The Menu Functions
Contents
1. Edit Generic Macros Menu Page 33 Epua macros are active at all times without regard to which phone entry is currently active The generic macros are activated by holding down the SHIFT CONTROL keys and pressing 4 through 0 corresponding to the macro you wish to execute In addition to the normal text which can be entered Express recognizes control sequences to perform special functions These special functions are M send a return P pause for 1 second before continuing Px pause for x seconds where x is a value 1 to 9 J chain to the next macro x send any control character i e Z would send CONTROL 3 Load Configuration when this option is selected Express will load the last saved configuration file Save Configuration when this option is selected Express will save the current parameters to the configuration file This file is called CONFIG EXP and is stored on drive 1 in the root directory It is not necessary to specify the drive and filename for the configuration file Ex press will save it automatically when this option is selected Any time a change is made to any of your settings and you want to make those changes permanent you should use this option to save your settings Page 34 Sonne Misc Menu Function To use the misc function select it on the menu bar The misc menu will drop down allowing access to the sub functions ing RETURN while this option is active wi2. Info Menu Page 38 Seu Quit Menu Function The quit menu allows you to exit the Express cartridge back to DOS even while online with a BBS and to control which cartridges will be active To use the quit function se lect it on the menu bar The quit menu will drop down allowing ac obt cess to the sub functions Run internal BASIC Disable all carts Exit program this option allows you to exit the Express car tridge and return to DOS If you are not using SpartaDOS you will be prompted with Quit are you sure when exiting the Express cartridge Express c 1989 Orion Micro Systems You can execute any com mand or program you wish and then return to the Express terminal car tridge by typing CAR RETURN if running SpartaDos or by selecting the Run Cartridge option from your DOS menu Quit Menu Run piggyback cart this option allows you to run the cartridge that is plugged into the top of the Express If this option is selected and a cartridge is not plugged into Express Express will re run itself Run internal BASIC this option allows you to run internal basic Disable all carts this option allows you to disable all the cartridges physically plugged into the computer Page 39 Epa Console Key Usage Start Key pressing the START console key while in terminal mode will pop up a keypress help menu This function is not active while the menu bar is activated A turns
3. Entering a wildcard file spec is permissible in single file send protocols Express will search the specified pathname for the first di rectory entry it finds and will send that file This may or may not be the file you wanted to send so take care when using wildcarding with single file transfer protocols Xmodem CRC 16 This Xmodem protocol transfers data in 128 byte packets and uses a two digit cyclic redundancy check method for checking the accuracy Enter the full name of the file that you want to send Nane __ __ Path Windowed Xmoden Send Single File Transfer Menu Page 26 Eyal of the packet transfer Ymodem This protocol is actually Xmodem 1k but over the years has generally become known as Ymodem meaning transfer one file using Xmodem 1K packets This protocol transfers data in 1024 byte packets and uses atwo digit cyclic redundancy check method for Ss Pile Transf checking the accuracy of the packet Enter the pathname and filespec transfer of the files to send Name ns Ymodem Batch This proto col is similar to Ymodem except it supports the transfer of multiple files within one execution This protocol transfers data in 1024 byte packets and uses a two digit cyclic redun dancy check method for checking the accuracy of the packet transfer You may enter an actual filename in which case only one file will transfer or you can enter a file m
4. ceiver to do anything to receive files Once the sender starts the transfer the protocol handshakes with the receiver and automatically starts the receive function on their side the receiver must be in terminal mode with the menu bar de activated The download pathname in the PARMS menu must be set for this function to work correctly Additionally both the sender and receiver must be in ATASCII translation mode to perform this transfer protocol The reason is simple This is an ATARI specific protocol hence ATASCII translation ASCII use this option when you want to send a file to the BBS such as a precomposed message Aborting file transfers once a file transfer has started you may abort the transfer by pressing the OPTION key The transfer will abort and a Sender aborted the transfer message will appear Press any key to clear the message and resume terminal mode Transfer Status Window When the file transfer starts a status window will pop up displaying the eege current status of the transfer During Sender Expresst Cart a file transfer pressing the SPACE P f Check in use CRC 16 BAR will aliow you to see the termi Total Steg processed nal screen without affecting the trans Total bytes ate 16500 fer in progress Pressing SPACE BAR again will return you back to d f CRC the file transfer status window The large blank area is reserved for Prost SPACE teens Tern screen Express to place transfer status
5. optionally a subdirectory name to receive the transferred files The filename is contained within the file transfer packet so the file you are receiving is saved on your system with the same name as the file on the system that you are receiving the file Windowed Xmodenm This protocol is a sliding window trans fer protocol commonly supported by MS DOS bulletin boards Win dowed Xmodem transfers data in 128 byte packets and uses a two digit cyclic redundancy check method for checking the accuracy of the packet transfer Sealink This protocol is a sliding window transfer protocol commonly supported by MS DOS bulletin boards SEAlink transfers data in 128 byte packets and uses a two digit cyclic redundancy check method for checking the accuracy of the packet transfer Lmodem Lmodem Batch select Lnodem or Lmodem Batch only when connected to a BBS Express Professional bulletin board or another Express cartridge Currently these are the only two that sup port these transfer protocols These protocols transfer data in 256 byte packets and use a two digit cyclic redundancy check method for checking the accuracy of the packet transfer Lmodem Lmodem Batch are sliding window protocols similar to SEAlink with a significant added feature If you are connected to another Express cartridge it will not be necessary for the receiver to do anything to receive files Once the senderstarts the transfer the protocol hand
