tm TAPCIS The Access Program for the CompuServe Information Service by Howard Benner OMNI Information Resources, Inc. Richard P. Wilkes Support Group, Inc. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS TAPCIS Program Copyright 1988, 1989 OMNI Information Resources, Inc. Documentation Copyright 1988, 1989 Support Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication or program may be reproduced, photocopied, stored on a retrieval system, or transmitted except as provided by the License above. CONTACTS: Support Group, Inc. OMNI Information Resources, Inc. Lake Technology Park P.O. Box 1996, P.O. Box 130, Wilmington, DE 19899 McHenry, MD 21541 User ID 76704,44 (800) USA-GROUP CompuServe Incorporated (301) 387-4500 PO Box 20212, Columbus, OH 43220 (301) 387-7322 Fax (800) 848-8990 User ID 74020,10 User ID 70006,101 January 1989 Edition Manual Revision 5.2 Prepared and Printed to Disk Using WordPerfect 5.0 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 2 TAPCIS Electronic Edition Notes ====================================================================== This electronic version of the TAPCIS documentation is unabridged and complete. It is missing only the screen shots which cannot be duplicated in an ASCII file. For your convenience we have also placed the phone number list (PHONES.ARC) and forum command lists (CMDS.ARC) in separate files. This documentation is extensive. You'll find everything here to sign up with CompuServe, set your defaults, configure TAPCIS, and use all its features. Be sure to follow its steps page by page until you get the program up and running, and you are able to read and write EasyPlex and forum messages. Registered users receive this documentation in spiral bound, printed form. The typeset documentation is significantly more compact and easier to use than printing out this electronic edition on paper. You may wish to consider registering TAPCIS and getting the printed manual. We offer an unconditional, 90-day money back guarantee to registered users. Format ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This document is formatted for no margins at the top or left. There are approximately 56 lines per page, with a formfeed separating pages. We suggest that you either print this document from disk directly to your printer using the DOS PRINT command, or use a "pretty print" utiliting like PPRINT to paginate it. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS i TAPCIS Disclaimer and License ====================================================================== YOUR FIRST USE OF TAPCIS(tm) CONSTITUTES AGREEMENT TO THE FOLLOWING PROVISIONS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THEM, PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS PROGRAM. TAPCIS(tm) is a copyrighted, proprietary program offered "as is" to CompuServe subscribers for personal use, testing, and evaluation. TAPCIS has no official affiliation with the CompuServe Information Service or CompuServe Incorporated, and the program's continued utility is subject to changes CompuServe may make to its product. OMNI Information Resources, Inc., the author, and Support Group Inc., make no claims as to the program's suitability for any specific use and expressly disavow any responsibility for real or consequential damages of any sort. A limited license is granted to all CompuServe subscribers to use and to duplicate this version of TAPCIS for their personal use. After an evaluation period of no more than 21 days, those who did not purchase the program directly from OMNI or Support Group Inc., continuing to use the program are obligated to pay for it, as outlined on the opening screen of the program and in this documentation. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS FOR COMMERCIAL USE: In commercial use this limited license applies only to one individual. Commercial users are granted a limited license of 21 days duration during which time indi- viduals in the organization may evaluate the software. After that evaluation period, a site license or purchase of individual copies is required for each individual in the organization who uses the soft- ware, for each computer it is used on, whichever is less. Commercial users may contact the Support Group at the address below, on Compu- Serve 74020,10, or at (301) 387-4500 during business hours (ET) for further information. Trademarks ====================================================================== TAPCIS(tm) is a trademark of OMNI Information Resources, Inc. Compu- Serve Information Service(R) is a registered trademark of CompuServe Incorporated. EasyPlex(R) is a registered trademark of CompuServe In- corporated. DataPac(R) is a registered trademark of Bell of Canada. Telenet(R) is a registered trademark of GTE Telenet. Tymnet(R) is a registered trademark of Tymnet, Inc. WordPerfect(R) is a registered trademark of WordPerfect Corporation. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS ii TAPCIS Table of Contents ====================================================================== Electronic Edition Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i Disclaimer and License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii Table of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii How to Use This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 New TAPCIS Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Upgrading TAPCIS Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Command Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Hardware Required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 90-Day Satisfaction Guarantee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Shareware Trial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 TAPCIS Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 New User Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 New to Version 5.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 New Forum Software Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 B+ Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Protocol Transfer Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Online Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Front-end Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 DOS Command Execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Write While Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Forwarding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Carrier Detect Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Drop Off Immediately . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Key Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Online Toggle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 New Script Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Local Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 EasyPlex 50K and FAX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Setting Now 8 Bits, No Parity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 9600/1800 Baud Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Formfeed From Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS iii TAPCIS Split Message Indication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Command Line Option List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Password Prompting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Library Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Join Forum Enhanced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Extra Status Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 New Fail Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Upgrading to 5.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Backup! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Complete Online Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Remove ;OLDF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Reset CompuServe Default Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Get New Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Key Replacements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Introduction to CompuServe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 What is CompuServe? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 What is a Forum? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Threads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Conferencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 EasyPlex Electronic Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 The TAPCIS Difference ($) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 TAPCIS Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Message Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Forum Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Communications Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Other Important Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Setup Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Hard Drive Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Starting TAPCIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 IntroPak Sign-on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 CompuServe Default Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Adding a Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Filenames and Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Program file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Parameter and Help Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Script files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Other Distribution Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Files Created By TAPCIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS iv TAPCIS Hard Drive Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Creating the Directories for TAPCIS . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Storage and Download Directories . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Running TAPCIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 From DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 From WordPerfect Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Command Line Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Recording the Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 TAPCIS Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Registration Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Version Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Online Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Offline Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Help! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Cancel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Parameters Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 COMn: Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Initialize Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Online Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Fail Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Reset Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Telephone Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Access Networks in Order of Best Cost/Performance . . . 37 Non-CompuServe Access Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 User ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 IntroPak Sign-on ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Storage Disk Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Download File Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Log Times/Transfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Monitor Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Append/Overwrite Message Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Keep Outbox File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 When Done, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 IntroPak Sign-on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 IntroPak Sign-on Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Final Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Example Sign-on Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 The Sign-on Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 If This Doesn't Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 If The Connection Is Made . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Record Your Sign-on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Follow The Prompts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS v TAPCIS CompuServe Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Default Settings List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 EasyPlex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Activating EasyPlex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Write An EasyPlex Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Composing a Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Editing Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Cursor Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Block Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Finish the Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Send Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Transmit the Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 nline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Getting New Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Reading EasyPlex Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Saving the Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Reply to a Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Address Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Writing Using Address Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 EasyPlex Multiple Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Addresses Entered Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Address Book Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 EasyPlex File Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Sending Binary Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Receiving Binary Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Using the Binary File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Binary File Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Receiving ASCII Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 EasyPlex Delivery Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Online Address Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 FAX Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Telex/MCI Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Feedback to CompuServe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 90-Day Deletion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Congressgrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Executive News Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Joining a Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Add a Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Selecting Reading Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Clearing All Selected Forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Activate The New Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Join The Forum Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Explanation of Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Select All Forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS vi TAPCIS Quick Scan Forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Q Forum Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Get New Headers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Mark the Headers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Get Marked Threads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Header Marking Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Understanding Forum Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Read Thread Forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 R Forum Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 R Forum Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 R Forum Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Marked Message Forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Changing Forum Options/Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Selecting the Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Getting Updated Section Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Combining Q and R Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Reading Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Message Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 By Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 By Thread . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 By Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 By Search Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Message Replying & Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Reply to This Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Reply with a New Subject/Section . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Reply to TO: address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Change Reply to a Different Forum . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Delete This Message From the Forum . . . . . . . . . . 93 Save this message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Print this message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Shell to DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Shell to Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Exit Back to Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Build an Address Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Write a Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Forward a Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Writing Forum Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Writing a Forum Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Entering the To: Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Entering the Message Subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Message Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Editing the Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Send the Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Send Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Transmit the Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS vii TAPCIS Editing the .SND File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Maximum Message Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Splitting Long Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Retrieving Text into a Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Search Another File/Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 TAPCIS Forum Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Downloading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Library Search Creating a Catalog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Marking Files to Download . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Catalog Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Download the Marked Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Transfer Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Downloading Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Uploading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Upload Dialogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Upload Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Interactive Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 The Interactive Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Conference Mode Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Advanced Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Advanced Commands Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Time/Charges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 TAPCIS Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Practice Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Emoticons and TLA's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Getting Announcements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Upload Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Executive News Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 MCI Mail to CompuServe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Line Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Interrupting TAPCIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Aborting Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 GIF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Marker Disappearance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Travel Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Modem Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Floppy Installation Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS viii TAPCIS Script Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Login Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 DataPac Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Weather Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Upload Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 ARC Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 CompuServe Access Phone Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Forum Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 List of CompuServe Forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 CompuServe Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS ix TAPCIS Table of Figures ====================================================================== Figure 1: TAPCIS Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Figure 2: Parameters Screen Before Set-up . . . . . . . . . . 35 Figure 3: IntroPak Initial Sign-on Parameters . . . . . . . . 43 Figure 4: IntroPak nteractive Dialing Screen . . . . . . . 55 Figure 5: EasyPlex Forum Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Figure 6: EasyPlex Address Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Figure 7: Message Screen after . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Figure 8: Main Menu with EasyPlex Mail to Send . . . . . . . . 62 Figure 9: Main Menu with New EasyPlex Message(s) to Read . . . 63 Figure 10: Reading an EasyPlex Message . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Figure 11: Replying to an EasyPlex Message . . . . . . . . . . 65 Figure 12: Received Binary EasyPlex Screen . . . . . . . . . . 69 Figure 13: Forum Section Selection Screen . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Figure 14: New Forum Activated for Joining (Alt-J) . . . . . . 75 Figure 15: Main Menu with New Forum Selected . . . . . . . . . 75 Figure 16: Q Forum With Headers to Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Figure 17: Marking Headers in a Q Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Figure 18: Q Forum Header Marking with Headers Selected . . . . 82 Figure 19: Selecting Sections for a Forum . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Figure 20: Main Menu with Messages to be Read in Forum 2 . . . 90 Figure 21: TAPCIS Message #0-Forum Announcements/Header . . . . 90 Figure 22: Message Read Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Figure 23: Selecting Forum Message Section . . . . . . . . . . 97 Figure 24: TAPCIS Editor at Send Prompt . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Figure 25: Editing the .SND File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Figure 26: Library Catalog Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Figure 27: Main Menu with LIB Action Pending . . . . . . . . . 105 Figure 28: Sample Catalog Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Figure 29: Download in Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Figure 30: Sample Interactive Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Figure 31: Conference Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Figure 32: Advanced Commands Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Figure 33: Sample Charges Graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS x TAPCIS How to Use This Manual ====================================================================== Whether you are an old hand or someone who has never been "online," we know that you are anxious to get started. We'll try to make the setup process as painless and quick as possible. If you're like us, you start with the program, get as far as you can until you get stuck, and then turn to the documentation. To those of you who have already tried and failed, welcome back to the start! Here's a little bit of advice: =====> The setup of TAPCIS is extremely particular. It is easy to set up the program, and many users have done so just by following the menus. However, it is unlikely that you'll get the CompuServe defaults set properly without spending some time with the documentation. New TAPCIS Users ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow with the documentation carefully until you are setup and reading and writing messages in EasyPlex and in at least one forum. Once you have set up the program and learned the rudiments, you may never need this documentation again. The documentation is geared to the person who has not yet signed onto CompuServe. TAPCIS, as purchased from Support Group, Inc., includes a free IntroPak with a CompuServe account number and password. If you are already a CompuServe subscriber, it will be easy for you to follow along and skip the sign-up sections that don't apply to you. Upgrading TAPCIS Users ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have been using a previous version of TAPCIS, be sure to read the section titled "New to Version 5.2" on page 7. It covers the feature changes in this version. A number of commands have been changed. CompuServe has changed the DEFAULT settings area and switched to new forum software system-wide. You will need to set your CompuServe defaults again, and get new sections and library lists for all your forums. