INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING TMSTAMP and TMSEAL           ---draft November 1995---
                                    ---send comments to dfong@igc.apc.org---

This document explains how to use TMSTAMP with SLICS or other ICS clients.
Please read it carefully.  Except where noted, the same instructions also
apply to TMSEAL.

TMSTAMP is the Windows version of ICC's timestamp program.  It runs under
Windows 3.1 using Winsock SLIP/PPP.  You must be running SLIP/PPP to use
TMSTAMP --- you cannot use TMSTAMP over a straight modem connection.
(If you cannot use SLIP/PPP, your only option is to use one of the
UNIX versions of timestamp.  See "help timestamp" and related helpfiles
such as "help slics+timestamp".)

Some users have also reported success using TMSTAMP under OS/2 and Win95. 
Your mileage may vary.  [TMSEAL is the Windows version of FICS timeseal.
The programs are different because the ICC and FICS servers use different
protocols, however the way you use them is the same.]

TMSTAMP INSTALLATION.
First you must install TMSTAMP.  Put the TMSTAMP executable in the same
directory as your ICS client program.  Create a program manager icon for it
with File|New under the program manager.  (Click "New Program Item".  Set
the "Command line" to "tmstamp".  Set the "Starting directory" to the name
of the directory where you put the TMSTAMP executable.  You may check the
"Run minimized" checkbox if you wish.)

Note that you do not need to provide the hostname or internet address of the
server: it is built in to TMSTAMP.  [Similarly for TMSEAL, you do not need to
supply the hostname of the FICS server, because there is (currently) only
one FICS server that implements the timeseal protocol, and that is built
in to TMSEAL.]

STARTING TMSTAMP - MANUAL LAUNCH.
There are 2 ways to launch TMSTAMP: manual or automatic.  The manual
launch method will work with any client program; the automatic method
works with SLICS, and may work with other client programs later.
To launch TMSTAMP manually, simply double-click on its icon.

Now TMSTAMP has been started.  It is waiting for your client program
to connect to it.  Start your client program and tell it to connect to
the host "localhost" (literally, l o c a l h o s t) instead of the
chess server "chess.lm.com".  The reason for this is that TMSTAMP works
by posing as the chess server to your client program.  Your client program
talks the "normal" ICS protocol to TMSTAMP; but under the covers, TMSTAMP
is talking to the "real" chess server using the special timestamp protocol.

The usual communication pattern without TMSTAMP is:

    CLIENT_PROGRAM    <-->      ICC
      on your PC            at chess.lm.com

The communication pattern with UNIX timestamp is:

    CLIENT_PROGRAM    <-->      timestamp           <-->     ICC
       on your PC            on your UNIX machine        at chess.lm.com

The communication pattern with TMSTAMP is:

    CLIENT_PROGRAM    <-->      TMSTAMP           <-->     ICC
      on your PC            also on your PC            at chess.lm.com
                             aka "localhost"

STARTING TMSTAMP - AUTOMATIC LAUNCH WITH SLICS.
If you are using SLICS version 2.1e or higher, you can login to ICC and
launch TMSTAMP in one step by selecting the ICC-TMSTAMP profile entry
from the ICS menu.  [for FICS, use the A-FICS-TMSEAL profile entry.]
That's all there is to it.  If you are using an older version of SLICS,
then either upgrade or use the "MANUAL LAUNCH" method.

NOTE: If you are using SLICS version 2.2a or higher, the details of the
profile settings have changed.  If you are upgrading from 2.1e, you may
have make some simple changes to your icsprofs.dat file.  The new variables
are simpler to use.  See the file relnotes.txt in the SLICS distribution.

WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN NEXT.
If all goes well, you should not have to do anything more.  Your client
program should be connected to TMSTAMP running on localhost.  If this didn't
work, try using the IP address 127.0.0.1 instead of the name localhost.
(If you are using SLICS, edit the file "icsprofs.dat" and find the entry
[ICC-TMSTAMP].  Then change the line under that entry that reads
"icshost=localhost" to "icshost=127.0.0.1".)  If neither localhost nor
127.0.0.1 works, please read the sections "MORE HELP" and "REPORTING BUGS"
below.  Netcom users, also read "NOTE FOR NETCOM USERS".

After your client program has connected to TMSTAMP, then TMSTAMP will
try to connect to chess.lm.com [for FICS, chess.onenet.net] .  This may
fail for the same reasons that ordinary connections to chess.lm.com fail,
if the server is unavailable or unreachable for whatever reason.
In any case, TMSTAMP will send status messages to the client program,
and these messages should show up in the client program's telnet window.

IS IT WORKING?
As you login, watch the server greeting messages.  If TMSTAMP is working,
you should see a message "--> Move timestamping activated."  [On FICS,
finger yourself; it should say "Timeseal: On" .]  Try using the ICC "ping"
command on yourself.  [FICS does not yet have a "ping" command.]