6. Express cartridge Refer to your DOS manual for the proper procedure for loading the device handler Express will work with the Atari 1030 and XM301 modems pro vided you load an RS232 handler commonly referred to as an R han dler prior to running the cartridge There are a few good public domain handlers available on bulletin boards as well as GEnie that can be used for this purpose Orion Micro Systems does not recommend using the Express cartridge with these modems as the results may be unpredict able and usability of the cartridge may be severely limited Page 2 Smeudl Modem Settings In order to use the Express cartridge successfully with your particular modem the following settings will need to be made to your modem either through the dip switches or the soft set switches on 2400 baud and higher modems o The modem hangs up and returns to command mode when the DTR line is dropped o The modem should not force the carrier line ON o The modem should return result codes in verbose or word form o The modem should recognize its own commands In general the current settings on your modem should work as is If your particular modem cannot perform a DTR hangup you will be unable to use the Hang Up the Phone option from the parm menu Instead you should manually perform a hangup by typing from terminal mode When your modem responds with OK type ATH RETURN Or you can simp
7. Wrap word wrap is set by selecting this option and press ing the RETURN key until the desired word wrap setting appears Word wrap toggles between ON OFF Setting word wrap ON will auto matically wrap an entire word to the next line if it can t fit on the current display line U L Pause U L pause is used in ASCII file transfers and specifies the number of seconds to delay before sending the next line of the text file U L pause may be set to any value between 0 and 9 by pressing the RETURN key until the value you want appears in this field Some BBS s can accept ASCII transfers without any delay while others require time to process the received line before they can acceptthe next line If you re not sure what to set the pause to start out with a value of 0 Ifthe BBS seems to be dropping some of the characters increase the value and try again until the BBS is not dropping characters anymore Memory Size memory size is set by selecting this option and pressing the RETURN key until the desired memory size appears As discussed in the Expanded Memory Section of this manual this setting controls the amount of memory set aside for use as a capture buffer In a stock 64K Atari computer Express sets aside 16K as a Page 32 Es capture buffer Any additional memory that your computer has may be used to increase the buffer size all the way up to a 528K capture buffer when using an Atari 130XE with 576K of memory The
8. a menu function and wind up 3 levels deep in menus pressing the ESC ape will back up a level each time until you are finally back in terminal mode again Page 10 Some The Menu Functions There are 10 major functions in the menu bar They are Dial accesses the dialing and phone list functions Parms accesses the parms functions to allow the setting of default values such as baud rate translation duplex parity comm port modem parameters download pathname and hang up the phone Receive accesses the file transfer receive functions Send accesses the file transfer send functions Buffer accesses the capture buffer functions such as loading saving and viewing the capture buffer Config accesses the configuration functions such as margin setting word wrap mode edit generic macros and load save config file Misc accesses the misc functions for setting the back ground and foreground color settings OS Shell access the OS Shell to allow DOS commands to be entered without having to drop back to DOS to perform these functions info displays information aboutthe Express cartridge Quit allows youto exit out of the cartridge back to DOS even while online This option also allows you to control which cartridges will be active when you exit Each of these 10 major functions are divided into sub functions We will now discuss these sub functions in detail Page 11 Some Dial Menu Function To
9. chart below shows you the buffer size available relative to the memory size setting you select Memory Capture Buffer Size Computer Type 64K 16K 16 384 bytes Stock 800 800XL 128K 80K 81 920 bytes Stock 130XE 256K 208K 212 992 bytes Rambo ed 800XL 320K 272K 278 528 bytes 130XE w 320K 576K 528K 540 672 bytes 130XE w 576K Keep in mind when setting the memory size for use as a capture buffer that you can t use the memory as a buffer and a ramdisk at the same time SpartaDOS X Users in order to use this increased buffer size feature with Express you will need to specify USE BANKED in your config sys file Keep in mind when setting up this parameter that you will need 4 free banks in order to set the memory setting to 128K each bank representing 16K You would need 12 banks free in order to specify 256K and so on Edit Generic Macros this option allows you to define up to 7 Edit Generic Macros generic macros Macros are ed 4 ited by pressing TAB until you are positioned to the macro that you wish to edit Once positioned you may change the macro Note These macros are invoked by pressing shift control 4 These macros are defined J Join next Px Pause x the same way you defined the 3 eeieer macros under each of the phone list entries Unlike the phone list mac ros which are only active when you dialed a phone entry these generic
10. col like Xmodem or Ymodem 1k LSC text the single file transfer menu will drop down If you selected a multiple file transfer protocol like Ymodem Batch or SEAlink the Multiple file transfer menu will drop down Enter the appropriate data in the input fields z and press RETURN to start the file Receive Menu transfer Xmodem Standard This Xmodem protocol transfers data in 128 byte packets and uses a one digit checksum method for checking the accuracy of the packet transfer Xmodem CRC 16 This Xmodem protocol transfers data in 128 byte packets and uses a two digit cyclic redundancy check method for checking the accuracy of the packet transfer Ymodem This protocol is actually Xmodem 1K but over the years has generally become known as Ymodem meaning transfer one file using Xmodem 1K packets This protocol transfers data in 1024 byte packets and uses a two digit cyclic redundancy check method for checking the accuracy of the packet transfer Ymodem Batch This protocol is similar to Ymodem except it supports the transfer of multiple files within one execution This protocol transfers data in 1024 byte packets and uses a two digit cyclic redun dancy check method for checking the accuracy of the packet transfer Page 22 Ere Once Ymodem batch is selected the multiple file transfer menu ap pears You will be prompted for a filename but all that needs to be entered is the drive number and
11. function and pressing the RETURN key Download pathname allows you to specify a default drive and option ee ally a subdirectory which will be Dial all Receive Sg buffer used to store downloaded files Any time you select the receive function Enter the drive pathname that you to download a file this is the pa anid libs Beien your default thname that will appear on the ierg Kee command line by default gt D8 gt For DOS 2 x your download path should simply be the drive spec Cie 797 For SpartaDOS users you may use a full drive spec and pathname Cie D2 gt EXPRESS gt DOWNLOAD Express c 1989 Orion Nicro Systems Simply key inthe pathname you wish to use and press RE TURN toterminate Ifthe pathname is changed and you want to make it permanent remember to save the configuration file or once you exit the cartridge this newsetting will be lost Default Download Path Menu If using subdirectories refer to your DOS manual for the correct subdirectory delimiter to use If your DOS does not support subdirecto ries set the download path to only the drive number i e D8 Dial Parms Receive Send Buffer Note While Express will allow the setting of the drive speci fier to D9 this drive number should Enter the long distance code only be used if you are using the to dial when a t is found SpartaDOS X cartridge from LCD raat phone mimbar Edit Long Distanc