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 1 TAPCIS Command Conventions ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TAPCIS commands are shown in the documentation in angle brackets. For example, the command to write a message is rite, and you would press from the main TAPCIS menu. Sometimes the shift, control, and alt keys are used in combination with other keys. Both and <^K> mean to hold down the control key (usually marked Ctrl on the keyboard) and then press the letter K. means to hold the alt key and press the F1 function key. Hardware Required ====================================================================== TAPCIS runs only on 100% IBM compatible machines. It requires approximately 300K of free RAM when running. You will need a modem, preferably Hayes AT Command set compatible, and that modem should be properly installed before trying to set up TAPCIS. The documentation assumes a hard drive installed as drive C:. TAPCIS runs fine on a portable like the Toshiba T1100+ with two 3 1/2" floppy drives with 720K or 1.4M of storage each. You can install it on two 5 1/4" floppies, but it is cumbersome (see "Floppy Installation Guidelines" on page 129). TAPCIS runs fine off a network drive as well, but be sure to have a registered copy of the program for each user (quantity discounts are available). Each user should be assigned a unique storage path, set of parameters (PARAMS.CIS file), etc. The only "shareable" files are the TAPCIS program, help file, and scripts. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 2 TAPCIS Registration ====================================================================== If you purchased this software from Support Group, Inc., you have a fully registered version for a single user. You should have received a registration number from the Support Group with your printed copy of the documentation. 90-Day Satisfaction Guarantee ---------------------------------------------------------------------- As a registered user you also have a 90-day satisfaction guarantee. If you are not satisfied with your purchase, return it to the Support Group for a full refund. You must include your registration number, address, phone number, purchase price, payment method (credit card or check), and the complete package including disks with your return. Ship the package insured in case of loss. If the documentation is damaged, you will be charged replacement cost for the materials. Shareware Trial ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You may have procured this software from another source such as the data libraries on CompuServe, a BBS, or from a friend. That's fine! We encourage registered users to introduce new users to TAPCIS by providing them with an unregistered copy. Try it out for up to 21 days, and if you decide to continue using it, send your license fee of $79. You'll receive printed documentation and the current version on disk in return. You can register TAPCIS by electronic mail using a MasterCard or Visa number to user ID 74020,10, or by simply answering "Yes" to the registration option when you start the program. The printed documentation and your permanent registration number will be sent by mail. Registering the "shareware" version still gives you 90 days from when you register to return the package for a full refund. We're confident that you will find TAPCIS a terrific tool that makes CompuServe access cost-effective and fun! Support Group, Inc. Lake Technology Park P.O. Box 130, McHenry, MD 21541 CompuServe 74020,10 (Go TAPCIS) 1-800-USA-GROUP / 1-301-387-4500 / 1-301-387-7322 (Fax) ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 3 TAPCIS Support ====================================================================== TAPCIS Forum ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The program is supported through the TAPCIS Forum on CompuServe (GO TAPCIS). All operation problems should be addressed to SYSOP in the forum. The following sections should be used: 1. TAPCIS Q & A: General questions and answers on TAPCIS operation and installation. Confidential messages can be addressed to "*SYSOP" so that non-sysop users cannot read them. 2. SCRIPT & TOOLS: You can get help with scripts and find out about add-on tools in this message section and accompanying library. 3. MODEMS/HW/OS: If you are having trouble with your modem, hardware (HW), or operating system (OS), leave a message in this section. Hopefully one of the sysops or fellow TAPCIS users will have similar equipment and be able to offer some advice. 4. PROBLEM REPORTS: This section is for reports of cases where the software has failed to work as expected. 5. SUGGESTION BOX: The development of TAPCIS revolves around the needs and wants of our users. Please feel free to post suggestions publicly in section 5 of the forum. 6. INTERNATIONAL: This is a special section for TAPCIS users not in the U.S. =====> Always be specific in your messages. Describe the hardware you are using (especially the modem brand, model, speed, and whether it is internal or external), the TAPCIS version number from the main menu, the amount of free RAM before TAPCIS is loaded, and the phone number you are calling. If you are describing a problem, we need the exact sequence of events, and the precise wording of any error message or CompuServe response. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 4 TAPCIS New User Help ---------------------------------------------------------------------- WE CANNOT PROVIDE ANY TELEPHONE SUPPORT FOR NON-REGISTERED USERS. We're sorry, but we cannot provide telephone support to anyone but registered users. Ample help is available on the TAPCIS Forum on CompuServe, or the person who provided you with the shareware disk may be able to help. The TAPCIS Forum is where users get support for the product. There is no extra charge for support beyond the normal CompuServe access charges. The Support Group does provide toll-free support to newly REGISTERED users during the 90-day guarantee period at 1-800-USA- GROUP. Once you are setup and running properly, please address all questions in the forum. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 5 TAPCIS Acknowledgements ====================================================================== In the last four years, TAPCIS has grown from its origins as a 6K interpreted BASIC program for the first generation of laptop computers, the first of its kind, to one of the most popular special-purpose communications programs anywhere. Ultimately, TAPCIS is the product of a unique group of people who, depending on your point of reference, are either at the cutting edge of communications technology or, less charitably, "modem junkies." Originally, they were a couple of dozen people; now they number in the hundreds. They voluntarily tried to break the program and have offered literally thousands of suggestions to improve it. What's good about TAPCIS is their responsibility. What's bad is my fault. They're the testers, many of whom began as distant electronic correspondents and have become close personal friends. TAPCIS is also the product of people who have worked at getting every last ounce of performance out of its native language, Borland's Turbo Pascal. Special thanks go to Arley Dealey for his help in demystifying the intricacies of modem communications, to Russ Ranshaw for the incredibly robust B-plus protocol, to Kim Kokkonen and his TurboPower crew for their remarkable utilities, and to CompuServe for its support of navigation programs. And finally, my thanks to the people who keep TAPCIS going day-to-day and year-to-year: my fellow sysops on CompuServe's TAPCIS Forum, Joan Friedman, Marilyn Ratcheson and Howard Silverman, and Richard & Sandy Wilkes and the Support Group staff. Howard Benner January 1, 1989 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 6 TAPCIS New to Version 5.2 ====================================================================== New Forum Software Support ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CompuServe has changed the forum software commands. The forum soft- ware was re-designed to make the forums easier for new users who use the "menu-mode" online. This is perhaps the most expensive way to use CompuServe. These changes benefit TAPCIS users only moderately since TAPCIS uses the expert "command-mode" for forum commands to save money. We've done our best to shield our users from the change in forum software. The operation of this version is almost identical to TAPCIS version 5.1. Where there are changes, they have been made at the request of our users to make the program even easier to use and more powerful. Some of the old forum commands have been "grandfathered" in the new software. So, you can use the command or the new command . A table of old commands and their new forum software equivalents is given on page 140 in the section called "Forum Commands". B+ Protocol ---------------------------------------------------------------------- First there was the "A" protocol, then the "B" protocol followed by "Quick B." TAPCIS was the first to fully support Quick B. Now CompuServe has introduced the "B+" protocol, an expansion of the Quick B protocol, and TAPCIS is one of only a few programs that completely supports B+. B+ offers the ability to restart a download that was interrupted mid- way. It also passes information to TAPCIS on the exact length of the file. The length is used to estimate the time remaining, now shown in the protocol status window. You can now adjust the packet size with a command line option. Normally, the default sizes of 1024 bytes at 2400 bps, 512 bytes at 1200 bps, and 256 at 300 bps are optimal. However, on very noisy lines, a smaller packet size can give better throughput. A command line option of "-4" causes 512 byte packets to be used. "-2" uses 256 byte packets. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 7 TAPCIS Protocol Transfer Log ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The new file transfer log option (on the parameters screen) tells TAPCIS to keep a log in the file XFER.LOG. The log includes the file description and transfer data (speed, time, packets, etc.) for all files downloaded automatically. If the file was uploaded or downloaded while interactive, the transfer log contains a copy of the screen display. This usually includes the description of a download or at least some information on where you were at the time. The XFER.LOG file will build until it is deleted from DOS. We've used the log many times to figure out, "Where did that file come from?" Online Log ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Have you ever been online interactive and had to repeat a command because the information you wanted to read just scrolled off the screen? TAPCIS 5.2 adds the ability to scroll through a log of the last 350 lines when you are online. The command is . Use the arrow keys to move through the scroll buffer, and then to finish. Two command line options control the log. If you use the "L" command line option, the log's contents are written to ONLINE.LOG (up to 350 lines). If you use the "G" command line option, ALL data is written to ONLINE.LOG from the start of the session to the end. The log file is killed and rewritten for every session. Front-end Script ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This new capability allows the user to set up a script that will grab weather, stock quotes, and news articles when you go online with the command. The captured information from the FRONTEND.SCR script is stored in the an EasyPlex message for reading and printing offline. DOS Command Execution ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pressing prompts for a DOS command or executable program which TAPCIS will run and then return when the command is finished. You will not have to type "exit" to return as you do when you press . ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 8 TAPCIS Write While Reading ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can now press rite to write a new message in the current forum while reading messages. When you finish composing and sending the message, you are returned to the message you were reading. Forwarding ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can now forward any message with comments added. When reading a message, press . The current message will be copied into your editor where you can add comments and send the result via EasyPlex. Carrier Detect Monitoring ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TAPCIS monitors the carrier detect signal from the modem to detect whether the modem is still online. If this causes a problem on your machine, you can use the "C" command line option to turn off this checking. Drop Off Immediately ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Some packet networks (particularly ones overseas) do not drop carrier after TAPCIS logs off CompuServe. The new "D" command line option tells TAPCIS to close all the files and exit after the OFF command is sent to CompuServe. Key Safety ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Some users have complained that it is too easy to accidentally press "S" to save a message or "D" to delete a message while reading. Command line option "K" turns off both these keys. With the "K" option active, use or to save and or to delete. Online Toggle ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The key is used to tell TAPCIS to stay online after an automated session. Under version 5.2 the key acts as a toggle. Press it once, and the program will stay online. Press it again, and the program will logoff normally when done with its pending tasks. Be ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 9 TAPCIS sure to check the top status line to see whether the program will stay online. New Script Commands ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The command "C d:\path\filename.ext" in a script file opens the file for capturing and appending output sent from CompuServe. The command "X" on a line by itself in a script turns off the capture, and the "K d:\path\filename.ext" can kill the file. Comments can be placed in scripts by putting a semicolon (;) at the start of the line. The new "U" command is for sending script commands without waiting for them to echo. This solves some problems with alternate network logon. Local Mode ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From the main TAPCIS menu, you can press the exclamation point to enter a "local mode" where you can send commands to configure the modem (or just check to make sure the modem is working). Press to return to the menu. You can use this feature if you are in a bind without another terminal program to call a BBS or a service like MCI Mail. None of the online commands like logging, scripting, or downloading are available in this mode. EasyPlex 50K and FAX ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CompuServe has increased the maximum size of an EasyPlex message from 10,000 characters to 50,000 and will increase it again to 256,000 on March 15, 1989. This applies to both text messages and binary files. To keep TAPCIS from requiring too much RAM, we have limited the size of a message you can read from within the program to 350 lines. You should limit your messages to this length. Longer messages can be sent using binary Easyplex (see page 67). CompuServe has also added the ability to send from EasyPlex to Group III fax machines around the world. See the section "EasyPlex FAX" on page 70. Setting Now 8 Bits, No Parity ---------------------------------------------------------------------- In prior versions one could select either 7 bits, even parity, or 8 bits, no parity. Since the B+ protocol requires 8 bits, no parity, ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 10 TAPCIS TAPCIS 5.2 eliminates the unnecessary 7/Even setting. A filter is used to eliminate compatibility problems when CompuServe thinks you want even parity during sign-on. 9600/1800 Baud Support ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TAPCIS now supports 9600 bps operation with flow control. CompuServe has announced that they are experimenting with 9600 on their business services division, and this speed may be offered on the CIS side. We don't expect this for at least a year, but TAPCIS has been tested and supports it when/if it is offered. Support for 1800 baud (a non- standard rate used on some direct connections) has also been added. Formfeed From Main Menu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pressing an asterisk <*> from the main menu will send a formfeed to the printer. Split Message Indication ---------------------------------------------------------------------- When you split a long forum message into parts using the /split command, TAPCIS now automatically adds "[More]" to the end of the first part and "[Continued]" to the start of the next. Command Line Option List ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A list of command line options can be listed from DOS by typing "TAPCIS ?". Password Prompting ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Entering a single asterisk <*> as your password on the parameters screen will tell TAPCIS to prompt for the password during start-up. Some organizations demand that no passwords be stored on disk, even in encrypted form. This is the most secure way to use the program. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 11 TAPCIS Library Search ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The old ata library search has been replaced with ibrary search. CompuServe has changed terminology on us in the new forum software, changing the name of where files are stored from DL's to LIB's. We have made this change for consistency. Join Forum Enhanced ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The old and commands have been combined into a new command which will go to a forum, join it if a new forum, and get the current list of section and library names. Extra Status Information ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TAPCIS now issues the CompuServe command STATUS to grab information on your connection. For example, if the response is "Job 27, system DHB, user [74020,10] T02PIS" you are the 27th job on system DHB on user ID 74020,10 calling into node 02 of the Pittsburgh, PA (PIS) node. The node information can help CompuServe to isolate random problems you may experience with your local node. New Fail Report ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A new fail report ("HAYS"--note the missing E) has been added. If you enter this in the fail report option on the parameters screen, TAPCIS will recognize all the normal and extended fail reports for Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc., modems and any others that respond EXACTLY the same way. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 12 TAPCIS Upgrading to 5.2 ====================================================================== Backup! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Please take a moment to backup your TAPCIS program and files. This version has been beta tested by many registered users. However, in the unlikely event that you run into a problem with the new version that keeps you from getting online, it is good to be able to revert to the 5.1 version. Backups are always a good idea when installing ANY new software. Complete Online Actions ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Before you start with 5.2, be sure to complete all pending online actions in 5.1. Those action files are incompatible with 5.2. Remove ;OLDF ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you added ;OLDF to the end of your user id on the parameters screen, remove it. TAPCIS 5.2 will not operate properly with this option (it uses the new forum software). Reset CompuServe Default Parameters ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Deselect all forums and EasyPlex and press to go online and reset the CompuServe default parameters (Alt-P replaces Ctrl-D). We've made some changes required to work with the new forum software. Get New Sections ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Select all forums except EasyPlex and use the command to get new section and library names (Alt-J replaces Ctrl-X). These are still saved in the .SEC files. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 13 TAPCIS Key Replacements ---------------------------------------------------------------------- OLD KEY NEW KEY KEY PURPOSE Ctrl-D Alt-P Set CompuServe Default Parameters Ctrl-D (online) Alt-H Hang-up immediately Alt-X / Ctrl-X Alt-J Join forum and get section/library names L Search IB SearchSearch file libraries ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 14 TAPCIS Introduction to CompuServe ====================================================================== =====> If you already understand how CompuServe and forums are structured, you can skip this section. What is CompuServe? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The CompuServe Information Service is a communications system with a broad range of offerings including travel, financial, and news ser- vices, research databases, and more. You communicate with CompuServe through the phone line using your computer's modem and special software. CompuServe is organized in a hierarchial structure of "pages." A page can be a menu, a program, or a gateway. Menus present you with a list of numbered options. Programs include forums, EasyPlex, databases, etc. Gateways let you go through CompuServe to communicate with third party services like the Official Airline Guide (OAG), EAASY Sabre, PaperChase Medical, NewsNet, IQuest, Shoppers Advantage, etc. Each page has a name or number, and one can move from one part of CompuServe to another with the "GO" command or by traversing the menus. We'd like to show you the full diagram of CompuServe pages, but you probably don't have a wall big enough for the poster. If you have the time and money, you can explore all the reaches of CompuServe using TAPCIS. For this manual, we are going to concentrate on the two that TAPCIS was designed to automate: the forums and EasyPlex. What is a Forum? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A "forum" is a community that shares a common set of interests. Forums used to be called "SIGs" for Special Interest Groups. For example, the TAPCIS Forum is for those of us who use TAPCIS. The WordPerfect Support Group Forum is a forum for people with an interest in WordPerfect brand products. The CONSULT Forum is for those with an interest in computer consulting. The Aviation Forum is a home for people who are flighty (pilots) or full of hot air (balloonists). A CompuServe forum and a local club have a lot in common. You can ask questions and get a variety of answers and opinions in return. You can debate, decide, depict, describe, design, detail, determine, deve- lop, devise, debrief, debunk, denounce, defend, deliberate, delight, decry, delve, demand, deny, and demonstrate just to name a few. The value of the forum comes from those who participate--from the sysops who manage the forum to callers from around the world who join in the dialogue. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 15 TAPCIS Messages Participants in the forum can exchange messages publicly. If you ask a question in the forum, hundreds or even thousands of people can read that question. Hopefully, at least one of them will have an answer. And when you have something to share, you can be assured that at least one of the forum members will benefit from your contribution to the exchange. Messages are in a "memo" format with date, time, and subject along with the sender's name and account number. A message can be addressed to an individual, a sysop, or to All. Messages have a maximum length of around 350 words or 2200 characters each. Sections Each forum has a number of message SECTIONS (also called SUBTOPICS). Up to 18 sections (0 through 17) can be used, although not all forums use that many. The TAPCIS Forum has 8 public sections where all users can leave messages. It also has one section (S0/Forum Admin.) for TAPCIS forum sysops and one private section (S9) for registered users. The other sections are either undefined or used for special purposes like beta testing. See page 4 for a list of some of the TAPCIS Forum sections and their uses. Threads A message and its replies form a message THREAD. Threading makes it possible for you to follow a conversation that is taking place in the midst of many other conversations. The alternative is to read in numerical order, but you can imagine how confusing it would be to read a message and have to search through several hundred other messages to find its replies (if any). TAPCIS takes full advantage of CompuServe's threading capability. It can read all new messages in thread order or just the subjects and sections you select. Libraries Utilities and files can also be shared through the forum LIBRARIES (historically called "data libraries" or DL's). When you contribute a file, it is called uploading. Taking a copy of a file from a library is called downloading. Libraries are also broken into categories-- just like the message sections. For example, you can download the current version of TAPCIS from the TAPCIS Forum Library 1. In the WPSG Forum, one can find WordPerfect printer drivers in Library 2. TAPCIS stores a list of section and library names when you join a forum. Downloading or uploading requires the use of a protocol to insure that the transmission between your computer and the CompuServe computer is without error. The protocol that works best is the CompuServe "B+" ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 16 TAPCIS protocol which is the one supported by TAPCIS. "B+" is a new protocol completely supported by TAPCIS version 5.2 for both uploading and downloading. B+ can achieve file transfer speeds at close to 100% efficiency compared to much less for XMODEM. Conferencing An online conference or CO allows members of the forum to interact directly, in real- time. In a CO someone "speaks," and their words are "heard" by all the others in the conference. A conference may be held to allow members to ask questions of a guest speaker, or it can be a spontaneous chat between a group of online friends. You may choose to conference often or never. EasyPlex Electronic Mail ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EasyPlex is CompuServe's electronic mail service. In EasyPlex you may send messages to any other CompuServe subscriber, and you can even upload and download binary (8-bit) files such as formatted word processing documents. EasyPlex permits longer messages than the forums (50,000 vs. 2200 characters, increased to 256,000 after 3/15/89) and all EasyPlex mail is confidential. You may also request a return receipt or send the same message to multiple recipients (maximum 10). Some forums (such as the TAPCIS Forum) do not allow private messages, so EasyPlex is the only way to reply to a message privately. If TAPCIS detects that a forum does not allow private messages, it will automatically send your confidential message via EasyPlex. TAPCIS makes EasyPlex appear as a forum even though EasyPlex's native commands are entirely different from forum commands. TAPCIS reformats messages so that you may read and reply to them just as you would a public forum message. As in the forums, you may also write your messages offline using the TAPCIS editor and automatically upload them to EasyPlex. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 17 TAPCIS The TAPCIS Difference ($) ====================================================================== =====> Why use TAPCIS? How can it save you money? If you don't know the answers, read this section. CompuServe is designed to be an interactive communications service. In other words, you type something, and CompuServe responds. Then you type another command, read the response, and so on. Using a terminal, a caller manually enters the user id and password. From that moment on, the CompuServe clock is running at $6.00 to $12.50 an hour or more (plus communications surcharges from $0.30 to $50 an hour). If you read and reply while that meter is running, you are paying CompuServe based on your reading and typing speed (which is far slower than the maximum speed of your modem--360 wpm at 300 bps and 2880 wpm at 2400 bps!). TAPCIS automates the use of CompuServe and, in the process, reduces connect time to a minimum. The time consuming tasks of reading or replying are done using the facilities of your own computer where the computer time is "free." This efficiency can save you a great deal of money. Let's say it takes you 10 minutes to compose a message online; it might cost you $2 or more. Prepared offline and sent with TAPCIS, the cost might be as low as 22 cents for the same message. Multiply this by 100 messages over the course of a year (or even a month) and you start to get a feel for the savings the automated TAPCIS system offers you. Without TAPCIS, CompuServe can be expensive. A 5000 character message would take you about 20 minutes if you type 50 wpm, or over $4 to send one message. TAPCIS makes it possible for you to actively participate in the forum without busting your budget. Will TAPCIS lower your CompuServe bill? Probably not. TAPCIS can do the same work a lot faster and cheaper than you can do by hand. The significant savings are often offset by higher, but much more productive, usage. Our thousands of users have found that they use CompuServe MORE with TAPCIS than they did before without it. They get more for their money; CompuServe becomes a better value. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 18 TAPCIS TAPCIS Features ====================================================================== TAPCIS is a program rich in features. It has grown considerably since its early days, and work is always continuing to add more features that our users want. Here are some of the general features that have made TAPCIS so popular with CompuServe users. Message Features ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Split-screen text editor for preparing messages offline with WordPerfect-like cursor and editing and true word wrap. Many WordStar editing commands are included for those used to that interface. * Address book, which you can compile as you read messages, that allows you to send messages to other users based on their names without having to remember user IDs. * Print messages, save messages to a master file or an individual DOS file, retrieve a file into the message you're writing, and search for text in other files. * Reply to a message, forward the message to other users via EasyPlex, start a new thread with a message to the sender or recipient of the current message, or change the reply to a different forum or EasyPlex. * Skip forward/backward by message or thread, jump to a message, read messages that contain a search string, skip through the messages by online session, or view messages previously saved. * Messages that are private, to your user ID, or from your user ID have highlighted headers to bring them to your attention during reading. Forum Support ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Fully supports the new CompuServe forum software (NEWF). * Available forum section numbers and names are presented in a pop- up window when required for message writing or section selection. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 19 TAPCIS * Forums can be defined for one of three different types of online action: Read all new threads (R) Quick scan subjects for thread selection offline (Q) Read messages to me only (M) * Up to 20 forums can be defined with up to 15 "active" at any one time. * Forum message sections to read or scan can be selected during forum definition. Libraries ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Includes a Library management system that lets you do keyword searches of the files in a forum's data libraries, browse them offline, and subsequently do batch, unattended B+ protocol downloads online. * CompuServe's B+ protocol is fully supported for error-free downloading and uploading of binary or text files. * A transfer log is kept on disk to allow tracking of download times and performance. Communications Features ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Supports the new enhanced B+ protocol for both uploading and downloading. B+ achieves error free transfers at speeds far faster than previous CIS protocols giving the TAPCIS user the best efficiency and lowest cost, and the ability to restart an aborted file transfer. * Offers both automated and manual access to CompuServe with automatic logon through CompuServe, Telenet, Tymnet, and LATA networks (user logon scripts are also supported). * Serial ports COM1: through COM4: are supported. * Baud rates of 300, 1200, and 2400; 1800, 4800 and 9600 are provisionally supported, although they are not generally available to subscribers. * Auto or manual dialing from a selection of six phone numbers. * Local mode for communicating with and setting modem parameters. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 20 TAPCIS * Automatic online setup of CompuServe default parameters with a single menu command (Alt-P). * Joining of forums handled automatically after a single menu command (Alt-J). * Integral time and charges log and recap to help you keep track of expenses. Month-to-date charges are listed by forum. Cumulative charges, a projection for the month, and a daily usage graph are included. Other Important Features ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Universal, context sensitive help by pressing . * Universal shelling to DOS using and DOS command execution using . When operating under WordPerfect Library Shell, Alt+Shift+ jumps to another Shell application. TAPCIS is not fully "shell aware" and does not support the Shell clipboard. * Full path support for MSDOS/PCDOS 3.n and Desqview/Topview compatibility. * Support is available through CompuServe on the TAPCIS Forum. * Optional capture of online log (either the entire session or last 350 lines) to the file ONLINE.LOG. * Review of up to the last 350 lines when online interactive using the Alt-L command. * User scripts including comments and text capture for simplifying access to other parts of the CompuServe service. * Completely protect your password by having TAPCIS prompt for it each time you start the program without storing it on disk. * Front-end script to capture stock quotes, news, weather, and other user-selected information for reading offline as an EasyPlex "message." ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 21 TAPCIS Setup Checklist ====================================================================== =====> Read the following steps carefully. They are meant to introduce you to the procedures covered in detail in the following sections. New users will almost certainly need to follow through the detailed sections the first time to get TAPCIS setup properly. If you know TAPCIS already, these instructions may be all you need to refresh your memory; refer to them in the future when you add a forum, change sections, etc. Hard Drive Installation ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * The simplest installation is to copy all the files from the distribution disks into a directory called C:\TAP. * TAPCIS expects to find its parameter file, PARAMS.CIS, in the default directory where TAPCIS is started. If one is not found there, a new one is created. * TAPCIS supports two other directories. A storage directory is where all messages, catalogs, logs, section names, and other working files are created. A download directory is for files downloaded by TAPCIS' automatic mode. You specify these directories on the

arameters screen. * You can delete any unneeded files, but do not delete the TAPCIS.EXE program, the TAPCIS.HLP help file, the PARAMS.CIS file, nor the PARAMS.SCR script file for setting the online defaults (command ). Other script files (with a file extension of .SCR) are used for login scripts for alternative networks or for online actions. The USERID.CIS file (address book) and RATES.CIS (online charges hourly rates) are not required but are recommended. * The XFER.LOG file can grow quite large if you are logging transfers. It must be deleted from DOS. The optional ONLINE.LOG (command line options L and G) is overwritten during each session. Starting TAPCIS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * From DOS go to the directory where you installed TAPCIS (usually using the command "CD C:\TAP"). ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 22 TAPCIS * Type the command "TAPCIS" and press or "TAPCIS Z" if you obtained your account through PC MAGAZINE. A list of command line options can be listed by typing "TAPCIS ?" from DOS. * If the program asks for your name, it is creating a new PARAMS.CIS file. If you are a non-registered user and wish to register, answer YES to the next prompt. If you are a registered user installing the program or a shareware user during the trial period, answer NO to the registration question at this time. Upgrading users can re-use their old PARAMS.CIS file from TAPCIS 5.1 if they follow the upgrade procedure described on page 13. Parameters ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Press

at the main menu to go to the parameters screen. * Enter your user ID, password, and name. * Enter your local access telephone numbers and correct baud rates. Make sure the access numbers and baud rates match your modem speed. * Check the COM port, and change the modem initialization and reset commands, and online and fail reports if necessary. IntroPak Sign-on ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Enter IntroPak user ID and password in the parameters screen (see above). * Press nteractive to go online. Follow the CompuServe prompts to create a new account. * Write down the permanent user ID and temporary password supplied during the sign-on. After logging off, enter these in the parameters screen. * Watch for your permanent password which should arrive in the mail in a few weeks. On the date the password changes, enter the new password in the parameters screen. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 23 TAPCIS CompuServe Default Parameters ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Proper setting of CompuServe parameters (the ones stored in the GO DEFAULT pages) is vital to the proper automatic operation of TAPCIS. If you ever have a problem, you may wish to re-set these parameters again. * Set the CompuServe default parameters by pressing from the main menu. TAPCIS should logon and run through a script that sets all the parameters. If you notice any problems, run this procedure again. This procedure is very sensitive to line noise which can cause the script to lose its place. During the setup of EasyPlex, if you have already used electronic mail, you will see an error from CompuServe; you can safely ignore it. * Do this at each baud rate you intend to use on CompuServe. Different defaults are stored for each baud rate, so when you upgrade from one modem speed to another, be sure to use again. * This procedure also sets the name attached to each of your EasyPlex main messages. If you need to change the name on your account, you can change the name on the

arameters screen and then run again. Adding a Forum ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Go to the forums screen by pressing orums from the main menu, then press to deselect all active forums and EasyPlex. * Press and enter the exact forum page name as listed in the list of forums that begins on page 141. If you do not enter the proper name, TAPCIS will halt when it tries to join the forum. BE SURE NOT TO ENTER ANY "OWNING PAGES" THAT ARE NOT ACTUAL FORUMS BUT THE TOP MENU OF A SERIES OF FORUMS (e.g., NOVELL, PCMAGNET, BORLAND, MAUG). Several forums can be added at one time. * If you know the section numbers you want to monitor, enter those numbers separated by spaces. If you don't know the numbers, press (you can edit the active section list later using the option on the forum screen). * Select whether you want to read all messages in the selected sections (an "R", or Read thread forum), scan the message thread subject only for individual selection offline (a "Q", or Quick scan headers forum), or just read messages directed to your user ID (an "M", or read Marked forum). ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 24 TAPCIS * Press the letter assigned to the forum you just added (so that an asterisk appears next to it). Press to return to the main menu. * The new forum should now be listed as forum #1 on the main menu with no other forums listed. Press to join the forum. TAPCIS will connect with CompuServe, go to the forum, join the forum, set its parameters, and grab a list of section and library names. Then TAPCIS will logoff. After completion you can activate other forums and use the ew command to read or scan messages in the added forum. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 25 TAPCIS Filenames and Descriptions ====================================================================== Program file ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TAPCIS.EXE The TAPCIS main program. Includes all program modules in a single executable file (it does not use overlays). Parameter and Help Files ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PARAMS.CIS TAPCIS parameters include your user ID and name, disguised password, phone numbers, selected forums, modem commands, colors, and disk paths. TAPCIS.HLP Context sensitive help file. It is in ASCII format and can be printed as a quick reference if desired. USERID.CIS TAPCIS address book. A few examples are included in this file. If you edit this file outside of TAPCIS, be sure to save it in ASCII format. RATES.CIS File containing current CompuServe rates for use with the time accounting function. Script files ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PARAMS.SCR Sets the CompuServe parameters to those required by TAPCIS. It is used once for each baud rate (since CompuServe keeps parameters independently by rate) by going online with the command. (This file used to be called DEFAULT.SCR). TELEnn00.SCR Logon scripts (where nn=12 for 1200 bps and 24 for 2400 bps) for the GTE Telenet communications network. Telenet can be used for access to CompuServe at a higher surcharge that the CompuServe network (see "CompuServe Rates" on page 145) with generally lower throughput. You indicate that a phone number is a Telenet number by putting a period <.> after the phone number. TYMNET.SCR Tymnet is also an alternative network (see "CompuServe Rates" on page 145). An exclamation point after the phone number tells TAPCIS to use this script to sign-on. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 26 TAPCIS LATANET.SCR LATA numbers are another way to connect to CompuServe. They do have a higher surcharge than a CompuServe connection (see "CompuServe Rates" on page 145). Use a colon <:> after the phone number to indicate a LATA number. TAPCIS.SCR User defined logon script (optional). Use an underscore <_> after the phone number. You can develop a login script to handle almost any gateway into CompuServe including ones overseas. FRONTEND.SCR A script that will run before any other online actions when the user presses from the main menu. The output captured as a result of these script commands is stored as a message under the EasyPlex forum. This script can be edited to modify the actions performed. Other Distribution Files ---------------------------------------------------------------------- READ.ME Includes any last minute information. From DOS you can "TYPE READ.ME" to read this information (optional). Files Created By TAPCIS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TAPCIS creates several different files in the TAPCIS directory and in various directory paths you specify when setting up the parameters. Some of these files are temporary and will disappear and reappear depending on the program's status. You will probably never have to look at these files outside of the TAPCIS program. .SEC Forum section and library names (e.g., TAPCIS.SEC, WPSG.SEC). These are created by the command that joins a forum. They can be updated at anytime after joining the forum by using the command again. .MSG File of captured messages (e.g., CONSULT.MSG). .SAV Saved message file, including messages sent (the "outbox") if specified in the parameters section (e.g., AVSIG.SAV). .SND Messages awaiting upload (e.g., BPROGA.SND). ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 27 TAPCIS .QSN Downloaded headers for forums designated as "Q" forums (e.g., PCM_EDIT.QSN). You can select which message threads you want to read offline using the ark TAPCIS command. .MRK This is a script command file that is created during the marking of the QSN headers above. The next time online, TAPCIS will use this script to download only the selected messages. .CAT Catalog of forum files in particular libraries, created by the ibrary main menu command. Using the atalog command you can scan these offline and mark the ones you want to download. .DOW After marking the files from the catalog above, TAPCIS creates this script which includes the CompuServe commands for downloading the files you marked, and will be used next time you are online with CompuServe. .ADV Advanced commands (as entered by the user). .SO Sysop commands (Sysop Version Only). LOGmm-yy.CIS Detailed accounting record for MM (month) and YY (year). Used by the <$> command to generate usage reports, and activated by the og command in the parameters screen. XFER.LOG Perpetual log of file transfer activity, both automated and interactive. Give the summary record of the transfer after it completes (or aborts). Use the og command in the parameters screen to change logging of time and/or transfers. ONLINE.LOG Created only when command line options L or G are used, it records either the last 350 lines of the online session (option L) or a full record of the session (option G for "Global"). Hard Drive Installation ====================================================================== TAPCIS is very easy to install. These instructions assume a hard drive installed as drive C:. We will locate all files in the directory C:\TAP. If you have a floppy system, refer to the section "Floppy Installation" on page 129. You can also change the drive and/or the directory by making the appropriate substitutions in these instructions. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 28 TAPCIS Creating the Directories for TAPCIS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For these instructions we use a DOS prompt that shows the current subdirectory. You can make your prompt look like this by typing the following at your current DOS prompt: PROMPT [$P] The following steps create a subdirectory called TAP off the root directory of drive C: and change into that directory. Put your TAPCIS Program Disk in drive A:. The last command copies all the files from A: to C:\TAP. You type the BOLD commands and press return (i.e., or ) after each line: [C:\] MD C:\TAP ; make the directory [C:\] C: ; make sure you are on drive C: [C:\] CD \TAP ; change into the TAPCIS directory [C:\TAP] COPY A:\ C:\TAP ; copy all files from A: to C:\TAP If you get any error messages during this procedure, try again. If you get read errors your computer may be unable to read your diskette. Try the diskette in another computer if possible, then get a replacement. If you get a write error during the copy step, your disk may be bad, and you should take steps to get it checked out. If you get a Disk Full error, you'll need to make more space on your drive before you can install TAPCIS. Note: Other important TAPCIS files may be on additional disks as part of the package registered users receive. Be sure to refer to the disk insert and labels when you are installing the program. Storage and Download Directories You can use the DOS MD command to make a directory for TAPCIS working files and/or for files downloaded by the program. For the examples in this manual, we will use the main TAPCIS directory C:\TAP for the storage of working files as well as the program. We will create a subdirectory called C:\TAP\DL for downloaded files: [C:\TAP] MD C:\TAP\DL ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 29 TAPCIS Running TAPCIS ====================================================================== From DOS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To start TAPCIS from DOS, change your directory to the main TAPCIS directory and then type "TAPCIS". [C:\] CD \TAP ; change into the TAPCIS directory [C:\TAP] TAPCIS ; start the program with no command line options If your computer responds with Insufficient Memory or a similar sounding error, you do not have enough free RAM memory available to run TAPCIS. You either need to remove some memory resident (TSR) programs or purchase more RAM. You should have 300K free before running TAPCIS. If you have any problems you can find out how much available RAM you have by using the DOS CHKDSK utility. =====> Be sure to quickly scan the list of command line options on the next page to see if any apply to you, especially if you are using a PC MagNet account (see the Z option). You may want to start TAPCIS with the command TAPCIS G when you are first installing the program. Then, all output from CompuServe will be saved in the file ONLINE.LOG which can be reviewed from DOS after you logoff. From WordPerfect Shell ---------------------------------------------------------------------- WordPerfect Corporation publishes two packages, WordPerfect Library and WordPerfect Office, that contain a menu system called SHELL. Here is the way one might configure TAPCIS under SHELL. PROGRAM INFORMATION Menu letter: T Menu description: TAPCIS! (CompuServe) Program name: TAPCIS.EXE Default directory: C:\TAP Clipboard Filename: Macros names - End of Line: EOLT.SHM Go to Shell: GOSHELLT.SHM Startup options: G Prompt for startup options? NO DOS command or batch file? NO Start resident? NO ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 30 TAPCIS Command Line Options ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The following is a list of TAPCIS command line options. Only options Z (for Ziff-Davis/PC MagNet accounts) or C (for modems that do not handle carrier detect properly) might be required in some instances for TAPCIS to work correctly. -N B proto packet size divided by 128. n >= 1 n <= 8 B Block cursor in editor C Defeat Carrier Detect checking D After "OFF" is sent, immediately close and exit (primarily for overseas logons) G Maintain backup session log as ONLINE.LOG HNN Delay nn 1/100th of a sec between characters in the nit modem string L Maintain last 350 lines as ONLINE.LOG M Main menu ^O N Main menu N + Main menu Alt-N (new plus front-end script) O Main menu O Q Quiet -- no beeps R Main menu R WNN Editor Width (must be last command), 40 <= nn <=76 (for packet networks) X Drop to DOS after running Z Ziff -- this account was obtained through PC Magazine HH:MM Log on at military time hh:mm Command line parms must be entered with no spaces, except for the optional logon time, which must be separated from all others by a space. [C:\TAP] TAPCIS NXLD-4BW62 07:30 Meaning: At 7:30am (option hh:mm), go online with the ew command to get new messages and/or headers and perform any pending actions (N option). When this completes, drop to DOS (X option). Log the last 350 lines of the session to ONLINE.LOG so it can be checked for normal termination (option L). After the OFF is sent, hang up the line immediately (option D). Use 256 byte packets since the line from overseas is terrible (option -4). If I use the editor (not likely with these options), use a block cursor (option B) and a width of 62 (option W62). [C:\TAP] TAPCIS NZ This user has an account issued for primary use under PC MagNet, the set of forums operated by Ziff-Davis publication, PC MAGAZINE (option Z). As soon as TAPCIS starts, it will go online to get new messages (option N) in active forums and EasyPlex. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 31 TAPCIS [C:\TAP] TAPCIS Q The "quiet" option Q keeps TAPCIS from making any noise. The program is pretty quiet, and tries to keep its tones down to a slight boop- boop. It uses this noise to alert you to problems during download, when the program has finished its automatic operation and is waiting for you online if you pressed , and when it logs off. Recording the Registration ====================================================================== You will receive these instructions in the printed manual after you register. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 32 TAPCIS TAPCIS Main Menu ====================================================================== If all goes well, the TAPCIS main menu screen will appear. A display of that screen is shown below. Do not worry if you don't understand every command listed. You'll learn the important ones during this setup process. The rest you will learn as you need them. [ Figure 1: TAPCIS Main Menu ] Registration Information ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The registration number at the top of the screen indicates that a fully registered version is being used. Unregistered versions indicate that fact, and you are given the opportunity to register the program using a credit card each time you start TAPCIS. Or, you can contact the distributor, Support Group Inc., at 1-800-USA-GROUP (or 1- 301-387-4500). Orders by mail can be sent to Support Group Inc., Lake Technology Park, P.O. Box 130, McHenry, MD 21541 (check, company purchase order, MasterCard, or Visa). Version Number ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Next to the registration number on the top line is "TAPCIS 5.2". TAPCIS is the name of the program. The 5.2 is the current version number and is sometimes followed by a lowercase letter to indicate a minor revision. Sysop versions have either an X or an S after the version number, and should not be used by non-sysops. Online Commands ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The top box shows the commands you give TAPCIS to have it connect to CompuServe (i.e., go "online") and perform actions such as reading new messages, sending messages written offline, or scanning the data libraries. Offline Commands ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The second box shows those commands which are done offline such as writing messages, marking headers, scanning the library catalogs, etc. The distinction between these online and offline commands will become clearer as we work through some examples later. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 33 TAPCIS Forums ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The long horizontal box at the bottom has the orums command above it. Pay close attention to this box. It will show you which forums you've selected, as well as which ones have messages to read, headers to mark, messages to send, and files to download. Help! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The key is found on the same function key as WordPerfect-brand programs: . Press it at the main menu to get a brief description of the commands listed. It is also available in all other parts of TAPCIS as well. After you learn the TAPCIS basics, the key is probably all you'll need to refresh your memory. Exit ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The key is used extensively by TAPCIS. From the main menu, terminates TAPCIS. It is also used in most of the submenus to return to the main menu. Cancel ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The key provides the general purpose "abort" function. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 34 TAPCIS Parameters Setup ====================================================================== =====> The setup of the parameters is critical. Whenever you hit a problem, check the parameter screen to make sure all your settings are correct. Read through this section so you know what they are supposed to be. Before you can connect with CompuServe, you must give TAPCIS information about your computer, CompuServe access phone number(s), user ID, and password. This is done through the parameters menu. Look at the Main Menu. In the OFFLINE box is the

arameters command. Press the letter

on your keyboard to go to the parameters screen. Like all TAPCIS commands shown in angle brackets <>, you press that letter to select the option. Upper or lowercase letters are fine. [ Figure 2: Parameters Screen Before Set-up ] COMn: Port ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To change the selected COM: port, press until it cycles through to the desired port. Modems are serial devices so TAPCIS talks to the modem through a serial port on the computer. The serial ports are referred to as COM: ports and are numbered 1-4. External modems (that are not installed inside the computer and are connected to the computer through a 25-pin cable) require a COM: port inside the computer. This port is usually configured as COM1: or COM2:. Internal modems which install as circuit boards inside the computer's chassis sometimes offer the flexibility of setting them to COM3: or COM4:. Note: you don't necessarily need a COM1: to have a COM2:. It is beyond the scope of this documentation to tell you how to determine which COM: port your modem is using. You should be able to find that out from the person who installed your computer or from the manuals that came with your computer. If all else fails, start with COM1: and work your way up! TAPCIS 5.2 is coded to use only the 8 bits, no parity setting. Since the B+ protocol requires 8 data bits to work, but a number of modems had difficulty switching from 7E to 8N, TAPCIS has a filter to allow it to use CompuServe at 7 bits, although it is always set for 8 bits on the

arameters screen. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 35 TAPCIS Also note that some computers can give a false reading on their COM: port numbers. If you find that the program cannot communicate with your modem on one COM: port, try the other settings. We've also found many conflicts between user ports and devices like mice and tape drives. You may wish to use the command from the main menu to try to communicate with your modem if you run into configuration trouble. Initialize Modem ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To change the initialize modem command, press and enter the new command. If you are using a Hayes or AT command set compatible modem, you should not need to change the initialize modem command. ATV1DT tells the modem to send verbal result codes and to dial using touch tones. Pulse or rotary dial lines can be used by changing it to ATV1DP. If your modem requires a more complex setup command refer to "Modem Commands" on page 127. Online Report ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To change the online report, press followed by a response of one OR four characters. If you are using a Hayes compatible modem, you should not need to change the online report. The online report is the response from the modem when a connection is made with the remote modem. A Hayes compatible mode sends CONNECT, so TAPCIS uses the last 4 characters NECT. Fail Report ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To change the fail report, press followed by a response of one OR four characters. The default report of RIER is for the last 4 characters of NO CARRIER. When TAPCIS sees the fail report, it pauses for 30 seconds and then redials. If you have a 100% Hayes compatible, you can use a fail report of "HAYS" (Hayes without the E), and use ATV1X4DT as your initialization string. This activates busy signal detection. TAPCIS uses this report to indicate that the attempt to call and connect with the remote modem failed (it did not receive a carrier signal). This could mean several things. The phone number could be busy. You may not be getting a clear connection (lots of static or low volume which keeps the modems from talking). The remote modem may not be answering. You may have the wrong number! ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 36 TAPCIS I strongly recommend that you monitor your calls using the built-in speaker on your modem. If your modem does not have a speaker, dial the phone number first using your phone to confirm that the number is answered by a modem (with a high pitched tone). We have had our VOICE numbers listed as modem numbers at various times over the years. If you are unfortunate enough ever to have this happen to you, you'll be grateful for those people that monitor their calls instead of blindly letting the computer redial every minute for three hours straight. Reset Modem ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The command to reset the modem is given by pressing followed by the command. The default of ?3 produces a 3 second delay--usually long enough for the remote modem to hang up. Some modems may require a more elaborate sequence to hang up and reset the modem for the next call. If you have such a modem, please turn to the "Modem Commands" section on page 127. Telephone Numbers ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TAPCIS supports up to six telephone numbers. The phone numbers are entered using the command on the parameters screen. You choose one of the six as the "selected" number for the next call by pressing a number on the keyboard from <1> through <6>. Press to add/change a phone number. TAPCIS will ask on the status line: 1 2 3 4 5 6 Q -> _ Select the number you wish to change or press Q to cancel. If you press <1> you'll be asked for the first phone number. A list of access phone numbers is printed in the section "Access Phone Numbers" on page 139. A 2400 bps CompuServe node is the best choice provided you have a 2400 bps modem. Our experience shows that you should look for numbers in the following order: Access Networks in Order of Best Cost/Performance * 2400 bps CompuServe * 1200 bps CompuServe * 2400 bps Tymnet/Telenet * 1200 bps LATA * 1200 bps Tymnet/Telenet ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 37 TAPCIS At times we have chosen to call a 2400 bps CompuServe number long distance rather than use a local Tymnet or Telenet number. The long distance charge to a neighboring city might not be as high as the surcharge for use of the local Telenet/Tymnet number during the day. And, you'll get the fastest response and throughput from direct CompuServe numbers. If you only have a 300 bps modem follow the same order, but if you are going to be using CompuServe regularly, it will quickly pay to get a faster modem. As an example, consider Baltimore, Maryland. According to the phone list, there is a 2400 bps CompuServe number in that city at 301/832- 0160. Since it is a local call, the area code is dropped and we enter: Phone #1 -> 832-0160 TAPCIS then asks for the rate. This is a 2400 bps number (and we have a 2400 bps modem) so we press 2 when the program asks: 1>200 2>400 3>00 4>800 1<8>00 9>600 -> 2 Non-CompuServe Access Numbers If you must use a non-CompuServe access phone number, you must follow the phone number with the proper character to tell TAPCIS what network you are using. The network characters are as follows: ! Tymnet . Telenet : LATA _ Optional user defined script in TAPCIS.SCR (underscore < _ > character) The phone number list for Baltimore, Maryland (area code 301) might look like those shown in the completed parameters screen in "IntroPak Sign-on" section that follows (although you need only define one number). Phone number 1 is selected by pressing <1>. Telephone <6> is a long distance 2400 bps CompuServe node in Pittsburgh, PA, the number we use from our McHenry, MD offices. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 38 TAPCIS User ID ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You must enter your user identification number (also called your PPN) by pressing followed by the number. All CompuServe User ID's are in two parts SEPARATED BY A COMMA WITH NO SPACES. Existing accounts start with a 7 followed by four digits, a comma, then 2 to 4 digits. If you already have a permanent ID, press and enter the number. IntroPak Sign-on ID If you are going to be using an IntroPak to sign onto CompuServe and get an official account setup, now is the time to open it. Turn to the sealed envelope in the center of the IntroPak. Read the Service Agreement Terms. If you agree to the terms, open the sealed portion. The first line shows your Sign-up User ID Number. Press and then enter that number: CIS User ID: 177000,652 ; example IntroPak sign-up user ID Password ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You must enter the correct password for TAPCIS to work properly. Your CompuServe password is entered from the parameters menu by pressing

, confirming that you want to change the password by pressing , and typing the password. The password is the "key" to your user ID and no one can access your account unless they have your password. Keep it secret and change it often. When you do want to change it, you'll first call CompuServe and use the GO PASSWORD command to change it on the CompuServe computers and then change it inside TAPCIS. Notice that the password is not displayed on the screen except when you enter it. At other times it shows as [ blanked ]. Your password is stored on disk in disguised form, too, so a casual look at PARAMS.CIS will not show the password. However! SOMEONE ELSE WITH TAPCIS COULD TAKE YOUR PARAMS.CIS FILE AND USE YOUR ACCOUNT--even though they could not figure out what your password is. Protect your PARAMS.CIS file. Never give a copy of it to anyone else (TAPCIS will create a blank one if it can't find an existing parameter file). And, change your password regularly. Another option is to enter a single asterisk (*) as your password. Then, when you enter TAPCIS the program will request your password and not store it on disk. If you enter the asterisk as the password, you ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 39 TAPCIS will have to exit TAPCIS then re-enter before you can logon to CompuServe. Storage Disk Path ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Where would you like to store the files that TAPCIS creates? Press and enter the drive and directory (make sure you have created the directory from DOS first). If none is entered, which is probably the best way to go while learning the program, the directory where you started the program will be used. This applies to the download file path as well. Download File Path ---------------------------------------------------------------------- When you have TAPCIS automatically download files from forum libraries, the individual files are stored in the directory specified here. You can use a special directory or the standard TAPCIS directory used for other files. Press and enter the drive and path for those files (e.g., C:\TAP\DL). Again, it is important that you enter this path correctly and that the directory specified ALREADY EXIST. Note: manual downloads (in nteractive mode) do not use the download path. You should give the full pathname in interactive mode for all files, or they will be stored in the default directory. Log Times/Transfers ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TAPCIS optionally keeps track of the time you spend online in each forum. This information is stored in LOGMM-YY.CIS where MM is the month and YY is the year (e.g., LOG6-89.CIS is a log file for June 1989). The <$> function uses these logged times to generate reports. If you do not want these reports, you can save some disk space by pressing to toggle time logging off. The option is also used to activate or deactivate transfer logging. A record of all file transfers can be made to the file XFER.LOG if activated here. The four options are: none (no logging), time only, transfers only, or time and transfers. Pressing on the parameters screen cycles through these options. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 40 TAPCIS Monitor Colors ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The standard TAPCIS colors are normal intensity "white" on a black background with highlighted and reversed text both in reverse video (black on white). Press and select from the displayed color chart to modify these defaults. On an EGA Color monitor I prefer high intensity colors. My choices are: onitor colors Norm: 79 Hi: 30 Rev: 31 The choice is, of course, up to you. Color choices like 68 (red on red), 119 (white on white), and 17 (blue on blue) are patriotic but might cause you a bit of confusion. Append/Overwrite Message Files ---------------------------------------------------------------------- When you go online with TAPCIS to get new messages using ew, your old messages will be overwritten with the new messages unless you choose the Append option here. Pressing toggles between the two possibilities. Overwrite is the default. If you choose the Append option, you'll have to manually clear your .MSG files using the ill command in TAPCIS or the DEL command from DOS. Keep Outbox File ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Do you want to keep a copy of the messages that you send? If you do not, leave this parameter as the default "Never." If you press , the option will cycle through the three possible choices. The outbox file is actually the .SAV file. If you change this option to Always, every message you write--whether an original or a reply to another message--will have a copy stored in the save file. If there is a question about something you wrote, you can review your message using the iew command. If you write many messages, this can consume quite a bit of disk space. Another possibility is to save only private EasyPlex messages you write. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 41 TAPCIS Name ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Please press to change the default name before you connect with CompuServe! If you do, you'll get to snicker at all the people who did not read this far and are sending all their messages under the name "!!! Please Change !!!" Use mixed case (not all upper or lowercase). This name is used when you join any forum and will be attached to every message you send. Once you set your CompuServe and forum defaults, any change to your name will have to be made manually by going online in the forums using the "OP;NAME" command. You can change the name in EasyPlex by setting the CompuServe default parameters again using command from the main menu. Forum protocol dictates that you use your full name. Most forums also discourage inclusion of various titles such as Ph.D, M.D., J.D., etc., on the name. A member information profile is available for such interests and affiliations (Forum command MD, Membership Directory). When Done, ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Press to return to the main menu after completing the parameter settings. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 42 TAPCIS IntroPak Sign-on ====================================================================== =====> If you already have a CompuServe account, you may skip this section. If you are using an IntroPak to establish a new CompuServe account, you will need to choose a billing option from the choices on pages 26- 29 in the IntroPak. In the example that follows we will use an American Express card to pay for our CompuServe charges. MasterCard, Visa, and Checkfree are very similar. Just have the information ready before proceeding. You cannot transfer the $15 usage credit to an existing account. It is only available for use by new subscribers signing on using an IntroPak. You can give the IntroPak to someone else, or use it to create a back-up account. IntroPak Sign-on Parameters ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The parameters for signing on with an IntroPak are exactly the same as you will use with a regular account with two exceptions: your initial account number and your initial password are temporary, and come from the sealed part of the IntroPak. You will be assigned a permanent user ID and a new temporary password during this sign-up procedure. If you skipped the previous section on Parameters, go back and complete the items. You must at least set your COM: port, the local access telephone number, the user ID from the IntroPak, the password from the IntroPak, and your name. If you don't, this sign-on won't work. The next figure shows a completed parameters screen, ready for use. [ Figure 3: IntroPak Initial Sign-on Parameters ] Final Checklist ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Recheck the parameters to make sure that you have entered the modem parameters, IntroPak account number, IntroPak password, and ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 43 TAPCIS your name properly according to the instructions above. Make sure that no forums are selected by pressing * Have your credit card or CheckFree information ready for billing. * The sealed envelope which you opened to get your sign-on account number and password also has your serial number and agreement number. You will need to enter these during the sign-on process. * Review the Service Agreement Terms. You will be asked to agree to these terms as part of your application. * Look over the example session shown on the next few pages. It will give you a general feel for how the process works. The example responses are in BOLD. Example Sign-on Session ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The sign-on session below is a close approximation to the one you will see when you sign-up with the service using your IntroPak. If you take a moment to become familar with the information, it will save you time, and leave more of the $15 credit for exploring using TAPCIS. Be sure to have paper and pen ready when you login. Also, it is critical to the proper functioning of TAPCIS that you login after getting your ID and password, set up your terminal type as "6-Other", and go through the example screens. You can do this quickly, as we have re- printed them here for your convenience. CompuServe Information Service Please Enter: Agreement #: NF0000 Serial #: 9999999 Your package includes a usage credit of $15.00. You will not be billed for usage until you have used up this credit. You must register your name and billing information at this time. If you subsequently wish to cancel your subscription, simply notify us through online Feedback or by letter. Throughout this subscription process, you will be asked to supply certain information. Each time you see a colon (:), you are expected to make an entry. Always follow your entry by pressing the carriage return key. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 44 TAPCIS You may now enter your subscription information. You may stop the process at any time by typing in the word EXIT at any prompt. This will erase ALL of your entries. Please enter and review your entries carefully. Errors will delay or prevent us from sending you important information. WARNING! Providing false or unauthorized billing information constitutes a serious crime. Will Your Billing/Mailing Address be from 1 United States 2 Canada 3 Japan 4 Latin America 5 Other 6 Exit Subscription Process Enter choice: 1 Please Select the Desired Billing Method 1 Visa 2 Mastercard 3 American Express 4 Checkfree 5 Explanation of Charge Card 6 Explanation of Checkfree 7 Exit Subscription Process Enter Choice: 3 Be sure to read and understand our Service Agreement Terms and billing options. The current Service Agreement terms and rates may be different from the ones printed in your subscription material. You can review our current rates by typing GO RATES at any ! prompt once you have completed your signup and have received your permanent User ID and password. You will be asked to agree to our Service Terms in a moment. Do You Wish to 1 Review Service Agreement Terms 2 Review Operating Rules 3 Proceed With Subscription 4 Select a Different Billing Option 5 Exit the Subscription Process Enter Choice: 3 By moving beyond this page you are indicating your acceptance of our Service Agreement Terms covering your use of the Service. Indicate your acceptance by typing the word AGREE at this prompt and pressing the carriage return key. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 45 TAPCIS : AGREE We offer an Executive Option which provides access to special products and services and a variety of other valuable benefits. The only requirements are an application fee (normally $10.00) and a $10.00 per month minimum usage level. If you select this option now, however, the application fee is reduced to $5.00. Do You Wish to 1 Select the Executive Option 2 See a Description of the Executive Option 3 Proceed with the Standard CompuServe Subscription 4 Exit Subscription Process Enter choice: 2 Subscribers who select our Executive Option receive access to exclusive databases, valuable merchandise offers and discounts, as well as other online and offline ammenities. Select the Executive Option and you will enjoy a full complement of privileges including: * A bonus gift at sign-up. * A ten percent discount on the purchase of most of our products. * Volume discounts on information retrieval from selected transaction priced financial databases. * Enhanced Customer Service support for priority attention to Feedback or phone calls. * Special direct marketing offers for goods and services from our affiliated merchants and manufacturers. * A fifty percent increase in the amount of online storage available in your personal file area, along with an opportunity to purchase additional storage space at a reduced weekly rate. * A six month storage period for personal files without charge (30 days is standard). * Checkfree monthly minimum is waived for the Executive subscriber. What's more, your Executive Option User ID unlocks exclusive databases including: Ticker Retrieval, Disclosure II, Executine News Service, SuperSite, Institutional Broker's Estimate System, Securities Screening, and Return Analysis. Executive Option subscribers are subject to a $10.00 minimum account usage each month. You have the opportunity to select the Executive Option during the initial online sign-up procedure at the special price of $5.00. If you do not select the Executive Option now, you may later upgrade your subscription online at a charge of $10.00. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 46 TAPCIS Do You Wish to 1 Select the Executive Option 2 See a Description of the Executive Option 3 Proceed with the Standard CompuServe Subscription 4 Exit Subscription Process Enter choice: 1 or 3 Mailing Address Last name : LAST First name and middle initial (example: John W.) : FIRST M. Do you wish to include your company name? (Yes or No) : YES Company Name : SUPPORT GROUP INC. Street address (example: 123 Main St., Apt. 3) : P.O. BOX 130 Zip Code (example: 43220) : 21541 Is your city and state? MC HENRY, MD (Yes or No) : Y Home telephone number (example: 614-457-8600) : 301-387-4500 Work/other telephone number (Enter NONE if Not Applicable) : 800-872-4768 Social security number : 999-99-9999 Please Review your Input or Mailing Address 1 Last Name: LAST 2 First Name: FIRST M. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 47 TAPCIS 3 Company: SUPPORT GROUP INC. 4 Street: P.O. BOX 130 5 City: MC HENRY 6 State: MD 7 Zip: 21541 8 Home Phone: 301-387-4500 9 Other Phone: 800-872-4768 10 SSN: 999-99-9999 Enter number of item to change (or OK if no change): OK Bank Card Billing American Express account number (example: 3737 373737 37373) : 3782 000000 00000 Card expiration date (example: 06/89) : 11/90 Please Review Your Input for Bank Card Billing Card Type: American Express 1 Account: 3782 000000 00000 2 Expiration: 11/90 Enter number of item to change (or OK if no change): OK We will prompt you to enter new charge card information each time you logon beginning 15 days before your charge card's expiration date. You must provide new billing information in order to access the service after the expiration date. By completing the subscription process, you are also requesting a free subscription to ONLINE TODAY magazine, the definitive monthly guide to using our many products and services. The subscription to ONLINE TODAY is of no additional cost to you, and can be cancelled at anytime. We reserve the right to limit or modify this offer at any time. Do you wish to receive ONLINE TODAY magazine at no additional cost? (Yes or No) : YES After receiving one or several issues of the magazine, you can request to be deleted from the free subscription list by sending a Feedback message to our customer service department. The following are the basic connect time rates for the Service. Connect time is billed in one minute increments, with a minimum of one minute per session. 300 baud.........$6.00/hr 1200/2400 baud........$12.50/hr ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 48 TAPCIS There is also a $0.30 per hour communications surcharge for access via a CompuServe network number. Higher surcharges apply for access via other communications networks. In addition, certain areas of the Service may have higher hourly rates or transaction fees. These are normally indicated by a $ on the associated menu choice. The most current rate information is available on the Service by typing GO RATES. Your name, city, and state will normally be included in the online Subscriber Directory. If you do not wish to be included you may so indicate now: 1 List in Directory 2 Do NOT List in Directory 3 Information about Directory 4 Exit Subscription Process Enter choice: 3 If you choose to be listed in the Subscriber Directory, your User ID Number, name, city, and state will be included. The purpose of the directory is to enable other subscribers to find your User ID Number in order to be able to send you electronic mail. Your street address and telephone number will NOT be included. You may also change whether or not you are included at a later time by typing GO DIRECTORY at any ! prompt once you are connected using your permanent User ID Number. 1 List in Directory 2 Do NOT List in Directory 3 Information about Directory 4 Exit Subscription Process Enter choice: 1 You will be included in the User Directory Please Enter the Type of Equipment You Will be Using to Access CompuServe 1 IBM PC (All Models) 2 Other MS-DOS Systems 3 Apple II (All Models) 4 Apple Macintosh 5 Radio Shack (I,II,III,IV) 6 Radio Shack Color Computer 7 Commodore (All Models) 8 Atari (All Models) 9 Other Enter choice: 1 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 49 TAPCIS Thank you. We will verify your subscription entry. We will now provide you with your PERMANENT User ID number and a TEMPORARY password which you can use to access the Service. After your initial usage credit is used up, you may continue to access the Service subject to our current billing rates and account limitations. You will be billed for this usage. Your User ID Number is: 74020,10 Please write your User ID Number down Your Confidential Password is: TAPCIS+YOU Please write your Password down Press for more ! Please verify that you have copied the User ID number and password down correctly by entering them at the following prompts. User ID Number: 74020,10 Password: That is correct. Please store your User ID number and password in separate and secure locations. You are responsible for all usage made under this newly created User ID number (See section on "Securing Your Password" in your booklet). NEVER give your password to ANYONE, verbally or through the Service. As part of processing your subscription, we are creating a new password to be effective on a future date. (Your User ID number will remain the same and will not be mailed to you). The new password and its effective date will be mailed to you at the address you entered. Until you receive this second password and it is in effect, you will be subject to our account limitations for new subscribers. You may now log on the Service and begin using your introductory usage credit. At the next User ID number and password prompts, enter the new permanent User ID number and temporary password which you have just obtained. Note that your password does not print out as you enter it. This is a security precaution for your protection. User ID: 74020,10 Password: CompuServe Information Service 00:01 EST Sunday 01-Jan-89 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 50 TAPCIS Copyright (C) 1989 CompuServe Incorporated All Rights Reserved Thank you for subscribing to CompuServe. Since this is the first time you have logged on using your permanent User ID, we need to exchange some information which will help you get the most out of your subscription. When you see Press , press the carriage return key on your keyboard (it may also be marked ENTER). Press : Depending on the computer and communications software you are using, you may want us to use a particular type of terminal emulation. Do not worry if you are not familiar with this terminology. If you reached this point with no problems, Choice 6 (Other) will work with your equipment and you can always change your settings later by entering GO TERMINAL at any ! prompt. Terminal emulations are 1 ANSI (VT-100) 2 CompuServe VIDTEX 3 CompuServe Professional Connection 4 CRT 5 VT-52 6 Other (general purpose) 7 Help/Descriptions Enter choice: 6 You have selected: Other (general purpose) emulation 0 lines per page 80 characters per line Is this okay? (Yes or No): YES Now it is our turn to give you some additional important information. This will take about five minutes, but it will be time well spent. You may want to take notes or capture the information on your printer if you have that capability. Prompts ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 51 TAPCIS Throughout the CompuServe Information Service, you will frequently be prompted to make a choice, enter information or issue a command. The most common indicator of a prompt is an !. When you see an exclamation point at the end of a line, there are certain basic commands that will always work. At some places in the Service, you will see different prompts such as : or >. In these cases, only certain or different commands may apply. Basic Commands The following commands will work at any ! prompt: T returns you to the TOP screen of the CompuServe menu. M returns you to the previous MENU page. H (or ?) displays a HELP message. OFF ends your session and disconnects you from the system. If the prompt character is not an exclamation point, the above commands may need to be preceded by a / such as /T. The GO command At any ! prompt, GO followed by a destination sends you directly to the destination you specified. Valid destinations are typically found in the upper right hand corner of each screen, but there are also various additional "quick reference words" that can be used. Some useful GO commands are: GO BILLING GO FEEDBACK GO MAIL GO ORDER GO PHONES (access numbers) GO PROFILE (user settings) GO QUICK (a list of quick reference words) Control Characters Certain control characters are used as commands. You normally send a control character to CompuServe by holding down a key marked "CTRL" and simultaneously pressing another key. Some keyboards do not have a key marked "CTRL" and if yours does not, you should refer to the operating instructions supplied with your computer to determine how to send a control character. Some important control commands are: ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 52 TAPCIS CTRL/C -- Interrupts (usually permanently) whatever is in process. You are then usually given a list of actions to choose from. CTRL/O -- Discards output in progress. It may sometimes also suppress the next prompt. If you do not get a prompt, press the carriage return key. CTRL/S & CTRL/Q -- These two control character commands are used alternatively to temporarily stop and then restart output. CTRL/S stops output and CTRL/Q starts it again at the point it was stopped. These commands are most often used when output is being presented continuously (scrolled) rather than a page at a time. The FIND command At most ! prompts, you may enter FIND followed by a blank space and a word. This will search through the CompuServe index of services for the word you have specified and will display a menu of references. For example: FIND IBM, would produce a menu of CompuServe services that are indexed under the word IBM. How to get HELP Many products and services include online help and instructions. Type HELP (or ?) at any ! prompt. CompuServe Customer Service is also available to answer questions. You can send your questions via electronic mail to Customer Service through our FEEDBACK system. NOTE: connect time while in FEEDBACK is free. You will get a response via EasyPlex (our electronic mail system). For problems requiring an immediate response, you may call Customer Service as follows: (800) 848-8990 from the continental U.S.A. except Ohio (614) 457-8650 from Ohio and outside the continental U.S.A. Customer Service hours are: Eastern Time Mon-Fri 8 a.m. to midnight, Sat/Sun 2 p.m. to midnight, Holidays Noon to midnight Security Protect the confidentiality of your PASSWORD! Read the following carefully. Just as there are pickpockets on the streets, there are unscrupulous people who may attempt to steal your password and you are responsible for all usage on your User ID number. A password thief can run up a large bill on your account in a matter of days. Do NOT keep your password in the same place as your User ID number. Change your password regularly (enter GO PASSWORD at any ! prompt). ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 53 TAPCIS Beware of attempts by others to have you reveal your password. No one from CompuServe should ever call you and ask you for your password. If you demonstrate CompuServe to anybody, always change your password afterwards. Once you have logged into CompuServe you will not be asked to enter your User ID number and password again while logged on. If you appear to have been disconnected and receive a prompt for User ID, be sure to hang up the phone and redial. If you think someone has obtained your password, change it immediately! Please select 1 Mini-Tour 2 CompuServe Information Service Key choice: 2 CompuServe TOP 1 Subscriber Assistance 2 Find a Topic 3 Communications/Bulletin Bds. 4 News/Weather/Sports 5 Travel 6 The Electronic MALL/Shopping 7 Money Matters/Markets 8 Entertainment/Games 9 Home/Health/Education 10 Reference 11 Computers/Technology 12 Business/Other Interests Enter choice number ! OFF Thank you for using CompuServe! Off at 00:10 EST 01-Jan-89 Connect time = 00:09 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 54 TAPCIS The Sign-on Procedure ---------------------------------------------------------------------- As a precaution, before going online, press then then to make sure no forums are active. The nteractive command causes TAPCIS to dial the phone, connect to CompuServe, enter your user id and password, and then switch to "terminal mode" where you respond directly to CompuServe prompts. When you press to sign-on using your IntroPak, you should see a screen similar to this one: [ Figure 4: IntroPak nteractive Dialing Screen ] If This Doesn't Work For the above to work, all your parameter settings have to be correct. If you do not connect, press . This should return you to the main menu. Try the command again. If that doesn't work, the number you are dialing could be wrong or busy. The parameters for the modem may be specified incorrectly. You may have chosen the wrong COM: port. Go back through the parameters selection to verify those entries. You may have to modify the modem commands as described in "Modem Commands" on page 127. If you do connect but the system responds: ?? LOGINE - Invalid entry - try again you entered the wrong password or user ID on the parameters screen. You may also have hit line noise which caused CompuServe to receive your account and password incorrectly. If you suspect a noisy line, try the call again. If The Connection Is Made Once CompuServe has verified the sign-on user ID and password you entered on the TAPCIS parameters screen, the first screen will clear and CompuServe will ask for the Agreement and Serial number as shown in the sample sign-on. Record Your Sign-on TAPCIS can capture (meaning record to disk) everything that appears on your screen during the sign-on session. To tell TAP to do this, press the key on your keyboard. TAPCIS will request the filename, ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 55 TAPCIS and you should enter SIGNON.TXT followed by . Then enter the agreement number and serial number from the IntroPak at the prompts. Follow The Prompts The sign-on is straightforward. Just follow CompuServe's lead. If you hit any snags during the process, try again. If it still doesn't work, contact CompuServe Customer Service at 800/848-8990 (in Ohio call 614/457-8650). Assuming that everything went according to plan, write down your permanent account number and temporary password. After logging off, go to the parameters screen and enter the new user id and password. Next we'll have TAPCIS set our CompuServe default settings. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 56 TAPCIS CompuServe Defaults ====================================================================== =====> This section is CRITICAL. If the CompuServe defaults are not set properly, TAPCIS will not work. Also, if you have not already done so, return to the parameters screen and enter your permanent user ID and your current password. Now, let's have TAPCIS start doing some work for us! CompuServe has a profile for each user ID. It contains information on your computer, the width of your screen, your logon actions, etc. TAPCIS needs all these options set a certain way, and with one simple command--Alt-P-- the program will call CompuServe, login, set the options, and logoff with no input required on your part. It also enters your name in your EasyPlex address book. The entire process takes about 3 minutes at 2400 bps, 6 minutes at 1200 bps, and 24 minutes at 300 bps. You will need to do this process at each rate (300, 1200, and 2400 bps) at which you will use TAPCIS. Make sure the supplied PARAMS.SCR file is in the same directory from which you started TAPCIS. Then from the main menu, hold the key and press

. TAPCIS will logon and change your CompuServe defaults for the rate you have selected. If you are going to be using different speeds at other times, you may want to go to the parameters screen, change the active phone number using the <1>-<6> keys, and use again. If you do this for all speeds (300, 1200, and 2400 bps), TAPCIS will be set up regardless of the speed you call CompuServe. (Some people use 300 bps because of its cheaper hourly rate for CO's, CB, and the Convention Center where you are typing interactively). None of the changes made by TAPCIS should keep you from using CompuServe with another communications package. Default Settings List ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Below are the settings that are made by the script (stored in PARAMS.SCR). You could do the same manually if you desire using the GO DEFAULT command and following the menus to change your permanent settings. You would also need to add your name in EasyPlex and change to COMMAND mode, with no line numbers in the editor. PERMANENT SETTINGS 1 Explanation 2 Logon/Service options 3 Display options 4 Terminal type/parameters 5 Transfer protocol/graphic support 6 Make session settings permanent ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 57 TAPCIS LOGON/SERVICE OPTIONS (Option 2) 1 First service at logon [MAIN] 2 EasyPlex waiting [NOTIFY ONLY] 3 Personal menu established [NO] (Select this to create or change a personal menu.) 4 TOP goes to [COMMAND] 5 Online editor [EDIT] 6 Forum presentation mode [COMMAND] PERMANENT DISPLAY OPTIONS (Option 3) 1 PAGED display [NO] 2 BRIEF prompts [YES] 3 CLEAR screen between pages [YES] 4 BLANK lines sent [YES] 5 Line feeds sent [YES] TERMINAL TYPE/PARAMETERS (Option 4) 1 TERMINAL type [OTHER] 2 Screen WIDTH [79] 3 LINES per page [0] 4 Form FEEDS [SIMULATED] 5 Horizontal TABS [SIMULATED] 6 Chars. received (CASE) [U/L] 7 Chars. sent in CAPS [NO] 8 PARITY [ZERO] 9 Output DELAYS [2] 10 ERASE when backspacing [YES] 11 Micro inquiry sequence at logon [NO] TRANSFER PROTOCOLS/GRAPHICS SUPPORT (Option 5) FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL 1 PROTOCOL preference [B PROTOCOL] GRAPHICS SUPPORT 2 GIF SUPPORT [NO] 3 NAPLPS SUPPORT [NO] 4 RLE SUPPORT [NO] ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 58 TAPCIS EasyPlex ====================================================================== EasyPlex is CompuServe's electronic mail service. It is not really a "forum" since it is used exclusively for private communication between individual users. For convenience TAPCIS makes EasyPlex look like a forum so that you'll only need to learn one set of commands. Reading and writing messages in both EasyPlex and the forums is very similar. EasyPlex does have a few features that the forums do not such as Return Receipts (that tell you when the recipient read your message), multiple addresses (in a forum you can address a message to All or to one user ID; EasyPlex allows up to 10 addresses) and the ability to send and receive binary files. [ Figure 5: EasyPlex Forum Screen ] Activating EasyPlex ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The orums menu allows us to activate EasyPlex. Press from the main TAPCIS menu and the forums menu will appear. In the left hand box the name EASYPLEX appears next to the letter A. Press and an asterisk <*> will appear next to the A (EasyPlex should always be A. Do not move it to a different letter or delete it). If you press again, the asterisk will toggle off. Make sure the asterisk is next to the A and press to leave the forum screen. Write An EasyPlex Message ---------------------------------------------------------------------- When you returned to the main menu, you may have noticed that EasyPlex is listed in the orums box as #1. The command to write a message is rite, so press the letter (If other forums are active, you'll have to enter the number <1> for EasyPlex at the Forum: prompt). The next TAPCIS prompt is To:. Enter your name followed by your CompuServe user ID. CompuServe cannot deliver your message unless the user ID is included. You can omit the name; the user ID is required. Press return after entering your user ID and then enter the subject "1st TAPCIS EasyPlex". Your screen should look similar to the screen below. Notice that TAPCIS shows you the maximum length that CompuServe allows for the subject of an EasyPlex message (24 characters). If you overwrite the vertical bar <|> then your subject is too long. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 59 TAPCIS [ Figure 6: EasyPlex Address Screen ] Composing a Message ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The TAPCIS editor is very simple. You type and letters appear. Backspace deletes the character last typed. When a word cannot fit on the line, it is wrapped to the next line. Press only at the end of paragraphs. Leave blank lines between paragraphs with an extra return (this is highly recommended to make your messages more readable). The arrow keys, backspace, and delete work as they do in most editors. Editing Commands Ins --Toggle insert/overwrite Del --Delete character at cursor Bksp --Destructive backspace Ctrl-End --Delete from cursor to end of line Ctrl-Y --Delete line Ctrl-Bksp --Delete word Ctrl-T --Delete from cursor to end of word and following space Ctrl-F1 --Shell to DOS Ctrl-F3 --Reformat from cursor to end of paragraph (also Ctrl-B). When you edit paragraphs text is not automatically reformatted. You must reformat automatically using this function. Alt-F10 --Transpose characters Cursor Movement The up and down arrow keys move a line at a time in the up or down direction. You cannot move down beyond the end of the text you've entered. The right and left arrow keys move by character. Holding the ctrl key while pressing either right or left arrow will move by word. Home --Beginning of line End --End of line ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 60 TAPCIS PgUp --Up one screen PgDn --Down one screen Ctrl-PgUp --Top of message Ctrl-PgDn --End of message Most of the original WordStar cursor movement commands are still active in TAPCIS. Block Commands Ctrl-KB --Mark start of BlocK (blocks always start at the first character on a line and you can mark the start of the block from anywhere on the line. Ctrl-KK --Mark the end of the BlocK (which will end at the last character on the line where you mark the block end) Ctrl-KY --Yank (delete) the block Ctrl-KC --Copy the block to the line below the current cursor position Ctrl-KV --To move a block mark it, go to the line above its destination, then <^KV> Ctrl-KH --To hide a block (unmark) Finish the Message ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For this test message, type in a paragraph or two of text. Press when you're finished composing. The Send menu will appear on the bottom line. The screen below is an example message after the key is pressed. [ Figure 7: Message Screen after ] Send Options The menu at the bottom of the screen offers four choices. Notice that the cursor is at the end of the line under 1--the default choice. If you press return or the space bar or 1, the message will be sent via ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 61 TAPCIS EasyPlex normal delivery. Option 2 requests a return receipt. A surcharge of $0.25 is charged for a return receipt. In return you get a message providing the date and time the message was received. If after you press you want to resume editing the message, press zero <0>. To cancel and discard the message altogether, press the letter . For this example, press <1> to send the message normally through EasyPlex. The main menu will reappear. Transmit the Message ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You wrote a message using the offline editor. You stored the completed message on disk. The next step is to transmit the message to CompuServe. The message cannot be delivered until TAPCIS calls CompuServe and sends the message. You must command TAPCIS to do this; the program will not connect with CompuServe on its own. [ Figure 8: Main Menu with EasyPlex Mail to Send ] Looking at the main menu, did you notice the indicator above the EASYPLEX entry. In the screen below look for the double headed arrow next to the 1. It indicates an action waiting to be performed online. nline ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The command to send the message is nline. Press from the main menu. TAPCIS will call CompuServe, log in, GO EASYPLEX, and send the message. When it is done, TAPCIS sends the command OFF to end the call. The last commands on your screen should look similar to that shown below. The "OFF" is sent by TAPCIS to CompuServe to logoff. The other items in bold are provided by TAPCIS for your information. EasyPlex! OFF Thank you for using CompuServe! Off at 18:49 EDT 15-Nov-87 Connect time = 0:01 ACTUAL TIME = 00:19 1059 CHARACTERS TRANSMITTED -- 55 CPS PAUSING 30 SECONDS -- HIT ANY KEY TO CONTINUE ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 62 TAPCIS The connect time shown is the amount that you will be billed for by CompuServe. The actual time is the time tracked by TAPCIS. In this example at 2400 bps, it took TAPCIS 19 seconds to logon, go to EasyPlex, send the message, and logoff. The total characters transmitted is listed at 1059 which, divided by 19 seconds, gives 55 characters per second (cps). This cps value will range between just a few cps up to the maximum of 240 cps at 2400 bps. Its value depends on many different factors, and it's difficult to say what is a "good" or "bad" figure. Getting New Mail ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Checking CompuServe for new mail is as easy as going online to send mail. The command is ew, and it logs in and gets new messages if any are in your EasyPlex box. You should have a message waiting if you have gone through the steps above and have waited a few minutes (10-15) for delivery; you sent one to your own user ID. (CompuServe will also send you a welcome message via EasyPlex a few days after you sign-on the first time). Press to go online to receive new messages. After TAPCIS logs off, press the space bar to return to the main menu. The exclamation mark indicator shows you that EasyPlex has new messages for you to read. [ Figure 9: Main Menu with New EasyPlex Message(s) to Read ] Reading EasyPlex Mail ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To read the EasyPlex message that TAPCIS retrieved for you, press <1>. The first message (and only message this time) will appear on your screen in a format similar to the example in the next figure. The header shows the TAPCIS generated message number, the date and time of the message, the subject of the message, and the sender of the message. In our example the message is from this account. When reading messages, TAPCIS highlights the From: or To: field whenever it matches the user ID set in the parameters screen. The header is followed by a blank line and then the message itself. If the message is more than one screen full, a prompt appears on the status line telling you to press another key to see the next screen. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 63 TAPCIS An EasyPlex message can be 350 lines long. (EasyPlex can send messages or files of 50,000 characters. However, you will need to read such messages outside of TAPCIS. This is very rare, as messages of over 350 lines are usually sent as binary word processing or text files to insure integrity). The highlighted status line tells you which message you are reading and the total number of messages. In this example we are reading message one of one (1/1) in the EASYPLEX forum. A brief summary of the message reading commands follows the message number on the status line. explains the commands in more detail. We'll cover these in more detail in the section on reading forum messages. [ Figure 10: Reading an EasyPlex Message ] Saving the Message ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Your first message using TAPCIS is worth saving. Press and this prompt appears: for C:\TAP\EASYPLEX.SAV or File name for this message: _ You can save this message to the general .SAV file where it can be iewed from within TAPCIS, or a different filename can be used. A message saved in a file is in ASCII format with returns at the end of each line. TAPCIS tells you the message was saved by putting a block in the upper right. If the file where the message was saved already exists, the message will say "Appended." If you enter an invalid file name or path, the message will say "Error." Pressing after saves the message in the EASYPLEX.SAV file. A shortcut for this is simply to press instead of . Reply to a Message ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Replying to the message on the screen is as easy as pressing . Do that now. The next screen that appears should be familiar to you; it is the same editor screen you used to write your first message. The message you are replying to appears in the upper window and can be scrolled using the and keys. The last number on the upper bar shows the line position in the upper message. Scrolling is 5 lines at a time with no overlap. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 64 TAPCIS Below is an example reply with the message in the top window scrolled once using . Type in the reply, send it using <1- EasyPlex> and transmit it to CompuServe using the nline command as we did before. [ Figure 11: Replying to an EasyPlex Message ] Address Book ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Remembering a long list of names and user ID's is a tedious task without the help of the computer. TAPCIS allows you to build an address book as you read messages. The person's name, user ID, and a brief memo can be stored in the file USERID.CIS. From the TAPCIS main menu press <1> to read the EasyPlex message you wrote to yourself in the previous example. (If you have not been following the examples, start reading messages in any forum). If you want to add a person to the address book press with a message to/from that person on the screen. TAPCIS will show the T>o and F>rom user names and ID's (if you are looking at an EasyPlex message, the To: field will always be blank). Press to add the user ID of the sender (in this example, your name and user ID should be added). You can add a brief memo to remind you about the person. This memo is "searchable" when you are addressing a message. Exact duplicates of name and user ID are ignored. Example: F> First M. Last 74020,10 T> B>oth F Seeking First M. Last 74020,10 Optional comments or : ME! Writing Using Address Book ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Start your message using the rite command from the main menu. At the To: prompt enter a backslash <\> as the first character followed by the characters to search the address book for. \text to search User ID file ; after User ID for multiple EasyPlex To: \LAST ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 65 TAPCIS TAPCIS will search the address book for the characters you enter after the backslash. "Last" has been entered in this example (which happens to be the last name of this user's name). TAPCIS responds with a list matching the characters. Below you see that it found two matches (it found the intended one, and also found the string "last" inside the name "Blaster" ). The "Me!" following the user ID is a memo. If you want to scan the whole list, enter a comma <,> for the search character. A> First M. Last 74020,10 Me! B> Bobby Blaster 74020,11 Professional Wrestler Select A-B or X for none: A TAPCIS next prompts you to press (return) or a semicolon. Press unless you want the message to go to multiple addresses. Fill in the subject, then compose and send your message as usual. EasyPlex Multiple Addresses ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The same CompuServe EasyPlex message can be sent to 10 recipients. There is a $0.10 surcharge for each additional user ID. Multiple addresses are part of EasyPlex only and not available in other forums. Addresses Entered Manually For addresses entered manually at the To: prompt, put a semicolon <;> immediately following the user ID. \text to search User ID file ; after User ID for multiple EasyPlex To: RICHARD P. WILKES 76701,23; The name and user ID you enter will clear, and you'll be prompted for another user ID. Do not put a semicolon after the last address. TAPCIS then asks for the subject of the message. In the editor screen the multiple addresses show next to the To: separated by semicolons. Address Book Entry You do not enter the semicolon <;> as part of the search text when looking up a name in the address book. The following sequence demonstrates looking up a name in the address book and then sending a copy to a name entered manually. After entering the subject, you will ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 66 TAPCIS go to the editor. The address window at the top will show "First M. Last 74020,10;Richard P. Wilkes 76701,23" all in the To: field. \text to search User ID file ; after User ID for multiple EasyPlex To: \LAST A> First M. Last 74020,10 Me! Select A-A or X for none: A \text to search User ID file ; after User ID for multiple EasyPlex To: First M. Last 74020,10 or ; ; \text to search User ID file ; after User ID for multiple EasyPlex To: RICHARD P. WILKES 76701,23 Subject: MULTIPLE ADDRESSES EasyPlex File Transfer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EasyPlex can be used to transfer ASCII and binary files. The 50,000 character limit applies to these transfers (256,000 byte limit after 3/15/89). An ASCII file contains only those characters supported on the CompuServe Information Service such as the alphanumeric characters, punctuation, carriage returns, and linefeeds. ALL OTHER FILES SHOULD BE TREATED AS BINARY FILES. Sending a binary file like a WordPerfect document using ASCII will make the received file unusable! Sending Binary Files Word processing documents, spreadsheets, database files, programs, and macros are all examples of binary files. When you indicate to TAPCIS that a file is "binary," TAP will transmit the file byte-by-byte without any translation or interpretation. When in doubt, choose the binary format. You send a binary file through EasyPlex in much the same way that you send a message. First you press to write a message. If prompted for the Forum: number, press the <1> (which should be the number for EasyPlex). Address the message manually or by using the address book as described previously. Multiple addresses are also okay. The subject of the message should be the filename with extension (e.g., ALTE.MAC). TAPCIS checks the subject, sees the period, and ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 67 TAPCIS asks if you want to upload a file. Therefore, if you want to send the file OUTLINE, you must follow it with a period (i.e., Subject: "OUTLINE."). This technique does NOT work except in EasyPlex. A subject that includes a period causes TAPCIS to give you this prompt: hit to enter editor or PgUp for protocol upload -> To send a file press . When wouldn't you press at this prompt? TAPCIS looks only for a period in the subject. If your subject is "Letter to Mr. Benner" you'll get this prompt. Press if you want to send a normal message using the editor. If you press the next prompt asks for the full pathname of the file you want to upload. hit to cancel or enter d:\path\filename.ext: -> C:\WP\MACS\ALTE.MAC Enter the drive (e.g., C:) followed by the directory path (e.g., \WP\MACS\) and the filename (e.g., ALTE.MAC). This is the file that is sent, and it need not be the same name that you listed in your subject. You could put the subject as "GOODDEAL.YOU" and actually send "C:\F\RIPOFF.HIM". The recipient will only see the filename in the subject--not the name as it was stored on your disk. If you enter a disk filename that does not exist, TAPCIS will go directly to the message editor and not send a file. TAPCIS then asks whether the file is ASCII or binary with this prompt: hit A if ASCII, B if binary: B Press for a binary file. That's all there is to it. You may consider addressing a message to the recipient of the file explaining the contents. You cannot add a description to the same "message" that sends the file itself. Receiving Binary Files ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TAPCIS will automatically download any files received in EasyPlex using the CompuServe B+ protocol. A name is created for the file by TAPCIS to keep the received file from accidentally overwriting one of your files of the same name. An example message is shown in the next figure. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 68 TAPCIS [ Figure 12: Received Binary EasyPlex Screen ] Using the Binary File As you can see from the example, TAPCIS has stored the binary file received in the file C:\TAP\DL\EPLEX1.BIN. The file is stored in the download file path as set in the parameters screen. TAPCIS will name the files EPLEX1.BIN, EPLEX2.BIN, etc., until you erase the previous files from your download file path. You can use the DOS COPY command to move the file to the proper directory or diskette and change its name at the same time. Then delete the file to keep the storage directory clean of unneeded files. Here's an example: [C:\] COPY C:\TAP\EPLEX1.BIN C:\WP\MACS\ALTE.MAC 1 file(s) copied [C:\] DEL C:\TAP\EPLEX1.BIN Binary File Warning NEVER run a program received via EasyPlex from someone you do not know and trust. While the vast majority of CompuServe subscribers are responsible individuals, this is one way that someone could potentially vandalize your system. Just receiving the file cannot hurt. Running an unknown program might. Practice safe computing. Receiving ASCII Files ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ASCII files sent using this protocol upload method are delivered to the recipient just like any other message. When you send an ASCII file using this method, you can be sure that the message will not be corrupted by line noise. Unfortunately, when the message is read by the recipient, a protocol is not used and the message might be corrupted (although this does not happen often). You can, however, use binary transfer even if the file is ASCII, which will force a protocol download by the recipient without altering the file contents. EasyPlex Delivery Delay ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EasyPlex delivery is not instantaneous. It usually takes at least a few minutes to deliver your message to one of CompuServe's 475,000+ subscribers. If you send a message to yourself, wait a few minutes ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 69 TAPCIS before calling back to get it. Messages to other subscribers may take a little longer depending on system load, but should arrive within a few hours at most and usually within 15 minutes. Online Address Book ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CompuServe has a personal address book that you can keep online in your Personal Area. If you go to EasyPlex one of the menu options is Address Book. You can insert and modify entries. Up to 50 are allowed. The entire list will disappear if you do not use EasyPlex at least once every 30 days! TAPCIS assumes that you will not be using the online address book. As we showed above, TAPCIS has its own address book that you can build as you read messages. It is not limited to just 50 names, is searchable, and does not disappear after 30 days. If you have already set up an online address book, you can address an EasyPlex message to one of the names in that list. TAPCIS will give you an error message, but will attempt to send the message. If it fails, abort and add the User ID manually. FAX Delivery ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CompuServe now offers delivery from EasyPlex to Group III facsimile machines worldwide. The syntax for the To: field is critical for proper automated sending by TAPCIS. Address the message as "Name >FAX " as in: To: SUPPORT GROUP INC >FAX 301-3877322 This will send a message to the Support Group fax machine in McHenry, Maryland. No country code was required. The name before the ">FAX" is used as the Attn: line on the fax. The message subject is listed as the subject. Also, each page includes your name as recorded in EasyPlex, your CompuServe user ID, Page n of nn, and is printed in about 12 pitch with approximately 1" margins. At this time you can send only ASCII text. And, there is no way for a fax machine to send you EasyPlex mail. You will receive a confirmation of delivery (or non-delivery). You can force a new page in the transmission by putting a in the text at the beginning of the line. Sending messages to fax machines in only available to subscribers who have received their permanent (2nd) password from CompuServe by mail. Currently, the fax delivery does not offer cover pages; you must create your own. Also, a busy fax machine is only retried every 30 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 70 TAPCIS minutes. In the future CompuServe hopes to be able to better detect the difference between a busy fax (a normal condition nowadays) and an offline fax, and try the busy fax every 5 minutes. Delivery is pretty quick (5-20 minutes) to a non-busy machine. Charges run about $0.75 for the first 1000 character plus $0.25 for each additional 1000 characters for U.S. delivery. Foreign delivery varies with the country, and are much more expensive. Use the command "HELP FAX" in EasyPlex for more details. Telex/MCI Mail ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can send messages to Telex machines and MCI Mail accounts. For MCI Mail messages are addressed to ">MCIMAIL:123-4567" where 123-4567 is replaced with the correct MCI Mail account. For Telex I/II machines the address is formatted: ">TLX 1234567" where 1234567 is replaced by the proper machine number. An optional answerback can be added after the machine number. For more information, type "HELP MCIMAIL" or "HELP TELEX" after pressing nteractive from the main TAPCIS menu and selecting 1-EasyPlex. Feedback to CompuServe ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can send messages directly to CompuServe's FEEDBACK at account 70006,101 through EasyPlex. The alternative is to GO FEEDBACK online. If you send the message EasyPlex, you pay the (small) cost to deliver the message. If you use the online FEEDBACK, the connect time is free. I find it worth the small expense to use the TAPCIS editor to compose my message. 90-Day Deletion ---------------------------------------------------------------------- All EasyPlex messages not accessed within the last 90 days are automatically deleted by CompuServe. Congressgrams ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TAPCIS cannot be used to automate Congressgrams. You will need to send them manually while interactive on CompuServe. You can use the function to upload an ASCII file prepared using an editor for the text part of the Congressgram. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 71 TAPCIS Executive News Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Executive News Service (GO ENS for executive option CompuServe subscribers) allows you to send news stories and folders to your EasyPlex box. Many users have found it most cost effective to do this, then pick up the stories using TAPCIS for reading offline. See the ENS instructions for details on sending news stories to EasyPlex. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 72 TAPCIS Forums ====================================================================== Forums are where the action is! Forums are where you get to communicate with a wide audience. Your involvement can range from actively participating in the message exchange to passively absorbing the information. The choice is yours, but if you aren't writing and receiving messages, you are missing out on at least half the fun. It's exciting to check your mail and find several messages from other members. I (Richard) have been participating in CompuServe forums since 1984. Being involved does require a time commitment. Conversations move quickly as participants from around the world add their comments 24- hours a day. At times I've checked my messages 10 times in a single day. At other times I've monitored the forums no more than once a week. TAPCIS allows you to adjust your activities depending on your time, interests, and budget. My participation has been rewarding in countless ways. Professionally I've benefited from the collective wisdom of thousands of others who face the same problems I face. Through the forums I've been able to make wise hardware and software choices by reading the trials of those on the "bleeding edge." Personally, I have made friends in all parts of the country. Some of these online friends know more about me, my business, and daily experiences than friends and family that live only a few miles away. If you are using CompuServe just to get the business information you need, you'll find what you want. It is the camaraderie and interplay, however, that keeps a forum dynamic and alive. TAPCIS is designed to let you join the exchange at the lowest possible cost and with the greatest ease. To encourage our user community to develop online friends and contacts, the TAPCIS Forum has two sections (7 and 8) where messages on a wide variety of topics are welcome. Joining a Forum ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Most CompuServe forums are "auto-membership" meaning that you need only tell CompuServe you want to join the forum and enter your name to become a "member" of the forum. TAPCIS makes it easy to join such a forum. You need to: * Add the forum on the orums screen * Make the new forum the only active forum * Go online with the command to join the forum and set the TAPCIS parameters ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 73 TAPCIS Add a Forum In this example we continue as a new TAPCIS user who has only EasyPlex defined. We will add the TAPCIS Forum. The same technique is used to add additional forums; you simply replace TAPCIS in the following examples with the name of the forum you want to join (e.g., WPSG, AVSIG, PCM_EDIT, CONSULT, ALDUS, etc.). A list of forums can be found in the "List of CompuServe Forums" on page 141. You can get a current list online using the FIND FORUMS command. From the main TAPCIS menu, press to bring up the Forums Menu. Notice the list of function key commands on the right side of the screen. The first one, is Add. Press the key now. TAPCIS then asks for the name of the forum to add. You want to enter the GO page name. For the TAPCIS Forum that is TAPCIS as shown below: Forum name: [TAPCIS ] [ Figure 13: Forum Section Selection Screen ] In the section box on the right notice the error message that the section list cannot be found. That makes sense since you haven't yet joined the forum! Press for now to accept the CompuServe default sections. The active section list can be edited later as we'll see. Selecting Reading Mode Forums can be defined for one of three different types of online action: Q Quick scan subjects for thread selection offline (SCAn QUIck NEW) R Read all new threads (REAd NEW) M Read Marked, waiting messages to this user ID only (REAd WAIting) To get your selection TAPCIS prompts you with: Q/R/M: Q We'll use the Quick Scan method for this example. When you are first learning about the forums I recommend using the Q method. It is a little more complicated than just mass reading all the messages, but you may not be able to afford to read 1000+ messages per week (both financially and time wise). It is also the best example of how TAPCIS allows you to actively select the subjects you wish to follow. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 74 TAPCIS After pressing the forum will be added at the next available letter. It is not "activated" automatically (no <*> next to the letter). Clearing All Selected Forums To clear all the selected forums press . All the asterisks are cleared from the forums. Activate The New Forum Press the letter corresponding to the forum(s) you have just added and now want to join online. In our example, the TAPCIS Forum is new and corresponds to forum B. After pressing the forum screen shows our two forums with only the new TAPCIS Forum selected. [ Figure 14: New Forum Activated for Joining (Alt-J) ] Press to leave the forum select screen. The lower part of the main menu should then show only your newly added forum(s). Notice that while EasyPlex used to be #1, since it is not selected for the joining of the new forums, the first new forum selected is now #1. Forum numbers do change depending on which forums are active at one time. [ Figure 15: Main Menu with New Forum Selected ] Join The Forum Online This is the easy part! TAPCIS gets to do all the work, and you need only hold the key and press . The whole process takes around a minute at 2400bps for one new forum. TAP will connect to CompuServe and do the following: * Login with your user ID and password * GO to the new forum(s) * Join the forum if you are not already a member using your name from the Parameters screen ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 75 TAPCIS * Get a list of message section and LIB names * Set your Options as follows: FORUM OPTIONS 1 INITIAL menu/prompt [Forum] 2 Forum MODE [COMMAND] MESSAGES OPTIONS 3 PAUSE after messages [Always] 4 NAME [First M. Last] 5 Prompt CHARACTER [^H] 6 EDITOR [EDIT*] 7 SECTIONS [...] 