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4. PC-PLOT-IV Local Commands

4.0 Overview

PC-PLOT-IV has a set of local commands which are entered from the keyboard using the ALT key and letter or number key.

A local command can be entered at any time and will 'not affect the communication with the host computer. Any characters that are received in the serial input are saved until the local command is complete and then displayed on the screen.

All edit/create screens such as the ones to manipulate programmable keys, modem commands, serial communication setup, and telephone numbers operate in a consistent manner. The cursor up/down arrows select the item to edit or create. When the item is correctly entered, the screens are exited by entering an ALT-S command to save the newly edited file or an ALT-Q which will not save the edited contents in the disk data file.

The changes made in the file when exited with an ALT-Q will be in effect only while running PC-PLOT-IV the current time. .

4.1 Help Screen

Depressing ALT-H at any time will bring upthe help screen menu. Selecting option #1 will display a complete listing of the local commands.

ALT A List Phone Directory
ALT B Send BREAK
ALT C PC-DOS Execute
ALT D Disconnect Modem
ALT E Local Echo ON/OFF
ALT F Open Download File
ALT G Execute Script File
ALT H Get Main Help Screen
ALT I Accept Download Data
ALT J XMODEM Setup Values
ALT K Edit Function Keys
ALT L Send Logon String
ALT M Draw Picture File
ALT N No Scroll ON/OFF
ALT O Misc. Setup Menu
ALT P Add/Edit Phone Number
ALT Q Close Download File
ALT R Abort Upload

ALT W Clr Scrn to Alpha
ALT X Exit to PC-DOS
ALT Y Printer ON/OFF
ALT Z Debug ON/OFF
ALT 1 HERE IS Key
ALT 2 Toggl Auto Ans
ALT 3 Sel. Term #
ALT 4 Toggle Local Mode
ALT 5 Redial Last Number
ALT 6 Bsave Screen.Oxx
ALT 7 Bload Screen
ALT 8 Show Version & Paths
ALT 9 Toggle Color Palette
ALT 0 Send Null Character
ALT - Toggle Status Line
ALT = Clear to Graphics
Control Fl-F10 Programmable Key
Shift Fl-F10 Programmable Key

ALT S Terminal Setup/Select
ALT T File Transfer Menu

ALT U Open Upload File & Start Upload
ALT V Edit Modem Commands

4.2 Individual command summary

The following list of commands is in alphabetical order.

4.201 ALT-A Display Telephone Directory for Autodialing

The ALT-A command clears the screen and displays the contents of the telephone

directory from the file PCPLOT.SET. The name of the telephone number, the telephone number, and the terminal number to be used when the number is dialed is displayed.

To dial a number after the ALT-A command, depress the letter to the left of the name you wish to dial (A-P) and depress <cr>. Refer to section 9 for additional information on the ALT-A command. only.
4.202 ALT-B Send Break to host

The ALT-B command sends a 'break' to the host computer. A break is not a character but the serial communication line is held in a true state for at least 500 milliseconds and then returned to the normal false state. The length of the BREAK is programmable and is set from the ALT-J XMODEM setup menu.
4.203 ALT-C Enter PC-DOS Execute Mode

The ALT-C command allows the user of PC-PLOT-IV to temporarily exit from the communications mode and execute any PC-DOS command that would be entered at a DOS prompt ( A> or C> ). You should not execute a program that sets up the serial ports such as another communications program because any data received by PC-PLOT-IV while in the second application would be lost.

Refer to section 7 for details on the ALT-C command. After running the desired DOS command, you may then exit back to PC-PLOT-IV by entering the command EXIT at the DOS prompt. The screen will clear and the PC-PLOT-IV status line will reappear. Any characters which were received from the host while the second application was being run will then appear on the screen.
4.204 ALT-D Disconnect modem from phone line

^{The ALT-D command causes the DTR (data terminal ready) line to the modem to be set false for at least 500 milliseconds. If the switches on your modem are set correctly, the ALT-D-command will cause the modem to disconnect from the phone line. This command may not work properly with modems that are not compatible with a Hayes Smartmodem. If the ALT-D does not disconnect your modem, check the switch settings so that DTR sense is enabled.}

4.205 ALT-E Turn local echo (half-duplex) on or off

The ALT-E command causes the state of the local echo flag to be toggled. Local echo is used when the host computer that you are communicating with does not echo the keystrokes that you enter.

The local echo flag is set initially each time PC-PLOT-IV is started from the setup file. The ALT-E command is used when the host that you are communicating with has both full duplex (keys echoed) and half duplex (no keys echoed) or when you are setting up PC-PLOT-IV initially and are unsure of the required setting. _
4.206 ALT-F Open a File for ASCII host download

The ALT-F command opens a file on the disk of your IBM-PC in preparation for saving an ASCII file sent from your host. You will be prompted to enter the name of the file. If there is already a file on your disk by the same name that is entered, you will be prompted to either delete the existing file or abort the command. Section 12 describes downloading of ASCII files in greater detail.
4.207 ALT-G Execute Script File

The ALT-G command will prompt you to enter the name of a script file to execute. Script file are created off-line with a text editor and have a file type of PCS. A script file contains a series of commands which can cause a phone number to be dialed, password to be sent which would log into a computer system automatically. Section 14 describes scripts in greater detail.

