be separated by a "|". Use "^m" for carriage return if necessary. See also VTPAd. VTPAd ----- Default key: none Description: Define a VT102 keypad key. Example: {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 49 {vtpad 5|^[Ou} Define keypad "5" key strings. The first string is sent when numeric mode is active; the second string is sent when application mode is active (these modes are controlled by the host). The two strings must be separated by a "|". Use "^m" for carriage return if necessary. See also VTCUr. WCLOse ------ Default key: none Description: Close the write file. Example: {wclose} No arguments. A macro error will result if you try to close and no file is open. See also WOPEn, WRITE. WOPEn ----- Default key: none Description: Open a file for writing. Switches: A1 or A Open the file in "append" mode. New lines written to the file will be added at the end. If the file doesn't exist, it will be created. A0 Open the file in "create" mode. If the file exists, it will be erased (default). Examples: {wopen c:\bbs\file.txt} Open the file in create mode. {wopen-a c:\data\word.fil} Open the file in append mode. TIP on using WOPEn: Only one file may be opened for writing (and one for reading). See also WRITe, WCLOse. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 50 WRITE ----- Default key: none Description: Write a string to the write file. Examples: {write %nextline} Write the contents of the variable "nextline" to the write file. {write} Write a carriage return/linefeed only (blank line) to the file. {write %num%> } Write the contents of "num" followed by a ">" and a space. TIPS on writing to files: > A file must be open for writing or a macro error will result. > The string will be written as one line, terminated by a carriage return/linefeed. > Control character translation is not performed on the write string. > A macro error will result if the disk is full. See also WOPEn, WCLOse ======================================== Appendix A Table of {COMMO} Key-labels ======================================== Key-labels are also macro labels with the added advantage that the macro can be started by pressing the associated key from the Terminal Screen. Most "extended" keys may be assigned this way. If the same key-label appears more than once, the first occurrence will be used. Note that key-labels are case insensitive. The caret (^) indicates the Ctrl key. Enhanced keyboard key-labels are listed below. {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 51 Key Name Key-label Key Name Key-label ________ _________ ________ _________ Normal-F1 nf1 ... Normal-F10 nf0 Ctrl-F1 cf1 ... Ctrl-F10 cf0 Shift-F1 sf1 ... Shift-F10 sf0 Alt-F1 af1 ... Alt-F10 af0 Alt-A ala ... Alt-Z alz Alt-1 al1 ... Alt-0 al0 Alt = al= Alt - al- Escape esc Grey * gr* Grey - gr- Grey + gr+ Backspace bsp ^Backspace cbs Tab tab Shift-tab stb Enter ent ^Enter cen Home hom End end PgUp pgu PgDn pgd Up-Arrow upa Down-Arrow dna Left-Arrow lfa Right-Arrow rta Insert ins Delete del ^Home chm ^End cnd ^PgUp cpu ^PgDn cpd ^Right-Arrow cra ^Left-Arrow cla Keypad-0 kp0 ... Keypad-9 kp9 Keypad-. kp. ^PrtSc cpr Enhanced Keyboard Key-labels ============================ IMPORTANT: To use the following keys you must tell {COMMO} to test for the enhanced keyboard. The item {tek=yes} must appear in your Setup File. Normal-F11 nfa Normal-F12 nfb Ctrl-F11 cfa Ctrl-F12 cfb Shift-F11 sfa Shift-F12 sfb Alt-F11 afa Alt-F12 afb Alt-[ al[ Alt-] al] Alt-; al; Alt-' al' Alt-, al< Alt-. al. Alt-/ al/ Alt-\ al\ Alt-* al* Alt-` al` Center Key cky {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 52 The Center Key is the Keypad 5 with Numlock off. The keys in the second group may also work with the 83-key keyboard if your BIOS supports the enhanced keyboard. ============================================ Appendix B Macro Functions Listed by Class ============================================ Variable manipulation --------------------- SETVariable Assign a string to a variable name INCRement Increment a numeric variable DECRement Decrement a numeric variable INSTring Find a string within a string SUBString Move a substring to a variable LENGth Determine the length of a string Looking for text ---------------- AUTO Auto Receive SETLook Set LOOKfor parameters GOLOok Additional string to look for LOOKfor Look for string from port File Input/Output ----------------- ROPEn Open a file for reading READ Read from a file to a variable RCLOse Close the read file WOPEn Open a file for writing WRITe Write to a file from a variable WCLOse Close the write file Dialing/connect/disconnect -------------------------- ABAUd AutoBaud toggle DIAL Dialing Directory DPARms Set dialing default parameters HANGup Drop DTR to hangup MARK Mark numbers for dialing UNMArk Unmark Dialing Directory entries Modem control ------------- PARMs Set current terminal parameters {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 53 LOCAlecho Local Echo toggle INITmodem Send modem init string HFLOW Hardware flow control SFLOw Software flow control BREAk Send Break LIGHts Signal Lights toggle SPOCtrl Serial port output control Send/receive data ----------------- ASCIiup ASCII Upload SEND Send a text string CAPMode Set Capture Mode CAPTure Capture File Options SETGet Set GETString parameters GETString Get a string from the modem RXMOdem Receive a file using Xmodem SXMOdem Send a file using Xmodem PASSword Send current password VTCUr VT102 cursor key strings VTPAd VT102 keypad key strings Testing ------- COMPare Compare a variable to a string IFCOndition Test conditions set by COMPare IFERrorlevel Test if Exit Code number IFEXist Test for existence of file(s) IFCArrier Test for presence of carrier detect Macro control ------------- CALL Execute a macro RETUrn Return from a CALL PUSHstack Push a location to the macro stack POPStack Pop from the macro stack GOTO Transfer control to a label STOP Stop macro processing MACLoad Load a new Macro File PAUSe Pause for interval 1-999 second HOLD Hold until specified 24 hr time SETEsc Set a label to GOTO on Esc Video/sound related ------------------- CLEAr Clear Screen CURSor Terminal Screen cursor toggle DISPlay Display a string to the screen {COMMO} (tm) Macro Programming Guide page 54 SCREen Screen Image Save STATusline Status Line on/off toggle SOUNd Master Sound toggle ALARm Ring the alarm BEEP Sound a beep Miscellaneous ------------- CHATmode Chat Mode toggle DOORway Doorway Mode toggle ELAPse Reset the elapsed timer EDIT Edit a file EXECute Execute a DOS command EXIT Exit {COMMO} HELP Online Help topic INPUt Input from the keyboard MACRo Macro Processor window NOOP No-op function, does nothing PRINtlog Print Log toggle SCROllback Display Scrollback Buffer SHELl Shell to DOS TOGGles Set Toggles - end -