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FIRSTDIAL3 - A Smart Autodial Terminal Program for the Commodore-64.
Author of ORIGINAL Program and Manual: Paul Higginbottom.
Revisions to Program by Tom Hughes and Bill Osipoff
Revisions to Manual by Ian A. Wright
Firstterm3 manual Page...1
GETTING STARTED
To make sure no previous programs, or programming of your
Commodore-64 will affect the running of this program, turn the
computer OFF, if it is currently on.
Now turn ON the computer and your disk unit, and with Firstdial3
Boot, Firstdial3, Firstterm3 Bt, and Firstterm3 on the program
diskette in the drive, type: LOAD 'FIRSTDIAL3 BOOT',8,1 then press
'Return'.
You must run the boot; the other programs will automatically load and
run; the screen will go blank, and shortly, the menu will appear as
follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
FIRSTERM3 Tom Hughes-Bill Osipoff 1984
Based on Programs By
Paul Higginbottom & Steve Punter
A. Enter terminal mode
B. Disk commands
C. Examine/alter protocols & Block size
D. Print file/buffer to screen/printer
E. Examine/alter function keys
F. Load or save parameters
G. Upload file - Punter or Text
H. Download file - Punter
I. Save memory buffer
J. Extract from text file
K. IMG conversions
L. Toggle buffer 2 - OPEN
M. Exit program
Press "A" to "M" to select function
---------------------------------------------------------------------
***********************************
* *
* NNN NN OOO TTTTTT EEEEEE *
* NNNN NN OO OO TT EE *
* NN NNNN OO OO TT EEEE *
* NN NNN OO OO TT EE *
* NN NN OOO TT EEEEEE *
* *
***********************************
FROM ANY POINT IN THE PROGRAM (#1) TO RETURN TO THE MENU, SIMPLY
PRESS THE 'STOP' KEY.
(N.B. - IN TERMINAL MODE, IT'S A SHIFTED 'STOP' SO THAT IT CANNOT BE
PRESSED ACCIDENTALLY).
28/12/84 Revised by Ian A. Wright
Firstterm3 manual Page...2
THE TOOLS
This section is provided to outline what this program can do, and an
overview of how it can be done. When using this program, there are 3
forms of interaction you can have with it. They are:
1. Menu function selection, and supplying the information for a given
option.
2. Command function from terminal mode, to change a 'mode' of
operation.
3. Interaction with another computer.
The menu shows you the options available to you, but provided below
is a wider explanation of each option:
A. Enter terminal mode - This puts you in a communications
environment, wherein, each character you type will be transmitted to
another computer, and each character sent to you, by the other
computer you are communicating with, will be displayed on your
screen. In terminal mode, the screen displays a status line (the top
line of the screen) and the remaining 24 lines of the screen are the
terminal's screen. Certain key combinations will alter the various
status 'indicators' on the status line. These key functions allow you
to modify the terminal environment (for example, enabling 'word-wrap'
which commands the program to automatically avoid words being split
at the end of a line, by 'pushing' them onto the next line.)
B. Disk commands - This will display the information from the
diskette. Use BASIC 2.0 commands such as $0 for directory of drive
0, or "sC:filename" to scratch a file.
C. Examine/alter protocols & Block size - This option allows you to
examine, and/or alter the communications protocols required for the
particular modem, and/or remote computer. An example of a 'protocol'
is 'baud rate', which is the speed at which data is transfered
between the computers' modems. Most inexpensive modems are '300
baud' which is a transfer rate of roughly 30 characters per second.
D. Print a file/buffer to screen/printer - This allows you to display
on the screen or print on the printer, the text captured in the
computers memory with this program, or a file on the disk.
E. Examine/alter function keys - The Commodore 64 has 4 function
keys. This package allows you to make them send to another computer,
one or more character(s) by just one single keypress. For example,
most data bases have a 'HELP' command. You might want to have one
key press send 'HELP' and a <RETURN> to the remote computer. Or,
similarly, any frequently used command/string of text can be assigned
to a single keypress.
