home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Gold Medal Software 3
/
Gold Medal Software - Volume 3 (Gold Medal) (1994).iso
/
comms
/
commo60.arj
/
HISTORY
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1994-04-09
|
17KB
|
423 lines
Recent Revision History
-----------------------
This file contains a list of changes to the current release and also to
several recent releases. If you have used {COMMO} before, please make sure
you are caught up on all the changes and improvements.
See the file READ.ME for important announcements and {COMMO} product
information.
----------- -------------
{COMMO} 6.0 April 9, 1994
----------- -------------
ATTENTION REGISTERED USERS: You must obtain a NEW PASSKEY to create your
registered copy of {COMMO} 6.0. See sections 8 and 9 in READ.ME for
instructions and special offers.
IMPORTANT! Certain new features work only in the registered version of the
program. These include:
1) Loading a new Dialing Directory within the program.
2) User-defined key labels.
3) Automatic entry to and exit from Doorway Mode.
Bugs fixed
----------
Setting the DOS time from Shell to DOS or EXECute would sometimes cause
{COMMO}'s internal timers to become disabled (this would affect dialing count
down, PAUSe, etc.).
Using IRQ's higher than 7 didn't work.
The NOOP function brought up the Setup File.
Setup File Additions
--------------------
IMPORTANT! The following item is now REQUIRED if you use external protocols.
See UPGRADE.DOC for additional information.
"protodir" must be set to the path where your external protocol programs are
located (they must all be in one directory). Example:
*{set protodir,c:\commo} Path to find external protocols
"sel_up" can be used to configure how files are selected for uploading. Set
it to "yes" to go directly to the picklist.
"dcn=" defines the method used to cancel dialing (when you press Esc or time
out). The default is to send a carriage return, but you can have {COMMO} drop
DTR or send a string that you specify.
"mky=" lets you assign a key-label to virtually any key combination on the
keyboard. See the revised Appendix H for details on user-defined key-labels.
** Registered version of {COMMO} only!
The key used to enter and exit Doorway Mode is now fully configurable (default
is Alt-=). You can redefine the key in COMMO.SET and you MUST have a macro to
support it in COMMO.MAC.
Enter the scan code in the new Setup File item:
{dmk=8300} Scan code for Doorway Mode key (see COMMO.DOC)
Then enter a macro in COMMO.MAC as follows:
{:al=} {doorway} {}
"slt=" lets you place the Status Line at the top or bottom of the Terminal
Screen.
"esf=" sets the amount of edit space for files that can be edited (see
Appendix K for new support file information).
"kes=" defines the colors used when editing the Setup File.
See "Alt-G Edit Setup File" in COMMO.DOC for details on these items.
Macro File Changes
------------------
Execution of large macros will be much faster now (in most cases). {COMMO}
will "remember" where the most recently used labels are located and will not
have to search for them each time.
You can now load a second Macro File (the "auxiliary") while the original file
remains in memory (the "resident"). When an auxiliary is loaded, the two
files behave as one Macro File.
Note that the auxiliary is logically positioned AHEAD of the resident,
allowing macros in the resident to be overridden if necessary. You can
CALL and GOTO between files (but you can not execute sequentially off the
end of the auxiliary).
The auxiliary is loaded (or replaced) using a CALL or GOTO, which can now
specify an auxiliary Macro File. Thus you can CALL a subroutine in a
different file and simply RETUrn to the macro in the original file. Or you
can GOTO a macro in another file when you don't want to return. A new
function, UNLOad, has been provided to release the auxiliary Macro File
from memory.
The MACLoad function has been eliminated. Please update your macros to use
CALL or GOTO (see UPGRADE.DOC).
A new macro function FONFile may be used to load a new Dialing Directory. For
example: {fonf other.fon}. ** Registered version of {COMMO} only!
The protocol macros have been generalized and placed in a special section of
COMMO.MAC so that they can be CALLed from other macros, including the MOSTHOST
and mailrun macros.
Special labels are used that indicate the protocol type and direction. For
example, the macro for Zmodem send has the label "z_send", while the macro
for HSLink receive is "h_recv". The macros used by the protocol menus CALL
these (the menu macros still have the same labels as before).
Special variables must be set for the directory (upload or download), for
the filespec (upload) and for the alarm. These are "pr_up", "pr_down",
"pr_file" and "pr_alarm" respectively. See the macros themselves for which
variables need to be set.
You must also have "protodir" defined in your Setup File. This removes any
ambiguity as to where the external protocols are located and allows them to
be EXECuted with the "D" switch, which improves performance.
The MOSTHOST has been updated to use the new protocol macros. SELECT.MAC is
now contained in COMMO.MAC and also uses the new protocol macros.
Macros have been added to the protocol section for MSKERMIT 3.0 or later.