12. messages Transfer Status Window Page 28 Some Buffer Menu Function To use the buffer function select it on the menu bar The buffer menu will drop down allowing access to the sub functions Select the sub function you wish to perform by using the up down arrow keys and then press RETURN View selectthis option and press RETURN to view the cap ture buffer Express c 1989 Orion Micro Systeme While in the buffer viewer the following keys are active for mov ing around the buffer Buffer Menu CONTROL up arrow movesthe cursor UP one line CONTROL down arrow moves the cursor DOWN one line CONTROL left arrow moves the cursor LEFT one character CONTROL right arrow moves the cursor RIGHT one character SHIFT CONTROL up arrow moves UP 23 lines 1 page SHIFT CONTROL down arrow moves DOWN 23 lines 1 page SHIFT CONTROL left bracket moves LEFT 10 characters SHIFT CONTROL right bracket moves RIGHT 10 characters SHIFT CONTROL M toggles to next capture buffer memory bank Load select this option and press RETURN to load the capture buffer from disk with a text file You will be prompted for a filename Page 29 Sameul Save select this option and press RETURN to save the capture buffer to disk You will be prompted for a filename Once the buffer has been saved to disk the buffer is cleared Print select this option to print the content
13. space plus the extra 64K The key to remember when setting memory size in the configu ration menu is that you are telling Express This is how much free memory I have in my computer NOT allocated for ramdisk use The chart below lists the buffer sizes available relative to the memory size setting Memory Capture Buffer Size Computer Type 64K 16K 16 384 bytes Stock 800 800XL 128K 80K 81 920 bytes Stock 130XE 256K 208K 212 992 bytes Rambo ed 800XL 320K 272K 278 528 bytes 130XE w 320K 576K 528K 540 672 bytes 130XE w 576K SpartaDOS X Users In order to use this increased buffer size feature with Express you will need to specify USE BANKED in your CONFIG SYS file Keep in mind when setting up this parameter that you will need 4 free banks in order to set the memory setting to 128K each bank representing 16K You would need 12 banks free in order to specify 256K and so on Page 4 eu Starting Express Running Express is as simple as plugging the cartridge in the cartridge slot and turning the computer on as you normally would If you are using an Atari 800 plug Express in the left cartridge slot Once your computer has booted you may start the Express cartridge by typing CAR RETURN if running SpartaDOS or select the Run Cartridge option on your DOS menu to start Express If you are running Atari 2 0 DOS the cartridge will automatically gain control once DOS has loaded Thi
14. the capture buffer a aT ON OFF Dialing wenu 0 DOS shell Receive file Send file GC D jumps directly to the eegen rei Ze dialing menu Buffer screen Quit i Print screen View Buffer R Jumps directly to the Hang up phone Online time ESC Outputs an ESCape character T toggles between type ahead buffer ON a DOS command prompt and type ahead buffer OFF Pressing SHIFT CONTROL T once turns the type ahead buffer ON A TA gt prompt will replace the top menu bar In this mode anything you type onthe keyboard will not be sent out over the modem until you press the RETURN key Pressing SHIFT CONTROL T again will toggle to a D1 prompt In this mode you can enter DOS commands as if you were in the OS Shell While in either the type ahead mode or the Dos prompt mode you may press ESC ape to turn the menu bar back on while keeping the mode you were in still turned on Now pressing ESC ape will return you to the same mode you were in before Pressing SHIFT CONTROL T again turns the menu bar back on and disables the type ahead buffer Press START for help menu Y captures the displayed text in the terminal window to the capture buffer U prints the displayed text in the terminal window to the printer W toggles word wrap ON OFF O jumps directly to the OS Shell Page 40 Epua S jumps directly to the send file menu P jumps direct y to the parms menu Q jumps directly to the q
15. the first terminal program to bring windowed protocols to the Atari 8 bit computer As a general rule you should always use a windowed protocol if the host system you are connected to supports them Windowed protocols will have the same throughput as Ymodem without the overhead of re sending a 1Kpacket if an error occurs If you are connected to an IBM PC board SEAlink would be the recommended protocol to use If you are connected to a BBS Express Professional board Lmodem is the proto col you should use Special Filename Search Function Express will search the terminal screen for a filename whenever you perform areceive single file transfer If one is found it will be placed in the filename input field for you as a default filename If this is not the name you want to save the file as simply backspace over the name and type in the name you want Automatic Renaming Of Existing Files When you are per forming Batch receiving of files if Express detects an existing filename in your download path that is the same name as the file that you are receiving your existing file will NOT be overwritten Instead Express will change the last character in the filename it is receiving to a 1 As an example let s say you are downloading a file called SPELL COM and that file already exists in your download path Express will rename the incoming file to SPELL CO1 and check to see if that name exists If it does Express
16. will rename it to SPELL CO2 and so on until it has tried to rename the file up to SPELL CO9 By Express doing this for you you Page 24 spasa are pretty safe in not downloading afile that will wipe outthat all important file that you forgot was in the download path After the transfer finishes you can pop into the OS Shell and rename the files accordingly to some thing more meaningful to you This renaming is performed because in batch file transfers multiple files are received one right after the other and there isn t time to ask you if you want to overwrite an existing file Express just renames it and lets you deal with the name conflicts after the transfer When performing single file receiving Express will ask you if you want to overwrite the file Aborting file transfers once a file transfer has started you may abort the transfer by holding down the OPTION key The transfer will abort and a User aborted the transfer message will appear Press any key to clear the message and resume terminal mode Transfer Status Window When the file transfer starts a status window will pop up displaying the current status of the transfer During a file transfer pressing the SPACE BAR will allow you to see the termi nal screen without affecting the trans File Filename Ext hae Path D8 gt ferin progress This is useful if you d Sender Express Cart like to look at the terminal screen to Curr
