From: eric@cse.ucsc.edu (Eric Rosen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.comm
Subject: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) : comp.sys.mac.comm [2/4]
Followup-To: poster
Date: 8 Sep 1992 04:03:12 GMT
Organization: University of California, Santa Cruz (CE/CIS Boards)
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: wappo.ucsc.edu
Summary: Questions w/Answers; Please read before posting!
Keywords: FAQ

================================================================================
[3] Macintosh File-transfers

[3.1] What program(s) do(es) Kermit, FTP (client), and/or X,Y,Z-Modem
        and where can I get it?
        
        The following programs are the more popular free, shareware, and
        payware terminal and file-transfer programs currently available
        (Last revised: 9/92).

GT:     GrafTerm, $50 shareware, Infrastructure Software
MK:     MacKermit, free, source code is available,
        fdc@watsun.cc.columbia.edu
ML:     MacLayers, free, UNIX source included, David W. Trissel
        layers@rascal.ics.utexas.edu
MP:     Microphone II, $175, cheaper sidegrades often available, Software 
        Ventures Corporation, (510) 6441325, microphone@svcdudes.com
PT:     PacerTerm, $159, Pacer Software, (619) 454-0565,
        support@pacersoft.com
QV:     QVT, $50 shareware, QPC Software
SC:     Smartcom II,  $84, $59 upgrade from Smartcom, Hayes,
        (404) 441-1617, BBS: 800-US-HAYES
TM:     Term, free, Peter DeCamillo and Jon Gilbert
        cmsmaint@brownvm.brown.edu
TL:     Terminal, free, source code included, Erny Tontlinger
        73720.2200@compuserve.com     
TR:     Termulator, $25 shareware, Brad Quick  
TY:     Termy, free, Ice Engineering, termy@ice.com
VP:     VersaTerm Pro, $177, Synergy Software, (215) 779-0522,
        D2296@applelink.apple.com 
VT:     VersaTerm, $90, Synergy Software, (215) 779-0522
        D2296@applelink.apple.com 
WK:     White Knight, $85, Freesoft, (412) 846-2700
ZT:     ZTerm, $30 shareware, $40 with disk, Dave Alverson,
        davea@tso.uc.edu

        The archive sites described in the Appendix are the best place
        to look for free or shareware file-transfer programs. Other
        commercial but non-shareware ("payware") products must be
        purchased from a dealer.

        Table 3.1.1 summarizes file transfer capabilities of various
        Macintosh telecommunications programs.
        
Programs:   ZT  SC  MP  MK  VT  VP  WK  TR  PT  GT  ML  QV  TM  TL  TY
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols |
__________|
Xmodem    | X   X   X       X   X   X   X   X   X   X   X       X
Ymodem    | X   X   X       X   X   X                   X       X
ZModem    | X   X   X               X   X   X                   X
Kermit    |     X   X   X   X   X   X       X           X
QuickB    | X   X   X                                           X
B Plus    | X   X
FTP       |                 X   X           X
rmac/wmac |                                                 X
Flash     |                         X
CTB       |                 X   X           X                       X

                                Table 3.1.1

        
        Table 3.1.2 summarizes the terminal-emulation capabilities of
        various Macintosh telecommunications programs:

Programs:   ZT  SC  MP  MK  VT  VP  WK  TR  PT  GT  ML  QV  TM  TL  TY
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Terminals |
__________|
TTY       |     X   X               X   X   X                   X
VT52      |     X   X                                   X
VT100     | X   X   X   X   X   X   X   X   X   X   X   
VT102     |     X   X       X   X   X       X           X
VT220     |         X       X   X           X           X
VT320     |         X               X       X
PC/ANSI   | X   X   X
IBM3270   |         X                                        X
Tek 4010  |                 X   X               X
Tek 4014  |                 X   X               X
Tek 4105/7|                     X
TVI950    |                                                  X
DG210/211 |                 X   X
Prestel   |     X
Controls  | X   X   X
CTB       |                                  X                       X

