=================================================
IDCCOM (tm) - FAST-TELECOMMUNICATIONS PACKAGE
Documentation for IDCCOM.EXE
Written by Gary Conway and Shawn Merrick
Infinity Design Concepts, Inc.
Louisville, Kentucky
Copyright (c) 1990 All rights reserved
Version 1.1
=================================================
=================================================
IDCCOM.EXE is a shareware program. IDCCOM.EXE is
and will remain the property of Infinity Design
Concepts Inc. This program may not be used in any
connection with commercial ventures, nor as a sales
aid, without the expressed written consent of the
author. All rights are reserved.
Infinity Design Concepts, Inc.
1052 Parkway Drive
Louisville, Kentucky 40217-2333
Voice: (502) 636-1234
Data: (502) 635-5471
CIS: 72657,3006
Member IEEE AOPA NSPE KSPE WINGS
All new releases of IDCCOM.EXE and all other IDC
software can be located -FIRST- on ;
IDC BBS SYSOP - Chuck Crumpton
(502)-635-5471
300/1200/2400 24hrs. N81
Louisville, Kentucky 40217-2333
IDCCOM is a trademark of Infinity Design Concepts Inc.
=================================================
=================================================
REGISTRATION
If you find yourself using IDCCOM, please take the
time to do the right thing and that is purchase
your copy. You have been provided the opportunity
to freely test the program before even thinking
about purchasing. This is only fair, so, in
fairness, you should reciprocate and purchase your
copy, if you continue using the software.
Why register ?
1) You get the COMCFG.EXE program for customizing
IDCCOM.
2) You get notification of updates to all IDC
software.
3) You get online phone support.
4) You get the IDCSYS.EXE, SYSOP control program
5) You get the script language implementation
6) You get FILTANSI program to help in setting up
the ANSI/non-ANSI BBS files
7) You get the COMSAVE and COMREST programs which
will save/restore IDCCOM's configuration
Customers residing outside of the United States of
America should send a check or money order drawn on
a U.S. bank or in U.S. funds or use a credit card.
You will find the registration form in the archive
with this document under the name REGISTER.FRM.
Please use this form for registration.
Infinity Design Concepts, Inc.
1052 Parkway Drive
Louisville, Kentucky 40217-2333
Voice: (502)636-1234 Modem: (502)635-5471
The user is granted the right to make unlimited copies
of the SHAREWARE versions of the program (except
COMCFG.EXE, COMCFG.DOC and IDCSYS.EXE) and to
distribute these copies as desired without profit,
EXCEPT that Infinity Design Concepts, Inc. reserves the
SOLE right to distribute the program(s) for profit.
NOTE: COMCFG.EXE and IDCSYS.EXE are NOT shareware
programs and may not be released to the general public
in any form under any circumstances whatsoever.
=================================================
=================================================
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIMITED WARRANTY.......................................... 1
LICENSE AGREEMENT......................................... 2
SINGLE PRICING............................................ 3
SITE LICENSING............................................ 3
FOREWORD.................................................. 5
FEATURES AND BENEFITS..................................... 6
INITIAL SETUP............................................. 7
BPS vs BAUD (read me, be wiser)........................... 7
DTE AND DCE (what the heck?).............................. 7
INSTALLATION.............................................. 8
COMMAND AND TERMINAL MODES................................ 9
HELP SCREEN............................................... 9
EDITING USER INPUTS....................................... 9
DIALING DIRECTORY......................................... 10
MODEM RESULT CODES........................................ 10
MODEM STRINGS............................................. 11
FILE PATHS................................................ 11
MACRO KEY DEFINITIONS..................................... 13
COMMAND LINE OPTIONS...................................... 14
CAPTURE FILE.............................................. 14
IDCCOM COMMANDS........................................... 15
DIALING COMMANDS...................................... 15
COMMUNICATION PARAMETERS.............................. 15
EDIT MODEM STRINGS.................................... 15
FILE COMMANDS......................................... 15
TRANSFER COMMANDS..................................... 16
UPLOADING MULTIPLE FILES (via picklist- a must see!).. 16
MISCELLANEOUS COMMANDS................................ 18
SCRIPT FILES.............................................. 18
FILE COMMANDS............................................. 19
VIEW FILE............................................. 19
EDIT FILE............................................. 19
LIST DIRECTORY........................................ 19
DELETE FILE(S)........................................ 19
COPY FILE............................................. 20
RUNNING IDCSHELL(tm)...................................... 20
RUNNING NARC(tm).......................................... 20
MOUSE SUPPORT............................................. 20
EGA/VGA SUPPORT........................................... 20
DIRECT CONNECTING TWO COMPUTERS WITHOUT MODEMS
FILES USED BY IDCCOM...................................... 21
HOST MODE................................................. 23
IDCCOM.LVL file....................................... 26
IDCCOM.FDR file....................................... 28
SETTING UP HOST MODE.................................. 29
=================================================
=================================================
IDCCOM.DOR file....................................... 31
USING THE REDIRECT.SYS driver......................... 32
SCREEN BLANKER........................................ 32
DOOR SYSTEM FOR HOST MODE............................. 32
MESSAGE SYSTEM........................................ 33
HOST MODE LOG FILE.................................... 34
SYSOP FUNCTIONS....................................... 34
IDCSYS - SYSOP PROGRAM................................ 35
TRANSFER PROTOCOLS........................................ 35
XMODEM CHECKSUM, CRC and 1K........................... 37
YMODEM and YMODEM-G................................... 37
ASCII................................................. 38
MEGALINK.............................................. 38
ZMODEM................................................ 39
CRC/CHECKSUM ERROR CHECKING............................... 40
HALF/FULL DUPLEX.......................................... 42
HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE HANDSHAKING (RTS/CTS, XON/XOFF)..... 42
COMPUTER TO MODEM SIGNALS................................. 44
COMCFG - CONFIGURATION PROGRAM............................ 45
APPENDIX 1 - modem init strings........................... 46
ZOOM MX2400
PRACTICAL PERIPHERALS PM2400
HAYES 9600
ANCHOR VOLKSMODEM 1200
EVEREX EV-920 1200
APPENDIX 2 - modem result codes........................... 48
APPENDIX 3 - ANSI sequences supported..................... 50
APPENDIX 4 - COM ports and interrupt lines................ 51
APPENDIX 5 - script file language......................... 52
APPENDIX 6 - acknowledgements............................. 55
INDEX..................................................... 56
=================================================
=================================================
LIMITED WARRANTY
INFINITY DESIGN CONCEPTS INC. warrants to the original
purchaser of IDCCOM that:
1. the diskettes included in the software packages are
free from material defects under normal use for
three months following their purchase;and
2. the program is properly recorded on the diskettes.
Other than as set forth above, INFINITY DESIGN CONCEPTS
INC (hereinafter referred to as IDC) makes no warranty
of any kind, whether express or implied, regarding the
program(s) and disclaims any warranty of
merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
The software pro gram(s) are hereafter referred to as
the "Product". The entire risk as to the results and
performance of the Product is assumed by you. IDC will
not be liable for any damages arising out of your use
of, or misuse of the Product, including incidental or
consequential damages and loss of profits, even if
advised of the possibility of such damages. In
particular, IDC shall not be liable for any loss of any
programs or data or for the cost of recovering such
programs or data. Your sole remedy under this Limited
Warranty is to return the materials, all diskettes and
documentation to IDC for replacement or refund.
This Limited Warranty gives you specific legal rights.
You may have other rights which vary from state to
state. Some states do not allow the exclusion or
limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so
the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to
you. Additionally, some states do not allow exclusions
or limitations of implied warranties or limitations on
how long any implied warranty lasts, so the above
limitations may not apply to you.
IDCCOM.EXE is a shareware program. IDCCOM.EXE is and
will remain the property of IDC. This program may not
be used in any connection with commercial ventures, nor
as a sales aid, without the expressed written consent
of the author. All rights are reserved.
=================================================
Page 1
=================================================
INFINITY DESIGN CONCEPTS LICENSE AGREEMENT
What is purchased and Term of License Agreement
The program and its related documentation are
copyrighted. This license agreement gives your certain
limited rights to use our Product. However, you do not
become the owner of the Product. IDC retains title to
all Products and all copies of Products, including
partial copies. All rights not specifically granted are
reserved by IDC. You have purchased a non-exclusive
right to use the Product pursuant to the terms of this
License Agreement. The License that you have acquired
is effective until terminated on a breach by you of any
of the terms and conditions of this License Agreement.
On termination of this License, your right to use the
Product ceases immediately.
Permitted Uses
You may use the Product on any one compatible computer
that you own or use, using it on only one computer at a
time. The License purchased by you to use the Product
includes your personal use and use in your business or
profession. Multiple user site licenses are available
and have their own license terms.
Uses Not Permitted
You may not:
1. use the Product in a computer service business,
network, timesharing, or multiple user arrangement
unless each user is separately licensed by IDC;
2. modify or alter the Product or related materials;
3. translate, reverse engineer, decompile or
disassemble the Product;
4. make copies of COMCFG.EXE or IDCSYS.EXE;
5. grant sublicenses,leases,or other rights in the
Products to others;
6. remove or obscure any copyright,patent,trademark or
other similar notices;
7. export or reexport the Product outside the United
States without securing the proper authorization
prior to such shipment.
=================================================
Page 2
=================================================
SINGLE PRICING
Single copy of IDCCOM w/documentation on disk 50.00
Postage and handling inside NORTH AMERICA 3.50
Postage and handling OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA 7.00
SITE LICENSING
If you plan on using IDCCOM(TM) in a corporation,
government office, or for any business purpose
whatsoever, registration is mandatory. Quantity
discounts are available under a Site License agreement,
described below.
A single MASTER copy of IDCCOM and its documentation
will be supplied on disk. The site license customer is
responsible for printing the documentation and copying
the disk for distribution. Backup copies of the MASTER
disk are not counted toward the total copies of the
site license.
For all site licenses, the customer must appoint a
single contact person, who shall be responsible for all
contact with IDC. Should a problem occur, that person
-- and only that person -- shall contact IDC to report
the problem and arrange for its resolution. All product
updates shall be forwarded to the contact person. When
filling out the registration form, please specify the
contact person's name and phone number to prevent any
delay in updates and service.
SITE LICENSE AND QUANTITY PRICING
Quantity Discount
--------------------------
11 - 20 5%
21 - 30 10%
41 - 50 20%
51 - 100 25%
101 - 200 30%
201 - 300 35%
301 - 500 40%
501+ 50%
=================================================
Page 3
=================================================
Documentation developed by IDC
Principal writer: Gary Conway
IDCCOM was developed and programmed entirely in
assembler by Gary Conway and Shawn Merrick using
the Microsoft MASM 5.1 package and the Norton
Editor. The program is comprised of about 25
different modules, representing over 60,000 lines
of source code and many, many hours of writing,
test ing, debugging, arguing, sweating, cussing and
listening. All libraries and all routines were
developed internally by IDC. Some routines were
developed in QuickBASIC or QuickC and then
rewritten in assembly language.
We at IDC would like to express our gratitude to
Hayes Microcomputer products for their kind
assistance and generosity in helping us develop
IDCCOM for use with the HAYES 9600 bps modems.
Information and all elements contained within this
product are copyrighted and all rights are reserved
by IDC.
(c) 1990 INFINITY DESIGN CONCEPTS INC. ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED
Infinity Design Concepts, Inc.
