93 lines
3.6 KiB
Plaintext
93 lines
3.6 KiB
Plaintext
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Part 2 of PROCOMM - OUTSTANDING TELECOM by Merv Adrian
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DOS Gateway : This is a fairly standard feature. Owing to the size of the code
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used for ProComm, you must be selective with respect to the applications you
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choose to use.
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Saving Screens and Sessions : Disk logging of a screen (with Alt-G) or a session
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(with Alt-F1) is possible. In the case of session logs, you are not stuck with
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the default file you established; you are prompted for another new name if you
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wish to specify one. This is very useful for those special needs you don't
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anticipate and want to keep separate from your general log file. I once was
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pleasantly interrupted by a SYSOP in CHAT mode and I would have loved to keep a
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separate log of that conversation on disk.
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Printed Log Files : Printer logging is another feature which I usually find
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annoying but has its place, especially when running unattended command files.
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ProComm supports it with the Alt-L toggle interactively and with appropriate
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commands.
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Editing Files : Use your own editor! Doesn't sound too revolutionary, but I
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consider it a Godsend not to be stuck with either the program's editor (a la
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RELAY, an otherwise excellent product), or worse, EDLIN. I've grown very fond
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of KEDIT (you see, I DO buy some commercial programs), so that's what I use.
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Personalized communications...
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Sound : Sound effects may be set on or off by default on the configuration menu,
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but they may also be overridden at startup time with the "/S" switch on the
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command line.
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Color : Color may be set for the program screens individually for foreground,
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background, and highlighted text. The program will also display any color
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information passed to it by a BBS you are connected to.
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Relationship to DOS : You may tell ProComm to be "well-behaved", that is, to use
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BIOS calls rather than direct screen writes, which makes it easier to use under
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multitasking systems. This may be set up by default or through the "/M" option
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on the command line.
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Environment Support : Environment support (SET PROCOMM = pathname) is a
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substantial topic. Someone really should cover it but in the meantime read your
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DOS manual, I'm busy enough as it is.
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The requirements to use ProComm are: 1. 128K 2. IBM Compatible 3. MS-DOS
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Documentation : The manual is one of the best I've ever seen. It includes
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thorough details on each of the terminal emulation settings in appendices,
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discusses character translation at length (in case you ever wondered how the
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program can tell the difference between receiving a carriage return and being
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asked to send a carriage return, for example), and provides a well-thought out
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introduction to all the features of the product. I've never seen a better
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discussion of XON/XOFF; this one tells you what you need to know about it, what
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you might want to do about it in a tricky situation, and doesn't give you any
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unnecessary technical information (at least at this point, it would be
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unnecessary).
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Summing Up : I hoped to keep this brief; I could have gone on because there is
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so much to say about ProComm. I'm a believer, my check is in the mail already.
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Try it, and support another great piece of software.
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[ END OF ARTICLE ]
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[ Have a little diversion each month with the Gazette ]
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