                                Table 3.1.2


        Table 3.1.3 summarizes the scripting capabilities of various
        Macintosh telecommunications programs:

Programs:   ZT  SC  MP  MK  VT  VP  WK  TR  PT  GT  ML  QV  TM  TL  TY
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Scripting |
__________|
Recording |     X   X               X       X
If/Else   |         X   X           X   X   X                   X
Loops     |         X   X                   X                   X
XCMDs     |         X               X   X   X
FileOps   |         X   X           X
Arithmetic|         X   X           X       X                   X
Variables | X       X   X           X   X   X                   X
User Input|         X   X               X   X
Key Remaps|             X               X   X
Arrays    |         X   X                                       X

                                Table 3.1.3

        
[3.2] What is the latest version of ZTerm?

        ZTerm is currently at revision level 0.9. Other released
        versions were 0.7, 0.75 and 0.8, and 0.85.
        
        A "fake" version 1.0 of ZTerm has circulated briefly in the
        past. This was apparently a doctored version 0.85.


[3.3] What is the Communications Toolbox (CTB)?

        The Communications Toolbox is a Macintosh operating system
        interface that provides a standard interface for programmers
        writing communications programs. Rather than make calls to
        control the modem serial port, for example, a programmer can
        call an equivalent CTB routine. This allows the operating system
        to manage the serial port(s) just like any other limited
        resource. In addition, specific "tools" that interface with
        modems, provide terminal emulation, or handle file transferring
        can be implemented as external add-on features to CTB-aware
        programs.

        The CTB requires System 6.0.4 or later. The CTB is built into
        System 7. Tools can be added by placing them in the Extensions
        folder and rebooting.


[3.4] Are there any shareware or freeware tools that support Kermit,
        and/or X,Y,Z-Modem?

        Termy 1.0, freeware from Ice Engineering, is the only CTB-aware
        application that can obtained via anonymous FTP. Termy has no
        built-in support for any connection methods, file transfer
        protocols, or terminal emulation and so you will need to obtain
        Communication Toolbox tools for each of these.

        Several modem Connection tools are available from the various
        FTP sites. These include the Apple Modem Tool 1.11, the Hayes
        Modem Tool 1.02, the CCL Modem Tool 1.0, and the Zoom Modem
        Tool 1.11. Just recently, Glenn Howes released his free Kermit
        CTB tool Kermit Tool GH; it includes support for MacBinary, RLE
        compression, and other features. These tools are the *ONLY* CTB
        tools available for anonymous FTP (as of 9/92), despite the all
        too frequent queries posted to comp.sys.mac.comm. There is no
        point in posting frequent queries on the subject, so please
        don't.

        There are, however, a number of available payware tools that 
        provide various levels of functionality:
        
        o Microphone II 4.01 now includes a Telnet tool. (Contact
        Software Ventures for your free upgrade.)

        o PacerTerm ships with a broad collection of tools, including:
        Xmodem, Zmodem, Kermit, and FTP file transfer tools; Telnet,
        LAT, ADSP, and serial connection tools; and TTY, VT102, and
        VT320 terminal tools.

        o Seaquest Software has released XModem, YModem, and ZModem file
        transfer tools.
        
        o Versaterm and Versaterm Pro include FTP client and server file
        transfer tools and Telnet, LAT, SLIP, and ADSP connection
        tools.


[3.5] How can I transfer Macintosh files to/from my Macintosh and other
        non-Macintosh computers (eg: mainframes, Unix boxes, PCs)?

        If your telecommunication program supports MacBinary (they
        almost all do), turn MacBinary on. This usually involves
        selecting a menu option or clicking a radio button in a
        'preferences' type dialog box. Then, transfer your file
        normally. Your Macintosh file will be sent as a MacBinary file
        that can be treated as an ordinary binary file.
        