17. BBS or another computer From the terminal mode screen you may manually dial a BBS number by typing ATDT or ATDP followed by the telephone number Set your translation to ASCII transla tion mode when dialing numbers ocea Tart Fall Dotter this way Note it is possible to set your translation mode to ATASCII mode and type modem commands or dial phone numbers If you prefer setting the transiation to ATASCII instead of pressing the RETURN key to terminate a command press CONTROL M Terminal Mode Screen ATDT123 4567 RETURN will tone dial the number 123 4567 ATDP 123 4567 RETURN will pulse dial the number 123 4567 From time to time you may want to connect with a friend froma voice call To perform this with Express set the duplex to HALF and the baud rate and translation to match your friend s settings To initiate a connection one of you must Originate and the other must Answer Agree on who will originate and who will answer To originate from the terminal window type the command ATO RETURN To answer from the terminal window type the command ATA RETURN Both modems will go offhook and match their carriers Once this occurs you can chat back and forth through terminal mode and initiate file transfers Terminal mode can also be used to compose a message off line to later send to a BBS To compose a message set your duplex mode to HALF and make sure your capture buffer is empty Pres
18. RESS subdirectory root directory for non SpartaDOS users of the EXE drive Then by popping into the OS Shell and typing the program name Express will run the program So as new file transfer protocols develop Express will meet the challenge by expanding with new External programs to be run under the cartridge environment These programs as they are devel oped will be placed on our Midnight Express technical support board in the Express cart file sig and in our ORION MICRO SYSTEMS file sig on GEnie MIDNIGHT EXPRESS 804 379 4156 300 1200 2400 Baud Secondly this means you will be able to write External pro grams to run under the Express cartridge environment to fill a special communications need you may have We will be placing technical docu mentation on Midnight Express and GEnie on how to write programs to run under the Express cartridge environment Happy modeming Orion Micro Systems Page 42 Notes
19. Requires 48K anda eg Hayes compatible modera Orion Micro Systems Express User Manual Table Of Content Receive Menu Function ccccsssseccsssssscscececeesssssceceeeees 22 XMOdEM Standard ssscssssssscececceceececeeeeeeseeeeeensneeees 22 L tze Le 22 VIMO a n EENEN EEE e Seats e ee 22 YMOdEM Batch ccsccssceecsssssceesesscccecesessensecceeseneesnaes 22 Windowed Xmodem c sssesecesesssnececcessncnsecsecsessaseees 23 Fb lmker og egit ee edd ENEE EE 23 Lmodem LModem Batch ccssssssccecssssrevsesssceessssees 23 EE 24 Aborting File Transfers cccssssssesssseceseessssecessersons 25 Transfer Status Window cscsssscscsssssssscrerersessees 25 Send Menu Function ccsssececesscserssessscceeecesesenceneeeeses 26 Xmodem Standard cssesssseeseecececseeseesesecseeesnecsacsaes 26 XMOdEM CRC 16 BEE 26 dulste 1an EE 27 YMOdEM Bath ccccccscseesccsrscsssetesssecessaceesessereesseseeses 27 Windowed XMOdEM ccsssscceseccescrrecessneceessenecessneeees 27 SEAM etc r aeaa iaaa a e d 27 Lmodem Lmodem Batch cccsssssecssssssterersesssesees 27 TE 28 Aborting File Transfers csccessssssssssessssenessesenes 28 Transfer Status Window cccsssesscccesssscnseeseeetesstsees 28 Buffer Menu FUNCTION ER EEEEEE EE REN EEEEEEERREEE 29 VUE 29 LOA EE 29 SAVO sds E A E E E T 30 Wl dl 30 CICA E 30 Config Menu Function sccsessesssessccsecescessse
20. The EXE drive is the drive where Express will look for a subdirectory called EX PRESS which would contain external executable modules to run under the cartridge environment With DOS s that do not support subdirecto ries Express would look in the root directory Columns columns is set by selecting this option and pressing the RETURN key until the desired columns appears Columns deter mines whether Express will write to the 40 column screen or to the 80 column screen when in terminal mode only Columns is changed by pressing RETURN until the correct column width appears Possible values are 40 or 80 Page 31 Seu All menuing is always written to the 40 column screen regard less of the columns setting This is due to the fact that the XEP80 is not capable of displaying custom display lists which are used by Express In order to use 80 column in terminal mode you must be running the XEP80 under SpartaDOS X No other 80 column configuration will work properly due to display speed limitations using the XEP80 with other screen handlers SpartaDOS X Users The DEVICE XEP80 statement would need to be included in your config sys to utilize the 80 column terminal mode in Express Left Margin left margin is set by selecting this option and pressing the RETURN key until the desired left margin appears Left margin sets the text left margin when displaying text to the screen Pos sible values are 0 1 or 2 Word
21. ask i e D1 COM or D1 Express gt Com All files matching the file mask will be transferred Multiple File Transfer Menu Windowed Xmodem This protocol is a sliding window transfer protocol commonly supported by MS DOS bulletin boards Windowed Xmodem transfers data in 128 byte packets and uses a two digit cyclic redundancy check method for checking the accuracy of the packet transfer Sealink This protocol is a sliding window transfer protocol commonly supported by MS DOS bulletin boards SEAlink transfers data in 128 byte packets and uses a two digit cyclic redundancy check method for checking the accuracy of the packet transfer Lmodem Lmodem Batch select Lmodem or Lmodem Batch only when connected to a BBS Express Professional bulletin board or another Express cartridge Currently these are the only two programs that support these transfer protocols These protocols transfer data in Page 27 Epua 256 byte packets and use a two digit cyclic redundancy check method for checking the accuracy of the packet transfer Once Lmodem is se lected you will be prompted for a filename to send wildcarding is per missible After entering the appropiate input fields press RETURN to Start the file transfer Lmodem Lmodem Batch are sliding window proto cols similar to SEAlink with a significant added feature If you are con nected to another Express cartridge it will not be necessary for the re
22. creen Rename a file Copy file s wildcards allowed Show disk info Format a disk if using SpartaDos X cartridge will use SpartaDos X format ter otherwise will format disk in Atari 2 0 format Display command menu Unless you are running SpartaDOS several commands i e CHKDSK CREDIR DELDIR etc will be unavailable for execution Special Note While TYPE and VIEW may be used interchanga bly there is a subtle difference in their usage VIEW will correctly translate ASCII carriage return linefeeds to the ATASCII carriage return before displaying to the screen TYPE will not perform any translation on the file being displayed You can tell if a file has ASCII CR LF s the file was created on an MS DOS machine by TYPE ing it and the sentences seem to run on without carriage returns If this is the case VIEW ing it will correctly display the file on your screen Files created on the Atari com puter will correctly display with either command Page 37 Epa To print a file to the printer while in the OS Sheli use the copy command and specify a destination of P i e Copy D1 Text Txt P Info Menu Function The info menu provides information about Express such as the cartridge version number and the address and telephone number for f config nisc 0S Shell linfa Quit Orion Micro Systems To accessthe info panel select info on the menu bar and press RETURN Express c 1989 Orion Nicro Systems
