Hayes(R) Smartcom EZ(TM) ----------------------- User's Guide Topics Covered in this User's Guide: Warranty Information Program Overview Installation Using a Mouse Starting Smartcom EZ On-line Help Mini-help Placing a First Modem Call After You're On-line Capturing and Autotyping Text Sending and Receiving Files A Special Offer Keyboard Macros If Something Goes Wrong Warranty Information -------------------- Complete warranty information can be found in the LEGAL.TXT file included on the Smartcom EZ diskette. To view or print this file first type: A: then press Enter. Then type: GUIDE LEGAL.TXT and press Enter again. Program Overview ---------------- Smartcom EZ is a simple communications program that controls your Hayes modem. Easy to learn and use, the program provides the information-transfer features needed to take advantage of your modem's telecommunications capabilities. Use Smartcom EZ to originate or answer a modem call, transfer files between your computer's disks and another computer's, or send text to the printer as it appears on the screen. A Phone Book stores an alphabetical list of the different places you call, recalling their phone numbers and other settings that get you quickly connected and exchanging information. In the Phone Book, you can also store time-saving keyboard macros - shortcut keys you can program to send long commands. Smartcom EZ runs on any personal computer in the IBM(R) PC or PS/2(TM) family of computers (or 100% compatible). This User's Guide introduces you to the variety of ways you can use Smartcom EZ. You'll find this guide the most helpful if you read through it before installing and using the program. Smartcom EZ also provides an extensive on-line help facility. Use the help system both as a quick way to learn the program as you experiment with it, and as the primary source for detailed information about Smartcom EZ. You can press F1 to display help any time you're using the program, even while on-line (connected). Displaying help won't interrupt the connection or any ongoing operation. Installation ------------ A special program file called INSTALL will do everything necessary to properly install Smartcom EZ onto a working disk, including creating a separate directory on your hard disk. To use install, start your computer normally, insert the appropriate size Smartcom EZ master disk into drive A and from the DOS prompt, type: A:INSTALL and press Enter. INSTALL will ask you some questions about your system and how Smartcom EZ should be installed. When INSTALL is complete, put the Smartcom EZ master disk away in a safe place. Manual Installation: Copying the Files If Smartcom EZ isn't already installed onto a working disk, you should first create a directory on your working disk, then copy the files from the master disk. The following example assumes you have a hard disk C and floppy drive A. Start your computer normally, and at the DOS prompt, enter: MD C:\EZ This will create an \EZ directory on your hard disk C. Next, insert the Smartcom EZ master disk into drive A and enter: COPY A:*.* C:\EZ This will copy all the files from the Smartcom EZ master disk into the \EZ directory on the hard disk C. Finally, you can delete the INSTALL files from your working copy by entering: DEL C:\EZ\INSTALL.* Since INSTALL is not used to operate Smartcom EZ, it can be safely deleted from your working disk. Be sure to put the Smartcom EZ master disk away in a safe place when you have finished. If disk space is tight and you don't want to copy all of the files, here's the minimum ones you'll need: EZ.EXE executable program file EZ.DAT data file used to stores Phone Book entries and other program information EZ.RSC A resource file used by EZ.EXE You may want to copy over EZ.HLP if you want the help system to operate and both EZDEGL.BAT and EZMONO.BAT to automatically set some environment variables (see the last section in this guide for details). INSTALL.EXE and INSTALL.RSC are only used for the automated installation and are not required for Smartcom EZ to operate. GUIDE.EXE is used to view and print this document, and need only be copied over from the master disk if needed for that purpose. Using a Mouse ------------- ÿ Smartcom EZ supports the Microsoft(R) mouse driver standard and can be easily operated with one. If you have a mouse you can turn on Smartcom EZ support by adding the following command to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file or just entering it at the DOS prompt: ÿ SET EZMOUSE=R ÿ Using this configuration, moving the mouse is the same as moving the cursor keys. The left button functions as the Enter key and the right button as the Escape key. Pressing both buttons switches the mouse control from the current menu to the Mini-help line at the bottom of each screen. If you are left handed, you may wish to switch the meaning of the two buttons on the mouse by turning on mouse support with the following: ÿ SET EZMOUSE=L ÿ Refer to the documentation received with your mouse for information on loading the required mouse driver. Also refer to your DOS manual for information on the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Using Smartcom EZ with Microsoft Windows(R) ------------------------------------------- Smartcom EZ will function as a full screen DOS application under Windows. See your Windows User's Guide for details on creating an icon and how to use shortcut keys. Starting Smartcom EZ -------------------- To start Smartcom EZ, at the DOS prompt (for example, C:>), type: CD EZ and press Enter (assuming EZ is located in an EZ directory). Then type EZ and press Enter. The very first time you start the program, an introductory help screen is displayed. Press PgDn to view additional windows of the help text. When done reading the help message, press F1 to put it away. Note that the program version is included on the sign-on screen. This information will be useful if you ever need to contact Hayes Customer Service. Press Enter put the sign-on screen away and display