        If your telecommunication program does not support MacBinary,
        get a copy of the MacBinary program and use it to make a
        MacBinary version of your Macintosh file. Then send this
        MacBinary file. Meanwhile, look around at the various shareware
        and commercial telecommunications programs that do support
        Macbinary. See [3.1].
        
        Note: Not all files need to be transferred as MacBinary files.
        In particular, most text and non-Macintosh specific binary files
        (like GIF/JPEG images) do not. See [2.2] for more information.

        To actually "download" a file (eg: transfer it from a remote
        host computer to your Macintosh), you must first instruct the
        remote computer to send the file by issuing a command. For
        example, to download a file from a Unix machine using Xmodem,
        you would first have to give a command similar to:
        
                % sx filename
        
        where 'sx' is the local Unix program to send a file using Xmodem
        and 'filename' is the name of the file you wish to send. Then,
        locally, you must start the file transfer by typically choosing
        a menu option in your terminal program. The process is similar
        for Kermit transfers. Terminal programs that support Zmodem
        should recognize the start of a Zmodem download automatically.

        Note: Not all systems are alike. The command to start Xmodem
        may not necessarily be 'sx'; another possibility is 'xmodem'.
        Ask your local system administrator if you cannot find the
        right program; most sites support something. Also, see the
        listing below.

        To upload, first issue the appropriate receive command on your
        remote host computer; then, select the local send option in your
        terminal program. Good Zmodem packages can start the remote file
        transfer automatically.
        
        If you experience multiple CRC errors when downloading with
        Zmodem, especially after backgrounding the download, try sending
        your file using a fixed window size, eg: 'sz -w 1024 filename'.
        If errors persist, also try escaping control characters,
        eg: 'sz -ew 1024 filename'. Depending on your setup, you may
        be able to use a larger window size (eg: use 4096 or 2048
        instead of 1024) which can slightly reduce transfer time.
        
        Typical Unix programs that support transfering files via a
        serial (modem) link:
        
        Kermit          Xmodem          Ymodem          Zmodem
        -------         ------          ------          ------
        kermit          sx              sb              sz
        ckermit         xmodem

        If you are trying to transfer a lot of information between
        a Macintosh and an MS-DOS PC, and your Macintosh has an FDHD
        disk drive (also known as a SuperDrive), using Apple File
        Exchange, or any of the various shareware and payware programs
        that allow you to access (or even mount) MS-DOS formatted 3.5"
        HD diskettes, can greatly speed up the transferring process. 
        Apple File Exchange even provides for automatic translation
        of certain types of files.


[3.6] What's the best compression program to use when transferring files
        or for uploading files to an archive for posting? Are there any
        other guidelines I should follow?

        Best Compression:

        As of (9/92), there is no specific answer to this question.
        Stuffit Lite 3.0 and Compact Pro 1.33 both have loyal users
        who insist that one is just a little bit faster or provides
        better compression performance than the other. Previous
        to the introduction of Stuffit Lite 3.0, most people agreed
        that Compact Pro was the easiest to use and gave the best
        performance. Now, it appears that Stuffit Lite 3.0 gives
        better compression performance overall. I suggest you try
        using both and choose the one you like best. Note that
        Stuffit 1.5.1 is *not* the same as, nor as good as, Stuffit
        Lite 3.0.

        Uploading Macintosh Programs:
        
        You should make an effort to use either Compact Pro or Stuffit
        Lite 3.0 to compress files you send to an anonymous-ftp site or
        BBS. Do not post PackIt archives.

        Regardless of which archiver you use, PLEASE DO NOT MAKE AN
        AN ARCHIVE YOU ARE UPLOADING TO AN FTP SITE (or a BBS) SELF-
        EXTRACTING! The extra code added to the file to make it self-
        extracting is NOT insignificant in size. The convenience of
        self-extracting archives is not worth the space they waste at
        anonymous-FTP sites and BBS's (where literally thousands of
        compressed files are stored). Self-extracting archives are
        useful in other contexts, but should be discouraged as a medium
        for posting to archives.
        