8 HIGH msg read [0] 9 REPLIES info [Count] 10 TYPE waiting msgs [NO] 11 SKIP msgs you left [NO] * Logoff from CompuServe =====> If you are adding a PC MagNet forum (PCM_*) for the first time, you must login nteractive first, and answer the survey for to work. Explanation of Options =====> This section is optional. Most users do not change their forum options because it is not necessary for proper TAPCIS operation. You may wish to scan these explanations to help understand how TAPCIS operates. These parameter settings are the ones set by TAPCIS for optimal operation. You can change these options by typing OPT at the forum function prompt, but changing some of them may cause TAPCIS to fail. Let's look briefly at these options, their function, and the consequences of changing them. 1 INITIAL MENU/PROMPT [FORUM] You should not change this option. It determines which prompt you get when you first enter the forum. TAPCIS needs to see the "Forum!" prompt. If you set it to libraries, messages, or conference, TAPCIS will halt when it enters the forum. 2 FORUM MODE [COMMAND] TAPCIS uses the command mode in the forums rather than the menu mode. Command mode is faster, and avoids the long menus designed for novices. If you want to change to menus while in nteractive mode, ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 76 TAPCIS type "OPT;MOD MEN;S" where the S sets the forum to menus for just this session. If you make the change to menus permanent, TAPCIS will fail the next time on. 3 PAUSE AFTER MESSAGES [ALWAYS] TAPCIS works in "autopilot" mode. When it is connected to CompuServe it does not require any interaction from the keyboard. TAPCIS sets this to Never every time it enters a forum. It leaves this option as "always" so that if you are interactive, reading messages on the forum, CompuServe will pause after the message to let you read it or navigate. 4 NAME [FIRST M. LAST] Some forums do not allow you to change your own name (you have to ask the Sysop to make the change). Most forums you visit do allow you to change your name. TAPCIS enters your name for you when you join the forum. In cases where your name was entered incorrectly, all in CAPS or even in all lowercase, you should go online using the command, enter the CompuServe command OPT;NAME at the forum function prompt, and change your name. Or, from the main TAPCIS menu select dvanced ser-command, type the forum number if necessary, then type: "OPT;NAME;FIRST M. LAST;M" to change your name in that forum (using your own First M. Last, of course). 5 PROMPT CHARACTER [^H] TAPCIS uses a backspace character (control-H) as the forum prompt character. The program will change to this prompt character on the fly while in autopilot; however, line noise may keep the program from recognizing the missing prompt character. In that instance the program will hang at that point and you will have to manually abort using OFF or followed by . TAPCIS uses the ^H to detect when CompuServe is prompting for input. With the prompt character set permanently as ^H, you can usually get TAPCIS back on track when you hit line noise by pressing once or twice. The only consequence of this prompt character is that any interactive commands you enter will overwrite the last character of the CompuServe prompt. (e.g., if the CompuServe prompt is "Enter choice!" your choice will overwrite the .) No big deal. 6 EDITOR [EDIT] TAPCIS uses CompuServe's non-line-numbered editor called EDIT instead of the line numbered editor LINE EDIT. EDIT is faster than LINE EDIT. Messages in EDIT are written with each line ending in a carriage return (neither of the online editors offers word wrap. The TAPCIS editor does and adds the return after each line automatically when it sends your messages). The message ends with a /EX on a line by ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 77 TAPCIS itself. (TAPCIS adds the /EX to your message automatically. Do not put it in your messages when using the TAPCIS editor). 7 SECTIONS [...] Forums can have up to 18 active sections. The SECTIONS option allows you to limit the sections that you look at. Messages in sections you don't select will be invisible to you. You can select your sections online, or better yet, designate the sections you wish to restrict yourself to on the TAPCIS orum menu. 8 HIGH MSG READ [0] The high message is the last message you have read in the forum. TAPCIS issues the HIGH command in the appropriate places to keep your high message counter at the right spot. You can reset this counter if you want to reread messages or start again from a particular message if you lose some due to a system crash or interrupted download. You can use an dvanced ser-command from the main TAPCIS menu, and use the command "HIGH;0" to reset your high message to read all messages, "HIGH;L" to set the high message to the last message in the forum, or "HIGH;nnnn" to set the high message to a specific number (replace nnnn with the actual number of the last message you've read or the message before the one you wish to start with). 9 REPLIES INFO [COUNT] This setting has CompuServe tell you the number of replies a message has. The other options are "none" to skip any reply information, or "list." The reply list shows you all the message numbers of the replies to a particular message in the thread. This information is useful for tracking message threads. The list appears at the end of the message. When you are reading and you see that a message has replies you can read those replies, see what others have said, and then go back to the message to add your own comments. You don't need the reply list to do this but it makes it easier. 10 TYPE WAITING MSGS [NO] You should leave this set to No. Waiting messages are those sent directly to you. If you are reading all new message threads, you'll see them anyway. If you are using the Quick Scan method, TAPCIS automatically sends READ WAITING to get marked, waiting messages during the Quick Scan pass. If the forum is an "M" forum, TAPCIS will only get the waiting messages. Whatever the setting, TAPCIS will read the waiting messages even with this setting as No. 11 SKIP MSGS YOU LEFT [NO] You can save a little time and money by not reading those messages you leave. However, this can make it difficult for you to remember ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 78 TAPCIS exactly what you said when reading the thread later. I recommend leaving this option as No so your messages will not be skipped. Select All Forums ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To select all forums press orums then . Asterisks appear next to all defined forums. To leave the Forums menu press . If you are following the examples, this will activate both EasyPlex and the TAPCIS forum. They will appear as forums #1 and #2 on the main TAPCIS menu. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 79 TAPCIS Quick Scan Forums ====================================================================== Quick Scan forums (referred to as "Q" forums) are those forums where you download only the subjects of the messages and then select the message threads you want to read based on those subjects. Q Forum Steps ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Get new message headers (TAPCIS command ew from the main menu with at least one Q forum active and shown at the bottom of the screen). * Mark the headers to read (Use the ark command from the main menu on all forums showing a caret <^> next to their forum numbers on the main menu, and mark with an "R" those threads you want to read). * Go online and get marked messages (Use the nline command which will go to the forums where you have marked headers and will use the READ THREAD command to read those message threads you marked). * Read the messages and compose any replies (Press the number matching a forum with messages to read--shown with an exclamation point next to their forum number. Read the messages using the arrow keys, and use the eply command if you want to send a response of your own). * Send replies (if any) to the forum (Use the nline command again if any of your forums have the up/down arrow indicating a pending online action such as posting a reply, sending a new message, deleting a message, etc.) Get New Headers To get new message headers you tell TAPCIS to connect to CompuServe with the ew command. With EasyPlex and TAPCIS Forum selected, TAPCIS will call CompuServe and wait for the message indicating that: You have Electronic Mail waiting. If TAP sees this message it will go to EasyPlex to read the mail. If the message is not present, TAPCIS is smart enough to skip EasyPlex and go to the first forum. In this example session no EasyPlex mail is present so the first forum visited is TAPCIS. TAPCIS downloads the headers by issuing the "MESS;SCAN QUICK NEW;M" command. The captured headers are stored in the file TAPCIS.QSN. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 80 TAPCIS When all the headers have been downloaded, TAPCIS logs off. You'll see the <^> indicator next to the TAPCIS forum telling you that there are headers to mark: [ Figure 16: Q Forum With Headers to Mark ] Mark the Headers If a forum shows the <^> indicator it has headers ready to be marked. Press ark followed by the forum number and TAPCIS will process the .QSN file and present you with a sorted list of headers. An unprocessed list of headers looks like this: 55405: Sending messages S 1 / TAPCIS Q & A 6 replies 55409: Suggestion S 5 / Suggestion box 55410: TAPCIS add-ons S 2 / Scripts and Tools 10 replies 55458: Quick B vs. Xmodem S 1 / TAPCIS Q & A 5 replies TAPCIS sorts all the headers by section and compresses the format so it's easier to scan quickly. The first screen of the header list might look like this: [ Figure 17: Marking Headers in a Q Forum ] These are just a few of the 155 headers scanned by TAPCIS. The "TAPCIS" in the upper right shows that these are headers from the TAPCIS Forum. All these headers are in message section 1 which is the general TAPCIS section. The cursor is just to the left of the first header which has a subject of "Sending messages" and has 6 replies. To mark the headers, place an R next to your choices. You can skip threads by pressing , , or . To unmark a selection use the arrow keys to get to the header and press . ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 81 TAPCIS When you get your first set of headers they will not have the same subjects as these examples. Use the up and down arrow keys to locate subjects you might find interesting. Press to mark the headers for reading as shown in the next screen. When you're done press to return to the main menu. The information on your selections is stored in the .MRK file. [ Figure 18: Q Forum Header Marking with Headers Selected ] Get Marked Threads Once you have marked the headers the indicator on the TAPCIS main menu will change from <^> to the double headed up/down arrow. Recall that this means that there is online action pending (as when we wrote an EasyPlex message). To download the messages press nline from the TAPCIS main menu. TAP will call CompuServe, go to the forum, and issue a: READ THREAD NUM:nnnnnn command for each header you marked where nnnnnn is the message number that starts the thread (e.g., READ THREAD NUM:55405 would read message #55405 and the 6 replies in that thread). When all the threads have been read on autopilot by TAPCIS and stored in the .MSG file, the program issues the OFF command to logoff CompuServe. The forum status indicator should now show an exclamation mark indicating messages to read. Press the number <1-8> to read the pending messages in each forum. There is more information on the message reading commands in the "Reading Messages" section on page 90. Header Marking Tips ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Header marking is a bit of an art. It is often impossible to tell the exact content of a message thread based on its subject--especially if the subject is as generic as "Need help!". Such a message in the Scripts and Tools section probably indicates that the writer needs help with a script or add-on tool. A message in section 3 of the TAPCIS forum, it is likely a plea for modem or hardware help. Use the section numbers to guide you. Sometimes threads (messages with the same subject) will appear under more than one header. Threads do get "broken" for a variety of reasons, and some people do not know how to leave a message as a reply to another (they aren't using TAPCIS!). Be sure to catch all the headings for the subject you'd like to read. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 82 TAPCIS You can mark all the headers in a section by pressing . That command is shown in the small box in the upper right when you are marking headers. The ill command will delete this header file and not download any messages. The right and left arrows can be used to advance or backtrack to other forums with headers to mark. REMEMBER! Marking headers is inexact at best since your only hints to the content of a thread are the subject and section. You will undoubtedly download a long message thread or two that has absolutely nothing to do with the subject or its section. The sysops try hard to keep the subject and sections on track, but that is an almost impossible task on an active, dynamic forum. If you happen to see a thread scrolling by and you know you are not interested in it, you can use the CompuServe command to skip the remainder of the thread. You'll have to accept this as part of the trade-off of using the Quick Scan method of reading messages. You can do your part by leaving messages in the right section and starting new threads when a conversation starts a new track. Naturally, TAPCIS makes that effortless using the se address command rather than eply when you want to digress from the listed subject. Understanding Forum Dynamics ---------------------------------------------------------------------- It helps to understand a little about the dynamics of a forum-- especially if you choose to use the "Q" method of reading messages. An active forum is visited by many hundreds of people each day. While you are in the forum, any number of people from around the world can be reading, writing, replying, conferencing, downloading, and uploading. (The CompuServe command UST given at the Forum! prompt will tell you which user ID's are in the forum at the same time you are). The downloading of message headers is a "snapshot" of the forum messages at the exact moment TAPCIS gives the QUICK SCAN NEW command. TAPCIS then logs off and you mark the headers for downloading. What is happening in the meantime? Other forum callers are probably leaving new messages and replies. Let's look at several scenarios that happen between the time you download the headers and get back online to download them: ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 83 TAPCIS A REPLY IS LEFT IN A THREAD YOU MARK FOR READING: If you mark a thread for reading that has 3 replies and someone leaves a 4th reply, TAPCIS will get all 4 replies when it goes online. The next time you go online to get headers, this 4th reply will show up as the continuation of the thread with any additional replies listed after it. TAPCIS could eliminate these duplicates by leaving the high message number after reading the messages. But then any new messages in different threads, posted between your two sessions, might be missed. It is a tradeoff, and the decision was made that it is more important not to miss any headers than to pay to read a few duplicate messages every once and a while. A NEW THREAD IS STARTED WITH A NEW MESSAGE: You won't get that message on this pass, but its header will be listed next time you go online to get new headers. THE MESSAGE YOU MARKED HAS SCROLLED: A forum has a set limit on the number of active messages (with a maximum of 999). As new messages are written old messages disappear. The headers you mark are based on the first message in the thread. If that message scrolls between the time you mark it and the time you get back online to read it, you will miss all the messages in that thread. Unfortunately, TAPCIS can do nothing about this; it is a CompuServe design limitation. When reading the messages, look for the message "Can't find message nnnnnn". It tells you that the header you marked has scrolled (or possibly been deleted by the sender or recipient). My advice is to mark the headers and go back online immediately. If you wait a day or even a few hours, you are almost guaranteed to miss a few messages and get a few duplicates. Once you get the messages, you can read them hours or weeks later at your leisure. If you have a mix of Q-forums and R-forums, mark the headers and go back online to get those threads before reading the R-forums. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 84 TAPCIS Read Thread Forums ====================================================================== Forums where you want to read all new messages in sections you select (or all sections) should be setup as "R" forums. The TAPCIS ew command downloads new messages in thread order in these forums. The three Q-forum steps of downloading headers, marking headers, and going back online to read selected headers are replaced by a single online read operation of all new threads in selected sections. R Forum Setup ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The setup of an R forum is exactly like the setup of a Q forum. Follow the steps in the Q Forum section for: * Add the forum * Select the sections (all sections if you do not yet know the ones you want) * Select the "R" reading mode * Clear all selected forums * Activate the new forum * Join the forum online with * Reactivate all forums you want for the next ew online session R Forum Steps ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Get new message threads (ew from main menu) * Read messages (<1>-<8> to select the forum(s) with new messages to read--those marked with an exclamation point ) * Go back nline to send any pending replies, new messages, or other pending actions (in forums marked with a double headed up/ down arrow) ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 85 TAPCIS R Forum Tips ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you find yourself marking the vast majority of all messages in a forum, change it to an R-forum. It will end up being less costly to download all messages and skip the uninteresting ones while reading than to go through the header downloading, marking, and message downloading sequence. Be aware that if you set up a forum as an R forum when you first join the forum, you may end up downloading up to 999 messages the first time you press ew. We recommend that you initially set up a forum as a Q forum, get a feel for the content in each section, and then either continue as a Q forum or change it to an R forum limited to certain sections. Consider turning off sections of the forum that are clearly not of interest to you. In the WordPerfect Support Group (WPSG) Forum there are 16 public sections as shown below. If you are interested only in IBM PC WordPerfect 5.0, you might be able to get away with reading only sections 0, 2, 3, 10, and 11 (if you are a subscriber; 11 is a closed section). You can add other sections as dictated by your interests. If you only have an interest in Library, sections 5 and 10 would be the right choices. 0 WordPerfect 5.0 1 WordPerfect 4.x 2 Printers: 4.x & 5.0 3 Graphics/DTP 4 PlanPerfect 5 Library/Office 6 Data/Convert 7 Amiga/Atari/Non-IBM 8 Network/VAX/DG 9 Hardware/DOS/ARC 10 WPCorp News/Info 11 WPSG Databank [*] 13 Ask the WPSG 14 Village Inn 15 MacWP/Apple II 16 WP Exec/Other All forums differ in their naming of message sections. If you have a question about which sections you should monitor for your interests, feel free to leave a message to *SYSOP in the individual forum. Give the sysop as much background as possible on your interests. The other option is to read all messages for a time period and then "turn off" sections that prove not to interest you. Keep your eye open as well for the "chit chat" section. Most forums have one, and it is called everything from Village Inn to Community ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 86 TAPCIS Square to In My Opinion. In the TAPCIS Forum, they are called S7/The TapRoom and S8/Section 8 (for long, off-the-wall discussions). As in any conversation there are side tracks that go well off the initial topic. Many of these can be quite entertaining. You can choose whether to read them or not. Marked Message Forums ====================================================================== The M Forum option is for when you want to check a forum for messages to you but don't want to read other messages in that forum. Usually this happens when you leave a message on the forum and want to check and see if anyone follows up. M forums are visited and the CompuServe READ WAITING command is issued to read marked, waiting messages when you go online with the ew command. Set up the M forum as you do an R forum. Just change the read option from R to M. In addition to using the forum options editing as described in the next section, you can choose to set up the same forum as a Q/R-forum and an M forum under different letters on the orums screen. When you activate the forums you want to visit, be sure to activate only one letter per forum name. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 87 TAPCIS Changing Forum Options/Sections ====================================================================== TAPCIS allows you to change your forum read mode and selected sections. This is done through the orums screen. Press and the program prompts: Forum: B You should enter the letter of the forum from the box on the left--not the forum number from the main screen. The section selection screen appears next. If you are editing a forum that has already been set up online using , the list of sections is displayed as a reminder. [ Figure 19: Selecting Sections for a Forum ] Selecting the Sections ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Key thing to remember here is to put spaces between the section numbers as shown in the figure. Press to use the section list stored by CompuServe. Type the word ALL to override any CompuServe setting for active sections (e.g., if your forum options-- OPTIONS;SECTIONS--are set for sections 1 2 3, entering ALL would activate all public sections when using TAPCIS). Getting Updated Section Lists ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If a forum updates its section list, or you are given access to a private section (such as section and library 9 in the TAPCIS forum after you register and leave a message to *SYSOP in the TAPCIS forum with your permanent registration number), you will need to get an updated list of sections and libraries. Use the command from the main menu with the forum(s) active to go online and get a new list. Combining Q and R Selections ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The as a section selection is used for the special case where you want to read messages or get headers without updating your high message number (HMN). Why would you want this? ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 88 TAPCIS The most common use is when you want to read all the messages in certain sections but do a Quick Scan in the other sections. You'd first set your Append/overwrite flag to Append in the

arameters screen. Then, set up the same forum twice, as in: B TAPCIS R 1 X C TAPCIS Q With both these forums active, and the one with the first, go online with ew. Read the messages downloaded in the first forum, then deselect the "X" forum on the forums screen. Mark the headers, go online with and then read the messages. Another way to accomplish the same thing is to set up the forum as a normal "Q" forum. Then, simply mark all the messages in the section you want to read using the ection command in header arking. Another option is to set up the forum twice as above, but with only one active at a time. You could read all the messages in a particular section but not update your high message number, as in B below. Then, you can read the rest of the messages later (forum C) or scan the headers and then read them (if forum C were a Q forum). You could also set up forum C to read all sections but #1 (you should read B first, then C, or leave Append on). B TAPCIS R 1 X C TAPCIS R ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 89 TAPCIS Reading Messages ====================================================================== TAPCIS indicates pending messages to read with the exclamation mark indicator next to a forum number. [ Figure 20: Main Menu with Messages to be Read in Forum 2 ] If you press the number for a forum with messages, TAPCIS starts to process the .MSG file. During the processing, two running counters are shown at the top of the screen: Messages: 12 Sessions: 1 TAPCIS The messages increment as TAPCIS finds a new message which starts with "#:" in column 1. The session counter tells you how many different online sessions are recorded in this .MSG file. If you specified Append in the