1052 Parkway Drive
Louisville, Kentucky 40217-2333
(502) 636-1234
CIS: 72657,3006
NARC,IDC,IDCshell and IDCCOM are trademarks of
Infinity Design Concepts Inc. IBM,IBM-PC, IBM-
XT,IBM-AT,IBM-PS/2,Micro Channel Bus, and PC-DOS
are trademarks of International Business Machines.
MS-DOS is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
Norton Editor is a trademark of Peter Norton
Computing, Inc. CP/M is copyright Digital Research
Inc. UNIX is a trademark of Bell Laboratories.
Kaypro is a trademark of Kaypro Corporation. ALR is
a trademark of Advanced Logic Research.
=================================================
Page 4
=================================================
FOREWORD
In the ever advancing world of PC software, we have
also seen ever advancing file sizes. This is easily
understood from the standpoint that new and more
advanced features tend to bloat filesize and all
too many computer users accept this as a necessary
evil and some just don't care at all.
There are those who argue that along with the
rampant increases in file sizes, we are also seeing
increases in resource sizes; ram, hard disks, etc.
While this is true, the fact remains that all too
many software developers demonstrate a blatant
disregard for customer resources. For example, how
many communications packages are taking up over
200K on harddisks? IDCCOM is little more than 80K
and has all of the same functions (if not more), in
a fraction of the space.
There can only be two answers to this question; 1.
We at IDC are super intelligent extra-terrestial
beings or 2. Some software developers are lazy.
Well I can tell you with extreme accuracy that the
first answer is wrong, so that leaves us with the
second. The use of high level languages offers
portability, but at the expense of resource space
and execution speed.
At IDC, we have made the decision that available
resources and execution speed are more important
than trying to generate sales in several operating
environments. The only way to take full advantage
of available resources and minimize execution
times, is to write in assembler. There is no other
language that even compares with the speed of
assembler and the infinite number of options that
assem bler offers for flexibility. Many programmers
actually fear assembler, but all software would
benefit if all programmers had at least a working
knowledge of assembly language.
IDCCOM is an interrupt driven communications
package for use on IBM PC and compatible computers.
Video adapters supported include, MGA, CGA, EGA,
VGA, MCGA and HERCULES adaptors. BPS rates of up to
19,200 bps are supported as well as any I/O port
configuration.
=================================================
Page 5
=================================================
FEATURES AND BENEFITS OF IDCCOM
o allows multiple phone directories
o circular dialing cue via tagged phone numbers
o capture mode will capture/filter our ANSI sequences
o powerful picklist capabilities for uploads, downloads and
deleting
o SMALL and FAST (easy on your resources)
o Microsoft and compatible mouse support
o EGA/VGA color support
o full featured BBS program, including
multiple file areas
multiple access levels
log file with SYSOP error messages for debugging
date sequenced log file
automatic ANSI filtering (no need for two sets of
bulletins and message files)
message system uses a message database, as opposed
to single files for each message as found in some
BBS software
This amounts to a HUGE savings in YOUR disk space
o only ONE file needed to run the entire system !
o self-configuring
o V.42 support
o ZIPVIEW (tm) BBS zip file viewer
o SYSOP control program for registered SYSOPS
o XMODEM, YMODEM, YMODEM-G, ZMODEM, MEGALINK, ASCII file
transfer protocols are all built in and extremely robust,
plus two external protocols of your own choosing
o run NARC (tm) directly from IDCCOM to view/print/extract
newly uploaded/downloaded zipfiles
o run IDCSHELL (tm) directory from IDCCOM for full disk
management and zipfile creation
o COM 1 thru COM 4 support (completely configurable)
o interrupt driven serial port access
o HELP always available
o pull down window, point and shoot command access
o BPS rates thru 19200 BPS
o SUPERIOR file transfer progress reporting, file size, time
etc.
o script file language
o screen blanker
o ANSI driver built in
o Extremely robust HOST mode, will not leave your hard
disk with fragmented clusters in the event of power
outage or other common BBS type hangups
=================================================
Page 6
=================================================
INITIAL SETUP
IDCCOM was designed to be the easiest and most
forgiving of all the telecommunications software as
far as initial setup. The first time the program is
run, it walks you through the setup, showing every
step of the way.
WHAT YOU NEED TO HAVE HANDY WHEN RUNNING IDCCOM THE FIRST TIME
1. The COM port number that your modem is connected
to. (See APPENDIX 4)
2. The maximum bps "baud" rate your modem supports.
3. Your modem initialization string. (See
APPENDIX 1)
4. Your modem result codes. (See APPENDIX 2)
BPS vs BAUD
Among the MANY misnomers in the telecommunications
community, BPS (bit per second) and BAUD (from
J.M.E BAUDOT, inventor circa 1903) are two of the
leaders in gross misuse and misunderstanding.
BAUD is the number of SIGNALS sent per second.
BPS is the number of BINARY DIGITS of data
(represented as sound) per second.
BPS is simply the data rate. For example, at 300bps
(Bell 103 standard), BPS and BAUD are the same;
there are 300 signals per second (BAUD) and 300
bits per second (BPS). However, at 1200bps, via
Bell 212A standard, there are two channels, each
operating at 600 BAUD, but throughput is 2x600 =
1200 bps. For these reasons of accuracy, IDCCOM
uses the term BPS rate, not BAUD, when referring to
the modem and DTE/DCE speeds.
For example, your modem is 1200/2400/4800/9600 BPS,
not BAUD!
DTE AND DCE
DTE stands for DATA TERMINAL EQUIPMENT, which
usually for BBSing, is the computer, e.g. the
data terminal.
DCE stands for DATA COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT, which
is most cases for BBSing, is the modem.
=================================================
Page 7
=================================================
INSTALLATION
Installation of IDCCOM is a real snap compared to
other communications packages. Simply create a
directory for the files and copy all files into the
directory. Change to that directory and type IDCCOM
(ENTER) and the program will step you through the
initial setup, creating all the necessary files.
You may skip any of the steps without saving your
data, but it is highly suggested that all necessary
information be entered. This is particularly
important if you want IDCCOM to perform correctly!
The following assumes that the IDCCOM files are
located on a diskette in A: drive and you wish to
install the programs to C: drive. <ENTER> means
that you should press the ENTER key on your
keyboard.
EXAMPLE SEQUENCE:
A: <ENTER>
MD C:\IDCCOM <ENTER>
COPY A:*.* C:\IDCCOM <ENTER>
C: <ENTER>
CD \IDCCOM <ENTER>
IDCCOM <ENTER>
From here, you will simply follow the on screen
prompts and fill in the appropriate information
when requested. Don't be afraid to experiment, you
cannot hurt anything!
=================================================
Page 8
=================================================
COMMAND AND TERMINAL MODES
The first thing to note about IDCCOM is that there
are two modes of operation; COMMAND MODE and
TERMINAL MODE.
TERMINAL MODE is the mode where you are "ON-LINE"
and all characters sent to the screen
are also sent to the modem. Also all
characters that you type will be sent
to the modem.
COMMAND MODE is where commands may be issued to
IDCCOM. The ESCAPE key toggles between
command mode and terminal mode. In
this mode, the pull down windows are
on screen.
When IDCCOM first comes up, you will be in terminal
mode, that is, every character that you type, will
also go to the modem and every character that comes
from the modem will be displayed on the screen.
You can get to command mode by pressing the ESCAPE
key. The main pull down windows will be displayed
and you may execute any of the functions by either
navigating with the arrow keys, highlighting the
desired command and pressing ENTER - OR- you may
use the characters that are displayed in the square
brackets in the windows as shortcut keys. Any time
the menus are up (command mode), you may press any
of the shortcut keys, no matter which window is
currently pulled down.
HELP ALWAYS AVAILABLE
As with all IDC software, the F1 key is the help
key and may be used just about anywhere in the
program to invoke a help screen, that lists all of
the commands available for the task at hand.
EDITING USER INPUTS
There are many times during the execution of
IDCCOM, that you will be asked to enter textual
responses. There are several editing commands
available in all of the dialogue boxes.
CONTROL-Y - erase entire line
=================================================
Page 9
=================================================
BACKSPACE - delete the character left of the
cursor
ESCAPE - abort the operation
DIALING DIRECTORY
The dialing directory can be invoked from command
mode by pressing the "D" key, or by highlighting
"directory" under the DIALING window and pressing
ENTER. The dialing directory allows you to store up
to 100 phone numbers, along with various other
information, including;
1. total number of times called
2. total time on each system
3. last date and time called
4. password used for each system
5. default up/down load protocol
7. parity, data bits and stop bits
8. BPS rate
You may also "tag" any or all of the entries.
Tagged files are used when using the CIRCULAR
DIALER command. Each tagged entry will be dialed in
order, until a connect is made or until the opera
tion is interrupted by the ESCAPE key.
MODEM RESULT CODES
(see also APPENDIX 2 - result codes)
Modem result codes are a means for the computer and
software to understand the current status of the
modem and phone line. When the modem connects to a
remote system, a result code is sent to the
terminal, such as CONNECT 2400, or BUSY etc. It is
important that the modem result codes and text be
set up correctly for your modem. Most modems can be
configured to send either NUMERIC or VERBOSE result
codes. You may use either, but we recommend that
you use the VERBOSE method, since it is easier to
understand what CONNECT 1200 means, as opposed to a
numeric value of "5", for example.
When entering the modem result codes in IDCCOM,
remember that you must enter the NUMERIC code
first, then a comma, and then the VERBOSE text
EXACTLY AS IT APPEARS IN YOUR MODEM MANUAL.
=================================================
Page 10
=================================================
MODEM STRINGS
(see also APPENDIX 1 - modem strings)
The modem init strings are used to set the modem up
for specific operations. Note that some modems will
not accept mixed case, that is AtdT, for example,
consult your modem manual.
INIT STRING is sent to the modem when IDCCOM is
first invoked, or when you select the
INITIALIZE MODEM command from the
menus.
(IMPORTANT NOTE: the modem must be set up to echo
characters back to the computer,
usually this is done with the E1
command.)
DIAL STRING is sent to the modem before dialing any
phone numbers, it will usually be
something like ATDT for tone dialing,
or ATP for pulse dialing.
HOST STRING is used to set up the HOST mode.
HANGUP STRING is used just in case your system does
not support the DTR signal. Normally,
the preferred method for hanging up the
modem is to drop the DTR signal for a
specific length of time and that will
cause the modem to disconnect from the
phone line. In order for this to work,
the cable between the computer and
modem must have the DTR wire installed
and the modem must be configured for
DTR to be active. On HAYES and
compatible modems, this is usually
accomplished with the &D2 command. On
systems where the &D2 command is not
available, the hangup string will
accomplish the same purpose.
RESET STRING is used to reset the modem. It is sent
when IDCCOM is first invoked and again
after each call in HOST mode.
FILE PATHS
The file paths window lets you configure IDCCOM so
that it knows where to find and/or place files. The
paths that you configure here are stored in the
PATHNAME FILE, where the default filename is
IDCCOM.PTH in the current directory.
=================================================
Page 11
=================================================
PHONE DIRECTORY FILE
This entry gives the name and optionally the
directory where the phone directory file will be
located. The default value here is IDCCOM.DIR.
MACRO FILE
This entry gives the name and optionally the
directory where the macro key file is located. The
default value here is IDCCOM.MAC.
MODEM STRING FILE
This entry gives the name and optionally the
directory where the modem string file is located.
The default value here is IDCCOM.MDM
RECEIVE PATH
This entry gives the subdirectory where files will
be stored when they are received from a remote
system, in either terminal or host mode.
TRANSMIT PATH
This entry gives the subdirectory where files are
stored that are to be transmitted by IDCCOM.
