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Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 61 12.8 BIX File Transfers BIX (Byte Information Exchange) supports ZMODEM, and Kermit file transfers. The Tymnet phone number in the bix telephone directory entry should be changed for your calling area. Other scripts are provided to handle BIX mail and conferences. When setting up a new BIX account, give the command call bix,new to force a login to the BIX new account program. Be sure to select ZMODEM downloads and Kermit (sliding windows) uploads with the "OPTIONS" menu choice. BIX's transfer time predictions are about 40 per cent too pessimistic for ZMODEM transfers. A number of BIX scripts are included in SCRIPTS.ZOO. 12.9 User Exit Processing The onclosetx and oncloserx string parameters provide a facility to perform user defined file related functions ("user exits") immediately after each file is closed, while the protocol is still active. Wild card filename expansionss are not allowed in this context. The oncloserx string parameter may be used to perform user commands or call a script once for each file received with a file transfer protocol. EXAMPLE: set oncloserx @crc %rname; obey "!%mv %rname /tmp" When each file is received, the crc command calculates and displays a CRC for the file. Then the !% command calls the mv program to move the file just received to the /tmp directory. The "%" in the "!%" command causes the rest of the command string to be processed for string substitutions. The onclosetx string parameter may be used to perform user commands or call a script once for each file sent with a file transfer protocol. Wild card file name expansions may not be used in onclosetx. EXAMPLE: The following causes each successfully sent file to be moved to the /done directory. set onclosetx @if !d? obey "!%mv %rname /done" SEE ALSO: rname, tname, drive, pwd string parameters, ?, d? test (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 12 Protocol File Transfers Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 62 conditions User exits will cause protocol timeouts if their execution takes too long. Since both Zcomm and the remote machine are still executing file transfer protocols when user exits are called, user exits can not use the serial port. (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 12 Message Transfers Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 63 13. MESSAGE TRANSFERS 13.1 Downloading Messages ZCOMM is flexible capturing output from other systems. The trick is to make the remote send the information without too much embellishment. When downloading files without a file transfer protocol, set the timesharing system to send tabs as tab characters without expanding them to spaces. Turn off fill characters. These extra characters waste time and money and ZCOMM doesn't need them. ZCOMM's s and S modes can be used to strip control characters and escape sequences from the capture download. EXAMPLE: t -s file If the remote system responds to XOFF and XON, E mode may be enabled to allow Error Containment(TM) to reduce the number of characters garbled by "line hits". EXAMPLE: t -E7e file1 uses Error Containment to download file1 from a system using 7 bits even parity. Error Containment works best when even or odd parity is available. SEE ALSO: E, j, S, s modes 13.1.1 XON/XOFF Files of arbitrary length may be transferred if the remote supports flow control with the ASCII XOFF and XON control characters. Output from most timesharing services may be captured to a file using this method. To download a file with XON/XOFF flow control: t file1 13.1.2 DC2/DC4 (^R/^T) Some bulletin boards support file downloads by issuing a DC2 to open a capture buffer, sending the file, and terminating the capture with DC4. ZCOMM does not support this "protocol" directly. The review t and b commands can be used to strip excess characters from the circular buffer before writing the file to disk. This "protocol" can be implemented with Turbodial(TM) script commands: EXAMPLE: pat 1c "\022" "@kill; create capture.fil" pat 2c "\024" "close" (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 13 Message Transfers Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 64 13.1.3 Data Dump Sometimes no flow control is available. The fget * command allows ZCOMM to accept a continuous stream of data at a maximum data rate determined by the hardware and software environment. With a hard disk, excellent results have been obtained with a 4.77 mHz PC accepting graphics dumps at 9600 bps. EXAMPLE: fget file1 At slower speeds or with a fast computer, the term function j mode* may be used for nonstop file capture. EXAMPLE: t -j file1 The fget command does not provide a progress display. While this allows the fastest possible data capture (38400 bps on a suitable computer), sometimes there is no handy way to monitor the flow of data. The term function I (super-image) mode may be used to capture a binary file, provided CRT emulation is disabled with a display dumb command or by enabling v mode. EXAMPLE: display dumb; t -Ij file1 The fax directory entry in PHONES2.T gives another example of how ZCOMM's data capture modes may be used to capture binary data. 13.2 Uploading Messages It is often possible to upload files using the f command with one or more modes (such as w or p, possibly in combination with t). Message uploads are more reliable if you keyboard enab flow before connecting through Telenet. If using Tymnet, type ^R^X just before the host computer name to enable flow control with XOFF and XON. Check with your network's documentation for further details or updates to this information. It often helps to use "half duplex" ( h mode) with the computer echo disabled when uploading files to the computer. This saves the computer from wasting precious time echoing characters. Another tactic is to avoid uncorrected message transfers during peak hours. Telephone usage peaks during midday with a resulting increase in noise induced line hits. Timesharing computers and communications networks are more likely to drop characters due to buffer overloading during high traffic periods as well. (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 13 Message Transfers Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 65 13.2.1 Paced Some systems accept characters only at a certain rate, a slow speed for each character and possibly a pause at the end of each line. Depending on the particular system, data transfer may have to pause briefly at the end of the line,[1] or wait for a particular character to signify readiness to accept the next line. There may