23. e Code if you use a long distance service that requires the entering of a per sonal identification number or long distance code and you want Express to automatically enter the number Edit Long Distance Code Menu for you enter your number on this Page 20 Some menu To make Express send this number over the modem before dialing the phone number precede the phone number in the dialing entry with an exclamation point This feature is designed for use when using other than a dial 1 long distance carrier Hang Up The Phone selecting this option and pressing RE TURN will hang up the modem by dropping the DTR line If you are using the Atari SX212 modem connected through the SIO port we recommend that you not use this option to terminate a phone call Instead use the ATH RETURN command from terminal mode We make this recommendation because the SX212 does not hang up con sistently when the DTR line is dropped but will hang up reliably when using ATH RETURN Page 21 Eyal Receive Menu Function To use the receive function select it on the menu bar The re ceive menu will drop down allowing access to the sub functions Once a transfer protocol has been selected a menu will drop down allowing you to specify the Bieden Standard Rwoden ik Vuodem Batch filename s and path into which the received files will be placed If you SEAlink selected a single file transfer proto Leodes Batch
24. ec tions and you reach the menu selection closest to either side of the screen pressing the arrow key again in the same direction you were moving will cause the next page of the menu bar to appear To illustrate this press the ESC ape key to activate the menu system Now repeat edly press the right arrow key to move to the right through the menus When you reach the buffer menu and press the right arrow again the second page of the menu bar will appear and the config menu selection on the left side of the screen will be active Continuing to press the right arrow key will move the menu selection indicator to the right until it reaches the right side of the screen Pressing the right arrow key again will flip back to the first menu bar page positioning you back to the left side of the screen with the dial menu active Page 9 Spe Dial Parms Receive Send Buffer 1st Menu Bar Config Misc OS Shell Info Quit 2nd Menu Bar Express always remembers the last menu bar option that was active Therefore when a function is executed and you re activate the menu bar Express will position you to the last active menu bar option and the last active function within that option as a starting point You frfay then select a new menu option to perform Regardless of how many levels deep you are in menus the ESCjape key will always return you to the previous menu you were on So if you are in terminal mode and you activate
25. ected The screen will clear and the Waiting For Connect Window will appear To abort the dialing function press ESC ape Dialing will be terminated and the dialing menu will reappear Space marks the entry to be dialed when using the Dial marked function Bialing Midnight Express Number 884 379 4156 Arrows pressing the up Timeout 45 down arrow keys moves the selec Ppi TE tion bar up and down the current page you are on Pressing the left right arrow keys jumps to the next page 10 entries per page Theres amaximum of 50 entries per phone list pressing the keys 1 Waiting To Connect Window through 5 will jump directly to that page in the phone list For example pressing 4 will jump to page 4 of the phone list which contains entries 31 through 40 Edit entry allows you to add change or delete the selected entry When this option is selected the following menu appears Name Midnight Express Number 804 379 4156 i Uait 45 seconds Once this menu appears on Sia ees EEN the screen pressing the TAB key Term mode ASCII Duplex Full will move you from field to field Default protocol Ywodeu eae futomati cu Once the cursoris positioned onthe Eerad Geh field you wish to edit the field con Macros for this entry 1 1 M PNYPASS M PSECONDPUN tents may be changed As youtab to S each field notice the box in the bottom ESC aborts hmmmh l phalus right hand corner of the men
26. ent block B Attempts 1 see how large the file is Pressing Checksum type in use CRC 16 Total bytes sed SPACEBAR again will return you d bytes expected 16000 back to the file transfer status win dow Press OPTION to abort transfer The large blank area in the Press SPACE to see Term screen transfer window is where Express places status messages pertaining to the progress of the transfer taking place Ymodem Batch Receive Transfer Status Window Page 25 Epas Send Menu Function To use the send function select it on the menu bar The send menu will drop down allowing access to the sub functions Once a transfer protocol has been selected a menu will drop down allowing you to specify the filename s and path from which to send files If you selected a single file transfer protocol like Xmodem or Ymodem 1k the single file trans fer menu will drop down If you se lected a multiple file transfer proto col like Ymodem Batch or SEAlink the Multiple file transfer menu will drop down Enter the appropriate data in the input fields and press RETURN to start the file transfer Kuodas CRC 16 Senden Mecdee ik Boden Batch Uindowed Hodes SEAL ink Leoden Laod en Batch in ext Express c 1989 Orion Micro Systems Send Menu Xmodem Standard This Xmodem protocol transfers data in 128 byte packets and uses a one digit checksum method for checking the accuracy of the packet transfer
27. gs used dem parameters allow you to set the by your sodon for the following K purposes dialing prefix and suffix for your Dialing prefix AIDT particular modem Most Hayes com Dialing suffix N patible modems use ATDT tone Initialization string at bootup dialing or ATDP pulse dialing as gt H the dialing prefix and M carriage return to terminate commands to the modem Express c 1989 Orion Micro Systeme Assuming you have a Hayes compatible modem setthese para Modem Parameters Menu meters as follows Dialing Prefix ATDT or ATDP Dialing Suffix M Consult your modem user manual for the correct settings for your particular modem Modem initialization this setting allows you to specify a modem command that you want to send to the modem when the Express cartridge is started This usually consists of a reset command forthe modem but can include setting the modems registers for turning on off the modem speaker or setting the register for speed dialing Any command that you can send to the modem in terminal mode can be placed in the initialization string limited only by the field size of 30 characters Note If Express starts and detects the presence of a carrier signal this initialization string is not sent to the modem Express would assume you left the cartridge while online and are now returning to Page 19 Exes resume communications Download Pathname is activated by selecting this
28. keys and then press ing 1 2 or 3 depending onthe macro you want to send Once you set up your macros going through the logon sequence for a BBS is as simple as one keystroke In additional to the normal text which can be entered into a macro Express recognizes control sequences to perform special functions These special functions are M send a return P pause 1 second before continuing Px pause x seconds where xis a value 1 to 9 J chain to the next macro x send any control character i e Z would send a CONTROL 2 The example macro in entry 1 would perform the following function when the SHIFT CONTROL 1 keys are pressed Macro 1 1 M PMYPASS M PSECONDPW M o Send out over the modem the character 1 followed by a Page 15 Some carriage return M o Wait for 1 second P and send out the string MYPASS followed by a carriage return o Wait another 1 second P and send out the string SECONDPW followed by a carriage return M As you can see this can automate an entire logon sequence to a BBS with one keypress To illustrate the use of the join macro command let s consider the following three macros Macro 1 1 M P J Macro 2 MYPASS M P J Macro 3 SECONDPW M In this instance the same function would occur as in the first ex ample The difference is that it is defined in 3 macros instead of one Pressing SHIFT CONTROL 1 would o Send out ove