the Main Menu. On-line Help ------------ The on-line help facility displays detailed information on how to use the program's features. When you need information about an unfamiliar procedure, press F1. The help text displayed will refer to the operation you are currently performing. Below most help windows is a list of subjects related to the current one. These provide cross-reference to additional information. To display help information about one of these related topics, highlight the topic with any arrow key and press Enter. When you've viewed different cross-referenced topics, you may wish to return to previous topics. Press Esc to move back through them, in reverse order. Often the help text won't fit into one window, and is continued on other pages. To display additional pages, press PgDn. Press PgUp to return to a previous page. To put away on-line help, press F1. Mini-help --------- At the bottom of Smartcom EZ screens is a mini-help line that provides quick reference to the keys that perform program functions. Refer to this line any time you need to know which keys get you around in the program. If, you see "...Shift-Tab" at the end of the Mini-help line, you can hold down the Shift key and press the Tab key to display the complete list of all the keys with functions for the current screen. Placing a First Modem Call -------------------------- To make a modem call: At the Main Menu, select Call or Answer. To select an option from the menu, press the up or down arrow keys to highlight it, then press Enter to select it. Or type the letter shown inside the square brackets: Type C to place a call. Next, select an entry from the Phone Book. For placing the first call, we suggest you call the Online With Hayes Bulletin Board System. The toll-free number is 1-800-874-2937 (USHAYES), calls can also be made at 1-404-446-6336 (HIMODEM). There is a Phone Book entry already set up for you to do this. Or, you may wish to call some other system not listed; to do this, select . Press the down arrow key to access the table, use the arrow keys to move to a desired entry, and press Enter. Note: To answer a call, select Answer(COM1) or Answer(COM2) from the Phone Book, depending on which COM port your modem is connected to. (COM1 is used most often). Smartcom EZ then waits for the phone to ring, and answers. Type a descriptive name to give to the new Phone Book entry and press Enter. The next time you place a call, you'll be able to reuse the entry by selecting its name from the Phone Book. When asked to do so, enter the telephone number to be dialed and press Enter. Select the computer communications port to which your modem is connected: COM1, COM2, COM3 or COM4. For most installations, COM1 is appropriate. If you choose the wrong port, the Smartcom EZ will give you an opportunity to try another port, if it is installed in your computer. After You're On-line -------------------- It can take anywhere from ten seconds to over a minute for the modem to establish a connection, depending on the computer system you're calling. Allow sufficient time before cancelling. If you ever do need to cancel a connection in progress, press Esc. Once your computer is connected to another computer, you are "on-line." Letters typed on your computer's keyboard are transmitted, and characters received from the host (other) computer are displayed on your screen. You can also use other program features for information transfer by displaying the Main Menu. To do so, press F2. VT(TM)-102 Keyboard Layout -------------------------- In addition to TTY emulation, Smartcom EZ can emulate a VT102 data terminal; this can be useful if the system you are calling requires users to "look" like a VT or compatible terminal. The following table outlines the PC keyboard equivalents of often used VT102 keys. Smartcom EZ (Your PC) Keys VT102 Keys Ctrl-F1...Ctrl-F10 numeric keypad 1...9,0 Alt-F1...Alt-F4 PF1...PF4 Alt-F5 Send a Break Alt-F6 keypad Dash Alt-F7 keypad Comma Alt-F8 keypad Period (dot) Alt-F9 Line Feed Alt-F10 Enter Keypad up arrow up arrow Keypad down arrow down arrow Keypad left arrow left arrow Keypad right arrow right arrow Capturing and Autotyping Text ----------------------------- On-line features include the ability to capture incoming information to the printer or to a disk file. you may also use the autotype feature to transmit the contents of a text file to the remote computer system. Autotype is a convenient way to send electronic mail you previously composed off-line with a plain text editor or word processor. This saves on connect charges, since you do your typing off-line. If the Main Menu is not displayed, press F2 to display it. Then: To capture screen text to a disk file or the printer: 1. Select from the menu to turn the appropriate capture option (disk or printer) on. 2. When capturing to disk, you will be prompted to enter a filename. You can enter a new name to create a new text file or select an existing name from the table to add or overwrite the captured text to the existing file. 3. When ready to stop capturing, press F2 to display the Main Menu, and select Turn capture off. To autotype an existing text file: 1. Select Autotype a Text File from the Main Menu. 2. Select the file you want to autotype from the table. When selecting a file from a table for disk capturing or autotyping, you can access different drives and directories as well as files. These drive and directory options are contained within the "< >" symbols. Note that selecting <..> will take you to the next higher directory level, while entries such as and take you to those directories below the current level, and can be selected to display other disk drives. 