be an additional delay after that[2] before the remote is able to accept more data. EXAMPLE: f -p file1 uploads file1 with a wait for the linefeed echo at the end of each transmitted line. EXAMPLE: pg63; f -p file1 Sets the prompt character to decimal 63 ("?") and sends the file with a wait for "?" after each transmitted line. As with the fpute command, the remote system must be commanded to open and close the file. 13.2.2 Throttle Another method of slowing message uploads is the throttle, activated by t mode. Throttle artificially slows Zcomm's character transmission to allow more time for the receiving system to digest each character. The speed of transmission with t mode is controlled by the t numeric parameter. EXAMPLE: f -t secret.msg Really slow systems may require both throttle and pacing to send data efficiently without loss. EXAMPLE: f -tp turkey.slo 13.2.3 Uploading to IBM Mainframes Text files can be uploaded to IBM mainframes using the P (upper case) mode. When the P mode is activated, ZCOMM will wait for an XON (^Q) after sending each line. In this special mode, ZCOMM will not time out waiting for the XON, no matter how long it takes for the IBM front end to send it. If, for some reason, the front end fails to send the XON, (or if it is garbled in transmission), Ctrl-Q may be keyboarded. EXAMPLE: f -P file1 __________ 1. Controlled by the p numeric parameter 2. Controlled by the q numeric parameter (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 13 Message Transfers Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 66 SEE ALSO: P mode, Kermit protocol 13.2.4 Uploading Messages to Bulletin Boards The greatest file transfer challenge is to upload a file to a bulletin board message system running on a tiny microcomputer. Bulletin board message systems have a rich variety of operating sequences and timing dependencies matched only by the proliferation of incompatible dialects of Basic and Pascal. Message upload from files to bulletin boards reduces connect time and $welling of the Phone Bill. Unattended message transfer saves the user's time, especially if the board is difficult to access. The t, p and w modes and the g, p, t, and q numeric parameters allow disk files to be uploaded to such systems. The basic program cbbsck.bas may be used (perhaps with modifications) to check that a message file does not violate the restrictions of the message system being uploaded to. A C version is also available. EXAMPLE: f -pt file1 13.2.5 Uploading to CompuServe SIGS A file may be uploaded to a CompuServe SIG (Special Interest Group) editor with p mode and the g numeric parameter set to colon. When the file has been transferred, hit ENTER to send a blank line to terminate message entry. EXAMPLE: set eolstr "\r."; pp1000; pg58; f -p FILE Is useful for uploading a prepared message to Compuserve's bulletin boards. This setting for eolstr inserts a carriage return and period after each line to prevent the CompuServe software from reformatting the message. EXAMPLE: pp1000, pg58, and f -p FILE transmits FILE waiting for the prompt character ":" before sending each line after the first. An alternative is to set the SIG "FIL" option, which calls the EDIT editor. The cisupl script file referenced by phones2.t uses the SIG "FIL" editor option. Compuserve nodes often drop characters when files are uploaded at full speed in full duplex. This can be avoided by using h mode (local echo) and turning off Compuserve's echo. (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 13 Message Transfers Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 67 13.3 Fpute: Echoplex Uploads Text files can often be uploaded reasonably efficiently using the fpute command.* Fpute waits for an echo to each character sent to the remote. Fpute provides modest throughput without loss of data for systems with terminal ports designed for keyboard data entry. The maximum speed with fpute is limited to about 1/3 the normal character rate by echo delays. There is no error correction with fpute, but character by character handshaking prevents lost data caused by buffer overflow. If possible, TABS should be set to echo as TAB characters and not as spaces. Before the fpute command is given, the remote system must be instructed to enter data from the "terminal" to a file. After the file has been sent, the remote system must be instructed to close the file. EXAMPLE: fpute file1 (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 13 Flow Control Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 68 14. FLOW CONTROL All of us must sometimes tell people to "slow down" lest they overload us with information faster than we can write it down. "Wait!" is a Flow Control Signal for the English language. When buffered modems, timesharing systems, networks, or computers of differing speeds are involved, a machine readable "Wait!" signal is required. Flow control is sometimes necessary to display long messages without skipping over the good parts. If you see pieces of text missing from messages but don't see the usual funny characters caused by line noise, ypu have a flow control problem. File transfers that use long blocks or streaming protocols may not work well unless slower parts of the system regulate the speed of transmission to prevent loss of data. With ZMODEM, SuperKermit, and other streaming protocols, inexplicable retransmissions of data blocks, often at regular intervals, indicate flow control failure. If you wish to keep things simple, the sending computer should not operate at a higher interface speed than the slowest link in the network. Otherwise precautions must be taken to prevent data loss with interactive operations and unnecessary retransmissions with streaming file transfer protcols. ZCOMM, ZCOMM, and DSZ default to software flow control with XON and XOFF characters.