28/12/84 Revised by Ian A. Wright
Firstterm3 manual Page...3
F. Load or save parameters - The protocols, the function key
definitions, and even the screen, text, and border colours, may be
loaded or saved as a 'parameter file' on disk. This is useful for
communicating with different systems, with differing protocols, and
commonly used commands which you have defined in the function keys.
An example of two parameter files might be 'BBS' and 'Compuserve.'
G. Upload file - Punter or Text - A program, file, or WordPro file
on the disk in your drive can be transmitted to the remote computer.
This for example, could be used to send electronic mail prepared and
saved earlier, before you were communicating with the remote
computer.
H. Download file - Punter - Using Punter's LATEST protocol, programs
or files can be downloaded and saved to disk.
I. Save memory buffer - This option allows you to save the text
captured in the computer's memory to a file on your disk drive.
J. Extract from text file - You can read a disk file and select by
line numbers any segment. This segment can be saved to disk under a
new name.
K. IMG conversions - allows you to convert sequential files to hex
files for transmission on Compuserve.
L. Toggle buffer 2 - OPEN - this key allows you to have two separate
"buffer" areas open. You can save material to either buffer while in
the terminal mode.
M. Exit or Dial - This option will reset the computer, as if it were
turned off and on again if you choose 'yes'. If 'no' is chosen you
can autodial/re-dial any telephone number.
Technical note: This program is designed for communicating via the
RS-232 port of the Commodore-64 (an edge connector, which will
require suitable cable, or a VIC1011A adaptor) to another computer,
or modem, at speeds from 50 to 2400 baud. Since the Commodore-64 has
only one RS-232 port, the program assumes the printer is connected to
the CBM serial port as device 4, or some other interface cartridge
which intercepts the KERNAL functions (for example, RTC's 64-LINK
cartridge, which allows any IEEE printers to be connected to the
Commodore-64. This program will work with that cartridge or the
BusCard II installed.)
28/12/84 Revised by Ian A. Wright
Firstterm3 manual Page...4
TERMINAL MODE (OPTION A FROM THE MENU)
Pressing 'A' from the menu puts you in 'terminal mode' which is the
environment where ALL communicating with another, remote computer is
done. A status line is shown on the top line of the screen. It
should look like this:
:T:S:O:W:D:B:-12:00:00-42362:0:000:000:
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !--Character code received
Status Indicators ! ! ! !
! ! ! !-----Character code sent
Clock-----------! ! !
! !--------Number of nulls to be sent
Free memory in buffer----! after a carriage return
T - (The 'timeout' indicator) When you transmit characters to a
remote computer, usually by typing, this is usually known as 'full
duplex' which simply means that the remote computer will echo back to
the Commodore-64 each character you sent. This indicator will 'light
up' (go into inverse video) if, when in full duplex, a character you
transmit is not sent back by the remote computer within a short time.
S - (The ALLCAPS mode indicator) The shiftlock key on the keyboard is
not always useful for entering upper case text, because it will shift
the numerics and all other keys also, so an 'ALLCAPS' mode is
provided for simply ensuring all alpha characters ('a' to 'z')
transmitted are sent in UPPER case regardless of whether the shift
key is depressed. This mode can be turned on and off (toggled) by
holding down the Commodore key and pressing 's'.
O - (The OUTPUT-SUPPRESSED mode indicator) When lit, the user's
output will not be displayed (in either half or full duplex). This
is useful for not allowing other people to see you entering passwords
on remote computer systems, for example. The indicator can be
toggled by pressing the Commodore key and then 'o'.
W - (The WORD-WRAP mode indicator) Since the Commodore-64 can
display 40 characters on a line, instead of 80 (or even132) columns
as most commercial terminals can, words may get 'split' over two
lines (for example, printing the word 'Commodore' beginning in the
35th column will put 'Commo' on that line, and 'dore' ends up at the
start of the next line). When the WORD-WRAP indicator is lit, the
program will automatically ensure that no words are split at the end
of a line by pushing the word onto the next line if it won't fit on
the current line. Word-wrap mode is toggled by holding down the
Commodore key and pressing 'w'.