3. Remember that autotyping can only work for plain text files. If you need to send a non-text file (binary) use the Send a File option. To cancel autotyping in progress, pres Esc. Sending and Receiving Files --------------------------- The Send a File and Receive a File options are used to "copy" existing disk files between computers. You can use these options to transfer any type of file, including text. Smartcom EZ uses a widely implemented error-free protocol called XMODEM for these transfers. With XMODEM, an exact copy of the file on the sending system is transferred directly to disk on the receiving system. To receive a file from a host system, you will typically need to tell the host system the name of the file you want it to send and to use XMODEM. The host system will usually respond with some sort of prompt such as "Ready to send using XMODEM. Press Ctrl-X to abort." When you see this (or a similar) prompt from the host system, press F2 to display the Main Menu and select Receive a File. Smartcom EZ will then ask you to enter a name for this file. To send a file to a host system, you will usually need to provide the host with the filename and indicate that you wish to use the XMODEM protocol. The host will respond with a prompt such as "Ready to receive using XMODEM. Press Ctrl-X to abort." This is your cue to begin transmitting the file; press F2 to display the Main Menu, select Send a File and select the file to transmit from the table. During the file transfer process, Smartcom EZ will display a progress box, indicating the number of blocks received or sent. Additionally, when Smartcom EZ is sending a file, you will also see a bar graph display the percent complete and estimated completion time. Hanging Up & Quitting --------------------- First, follow the on-line procedure (if available) to command the host system to disconnect. For many services, simply entering "OFF" or "GOODBYE" is sufficient. Check with your host system for details. This way, there is no doubt that there in no longer a connection between the two systems. This is important, since some host systems will continue to charge you if they think there is still a connection to your computer. If the host system does not provide any specific procedure or options to log- off, press F2 to display the Main Menu and select Hang up Connection. When the connection has been dropped, Smartcom EZ will tell you; press F2 to return to the Main Menu, then select Quit to quit Smartcom EZ and exit to DOS. A Special Offer --------------- Select this menu option for information on a special offer to upgrade to Smartcom Exec(TM), a full-featured communications program that builds on your Smartcom EZ experience. Placing a Second Modem Call Once you've created a new Phone Book entry to make a first modem call, you can reuse that entry to call the same phone number again. To do so, select Call or Answer, then select the entry from the table. The instructions you gave the program when creating the entry, including the telephone number and COM port, are automatically used. Keyboard Macros --------------- Keyboard macros are a time-saving feature you may want to use once you've become familiar with basic program operation. The macros let you assign a series of keystrokes to a single Alt-key combination (a key you press while holding down the Alt key). The macros save you from having to type repetitious commands to the remote system. For example, you might want to assign the Alt-U keypress to automatically type your UserID. To build a keyboard macro for a Phone Book entry: At the Main Menu, select Update Phone Book. Select the Phone Book entry for which you're creating the keyboard macro. All the settings for this entry, including the phone number and COM port, are stored and can be changed in this setting screen area. On the left are settings categories; on the right are individual setting options. Press the down arrow to highlight the Keyboard Macros category and press Enter (or just press K). Press the down arrow to highlight an Alt-key combination to assign a macro to and press Enter. Type the command or text string you want to send when the selected Alt-key is pressed. To enter a keypress that is used to edit the field, such as a carriage return or backspace, first press F10, then the character. It's often useful to include a carriage return at the end of the macro, which usually signals the other computer to execute the command. Special characters such as this are displayed in reverse video. A carriage return is the same as pressing the Ctrl key while typing M, so a reverse-video M is displayed. Press Enter to terminate the macro definition. Press F8 to save the update you've just made to the Phone Book entry. The next time you communicate using this entry, pressing the defined Alt key will send the macro you assigned to it. If Something Goes Wrong.... --------------------------- Smartcom EZ is designed for ease of use. However, there are a few common problems that can interfere with smooth communications. Most of them arise because of the wide variety of different computing devices with which your computer can communicate by modem. Most problems can be solved simply by updating a Phone Book entry setting to make it compatible with the system on the other end of the line. If Smartcom EZ displays an error message, remember that you can press F1 to display help that expands on that message. If you have a problem getting a connection or with any program operation, first verify that all the equipment you're using is properly installed. "I can't capture to the printer" Make sure the printer is properly connected to the computer and to a power outlet, its power switch is in the on position, it is on-line (ready to print, and has paper. "My modem is not responding." Your modem may be connected not to the computer's COM1 connection, but to COM2, COM3 or COM4. Update the Phone Book entry's Major Settings category to change the Connect through port setting to the proper port. Then retry the call. Also, keep in mind that just because a modem claims to be "Hayes compatible" that does not mean it has fully implemented the Hayes Standard AT Command Set. "The modem dials the phone number, but there is no connection." You may need to use the pulse dialing method instead of tone. (Tone is the standard setting