[1] When used with modems that require hardware flow control, the handshake command (q.v.) should be used to specify which hardware lines are to be used for flow control. Non transparent software flow control is incompatible with Emacs editors, XMODEM and YMODEM transfers. XMODEM and YMODEM require complete transparency to all 256 8 bit codes. An XMODEM transfer that always fails at the same block results from non transparent flow control. When XMODEM-1k and YMODEM-1k are used, the network must assert flow control, or handle bursts of 1040 characters without data loss. When X.25 or hardware CTS is unavailable, flow control that does not "eat" any characters may be used with XMODEM and YMODEM. When buffers fill up, an XOFF should be emitted. An XON should be sent when the buffer has emptied. Otherwise, the network should neither generate nor eat XON or XOFF characters. __________ 1. The PCDOS flavor enables "handshake both" when selecting a port with an active Clear To Send (CTS) signal that was previously initialized to a speed greater than 2400 bps (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 14 Flow Control Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 69 On Telenet, this is obtained by setting CCIT X3 5:1 and 12:1 in the PADs (Packet Assembler Dissassembler) at both ends of the network. Packets should be forwarded when the packet is a full 128 bytes, or after a moderate delay (3:0,4:10). Set parameter 5 to 1 at both ends AFTER one is connected to the remote modem. (Sorry, these commands must be given each time you connect to a modem in the far city!) <ENTER>@<ENTER> set 5:1<ENTER> rst? 5:1<ENTER> cont<ENTER> ZMODEM and Kermit protect all 4 XOFF and XON characters, commonly used network control characters and trigger strings. ZMODEM and Kermit are compatible with many networks that do not support XMODEM family protocols, including some that claim network compatibility. For PADs that do not accept "rst?", use: <ENTER>@<ENTER> set 4:2,5:1,12:1<ENTER> cont<ENTER> For best Telenet download throughput, parameter 64 (advance ACK) should be set to 7. The parameter 0 is a dummy argument that distinguishes Telenet parameters from CCIT parameters. <ENTER>@<ENTER> set 0:0,64:7<ENTER> cont<ENTER> Sometimes Telenet flow control stops data transmission when the network buffers are not yet full. If you often see "STOPPED" flashing in the status line (DOS versions), or if you see the modem send data light pause in a ZMODEM or SuperKermit file send, poor flow control may be the culprit. Such slowdowns are typical when a network is overloaded. If this condition persists, the network should take steps to reduce the congestion. Turning OFF network flow control and activating ZMODEM's or SuperKermit's protocol flow control may increase throughput under these conditions. Instead of or in addition to XON/XOFF flow control, the sending program's ZMODEM w numeric parameter can restrict the window size to a value that does not overload the network. A zmodem pw2048 command restricts the window size (maximum number of bytes in transit) to 2048. This causes the sz command to trigger the receiver's acknowledgement every 512 bytes (one fourth the value of the ZMODEM w numeric parameter). The sender monitors these responses and suspends transmission when necessary to restrict the window to the specified size. Until a network dependent lower limit is reached, lower window sizes improve the speed of error recovery at the expense of slight increases in protocol overhead. When the window size becomes less than the number of characters sent within the network's transit time, throughput falls off rapidly. Frequent protocol acknowledgements slow down high speed psuedo full duplex modems (US Robotics HST, Telebit TrailBlazer) and should be avoided. Some modems and networks can be configured to flush (discard the (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 14 Flow Control Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 70 contents of) their buffers when a break signal is received. If this is possible, error recovery with ZMODEM transfers may be speeded up by setting the ZMODEM b parameter to 1, which sends a break whenever the ZMODEM sending program gets a retransmission request. Network and Flow Control (FC) Compatibility ______________________________________________________________________ | Network | Interactive | XMODEM | WXMODEM | S-KERMIT | ZMODEM | |________________|_____________|________|_________|__________|________| |No Network | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | |8 bit, no FC | NO | YES | YES | YES(1) | YES(1) | |Transparent FC | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | |Non Transparent | YES | NO | NO | YES | YES | |7 bit | YES | NO | NO | YES | NO | |________________|_____________|________|_________|__________|________| (1) Window size must be restricted to avoid buffer overrun if the network cannot transfer data at full speed. 14.1 Got ZRPOS Errors Got ZRPOS indicates the receiving program has detected a transmission error and has requested retransmission. In other words, ZMODEM is doing its job of detecting and correcting missing and garbled data. If this happens more often than observed line errors would indicate is reasonable, there may be a flow control problem in one of four areas: + Between the sending program and its modem. If using an interface speed higher than the transmission speed, or modem to modem error correction (MNP, LAPB, PEP, etc.), check that the modem and the sending program are configured for the same flow control methods. Omen Technology's software is faster than most other programs, and may expose flow control problems not seen with slower software. + Between the sending modem and the network. Correcting this requires "handshake both" to allow the sending program to honor both hardware (CTS) flow control from the modem and software flow control (XON/XOFF) from the network. + Between parts of the network. + Between the receiving modem and the receiving program. This can happen at high transmission speeds when the receiver has specified a large I/O buffer size with the B numeric parameter. Excessive interrupt latency from extended memory ramdisks or disk caches, and poorly written hard disk drivers also wreak havoc on streaming protocols but do not affect start-stop protocols (XMODEM, etc.). Problems with extended memory disk caches may cause errors at regular intervals; check the receiver's error messages. (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 14 Flow Control Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 71 To work around these problems, give the "handshake slow" command to the receiver. (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 14 Running ZCOMM Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 72 15. RUNNING ZCOMM Before running ZCOMM, the keyboard Caps Lock should be turned off. ZCOMM commands and most arguments must be entered in lower case. 15.1 Running ZCOMM from DOS ZCOMM is called from DOS as ZCOMM [A] [DPORT=n] [command ...] The following special commands may be given from the command line only. A PcAnywhere host mode must be disabled to allow another program to access the serial port in order to prevent port contention and lockup. The A command may be given to disable pcAnywhere host mode for the duration of the program. The A command is only recognized when it is the first command on the command line. EXAMPLE: ZCOMM A DPORT=2 remote COMSPEC ZCOMM uses the DOS COMSPEC environment variable to load COMMAND.COM or similar program to parse and execute DOS gateways (shell escapes). DPORT=n is an optional override to the default comm port. If another program is using the default comm port, ZCOMM may be told to use another port to prevent interference. SEE ALSO: DPORT environment variable Command may be any desired combination of ZCOMM commands. Command line arguments to ZCOMM must be in lower case excpet as noted. EXAMPLE: C>ZCOMM call cissig invokes ZCOMM and executes the commands in the "cissig" telephone directory entry. EXAMPLE: C>ZCOMM DPORT=2 call othersys Selects COM2 before initializing the serial port 15.1.1 DOS Environment Variables ZCOMM searches the DOS Environment for the following variables: CBSIZE overrides the default allocation for the circular buffer.