& UNICOM 3.0g Corrections and Enhancements FIXED: Unicom 3.0f would not work for some while using Windows Standard Mode or with a 286 CPU. FIXED: ESC[?3l - ANSI Command to switch to 80 column mode caused a UAE only when using a large scroll buffer size. FIXED: % Efficiency report was incorrect in 3.0f only. It now is calculated by the port baud rate OR by the modem speed report after dialing from the directory. FIXED: The upload file selection window excluded files that did not have the archive bit set. CHANGED: Notification Music (via UNICOM.SND file) was disabled in favor of the system asterisk .WAV file for sound card users. To restore this feature, place the following line in your win.ini under the [UNICOM] section. OLDSOUND=TRUE FIXED: Slow startup synchronization for CompuServe protocols for both uploading and downloading. UNICOM 3.0f Corrections and Enhancements FIXED: Shell to DOS in host mode not reliable in Win 3.1 FIXED: Error report for each file uploaded in X-Y-Zmodem. FIXED: Downloaded file using X-Y-Z had an invalid date and file attribute in 3.0E only. Unicom now provides the actual file date. FIXED: Slow response sending keypad keys. NEW: NOITALICS win.ini option to disable italics (blinking). NEW: BACKGROUNDCOLORS win.ini option that assigns dim colors to background colors for game support. UNICOM 3.0e Corrections and Enhancements FIXED: CompuServe B excessive timeouts in 3.0d only. FIXED: CompuServe B protocols startup problem. FIXED: Inverse reset to white on black upon receipt of ESC[0m - now resets to preset terminal colors. FIXED: Script port command cleared port connection type. FIXED: Excessive errors during XY transfers in 3.0d only. FIXED: Unsuccessful directory search produced no notification. FIXED: 128kb port baud selection actually selected 256kb. CHANGED: Screen erase in ANSI-BBS now defaults to erase entire screen ( ESC[2J) when ESC[J is received. Previously it erased from the cursor to the end of screen(ESC[0J); VT102 defaults to ESC[0J when ESC[J is received. FIXED: Zmodem upload & download option: Send if file newer (or longer) did not work. FIXED: Script GetFile Quickb did not work. CHANGED: Zmodem downloading will now abort if there is not enough room on the drive. It previously produced a file of 0 length when the disk was full. FIXED: Exiting Unicom without opening a port caused a UAE. UNICOM 3.0d Corrections and Enhancements NEW: Telephone tech support hours: 9am-5pm Pacific time weekdays NEW: VT102 Transparent print option added. NEW: Skinny BBS640x480 Font for VGA displays included. All columns are visible on a zoomed window. NEW: Login scripts for popular bbs systems are provided NEW: Procomm to Unicom directory converter utility provided FIXED: Unicom stole cursor from other applications. FIXED: Directory Update problem over duplicate phone number entries. FIXED: VT102 Font Selections and various screen display problems. FIXED: Scroll buffer select hilite above top caused program slowdown or hang. FIXED: Terminal font name is now remembered for next session. FIXED: Hi-res video users only: Font name not selected in terminal setup window caused display of triangles on screen then lockup. FIXED: Duplicate lines would appear on the screen during scrolling. FIXED: Text copied and pasted into other apps was not formated properly FIXED: Script 'WHILE' malfunctioned if a gosub was before the endwhile. CHANGED: Improved ABORTs for CompuServe Protocols CHANGED: No program reminder screens after program start (except exit) during 21-day evaluation period. CHANGED: Compatible with Shivanet comm driver. CHANGED: ASCII transfers can transmit unprintable and hi-bit characters. UNICOM 3.0C Corrections and Enhancements CHANGED: Font selection/use was limited to only the 1st 38. This restriction is now removed, all fonts are available. FIXED: Prefix/Suffix dialing unreliable or didn't work. FIXED: CompuServe B/Quickb would not start for some and now works at 9600 baud. FIXED: Display trapped on 25th line problem (was supposed to be fixed in 3.0a snuck back into 3.0b and is now finally corrected). CHANGED: Host Greeting, Bulletin and Menu files can now display files containing ANSI escape codes or other binary codes. NEW: Script Commands Added (See Online Help): StrLeft - returns left n chars of string StrRight - returns right n chars of string StrMid - returns n chars of string at starting position StrPos - returns position index of matching substring NEW: NOBOLD win.ini option added for disabling bold text. NEW: Tool Bar option added to Control Menu for enabling or disabling tool bar. NEW: 16 Color support. Prior 3.0 versions were limited to 8 colors. FIXED: