Quick Link II Fax (250-3027B) DataComm Overview Faxback Doc. # 3222
Originating a data call (dialing out)
There are two ways to dial out for a Data Comm connection: a quick DIAL,
or accessing the DATA PHONE LIST.
Quickly dialing a number
The great majority of data communications sessions will begin with you
dialing out to another modem, BBS, or online service. The quickest way to
do this is by simply dialing the modem with the DIAL command from the
CONNECT menu or with the DIAL button on the button bar, which brings up
the DIAL MODEM dialog box. From this box, the telephone number can be
entered in to the NUMBER TO DIAL field and dialed. If you would like the
modem to redial if it encounters a BUSY signal, check the REDIAL ON BUSY
checkbox. Clicking OK starts dialing.
The DIAL PREFIX is used for dialing any digits before the actual telephone
number is dialed, and may be set for all calls from the MODEM SETUP dialog
box, accessible from the SETUP menu. The Dial Prefix is commonly used in
office situations where you need to dial a 9 to get an outside line or
dialtone, for example. In such a case, entering a 9, followed by a comma
(,) would first dial a 9, then pause 2 seconds (a comma is a 2 second
pause) then continue dialing the telephone number. The REDIAL TIMEOUT
tells Quick Link II Fax how long to wait for a CONNECT before aborting.
If the S7 register is set lower than the Redial Timeout, the S7 register
time will be used.
Using the Data Phone List
Choosing DATA PHONE LIST from the CONNECT menu brings up the DATA PHONE
LIST dialog box, allowing access to a datacom telephone book of all your
frequently dialed data numbers - clicking DATA LIST on the button bar
accesses the phone book too. You'll find that it is accessed almost
exactly like the Fax Phone List, and can be printed the same way (choosing
PRINT from the FILE menu and selecting DATA PHONE LIST).
Choose it now, and you will find that there is already an entry in the
list: American E-Mail. American E-Mail is Smith Micro Software's BBS;
you are invited to use this system to test the data portion of Quick Link
II Fax. There is no charge for using your system, other than the long
distance charges from your telephone company for dialing the 714 area code
(The 714 area code connects to Southern California). To dial any number
as it appears in the Data Phone List, highlight the entry by clicking on
it and click on the DIAL button. The ADD and DELETE buttons allow you to
respectively add and delete Data Phone List entries.
To edit an entry in the Data Phone List, highlight the entry and click the
EDIT BUTTON. Highlight the American E-Mail entry and click the EDIT
button now. This brings up the DATA PHONE LIST - EDIT dialog box, where
every aspect of an entry can be changed. To change the NAME or NUMBER of
an entry, just click in the appropriate field and type in the new entry.
Notice that spaces and dashes are acceptable in the telephone number. If
you are calling from the 714 area code, be sure to delete the 1-714 from
the NUMBER field.
The other fields deal with the more technical aspects of the connection,
such as the BAUD RATE, TERMINAL TYPE, and Line settings. The baud rate
and terminal type fields are pull down menus and the line settings are
radio buttons. While there is no set standard terminal type and line
setting combination for every modem connection, there are some guidelines
to follow which may be helpful.
Set the BAUD RATE to the highest your modem will support, or to 2400
if you are getting bad connections. When you dial the other modem,
the two modems will establish the highest connection speed possible
automatically so long as the AUTOBAUD feature is turned on (The
default setting for Autobaud is ON).
Small systems (BBS's) tend to use the ANSI terminal type with 8 data
bits, no parity, and one stop bit (8-N-1 for short).
Large installations (such as mainframes and online services like GEnie
and CompuServe) tend to use the VT100 terminal type with 7 data bits,
even parity, and 1 stop bit (summarized by 7-E-1).
Two people connecting their PC's together via modem should try the TTY
terminal type with 8-N-1. You may also may need to turn on Local Echo
and both CR/LF check boxes in the Terminal Options dialog box.
Other than the area code in the telephone number, all the settings for the
American E-Mail entry are correct. Click OK to leave the Edit dialog box
and click DIAL to dial our BBS.
Once connected to our American E-Mail system, follow the prompts to create
a new user account. You will be prompted at every step and must create a
password of your own choosing to enter the system for future online
sessions. When connected to our system, you may download public domain
and utility files and programs, visit the Online Software Store, or get
online technical support. All selections are menu driven; when in doubt
enter a Question Mark (?) for help. To disconnect from our (or any)
system, pull down the Connect menu and choose HANGUP.