29. ll change the background color Background intensity pressing RETURN while this op tion is active will change the back ground intensity Foreground Intensity pressing RETURN while this op tion is active will change the fore ground intensity Misc Menu Remember to save the configuration file if you want the color changes to be made permanent Page 35 Some OS Shell Menu Function Touse the OS Shell function select it on the menu bar and press RETURN The OS Shell will become active with the D1 prompt appear ing at the top of the terminal mode window From the OS Shell you can type commands as if you were atthe command line in SpartaDOS This eliminates the need to exit the Ex press cartridge to perform routine DOS commands If using Atari 2 0 DOS this can save time by not hav ing to reload the DUP SYS just to look at a drive directory Run DOS shell Express c 1989 Orion Micro Systems OS Shell Menu Express DOS Shell OS Shell Activated Page 36 Some The following commands are supported Command Alias DIR DIRS Dx EXIT xX CWD CD CREDIR MD DELDIR RD ERASE DEL ETE PROTECT UNPROTECT TYPE VIEW CLS RENAME REN COPY CHKDSK FORMAT Function Disk directory Short directory Change drive Exit OSshell Change directory Create directory Delete directory Delete file Lock a file Unlock a file View text file Clear the s
30. ly turn the modem off and back on to terminate the connection If you currently have your modem set up to run BBS Express Professional no modem setting changes are required Using Expanded Memory The Express terminal cartridge can use up to 512K of expanded memory as a capture buffer if you are using an expanded 800XL or 130XE The only requirement to use this extra memory as a buffer is that it follows the bank select method utilized by the Peterson 130XE memory upgrade or ICD s Rambo memory upgrade for the 800XL s As an example let s suppose you have a 130XE with the 576K memory upgrade You can set the memory size in the configuration Page 3 Epas menu to 576K which will yield a 512K capture buffer In this configura tion you would not be able to use any of this memory as an internal ram disk as it has all been reserved for Express s use Now let s say you want to use the extra memory for both a ramdisk and extra buffer space Assuming your ramdisk configuration program allows you to do this i e the RD COM program from Sparta DOS you can run your ramdisk program specifying the parameter to not use the upper 64K of the normal 128K of memory i e RD D8 E This would create a 448K ramdisk and leave the upper 64K free which can then be used by Express as extra buffer space by setting the memory size to 128K in the configuration menu This will give you an 80K capture buffer the normal 16K buffer
31. nal mode Many BBS s recognize CONTROL S to both start and stop the data flow Experiment with the BBS s you call to see which method works best for you Type Ahead Buffer while in terminal mode Express offers you the ability to utilize a type ahead buffer Pressing SHIFT CONTROL Tonce turns the type ahead buffer ON ATA gt prompt will replace the top menu bar In this mode anything you type on the keyboard will not be sent out over the modem until you press the RETURN key Pressing SHIFT CONTROL T again will toggle to a D1 prompt In this mode you can enter DOS commands as if you were in the OS Shell While in the DOS prompt mode the last 10 commands are saved in a command line recall buffer To recall a command use the up down arrow keys and the command will appear in the command line Once the command you are looking for appears press the RETURN key to perform the command Note Commands may be up to 80 characters long The com Page 7 Some mand line will scroll to the right if a typed command exceeds the right screen boundary While in either the type ahead mode or the DOS prompt mode you may press ESC ape to turn the menu bar back on while keeping the mode you were in still turned on Pressing ESC ape again will return you tothe same mode you were in before Pressing SHIFT CONTROL T again turns the menu bar back on and disables the type ahead buffer Turning The Screen OFF from time to time yo
32. nternal BASIC sesesensssessessseossusesensonsosorsrsssscnsesss 39 Disable All Cans geeetruekseseeuE Eege Seege 39 Console Key Usage e sssssessseneressossesesescnreseseseusscnsrsesrereese 40 Upgrade Policy ccssccscssscsssssssesscersccesssssesessesecsseassaees 41 IN CONCIUSIOMN EEN 42 Epua Welcome To Express Express is the first full featured telecommunications program for the Atari 8 bit computer available in cartridge form The advantage of using a cartridge based terminal program versus a disk based program are 1 The cartridge version is available immediately without having to wait for a program to load from disk This allows a very fast transition from DOS to the terminal program and back again even while online 2 The Express cartridge will run without a disk drive or without DOS being loaded in the computer It is possible to run Express on an XE game machine without disk drives making it a very inexpensive communications setup Express is an intuitive easy to operate program Its drop down menu system will have a novice telecommunicating in a matter of min utes The advanced features which have been incorporated into the cartridge will delight even the most demanding user Express also incorporates the ability to run external command modules from disk ensuring that as your telecommunication needs expand in the future Express will expand to meet them Throughout this manual we will refer to a mul
33. om cursor to EOF CONTROL CLEAR Clear the current field CONTROL INSERT Insert character at current cursor position CONTROL DELETE Erase character under the cursor CONTROL LEFT ARROW Move one characterto leftin currentfield CONTROL RIGHT ARROW Move one character to right in current field CONTROL UP ARROW Position to previous entry field same as SHIFT TAB CONTROL DOWN ARROW Position to next entry field same as TAB Page 14 Some Macro keys numbers 1 through 3 are the macro keys associ ated with this phone list entry You may enter any text up to 29 characters in these fields that you wish Positionto the macro you want to edit using the TAB key enter the macro text you want associated with the macro and press TAB to continue to the next macro When finished press RETURN to accept all the changes you ve made What is a Macro anyway A macro is nothing more than a group of characters that perform a repetitive function For example everytime you logon to a BBS you usually have to enter an ID and password to access the system Instead of writing down on a piece of paper your logon ID and password enter them into the phone entry as macros Now they won t get thrown away the next time you clean up the computer area and they can also be sent over the modem using the macro keys Once connected to a BBS a macro can be sent out over the modem by holding down the SHIFT CONTROL
