Using MS-DOS Kermit: Connecting Your PC to the Electronic World

Foreword                                                     xv
Preface                                                     xix

Chapter 1 Introduction                                        1
    What Will Kermit Do for You?                              1
    Capabilities of MS-DOS Kermit                             2
    Kermit in a Nutshell                                      3

Chapter 2 Getting Started                                     9
    Installation                                             10
    Making Sure DOS Can Find Kermit                          14

Chapter 3 Basics of MS-DOS                                   15
    DOS Filenames                                            15
    DOS Directories                                          16
    DOS Devices                                              18
    Running DOS Commands                                     18
    Commonly Used DOS Commands                               20
    Wildcards                                                21
    Creating and Modifying Files                             22

Chapter 4 Cables, Connectors, and Modems                     23
    Modems                                                   24
    Locating and Identifying Your Communication Device       25
    Connecting Your PC to an External Modem                  27
    PBX Data Lines and Other Communications Equipment        29
    Connecting an Internal Modem to the Telephone Line       30
    Connecting Your PC Directly to Another Computer          30

Chapter 5 Testing the Connection                             33
    Direct Connections                                       33
    Modem Connections                                        38

Chapter 6 Running MS-DOS Kermit                              43
    Starting and Stopping the Kermit Program                 43
    Menu on Demand                                           44
    Summary of MS-DOS Kermit Command Features                46
    Kermit Startup Options                                   47
    Some Basic Kermit Commands                               48

Chapter 7 Getting Online                                     49
    Setting Communication Parameters                         49
    What Happens If the Parameters Are Wrong?                54

Chapter 8 Terminal Emulation                                 57
    The Mechanics of Terminal Emulation                      57
    Do I Need a Terminal Emulator?                           62
    Terminal Emulation Options                               62
    Which Terminal Should I Use?                             63
    How Do I Tell the Host Which Kind of Terminal I Have?    63
    Terminal Characteristics                                 65
    Screen Rollback                                          66
    Session Logging                                          67
    Key Redefinition                                         68
    Screen Color                                             70
    Printer Control                                          71
    Graphics                                                 72

Chapter 9 File Transfer                                      75
    Transferring Text Files                                  75
    The SEND and RECEIVE Commands                            77
    Uploading Files: The SEND Command                        78
    Sending Multiple Files                                   79
    File Transfer Display                                    80
    File Transfer Interruption                               81
    Sending a File under an Assumed Name                     81
    Downloading Files: The RECEIVE Command                   82
    Interrupting File Reception                              84
    Filename Collisions                                      84
    Text Versus Binary Files                                 85
    Transferring Binary Files                                86
    Transferring Files with IBM Mainframes                   86
    Trouble                                                  87
    Improving Kermit\'s Performance                           88

Chapter 10 Using a Kermit Server                             93
    Summary of Commands to Use with Kermit Servers           95
    The Server\'s Remote File Services                        96

Chapter 11 Making Your PC the Remote Computer               101
    Method 1: Server Mode                                   101
    Method 2: Redirecting the DOS Session                   104

Chapter 12 Transferring Files without the Kermit Protocol   107
    Downloading a Host File to the PC                       108
    Uploading a PC File to the Host                         109

Chapter 13 International Character Sets                     113
    IBM PC Character Sets                                   114
    Terminal Emulation                                      117
    Controlling the Screen Display                          120
    Keyboard Translations                                   120
    Taking Advantage of Kermit\'s Terminal Character Sets    121
    Printer Control                                         122
    Terminal Emulation Summary                              123
    File Transfer                                           124
    Examples of International Text File Transfer            127
    Shortcuts                                               130

Chapter 14 Macros, Command Files, and Scripts               133
    Command Macros                                          133
    Defining Macros                                         134
    Noisy Macro Example                                     136
    Macros with Arguments                                   136
    Macros on Keys                                          137
    Command Files                                           138
    Initialization Files                                    139
    Script Programming                                      141
    A Dialing Directory                                     149
    Automated File Transfer                                 152
    The Transaction Log                                     154

Chapter 15 Use of MS-DOS Kermit by People with Disabilities 159
    Features for People with Visual Impairments             159
    Features for Deaf People                                160
    Features for the Physically Impaired                    161

Chapter 16 MS-DOS Kermit Command Summary                    163
    Interactive Operation                                   163
    Piped Operation                                         164
    Command Line Invocation                                 164
    Remote Operation                                        164
    Running MS-DOS Kermit in Windowing Environments         165
    Batch Operation                                         165
    DOS Environment Variables for Kermit                    166
    File Specifications                                     166
    Interrupting a File Transfer in Progress                167
    Notation in Command Descriptions                        167
    Comments and Continuation                               168
    Backslash Notation                                      169
    MS-DOS Kermit Commands                                  170
    IF Commands                                             179
    REMOTE Commands                                         181
    SET Commands                                            183
    SET SEND and SET RECEIVE Commands                       191
    The SET KEY Command                                     192
    The SET TERMINAL Command                                193
    SHOW Commands                                           196

Glossary                                                    201

Appendix I The MS-DOS Kermit Distribution Diskette          217
Appendix II Tables                                          221
Index                                                       237