File transfers
Unlike faxing, file transfers do not happen automatically; there is a good
deal of preparation to consider. Fortunately, Quick Link II Fax makes the
procedure as intuitive as possible.
The concept of file transfers
Before getting into the specifics of file transfers, an outline of the
concept of uploading and downloading should be very helpful to those users
who have never transferred files before. The general process is something
like this:
1. Connect with the other modem or system (covered in the previous
sections). Make sure that you can both write to the screen so the
other end can understand you and vice versa.
2. Tell the other side that you are interested in file transfers.
3. Tell the other side what file(s) you want or what file(s) they should
expect from you.
4. Tell the other side what transfer protocol to use.
5. When the other side says they are ready, pull down the FILE menu and
choose SEND FILE or RECEIVE FILE, and choose the protocol you told the
other side to expect.
6. If sending, choose the file(s) you want to send and click OK; the
transfer begins. If receiving using Xmodem (of any type) or ASCII
protocols, type the name of the file you want to receive and Click OK;
for all other protocols just click OK and the transfer begins.
With this in mind, Quick Link II Fax file transfers will make a lot more
sense.
Selecting one file to upload
The ASCII, Xmodem, Xmodem CRC, and Xmodem 1K protocols let you upload only
one file per transmission. When you select sending by one of these
protocols, the Send Single File dialog box appears with the selected
protocol as the title.
To send a file, enter the complete path of the file you want to upload.
For example, to upload the file SALARY.DOC from the WINWORD subdirectory
on your computer's C drive, type: C:\WINWORD\SALARY.DOC and click OK.
OR
Use the DIRECTORIES list box to scroll through the subdirectories on your
PC's hard drive and select the file from the FILES list box, clicking OK
when highlighted. This starts the transfer and calls up the UPLOAD STATUS
dialog box.
Selecting multiple files to upload
The Kermit/SuperKermit, Ymodem, and Ymodem-G protocols let you upload more
than one file during the same transmission. In addition to sending a
batch of files, one file may also be sent by itself. The main advantage
of sending one file with one of these protocols is that the other end need
not type in a file name, as the file name is included with the transfer
using these protocols. If you select one of these protocols, the SEND
MULTIPLE FILES dialog box appears with the selected protocol as the title.
This dialog box works similarly to the SEND FAX dialog box.
If you want to upload files from the current path, shown at the top of the
DIRECTORIES list box, enter the file name in the FILE NAME field and click
ADD. Otherwise, enter the complete path of the file you want to upload.
For example, to upload the file SALARY.DOC from the WINWORD subdirectory
on your computer's C drive, type: C:\WINWORD\SALARY.DOC and click OK.
OR
Use the DIRECTORIES list box to scroll through the subdirectories on your
PC's hard drive and select the files from the FILES AVAILABLE list box,
clicking ADD to add the file to the FILES SELECTED list box. Repeat this
for every file you want to add to the batch send. If you change your mind
about sending one of the files, highlight it in the FILES SELECTED list
box and click REMOVE. The selected file is removed from the list box and
will not be sent. When the list of files selected is complete, click the
OK button, which begins the transfer and calls up the UPLOAD STATUS dialog
box.
Upload status
The UPLOAD STATUS dialog box keeps you informed of the status of the
upload. It displays the following information:
PROTOCOL displays which protocol is being used for the current
transmission.
FILE NAME displays the name of the current file being transferred.
FILE SIZE displays the size of the current file being transferred.
BYTES SENT displays the number of bytes sent.
STATUS shows the current status of the upload. For example, SENDING
DATA appears when data is being sent to the remote system.
The thermometer at the bottom of the dialog box displays the progress of
the upload. The whole transfer can be stopped by clicking the CANCEL
button. The MINIMIZE button will reduce Quick Link II Fax to an icon at
the bottom of the screen while the transfer is still taking place, so you
can truly send files in the background and work with other programs.
When the transfer is finished, a dialog box will appear to alert you, and
the computer will beep. Clicking OK removes the dialog box. If Quick
Link II Fax is still minimized, double clicking on its icon will return
you to the terminal window to resume communications.
Downloading files
Receiving Files works much like sending a file and actually involves less
steps. The biggest issue is determining what protocol is being used and
how many files are being sent.
Receiving one file
The ASCII, Xmodem, Xmodem CRC, and Xmodem 1K protocols let you download
only one file per transmission. When you select receiving by one of these
protocols, the Receive Single File dialog box appears with the selected
protocol as the title.