34. r the modem the character 1 followed by a carriage return M wait for 1 second then join to the second macro o The second macro would then send out the string MYPASS followed by a carriage return wait 1 second P and join to the third macro o The third macro would send out the string SECONDPW fol lowed by a carriage return M Automatic Macros the automatic macros setting allows you to specify whether or not you want the first macro for the phone entry to be automatically sent when you connect to the BBS Setting this option to Yes and setting your macros for proper response to the BBS s data request prompts will execute an automatic logon without any keypresses on your part Dial marked will start dialing the entries which have been marked with the Mark entry function Express will dial the entry and wait fora modem connection or the Busy message fromthe modem If busy Express will move to the next marked entry and dial it Once all the Page 16 Epua interface does not support the DTR line on comm port 4 it always stays on If you use comm port 4 with Express you must hang up using the followed by the ATH RETURN command Refer to your modem manual for additional information on this command and its usage Modem Parameters is ac SRE Baud rate 9600 tivated by selecting this function and pressing the RETURN key Mo Enter the specific strin
35. s is also true with SpartaDOS 3 x if you do not have a STARTUP BAT file set up Express is a stackable cartridge and may be placed virtually anywhere in the stack If you are using the ICD R Time8 cartridge we recommend that you plug in the Express terminal cartridge above this cartridge If you are using the ICD SpartaDOS X cartridge Express should always be plugged in on top Each time Express runs it will look for the CONFIG EXP file stores the user settable parameters and the PHONE LST file stores the dialing phone list entries on drive 1 in the root directory and load them into memory if they exist We will discuss how Express creates these files later in this manual Holding down the OPTION key while booting your computer with the Express cartridge installed will cause the Express Car tridge Control Menu to appear on your screen This allows you to select which cartridge you want enabled when the computer boots This feature eliminates the need to plug cartridges out the computer Simply select how you want to boot your computer and the boot process will continue enabling or disabling cartridges based on your selection Page 5 Epa Terminal Mode Once the carridge has finished loading the configuration file andthe phone list you will be placed on the terminal mode screen From there you can communicate with your modem to change modem set tings access the drop down menu system and communicate with a
36. s of the capture RABEL PREYS BRP POY SPP Pee PE buffer Clear select this option to clear the capture buffer You will be prompted with Is it OK to clear the buffer Respond with Y es or N o _Bank Avail 16384 Line 1 Capture Buffer Viewer Page 30 Exess Config Menu Function To use the config function select it on the menu bar The config menu will drop down allowing access to the sub functions Select a sub function by using the up down ar row keys Last Misc 0S Shell Info Quit Setting The Def Drive coirm 4 default drive is set by selecting this era ie Mo option and pressing the RETURN Leger SE key until the desired DEF drive appears The DEF drive is the drive Load configuration number that will appear by default Seve configuration any time a function is performed that requires a drive number Express ec 1989 Orion Micro Systems In our example config menu the default drive is set to 1 Any action requiring a filename would display the prompt D1 Keep in mind that even though D1 appears as the default on the promptline you may backspace over the drive designator and change it to a different drive number This would not change the default drive only the drive number for this one particular action Contig Menu EXE Drive EXE drive is set by selecting this option and press ing the RETURN key until the desired EXE drive appears
37. s the SHIFT Page 6 Evans CLEAR keys to clear the terminal mode screen Now using the blank terminal screen compose the message Keep in mind that you are limited to the size of the terminal screen approx 22 lines although you can save multiple screens to compose longer messages if needed Press the SHIFT CONTROL Y keys to buffer the terminal screen to the capture buffer If you want to continue with the message clear your screen and continue typing your message until you are either finished or the screen is again full Keep in mind that BBS s usually limit the size of a message so it s best to keep the message short Now press the SHIFT CONTROL Y keys again to buffer the screen again Once your message is complete you can use the SAVE function underthe BUFFER option on the menu bar to save your message to a disk file Later when you are online use the send ASCII transfer mode to upload your mes sage to the BBS s message base editor Just remember to start a message on the BBS as you normally would but instead of keying the message by hand use the ASCII send function While online with a BBS you may occasionally need to pause the text to give you time to read it before continuing Should that need arise the general rule of thumb is to press the CONTROL S key to pause the BBS from sending data To resume the data flow press CONTROL Q Think of CONTROL S and CONTROL Q as a data off on switch while in termi
38. seeesoetseseees 31 Setting DEF Drive c iccccesccscsscceccsncsleduscadasssccssssciecssecedes 31 Setting EXE Drive srsnerdi ae 31 Setting ColuM ce ccssscseeessssessecscsseeerseeseersoessnesees 31 Setting Left Margin ccc sccesceeccessscersseesssenessnseeeees 32 Setting Word Wrap ecseccccsescsesseseesseesceeasensnseaeevoss 32 SettingiU L Pause ieena euas daneas 32 Setting Memory SiZ sessseessunennrerensererssessersseascserrneenne 32 Edit Generic Macros ccccecesssssscssocsaseacaceeeseusueeesnees 33 Some Tabl f Content Load Configuration cccsscsccsesssceseeeessceesseserssceenenaes 34 Save Configuration sc sccsscsseeeceessessersecssesseeees 34 Misc Menu Function ss oeesesseonsessoesseresnsneeesoessssrreeceesesesese 35 Setting Background Color ssscsccscsseseseseesenets 35 Setting Background Intensity secssssssscesseeers 35 Setting Foreground Intensity cecscssssseesere 35 OS Shell Menu FUN ction csscsscsscssscssssssersessscsesseeeees 36 Shell Commande cccccssssssessseesessectecesacseeessenseeesens 37 Info Menu FUNCTION ccsseesessesnecescecssteessessesesssensseeseees 38 Quit Menu FUNCTION cccccesccescesscesececeeeeeesseserseeseenaneees 39 Exit Program sesccessccctectcessececcessuedusssesenecteosecrestsceteecseseese 39 Run Piggyback Cart eesessesesseessnssnseseseresenesseseuencernsnses 39 Run I
39. shakes with the receiver and automatically starts the receive function on your side the receiver must be in terminal mode with the menu bar de activated The download pa thname in the PARMS menu must be set for this function to work correctly Additionally both the sender and receiver must be in ATASCII translation mode to perform this transfer protocol The reason is simple This is an ATARI specific protocol hence ATASCIl translation Lmodem Batch will receive one or more files depending on the sender In general when using Lmoden it is desirable to use the batch version of Lmodem The shining feature of Lmodem is that it completely removes the need for the receiver to do anything to successfully down Page 23 Eyal load files When connected to a BBS Express Professional board sim ply MARK the files you want to receive and select the SEND MARKED FILES function on the BBS Then sit back and let the protocol take care of the rest The transfer will start automatically without the need for you to start the transfer on the terminal side We think once you use this new protocol a few times you ll wonder why it wasn t ALWAYS done like this in the first place ASCII select ASCII when the BBS you are connected to sup ports ASCII file transfers or you want to receive incoming text into a file on your system This function will save the file when the copy buffer fills up A few words about protocols Express is