** If memory is limited, the DOS command SET CBSIZE=3000 will leave more memory for DOS Gateway or other programs. On medium model (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 15 Running ZCOMM Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 73 DOS flavors, CBSIZE may be set as high as 65500. DIRRX, DIRSX, DIRCX, DIRFX Contain optional receive (DIRRX), send (DIRSX), capture (DIRCX), and file (DIRFX) directory presets. When ZCOMM starts, these environment variables preset the dirrx, dirsx, dircx, and dirfx string variables respectively. DIRSIZE controls the number of directory items that may be sorted with each wildcard. It should be set to 23 * times the desired number of entries (default = 200). If more directory entries are encountered, they are processed without sorting. EXAMPLE: C>set DIRSIZE=8000 DPORT overrides the default modem port (COM1) initially accessed by ZCOMM. EXAMPLE: C>set DPORT=2 EGA Stting this to MONO causes ZCOMM to use video mode 7 for 80x25 column text instead of the default video mode 3. This is needed when using some EGA cards with an Monochrome MDA compatialbe monitor. EXAMPLE: C>set EGA=MONO HOTPORT Suppresses the "Warning: Old dport=" message (q.v.) seen when Zcomm is called from certain operating systems or programs. EXAMPLE: C>set HOTPORT=1 SEE ALSO: port, portx commands MODEM Describes the type of modem used by the mm224 script. See Chapter 7 for details. EXAMPLE: C>set MODEM=MM224E PATH must include the directories containing ZCOMM and the help processor YHP. PHONES overrides the default pathname used to fetch ZCOMM's telephone directory. Forward slashes should be used to indicate directories. EXAMPLE: C>set PHONES=c:/PHODIR.t (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 15 Running ZCOMM Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 74 YAMQUIET Inhibits the display and locks the keyboard, preventing ZCOMM from writing on the screen. * This is useful when calling ZCOMM from another program. EXAMPLE: C>set YAMQUIET=257 Performs the equivalent of an initial kbdlock 257 command. SEE ALSO: kbdlock command ZONE sets the z numeric parameter to the number of minutes the current local time lags GMT time. EXAMPLE: C>set ZONE=420 SEE ALSO: z numeric parameter Before running the X.PC* version of Pro-YAM, you must run the Tymnet X.PC driver to make it resident by calling the driver from DOS. The driver announces itself and returns control to DOS. The Tymnet X.PC driver uses approximately 40kb memory. EXAMPLE: xpcmain 15.1.2 Help Program Environment Variables The flash-up help processor program YHP examines the environmnet for the NORMATTR, REVATTR, and UNDLATTR variables. These set help screen parameters for normal, reverse video, and underline attributes corresponding to the n,r, and u numeric paramters. EXAMPLE: C>set NORMATTR=3 15.2 Dialing out from Unix ZCOMM is called from Unix as [DPORT=S] yam [command ...] DPORT=S is an optional override to the initial default serial line. If another program is using the line, ZCOMM complains that the port is busy and will refuse to open it. Command may be any desired combination of ZCOMM commands. EXAMPLE: yam call cissig invokes ZCOMM and executes the commands in the "cissig" telephone directory entry. (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 15 Running ZCOMM Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 75 EXAMPLE: DPORT=tty77 ZCOMM call othersys Selects /dev/tty77 before executing the othersys telephone directory entry. If ZCOMM is run in the background, it will exit if it reached the main command prompt. EXAMPLE: yam call cissig& As a form of shorthand, ZCOMM may be invoked as call if that is the command to be executed. EXAMPLE: call cissig 15.2.1 X Windows When run under the X Windows xterm(1) interface program (indicated by the Unix TERM environment variable), ZCOMM understands xterm's keyboard mappings for function and ALT keys. 15.2.2 UNIX/XENIX Environment Variables Unix/Xenix ZCOMM flavors search the Environment for the following variables: CBSIZE overrides the default allocation for the circular buffer. On 32 bit systems, the maximum CBSIZE is limited only by the operating system's process size limit. EXAMPLE: CBSIZE=300000; export CBSIZE DIRRX, DIRSX, DIRCX, DIRFX Perform the same function as described for the DOS flavor above. (Since Unix does not use colon (:) as a device specifier, Unix flavors do not treat colon(s) in pathnames in any special way.) DPORT overrides the default modem port initially accessed by ZCOMM. EXAMPLE: DPORT=tty12; export DPORT HZ Indicates the number of kernel "clock ticks" per second. This calibrates terminal function timeouts, protocol timeouts, and the sleep command. The HZ environment variable must be set if the value used by your system is not 50 clock ticks per second. MODEM Describes the type of modem used by the mm224 script. See Chapter 7 for details. (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 15 Running ZCOMM Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 76 EXAMPLE: MODEM=MM224E; export MODEM PAGER points to a pager program suitable for viewing files a screenfull at a time, such as pg(1), more(1) or less(1). PATH must include the directories containing yam and the help processor yhp. PHONES overrides the default pathname used to fetch ZCOMM's telephone directory. EXAMPLE: PHONES=/usr/lib/local/localphone.t; export PHONES SHELL ZCOMM uses this environment variable to select the appropriate program for its shell escapes. TERM If the TERM environment variable contains xterm, xterms or anything else beginning with xterm, ZCOMM assumes it is operating as a subprocess to the Xwindows xterm(1) program, enabling a term function status line. The LINES and COLUMNS environment variables preset the # and $ numeric parameters respectively. This assumption may be overidden by setting the X numeric parameter. If the TERM environment parameter contains the string 401 indicating emulation of a Tektronix 4010 series storage tube terminal, status line updates are inhibited when Tek graphics is active. If the TERM environment parameter cegins with "wy" (as in "wy60") ZCOMM will use and recognize Wyse escape sequences. UUCPLOCK If UUCPLOCK contains "/usr/spool/locks/LCK.." ZCOMM uses "Honey Danber" uucp port arbitration conventions. 