At this point, Quick Link II Fax needs a file name to save the file under.
To receive the file, enter the complete path of the file you want to
download. For example, to download the file PICTURE.BMP to the WINDOWS
subdirectory on your computer's C drive, type: C:\WINDOWS\PICTURE.BMP AND
CLICK OK.
OR
Use the DIRECTORIES list box to scroll through the subdirectories on your
PC's hard drive and type in the file's name in the FILE NAME field,
clicking OK done. This starts the transfer and calls up the DOWNLOAD
STATUS dialog box.
Receiving a batch of files
The Kermit/SuperKermit, Ymodem, and Ymodem-G, protocols let you download
more than one file during the same transmission. In addition to receiving
a batch of files, one file may also be received by itself. The main
advantage of receiving one file with one of these protocols is that the
file name is included with the transfer using these protocols, so it is
impossible for files to be named incorrectly.
When you use one of these protocols, the Receive Multiple Files dialog box
appears with the selected PROTOCOL as the title. This dialog box works
similarly with the Receive Single Files dialog box, except that you cannot
enter a file name. Another directory can be selected with the DIRECTORIES
list box, and clicking OK initiates the transfer and calls up the DOWNLOAD
STATUS dialog box.
Download status
The DOWNLOAD STATUS dialog box keeps you informed of the status of the
download. It displays the following information:
PROTOCOL displays which protocol is being used for the current
transmission.
FILE NAME displays the name of the current file being transferred.
FILE SIZE displays the size of the current file being transferred.
(Batch protocol only)
BYTES RECEIVED displays the number of bytes sent
STATUS shows the current status of the upload. For example, RECEIVING
DATA appears when data is being received from the remote system.
The thermometer at the bottom of the dialog box displays the progress of
the download (Batch protocol only). The whole transfer may be stopped by
clicking the CANCEL button. The MINIMIZE button will reduce Quick Link II
Fax to an icon at the bottom of the screen while the transfer is still
taking place, so you can truly receive files in the background and work
with other programs.
When the transfer is finished, a dialog box will appear to alert you, and
the computer will beep. Clicking OK removes the dialog box. If Quick
Link II Fax is still minimized, double clicking on its icon will return
you to the terminal window to resume communications.
Capture text
If you know in advance that you want to capture the text that appears on
screen, Quick Link II Fax can be set to make a copy of everything you see
and save it into a text file on your computer's hard disk.
To capture text, pull down the FILE menu and choose CAPTURE TEXT, which
calls up the CAPTURE TEXT dialog box. The Capture Text dialog box works
just like the Receive Single File dialog box. Type a name for the file to
save the captured test in the FILE NAME field and click OK to begin
capturing. You can select another directory with the DIRECTORIES list
box.
You can double-check that Quick Link II Fax is indeed capturing text by
pulling down the FILE menu; when there is a checkmark next to CAPTURE
TEXT, text is being captured. Choosing CAPTURE TEXT again will stop the
capture and close the file, making the checkmark disappear. CAPTURE TEXT
HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RECEIVING FAXES OR FAXING.
Retransmitting what you see
Choosing PASTE TO HOST will transmit the contents of the Windows Clipboard
out the modem or fax/modem to the remote computer or terminal. This
function will only operate if the contents of the clipboard are in text
format.
Clearing the screen
Choosing CLEAR SCREEN from the EDIT menu will clear the terminal window of
its text. This command will not affect the connection to the remote
system.
Answering a data call
Answering a call is almost totally automatic and handled by the Fax
Manager. The Fax Manager's default settings will let it listen to the
incoming call to determine what it is: either fax, data, or voice. If it
is a modem/data call, the Fax Manager will seamlessly pass the call into
the Quick Link II Fax telecommunications mode, even automatically
launching the main application and waiting for your input in the terminal
window.
A data call can also be answered when you are in the main application
Quick Link II Fax and the Fax Manager is not running if the ANSWER MODE is
set to either DATA ONLY or AUTO DETECT from the MODEM SETUP dialog box.
Typing ATA and then the Enter key in the terminal window will also force
the modem to pick up the line and answer the call.
Strictly speaking, the SO register can be set to the number of rings you
want the modem to answer the phone, but this will conflict with the Fax
Manager's operation and bypass the NUMBER OF RINGS TO ANSWER PHONE field
in the MODEM SETUP dialog box. You are strongly urged not to change the
SO register in the Init string. If you do, be sure to change it back to
SO=O to receive faxes.
(br/all-11/4/94)