PATHNAME FILE
This entry gives the name and optionally the
directory where the paths will be stored. The
default name is IDCCOM.PTH in the default
directory.
RESULT CODE FILE
This entry gives the name and optionally the
directory where the modem result codes will be
stored. The default name is IDCCOM.RES.
EDITOR PATHNAME
This entry will tell IDCCOM where to find your
editor. You must include the complete filename,
e.g. C:\WS\WS.EXE
IDCSHELL (tm)
This entry will tell IDCCOM where to find IDCSHELL.
=================================================
Page 12
=================================================
You must include the complete filename, e.g.
C:\IDC\IDCSHELL.EXE
NARC (tm)
This entry will tell IDCCOM where to find NARC. You
must include the complete filename, e.g.
C:\IDC\NARC.EXE
ZIPVIEW (tm)
This entry will tell IDCCOM where to find
ZIPVIEW.EXE. You must include the complete
filename, e.g. C:\IDC\ZIPVIEW.EXE.
MACRO KEY DEFINITIONS
IDCCOM allows configuring 10 macro keys, ALT-F1
through ALT-F10. You may enter any text you like
here. Note that to include a carriage return at the
end of a string, you would insert the "|" character
where you want the carriage return. Any control or
ALT-xxx characters may also be used in macros.
You may use any of the macro keys to send repeated
strings of characters to the modem and to the
screen. You might want to store your name, address
and phone number here to make it easier when
logging into new boards.
NOTE ON SPECIAL CHARACTERS IN MACROS:
The "|" character may be used in any macro
key to send a carriage return character and
the %P or %p characters may be used to cause
the macro key to send the password for the
currently dialed number. As a result, these
characters may not appear anywhere else in
your macro keys, as they will always be
interpreted as described above.
There is another macro key, F10, which sends the
current password from the dialing directory for the
number that was last dialed. This macro key is not
configurable. Note that a carriage return is NOT
automatically sent after this command.
=================================================
Page 13
=================================================
COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
There are several options that may be used when
invoking IDCCOM from the command line. These
options provide information to IDCCOM for startup.
The options:
/Q - tells IDCCOM not to send modem init
strings
FILE.SCR - tells IDCCOM to start the script file
named FILE.SCR immediately
CAPTURE FILE
The capture feature of IDCCOM allows capturing data
that is received over the modem and storing that
data to a file.
The capture mode of IDCCOM is turned ON/OFF from
the pull downs, or with the K key. When turning the
capture mode ON, IDCCOM will display the default
capture filename (IDCCOM.CAP) and ask you if you
want to change it. If you answer YES, then IDCCOM
will ask for the new filename. If the file already
exists, then new captured data will be appended to
the existing file.
When capture mode is toggled OFF, IDCCOM will ask
how you wish to dispose of the characters that were
captured, as follows;
PAUSE - pause the capture for resuming later
SAVE - save the data to the specified file
ERASE - erase all data in the capture buffer
ESCAPE- disregard the toggle OFF command
Note that capture has two modes, 1. capture all
characters that are received, including ANSI
sequences, or 2. filter out all ANSI sequences and
capture only the text. This option is toggled from
the pull downs or with the 3 key in COMMAND MODE.
=================================================
Page 14
=================================================
IDCCOM COMMANDS
(short-cut keys)
DIALING COMMANDS
A - invokes IDCCOM's host mode and waits for calls
D - brings up the dialing directory screen
H - hangs up the modem by dropping DTR and sending the
hangup string to the modem
L - sends modem init string to the modem
R - redial the last number dialed
O - continuously dials all tagged phone numbers until a
connection is made
COMMUNICATION PARAMETERS
B - toggles between all available BPS rates 300-19200
S - toggles number of stop bits 1 or 2
U - toggles duplex mode from HALF to FULL
Y - toggle between all valid combinations of the above
0 - toggle between all available port numbers (1-4)
5 - toggle XON/XOFF software handshaking ON and OFF
6 - toggle RTS/CTS hardware handshaking ON and OFF
2 - toggle result mode between NUMERIC and VERBOSE
8 - toggle FORCED CARRIER (for direct connect)
NOTE: the "8" command above, will toggle between a
carrier active mode and a forced carrier mode. If
you wish to connect two computers together
directly, you can use a NULL-MODEM cable and toggle
FORCED CARRIER ON, so that the software is fooled
into thinking that carrier is present. See the
section entitled "DIRECT CONNECTING TWO COMPUTERS
WITHOUT MODEMS".
EDIT MODEM STRINGS
E - edit HOST MODE,DIAL,HANGUP and INIT strings for modem
7 - edit modem result codes
FILE COMMANDS
F2 - display files list of specified drive/path
F3 - view a file w/PgUP,PgDn,Home,End and arrow keys
F4 - send a file to the parallel printer LPT1:
F6 - copy a file
F7 - delete file(s) (with picklist)
F9 - edit a file with your editor (set path in PATH screen)
=================================================
Page 15
=================================================
TRANSFER COMMANDS
PGUP - invokes protocol selection menu for UPLOADING
PGDN - invokes protocol selection menu for DOWNLOADING
UPLOADING FILE(S)
When uploading files is chosen with the PGUP key
from terminal mode a window will pop up that shows
all of the currently available transfer protocols.
If you have made the call from the dialing
directory or the circular dialer, then the
highlight bar will be on the default protocol you
have selected for that BBS. You may then select the
protocol desired from the list by pressing ENTER.
UPLOADING MULTIPLE FILES
After the protocol has been selected, a dialogue
box will appear asking for the filename(s) to
upload. You may enter a filename or filenames
separated by spaces. Each filename may be complete
with drive and path, or a wildcard mask -OR- you
may press the ENTER key (enter nothing) and a
listing of files will be displayed where you may
"tag" files that you wish to upload. The files that
are displayed by default are those in your TRANSMIT
directory (see the FILE PATHS) section. You may
also then use the "D" command from the picklist and
change drive/directory/filemask. The F1 key will
display all commands that are available for the
picklist.
PICKLIST COMMANDS.
F1 = display help screen
H = display help screen
? = display help screen
F6 = tag all entries
F7 = invert tag status of all entries
ESC = abort upload
ENTER = tagging complete, proceed with upload
SPACE = toggle tag status of current entry
D = enter new drive/directory/mask
T = tag current entry
U = untag current entry
W = enter wildcard filemask and tag all
matching files
=================================================
Page 16
=================================================
You may also use the arrow keys, PGUP,PGDN,HOME and
END keys for list navigation.
The picklist will display the total number of
tagged files, total number of tagged bytes and the
estimated upload time at the current BPS rate.
DOWNLOADING FILE(S)
After selecting the download function with the PGDN
key and selecting a protocol, depending on whether
or not the protocol is a batch protocol or not, you
will be asked for a filename for your machine. If
the selected protocol is a batch transfer protocol
(MEGALINK,YMODEM,ZMODEM etc.), then you will not be
asked for a filename for your machine. All files
that are downloaded will be sent to the default
RECEIVE directory, unless a path is entered when
you are asked for the filename, in which case, the
path entered will be used as opposed to the default
RECEIVE directory.
EXTERNAL PROTOCOLS (EXTERN1 AND EXTERN2)
IDCCOM provides a means for using external file
transfer protocols, via two batch files.
EXTERN1.BAT and EXTERN2.BAT. When one of these
protocols is selected from the transfer window,
IDCCOM executes the appropriate batch file.
Arguments are passed to the batch files in the
following order,
%1 = BPS (300/1200/2400/4800/9600/19200)
%2 = COMPORT (1-4)
%3 = S or R (send or receive)
%4 = download path (path or NOT USED)
%5 - %9 = wildcard filename(s) to send or recv
See EXTERN1.BAT and EXTERN2.BAT for examples of how
to use the passed parameters.
To set one of the batch files up for DSZ and the
zmodem protocol, you would use the following.
IF %3x=Rx GOTO RECEIVE
REM must be sending
DSZ port %2 speed %1 %3z %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9
GOTO DONE
:RECEIVE
DSZ port %2 speed %1 %3z
:DONE
=================================================
Page 17
=================================================
MISCELLANEOUS COMMANDS
C - clear the screen
F - view/edit IDCCOM PATHS
(upload,dnload,idcshell,narc,zipview etc)
I - execute IDCSHELL (path must be set up with "F"
command)
J - toggle auto-linefeed mode ON and OFF
M - view/edit macro key assignments
N - execute NARC (path must be set up with "F"
command)
V - display version of IDCCOM
X - exit IDCCOM
4 - toggle between 25 and 43 or 50 line screen
modes
G - start the timer
K - toggle capture mode ON and OFF
P - toggle printer echo ON and OFF
T - show elapsed time since timer was started with
"G" command
3 - toggle ANSI capture ON and OFF
Z - ZIPVIEW (tm)
F5 - shell to DOS
F8 - show serial base port address and Int #
F10 - send current password stored in phone
directory for the number just dialed
SCRIPT FILES
(NOT SUPPORTED IN SHAREWARE VERSION)
IDCCOM supports script files and a script file
language that make logging onto boards somewhat
easier. When you create an entry in the dialing
directory, you may also specify the name of the
script file that you wish to have associated with
that entry. When the number for the entry is
dialed, the script file will be read automatically
and the instructions in the file will be executed.
The default file extension for the script files
is .SCR, but you may override this by including any
extension that you wish when you create/edit the
dialing directory entry. For a listing of the
supported script language commands, see APPENDIX 5.
The script file itself, is merely a text file that
you may create with any text editor. You would then
write in the commands that you want executed when
the script file is run. We have supplied several
example script files with the IDCCOM package, so
you may want to refer to those files in conjunction
=================================================
Page 18
=================================================
with APPENDIX 5 to see just how to set one up.
A script file may also be supplied on the command
line when IDCCOM is invoked,
IDCCOM HOST.SCR
This would cause the HOST script file to be
executed when IDCCOM loads.
NOTE that the ESC key will abort a script in
progress.
FILE COMMANDS
VIEW FILE
This command will ask for a filename to view and
then display the file on the screen a page at a
time. Movement through the file is accomplished
with the standard editing keys, Home, End, PgUp,
PgDn and the arrow keys (or the mouse). The end the
view, simply press ESCAPE.
EDIT FILE
The edit command will call YOUR editor. In order
for IDCCOM to locate your editor, you must set the
correct path with the FILE PATHS command.
LIST DIRECTORY
The list directory command will ask for a filemask,
you may enter a complete drive:\path\filespec or by
simply pressing ENTER will display all files in the
current directory.
DELETE FILE(S)
The delete file command will ask for a filename and
then delete it. You may enter a complete
drive:\path\filespec.
You may optionally press the ENTER key without
entering a filename and the picklist will appear.
You may then tag files that you want to delete.
Pressing ESCAPE will abort without deleting any
files.
=================================================
Page 19
=================================================
COPY FILE
The copy file command will ask for a filename to
copy and a destination drive:\path\filename.
RUNNING IDCSHELL (tm)
IDCshell may be executed directly from IDCCOM with
the "I" command or by highlighting IDCSHELL in the
MISC window. In order for IDCCOM to find IDCSHELL,
you must set the correct path with the FILE PATHS
command.
RUNNING NARC (tm)
NARC may be executed directly from IDCCOM (great
for viewing those ZIP files after you download!).
In order for IDCCOM to find NARC, you must set the
correct path with the FILE PATHS command.
MOUSE SUPPORT
As with all IDC software, mouse support is provid
ed. If a mouse driver is detected, IDCCOM will
invoke the mouse support system. The left mouse
button emulates the ENTER key and the right mouse
button emulates the ESCAPE key and mouse movement
emulates the arrow keys. Any mouse that adheres to
the MICROSOFT MOUSE STANDARDS will work.
