THE IBM PC SIG FILE MANAGEMENT SERIES FILE: PCTC.TXT REV: 12/17/85 (Note: DL or dl is our abbreviation for Download, however, when DL is followed by a number, such as DL5, then we are referring to our Data Library #5, etc.) The following is a description of the files, PCTC.INS Detailed description of the .LBR file. 7-bit. PCTC.LBR A library file containing the programs in a squeezed format. 8-bit. PCTC.BIN Same as the .LBR, but with a BIN extension to facilitate the use of CIS A & B Protocols. 8-bit. PCTC.ARC Same as the .LBR, except stored with the ARC format. 8-bit. PCTC.SXX Same as the .LBR, but in SXX format for ASCII downloading. 7-bit. PCTCDD.EXE A utility for use with PCTC. 8-bit. (Included in LBR, BIN, SXX, and ARC as of 12/17/85.) PCTORG.DOC Original PC-TALK III documentation. ASCII text file. 7-bit. ALL OF THESE FILES RELATE TO PC-TALK III VERSION C, LEVEL 851111 & 85111A. YOU NEED 192K OF FREE MEMORY TO RUN PC-TALKC. THIS MEANS THAT IF YOU INCLUDE DOS AND SEVERAL TSR's, LIKE SIDEKICK, SUPERKEY ETC., THAT YOU WILL NEED ABOUT 256K OF TOTAL RAM. This version was developed and compiled by Jim Gainsley and also contains the work of other authors listed in the PC-TALKC.DOC. It has been licensed for posting only on the CompuServe IBM PC SIG, by the PC-TALK III copyright holder, The Headlands Press and Andrew Fleugelman, who expect a contribution from those users who have not previously contributed for PC-TALK III. The IBM PC SIG will also provide support for THIS version, Level 851111A. The version contains many enhancements and fixes for PC-TALK III, which enable greatly improved performance on networks, such as CIS, as well as on BBS's. A MAJOR FEATURE IS THE CHANGES MADE IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE XMODEM PROTOCOL, WHICH GIVES VASTLY IMPROVED PERFORMANCE ON CIS AND OTHER NETWORKS. PC-TALKC PROVIDES SUPPORT FOR CRC ERROR CHECKING, IN ADDITION TO THE STANDARD CHECKSUM. Extensive testing has shown this implementation to operate with greater effectiveness, than any other tried. (These benefits extend to operations with BBSs also.) THIS VERSION DOES NOT WORK ON THE PCjr. Since the files are large, please follow the instructions below, which will minimize your downloading (called DL or DL'g) time and avoid wasted effort. INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Use the R command to read the file PCTC.INS. This will tell you what is in the files and how you will proceed. If you are going to DL the program, then DL THIS file, and the PCTC.INS file, either by using the R command after doing BRO PCTC.TXT or, at the DL5: prompt, by entering: DOW PCTC.TXT/PROTO:CAPTURE/TYPE:ASCII. Both this file and PCTC.INS are 7-bit ASCII text files. If you do not understand file transfers on CIS, go to the main SIG menu or 'Function:' prompt and select B (Bulletin) and then select the Membership Information and Data Library bulletins which will give you important information about the SIG and how to use the databases. You will then be directed to our help database DL8 and the file DOW.HLP, with which you should become familiar. 2. PCTC.LBR is a Library file which contains sub-files, including PC-TALKC.EXE, PC-TALKC.DOC, and PCTCDD.EXE. These files have been squeezed, to make them smaller in size, thus saving download costs. It (the LBR) is a binary 8-bit file and can be DL'd only by using the XMODEM or CIS "B" or "A" protocols. It must be downloaded at the DL5: prompt by typing whichever of the following is appropriate to your circumstance: DOW PCTC.LBR/PRO:B/TYP:BIN DOW PCTC.LBR/PRO:A/TYP:BIN DOW PCTC.LBR/PRO:XMO/TYP:BIN ('PRO' is short for 'protocol', 'XMO' for XMODEM, 'TYP' for TYPE, and 'BIN' for BINARY) WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU NOT INITIATE THE DOWNLOAD SEQUENCE FOR PCTC.LBR IN ANY OTHER MANNER, even though other ways exist. Note with regard to CIS A or B Protocols: If you are going to use CIS A or B Protocol to download the squeezed library, download PCTC.BIN instead of PCTC.LBR. These files are identical except for the filename extension. The reason for doing this is that the CIS A & B Protocols react to the BIN extension to insure an 8-bit download, thus saving you connect time and further possible conversion problems. After you have downloaded the file, you MUST THEN RENAME it to PCTC.LBR before proceeding with the instructions in PCTC.INS. Note with regard to XMODEM: UNLESS your comm program is PC-TALKA (PCTA), PC-TALKB (PCTB), or a version of PC-TALK III that has had the file PCTRLX.MRG, MERged into it, you SHOULD NOT ATTEMPT an XMODEM download. (Note, the newest release of CROSSTALK and QMODEM, will give a reasonable chance of success also.) PCTRLX.MRG & .DOC are in this database, DL5. If you do not have these and if you do not have the CompuServe A or B protocols, then do not attempt to DL PCTC.LBR, PCTC.BIN, or PCTC.ARC, but instead DL the file PCTC.SXX described in items 3 & 4, below. PC-TALKC.EXE is the PC-TALK III Version C program. PC-TALKC.DOC is the documentation needed for Version C, in ADDITION to the original PC-TALK III documentation contained in the file PCTORG.DOC, located separately on DL 5. PCTCDD.EXE is a utility used to compress a dial directory, which has previously been expanded with PC-TALKC. 