4.208 ALT-H Get on screen help menu

The ALT-H command lists all of the available help topics. Selecting a number from the menu will display one or more help screens.

4.209 ALT-1 Accept data from host into download file

The ALT-I command is used after the ALT-F command which opens a filename to put data in. The ALT-I command turns on the filesave mode so that anything sent from the host will be saved in the disk file as well as displayed on the screen. If you wish to stop saving data but may want to save more in the data file later, you can depress ALT-I again which turns off the filesave mode but does not close the file. Depressing ALT-I again causes the data to be saved in the same file again.

4.210 ALT-J MODEM Setup Menu

The ALT-J menu contains setup values for the XMODEM file transfer. The default values which are preset are for a switched network which may exhibit long delays between characters. Additionally, this menu contains the setup value for the delay between characters and delay between lines for ASCII upload mode.

4.211 ALT-K Edit programmable key file

It is possible to define up to 20 programmable keys which send a string of up to 76 characters when depressed. The ALT-K command is used to display the present contents of the programmable key data file and create or edit key strings. The strings for all 20 keys are displayed on the screen. Additional reference- section 8.

4.212 ALT-L Send auto-logon sequence following an autodial

After using the telephone directory command (ALT-A) to automatically dial a number, the ALT-L command will send the logon string which was saved with the telephone number when the telephone directory entry was created.

4.213 ALT-M Draw picture file from disk

The ALT-M command allows the user to preview a picture or text file on the screen. Depressing the ALT-M keys, the prompt:

Draw Picture Menu

----------------------------------
1. 4010/4014 Picture file
2. CAS Online Picture File

3. Tektronix 4027 Picture File

4. Tektronix 4105 Picture File

Enter a number to select the file type and <cr>. The prompt line will now request the name of the picture file to be drawn on the screen.

Filename to Draw .... >

	If the file cannot be found, the message <## File not Found ##> will appear. The picture or text file will be displayed either until the end of file or until a page break is encountered. A page break is a character that was inserted by the user while the file was being downloaded from the host computer by depressing a ALT-W or ALT = command.

	Depress <cr> to continue after a page break. After the complete picture or text file has been put on the screen, it will remain on the screen and the program returns to communication mode.

	An ALT-B or ALT-W command will stop execution of the draw command and immediately return the user to communications mode and an ALT-N will temporarily suspend screen output until any other key is pushed.

	If the picture type is CAS Online, the display will stop following each page of text. Depressing <cr> will start the display again.
	4.214 ALT-N VT-100 No Scroll key

	The ALT-N key performs the same function as the No-Scroll key on the VT-100 keyboard. Depressing the ALT-N key will stop PC-PLOT-IV from fetching any more characters from the communication buffer until another ALT-N command is received. You could also stop output from your host computer by sending a Control-S (XOFF) but the screen output would not stop until the present contents of the screen buffer was emptied.

	4.215 ALT-t7 Misc. Settings Menu

		The ALT-O command will display the current settings in the Misc. Setup Menu.

	See section 16 of this manual for a complete discussion of the function of the misc. setup parameters.

	4.216 ALT-P Edit/Create Telephone Directory Entries

	PC-PLOT-IV will save up to 16 telephone numbers for auto dialing which are numbered from A-P. The ALT-P command will display the present contents of the telephone number associated with the letter A. Other phone numbers can be displayed by depressing the letter desired. Reference- section 9.

	4.217 _ALT-0 Close host download file

	After saving a file from the host computer (downloading) using an ALT-F and ALT-I commands, it is necessary to close the file using an ALT-Q command in order that PC-DOS correctly saves the correct file size. If youfail to close a download file, its contents will be lost.
	4.218 ALT-R Stop uploading file

	At any time while uploading an ASCII file, the user can depress the ALT-R command to stop the uploading process.

	4.219 ALT-S Get Main Communications Setup Menu

	The ALT-S command will display the current settings for terminal configuration #1. To display other numbers (2-8), depress the appropriate number. Complete definition of this setup function is in section 11.

4.220_ ALT-T Select File Transfer Menu

The ALT-T command will bring up the file transfer menu which allows the user to upload or download a file using the XMODEM protocol. See section 15 of this manual for a complete description of using XMODEM file transfer.
4.221 ALT-U Upload ASCII file

The ALT-U command causes the contents of the file specified from the status line to be sent to the host using the ASCII upload mode. See section 13 for a complete description of ASCII uploading.

4.222 ALT-V Edit modem control strings and answerback message

The ALT-V command willcause the current modem control strings to be displayed along with the current answerback message. These control strings can be edited. Refer to section 10 for complete details. The ALT-V menu also contains selections of the keycodes that are sent by depressing a mouse button.
4.223 ALT-W Clear (wipe) screen and set alpha mode

The ALT-W command performs the same function as the PAGE key on a Tektronix 4010 terminal. The screen is cleared and shifted to alpha mode. If a file is being downloaded at the time the ALT-W key is pushed, a page break will be inserted into the file to facilitate later display of the picture file using other PC-PLOT-IV utilities.