EGA/VGA SUPPORT
Users with EGA or VGA video cards can take advan
tage of 43 screen lines in EGA mode or 50 lines in
VGA. From COMMAND MODE, press the "4" key or high
light the selection under the MISC window and press
ENTER. If an EGA or VGA card is detected, the video
mode will be toggled between 25 and 43/50 line
modes. Note that if you exit the program in 43/50
line mode, then IDCCOM will remember this the next
time the program is executed and return to the same
mode.
When IDCCOM is invoked, it saves the current video
mode and resets this same mode when the program is
exited.
=================================================
Page 20
=================================================
DIRECT CONNECTING TWO COMPUTERS WITHOUT MODEMS
IDCCOM will allow you to connect two computers
together without the use of modems via a NULL modem
cable. This feature is very painless to use. Simply
FORCE CARRIER with the "8" command or from the pull
down windows and connect the computers serial ports
together through a NULL modem cable. You may then
transfer files very easily and quickly with the
picklist windows available from the upload window.
FILES USED BY IDCCOM
FILES USED BOTH IN TERMINAL AND HOST MODE
Files created automatically by IDCCOM
IDCCOM.DIR - phone directory file
IDCCOM.MAC - keyboard macros
IDCCOM.PTH - paths for files
IDCCOM.MDM - modem strings
IDCCOM.RES - modem result codes
IDCCOM.CAP - capture file
HOST MODE FILES
Files created/modified/used by SYSOP
ANSI screens
LOGONSCR.BBS - main welcome screen at logon
MAINMENU.BBS - main menu for host mode
IDCCOM.HLP - caller command help screen
FIRSTCAL.BBS - help file displayed to first time
callers
FILES.BBS - directory listing file (one for each
directory)
PROTOCOL.BBS - show available transfer protocols
PROTOCOL.HLP - help file, describing transfer
protocols
IDCDOOR.MNU - menu file for door system
BULLET.MNU - bulletin system menu
MESSAGE.HLP - ANSI help file for message system
LOGOFF.BBS - ANSI file displayed at user logoff
BULLETxx - bulletin xx file (00-99)
Plain text files
=================================================
Page 21
=================================================
IDCCOM.LVL - user level/function mapping file
IDCCOM.FDR - user level/directory mapping file
IDCCOM.DOR - user level/door mapping file
IDCDOORx.BAT - doors 0-9 execute via batch files
ZVIEW.BAT - batch file to run ZIPVIEW
DOSSHELL.BAT - batch file for executing DOS shell
Files created automatically by IDCCOM
IDCCOM.MSG - message base file
IDCCOM.HDR - message file index
IDCCOM.USR - caller file, all callers to system
IDCCOM.LOG - host mode caller activity log
NEWUSERS.BBS - names of those who have answered
sign on questionnaire in host mode
External files
ZIPVIEW.EXE - IDC's door program for viewing
zipfiles online
IDCSHELL.EXE - IDC's DOS shell and zipfile builder
NARC.EXE - IDC's zip/arc file extractor,viewer
etc.
REDIRECT.SYS - serial device driver for local echo
for sysop during external doors/shell
to dos
COMSAVE.EXE - program which saves IDCCOM
configuration to separate file,
IDCCOM.CFG
COMREST.EXE - program which reads IDCCOM.CFG file
and restores IDCCOM'S configuration
FILTANSI.EXE - program which will display an ANSI
file, filtering out any ANSI
sequences. Particularly useful to the
SYSOP when building the host mode
menu, bulletin and help files.
ROLLDATE.COM - TSR that will change the DOS date at
midnight on XT,AT, PCjr and PS/2 class
machines (necessary since the DOS time
will roll over at midnight, but not
the DOS date)
You may set the following text files up so that
they may not be aborted with CONTROL-C or CONTROL-K
by inserting a CONTROL-T character as the FIRST
character on the FIRST LINE of the file.
LOGONSCR.BBS
IDCCOM.HLP
MAINMENU.BBS
FILES.BBS
PROTOCOL.BBS
=================================================
Page 22
=================================================
IDCDOOR.MNU
BULLET.MNU
BULLETxx
LOGOFF.BBS
MESSAGE.HLP
FIRSTCAL.BBS
You may also insert a "More" message at any point
in any of the above files by inserting a CONTROL-E
in the file where the more prompt is desired.
HOST MODE
The host mode included with IDCCOM is a complete
BBS system. Included is password protected logon,
user time limits, user call limits, validation
procedures, access levels, multiple file
directories, help and a bulletin system.
UNIQUE FEATURES OF HOST MODE
One of the several unique features of host mode is
the ability of using single files for the menus,
help screens, files screens and bulletins. Some BBS
software forces the SYSOP to maintain two sets of
files for the above information, one for ANSI and
one for NON-ANSI, however, IDCCOM needs only a
single ANSI set. When a user logs on and chooses
NON-ANSI, then the files are stripped of their ANSI
sequences before they are displayed.
Another excellent feature for the SYSOP,
particularly at setup time, is the IDCCOM.LOG file
and the error messages that are entered there for
the SYSOP. When errors are encountered processing
critical files such as IDCCOM.LVL (access level
file) and IDCCOM.FDR (file directory access mapping
file), then an entry is made in the IDCCOM.LOG file
that describes the error, shows the offending
filename and shows the offending line in that file.
A running log file "IDCCOM.LOG" is created and logs
all caller activity. The IDCCOM.LOG file is an
ASCII file that may be edited with any word
processor. Entries are made in this file that
describe log on/off time, transferred files and
error messages for initial setup debugging and
functions performed or denied.
=================================================
Page 23
=================================================
AUTOLOGOFF
If a caller stays on line for more than 5 minutes
and no characters are received, the system assumes
the caller has fallen asleep and is automatically
logged off. The system will then reset and wait for
the next caller. An appropriate message is entered
in the IDCCOM.LOG file.
LOGGING ON
The IDCCOM logon sequence allows for protocol
negotiation when connecting MNP to NON-MNP modems.
This is accomplished by inserting a 10 second pause
after carrier is detected. If the caller presses
the ENTER key, then the pause is bypassed and the
logon sequence is begun, or the logon is
automatically begun in 10 seconds. This 10 second
period allows for the negotiation strings to be
ignored in the case of MNP to NON-MNP modem
connections. When IDCCOM answers the phone, it will
ask the caller if his system can display ANSI
graphics. If the answer is yes, then all menus and
bulletins that have been drawn in ANSI will be
displayed in ANSI. If the caller answers no, then
ANSI sequences will be filtered out of the menu,
bulletin, help and directory files before they are
sent to the modem.
New callers will be asked for name, address, phone,
city, state and zip before proceeding. This
information is then written to the NEWUSERS.BBS
file, which can then be used to automatically
validate callers with the IDCSYS program.
TWO MINUTE WARNING
When the caller is within two minutes of expiring
his daily time limit, a bell and a two minute
warning message will be displayed.
THE ANSI DRIVER
IDCCOM has a complete ANSI driver built in so there
is no need to load ANSI.SYS in the CONFIG.SYS file.
This is done to avoid having callers send ANSI
sequences which may be destructive to the host
system, key remapping, for example. For a complete
listing of the supported ANSI sequences, see
APPENDIX 3.
=================================================
Page 24
=================================================
DOS DATE
Since DOS rolls the time ONLY over at midnight, the
DATE is left behind. Since IDCCOM relies on the DOS
date for user call limits, it is necessary that the
date always be correct. In order to overcome this
shortcoming of DOS, we have supplied a TSR program
called ROLLDATE.COM, simply have it execute at boot
from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
HOST MODE COMMANDS
F - file finder, locates a file in any directory
that caller has available for his access level
P - page sysop. Allows caller to page the sysop for
a chat, if callers access level permits
M - message system. Allows user to enter message
system, if messages are available for his
access level
B - bulletin system. Displays BULLET.MNU file
and caller may then select BULLETxx file for
display
U - upload file(s). If callers access level permits
D - download file(s). If callers access level
permits
C - change directory. Allows user to enter any
directory that is available for his access
level
L - list files. Displays FILES.BBS file in current
directory.
H - displays IDCCOM.HLP file
A - toggle ANSI graphics on and off
X - toggle expert mode on and off. When ON, the
IDCCOM.MNU file will be displayed after each
command
T - type file. Allows caller to type files to the
screen in the current directory, if his access
level permits
Z - execute ZIPVIEW (tm). If callers access level
permits, ZIPVIEW allows viewing the contents of
=================================================
Page 25
=================================================
zip files
G - goodbye, hangup, end session
S - shell to DOS. Allows caller access to DOS on
the local system if his access level permits.
This command is available to SYSOPS (A access
level) by default.
O - DOOR system, if caller has access. The
IDCCOM.DOR file is used to map caller access
levels to the DOORS. The IDCDOOR.MNU file is
displayed and users can select the door to
enter. IDCDOORx.BAT files are used to execute
each of the doors mapped by the IDCCOM.DOR
file.
HOST MODE DIRECTORIES
The host mode allows using many subdirectories.
Each subdirectory is assigned an access level (or
levels) that is the required minimum for access to
that directory. When a caller first logs on to the
system, he will be in the MAIN directory. This
directory is defined in the FILE PATHS section
under the TRANSMIT directory. This directory will
always be available to all callers, however, their
upload, download and viewing access will be limited
by their access level assignment.
Other directories can be set up using the
IDCCOM.FDR file (see that section in the manual).
Once a caller changes directory (assuming his
access level permits this function), all file
activities will take place in that directory.
IDCCOM.LVL file
The host mode requires that the SYSOP establish
access levels for each caller. This can be
automated using the IDCCOM.LVL file. There are 26
levels of access that may be used, represented by
the letters A-Z, with A being the highest level of
access and Z the lowest. Note that if lower case
letters are used in the IDCCOM.LVL file, they are
automatically converted to upper case.
The A level is permanently set to SYSOP level and
may not be changed. The A level is reserved and any
caller with an A level has access to the complete
system, including the DOS shell, so give this level
out sparingly and only to trusted friends.
=================================================
Page 26
=================================================
This file is used in host mode to determine the
access levels and the functions that are allowed
for each level. Each line defines an access level
and the allowed functions for that level. For
example:
[N] DN,UP,TF
This would allow all users with an "N" access level
access to DOWNLOADS, UPLOADS and TYPE FILE
functions. Access levels may range from A-Z. IDCCOM
does not distinguish between upper and lower case,
therefore either may be used. The functions
definable for access levels are,
DO - DOS shell access allowed
UP - uploads allowed
DN - downloads allowed
MS - allowed to read and send messages
FI - files display access
CH - chat function access
ZV - ZIPVIEW (tm) access
TF - type file function access
CD - change directory access
FF - find file
DR - door system access
BU - bulletin system access
PR - create private mail
There are two entries that have special meaning and
are formatted a little bit differently than as
explained above.
[X] VALID (4,60) UP,DN,MS,FI,CH,ZV,TF
[Z] NEW (2,30) MS,CH,TF
Notice the two keywords VALID and NEW. These are
used to tell IDCCOM what access level to associate
with NEW callers and VALIDated callers. If these
two entries are not found in the IDCCOM.LVL file,
then they are set as shown above by default.
Note also, that the "A" access level is reserved
for SYSOPS and ALWAYS has access to ALL functions,
including DOS and the access attributes for this
level are fixed and will not be changed by the
IDCCOM.LVL file.