        Also, try to avoid using strange punctuation marks in filenames
        that you upload. Characters such as exclamation points, spaces,
        dollar signs, etc, are legal characters in Macintosh filenames
        but can be difficult to work with on non-Macintosh systems
        (where most Macintosh archives are stored). Since BinHex and
        MacBinary store your original Macintosh filename, removing
        strange characters from a BinHex'd or MacBinary'd file before
        uploading will not affect the original filename.


[3.7] How can I use the programs that are posted to comp.binaries.mac?

        The files posted to comp.binaries.mac are in BinHex 4.0 format.
        Long files are split into several postings that must be
        concatenated IN THE PROPER ORDER (and usually with headers
        and signatures remove) before converting.

        First, read the man page or other documentation for your
        newsreader. A little time spent here can save you a lot of time
        doing repetitive tedious work later. Find out how to save an
        article to a file.

        Next, save all the posted articles for a given program posted to
        comp.binaries.mac to a single file. Don't combine postings that
        are for different programs, but do save multi-part postings to
        the same file, in increasing order of part number. For example:

        *****  15 unread articles in comp.binaries.mac--read now? [=ynq]
         2761 Great Icon Editor (part 1 of 2)
         2762 Great Icon Editor (part 2 of 2)
         2764 Hypercard Resource Tools
         2765 Idea 1.2 (part 01 of 11)
         2766 Idea 1.2 (part 02 of 11)
         2767 Idea 1.2 (part 03 of 11)
         2768 Idea 1.2 (part 04 of 11)
         2769 Idea 1.2 (part 05 of 11)
         2770 Idea 1.2 (part 06 of 11)
         2771 Idea 1.2 (part 07 of 11)
         2772 Idea 1.2 (part 08 of 11)
         2773 Idea 1.2 (part 09 of 11)
         2774 Idea 1.2 (part 10 of 11)
         2775 Idea 1.2 (part 11 of 11)
        What next? [npq] 2761 s iconeditor.hqx
        2761    Saved to mailbox /u/joe/News/iconeditor.hqx
        What next? [npq] 2762 s iconeditor.hqx
        2762    Saved to mailbox /u/joe/News/iconeditor.hqx
        
        At this point, download the file "iconeditor.hqx" (it will be
        automatically placed in your "News" directory) to your Macintosh
        and use a text editor to remove all Usenet headers and signature
        data. Then use a program like BinHex, Compact Pro, or Stuffit
        to convert the .hqx file to a Macintosh file. Alternatively,
        you can avoid removing headers, etc, and use DeHqx to convert
        the .hqx file, which has other useful features (such as batch
        processing).
        
        The Macintosh file you create may in fact be an archive that you
        then need to unarchive with the appropriate program. See the
        list of file suffixes to determine which program(s) to use.

        Note: You can streamline the process by:
        
        --> using the Unix program 'mcvert' or 'hexbin' (see [6.5]) to
            convert the .hqx file to a MacBinary file on your Unix host.
                Since the .hqx file is usually 30% to 40% larger than the
                MacBinary file, this saves on downloading time. These
                utilities are also smart enough to handle stripping headers
                signatures, although you must still save the postings in the
                proper order.
                                
        --> using one of the many utilities that exist to reorder
            postings automatically before you convert them from
            BinHex

        --> learning enough about your newsreader program to save more
            than one article at once in a particular order, if it
            supports such a capability              

        --> checking out the program DeHQX

================================================================================
[4] Introduction to AppleTalk (and Remote AppleTalk)

[4.1] What kind of hardware do I need to set up an LocalTalk network?