15.3 Dialing in to Unix Unix flavors may be used for dial-in applications to transfer files and commands with programs logged in to terminal ports. The commands rz, sz, zcommand, and zcommandi perform the same functions as the corresponding ZCOMM commands. They may be given directly to the shell or executed from a shell script or Makefile. EXAMPLE: sz -Yn *.c *.h The Makefile fragment below commands a DOS ZCOMM logged into a serial port to clear its dirrx string parameter, change to its root (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 15 Running ZCOMM Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 77 directory, and then sends a new version of the executable to the DOS machine. EXAMPLE: cpsz:/tmp/yam.exe @zcommand 'set dirrx ""' @zcommand "c:;cd /" @sz -y /tmp/yam.exe More general command sequences or other protocols such as Kermit may be accessed with the xyam command. EXAMPLE: xyam kermit sb *.c *.h EXAMPLE: xyam z pl256 sz -Yn *.c *.h (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 15 Special Keys Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 78 16. SPECIAL KEYS Ctrl-Break clears any typeahead, unlocks the keyboard, and stops whatever function[1] ZCOMM is doing in a reasonably orderly manner.[2] Ctrl-Break cancels kbdlock. It is not so abrupt as the NUKE key. The B test condition tests whether Ctrl-Break has been struck since the last purgek command. Keyboarding ALT-N will NUKE (abort) the current command and return to ZCOMM's command prompt.[3] If one or more scripts are active, the current line number (counting from the first line in the script file) for each level of script is displayed.* NUKE will terminate any script. NUKE closes any transmit file, but not a receive capture file. (A receive capture file may be closed with the "close" command.) NUKE does not disconnect the modem by dropping DTR.[4] Keyboarding ALT-Z appends the contents of the display screen to a DOS file. The pathname is contained in the string parameter picture which may be changed with the set command. The exact contents of the screen memory are written to the file, with each screen character followed by its attribute. A separate program, unpic is used to convert the screen dump to a normal file that may be printed or displayed. 16.1 Special Keys during Protocol Transfers Certain keys perform special functions when keyboarded during protocol file transfers (XMODEM, Kermit, etc.). F1 Keyboarding F1 causes a protocol timeout and forces a retry. ALT-A Displays Kermit file transfer status. ALT-B Cancels the current Kermit or ZMODEM batch transfer. __________ 1. Not necessarily the calling function or script 2. In the term function, Ctrl-Break sends a break to the remote unless it has been redefined with a set command. 3. Use of this term, popularized in the J.F.K. administration, does not imply endorsement of preemptive nuclear attacks on innocent populations. 4. When in host operation waiting for a call, NUKE drops DTR. (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 16 Special Keys Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 79 ALT-C Cancels the ZMODEM or Kermit session. ALT-F Skips the current ZMODEM or Kermit file transfer. ALT-Q Keyboarding Alt-Q during a protocol file transfer toggles a flag that causes ZCOMM to disconnect when the transfer is completed. This is most useful when downloading a long file. As soon as the file is transferred, ZCOMM will execute the string parameter quitcmd (if set) and then disconnect the modem. If keyboarded during a Host Operation file transfer, ZCOMM will exit Host Operation at the conclusion of the transfer. The state of the quit flag is displayed each time ALT-Q is keyboarded. ALT-S Keyboarding Alt-S displays status information on the console screen only (even if in Host Operation). The pattern number of the last successful search (-1 if no match), the active search patterns (if any), and the line numbers of the active scripts (if any) are displayed to aid script debugging. ALT-V Keyboarding ALT-V will toggle the view option affecting the rb, rc, rz, sb, sc, sx, and sz commands, and data transfers using the Compuserve B protocol. ASCII Keyboarding a normal ASCII character (in the range of 00 to 7F) will send that character to the modem. This may be used for protocol testing, or to terminate a modem's autodial handshake without terminating ZCOMM's call retry count. Ctrl-X All ZMODEM and many YMODEM and XMODEM protocol programs recognize a dozen successive Ctrl-X characters as a session abort command. If the remote computer appears to be "stuck" in a YMODEM or ZMODEM transfer, keyboard ten Ctrl-X characters to abort the protocol transfer. During a protocol transfer, normal keys are sent to the modem when Zcomm is waiting for or receiving a packet. This may be used to reissue a file transfer command to the other computer if it becomes apparent the original command was not accepted. Other uses for this pass thru capability include protocol testing. 16.2 Local Editing Keys Emacs style character editing reduces the number of keystrokes needed to enter and edit commands and strings. Normally, the cursor is at the end of the line of text being keyboarded. Printing characters insert themselves at the cursor location. The <ENTER> key enters the entire line of text. Editing keys are: (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 16 Local Editing Keys Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 80 Left, Ctrl-B moves the cursor to the left Right, Ctrl-F moves the cursor to the right Ctrl-Left cursor WORD left Ctrl-Right cursor WORD right Ctrl-A cursor to beginning of line Ctrl-E cursor to end of line Del, Ctrl-D delete character at cursor Backspace delete character to left of cursor Ctrl-W delete word to left of cursor Ctrl-K delete to end of line Ctrl-R refresh (redisplay) the line Ctrl-X delete entire line Down, Ctrl-N next history line Up, Ctrl-P previous history line Ctrl-U Argument Count (not available in term function) An initial Ctrl-U sets an argument count of 4. Successive Ctrl-U characters multiply the argument count by 4. A decimal number may be entered after Ctrl-U, and this number