28/12/84 Revised by Ian A. Wright
Firstterm3 manual Page...5
D - (The DISPLAY-CONTROL-CHARACTERS mode indicator) It is usually
not necessary to see the incoming control characters (character codes
0 through 31 decimal - excluding, for example, 'Carriage Return',
which is 13), but in case the user does wish to see them, the program
allows for this. Control characters will be shown as highlighted
characters on the screen, from '@' to 'Z'. To toggle this mode, hold
down the Commodore key and press 'd'.
B - (The BUFFER-OPEN/CLOSED mode indicator) Any text which is
displayed can be stored in the memory of the Commodore-64, for later
viewing, or hardcopy on the printer, or even storing to the disk in a
file. This ability is known as a 'memory buffer' because the text is
'buffered' for later usage. The five digit number on the status line
indicates how much memory is left for text to be stored. The text is
only put into the memory buffer if the indicator is lit, which allows
you to selectively store information (for example, news stories or
only certain stock information). To start or stop the program
storing incoming text in the memory buffer, hold down the Commodore
key, and press 'b'. If you wish to 'clear out' the memory buffer,
i.e., instruct the computer to 'forget' all it has stored for you,
thus makinng available all the memory again, hold down either shift
key, and press '*'. For quick temporary storage of, for example, an
address, or other piece of information you quickly want to capture,
but you didn't have your memory buffer open, hold down the Commodore
key, and press 'x'. This swaps the screens contents with a SECOND
screen. Pressing 'Commodore X' again, will bring back the 'first'
screen again.
SUMMARY OF KEYBOARD 'FUNCTIONS' IN TERMINAL MODE:
<SHIFT *> - Clear memory buffer
<Commodore S> - Toggle ALL CAPITALS mode
<Commodore O> - Toggle displaying of your typing for privacy
<Commodore W> - Toggle automatic formatting of each line
<Commodore D> - Toggle display of control characters (ASCII 0-26)
<Commodore B> - Toggle buffer - memory capture of displayed text
<Commodore P> - Reset buffer pointer without clearing buffer
<Commodore C> - Close disk file when sending a file from disk
<Commodore +> - Change background colour of the screen
<Commodore -> - Change colour of text
<Commodore *> - Change border colour
<Commodore X> - Swap screen with second stored, screen.
<Commodore T> - Resets clock to 0:00:00
<CTRL L> - Acts as a 'form feed' and clears the screen
<CTRL :> - Generates an ESC character (ASCII 27)
<CTRL +> - Increase the number of nulls sent after a carriage
return (maximum 9)
<CTRL -> - Decrease nulls sent after return (minimum 0)
<left arrow> - is displayed as an underscore on the screen
(consistent with 'most' terminals).
<shifted DEL> - Generates DELETE character (ASCII 127)
28/12/84 Revised by Ian A. Wright
Firstterm3 manual Page...6
The function keys send strings as designated in option 'E':
Unshifted..............<F01>/<F03>/<F05>/<F07>
Shifted................<F02>/<F04>/<F06>/<F08>
Commodore..............<F09>/<F10>/<F11>/<F12>
CTRL...................<F13>/<F14>/<F15>/<F16>
THE CLOCK - functions like a normal clock; can be used to inform you
of connect time on a system, or give you the actual time. Can be
reset to 00:00:00 by holding down the Commodore key and pressing 't',
or set to a given time from the Examine/alter protocols option (C)
from the menu.
Local editing mode
This terminal program gives you to do full screen editing (as you do
when correcting mistakes, when entering a program), even when the
computer you are communicating with, does not support such a
function. If 'Return' is pressed while either shift key is held down
is entered when in terminal mode, the cursor will flash (instead of
being 'solid'). Incoming text will still be output to the screen as
normal, but further typing by the user is NOT transmitted to the
remote computer. At this point, you can use the cursor movement keys
(up, down, left and right), the INSert key, the DELete key, the HOME
and CLR keys, and in fact, EVERY key to edit and enter text onto the
screen. When you want to send a line of text, you simply position
the cursor on the first character to be sent, and enter another
'Shifted return'. The program will then enter all characters from
that point on on the screen line, and also transmit a 'Return'.
