Command Mode is entered automatically when Scripta is called from
the DOS command line, or from a batch file, with no parameters.

i.e., typing the DOS command SCRIPTA<return> will enter Scripta
Command Mode.

Command mode may also be entered by pressing the Esc key when a
script is running. Esc abandons the script, clears all existent
variables, and enters Command Mode. This makes it impossible
to type an Esc character when a script is running; for this
reason, the F2 key is given the function of sending an Esc
character to the remote service WITHOUT abandoning the script.

When in Command Mode, any displayable characters that you type
are sent to the modem which, if it is connected, will transmit
them to the remote service. Any characters received from the
modem (i.e., from the remote service if the modem is connected)
are displayed on your monitor screen.

Non-display characters which you type are ignored except for
those shown in the following table, which have the effects
shown.

Alt/a  -  Assert the remote baud rate.
          
          When your modem connects to a remote service, it sends to
          your computer a message composed of the word CONNECT
          followed optionally by a number indicating the baud rate
          (transmission speed) of the connection.
          
          If you have selected Auto Baud Rate Detection for the
          current Virtual Port in Scripta Configuration, then
          Scripta will immediately change the baud rate of your
          serial port to that of the connection.
          
          If you do not have Auto Baud Detect selected, Scripta will
          do nothing.
          
          Many users have adopted the practice of setting their
          serial ports to a faster speed than that of the connection
          they expect to make. This helps to ensure that the modem
          is plentifully supplied by the computer with sufficient
          data to keep the connection running at full speed. Also,
          modems such as the Miracom Courier return the message
          CONNECT 9600, even when they have in fact connected at
          14400 baud.
          
          Under these circumstances, you should configure Scripta to
          the baud rate you require and switch OFF Auto Baud Rate
          Detection.
          
          If, say, you then connect to a new BBS for the first time
          and discover that you are connected at 2400 or 1200 baud,
          you can use Alt/a to tell Scripta to change your port's baud
          rate to that which was specified in the CONNECT message.

Alt/b  -  this causes Scripta to assert Break temporarily on the
          communications link.

Alt/c  -  enter Scripta Configuration. Normally, you set up Scripta
          Configuration the way you want it and then forget about it.
          
          Sometimes, however, you may connect to a new service and
          find that you are receiving screens full of unreadable
          characters, or are typing characters which are not
          apparently being recognised by the remote service. This is
          almost certainly due to having your serial port configured
          incorrectly for the connection you have made. One or more
          of the parameters Baud Rate, DataBits, StopBits or Parity
          may be wrong.
          
          Alt/c enables you to enter Configuration, even while
          online, to change your current setup.
          
          When you return from Configuration, Scripta detects
          whether you have changed the parameters of the current
          Virtual Port and automatically reconfigures it if
          necessary, without losing the current connection.
          
          You can of course use Alt/c to enter Configuration at any
          time to change whatever parameters you wish.

Alt/d  -  enter the Scripta Dialling Directory. This is described in
          the 'Dialling Directory' section.

Alt/e  -  toggle the console Emulation mode. Scripta supports ANSI,
          VT100 and VT52 emulations.

          Note that the selected emulation is only invoked when
          you are online to a remote service. The default, ANSI,
          applies at all other times.

Alt/g  -  'Grab' the screen. All characters currently on display are 
          written to the current logging file. If there is no
          current logging file open, the Alt/l action is performed
          before the 'grab' takes place.

Alt/h  -  hang up. If you are currently connected to a remote
          service then the connection is dropped.

Alt/k  -  Keyboard Script. Scripta prompts you to enter script
          commands. These are executed line-by-line, exactly as you
          enter them, just as though they formed part of a 'normal'
          script in a disc file.
          
          When you have finished entering commands, either press the
          Esc key or enter the Scripta command QUIT.
          
          Any commands may be entered in this way, except GOSUB and
          RETURN. As a trivial example, you could use the system as
          a simple calculator. If you were to enter the command
          
                   message (136*47)
          
          then Scripta would display the result of the calculation:
          
                   6392
          
          Be warned that any variables you create in a Keyboard
          Script will still exist if you subsequently run a normal
          script. If this is not your intention then enter an
          ENDVARS command before entering the QUIT command to end
          the Keyboard Script.
          
          You should also be careful not to leave unfinished IF,
          WHILE, Script.
          
          The facility is of occasional value but should be used
          with care.

Alt/l  -  Toggle logging. If logging is currently ON, it is switched
          OFF. If logging is currently OFF, Scripta prompts you for
          a file name and switches logging ON.
          
          While logging is ON, all characters transmitted to or
          received from the remote service will be written also to
          the current logging file.

Alt/p  -  edit the Phone number abbreviations.
          
          As telephone numbers may not normally contain alphabetic
          characters, Scripta allows you to use such characters to
          special effect. Suppose that you call the USA frequently
          from the UK. This means that you will have several or many
          entries in the Dialling Directory each having a telephone
          number beginning with the sequence 0101 83 (0101 is the
          code for the USA; 83 specifies that you want to force a
          land link, thus avoiding the transmission delays
          associated with connections over satellite links).
          
          To avoid this repetition, and to ensure that even very
          long numbers will still fit in the telephone number field
          of the Dialling Directory, Scripta Phone number
          abbreviations allow you to associate the string '0101 83'
          with a letter of the alphabet. For instance, if you
          associate it with the letter U, then the entry
          
                         U 123-456-7890
          
          in the Dialling Directory tells Scripta to dial the number
          
                         0101 83 123-456-7890

Alt/r  - Register. Scripta calls the supplied program REG.EXE which
         allows you to enter your Registration Number.

Alt/s  -  execute a Script. Scripta displays a listing of all the
          .CMD files in the current DOS directory and asks you to
          select one.

          If you select one, it is executed immediately.
          
          If you change your mind and no longer wish to run a
          script, press the Esc key instead of selecting a name.

Alt/v  -  View the Review Buffer. When Scripta is first entered,
          if the supplied parameters do not include the // option
          then a buffer, the Review Buffer, is created.

          Whenever Scripta receives or sends characters, from or
          to the modem interface, it writes them to the Review
          Buffer. If the buffer fills up then characters are
          removed from it as new ones arrive, on a first in first
          out basis.

          The Review Buffer is sixteen kilobytes (16384 bytes) in
          size.

Alt/x  -  quit Scripta.

Alt/z  -  display a simple Help screen, showing all the Command Mode
          key commands. i.e., a brief list of what you have just
          been reading.

PgUp,  -  These commands initiate, respectively, an upload or a
PgDn      download. Normally, when running a manual session, the
          remote service will tell you when it wants you to initiate
          an upload or download File Transfer Session. When it does,
          press whichever of these keys is appropriate.
          
          Scripta will ask you to choose a File Transfer Protocol
          from a list of about a dozen or so. Again, the remote
          service will usually have told you what protocol it wants
          to use, just before telling you to initiate the transfer.
          
          Depending on the type of transfer, you may transmit or
          receive either a single file or a batch of files.
          
          Whilst a file transfer is in progress, the normal Command
          Mode keys become unavailable but you may use the
          following:
          
                      Alt/F - cancel current File
                      Alt/B - cancel current Batch of files