This is the Columbia University Kermit terminal program. {COMMO} will use it
as an external protocol. You need only obtain this program from your favorite
BBS and place the executable (KERMIT.EXE) in your protocol directory.
A new function SFICtrl controls the Speech Friendly Interface (for users with
speech sythesizer equipment). SFI can now be turned on or off
during program operation. See MACRO.DOC for details.
Three predefined key-labels have been added: Alt-Return (not keypad) [art],
Alt-Keypad(-) [ak-], Alt-Keypad(+) [ak+].
A new built-in variable "_aux" has the name of the current auxiliary Macro
File. "_mac" has the name of the resident file.
A new built-in variable "_ent" represents the code(s) sent when the Enter key
is pressed. Usually it's just "^m", but if New Line Mode is set in ANSI or
VT102 emulation it will be "^m^j". This variable is primarily for use in the
VT102/VT220 keyboard files.
Other Improvements/Changes
--------------------------
A new command line switch "/b" will turn on the Speech Friendly Interface for
the current session.
The feature to execute a macro when carrier detect is lost now operates at all
times (except in the Swap to Disk). If a macro is running, it will be
terminated, then the carrier lost macro will run. If a window is open, the
macro will run when the window is exited.
The macro field in the Dialing Directory can now specify both a label and a
Macro File to load when a connection is made. See "Alt-D Dialing Directory"
in COMMO.DOC for details.
Press "L" in the Dialing Directory window to load a new directory file.
** Registered version of {COMMO} only!
Press "L" in either the resident or auxiliary Macro File windows to load a new
auxiliary. Press "T" or Alt-M in either window to toggle between the two
files.
{COMMO} will now switch to and restore the 80x50 (VGA) and 80x43 (EGA) display
modes. Use the "avm" setup item and the VIDEo macro function to define and
switch modes.
Each file window (Dialing Directory, Macro File, etc.) will now maintain its
own horizontal position and cursor position (in the editor) between openings.
The Setup File now has its own edit window (and colors, add the "kes" item)
and will also save its positions.
The sizes of the Dialing Directory, resident Macro File and auxiliary Macro
File may now be up to 64k in size each.
{COMMO} will now automatically switch to Doorway Mode when the Doorway program
(version 2.22 or later) is run on the host system. It will switch back when
Doorway exits. ** Registered version of {COMMO} only!
The Usage Log will now show the phone number field with variables expanded,
instead of showing the variable names (override prefix and suffix will be
included, if present).
A keyboard file, VT220.MAC, has been provided for VT220 emulation. Note that
{COMMO} does NOT support the enhanced display functions of the VT220 terminal.
Therefore the results may not be satisfactory in all cases. The keyboard file
for VT102 emulation, VT102.MAC, has been improved. See Appendix E for more
information and a new way to use these files.
Emulation parameters (colors, modes, etc.) are now reset when a connection is
made after dialing. This ensures a clean initial display.
The Alt-P (Terminal Parameters) window now comes up with the Dialing Defaults
displayed first (instead of the Current Settings). You still press F2 to
toggle between the two sets.
The string search function in the file windows has been enhanced. The "find"
line is now partway down the screen (instead of always at the top). And the
blinking cursor is used to show the found string, even in Scrollback, Online
Help, etc.
The file windows now have only one "help" line at the bottom of the screen.
Just press [F1] to see all of the keys available in the window. You may now
set a third color combination for all file windows: highlight colors, used for
bottom line inputs and messages as well as the Selector Bar.
The Spacebar can now be used to scroll down in the Help, Scrollback and
Variable Space windows (same as down arrow).
------------ ----------------
{COMMO} 5.52 October 14, 1993
------------ ----------------
Bugs fixed
----------
Time slice management in multi-tasking environments has been adjusted once
again. Performance in other windows should now be improved (with little, if
any, sacrifice to performance in the {COMMO} window).
If the INPUt macro function was used without a second argument (the prompt),
{COMMO} would behave unpredictably (sometimes crashing the system).
The cursor in the INPUt window would be in the wrong place when returning from
the SETEsc prompt.
The "gfnu" and "gfnu_x" macros have been updated once again. These now do
additional checking for the case when there are no files to upload.
Some timing adjustments have been made to the internal Xmodem and Ymodem
protocols.
Improvements/Changes
--------------------
There is an "auto" option for Hardware Flow Control (now the default).
Observe the following changes:
If you set {hfc=auto} in your Setup File, {COMMO} will automatically
enable or disable Hardware Flow Control based on the state of the CTS
signal.
A new Status Line indicator (≈) in the Modem Lights shows that HFC is on.
IMPORTANT! The HFLOw and SFLOw macro functions have been eliminated.
Please check your macros!
The Enter key is now a valid selection in the MENU system. A separate
variable, "_menter", is used to supply a label to GOTO when Enter is pressed.