ERRORS.
If for some reason TMSTAMP generates an error, an error message will usually
show up in your client program's telnet window.  In rare cases, there may
be errors that will only show up in the TMSTAMP window.  You can see the
message by un-minimizing the TMSTAMP window.  If you have a problem where
the TMSTAMP window disappears before you can read the error message (this
should not happen), you can turn turn on TMSTAMP logging by un-minimizing
the TMSTAMP window beforehand and selecting File|Logging from the TMSTAMP
main menu bar.

TMSEAL COMMAND LINE SYNTAX (does not apply to TMSTAMP).
By default, TMSEAL connects to the main north american FICS server
at caissa.onenet.net, port 5000.  You can specify a different server
and portno on the command line.
	tmseal [-p CLIENTPORT] [FICSHOST [HOSTPORTNO]]
for example,
	tmseal eics.daimi.aau.dk 5000
connects to the european FICS.
By default, TMSEAL listens on localhost port 5000 for a connection
from your client program.  If you want, you can change this using the
"-p CLIENTPORT" option.  Then (of course) tell your client program
to connect to the CLIENTPORT port number.  This feature lets you run
multiple tmseal connections to different servers, as long as you choose
a different CLIENTPORT for each instance of tmseal.

If you are using SLICS, you need to modify the "automatic launch"

TMSEAL EXPIRATION DATE (does not apply to TMSTAMP).
The current state of TMSEAL is experimental.  Accordingly, the TMSEAL
binary has an expiration date after which you must download a new version. 
The purpose of this restriction is only to force buggy versions out of
circulation.  If you need a new version, then ftp to the caissa.onenet.net
server, and look in the directory /pub/chess/Win3/ or
/pub/chess/uploads/Win3/ , for a file named tmsl11?.zip , where ? is a
character a-z.  I had intended to make the next release a non-experimental
non-expiring version.  But it is taking longer than i expected to resolve
the remaining problems.

NOTE FOR NETCOM USERS.
NETCOM's implementation of Winsock has a bug which precludes using TMSTAMP. 
All is not lost, however.  You can obtain Trumpet Winsock (or some other
*real* Winsock implementation) and use it to dial in to NETCOM's service.
You can use Trumpet to call up the NETCOM dialin number and login just like
any other service provider.  Please read the file "help tmstamp+netcom"
on ICC, or the file "netcom.txt" in the SLICS distribution.  If you need
assistance with logging in to NETCOM, ask netcom technical support.
If you're an ICC member, you can also message arcsin for help.  If you need
assistance with Trumpet, ask Trumpet technical support.

NOTE FOR OS/2 USERS.
If you can't connect to "localhost" or "127.0.0.1", it may help to add
the following line to your OS/2 config.sys file.
	RUN=d:\tcpip\bin\ifconfig.exe lo 127.0.0.1

NOTE FOR WIN95 USERS.
If you get errors using the Win95 sockets, try using Trumpet instead.
Trumpet will probably work better.  Yes, you *can* use Trumpet under Win95.

NOTE FOR NOVELL USERS.
Some users of Novell Winsock have reported problems.  If you are using
Novell Winsock and can get TMSTAMP working, please let me know.

NOTE FOR FTP WINSOCK USERS.
A user of FTP Winsock reported sometimes FTP Winsock fails unexpectedly
during name lookup.  If this happens to you, try using the numeric
IP address instead.  (See "TMSEAL COMMAND LINE SYNTAX" above.)
Also, if you cannot connect to localhost using IP address 127.0.0.1,
it has been reported that it will work to use your true IP address,
ie, the address assigned to your PC for SLIP or PPP usage.  If you
are using SLICS version 2.2a or later, put the line
	localhost=...
in your chessbd.ini file, where the ... is your true IP address.
The default is 127.0.0.1 .
Thanks to Ursus von Bemmelen for sharing this information.

REGISTRATION.
You do not need to register TMSTAMP or TMSEAL.  They are freeware ---
not shareware.  Do not send or offer money for TMSTAMP and/or TMSEAL.
On the other hand, SLICS is shareware.  That means if you are using SLICS
you are honor bound to make a contribution.  The same thing goes for
any other shareware program.

MORE HELP.
If after reading this document, you still have problems getting started
with TMSTAMP, then please message arcsin on ICC or send email to
icc@chess.lm.com .  [If you have problems with TMSEAL, please message one
of the FICS admins.]  But before asking for help, please try to verify where
the problem lies.  Try using your standard TCP/IP "telnet" app to contact
the internet address of the server.
	telnet chess.onenet.net 5000
-If- telnet works, then so should TMSTAMP.  -Or- if telnet doesn't work,
then you are having a Winsock or SLIP/PPP problem that has nothing to do
with TMSTAMP; you must resolve that problem before you can expect TMSTAMP
to work.  Ask your s/w vendor for help with Winsock problems.  Ask your
service provider for help with SLIP/PPP problems.

REPORTING BUGS.
If you find a bug in TMSTAMP or TMSEAL, send email to dfong@igc.apc.org .
Please use the bug reporting form included in the distribution.
Please send email, not ICC or FICS messages.

--- Don Fong (dfong@igc.apc.org)