3. PCTC.SXX is a 7-bit equivalent of an 8-bit file, suitable for ASCII 7-bit downloading. It uses a method of encryption, that produces a larger file file for downloading than the binary file, but does make it possible to download the file for those without a binary means. Use SXX.COM on DL1 to decrypt it, then rename to PCTC.LBR. 4. PCTC.ARC is an 8-bit version, which must be downloaded as a binary file. It should then be processed with PKCARC.COM, a very fast ARC extracter, to be found in DL 1 on the IBM Novice Forum, CIS page PCS-129. Or, by using ARC.EXE. 5. PCTORG.DOC is the original basic PC-TALK III documentation, which is included here for those who do not have it. The file PC-TALKC.DOC in the library, contains pages which will replace certain pages in this original documentation, plus other information. OTHER PROGRAMS YOU WILL NEED: All are located in DL1. If you downloaded PCTC.LBR, PCTC.BIN LUE210.COM (or higher, renamed to LUE.COM) This program will both unpack and unsqueeze the library in one operation. If you do not have LUE210.COM, you may use the following: LU8643.BIN (or higher, renamed to LU.EXE) for unpacking. and, NUSQ11.BIN (or higher, renamed to NUSQ.COM) for unsqueezing. or ALUSQ11.COM (or higher) for unsqueezing. If you downloaded PCTC.ARC: PKCARC.COM a very fast ARC extractor, or ARC.EXE the regular ARC format handler. If you downloaded PCTC.SXX SXX.COM Needed only if you downloaded the PCTC.SXX version. (Located on DL1. Get MAKESX.BAS to make your copy if you can't use a protocol for downloading the BINARY type file.) OTHER PROGRAMS YOU MAY NEED: All are located on DL1. These programs will convert the indicated files. CVTBIN.BIN (renamed to CVTBIN.COM, Needed only if you have not followed the above instructions regarding PCTC.LBR, and have instead captured to disk an ASCII download having lines that each begin with, :18 ) (Get MAKECB.BAS to make your copy if you can't use a ptotocol for downloading the BINARY type file) CVTBIN & SXX.COM are also posted as HEX files, i.e. for those who cannot download binary files. If you do not have the HEX-TO-BINARY file converter, HC.COM, you may obtain MAKEHC.BAS, which makes HC.COM, from DL1. MAKEHC.BAS can be downloaded from DL1 with the R command from the prompt after BROwsing the file. If you do not have SXX.COM and cannot download a binary file, then you may obtain MAKESX.BAS from DL1, which when run will make SXX.COM. HEXUTL.COM in DL1 provides both the capabilities of HC.COM and CVTBIN.COM but runs a little slower. SPECIAL NOTE: You may also obtain these files by sending: A BLANK FORMATTED DOUBLE SIDED 9 SECTOR DISKETTE, A RETURN SELF-ADDRESSED MAILER, and SUFFICIENT RETURN POSTAGE to one of the SysOps as follows: Jim Gainsley 116 Third Ave. N. Minneapolis, MN. 55401 Conrad Kageyama 16435 Figueroa St. Gardena, CA. 90248 Don Singleton Box 690180 Tulsa, OK 74169 Those wishing copies on the new Hi Density diskettes (or regular 360kb floppies) may send them to: Stephen Satchell 16 Searing Avenue Morristown, NJ 07690 The files included will be: PCTC.TXT PCTC.INS PC-TALKC.EXE PC-TALKC.DOC PCTORG.DOC PCTCDD.EXE And some other useful utilities. If there is any 'last minute' information, it will be included in a file called README. The disk will be returned in whatever mailer YOU have provided, having whatever address YOU have provided, and with whatever postage YOU have provided. Another source of the PCTC files for those of you in the West Los Angeles, California area is Bryan Tsunoda of Computer-Ease. He will NOT handle any mail distribution, and he will NOT provide support for the program, but if you care to go into his shop during business hours he will gladly copy the above mentioned files onto YOUR formatted diskette. His business address is: Computer-Ease 10580 1/2 West Pico Boulevard Los Angeles, California 90064 Phone: (213) 559-1763 Hours: Mon-Fri 9:30AM-7:00PM Sat 9:30AM-6:00PM SYSOPS: Jim Gainsley 76703,1007 Conrad Kageyama 76703,1010