=================================================
Page 27
=================================================
EXAMPLE FILE:
; this is a comment line
' this is also a comment line
* this is another comment line
[C] (4,60) UP,DN,TF,MS,CH,ZV
[D] (2,60) UP,DN,DO
[M] VALID (2,20) UP,DN,MS
[X] NEW (1,15) MS,CH,TF
IDCCOM.FDR file
This file created by the SYSOP to map access levels
to specific file directories. Each access level may
have its own special directories for files. IDCCOM
is set up in a hierarchical fashion, such that all
B access level callers have access to all
directories that have C-Z access callers have, all
G level callers have access to H-Z, etc.
The format for each line in the file is as follows;
[ACCESS_LEVEL] [DESCRIPTION] [FULL_PATH_NAME]
Comments are also allowed in this file, with the
same syntax as in the IDCCOM.LVL file. See the
IDCCOM.FDR file for more information and examples.
An example file might be,
[B] [GENERAL UTILS] [F:\UTILITIES]
[Z] [GENERAL FILES] [F:\IDCCOM\GENERAL]
These lines would assign specific directories to
callers with access level B and Z. Note that these
assignments represent the MINIMUM access level
required to gain access to the directory, i.e. all
B level callers will not only have access to
F:\UTILITIES but will also have access to
F:\IDCCOM\GENERAL. You can make a given directory
private to any given access level by inserting an
equal sign after the access level. For example,
[Z=] [GENERAL FILES] [F:\IDCCOM\GENERAL]
This line will allow ONLY Z level callers access to
the F:\IDCCOM\GENERAL directory.
Note that the SYSOP (level A) always has full
access to all directories (even those with the
equal sign).
=================================================
Page 28
=================================================
SETTING UP HOST MODE
The host mode provided with IDCCOM is extremely
flexible in its setup. You can spend some time and
really get it tweaked to perfection, or you can run
it immediately out of the box with little or no
setup. The choice is yours depending on what your
intended use of the BBS system is.
One of the many aids that IDCCOM provides in
setting up the host mode is error messages written
to the IDCCOM.LOG file when errors are encountered
during debugging the initial setup or when errors
actually occur during host mode online operation.
When these errors occur using the IDCCOM.FDR and
IDCCOM.LVL files (see their sections in the
manual), not only the error message is written to
the log file, but also the offending line so you
may easily see just why the error occurred.
The following files are supplied as samples with
the IDCCOM package and may be used as is, but you
will probably want to change the text and/or colors
in some of them.
LOGONSCR.BBS - host mode welcome file (sign on screen)
MAINMENU.BBS - main menu file
IDCCOM.HLP - caller command help screen
PROTOCOL.BBS - show available transfer protocols
LOGOFF.BBS - logon screen
MESSAGE.HLP - message system help file
These two files must be setup to match your system.
See the sections in the manual on setting up these
files and examine the files themselves for
examples.
IDCCOM.LVL - user level/function mapping file
IDCCOM.FDR - user level/directory mapping file
When setting up the file directories, you should
first establish how many access levels you will
need. For example, the SYSOP will have level A, a
new caller might have level Z, a validated caller
might have level X and a trusted friend might have
level B. Translating this for the IDCCOM.LVL file,
we might have,
=================================================
Page 29
=================================================
[B] (5,100) DN,UP,FI,CH,CD,TF,MS
[X] VALID (4,60) DN,UP,FI,CH,CD,TF,MS
[Z] NEW (2,30) CH,MS
The first line establishes the parameters and
functions available for level B callers. The B
level caller will have 5 calls per day for a total
of 100 minutes per day. He can download, upload,
chat, list files, change directories, type files
and enter messages.
You may establish as many as 26 access levels,
ranging from A to Z inclusive. If you are going to
have multiple file directories, then you will also
need to set up the IDCCOM.FDR file. This file
establishes which directories a given caller has
access to. Each directory is given a minimum access
level that is required to gain access. For example,
[B] [For friends only] [F:\DOS]
[X] [Validated callers] [F:\IDCCOM\UTILS]
This mapping context will allow callers with an X
access level, access to the F:\IDCCOM\UTILS
directory on disk. They may TYPE FILES, LIST FILES
and DOWNLOAD files from this directory when online.
The B level callers, will have access to the F:\DOS
directory AS WELL AS access to all levels below it.
In this case the F:\IDCCOM\UTILS directory also.
Note that there is one exception to this and that
is the following case,
[D=] [Special friends] [F:\SYSTEM]
If this line is added to the lines above, then ONLY
level D callers will have access to the F:\SYSTEM
directory, the B level users will not.
Note, however, that the SYSOP (A level) callers
will always have access to every directory.
You will also want to make sure that your ANSWER
MODE string is set, see the MODEM STRINGS section.
To make HOST mode fully automatic, you will want to
set up the AUTOEXEC.BAT file so that IDCCOM is
executed at boot time and include the REDIRECT.SYS
driver in your CONFIG.SYS file. We also highly
recommend that you set up the AUTOEXEC.BAT file so
=================================================
Page 30
=================================================
that it runs CHKDSK each time it boots. This can be
done with full automation using the YESNO program
from IDC located in the IDCUTILS package. Notice
that the /F option is included in the CHKDSK line
below and that usually CHKDSK will wait for a Y or
N answer. Since this is not desirable since the
SYSOP will more than likely not be present when the
system is forced to reboot, this line must be
automated to feed the necessary response to CHKDSK.
The YESNO program does just that. This step will
eliminate any lockups and/or disk fragmentation
that might occur if the board is interrupted by a
power outage at a critical time.
SAMPLE AUTOEXEC.BAT file:
ECHO OFF
CLS
REM YESNO.COM is located in the IDCUTILS package
REM the next line will run chkdsk and fix and lost
REM clusters automatically
YESNO "Y" 13 | CHKDSK /F
REM next, install the midnight rollover function
ROLLDATE
CD\IDCCOM
IDCCOM HOST.SCR
SAMPLE CONFIG.SYS file for COM1:
SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM C:\ /P
BREAK=OFF
DEVICE=REDIRECT.SYS 1
FILES=20
BUFFERS=15
NOTE: the HOST.SCR file contains a single line
consisting of the word HOST
IDCCOM.DOR file
This file is used to map door numbers to
descriptions. These descriptions are displayed to
the host mode caller when the "O" OPEN DOOR command
is issued online.
The format for the file is,
[ACCESS LEVEL] [DESCRIPTION] [DOOR NUMBER]
For complete information on the format of the file,
see the IDCCOM.DOR file on the disk. For full
=================================================
Page 31
=================================================
information about the DOORS system, see the DOOR
SYSTEM FOR HOST MODE section.
USING THE REDIRECT.SYS driver
The REDIRECT driver is a serial port driver that
can be used in host mode so that whenever a caller
is shelled to dos, running ZIPVIEW or some other
external program, the SYSOP will be able to
visually monitor the callers activities.
Normally, when the caller executes an external
program, the SYSOP is virtually cutoff from what is
happening on his system, since the external program
controls all input and output and since all I/O has
been redirected by the invoking batch file via a
CTTY COMx command, the I/O events are not displayed
on the local screen, only on the callers screen.
REDIRECT.SYS sets up a logical device named IDCDOS.
IDCDOS intercepts all I/O and makes sure that all
modem activity is echoed to the local screen. Note
that the SYSOP can use the F1 key to terminate a
call at any time when the REDIRECT driver is
active.
SEE THE REDIRECT.DOC FILE FOR COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS
SCREEN BLANKER
When host mode is initiated, the screen blanker is
automatically hooked into the timer tick interrupt.
After 5 minutes of inactivity, that is, no local
keyboard activity and no calls received, the screen
will blank.
If the space bar is pressed, the screen is restored
and the screen blanker is reset.
DOOR SYSTEM FOR HOST MODE
The door system allows the sysop to offer external
programs for the callers to run. The doors are
configured with the IDCCOM.DOR file. See that file
for complete instructions on the format of the
file.
IDCCOM supports up to 10 doors (0-9) and each door
may be assigned a minimum access level, just as
with the file directories.
=================================================
Page 32
=================================================
WATCHDOG TIMER -
Whenever a door is opened, ZIPVIEW is run or a
shell to dos is performed in host mode by a REMOTE
caller (not the SYSOP), a watchdog timer is invoked
that monitors the callers time on the system and
the carrier detect signal.
The watchdog timer is activated when,
1. host mode is not in local test mode
2. a DOOR is opened
3. caller shells to DOS
4. ZIPVIEW
The watchdog timer reboots the computer IFF
1. host mode is NOT in local test mode
2. the CARRIER signal is lost
3. the callers time limit expires
In order to take full advantage of the watchdog
system, the AUTOEXEC.BAT file should be set up to
load and execute IDCCOM in host mode automatically,
using a script file.
MESSAGE SYSTEM
IDCCOM stores all messages in the IDCCOM.MSG file
and uses the IDCCOM.HDR file as an index into the
message database, unlike some other software that
uses separate files for each message. The database
approach is much more compact and less wasteful of
your valuable disk resources, since even a 1 byte
file takes up at least 1k and as much as 16k of
disk space, depending on cluster size on your
disks. When DOS stores a file on your disk, it
allocates a minimum of 1 cluster to the file. The
IDC program DISK.EXE (IDCUTILS package) can be used
to see what your cluster size is.
In the message section, the user may read messages,
answer messages, check for mail, scan the messages,
reply to a message or go directly to a message by
entering the message number.
=================================================
Page 33
=================================================
IDCCOM will remember the last message read and
automatically start reading messages there the next
time the caller logs in.
HOST MODE LOG FILE
Each time a call is received, a entry is made in
the IDCCOM.LOG file, giving the callers name,
password (attempts), time, date and files
uploaded/downloaded and how he logged off.
Entries are also made in the log file that describe
any serious disk errors that occurred during upload
or download. This same message is displayed for the
caller when it occurs, but the log entry is made
anyway so that the SYSOP can see visually exactly
what was transpiring when the error occurred.
SYSOP FUNCTIONS
NOTE: SYSOP function keys are only available at the
MAIN MENU prompt, except CTRL-X, which is always
available.
The CTRL-H key combination displays all of the
SYSOP control functions available when a caller is
online. Note that the SYSOP functions only work on
the local terminal and are not available to call
ers. The registered version of IDCCOM comes with
IDCSYS.EXE which is a program that allows the SYSOP
to validate, ban, delete, set call and time limits
or update callers records. The shareware version of
the program only allows validation while the caller
is online. The online SYSOP functions are;
CTRL-H - display list of available SYSOP
commands
CTRL-X - terminate caller immediately and hangup
CTRL-V - validate current caller
CTRL-S - display caller statistics
CTRL-R - reset callers time to 0
CTRL-L - toggle printer echo ON/OFF
CTRL-P - SYSOP initiated chat mode
CTRL-Z - end chat
Note that none of the output from the SYSOP
functions is echoed to the modem, so that these
functions are invisible to the caller, with the
=================================================
Page 34
=================================================
exception of the validation function, which informs
the caller of his new status.
IDCSYS - SYSOP PROGRAM
(NOT INCLUDED IN SHAREWARE VERSION)
The sysop control program allows the sysop to
monitor and change user statistics for the HOST
mode. Users may be added, updated, edited, deleted,
validated and globally validated from the
NEWUSERS.BBS file automatically.
The IDCSYS program allows automatic validation of
all callers who have filled out the validation
questionnaire.
Users access levels, calls per day, daily time
limit, password, name, address, city, state, zip,
phone, banned and deleted status may all be edited
with the IDCSYS program. Message base maintenance
functions are also provided, such as viewing,
deleting and packing messages from the message
database.