'What can I use that for?' you say. Let's take a look at an example
usage of this feature: Let us suppose the computer you are
communicating with is awaiting your command. You want to send a
letter to another user, and you enter the command:
MAIL SEND JOHN EXPRESS The system responds with:
User 'JOHN' not found... Re-enter:
And you realise that you entered the NAME of the user you wished to
send mail to instead of their computer account 'ID', which this
particular system requires. You no longer have to type this command
in all over again, you simply enter 'local editing mode' by holding
down the 'shift' and pressing 'Return'. The cursor should be
flashing. You move the cursor up using the cursor movement keys and
correct the mistake:
MAIL SEND XYZ999 EXPRESS
To send the whole line again, you simply position the cursor on the
'M' in 'MAIL' (often easiest by pressing 'Return', and then 'Cursor
up', if you're on the same line as the line you wish to send), and
then press 'Return' while holding down the 'Shift' again, and you'll
see the line re-entered for you.
28/12/84 Revised by Ian A. Wright
Firstterm3 manual Page...7
DISK COMMANDS (OPTION B FROM THE MENU)
As soon as you press 'b' from the menu, the screen will clear and you
will be asked what disk command you want to send or 'Stop' to abort.
You can send any BASIC 2.0 disk command such as "sC:filename" to
scratch a file or "vE:filename,8" to verify one. To see a directory
of drive 0 type "$0" and while listing, any key will stop and start
the listing and the 'Stop' key will terminate.
EXAMINE/ALTER PROTOCOLS (OPTION C FROM THE MENU)
When the program is run, the RS232 and terminal parameters are set to
defaults which are suitable for practically all terminal work at 300
baud, which include the 1600/1650 VICMODEMs. When 3 is pressed from
the menu, the current protocols are displayed. To alter them, simply
press the numeric key alongisde the particular protocol. For
example, to change duplex, press '1'. When you've set them to your
particular requirements, pressing the STOP key will return you to the
menu. The protocols are:
'1' - Duplex (Half, or Full) In half duplex, each character
transmitted by your computer is displayed by the program on the
screen. In full duplex, the program expects the remote computer to
send each character back which your computer sends to it. Almost all
commercial networks operate in full duplex. If, for example, you
want to communicate with another Commodore-64 though, both you, and
your remote telecomputing partner would need to operate in half
duplex.
'2' - Line feed (Yes, or No) After you transmit a carriage return,
some networks require a linefeed also. This option allows you the
alternative of having a line feed sent automatically after a return,
or not. This is becoming less likely though, and in most operation,
you would have the option set to 'No'.
'3' - Stop bits (1, or 2.) The RS232 interface separates each
character of information with 1 or 2 stop 'pauses' or bits.
Sometimes, more often with 1200 baud, you might need to send 2,
instead of the far more usual 1.
'4' - Parity (None, Even, Odd, Space, or Mark). The RS232 interface
can mark the end of each character, with an extra piece of
information (known as a 'parity bit'), which gives either computer, a
slightly more secure way of ensuring good data transmission. Most
systems don't require any parity, so just ignore it.
'5' - Baud rate (110, 150, 300, 600, 1200, 1800, or 2400) The RS232
interface can transmit information at different speeds. This will
need to be set according to your modem, and/or the computer you are
communicating with. 300 baud is the most common, with 1200 usually
being used for 'high speed' communication.
28/12/84 Revised by Ian A. Wright
Firstterm3 manual Page...8
'6' - Word length (5, 6, 7, or 8 bits) Some remote computers ignore,
or don't use all of the 8 bits in a byte. If, for example, you set
this parameter to 7 bits, the 8th bit will be ignored.
'7' - Punter block size This can be altered from 40-255 bytes.
'8' - Set time Asks for the time you wish displayed in terminal
mode. The format of the time you enter is checked and if the program
doesn't understand what you have entered, the bell will ring, and the
time will not be altered. Do NOT enter in 24 hour format, it's a 12
hour clock. You can enter just the hours and minutes (the seconds
will default to 0), or you can enter the full hours, minutes and
seconds. 2 digits for each part must be entered, therefore, if the
time is five minutes after two, you should enter: 0205 or 020500
'9' - Return to menu Go back to the main menu. This can also be
achieved at any time by pressing the STOP key.