        Be sure you have read section [5] and understand the difference
        between LocalTalk and PhoneNet. Setting up an AppleTalk network
        based on either LocalTalk or PhoneNet requires purchasing a box
        that connects to (one of) your Macintosh's serial ports with the
        appropriate mini DIN-8 or DB-9 connector and provides, in the
        case of LocalTalk, two mini DIN-8 connectors for Apple's
        (expensive) multiwire AppleTalk cables, or, in the case of the
        less expensive PhoneNet, two standard RJ11 (modular telephone)
        jacks. Both boxes look similar to Figure 4.1.1.
        
                         .................
        to/from <------>|                 |
        rest of         |                 |<-------->  to Macintosh or
        network <------>|.................|                 printer
        

                                Figure 4.1.1

        Computers and printers should be connected serially; that is,
        chain the devices in any convenient order, with either
        a single AppleTalk cable (LocalTalk network) or telephone
        cable (PhoneNet network) connecting neighboring machines.
        Do *not* connect the ends of a LocalTalk or PhoneNet
        network --- this is not a ring (eg: TokenRing) network.

        It should be noted that Apple is "strongly encouraging"
        new AppleTalk networks to be Ethernet-based.


[4.2] How can I change the Chooser "user" and name of my Macintosh?
      Also: Why can I no longer change the name of my hard-disk?

        To change the owner and name of your Macintosh under System 7,
        select "Controls Panels" from the Apple Menu and double-click
        on the "Sharing Setup" Control Panel.
        
        The Chooser "user" is the "Owner name:". Change it like any
        standard edit field.
        
        The name of your Macintosh is the "Macintosh name:".
        
        Also on this Control Panel is a button to turn File Sharing
        on and off. When File Sharing is on, you cannot change the
        name of shared disks. If you are trying to change the name
        of your hard disk but cannot get the name to turn into an
        edit field, File Sharing is probably on. Use the Sharing
        Setup Control Panel to turn File Sharing off, change your
        hard disk name, and then turn File Sharing back on (unless
        you have no need for it).

        
[4.3] What is AppleTalk Remote Access ?

        Apple's AppleTalk Remote Access is a software package that
        allows you to dial-in to an AppleTalk network (or to create
        an AppleTalk network between two Macintoshes via dial-up
        modems) from a remote Macintosh. Remote Access requires
        at minimum:
        
            o   a Macintosh (possibly connected to an AppleTalk
                    network) designated as the host with a dedicated
                    high speed modem
        
            o   one or more remote Macintoshes with modems
            
            o   a phone line connecting the host Macintosh with
                the remote Macintosh

            o   copies of the Remote Access software running on the
                designated host as well as on all remote machines 
        
        Once configured, connecting the remote machine to the AppleTalk
        network is as simple as clicking a button. Modem control is
        handled automatically (assuming one of the many included modem
        scripts works with your modem; see [4.4]). Passwords and call-
        back facilities are provided.
        
        Once connected, the remote machine can use the AppleTalk
        network normally. One can print remotely, send messages,
        access remote filesystems, monitor network traffic, etc.

        Throughput, even when using 9600 baud modems, will be
        significantly lower than through a LocalTalk or PhoneNet
        connection; however, except for program launching and file
        copies, the added delay is small.
        
        You CAN use slower 2400 baud modems, including the internal
        Powerbook modems, but you will probably not enjoy the
        experience.


[4.4] Where can I get a Remote Access script for my modem? 

        If none of the (many) included modem scripts work with your
        modem, try:
        
            o   searching the InfoMac archives for a script for your
                modem; several scripts have been posted recently
        
            o   making a copy of the script that works best with
                your modem (the scripts are in the Extensions Folder
                which is in the Systems Folder), opening it up with
                a text editor, and experimenting; this assumes you
                have a copy of your modem's manual and know the
                basics about the Hayes command set. If you are
                succesful, post your script so others can benefit!
From: Mark.Tucker@f421.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Mark Tucker)
Sender: Uucp@blkcat.UUCP