TRANSFER PROTOCOLS
IDCCOM supports all of the current major protocols,
including true YMODEM. The transfer protocols that
have been implemented in some cases by some of the
current telecommunications software, unfortunately,
do not adhere to the standards set forth by the
protocol authors. This creates many problems in the
BBS community, simply because some software authors
do not bother to do their homework, because, it
certainly is not due to a lack of documentation.
There are those programs that call XMODEM 1K,
YMODEM, which is certainly incorrect. IDCCOM does
not perpetuate these myths and uses the correct
naming conventions. There are some implementations
of XMODEM that do not know how to differentiate
between XMODEM CHECKSUM and XMODEM CRC and some
YMODEMS that do not fall back to 128 block size,
giving a greatly bloated filesize after the
transfer. These same implementations of YMODEM also
do not include the filesize in the header, also
giving erroneous filesizes.
IDCCOM adheres very rigidly to the specifications
laid down by the protocol authors, Ward Christensen
=================================================
Page 35
=================================================
and Chuck Forsberg. No other authors names are
listed, because most of the newer protocols are
merely derivatives of the originals and the
differences are so slight, that the number of
protocols we have today has become ridiculous.
IDC's transfer algorithms are robust and exhibit
very fast error recovery and response times.
To reiterate the major guidelines for YMODEM, the
following is an excerpt from YMODEM.DOC by Chuck
Forsberg.
"YMODEM Refers to the XMODEM/CRC (optional 1k
blocks) protocol with batch transmission as
described below. In a nutshell, YMODEM means
BATCH.
YMODEM MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
All programs claiming to support YMODEM must meet
the following MINIMUM requirements:
+ The sending program shall send the pathname (file
name) in block 0.
+ The pathname shall be a null terminated ASCII
string as described below.
+ The receiving program shall use this pathname for
the received file name, unless explicitly
overridden.
+ The sending program shall use CRC-16 in response
to a "C" pathname nak, otherwise use 8 bit
checksum.
+ The receiving program must accept any mixture of
128 and 1024 byte blocks within each file it
receives. Sending programs may switch between
1024 and 128 byte blocks at the end of file(s),
and when the frequency of retransmissions so
suggests.
+ The sending program must not change the length of
an unacknowledged block.
+ At the end of each file, the sending program
shall send EOT up to ten times until it receives
an ACK character. (This is part of the XMODEM
spec.)
+ The end of a transfer session shall be signified
by a null (empty) pathname.
=================================================
Page 36
=================================================
Programs not meeting all of these requirements are
not YMODEM compatible, and shall not be described
as supporting YMODEM.
Meeting these MINIMUM requirements does not
guarantee reliable file transfers under stress.
Particular attention is called to XMODEM's single
character supervisory messages that are easily
corrupted by transmission errors."
XMODEM CHECKSUM, CRC and 1K
XMODEM CHECKSUM, the first modem transfer protocol,
uses 128 byte packets, a three byte header and a
single byte checksum after the data packet. The
header begins with an SOH character, followed by
the packet number and compliment. After each packet
is sent, the sender waits for an ACK or NAK from
the receiver and will either resend the packet (if
NAKed) or send the next packet.
The protocol is determined by the receiver. If the
receiver sends an initial NAK (transmitter should
check for several for robustness), then XMODEM
CHECKSUM should be engaged by the transmitter. If
the receiver sends an initial "C" then the
transmitter should engage CRC error checking and
send a two byte CRC, instead of the single byte
checksum after the data packet.
If the receiver opens with "CK", then the
transmitter should engage CRC and 1k packets and
use the STX character to signal the start of
packet instead of the SOH character. IDCCOM follows
very strictly the protocol specification laid down
in YMODEM.DOC, which is a conglomeration of
informa tion from the protocol authors.
YMODEM and YMODEM-G
This protocol is very similar to XMODEM 1K and
often confused with it. The packet size is 1K (like
XMODEM 1K), but has a first packet size of 128
bytes for the header packet. The header contains
the file name, file size, file date/time, mode and
serial number. All error checking is done via CRC16
and if too many errors occur, the protocol will
drop back to 128 byte packets. The protocol is
inherently a batch protocol with the end of batch
being signaled by a 128 byte packet with NUL data.
=================================================
Page 37
=================================================
After each packet is sent, the transmitter clears
the line and waits for an ACK or NAK.
YMODEM-G is essentially the same as YMODEM, except
that the whole file is sent before the transmitter
looks for any status information from the receiver
and no filename header packet is sent. No resending
of packets is done, therefore this protocol is very
prone to errors and should only be used on MNP or
other error correcting modems (which it was
designed for). YMODEM-G BATCH is also the same,
except the opening filename packet is sent just as
in the normal YMODEM. The YMODEM-G protocols
require hardware handshaking, e.g. that CTS/RTS be
active.
ASCII
This is not really a protocol at all, but merely a
way of sending ASCII data. XON/XOFF handshaking is
used and files may be transferred in a batch mode.
Note that IDCCOM incorporates ASCII batch transfers
via multiple wildcard filenames on the command line
or via the picklist.
MEGALINK
This protocol was developed by Paul Meiners of GT
fame. MEGALINK is network friendly and all
necessary characters are "folded" so as not to
interfere with telenetworks. The protocol resembles
YMODEM BATCH to a great extent with a few
significant improvements. An opening header is sent
that in cludes the filename, filesize, filedate, CRC
ver sion and sending programs name. The packet size
is 512 bytes.
MEGALINK is also a batch oriented protocol. Ini
tially, the protocol sends a single packet and
requests status from the receiver. If enough
packets are sent without error, then the protocol
enables a STREAM mode, where several packets are
sent before the transmitter requests status. This
is a very nice protocol with, however, two
shortcomings. First, if the receiver detects that a
file already exists, it does not notify the
transmitter, it simply aborts and waits for the
transmitter to time-out (very kludgey) and second,
the CRC-32 is mathematically inaccurate.
Preconditioning is incorrect and postconditioning
is not done at all.
=================================================
Page 38
=================================================
ZMODEM
The ZMODEM protocol was developed for the public
domain by Chuck Forsberg of Omen Technology under a
contract with TELENET.
ZMODEM is a batch oriented transfer protocol that
supports a conversational mode between the
transmitter and receiver and allows for differences
in implementations to be negotiated. All data is
checked via CRC computations and network support is
provided throughout.
A ZMODEM session is initiated by the transmitter,
which differs from most protocols where the session
is initiated by the receiver. Feature negotiation
is handled by exchanging FRAMES of varying types,
whereby the transmitter and receiver can inform
each other of their needs and capabilities, such as
control character escaping, buffer sizes, CRC32
capabilities and more.
A simple transfer session is depicted below,
TRANSMITTER RECEIVER
"rz",CR
ZRQINIT
ZRINIT
ZFILE
ZRPOS
ZDATA
ZEOF
ZRINIT
ZFIN
ZFIN
OO
The transmitter sends the ASCII string, "rz" and a
carriage return, followed by the ZRQINIT frame to
get the receiver started. The receiver responds
with a ZRINIT frame that describes its
capabilities. The transmitter then sends a ZFILE
frame with the filename, size, date, mode, serial
number, files remaining and number of bytes
remaining to be sent.
The receiver will then respond with a ZRPOS frame,
which tells the transmitter where to start in the
file, usually at the first byte, but the receiver
may specify any location within the file. This
sequence provides a mechanism whereby ZMODEM can
pickup where it left off in an aborted file
=================================================
Page 39
=================================================
transfer.
The transmitter will then send the data and a ZEOF
frame. The receiver will then respond with an error
or a ZRINIT frame.
Once the file has been transferred successfully,
the transmitter sends a ZFIN frame and expects a
ZFIN frame back from the receiver. If this is the
last file being sent, the transmitter sends the
"OO" characters for "Over and Out".
This is a very simple example of a ZMODEM transfer
and there are other events that may complicate
matters greatly, for example, the receiver may send
a ZCHALLENGE frame that contains a random number,
expecting the transmitter to echo this number in a
ZACK frame. This mechanism allows the receiver to
be assured that there is a valid transmitting
program on the other end.
ZMODEM also allows for ZCOMMAND and ZCOMPL frames
that permit the transmitter to issue instructions
to the receiver.
For a complete discussion of the ZMODEM protocol,
see the ZMODEM.DOC file that comes with DSZ.EXE.
CRC/CHECKSUM ERROR CHECKING
Anyone who has done any file transfers via modem
has undoubtedly seen line noise and transfer
errors. This is reasonable, since phone lines run
all over, are located outside and are thus
susceptible to lightning strikes, power glitches,
channel interference, signal fading, atmospheric
conditions and other phenomenon that add a degree
of nervousness to file transfers.
For these reasons, it is essential that transfer
protocols concern themselves with transmission
errors. The first popular transfer protocol was
XMODEM and made use of CHECKSUM error checking.
With checksum, the transmitter merely adds all of
the bytes in the packet (ignoring overflow) and
sends this sum to the receiver as the checksum
byte. The receiver then adds all of the bytes in
the received packet (again ignoring overflow) and
tests to make sure this sum matches that sent by
=================================================
Page 40
=================================================
the transmitter. If they do not match, the receiver
NAK's the packet and the transmitter resends the
packet.
Since checksum is merely the addition of all the
bytes in the packet, it is easy to see how errors
could still slip by. For example, the numbers 2,4,6
add up to 12, however, so do, 8,1,3 as do
other combinations. For a packet size of 128 bytes,
there are many combinations that will yield the
same checksum, only one of which will be correct,
but the receiver will take any of the combinations
as correct.
It is apparent, then that a great number of errors
go undetected with checksum error checking and a
better method was needed. The CRC algorithms were a
natural here. CRC or cyclic redundancy check will
catch the following errors,
* all one or two bit errors
* all odd numbers of bit errors
* all burst errors less than or equal to the
degree of the polynomial used
* most burst errors greater than the degree
of the polynomial used
In a system using CRC, the message sent is
considered to be a binary polynomial M(X). In
XMODEM this is a 1024 bit polynomial, where each
bit is viewed as a coefficient. The message
polynomial M(X) is multiplied by X^k and then
divided by an arbitrary generator polynomial G(X)
of degree k, which results in a quotient Q(X) and a
remainder R(X)/G(X).
X^k * M(X) R(X)
---------- = Q(X) + ------
G(X) G(X)
rearranging modulo-2 and recognizing that addition
and subtraction are equivalent operations in
binary, we find,
X^k * M(X) + R(X) = Q(X) * G(X)
The transmitter appends the CRC to the message,
M(X) + R(X) and the receiver multiplies this by X^k
and because of the above equation, this result is
evenly divisible by the generator polynomial. If
the division results in a zero answer, then it is
assumed no errors have occurred, however, a non-
zero answer indicates an error has occurred.
=================================================
Page 41
=================================================
The CRC-16 algorithm used in XMODEM CRC treats the
entire data packet as an integer, 128 bytes times 8
bits = 1024 bits. This 1024 bit integer is then
multiplied by X^k or 2^16 (65536) and divided by
the CRC polynomial, which is X^16 + X^12 + X^5 + 1
or 65536 + 4096 + 32 + 1 = 69665 for the CRC-16
used in xmodem. This is the SDLC(IBM,CCIT)
polynomial.
HALF/FULL DUPLEX
There has been much confusion on the matter of half
and full duplex in telecommunications. Perhaps an
example will help clear this up.
There are really three categories for data
communications, SIMPLEX, HALF-DUPLEX and FULL-
DUPLEX.