4.224 ALT-X Exit to PC-DOS

The ALT-X command is used to exit PC-PLOT-IV. Any files that were left open are closed, the state of the interrupt controller is restored, and the vector pointing to the screendump routine is restored.

4.225 ALT-Y Toggle Printer onloff

The ALT-Y command will cause any ASCII (character data) which is sent to the IBM PC screen to be also sent to the printer. Using this command requires a communication interlock between the host and the IBM-PC called XON/XOFF. PC-PLOT has a 32768 byte character buffer into which characters sent are put until they are processed.

PC-PLOT-IV can process characters at an average rate of approximately 2400 baud without the input buffer overflowing. Turning the printer on slows the processing rate for characters down to the throughput of the printer which is 100-200 characters per second depending on the printer. If XON/XOFF is not supported by the host, the input buffer will overflow in just a few seconds and the result after that will be unpredictable garbage. Depressing ALT-Y again will turn the printer off.
4.226 ALT-Z Turn on/off communication line debug

Entering the command ALT-Z will cause the message < Debug Mode ON > to appear. Entering it again will cause the message < Debug Mode OFF >. When Debug Mode is active, any control characters which are received by the communication program (value=0 to 1F Hex) will be displayed in brackets <xx>. This feature allows the user to find what hidden control codes are sent by a program or operating system.

4.227 ALT-0 Send Null character

	The ALT-0 command causes the null character (00 hex) to be sent to the host.

4.228 ALT-1 Send answerback message

Depressing ALT-1 will cause the current answerback message to be sent to the host. The ALT-1 is the logical equivalent of the HERE IS key on many terminals.
4.229 ALT-2 Toggle Modem Autoanswer Mode

Depressing ALT-2 when the modem is in originate mode will cause the string ATSO=1<cr> to be sent to the modem which sets the autoanswer state for one ring. Depressing ALT-2 again causes ATZ<cr> (reset modem) to be sent to the modem which restores the originate mode.
4.230 ALT-3 Select Terminal Number

Depressing ALT-3 will cause a prompt for a terminal number to appear on line 25. Enter a number from 1-8 and <cr> to select the new setup.

4.231 ALT-4 Select VT-100 local mode

The ALT-4 command is the logical equivalent of Set Up 4 when using a VT-100 terminal. Any keystrokes which are entered are echoed to the screen without being sent to the host. This command allows the user to set the screen to a desired foreground/background color or other attribute which may be desired. Exit back to the communication mode with another ALT-4.
4.232 ALT-5 Redial Last Phone Number

The ALT-5 command sends a string of characters ( A/ ) to your modem which will cause it to redial the last telephone number which was sent to it. The redial command can be changed from the standard Hayes modem one by using the ALT-V command so
that it will be possible to issue a redial command to a smart modem that does not respond to Hayes-compatible ones.
4.233 ALT-6 BSAVE Screen

The BSAVE mode saves the binary image of the screen when the screen is in graphics mode or the ASCII codes plus character attributes if the screen is in alpha mode. The first time BSAVE is executed, the file created is SCREEN.001 and the filename is incremented by 1 each time the function is used. This counter is reset to 1 each time PC-PLOT-IV is started up. If you want to save a picture file created by the BSAVE function for later use, you should rename it something else so that it is not erased the next time you use the BSAVE function.

The BSAVE function will only work for standard IBM C/G and Hercules monochrome display boards. The BSAVE function will create a picture file that can be used with other graphics programs such as the -Polaroid Palette and programs written by the user in the BASIC language.
4.234 ALT-7 BLOAD file to screen

The BLOAD function is the reverse of the BSAVE function described above. A graphics file ONLY can be restored to the screen if it was saved using the BSAVE

function. BLOAD, like BSAVE works only on the IBM C/G and Hercules monochrome graphics boards.

BLOAD will not re-display a text screen created by a BSAVE. To display a text screen, use ALT-M option 1.
4.235_ ALT-8 Show Version and Paths

Depressing ALT-8 will display the current paths set to point to PC-PLOT-IV and its data files. A sample screen presentation is below:

	PC-PLOT-IV Version 4.00e 06/10/87

	Path to PC-DOS command processer -------------------------------

	C:\ COMMAND.COM

	Path to PC-PLOT-IV ----------------

	d:\pc400pls\ (example path)

	Current Path to PCPLOT Data Files --------------------------------

	d:\pc400\pcplot.set d:\pc400\pcplot.hlp

	No mouse installed (or Mouse driver installed)
	No keyboard redefinition (or Keyboard redefinition installed)

4.236 ALT-9 Toggle Color Palette

If the current display mode is set to IBM C/G 320 x 200 mode, there are two palettes available which consist of 3 colors plus black. Depressing ALT-9 will switch to the other palette.
4.237 ALT = Clear screen and set graphics mode

The ALT = command clears the screen and sets the currently selected graphics mode. If a download is in progress, the ALT = command will also cause a page break to be inserted into the file.

PC-PLOT-IV Chapter 4 Local Commands

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