for Phone Book entries. To change this, access the Modem Settings category, and change the Dialing method setting. You can also prefix the telephone number with the letter P to use pulse dialing. (If pulse dialing doesn't work, you can monitor problems during the connection attempt by using a Y-connector. Connect the Y-connector to the phone jack, and the modem and phone to the Y-connector (Y-connectors are typically available wherever telephone and telephone supplies are sold). Then, as the modem tries to connect, listen on the phone for the presence of a dial tone, static, or other problems.) "When using a modem, characters on the screen are garbled or non-alphabetic." The computer at the other end of the line is transmitting information using a different character format than the one your computer is using. If possible, contact the operator of that computer to determine which character format (also called data format) it is using, and then change the Character format setting, in the Remote Settings category on the Update Phone Book screen, to match. If it's not possible to contact the other computer's operator, try 7-Even-1; it is the second most commonly-used character format, next to 8-None-1. "When using direct connect (no modems), characters on the screen are garbled or non-alphabetic." The computer at the other end of the direct connection is using either a different character format or different transmission speed. See the previous paragraph for how to fix a character format problem. The same principle applies for fixing a transmission speed (sometimes called baud) problem. Determine the transmission speed that matches the other computer's, then update the Transmission speed setting, in the Phone Book entry's Remote Settings category. "When autotyping a text file, the transfer stops or goes very slowly." The Autotype protocol is (by default) set to Send Lines; this means Smartcom EZ is waiting for the remote computer to send a linefeed before Smartcom EZ will send the next line of text. However, the other computer may not use linefeeds to indicate the end of a line. In this situation, the Send Lines protocol is inappropriate. Update the entry's Remote Settings category change the Autotype protocol to Pacing. "When autotyping a text file, characters are lost." Smartcom EZ is sending the text faster than the receiving computer can receive it. To fix this, update the entry's Remote Settings category change the Autotype protocol setting to Pacing. Then increase the Line delay setting until character loss is stopped. You may need to try a few different settings to fine one that works properly with the host system. "Lines I type or autotype are double-spacing, or they write on top of each other." Change the Remote Settings category's Send line feed with return setting. If it is set for No, change to Yes; if Yes, change to No. "Characters I type show up twice (HHeelloo) or not at all." Change the entry's Echo setting in the Remote Settings category. If it is set for Remote, change to Local; if Local, change to Remote. "When I press the backspace key, the cursor moves to the beginning of the line. I want it to work like a regular PC backspace key and move back only one character." Change the Remote Settings category's Backspace Key function setting to Delete. "The screen freezes; I'm still connected but nothing is moving on the terminal screen." One of the special characters the two computers are using to control the flow of information may have been lost. Hold the Ctrl key while typing the letter Q If the screen remains frozen, press F7 to reset the emulator (the display mechanism). "I see glitching or snow on my color monitor" or "I can't see the screens clearly with my monochrome or laptop monitor." Use the DOS SET command to enable the appropriate environment variable that will fix these problems. For color monitors that glitch or have excessive snow: SET EZDEGLITCH=1 For monochrome or laptop monitors that don't display Smartcom EZ properly: SET EZMONO=1 Several computers use Liquid Crystal or Electroluminescent displays which support the IBM Color Graphics Adaptor standard but which do not have color capability. On some of these computers, and others where a black and white (monochrome) monitor is used with a CGA, reverse video and highlighting used by Smartcom EZ may disappear or become unreadable. This results from Smartcom EZ attempting to use color with your monochrome display. Either SET statement should be added to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, so you won't have to enter the statement each time you use Smartcom EZ. If you don't want to modify your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, you can use either the EZDELGL.BAT or EZMONO batch file to execute the appropriate SET statement for you. Keep in mind, however, that using either batch file will only set the variable once, and you'll have to re-run the file the next time your system is started. Consult your DOS manual for more information on environment variables and the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. World Headquarters Post Office Box 105203 Atlanta, Georgia 30348 Notice: Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. reserves the right to make improvements to the software described in this document at any time and without notice. Hayes, the Hayes logo and Smartcom EZ are registered trademarks, and Smartcom Exec is a trademark, of Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. IBM is a registered trademark and PS/2 is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation VT is a trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation This document is copyrighted. All rights are reserved This document may not, in whole or part, be copied. photocopied. reproduced, or reduced to any machine readable form without prior consent, in writing, from Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. (C) 1988, 1990 Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. All rights reserved.