Copy then paste into Notepad lost 1st column. FIXED: Default comm port selection did not select a connection type. FIXED: Zmodem file mgmt options remember their position. Append to existing file and protect existing file options were repaired. FIXED: Script SendFile command would not parse correctly. FIXED: Program could lock when trying to exit when the modem did not respond to a reset command. (MS driver lockup) FIXED: Entering host mode from script would not check the menu checkmark in the control menu. FIXED: During port errors, a received character would not be displayed unless you typed a character (terminal mode only). FIXED: Beep would sound when loading directory even if notification beeps were turned off in the general setup window. FIXED: UAE when you exited Unicom with the ReadMe Help window open. FIXED: No Port Connection report during CompuServe B/QB transfers. CHANGED: Unicom now automatically converts your 2.0 directory to 3.0 format upon activating the dial directory. CHANGED: Host mode will instruct your modem to answer on the ring specified in the modem setup window in the selected init string section. If this setting is zero, Unicom will instruct the modem to answer on ring 1. CHANGED: The escape key now works as an abort during modem initialization. UNICOM 3.0b corrects 3.0a as follows: FIXED: Excessive errors during X/Y/Zmodem uploading with MBBS and similar type bulletin boards. UNICOM 3.0a corrects 3.0 as follows: KEYBOARD FIXED: Hot Keys ^^colrow now work in description fields of the keyboard macro editor. FIXED: UAE when exiting UNICOM with the dial directory displayed. FIXED: Loss of access to terminal setup after executing example scripts: GDI.scr and/or Ellipse.scr FIXED: Numeric keypad now works when numlock is on. FIXED: Occasional Product damaged error incorrectly reported. SCRIPT: FIXED: InputString Command did not update the variable on consecutive uses of same variable. FIXED: CompuServe example script file requires double quotes around "^C". This is now required for all strings. DIALING: FIXED: UNICOM window would pop to the top upon unsuccessful repeat dialing. DISPLAY FIXED: Screen repaint problems with a version of windows above 3.0 but below 3.2. FIXED: Display trapped on 25th line when host positions cursor to this line multiple times without moving off. & What's New in UNICOM Release 3 * Windows 3.1 and 3.0 Compatibility * DEC VT-102 ( ANSI ) Compatibility: Double size characters are supported with all standard attributes. VT-100 and VT-52 are supported. * New WinScript Windows Script Language: Over 200 statements and commands give you powerful control over communication,windows, graphics and more! * High Baud Rate Ready - up to 128kb: When driver and hardware support arrives, UNICOM will be ready to operate at 38.4kb, 57.6kb and 128 kb. * Improved Screen Handling Our new screen handler gives you the best performance possible in the Windows environment. * 16 Color Support * AUTO File Downloading: UNICOM automatically senses download operations for Zmodem and CompuServe then starts on its own. * Download File Marker Feature: Highlight a file in the expanded 1500 line scroll buffer. UNICOM will remember your choices. * Script Learn Capability: Generates a WinScript command file as you interact with the remote host. Useful for recording login scripts. * Expanded Dialing Directory: Remembers last on date, number of times on. Supports individual dialing string, password, default protocol. * Expanded Host Mode: Shell to DOS, assign user id-passwords, access levels, time limits, monitor interaction, operate in dialback mode. * Easy Screen Editing: Highlight screen text with your mouse, then copy to clipboard, send to host, erase, scroll or mark as a file. * Convenient Screen Toolbar: Provides easy access to common menu picks and terminal operating modes. * Font Manager Compatibility: All types of fonts and sizes can be used. Improved mapping for proportional fonts. * Online Help: Context sensitive "Windows" help is now provided for all program procedures and script commands. * Xmodem senses download filename: UNICOM will obtain the download filename from the scroll buffer automatically when downloading files using this protocol. * Iconic transfer reports: File transfer progress is reported to the icon label when transferring files while minimized. * Translation Tables Incoming and Outgoing characters are easily translated with this new feature. & Packing List -------- Sharware Distribution ----------- UNICOM 3.0g is distributed in 2 zip files UC3g-1.zip Complete distribution w/o help UC3g-2.zip UNICOM Help (UNICOM.HLP) (help has not changed since 