SIMPLEX Like your local radio station,
you can listen, but you cannot
talk
HALF-DUPLEX Like two walkie-talkies, only
one person may speak at a time
FULL-DUPLEX Like a telephone, both parties
may speak at the same time
In modeming, FULL DUPLEX mode means that the local
terminal sends all characters to the modem and
depends on the modem or the remote computer to ECHO
the characters back so they will be displayed
locally.
In HALF DUPLEX mode, the local terminal does not
expect an echo from the remote system, therefore
the local terminal must display the characters
itself.
HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE HANDSHAKING RTS/CTS XON/XOFF
When performing communications via modem, some way
must be provided for the modems and computers to
tell each other when they are busy and when they
are free to send or receive data. This is what is
known as "handshaking". If the computer wants to
send data to the modem but the modem is not ready
=================================================
Page 42
=================================================
because it is busy doing something else, like
sending the last character, the computer must make
sure that the modem is ready to accept the next
character of data, or data will be lost. The
computer does this by checking the signal on one of
the wires going between the modem and computer.
When the signal is "HIGH", then the modem is
telling the computer that it is CLEAR TO SEND DATA,
or CTS for short. The computer can also tell the
modem that is would like to send data to it by
making the REQUEST TO SEND (or RTS) line "HIGH".
With this mechanism, we have a method by which the
computer equipment (DTE) and the modem equipment
(DCE) can exchange data.
This method is called HARDWARE HANDSHAKING
(RTS/CTS), that is physical wires and chips are
used to control the passing of data. Another method
of accomplishing the same thing is called SOFTWARE
HANDSHAKING. In this case, no wires or chips are
involved all handshaking signals are handled by the
software. This is usually the case in BBS work,
however, with the faster modems becoming more
readily available, we are seeing more and more need
for the hardware handshaking method.
With the 9600 bps V.42, X.25 and MNP modems, where
computer to modem speed (DTE to DCE speed) can be
19200 bps, it is essential that the hardware
RTS/CTS methods of flow control be implemented. In
these cases, the computer is speaking to the modem
at 19200 bps and the modem is compressing the data
and speaking to the other modem across the phone
line at 9600 bps, but throughput tends to look more
like the phone line connection was actually made at
19200 bps.
RTS/CTS flow control must also be implemented when
using any of the non-error checking transfer
protocols such as YMODEM-G.
In order to make use of the RTS/CTS handshaking,
your modem must be capable of using the signals,
your computer must be capable of using the signals
and the computer to modem cable must have all of
the wires needed (very many cables do not!).
In IDCCOM, the XON/XOFF and RTS/CTS handshaking
protocols are implemented and can be either turned
on or off from the parameters menu.
=================================================
Page 43
=================================================
COMPUTER TO MODEM SIGNALS
There are many wires that connect the modem to the
computer and each of them has a distinct name or
mnemonic assigned by the IEEE standard RS-232C
interface specification. Following is a brief
explanation of these signals to help you better
understand the complex events in
telecommunications.
TXD - transmit data line
This wire is the one where data is transmitted from
the computer to the modem
RXD - receive data line
This wire is the one where data is received by the
computer from the modem
RTS - request to send
This wire is used by the computer to signal the
modem that it wants to send data
CTS - clear to send
This wire is used by the modem to signal the
computer that it is not busy and the computer may
send its data
DSR - data set ready
This wire is used by the modem to signal the
computer that the modem is ready to operate. Note
that some cables and/or some ports do not support
this pin
DCD - data carrier detect
This wire is the signal from the modem to the
computer that tells the computer whether or not a
carrier signal is present on the phone line
DTR - data terminal ready
This wire is a signal from the computer to the
modem and the modem can be configured to respond by
hanging up the phone
=================================================
Page 44
=================================================
RI - ring indicator
This wire is a signal from the modem to the
computer saying that a ring has been detected on
the phone line
COMCFG - CONFIGURATION PROGRAM
(NOT INCLUDED IN SHAREWARE VERSION)
The COMCFG program allows changing colors, mouse
sensitivity, video write method and sound ON/OFF.
In order to run COMCFG, it must be in the same
directory as IDCCOM.EXE and the two programs must
have the same version numbers.
=================================================
Page 45
=================================================
APPENDIX 1 - modem init strings
Blank spaces may be included in any of the modem
strings as they will be ignored by the modem,
however you must be careful not to overflow the
modem's buffer, otherwise the command may be
ignored by the modem. Note that some modems (HAYES,
for example) require that case may not be mixed in
commands, e.g. "aT" is not acceptable, it must be
"AT" or "at".
Suggested INIT strings for the following modems
1. ZOOM MX2400 bps modems
2. PRACTICAL PERIPHERALS PM2400
==============================================================
AT&D2 S11=55 S10=6 S9=1 E1
NOTE: you may use up to 40 characters on the ZOOM modems.
AT - gets attention of modem
&D2 - follow DTR signal (for hangup)
S11=55 - sets speed of touchtone dialing (in msec.)
S10=6 - carrier loss to hangup delay (how fast modem
hangs up once it has lost carrier
S9=1 - how fast the modem will detect carrier
E1 - enable character echo in command mode
HAYES 9600 bps including V.42 and X.25 products
===============================================================
NOTE: you may use up to 255 characters on the HAYES 9600
bps modems
AT&C1&D2 S11=55 S10=6 S9=1 W1E1
AT - gets attention of modem
&C1 - monitor CARRIER DETECT
&D2 - hang up when DTR drops
S11=55 - sets speed of touchtone dialing (in msec.)
S10=6 - carrier loss to hangup delay
S9=1 - how fast the modem will detect carrier
W1 - shows DTE/DCE speed negotiation progress
messages
E1 - enable character echo in command mode
=================================================
Page 46
=================================================
ANCHOR VOLKSMODEM 1200
===============================================================
ATZV0Q0E0S0=0
AT - gets attention of modem
Z - reset modem (very helpful on this modem)
V1 - send result codes as text strings
Q0 - send result codes
E1 - command echo on
S0=0 - disable automatic answer function
EVEREX EV-920 1200
===============================================================
ATX2 S11=55 S10=6 S9=1
NOTE: you may use up to 40 characters on the ZOOM modems.
AT - gets attention of modem
X2 - turn on ALL result codes
S11=55 - sets speed of touchtone dialing (in msec.)
S10=6 - carrier loss to hangup delay (how fast modem
hangs up once it has lost carrier
S9=1 - how fast the modem will detect carrier
=================================================
Page 47
=================================================
APPENDIX 2 - modem result codes
The following result codes fit the following
modems;
1. ZOOM MX2400
2. PRACTICAL PERIPHERALS PM2400
numeric verbose
0 OK
1 CONNECT
2 RING
3 NO CARRIER
4 ERROR
5 CONNECT 1200
6 NO DIALTONE
7 BUSY
8 NO ANSWER
10 CONNECT 2400
HAYES 9600 result codes
numeric verbose
0 OK
1 CONNECT
2 RING
3 NO CARRIER
4 ERROR
5 CONNECT 1200
6 NO DIALTONE
7 BUSY
8 NO ANSWER
10 CONNECT 2400
11 CONNECT 4800
12 CONNECT 9600
14 CONNECT 19200
40 CARRIER 300
46 CARRIER 1200
47 CARRIER 2400
48 CARRIER 4800
50 CARRIER 9600
70 PROTOCOL:NONE
71 PROTOCOL:ERROR-CONTROL/LAP-B
72 PROTOCOL:ERROR-CONTROL/LAP-B/HDX
73 PROTOCOL:ERROR-CONTROL/AFT
=================================================
Page 48
=================================================
ANCHOR VOLKSMODEM 1200 result codes
numeric verbose
0 OK
1 CONNECT
2 RING
3 BUSY
3 NO CARRIER
4 ERROR
5 CONNECT 1200
EVEREX EV-920 - 1200 bps result codes
(must use X2 command for full result codes)
numeric verbose
0 OK
1 CONNECT
2 RING
3 NO CARRIER
4 ERROR
5 CONNECT 1200
6 NO TONE
7 BUSY
9 PHONE OFF-HOOK
=================================================
Page 49
=================================================
APPENDIX 3 - ANSI sequences supported
ESC [ n A - cursor up n lines
ESC [ n B - cursor down n lines
ESC [ n C - cursor right n columns
ESC [ n D - cursor left n columns
ESC [ row;col f - cursor position
ESC [ f - home cursor
ESC [ row;col H - cursor position
ESC [ H - home cursor
ESC [ J - erase from cursor to end of screen
ESC [ 1 J - erase from beginning of screen to cursor
ESC [ 2 J - erase screen, home cursor
ESC [ K - erase from cursor to end of line
ESC [ 1 K - erase from beginning of line to cursor
ESC [ 2 K - erase line
ESC [ m - turn off all attributes
ESC [ atr;atr m - set color attributes
ESC [ s - save cursor position
ESC [ u - restore cursor position
=================================================
Page 50
=================================================
APPENDIX 4 - COM ports and interrupt lines (IRQ)
IDCCOM uses the "standard" port settings depicted in the
following table. Note that the port numbers are given in
hexadecimal (as they are listed in the manuals).
Port I/O PORT ADDRESS STANDARD IRQ NUMBER
------ ---------------- -------------------
1 3F8-3FF IRQ4
2 2F8-2FF IRQ3
3 3E8-3EF IRQ4
4 2E8-2EF IRQ3
Alternate port numbers for some serial cards;
x 2E0-2E7
The PS/2 class machines provide COM 3 and COM 4 support
at the following port numbers;
3 3220 IRQ3
4 3228 IRQ3
When installing serial cards in your machine, you must
ensure that no two ports have the same number. Serial
ports are used by MIDI interface cards, internal modem
cards, mouse cards, serial printers and external modems.
=================================================
Page 51
=================================================
APPENDIX 5 - script file language
The script file itself may be made up of any of the
following commands. Blank lines are ignored. Tabs
and spaces may be used throughout for spacing
purposes.
; - a comment line
* - a comment line
' - a comment line
:label - define labels (just
like .BAT files)
ALARM - sounds klaxxon alarm and
waits for a keypress
BEEP - make a beep
CAPTURE ON/OFF - toggle capture mode ON/OFF
CAPFILE <filename> - specify filename for
capture file
CD <directory> - change disk directories
CLEAR - clear the screen
CYCLE - repeat execution of the
current script file
DIAL <555-1212> - dial a specified phone
number
PHONEDIR <###> - dial "number" entry in the
phone directory
ECHO ON/OFF - turns echo of all script
commands to local screen
on or off. (used
primarily for debugging
scripts) Note that using
this command without any
arguments, e.g. ECHO
toggles the echo flag
EXIT - hangup and exit IDCCOM
FLUSH - flush any serial chars in
buffer
FORMFEED - send a formfeed to the
printer
KBFLUSH - flush local keyboard
MACRO n - send a macro key n, where
1 ¢≤ n ≤ 10
MACRO 1 - sends macro key 1
MACRO F10 - sends macro key 10
MACRO 1O - sends macro key 10
GOTO label - goto the label
HANGUP - hangup the modem
HOST - enter host mode
IFCD goto label - if carrier is detected,
=================================================
Page 52
=================================================
then goto label
IFNOTCD goto label - if carrier is not detect
ed, then goto label
PRINT ON/OFF - turns printer echo ON and
OFF
PAUSE nnn - wait for a "n" seconds and
proceed. Maximum pause is
255 seconds. Anything
larger will be converted
modulo 256
QUIT - exit from script
RECV <protocol file(s) - send file(s) (see XMIT
below)
NOTE: for SEND and SENDLN you may also give "$PW" as
an argument and the password from the current
directory entry will be sent. Note that you must have
used the PHONEDIR command prior to this so that the
password will be set up.