The "_msn" built-in variable is set to 0 when Enter is pressed.
Trailing spaces (as well as leading ones) will now be trimmed from the "_nam"
built-in variable. The variable is still limited to 40 characters in length.
The PAUSe function can now be set for clock ticks (18 per second) as well as
seconds, using the "T" switch: {pause-t 9} will pause for one half second.
The "D0" switch is no longer necessary on Xmodem and Ymodem internal protocol
transfers. This switch was needed when there was no carrier detect signal in
a null modem cable. Now {COMMO} will ignore carrier detect if it is off when
the transfer is started.
The default size of String Variable Space has been increased to 3072.
Macro processing has been speeded up by about 15%.
------------ --------------
{COMMO} 5.51 August 7, 1993
------------ --------------
Bugs fixed
----------
HS/Link downloads didn't work if there were no files to upload. COMMO.MAC and
SELECT.MAC have been revised to correct this (and to work better in other
ways). If you customized COMMO.MAC, make sure you cut and paste the protocol
macros into your Macro File.
Time slice management in multi-tasking environments was causing some macros to
run slow. Performance should now be improved.
----------- -------------
{COMMO} 5.5 July 24, 1993
----------- -------------
The documentation files (COMMO.DOC and MACRO.DOC) have a new format.
Bugs fixed
----------
If carrier detect dropped during a Ymodem-G transmit, the transfer was not
cancelled promptly.
Zero byte files could not be received in Xmodem or Ymodem.
ASCII Uploads and SENDs will now be faster in DESQview (and other mult-tasking
environments) when a program is running in another window.
The macros for OZBEXT had the wrong program name.
New Macro Functions
-------------------
See MACRO.DOC for details on new macro functions:
FILE is used to get information about disk directory entries. This
information can be used to display directory information, pick lists for
uploading, etc. The macros for uploading (internal and external protocols)
now use the macro file SELECT.MAC which makes use of this feature.
The WINDow function will prevent the Terminal Screen from being restored after
a window (file or pop-up) is exited. It is used primarily to smooth
transitions between windows.
INFOrm provides several ways of displaying a message from a macro to the local
user via a pop-up box:
1) You can wait for the user to "Press Esc."
2) You can query the user for a yes/no response and test the result with
IFCOndition.
3) You can display the message for a fixed length of time, then continue.
New Built-in Variables
----------------------
"_nam" and "_num" contain the System Name and Phone Number fields (from the
Dialing Directory). These are set whenever a number is dialed.
"_dsk" has the current disk (e.g., C:)
"_dir" has the current directory (e.g., \COMMO).
"_ffn", "ffs", "ffd" and "fft" have directory information after executing the
FILE function.
"_msn" has the number of the selection after a MENU function is
executed. F1=1, Z=26, etc.
Other New Features
------------------
There is a new command line switch to override the "ddp=" parameters in the
Setup File. Just place a parms string after a "/". Missing parameters will
default to the values in "ddp=". For example:
/{19200,7e1,4,V,10}
A new function switch "C" may be used on all "IF" functions. This will tell
{COMMO} to CALL the label instead of doing a GOTO. Control will return to the
function following the IF when RETUrn is executed.
Improvements
------------
It is now easier to control the Color Mode of the video display using the new
Setup File item:
{clm=auto} Color Mode (auto/color/mono)
This is especially handy for users of laptops with LCD displays. Note that
the item {ema=...} is no longer supported. See COMMO.DOC for details.
The MACLoad function will no longer reset the Macro Stack. This means that a
new Macro File can now be "called" (by setting a variable to the return
label) and the current nesting sequence will be preserved. See the TIPS
section under MACLoad in COMMO.MAC for additional information.
The default size of String Variable Space has been changed from 1536 bytes to
2048 bytes.
The Usage Log and the built-in variable "_ela" will now show minutes and
seconds for the elapsed time (instead of just minutes).
The arithmetic functions can now handle much larger numbers (4,294,967,295).
The multiplier in the MULTiply function and the divisor in the DIVIde function
(the second arguments) are still limited to 65535.
You can now have up to 16 Auto Receive Strings active at any one time (instead
of 8).
A switch "N" has been added to the CAPTure function. This switch means
"nowait" if the disk fills up while capturing (the "disk full" message will
display for up to 3 seconds instead of waiting for Esc to be pressed).
The Screen Image Save feature will no longer compress blank lines, allowing
for accurate extraction of data from the screen dump (SCREEN Capture,
Scrollback and Print Log will still compress blank lines).
The Ctrl-Right-Arrow and Ctrl-Left-Arrow keys (next/previous field) in the
Internal Editor will now align the cursor with the center of the screen
(instead of near the left edge).
The Tab key in the Internal Editor will now insert spaces as it moves to the
next tab stop if insert mode is on.
-end-