becomes the argument count. EXAMPLE: ^U^U Left moves the cursor 16 left EXAMPLE: ^U5X inserts 5 "X" characters EXAMPLE: ^U5^U? inserts 20 "?" characters. Unix/Xenix flavors do not support Emacs style editing in the term function. (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 16 Main Commands Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 81 17. MAIN COMMANDS 17.1 Main Commands All commands and arguments must be entered in lower case except where stated. You may shorten some commands by typing just the first portion that is shown in caps. For example, the "break" command may be entered as "br". Whether or not you abbreviate the command, it must be entered in lower case. User defined Soft Keys are executed from the command prompt iff they do not conflict with the permanent definitions described below. Except where stated, multiple commands can be written on one line separated by ; (semicolon). Commands that take a constant number of arguments do not need a semicolon to delimit the end of the command. If in doubt, use a semicolon to separate multiple commands.[1] @ The at sign may be used to indicate a telephone number starting with the Touch-Tone(TM) A B C D * or # codes or a character escape. If the phone number contains spaces, it must be enclosed in double quotes. The leading @ is not sent to the modem. EXAMPLE: @#*-123-4567 Dials #*-123-4567. %l-234-567-8901 (%l:letter l) For normal long distance dialing, the string parameter l (letter l) defaults to "1" (digit 1). To use an alternative long distance service, set the l string parameter with a modem command to dial the local access number, wait for the second dial tone, and transmit the account number. SEE ALSO: "setsavenet" telephone directory entry A string of alternate phone numbers may be specified with the "+" construction shown below. 234-5678 A number given as a command invokes the dial script to attempt a connection with the specified number. Iff the modem is currently connected to a remote modem, and the B numeric parameter is non zero, ZCOMM pulses Data Terminal Ready, terminating the connection. ZCOMM character escapes may be used within the number __________ 1. A space or two after each semicolon makes scripts easier for humans to read. (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 17 Main Commands Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 82 string to represent special characters. EXAMPLE: 234-5678 When carrier is detected, ZCOMM executes the mconnect string (if set) and proceeds to the next command One or several alternate phone numbers may be specified by appending the previous number with +234-5678 for as many alternate numbers as are desired.[2] When a connection is made, undialed alternates are forgotten. Alternate phone numbers need not support the same speeds. A redial count given to the call command repeats the sequence of alternate numbers. EXAMPLE: cis speed 2400 239-6124/mnp_s+239- 6126/mnp_s+232-1032/300 This script line attempts a MNP (with software slow control) call to the first two numbers, then a 300 bps call to the third number if neither of the first two connected. Iff no connection is made, script processing at the current level is terminated. A number of modifiers are available depending on the type of modem and the choice of dialing script used. These are described in Chapter 7. SEE ALSO: nolog command, calllog string parameter, mcommand string parameter a: Change the default disk to a:. ZCOMM then prints the free storage remaining on the selected disk. The specified disk must be included in the string parameter disks. abort Aborts any command or script in progress. Closes all script files that may be open. Abort returns to the command prompt. SEE ALSO: quit command accept[[l]1] stringvar prompt (letter l, digit 1) Scripts often need to prompt the user for file names and menu choices. __________ 2. When using the mm224 dialing script. (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 17 Main Commands Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 83 Accept displays Prompt[3] to the user. ZCOMM then reads keyboard input into the specified string variable. Backspace and Ctrl-U perform editing functions. Characters are accepted from the user until <ENTER> is typed. If the H numeric parameter is non zero, an empty string is returned if <ENTER> is not typed within the time limit set by that parameter. Acceptl translates the user's response to lower case. Acceptl1 returns a 1 character string in lower case after the single character is keyboarded. Prompt is processed for string substitution and character escapes. If the result begins with an ESC character, ZCOMM does not reposition the cursor before accepting the string. In writing scripts, it may be useful to save the current screen location with an escape sequence, then restore it with an escape sequence encoded in the prompt string. EXAMPLE: accept s1 File: Displays the prompt File: and reads the keyboarded response to string parameter s1. EXAMPLE: acceptl1 s0 "Enter Menu Choice" Reads a single character from the user, translates it to lower case, and assigns it to s0. EXAMPLE: accept s0 "\E[20;60H\E[KFile Name: " Places the cursor at line 20 column 60, clears the rest of the CRT line, displays the prompt, and accepts input. EXAMPLE: accept s6 " Your \E[1mFirst\E[0m name please " Uses boldface video to highlight First as it appears in the prompt. EXAMPLE: accept s2 "File "; rc %s2 Prompts the user for a file name, then receives that file with XMODEM/CRC protocol. EXAMPLE: accept xpassword "\E[mMaster Password: \E[8m"; lput "\E[m" Uses invisible video (ESC [ 8 m) to allow a password to be entered without visible echo. The ESC [ m sequences reset the display to normal (visible). SEE ALSO: obey command, scripts __________ 3. Prompt must be enclosed in quotes if it contains spaces. (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 17 Main Commands Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 84 ap file1 file2* (Append) Appends the contents of file1 to file2. If file2 does not exist, it is created. Wildcards are not allowed. The ap command closes any files that have been opened by the create, f, open, t or > commands. File1 and file2 are processed for string parameter substitution. apd file1 file2* (Append-Delete) Appends the contents of file1 to file2, then deletes file1. If file2 does not exist, it is created. If an error is detected writing file2, file1 is not deleted. Wildcards are not allowed. The apd command closes any files that have been opened by the create, f, open, t or > commands. File1 and file2 are processed for string parameter