SEND "text" - send "text" to modem and
local
SENDLN "text" - send "text" to modem and
add carriage return and
local echo
SENDCTRL char - send a control character
to modem
SET <baud n81 port n> - set modem parameters
WAITFOR "text" - wait for "text" to be
received from modem
WAITTIME nn - set max time for WAITFOR
routine (59 seconds max)
WRITE "text" - send "text" to local
screen only
WRITELN "text" - send "text" to local
screen only w/cr,lf
XMIT <protocol file(s)> - send "files" via protocol.
Use mnemonics for
protocols, e.g. YB XM,
same as IDCCOM
NOTE: all <text> is to be enclosed in " or '
characters label names are limited to 10 characters.
If names longer than 10 characters are used, only the
first 10 will be read.
=================================================
Page 53
=================================================
SENDING AND RECEIVING FILES IN SCRIPT FILES
Mnemonics to be used with the XMIT and RECV functions
are as follows. The command line syntax is
XMIT -xx fubar.txt fubar.doc
Where xx is one of the following;
"XC" ; xmodem CRC
"XM" ; xmodem checksum
"XK" ; xmodem 1K
"YB" ; ymodem
"YG" ; ymodem-G
"GB" ; ymodem-G batch
"ML" ; megalink
"ZM" ; zmodem
"AS" ; Ascii
"E1" ; external 1
"E2" ; external 2
=================================================
Page 54
=================================================
APPENDIX 6 - acknowledgements
The following are excellent references for the
specifications for the file transfer protocols. We
have found them to be accurate sources for the
specifications, rules and operating considerations of
the transfer protocols.
YMODEM.DOC - Chuck Forsberg, incl. excerpts from
Ward C.
MEGALINK.DOC - Paul Meiners
ZMODEM.DOC - Chuck Forsberg
Many thanks to Keith Petersen for his kind assistance
and suggestions and for running Royal Oaks for mega-
years.
Many thanks to Ward Christensen for being so
generous, ingenious and timely (although cryptic).
Many thanks to Charles Taylor, for his undying
affluence in locating bugs and incinerating bad
ideas.
Many thanks to Curt Edwards, as always, an endless
source of good ideas and working insight.
=================================================
Page 55
=================================================
INDEX
ACK, 36, 37, 38
Acknowledgements, 5, 55
Allocates, 33
ALR, 4
ANCHOR, 5, 47, 49
ANSI, 3, 5, 6, 14, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 50
AOPA, 2
Appended, 14
Archive, 3
ASCII, 5, 6, 23, 36, 38, 39, 54
Assembler, 4, 5
ATX, 47
AUTOEXEC, 25, 30, 31, 33
AUTOLOGOFF, 24
Automation, 31
Auto-linefeed, 18
BAUD, 4, 7, 53
BAUDOT, 7
Board, 31
Boot, 25, 30
Boots, 31
BPS, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 15, 17, 43, 46, 49
BREAK, 31
BUFFERS, 31
Building, 22
Bulletin, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27
Bulletins, 6, 23, 24
BULLETxx, 21, 23, 25
CAPFILE, 52
CAPTURE, 4, 6, 14, 18, 21, 52
Captured, 14
Capturing, 14
CCIT, 42
CD, 8, 27, 30, 31, 52
CFG, 22
CGA, 5
CHECKSUM, 5, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41, 54
Chips, 43
CHKDSK, 31
Christensen, 35, 55
CLS, 31
Color, 6, 50
Colors, 29, 45
COM, 5, 6, 7, 22, 25, 31, 51
COMCFG, 3, 5, 2, 45
COMPORT, 17
COMREST, 3, 22
COMSAVE, 3, 22
COMx, 32
=================================================
Page 56
=================================================
CONFIG, 24, 30, 31
Confusion, 42
CONNECTING, 4, 15, 21, 24
Connections, 24
Consisting, 31
CONTROL-C, 22
CONTROL-E, 23
CONTROL-K, 22
CONTROL-T, 22
CONTROL-Y, 9
Conway, 1, 4
Copyright, 1, 2, 4
CRC, 5, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 54
CTRL-H, 34
CTRL-L, 34
CTRL-P, 34
CTRL-R, 34
CTRL-S, 34
CTRL-V, 34
CTRL-X, 34
CTRL-Z, 34
CTS, 5, 15, 38, 42, 43, 44
CTTY, 32
DCD, 44
DCE, 4, 7, 43, 46
Denied, 23
DIAL, 11, 15, 52
DIALER, 10, 16
DIALING, 4, 6, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 46, 47
DIALTONE, 48
DIRECT, 4, 15, 21
Disconnect, 11
Dispose, 14
Dnload, 18
DOOR, 5, 21, 22, 26, 27, 31, 32, 33
Doors, 22, 26, 32
DOR, 5, 22, 26, 31, 32
DOS, 18, 22, 25, 26, 27, 30, 32, 33
DOSSHELL, 22
Download, 17, 20, 25, 26, 30, 34
Downloaded, 6, 17, 34
DOWNLOADING, 16, 17
Downloads, 6, 27
Downs, 14
DR, 27
Drop, 11, 37
DSR, 44
DSZ, 17, 40
DTE, 4, 7, 43, 46
DTR, 11, 15, 44, 46
DUPLEX, 5, 15, 42
=================================================
Page 57
=================================================
EDIT, 4, 15, 18, 19
Edwards, 55
EGA, 4, 5, 6, 20
EOT, 36
ERROR-CONTROL, 48
ESC, 16, 19, 50
ESCAPE, 9, 10, 14, 19, 20
EV, 5, 47, 49
EVEREX, 5, 47, 49
Executing, 22
EXTERN, 17
FAST-TELECOMMUNICATIONS, 1
FDR, 4, 22, 23, 26, 28, 29, 30
FILTANSI, 3, 22
FIRSTCAL, 21, 23
Flow, 43
Folded, 38
Fooled, 15
FORCE, 21
FORCED, 15, 31
Fraction, 5
Fragmentation, 31
FULL-DUPLEX, 42
GOTO, 17, 52, 53
HALF, 5, 15, 42
HALF-DUPLEX, 42
Handling, 3
HANGUP, 11, 15, 26, 34, 46, 47, 52
HDR, 22, 33
HDX, 48
Help, 3, 4, 6, 9, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24, 29, 42, 44
HERCULES, 5
Hierarchical, 28
HLP, 21, 22, 23, 25, 29
HOST, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 15, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26,
27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 52
H-Z, 28
IDCDOORx, 22, 26
IDCDOS, 32
IDCSHELL, 4, 6, 12, 13, 18, 20, 22
IDCSYS, 3, 5, 2, 24, 34, 35
IDCUTILS, 31, 33
IEEE, 2, 44
IFCD, 52
IFF, 33
IFNOTCD, 53
JJ, 18
=================================================
Page 58
=================================================
Kaypro, 4
Kentucky, 1, 2, 3, 4
KSPE, 2
LICENSE, 4, 2, 3
LICENSING, 4, 3
LOGOFF, 21, 23, 29
LOGONSCR, 21, 22, 29
MAC, 12, 21
MACRO, 4, 12, 13, 18, 52
Macros, 13, 21
MAINMENU, 21, 22, 29
Maintenance, 35
MASM, 4
MCGA, 5
MD, 8
MDM, 12, 21
Mega, 55
MEGALINK, 5, 6, 17, 38, 54, 55
Meiners, 38, 55
Merrick, 1, 4
MGA, 5
MIDI, 51
Midnight, 22, 25, 31
ML, 54
MNP, 24, 38, 43
MNU, 21, 23, 25, 26
Modeming, 42
Modem's, 46
NARC, 4, 6, 13, 18, 20, 22
Network, 2, 38, 39
NEWUSERS, 22, 24, 35
Non-ANSI, 3, 23
NON-MNP, 24
NORTH, 3
Norton, 4
NSPE, 2
NUL, 37
NULL, 21, 36
NULL-MODEM, 15
NUMERIC, 10, 15, 48, 49
Oaks, 55
OFF-HOOK, 49
ON-LINE, 9
Option, 14, 31
Overcome, 25
Packet, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42
Packets, 37, 38
Packing, 35
=================================================
Page 59
=================================================
PARAMETERS, 4, 15, 17, 30, 43, 53
Parity, 10
Password, 10, 13, 18, 23, 34, 35, 53
PATH, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 28
PAUSE, 14, 24, 53
PCjr, 22
Petersen, 55
PgDn, 15, 16, 17, 19
PgUP, 15, 16, 17, 19
PHONEDIR, 52, 53
Picklist, 4, 6, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 38
PRICING, 4, 3
Protocol, 10, 16, 17, 21, 22, 24, 29, 35, 36, 37, 38,
39, 40, 48, 53
PROTOCOLS, 5, 6, 16, 17, 21, 29, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 43,
53, 55
PTH, 11, 12, 21
QuickBASIC, 4
QuickC, 4
QUIT, 53
Radio, 42
Ram, 5
Reboot, 31
Reboots, 33
RECEIVE, 12, 17, 42, 44
REM, 17, 31
RES, 12, 21
RESET, 11, 24, 32, 34, 47
ROLLDATE, 22, 25, 31
Rollover, 31
RTS, 5, 15, 38, 42, 43, 44
SAMPLE, 31
SDLC, 42
SENDCTRL, 53
SENDLN, 53
Serial, 6, 18, 21, 22, 32, 37, 39, 51, 52
SETUP, 4, 7, 8, 23, 29
Shell, 18, 22, 26, 27, 31, 33
Short-cut, 15
SIGNALS, 5, 7, 43, 44
SIMPLEX, 42
SOH, 37
STX, 37
Tagging, 16
TELENET, 39
Telephone, 42
TERMINAL, 4, 7, 9, 10, 12, 16, 21, 34, 42, 44
TRANSMIT, 12, 16, 26, 44
TSR, 22, 25
=================================================
Page 60
=================================================
TXD, 44
UNIQUE, 23
UNIX, 4
Upload, 16, 17, 18, 21, 25, 26, 30, 34
Uploaded, 6, 34
UPLOADING, 4, 16
Uploads, 6, 27
VERBOSE, 10, 15, 48, 49
VGA, 4, 5, 6, 20
Video, 5, 20, 45
VOLKSMODEM, 5, 47, 49
Wait, 24, 31, 53
WAITFOR, 53
WAITTIME, 53
Walkie-talkies, 42
WARNING, 24
Warranties, 1
WARRANTY, 4, 1
WATCHDOG, 33
WINGS, 2
WRITELN, 53
XMODEM, 5, 6, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42, 54
XMODEM's, 37
XOFF, 5, 15, 38, 42, 43
XON, 5, 15, 38, 42, 43
YESNO, 31
YMODEM, 5, 6, 17, 35, 36, 37, 38, 54, 55
YMODEMS, 35
YMODEM-G, 5, 6, 37, 38, 43, 54
ZACK, 40
ZCHALLENGE, 40
ZCOMMAND, 40
ZCOMPL, 40
ZDATA, 39
ZEOF, 39, 40
ZFILE, 39
ZFIN, 39, 40
Zip, 6, 20, 22, 24, 26, 35
ZIPVIEW, 6, 13, 18, 22, 25, 27, 32, 33
ZMODEM, 5, 6, 17, 39, 40, 54, 55
ZOOM, 5, 46, 47, 48
ZRINIT, 39, 40
ZRPOS, 39
ZRQINIT, 39
ZVIEW, 22
=================================================
Page 61