PRINT FILE/BUFFER TO SCREEN/PRINTER (OPTION D FROM THE MENU)
This important option, allows you to print, to either the screen or
your printer, the text you captured in the computer's memory buffer,
or a disk file. When '4' is pressed to select this option, you will
be asked: Buffer or file? (Press 'B' or 'F') As implied, press 'b'
if you wish to print whatever text you may have stored in your memory
buffer, or 'f' for a disk file. You will then be asked (the screen
will clear) if you wish to print to the screen or printer in a
similar 'one key' selection. Press 's' if you just wish to view the
memory buffer or disk file on the screen, or 'p' if you want to print
the text on your printer. If you are printing from a disk file you
will be asked for the name of the file. If you enter a filename and
the file is not on the disk in the drive, a bell will sound, and you
will be returned to the main menu. If you opt to output either the
contents of your memory buffer, or the disk file to your printer, you
will then be asked to select your type of printer. Note, the
statement at the end of the section on "THE TOOLS". While the
file/buffer is printing to screen/printer, any key can be pressed to
stop and resume printing, and if the STOP key is pressed at any time,
printing will terminate, and the program will prompt you to press any
key to return to the menu.
EXAMINE/ALTER FUNCTION KEYS (OPTION E FROM THE MENU)
This option allows you to examine or change, the strings of
characters which will be sent by the function keys, and function keys
in conjunction with shift/Commodore/CTRL keys. For your own
security, a password is requested when this option is selected from
the menu. When no parameter file has been loaded, and the password
has not been changed, it is defaulted to '64'. Having entered the
28/12/84 Revised by Ian A. Wright
Firstterm3 manual Page...9
password, you will see a display of the 16 function keys. To alter a
string, enter the function keypress itself, for example, function key
string 11 (f11) is entered by holding down the Commodore key, and
pressing 'f5'. (For a full list of the key sequences, see 'Summary
of keyboard functions' in section 2.) Having selected the string to
change, you will be prompted to enter the text string to be assigned
to that key. Enter this, for example: Enter new text for function
key f11 > You type 'hello', and press RETURN. The program then asks
if you want a RETURN to be transmitted after the string when you
press the function key, by prompting you with: Add a carriage
return? Enter 'y', or 'n' (yes, or no) as desired. For frequently
executed commands, for example, you will want to add a carriage
return. Since your function key assignments are completely secure,
you can even assign your log-in password to remote systems. You are
then asked if you want the string to be displayed on the screen or
not, with the prompt: Echo string to screen? (Y/N) Enter 'y', or
'n' (yes, or no) as desired. If you do not wish 'viewers' watching
what commands of text you are sending to the computer, such as log-in
passwords, you would want to press 'n' for this option. The string
is then displayed in its place in the definitions, and if you chose
for the string not to be echoed to the screen, there are small
'blocks' around the assignment. If you press 'p' from the prompt,
you will be asked for a new password (the one you enter when
selecting this option from the menu). This password is the ONLY way
you can get into the section, so if you change it, be sure not to
forget it! When you're finished, press STOP to return to the menu.
LOAD OR SAVE PARAMETERS (OPTION F FROM THE MENU)
The 'parameters' include the protocols, the function key definitions,
and the screen, text, and border colours. You may be save the details
of the way you 'configure' the program for communicating with a
particular remote computer as a file on the disk, in a parameter
file. An example of two parameter files might be 'source' and
'compuserve' for communicating with these large, popular database
networks. When '6' is pressed to select this option, you will be
asked: Load or Save parameters? (Press 'L' or 'S') As implied,
press 'l' if you wish to load in a parameter file you have previously
stored, or 's' if you wish to save the current parameters in a disk
file. Having selected 'l' or 's', you will be asked for the name of
the file. If you enter a filename which causes a disk error, a bell
will sound, and you will be returned to the main menu. Load
parameters: The colours will be set, the RS232 will be setup, the
function keys will be re-assigned. Save parameters: The colours will
be saved, the RS232 parameters will be saved, and the function keys
assignments will be saved. After either function, the program will,
once again, return to the menu.