40. tiple keypress operation with the following notation SHIFT CONTROL A This means to hold down the SHIFT and the CONTROL keys simultaneously and then press the A key We will also talk about selecting an item What we mean by this is that as you move around the menus in Express the options will be come highlighted in inverse characters When this highlighting occurs an item is considered selected Page 1 Epua System Requirements You ll need the following equipment in order to use the Express terminal cartridge o Atari 800 800XL 130XE or XE game system with keyboard o Monitor or television color or black and white o Disk Drive optional required for uploading downloading functions o RS232 interface MIO PRC or 850 optional with Atari SX212 modem o Hayes compatible modem RS232 compatible or Atari SX212 modem Loading The RS232 Handler In order for Express to communicate with the modem the RS232 device handler must be loaded into memory If your modem is connected to the RS232 port of the MIO loading the RS232 handler is not necessary as the handler is already present in the MIO If you are using the Atari 850 interface or the PR Connection Express will load the handler automatically for you If you are attempting to use Express with some other configuration i e SX212 through the SIO port or the RS232 port on the ATR8000 you must load the appropiate RS232 handler prior to running the
41. u This box indicates the acceptable keypresses for the particular field Phone Entry Edit Menu being edited For example when Page 13 Some this menu first appears the cursor is positioned in the first position ofthe NAME field and the bottom right hand box indicates AlphaNum This means this field will accept alphanumeric input A Z a z 0 9 space and any special characters Enter the desired text in the field Next using the TAB key position the cursor down to the WAIT field Notice the box now indicates this field will accept only numeric input If you try to key in letters they are ignored Now TAB down to the BAUD RATE field The box now indi cates SPACEBAR This means the field is a toggle field Press the SPACEBAR until the desired setting appears on the screen Once you see the desired setting you can TAB to set the next field Once you are satisfied with the entry press RETURN to accept the changes and return to the dialing menu Allofthe input menus used by Express follow this input conven tion Listed below are the special function keypresses available to you in addition to the normal entry of data Input Menu Special Keypresses and their purpose TAB Position to next entry field BACKSPACE Move one character to left in current field SHIFT CLEAR Clear the current field SHIFT TAB Position to previous entry field SHIFT DELETE Erase characters fr
42. u may want to turn the screen off To accomplish this press the SHIFT CONTROL ATARIKEY When the screen is turned off processing speed increases by approximately 30 This can save quite a bit of time in file transfers at higher baud rates either through the modem or when null modeming to another computer Pressing SHIFT CONTROL ATARIKEY again will turn the display back on Note Turning off the screen will only speed up Express if you are communicating at 19200 baud Express will keep up with baud rates through 9600 baud with the screen turned on Page 8 Some The Menu Bar The Menu bar at the top of the screen contains the major func tions of the cartridge Pressing the ESC ape key activates the menu system Pressing ESC ape again deactivates the menus placing you back in terminal mode Upon activating the menu system a drop down menu will appear under the major function that you are currently using and will display ail the sub functions available within the major function To move from one major function to another use the left and right arrow keys located beside the CAPS key Once in a major function use the up and down arrow keys located beside the RETURN key While using the arrow keys to move around the menus it is NOT necessary to hold down the CONTROL key When you have selected the function that you wish to execute press the RETURN key When you are moving from side to side through the menu sel
43. uit menu E jumps to the text buffer viewer H jumps directly to the hang up phone option F displays current connect time in minutes NOTE time is only correct if the entry was dialed from the dialing menu Upgrade Policy From time to time there may be upgrades available to the Ex press cartridge to add additional features While we wish we could give these upgrades away economics prevents us from doing so Should upgrades become available in the future we will send you a new EPROM to replace the current one in your cartridge at a reasonable cost There is no need to send us back the cartridge to take advantage of any upgrade Simply replace the existing EPROM with the new one Send any request for upgrades to Orion Micro Systems ATTN Express Cart Upgrade 2211 Planters Row Drive Midlothian Virginia 23113 Page 41 Epua In Conclusion We hope you find the Express terminal cartridge to be the most powerful terminal program you have ever used on the Atari computer but we re not stopping here Express has built into it a feature by which if it can t find what it s looking for in the cartridge it will look for it on disk remember the EXE drive specifier in the CONFIG menu So what you say Well this means two things First as we find more features to put in Express we ll be writing programs to fill those needs In order to use these new features all you have to do is place the programs in the EXP
44. use the dial function select iton the menu bar The dial menu will drop down allowing access to the sub functions Load phone list this op Bial Pares Receive Send Buffer F tion allows you to load a phone list 4 Load phone list from disk You will be prompted fora Save phone list filename to load Save phone list this op tion allows you to save a phone list to disk The default phone list that Express uses when first loaded is a file named PHONE LST on drive 1 You may create additional phone lists and save them on other drives and give them any name you want but these phone lists would later have to be manually loaded using the load phone list option Express c 1989 Orion Nicro Systems Drop Down Dialing Menu Clear phone list this option allows youto clear a phone list that is currently in memory Use this option when you want to start a new phone list from scratch Dial from list To dial from the phone list position to Dial from List with the up down arrow keys and press RETURN The follow ing menu will appear Edit entry Return L entry Using the up down arrow e eelere keys position to the entry that you EE wish to use Once positioned the Express Phone Directo functions listed in the lower portion of the screen act on the selected Phone List Dialing Menu entry 4 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 18 Page 12 Some Return dials the entry you currently have sel
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