3.0c) when you unzip these files, it should contain the same files as below: -------- On disk from Data Graphics ------ UNICOM EXE - UNICOM executable program UNICOM FON - fonts for vt100 and BBS UNICOM KEY - example keyboard macro file UNICOM SND - default music file UNICOM CFG - example program configuration UNICOM DIR - example dialing directory UNICOM XLT - example translation table UNICOM HLP - UNICOM Windows Help UNICOM MNU - example Utility menu UC3ORDER WRI - order form in write format UC3ORDER TXT - order from in text format UC3READ ME - UNICOM 3 release notes PLAYNOTE SCR - Example Script Files BITBLT SCR "" GDI SCR "" LINES SCR "" SETPIXEL SCR "" MODEMREG SCR "" COMPUSRV SCR "" MCI SCR "" UNICOM MNU "" ELLIPSE SCR "" RBBS SCR "" OPUS SCR "" PCBOARD SCR "" WILDCAT SCR "" SRCHLITE SCR "" REMOTACC SCR "" & Upgrading from a previous Unicom release Upgrading to a new minor release does not require that you re-enter your license information. 1) MAKE A BACKUP COPY of all your Unicom files on a floppy diskette. 2) Unpack the new distribution into a temporary directory or a floppy. Omit this step if you received a 3.5 diskette from Data Graphics. 3) Copy the new UNICOM.EXE file over your old unicom.exe file. That's all there is to upgrading to new minor versions. For major updates, a new license may be required. Keep a backup copy of your existing version. & HOW TO ORDER UNICOM TO REGISTER QUICKLY: order by phone! To get registered immediately, just call (206)432-1201 anytime between 9am and 5pm Pacific time weekdays. Have your Visa or MasterCard Ready. You will be issued a registration number over the phone. BY FAX: send your completed order form to Data Graphics fax at (206)432-8673 (24hrs) BY MAIL: Enclose payment and mail to: Data Graphics P.O. Box 58517 Renton,WA 98058 U.S.A. SITE LICENSING (prices as of 7/92) Units Discount 1-10 None 11-20 10% 20-49 20% 50-99 30% 100+ 40% For other quantity arrangements, please call. & More Questions and Answers Question: I access the Dos shell from host mode. When typing exit, the window stays up on the screen and I am unable to call back in. Answer: Use the PIF editor to create a COMMAND.PIF file. Select close window on exit when creating this pif. Question: In Host Mode, Unicom will not recognize the userid entered during remote login. Answer: The username must be 1 word with no spaces between characters. Use the host setup window to assign one word usernames. Question: Is Unicom 3.x compatible with Windows version 3.1?. Answer: Yes, there are no known incompatibilites. Question: My modem does not remember its configuration across Unicom sessions. Answer: Make sure you set the connection type (see the Comm port setup window) to a Modem connection. Then save your setup. Unicom will send the init string as designated in the modem setup window at the start of each session. Question: I can't get Zmodem resume to work after an aborted Zmodem transfer. Answer: To resume an aborted Zmodem transfer, disable automatic Zmodem downloading from the General Setup Window. After that, download manually using the Zmodem resume option. & UNICOM 3.0g Release Notes NEW UNICOM WIN.INI OPTIONS NOITALICS - disable display of italics (blink). To enable this option, add the following to your win.ini under the [UNICOM] section: NOITALICS=TRUE BACKGROUNDCOLORS - causes dim colors to be displayed in response to ansi background color commands. To enable this option, add the following to your win.in under the [UNICOM] section: BACKGROUNDCOLORS=TRUE 0) Uploading Problem at High Speeds Uploading may become unrealible when using speeds above 9600 baud. To solve the problem, configure your modem and Unicom for hardware handshaking. On a HST or similar modem, use the &H1&R0 command. Then set Unicom to hardware handshake in the Comm Port setup window. 1) The VT102 special fonts may not be available when using herc monochrome video mode -OR- if UNICOM cannot reference a configuration file at startup. 2) Communications may become unreliable above 9600 baud. Try to avoid starting and stopping other applications during file transfers as this may induce interrupt latency while running windows. In other words, Windows may become too busy to service the communication port and lose data even with a 16550 uart. 3) Screen Savers do not work well with UNICOM when they kick in. The truth is, screen savers assume that they are the only application using your computer if no keyboard or mouse input are detected for a given time. To perform the spectacular effects, the screen saver will eat up much of your computing power. If a Unicom file transfer is in progress when the screen saver kicks in, performance can degrade or worse, data could be lost. IT IS STRONGLY SUGGESTED that you set the screen saver idle detection time to a time greater than the expected file transfer time. 4) Dialing directory file sizes cannot exceed 64k. If UNICOM complains of low memory when loading a directory, break up the directory into smaller directory files. 