TECHNICAL BULLETIN #13 - Rev 1.00 (7/30/96) ============================================================================== TITLE : How to do Monitor Mode Capture and Upload PRODUCT : PROCOMM PLUS 2.01 (DOS) ============================================================================== If you have display problems, possibly including unexpected characters (especially "[" characters) or unexpected formatting of information, when you call certain host computers or BBS systems using a certain terminal emulation, DATASTORM's technicians may be able to help you if you can capture and forward exactly which characters your PC is receiving when the problem occurs. DATASTORM Support may have asked you to capture all characters arriving at your port to a "dump" file and upload it to their BBS. Here's how to create a Monitor Mode "dump" (an emulation capture file) in PROCOMM PLUS 2.01 and upload it to the Quarterdeck BBS. DEFINITIONS * Monitor Mode a mode in PROCOMM PLUS 2.01 in which all characters, including normally non-printable characters, arriving at the port are displayed on the Terminal screen. This mode includes an option to write these characters to a file. Since normal terminal display is turned off in this mode, and host computers often send "escape sequences" not normally seen, the Terminal screen may be unreadable while in Monitor Mode. * Dump or dump file same as a capture file. The following procedures assume you have logged into the host computer and application while running the terminal emulation in which you originally experienced the problem. MONITOR MODE CAPTURE 1. Before the data that you want to capture is sent, press CTRL-\ to enter Monitor Mode. 2. You will be asked if you want to save to disk. Press "Y" to save the incoming characters in an ASCII text file ("PCPLUS.DMP"). 3. Begin receiving characters from the host. Press the keys necessary to begin the data flow from the other system. The screen may look strange because terminal emulation is suspended during Monitor Mode. 4. When you have captured the data you think you need, press Esc to exit Monitor Mode. The characters are now in the PCPLUS.DMP file in your PROCOMM PLUS directory. UPLOADING TO THE Quarterdeck BBS 1. Rename your file to .DMP. For example, John Smith should rename his file to SMITH.DMP. If your capture file is called PCPLUS.DMP, rename it before uploading. 2. Call the Quarterdeck BBS and log in. You may already have an entry for the Quarterdeck BBS in your Dialing Directory. If you don't, you can get to the Quarterdeck BBS quickly by typing "ATDT 1-573-875-0503" (no quotes) and pressing Enter at the Terminal Screen, or see the tutorial section of your manual for help with dialing into the BBS. 3. Once you are connected to the BBS, enter your login information. If you are new to the Quarterdeck BBS, correctly answer the BBS prompts for user information. 4. When you see the menu labeled "Quarterdeck Technical Support BBS", you have reached the main BBS menu. Type "F" to select the "Go to the File Transfer Menu" option and the "File Transfer Menu" and "Top 10" menu will appear. 5. Type "U" to select the "Upload a File to the BBS" option. The "Upload a File" menu will appear. 6. Type "U" to select the "Upload file to Technician" option and a message screen will appear with the "Would you like to proceed? (Y/N)" prompt. Read the message and type "Y" to continue. 7. The BBS will issue a prompt for the "Technician's Name". Enter the name of the Technician you are working with and press ENTER. 8. The BBS will issue a prompt for the "File Name". Enter the renamed filename of step 1 and press ENTER. 9. The BBS will issue three prompts for comments. Enter helpful information for the technician and press ENTER at each prompt. 10. The BBS will prompt "Enter 1-12 char full file name". Type the name of the file that you entered in step 8. 11. Another description prompt will appear. Type your name and the name of the Technician and press ENTER. 12. Choose a file transfer protocol to use for the transfer by typing the appropriate option letter from the BBS menu. Open your file transfer window (PgUp in PROCOMM PLUS), select the same protocol from your local menu, select the file to upload, and begin the transfer of the file to the BBS. 13. Once the transfer has completed, you may type "G" and then type "1" to log off of the BBS. PROCOMM PLUS provides a way for you to easily capture all characters sent to your machine. Armed with this information, a technician can troubleshoot most terminal emulation display problems. These problems are most often the result of a host computer sending out sequences that PROCOMM PLUS cannot recognize or respond to correctly. The capture/dump file is a way of storing all of the characters coming from the other system into your machine, some of which you might not normally see. Some of these characters form emulation sequences, special combinations of characters that tell a terminal or terminal emulator to do certain functions like route characters to your local printer, or place characters on the screen at certain locations with special attributes. ANSI, a common emulation choice, uses emulation sequences that begin with the ESC character. The sequence "ESC[5mHello there, can I help you?" causes the line "Hello there, can I help you?" to appear on your screen as blinking text. The escape character (ASCII 27), is a "control" character and will not display in any case. You should never see the "[5m" part of that example sequence either, since PROCOMM PLUS should "eat" this sequence (not display it), and all other valid sequences for that terminal type. When PROCOMM PLUS doesn't recognize a sequence, it displays it on your screen as normal text, which may look like intermittent "garbage" characters mixed with regular text. A dump file will show these sequences to the technician, including control characters, who can then determine whether the sequence was a correct one for the terminal emulation you were in. If PROCOMM PLUS has not responded correctly to a valid sequence, the technician can report a possible emulation problem to the developers, who may then be able to correct it with a patch. Due to the complexity of terminal emulations, these problems can usually only be fixed in new version releases, however. ========================================================================== To ensure that you have the latest version of this document, compare its revision number to that of the same document on any of our support sites. This technical bulletin may be copied and distributed freely as long as it is distributed in its entirety and it is not distributed for profit. Copyright (c) 1996 Quarterdeck All rights reserved. ==========================================================================