substitution. EXAMPLE: apd %item Z%item.tmp bdump outfile Dumps the contents of the modem interrupt input buffer to outfile. This command is useful for debugging as outfile will contain the last characters received from the remote regardless of what ZCOMM commands have been executed. The most recently received data appears at the end of outfile. This command "tells it as it is", writing all 8 bits of each character to outfile. If less than 1400 characters have been received from the remote, some of outfile will consist of nulls or garbage. The bdump command is often used as a post mortem diagnostic dump after a failed script or file transfer. This command is not available on Unix, OS/2, and X.PC flavors of ZCOMM. bg Indicates ZCOMM is running in the background with no user at the keyboard. SEE ALSO: fg command, df test condition BReak Sends a 200 millisecond break signal. N.B.: Some modems do not correctly pass the break signal to the remote. SEE ALSO: Ctrl-Break key, break string parameter, zmodem B numeric parameter BROwse pathspec Browse through the files specified in pathspec. If pathspec is empty, all files are presented. For each matched pathname, the filename, date, and length of the file are displayed. The status line displays some of the commands which may be applied to each file. Chapter 15.4 describes the browse subcommands, which provide extensive capabilities for individually selected files. bye Terminate the connection in progress by sending a long space and then dropping DTR (Data Terminal Ready).[4] After a pause, DTR is (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 17 Main Commands Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 85 reasserted to allow the modem to originate or answer another call.[5] SEE ALSO: o, off commands call [-N] [name][.path][,modifier] Prepare ZCOMM for a new task and invoke an entry in the Phone Directory. The 7, A, a, b, C, c, E, e, g, H, h, i, j, n, o, P, p, q, r, S, s, t, u, v, w, X, x, Z, and z modes are reset. The d mode is set. The e, f, g, k, m, p, q, t, w, Kermit 8, zmodem C, e, l, L, p, t, T, w, and W parameters are reset to their default values. The search patterns are erased. Permanent string parameters set with the set _svar command are set to empty. If path has been specified, it is searched for a line beginning with name. Otherwise, ZCOMM searches the telephone directory. An optional modifier (string with a leading comma), if specified, is not used in the directory search. If the search is successful, the entire directory entry name is copied to the remote string parameter. The complete argument entered on the command line is stored in the args string parameter visible to the called script. If the script has a READ ONLY attribute, ZCOMM is unrestricted during execution of the script. ZCOMM then executes the commands on the rest of the line (if any), and on succeeding lines beginning with a space or tab. If the v numeric parameter is greater than zero, each command from the file is displayed on the screen before it is executed. It is not necessary to type the entire name as it appears in the telephone directory, as ZCOMM will find the first entry that name is a prefix of. Iff name is empty, execution begins with the first line of path. EXAMPLE: call cis1200 call cis1 call cis.C:/newscript EXAMPLE: call genie,upl Invokes the genie telephone directory entry with the modifier ,upl available to the called script. ______________________________________________________________________ 4. The modem must be configured to use Data Terminal Ready (DTR). 5. Most dialing scripts include an initial bye command to make sure any previous call is disconnected. (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 17 Main Commands Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 86 The call command is not limited to making connections. For example, "call host" in the distribution PHODIR.t file conditions a Hayes compatible modem to answer incoming calls silently, set parameters, and activates ZCOMM's host operation. Most directory entries include a telephone number to dial. If ZCOMM is used with an autodial modem, the number of retries N (default none) may be specified. EXAMPLE: call -40 cbbs-r Attempts 40 retries before giving up. The interval between retries is set by the i numeric parameter. EXAMPLE: pi4 Sets the interval between retries to 4 seconds. Words To the Wise: Abuse of the retry feature by continually calling busy numbers may incur the wrath of the Telephone Company. Especially with Message Unit Accounting, Big Brother may be watching your telecommunications habits. Some long distance services (MCI, Sprint, AT&T, etc.) charge for unsuccessful calls, especially if the phone is allowed to ring (or ring busy) for more than a few seconds. Consult your telephone company about legal limits to the number and frequency of retries. Since some computer services will disconnect within a short time if no login is attempted, you should start communicating as soon as the modems are connected. ZCOMM sounds the bell after making the connection if retries have been specified. The source, gosub and call commands may be nested with up to six command/phones file descriptors open at once.[6] A label may be the target of a call command provided the trailing colon is included in name. cat pathspec For Unix users, a synonym to the type command (q.v.). cd [dir] Change to directory dir. If Restricted, dir is checked for a parent directory ("cd .."), and absolute paths ("cd /src") not prefixed by the home string parameter. Giving cd without an argument changes to the directory stored in the home string parameter.[7] ZCOMM then stores the current directory in the pwd __________ 6. Deep nesting may require a decrease in the circular buffer memory allocation, see Chapter 14. 