5) Interrupt driven receive queue size is 24k if using standard or enhanced mode and 12k if running in real mode. The queue size was reduced for real mode due to memory restrictions. The Send queue size is 4k. These override any system.ini setting. 6) Script Commands FileLength: The example for this command is incorrectly listed in the manual: lSize = FileSize("messages.dat") It should read: lSize = FileLength("messages.dat"); This appears correct in the online help. StrIsHex: is described incorrectly in the manual. It incorrectly states that chars A-Z or a-z are valid hex characters. It should read 'A'-'F' and 'a'-'f' in addition to 0-9. 7) Fonts Type managers let you add many fonts to Windows. UNICOM 3.0c,d & e can now handle more than 38 fonts and any size of each. Unicom 3.0 versions prior to 3.0c were limited to the 1st 38. 8) Host Mode - Shell To DOS Your computer must be operating in 386 enhanced mode to support this feature. IMPORTANT Make sure the communication port device contention is set to "Never Warn" in the 386 enhanced section of the control panel. If this is not done, a message box will be displayed to the host computer screen anytime the remote user shells to DOS. This will lock the host unless someone is available to reply to the message box. ALSO include a MODE command in you autoexec.bat file to set your com port baud rate. MODE COMx:baud,parity,bits,stop Example: MODE COM2:9600,N,8,1 REMEMBER TO USE A SINGLE WORD USERNAME & PASSWORD when setting up users for remote access using the host setup screen. USERNAME: JIM SMITH <----- WRONG PASSWORD: HI THERE <----- WRONG USERNAME: ECHOTRAIL <----- RIGHT! PASSWORD: HEATER <----- RIGHT! 9) Bold Character Attribute Disable Some users found that bold fonts were not pleasing to the eye. You can now instruct UNICOM to ignore the bold attribute by adding the following option to the UNICOM section of your WIN.INI file: NOBOLD=TRUE 10) Color Mapper Unicom provides a color mapper setup window (after 3.0b) that allows you to change how Unicom maps color codes sent by your remote host. So if you do not like a particular color, just activate the Color Mapper window from the setup window and change the color to your preference. The terminal foreground and background colors as selected in the Terminal Setup Window will be translated according to your Color Mapper settings. That is, if you map white to blue and select white in the terminal setup window (foreground or background), you will see blue on the screen. & Microsoft Adds 16650 Support to Windows Microsoft has added 16550 support to their serial communication driver (comm.drv) provided with Windows 3.1. The 16550 uart can buffer up to 16 bytes of data which can reduce CPU overhead and increase operational reliability. The only remaining concern with the new driver is that the FIFO trigger level is set at 14. That means incoming data can still be lost due to interrupt latency. (This buffer could overflow by the time the CPU is free from doing other tasks in Windows). Setting the FIFO to a lower trigger level should give the CPU a better chance at servicing interrupts. This functionality as described above was the only real gain offered by makers of 3rd party comm drivers. Therefore, I NO LONGER RECOMMEND that you use or purchase 3rd party comm drivers to replace the comm driver provided with Windows 3.1 or above. & Character Translation Tables UNICOM supports character translation for incoming and outgoing characters. When you save your setup with the Save Setup menu pick, UNICOM writes the contents of the current translation tables to the file UNICOM.XLT. Upon each program start, UNICOM looks for this file (UNICOM.XLT). If found, its contents are loaded into memory. & Host User database The file hostuser.dat contains user information for those authorized to access your machine via host mode. This file may be changed or altered by remote users with the appropriate access level. You may wish to make this file read only and/or hidden with the dos attrib command. Hostuser.dat is updated when you select save setup from the setup menu. & Where to Find the latest UNICOM UNICOM may be found on CompuServe in the following forums: ZENITH, WINADV, IBMCOM, MSOPSYS Browse the forum shareware or new uploads library using the keyword "UNICOM".