Copyright: Copyright (c) 1996 Woodruff Software Systems


Overview

WinFossil™ is a 32-bit FOSSIL (Fido-Opus-SeaDog Serial Interface Layer) driver for Windows 95.  It enhances the performance of existing MS-DOS communication applications such as many bulletin board programs and terminal emulation packages.  WinFossil provides a fast path from the applications interface to the 32-bit communications drivers of Windows 95.

WinFossil is produced by Woodruff Software Systems (FidoNet: 1:343/294).  See the technical support section for further contact information.

Who should use WinFossil:

If you use MS-DOS communications software under Windows and have it configured to use a FOSSIL driver such as X00, BNU or many of the other FOSSIL drivers available for MS-DOS.

Who should not use WinFossil:

If you have not heard of the term FOSSIL and do not run MS-DOS-based communication applications under Windows 95 then WinFossil probably is not for you.


Technical Support

Technical support is available through the following methods:

US Mail:

Woodruff Software Systems

1020 SW 10th St.

North Bend, WA 98045

E-Mail:

woodruff@halcyon.com

FidoNet/BBS:

Bryan Woodruff at 1:343/294 (+1 206 888 2407)

WWW:

http://www.halcyon.com/woodruff/www

The latest information is always posted on the WWW site.  The latest version of WinFossil can be obtained from the following locations:

FTP:

ftp.halcyon.com/local/woodruff/WinFossil/wnfossil.zip

CompuServe:

WINUTIL forum, Windows 95 section

FidoNet F/REQ:

WNFOSSIL.ZIP at 1:343/9 (Ballderdash!)

WNFOSSIL.ZIP at 1:343/294 (Woodruff Software Systems)


Application Compatibility

WinFossil has been tested with the following software packages:

•	BinkleyTerm 2.59

•	Blue Wave 3.11 (Max)

•	D’Bridge 1.58

•	Doorway 2.30

•	Front Door 2.02

•	Front Door 2.12

•	InterMail 2.29

•	Maximus 2.xx

•	Maximus 3.0

•	PC Board 15.22

•	Remote Access 2.02

•	Wildcat! 4.12

Compatibility notes:

Non-FOSSIL applications:

Starting with WinFossil v1.05, we disable COM port auto assignment by adding the directive: COMXAutoAssign=0 where X is the COM port in the [386Enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI.  This will allow all applications to access the COM port directly and avoids contention management issues.

FrontDoor:

Please note that the FDFIXW4W utility is NOT needed when using WinFossil.  WinFossil v1.06 will automatically wake up the MS-DOS session when it finds activity on the serial device.


Revision History

Revision History:

v1.06a

•	Corrected installation to modify \WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI not \WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SYSTEM.INI.

v1.06

•	Fixed incompatibility with Blue Wave 3.11 (Max) mail reader door program.

•	Fixed a another timing issue with the transmitter flush.

•	Verified compatibility with Doorway 2.30.

•	Worked around a problem in the Windows 95 COMM driver which was the source of another stuck transmitter problem frequently reproduced with Remote Access..

v1.05a

•	Fixed another blocking situation with idle timeouts.  This one seems to be the source of CRC errors with my system while running BinkleyTerm and/or Maximus.  If these applications are configured to use multitasking features, the MS-DOS session running the BBS software was likely to sleep after it filled the transmit buffer.  The receiving system would timeout waiting for the completion of the actual data block and throughput was hindered considerably.

v1.05

•	Fixed more FrontDoor and RemoteAccess problems.  Performance was hindered by the constant "release time slice" signaling by these  applications. The MS-DOS session will now be awakened whenever there is an event pending on the serial device.

•	Fixed peek character routine -- was returning a false status in some cases.

•	Added VFOSSIL support.

•	Fixed Ctrl-C/Ctrl-K handler.

•	Enhanced the help file.

•	Adjusted XON/XOFF limits to allow WinFossil to leave control lines enabled with a higher buffer fill percentage.

V1.04

•	Fixed deadlocks with FrontDoor and InterMail.

•	Added support for enabling FOSSIL control on a port by port basis.

V1.03

•	Return proper codes on port reactivation, enhanced timeout handling for receive character routine.

•	Investigated reported issues regarding FrontDoor.

V1.02

•	Fixed performance and timeouts with Function AH=01h, WriteCharWait().


How to enable WinFossil

To enable WinFossil for a particular port

1. 	Click here to start the WinFossil Control Panel application.

2. 	Select the port identifier.

3. 	Check the box marked ‘Enable FOSSIL’.

4. 	Adjust the settings for the port as required.

5. 	Click OK to save your settings.

Tips

•	WinFossil can enable up to 10 ports.  The port identifier is a value from 0 to 9 and has a default mapping to COM1 to COM10 respectively.  You may change any port identifier to map to different device name.  For example, you may choose to map port ID 3 to LPT1 if you have a parallel modem attached to the printer port.

•	WinFossil is not enabled for any port by default, therefore, you must select the “Enable FOSSIL” option for each port you wish to have accessible by FOSSIL applications.


How to uninstall WinFossil

To uninstall WinFossil

1. 	Click here to start the Add/Remove Control Panel application.

2. 	Select WinFossil.

3. 	Click the Add/Remove button.  Uninstallation will proceed.

4. 	Click OK when the process is completed.


Registration Information

Registering WinFossil:

WinFossil is SHAREWARE, you are granted a 30-day trial period after which you are expected to pay the license fee (US$ 10.00) if you continue to use this product.  Non-US registrations add US$5.00 for shipping and handling.  Please see LICENSE.TXT for further legal ramblings.

Automated registration is available through CompuServe’s Shareware Registration (GO SWREG).  WinFossil’s registration ID is 9117.

All other registrations must be handled through the mail service:

Woodruff Software Systems

1020 SW 10th St.

North Bend, WA 98045


Enable WinFossil Control
Marking this checkbox enables the port for WinFossil control, if this is not enabled, WinFossil lets all requests for this port pass-through to default handlers.


Port Identifier
The port identifier is a value from 0 to 9 identifying the port to WinFossil.  This is also the port ID used by FOSSIL-aware applications.


Port Name
This is the name of the port assigned to the identifier which allows you to map a device ID to a named device such as LPT1 or COM3.  The default mapping is COMn+1 where n is the port ID.  For example, port ID 0 maps to COM1 by default.


Buffer Size
This is the size of the respective buffer for the selected port.  Larger buffers may be required for higher baud rates.  16K is usually sufficient for all rates.


Locked Baud Rate
This setting optionally forces a port to a fixed (or locked) baud rate.  When specified, FOSSIL-aware applications can not affect the baud rate of the specified port.