28/12/84 Revised by Ian A. Wright
Firstterm3 manual Page...10
UPLOAD A FILE - PUNTER OR TEXT (OPTION G FROM THE MENU)
The screen clears to a header showing "Punter Upload - New Protocol".
You will be asked first whether you want to select to upload a
program using Punter II protocol, a text file, or to press 'Stop' to
abort. Select 'T' for text and the program asks for the name of the
file that you wish to transmit. If you enter a filename and the file
is not on the disk in the drive, a bell will sound, and you will be
returned to the main menu. If the file is present, the program will
go into terminal mode, and each character from the file will be
transmitted to the computer as if you were typing it. If the 'Stop'
key is pressed while the file is still being transmitted, or a disk
error occurs, or the end of the file is reached, the process will
stop, the disk file will be closed, and the you will remain in
terminal mode. Technical note: Sometimes, the number of nulls to be
sent after a carriage return will need to be set to more than zero to
ensure the computer you are communicating with does not drop any
characters after a carriage return. Selecting 'P' for Punter mode,
you will have to enter the type of file to upload (Sequential,
Program, or Wordpro), then enter the name of the file as above. The
'Stop' key is used to abort.
DOWNLOAD FILE - PUNTER - (OPTION H FROM THE MENU)
As above, but after entering the filename the screen shows: Status:
Waiting for header, and as the file comes in, the number of good/bad
blocks transmitted are counted. Abort is the 'Stop' key.
SAVE MEMORY BUFFER (OPTION I FROM THE MENU)
Text captured in the memory buffer in terminal mode, can be stored on
disk, in a file, for later viewing/printing, or even usage with other
software. You will be asked for the name of the file under which you
wish to store the memory buffer contents. If you enter a filename
which causes an error, a bell will sound, and you will be returned to
the main menu. Otherwise, the storing will proceed, when completed,
the program will return to the menu.
EXTRACT FROM TEXT FILE (OPTION J FROM THE MENU)
This option works to read a sequential file from disk and print it to
the screen, with a line number for each line. You can use the 'Space
bar' to pause the screen output, the 'Return' key will stop the
input. When stopped you can select the number of the starting and
ending lines to send that part of the file to the disk under a new
name. The new file of selected information can then be uploaded
using option G.
28/12/84 Revised by Ian A. Wright
Firstterm3 manual Page...11
IMG CONVERSIONS (OPTION K FROM THE MENU)
This option allows you to convert files to and from IMG (Image files)
format which will convert a sequential file to a file of hex numbers.
You will be asked for the input and output file names and can use the
'Stop' key to abort the function and return to the menu.
TOGGLE BUFFER 2 (OPTION L FROM THE MENU)
The second buffer removes 8191 bytes from the main buffer of 42362
bytes so that you can save almost 8k of information in a separate
area of memory. Pressing 'l' will toggle the buffer open/closed.
You will be asked to confirm the change before it is instituted.
EXIT OR DIAL (OPTION M FROM THE MENU)
Pressing 'M' will prompt: Are you sure? (Y/N). Selecting 'y' will
reset your computer as if it had been turned off and on again so
DON'T press 'y' unless you are sure. If you press 'n', the screen
clears and you are asked: Autodial? (Y/N). Select 'y' if you have an
autodialling modem and you will be asked to: enter number to call.
You must be careful to type this number with NO spaces or dashes.
Before the program starts to dial you will be reminded to: put t-d
switch in d position. This refers to the telephone/data switch on
the automodem. After dialling, the screen shows: waiting for
carrier. If the automodem does not make contact on the first try, it
will re-dial. The screen clears each time and a count is kept of the
number of attempts made. You can press the 'up arrow' on the
keyboard to stop dialling or to change the number. If you stop
re-dialling it asks: dial another? (Y/N) so you can select another
number - or quit.
THAT'S IT!
28/12/84 Revised by Ian A. Wright