7. The home parameter is set to the current directory when ZCOMM is invoked, but may be changed with the set command. (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 17 Main Commands Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 87 string parameter and displays it unless the v numeric parameter is less than 0. EXAMPLE: cd /tmp N.B.: When operating restricted, the home string parameter must point to a valid directory in order to enforce the intended directory path restriction. SEE ALSO: cdd and pwd commands, home and pwd string parameters cd D:dir When a disk drive is specified with the cd command, the current directory on that drive is changed but ZCOMM remains logged in on the current drive and directory. If Restricted, dir is checked for a disk drive ("cd b:/foo") not contained in the disks string parameter. EXAMPLE: cd D:/tmp cdd D:dir Change to (log in to) disk D and then to directory dir on the specified disk. If dir is not specified, the root directory is assumed. ** This is a shorthand equivalent to a D: command followed by a chdir dir command. SEE ALSO: cd command chat Enter the term function to chat keyboard to keyboard. Characters typed by either keyboard are echoed to both ends, and RETURNS echo as RETURN/LINEFEED. Chat will become hostile if the other end also echoes characters. (Try it sometime on a timesharing system; it's fun.) In Host Operation, chat exits if the caller types Ctrl-Z. close Writes the contents of the circular buffer iff a receive file is open, then closes the receive and transmit files. ZCOMM complains if no files were open. SEE ALSO: nolog command closerx Iff a receive file is open, writes the circular buffer then closes the receive file. SEE ALSO: nolog command closetx Closes the transmit file, if it is open. SEE ALSO: nolog command cl Clears the screen. (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 17 Main Commands Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 88 cls Resets display modes and clears the screen. CONFerence Enters the term function with a 1 line window for composing commands and text. Chapter 19.5 gives details. crc pathspec Print the CRC-32 and character count for the specified files. The crc command verifies the identity of two (or more) copies of a file. Iff the lengths and CRC-32's of two files are the same, the files are almost certainly identical. Comparing files with the crc command is faster than transmitting a second copy for character by character comparisons. EXAMPLE: "crc", "crc *.c" HINT: To generate a file containing the CRC's of the files in the current directory: >crc.lst crc *.* close After the files are copied, run the commands above (with a different file name), then compare the two files with DIF.EXE to detect any that have changed. SEE ALSO: sum, wc commands Source for a public domain Unix/DOS version of CRC is available. create [-modes] outfile If a receive capture file is open as the result of a create or t filename command, write the circular buffer and close it. Then create outfile for use with the term function with modes. The create command is especially useful when you don't want to enter the term function immediately. EXAMPLE: create -ys /tmp/cbbs.tmp[8] SEE ALSO: > command createx outfile Similar to the create command, but does not open outfile if a file with the same pathname already exists. The resulting error message may be suppressed by setting the v numeric parameter negative. Scripts may test for success with the r test condition. The createx command may be used to manage semaphores to __________ 8. The y mode overwrites any existing file with the same name. The s mode strips most control characters from the resulting disk file. (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 17 Main Commands Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 89 lock resources or work entries used by multiple instances of a program. The createx command is available on Unix and OS/2 flavors. SEE ALSO: kill command del pathspec Delete the specified files. No message is printed if one or more of the specified files could not be deleted. No confirmation is requested for mass deletes. WARNING: As with all ZCOMM pathspec specifications, a directory name expands to all files in that directory. N.B.: Do not attempt to delete an open file on DOS, especially the history file. SEE ALSO: browse command demand password Scripts must often verify a caller's identity by asking for a password. The ZCOMM password command allows a caller three chances to enter a given password. Failure results in disconnection. Password is processed for character escapes and string substitutions. All security restrictions on string parameters are enforced. If the result is empty, no password is demanded. Otherwise the user is prompted to enter a string matching password in the correct case. Keyboard input is not echoed. Three attempts to enter password are allowed. If the password is not correctly entered, DTR is pulsed to force the modem to disconnect the caller, and the ? numeric parameter is set negative. EXAMPLE: demand %password Requires the caller to enter a string matching the contents of the password string parameter. dir pathspec Display pathnames matching pathspec alphabetized across the page. Wildcard filename expansions are alphabetical. EXAMPLE: dir EXAMPLE: dir y*.c *.h dirr pathspec Displays the directory with length and creation date of each file. dirr displays the number of files matched, number of blocks, number of kb in those files, and estimated transmission time at the current transmission speed assuming the fastest protocol available (ZMODEM or YMODEM-g). XMODEM and Kermit transfers take (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 17 Main Commands Version 17.50 TurboDial 2.33 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 90 longer than the displayed estimates. Wildcard filename expansions are alphabetical. dird pathspec Long Form directory, sorted by date. dirt pathspec Long Form directory, reverse sorted by date. dirl pathspec Long Form directory, sorted by file length. dirs pathspec Long Form directory, reverse sorted by file length. dirx pathspec Long Form directory, sorted by file extension. DISable{-modes} Disable mode(s) affecting the term function. Chapter 18 describes modes affecting the term function. EXAMPLE: dis -t Disables throttle (t mode). display [[no]dismode] ... Without an argument, prints the display modes. Display modes preceded by NO are turned off. With one or more arguments, turn on the specified display mode(s). If an argument is preceded by no, the specified display mode is turned off. If an emulation is specified, it must be the first argument. display command argument changing the terminal emulation (vt100, lsi-adm3a, 3101, dumb) disables nlmode and overstrike. The display modes are: vt100 Emulate DEC VT-100 and VT-102 display codes and most Teletype 5425 codes. VT-52 and Zenith H-19 codes are the default. lsi-adm3a Emulate Lear Siegler ADM3a and Televideo 9xx control codes. dasher Emulate Data General Dasher terminals. 3101 Executes IBM 3101 and TI 940 escape codes. wyse Emulate Wyse terminals in native mode, allow switching the keyboard to keyscan mode. dumb Only null, bs, tab, cr and lf are executed, all others display. As in real life, dumb takes precedence over vt100, vt52, and lsi-adm3a emulation. inhibit Inhibits the display (nothing prints). SEE ALSO: Q mode (C) 1989 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 17 Main Commands