arameters screen, new messages are added to the old .MSG file until you explicitly kill the MSG file using the ill command. If you are using the overwrite parameter, you can still get multiple sessions if unread messages to you are found during a Quick Scan of headers. The download of the messages to you will be appended to those marked messages as session 2. Be patient if you have many messages or are using floppies. TAPCIS must read to the end of the message file to know the number of messages and to make moving from message to message while reading as fast as possible. [ Figure 21: TAPCIS Message #0-Forum Announcements/Header ] Message #0 is a special message created by TAPCIS. It contains the welcome information for the forum and any news flash announcement posted by the forum administrators (sysops). In the example shown above, the date and time of this online session is given (all times are in the local time for the node being called. A message written at 3pm by someone in California will show as 6pm (18:00) when read by someone in the Eastern time zone). TAPCIS creates a message number and puts in the fake header to make this look like a standard message to external message processing programs. You should not reply to this message, though. Following the header is the forum name and software version number. The name following the Hello is your name as recorded in the forum ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 90 TAPCIS membership roles. You can change it with OPTION;NAME in Interactive mode. Your last visit to the forum is also shown. Next is the forum message range and the last message you've read. If the last message read is less than the first message in the forum, you have missed messages that have scrolled. Mr. Last here has missed 55597 messages and has yet to read his first message. You should note these numbers if you have not been on the forum for a while to see whether messages have scrolled since your last visit. If there has been a scroll, and in the future you do not want to miss any more messages, you will have to logon more regularly. While most sysops work to keep the scroll over one week, some very active forums have scrolled in less than a day! The TAPCIS Forum typically scrolls in 3-6 days. The sections accessible are the CompuServe sections selected in the forum using the OPTIONS;SECTIONS. All public sections are accessible in this example. (Most forums have at least one private section that the sysops use to communicate privately about administrative matters. Other forums may have other private sections for other special purposes). No members were in conference (CO) when TAPCIS downloaded these messages. The highlighted status line at the bottom of the screen shows the forum name, the current message number (1) and the total number of messages (66). Pressing while reading messages gives you a complete list of commands: [ Figure 22: Message Read Help ] Message Navigation ---------------------------------------------------------------------- By Message Next , , , Previous , ack, Jump to # ump First <1>, Last <9>, By Thread Next Top of thread ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 91 TAPCIS By Session First <1> Next <2> Final <3> By Search Words Start search Next occurrence Message Replying & Handling ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Reply to This Message eply TAPCIS automatically enters the message editor. The response will be sent to the sender of the message you are reading. It is automatically stored as part of the thread by CompuServe in the same message section as the original. If the message has scrolled or been deleted before your reply is sent, TAPCIS stores the reply as a new message to the same user and section. Reply with a New Subject/Section se Address If you wish to respond to a message, but your response is leading off in a direction that could be better described by a different subject, please use the command to change the subject and possibly the section where the new thread is stored. This helps to keep the message headers descriptive and the threads on track and in the right sections. Sysops can change thread subjects and sections, but it is a time consuming process. This is a good command to remember. Reply to TO: address o Address This starts a new thread with a message addressed to the To: field of the message you are reading. You are given the option of pressing to keep the same subject or entering a new subject. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 92 TAPCIS Change Reply to a Different Forum hange Some forums such as MAUG, BORLAND, and PCMAGNET are actually a collection of forums. This command is used to redirect a reply from one forum to a more appropriate forum for the continuation of the discussion. Delete This Message From the Forum ,,<-> This command works only on messages to or from your User ID. It should be used sparingly and almost never on a public message. The general guidelines are: you should not delete messages from the forum that provide information or debate. You should delete messages that are just thank you's once they have been read (shown by a (X) after the recipient's name). Private messages (indicated by a (P) in the first line of the header) should be deleted by the recipient once read. The message "Deleted" appears in a small box in the upper right of the message after you press . If you go on to read other messages and later re-read the message you marked for online deletion, the "deleted" message will be gone. This command does not affect your .MSG file! If you mark a message for deletion in error, you can correct your mistake provided you do so before you go online. Use the dit command from the main menu, press the number <1-8> of the forum where you deleted the message. Press to select the .SND file. The TAPCIS editor will appear with the delete command and any other messages still to send online. Search for the line that says "DEL nnnnn" where "nnnnn" is the message you accidentally deleted. Delete that line then exit using <1>. Save this message ,,<+> The quickest way to save a message to disk is to press ave. The message will be appended to the .SAV file. Later if you need to refer back to one of these saved messages, you can use the iew command from the main TAPCIS menu. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 93 TAPCIS To save the message in a specific file use the key. TAPCIS prompts you for the filename: for C:\TAP\TAPCIS.SAV or File name for this message: C:\TAP\MYMSG.TXT Notice that if you press that you can still press to save the message in the .SAV file. In the above prompt the filename C:\TAP\MYMSG.TXT was entered. This file now contains a copy of the current message--complete with header--in ASCII format. It can be retrieved into another message using the function from within the TAPCIS editor. Print this message , <*> You can print a message you are reading to the default printer by pressing . Alternatively, press the asterisk <*> to print without a formfeed after the message. Make sure your printer is powered, online, and filled with paper before trying to print a message. Shell to DOS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can shell to DOS temporarily (if you have enough free memory) using the key at any time you are running in TAPCIS including while reading and replying. You will need to type "exit" from DOS to return to TAPCIS. Shell to Program ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can shell from TAPCIS to a program by pressing then typing the DOS command at the d:\path\file to execute: prompt. You need to have enough free memory to execute the program or you will get an insufficient memory error. Exit Back to Main Menu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Once you are finished reading messages, press the key to go back to the main menu. will also return you to the main menu or abort message replies. These keys are used consistently throughout TAPCIS to return back to the "previous" menu. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 94 TAPCIS Build an Address Book ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Adding user names and IDs to your address book was introduced in the EasyPlex section on the "Address Book" beginning on page 65. You should review that section for the exact procedure for adding new entries. The ddress command should be used while reading messages to add people to your list. Once a name has been added, you can search the book for that name when writing new messages. Sending using the address book was also discussed in the EasyPlex section. Unless you create an address list during your reading of messages, you won't have any names to look up. You should add the names and user IDs of the sysops in the forums you visit and other people you expect to hold conversations with. Write a Message ---------------------------------------------------------------------- While reading messages from others, you may want to write a message to a person other than the sender or recipient of the current message. Press rite then address the message and send it as discussed in the next section. Forward a Message ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can forward a message you are reading to any other valid address (even FAX) by pressing while reading the message. Address the message, and when the TAPCIS editor appears, a copy of the message will be there for your comments. Note that if you leave the "#:" characters that are part of the header of the forwarded message, it will be treated as a separate message by your recipient's TAPCIS. For example, if the header of the message is: #: 55848 S1/TAPCIS Q & A 15-Dec-88 09:59:29 Sb: #55817-#Call Waiting Fm: Sysop Joan Friedman 76701,145 To: Sysop Marilyn Ratcheson 76702,260 (X) and you forward this to someone un-edited, the recipient (if using TAPCIS) will think that the message is a new message. And, the recipient can reply to the forwarded message. Therefore, if you want the recipient to reply to the forwarded message (not back to you), leave the header alone. If you want the recipient to reply only to you, remove at least the "#:" in the text of the forwarded message. You must have EasyPlex active for forwarding to work. The forwarded message will be sent directly from EasyPlex the next time you go online. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 95 TAPCIS Writing Forum Messages ====================================================================== The basics of writing and editing a message were given in the EasyPlex section under "Write an EasyPlex Message" beginning on page 59. You should review that section now if you have not done so already. In this section we examine the writing of a forum message and some of the more advanced commands available in the editor. Writing a Forum Message ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The rite command is a main menu option. If more than one forum is active, TAPCIS prompts "Forum:" at the bottom of the screen. Enter the number of the forum to start the message. will abort the command. To write a message in a forum not shown on the status line, activate the forum by pressing then the letter of the forum (to put an asterisk <*> next to the name). If you have not defined the forum yet, follow the procedure for adding a forum as described previously. Entering the To: Address At the To: prompt you have several choices: * Type ALL to send a forum message to All members; * Type the name and user ID of your intended recipient from memory; * Have TAPCIS look up a name in your address book by preceding a search string with backslash <\>; * Type *SYSOP to send a private message to the forum administrator (i.e., "sysop"). This message will be private, even if posted as a "public" message in a public section. * Type SYSOP without the asterisk to send the message to the next forum administrator who comes online. The message will be visible to all. Unlike EasyPlex, forum messages cannot be sent to multiple user IDs. Also, forum messages are usually public--even if you send the message to a particular user ID. Some forums offer private messages within the forum. It is strongly recommended that you use EasyPlex for such messages; there is less of a chance that you will accidentally save a message publicly intended for private consumption if you write directly in EasyPlex. No return receipt is offered in forum messages. Once a message is read by the recipient an (X) is added after the user ID in the To: field. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 96 TAPCIS Neither TAPCIS nor the CompuServe forum software checks the user ID you enter to see if it matches the name you enter. Be careful of typos. You can send a message to a name alone without a user ID. Doing so means that the message will not be marked for that person when he or she enters the forum, the person may miss the message entirely, and you'll not be able to tell that the message has been read. CompuServe only cares about the user ID. The name itself is ignored. Entering the Message Subject Forum messages subjects are important. Choose your subject with care. Make it as descriptive as possible within the limit of 24 characters. When you enter the subject TAPCIS accepts more than the 24 character limit, but indicates with a "|" vertical bar the point where you've typed too long a subject. Once the editor screen appears you'll also see whether your subject was truncated. You can abort the message at this point using . The subject is used to name the thread. Those people using the Q- forum method of reading appreciate subjects like "Stock Portfolio Analysis" rather than a generic "Script help needed." [ Figure 23: Selecting Forum Message Section ] Message Section After entering the To: and Subject:, TAPCIS offers you a list of forum sections. Look closely at the list and choose the one most appropriate for your message. Editing the Message ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The TAPCIS editor is very natural. It uses standard cursor positioning and has word wrap. Since CompuServe does not offer attributes like underline and BOLD, TAP doesn't either. You should use mixed case and save capitalized words for EMPHASIS. A quick reminder of editing keys is available by pressing in the editor. They are also described in the EasyPlex section on page 60. WordPerfect users and users of most other word processors are accustomed to auto reformatting during text insert and delete. TAPCIS does not offer this, and you must manually press or the old WordStar in each paragraph you want to reformat. [ Figure 24: TAPCIS Editor at Send Prompt ] Send the Message ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can finish entering and editing the message with the following keys: If you've decided not to send the message, press this function key then enter to confirm the discard. Once you do this the message cannot be recovered. This is the normal way to send a message. The menu shown in the sample screen above appears at the bottom of the screen. You can also get this menu with two other keys: Press to send and also save a copy of the message to the .SAV file. If you have your parameters set for Keep Outbox File Always using is unnecessary. Use the key to send the message and also print a copy of the message to the current printer port (PRN). Send Options The send options are slightly different for forum messages than for EasyPlex. Send: 1 Public; 2 Private; 3 Unformatted; 4 Email; 0 Resume; X Discard 1 The default option is <1>, so if you want to send the message publicly, just press or or the <1> itself. To send the message privately, press <2>. TAPCIS sends this message with the POST PRIVATE command. If the forum software responds that private messages are not enabled on the forum (they are not on the TAPCIS forum), the message will be MAiled privately via EasyPlex. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 98 TAPCIS Option 3 is for "unformatted" messages. This is used RARELY and only when you don't want CompuServe to reformat the message when it is read by others. This option is used when you send tabular data. You can avoid having to use this option by putting periods in front of lines that you do not want reformatted: .Things I'd like to see in TAPCIS: . .1) More forums on the forums screen .2) Enhanced offline message management .3) Larger telephone directory for travelling . Then if you have other paragraphs you can still use option 1 which is preferred over saving the message unformatted. Option 4 is Email (electronic mail) delivery through EasyPlex. You can send EasyPlex messages right from the forum using this option. The size limit for such messages is the smaller forum size limit, not the 50,000 (256K after 3/15/89) character limit of EasyPlex. Press the zero <0> if you want to resume editing the message before sending. Any saving or printing of the message you had ordered will be cancelled. Send the message with or after the resume if you want those options. The option is like . Press and the message will be thrown away. Transmit the Message Messages written in the TAPCIS editor are stored on disk in the .SND file until you send them to the forum with the nline command. The main menu will tell you if you have messages to send by putting a double-headed up and down arrow next to the forums with online activity pending. [ Figure 25: Editing the .SND File ] Editing the .SND File ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Up until you send the message online, you can make changes to the message by editing the .SND file. The main menu dit option is used to do this. Enter the forum number if prompted and for the .SND file. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 99 TAPCIS This file is a different format from the message editor. Use caution so that CompuServe commands are kept intact and at the beginning of lines. In the screen above we took the message and added another question to it. To finish the key is pressed followed by a <1>. ANY changes made are not recorded in the .SAV file, and there is no practical way to do this. The "L;All;Stock Portfolio Analysis" is the internal TAPCIS "Leave" command followed by the To: field for this message (All) and the subject (Stock Portfolio Analysis). You can edit these as long as you keep the right format and do not exceed the maximum lengths for these fields (24 is safe). The message text follows. Edit the message as you please, but do not exceed the CompuServe maximum message size. The "/ex" is added by TAPCIS (in EasyPlex, if the /EX is capitalized, the message is sent return receipt requested). It ends the message upload into the editor. The "S2" saves the message in forum section 2. Change the section number if you want, but make sure the section number you enter is available to you. Both the /ex and Sn MUST be on lines by themselves. Be careful when you edit or reformat messages that they stay as shown. If other messages were pending, they would all be in this file. If you make a mistake, the best bet is to press to discard these changes. You can then go back and edit the .SND file again. Maximum Message Length ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CompuServe forums have a maximum message length of approximately 2200 characters. This works out to roughly 30 lines or 350 words. At line 24 of your message, TAPCIS will put this warning on the bottom status line: Approaching message size limit of 2200 characters, or an average 30 lines When you hit line 30 in your message, the warning changes to: EXCEEDING message size limit of 2200 characters, or an average 30 lines These limits are approximate, and if you follow TAPCIS' warnings, you'll never have a message truncated. Some people can squeeze slightly more than 2300 characters into a message without getting cut short. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 100 TAPCIS Splitting Long Messages ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Avoid sending messages that get truncated by keeping your messages within the 30 line limit. On the rare occasions where you need to write a message longer than 30 lines, use the "/split" command. This works in a slightly peculiar way. When you get down to the end of one message, press , then type the word: /SPLIT on a line by itself. Then store the message. Immediately write another message (or reply to the same message again). IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW YOU ADDRESS THIS SECOND MESSAGE. The message you write immediately after a /split is sent as a reply to your first message (in effect the second message will be sent TO YOU as a reply). Why should you do this? It keeps the threads together. If you write two separate new messages--even if they have the same subject--two new threads are created. A multi-part reply sent with /split's are read in their entirety before any replies. Otherwise, replies to part one would be read before your part two. That is confusing, and TAPCIS gets around this "limitation" in the forum software with split. The "/split" automatically adds "[More]" to the end of the message and "[Continued]" to the beginning of the next. You need not add these yourself. Also, you should put the "/split" at the end of the message so that the "[More]" is placed in the right spot. Retrieving Text into a Message ---------------------------------------------------------------------- An ASCII file can be retrieved into a TAPCIS message using the function. The program prompts you for the file to retrieve into the message currently being edited: File name [d:][\path\]filename.ext: C:\FILES\WELCOME.MSG The drive and directory path are shown in brackets since they are optional if the file to retrieve is in the current subdirectory. Otherwise, enter the whole name as is shown above. If you create messages using WordPerfect or any other external editor or program that creates a "formatted" file, you must convert that file to a plain ASCII format before retrieving it into TAPCIS. In WordPerfect this is done using the key and the option to save in DOS Text format (not generic WP format). ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 101 TAPCIS Search Another File/Import ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You may want to refer to another file while composing a message and possibly import a select part of that file into the current message. The function allows you to do this. Press and TAPCIS prompts: F1 or string to search: If you want to look at an entire file (assuming each line has at least one space in it), press at this prompt. Otherwise enter a string of characters to search for in the file. This string is case insensitive. Next TAPCIS prompts you to press to cancel the search, to search the message file for this forum, to search the save file for this forum, to search the USERID.CIS file, or to enter a specific filename. The prompt appears in the top window: F1> cancel M> .MSG file V> .SAV file U> USERID or enter file to search If the string you entered is found in the file, the first "hit" will appear highlighted in context. On the right side will be letters in brackets labeling each line. The status line will show something like this: F1> Quit; Import: A>-T> lines Z> all; X> New; PgDn scroll; PgUp top; If you want to import one of the lines shown into the current message, press the letter corresponding to the line. returns you to the message. Pressing will continue the search to find the next occurrence (if any). Use to import all the lines. starts a new search. You can use to go back to the top of the searched file, and to scroll down in the searched file. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 102 TAPCIS TAPCIS Forum Registration ====================================================================== =====> Be sure to follow these instructions to register in the TAPCIS Forum and gain access to closed section and library 9. Our customers receive access to pre-release software and are active in shaping the future developments of the program. By registering online in the TAPCIS Forum, it also gives us a record of your user ID so that we can notify you of future releases. * Press rite to send a message to the TAPCIS Forum (TAPCIS must be listed as a forum at the bottom of the screen; press its number when asked). * Address the message to "*SYSOP" (the asterisk is vital). * Use "TAPCIS Registration" as the subject. * Select section 1 for the message. * In the message include the name and address information of the purchaser of the software, phone number, your account number from Support Group Inc. (if known from your receipt or invoice), and the TAPCIS registration number. If your number includes the letter "T" it is a temporary number. Once you get your permanent number from the Support Group, send a similar message with that number. * Send the message "public." By addressing it to "*SYSOP" you insure that only the sysops of the forum can read the message with your number. Please do not send this message via EasyPlex. It must be in the forum. * Allow a day or two for your access to section and library 9 to be enabled. Then, use again to get an updated list of sections and libraries. To leave room on the forum for more public messages, unless there is a problem, your request will not be acknowledged. Libraries ====================================================================== The CompuServe forum libraries (LIBs, previously called "data libraries" or DLs) are where files can be uploaded by you for use by others or downloaded from the libraries for use on your computer. The LIBs are numbered just like the message sections. Many forums have LIBs that closely match the corresponding message section. Below you can compare the list of section and library names in the TAPCIS Forum: ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 103 TAPCIS LIBRARIES MESSAGE SECTIONS 1 TAPCIS (tm) 1 TAPCIS Q & A 2 Scripts and Tools 2 Scripts and Tools 3 Modem/HW/OS 3 Modems/HW/OS 4 Problem reports 4 Problem reports 5 Suggestions 5 Suggestion box 6 International 6 International 7 The TAProom 7 The TAProom 8 Threads and stuff 8 Section 8 TAPCIS gives you a list of library names when needed to complete an operation. Online the names are found using the CompuServe NAME command from the function prompt. Downloading ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can download files using offline commands or by selecting the files when interactive with CompuServe. TAPCIS uses the CompuServe "B+" protocol to do all protocol transfers so that the resulting files are transmitted without uncorrected errors and as efficiently as the communication link allows. Library Search Creating a Catalog ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The way most TAPCIS users download is to first have the program create a catalog of files from the LIBs you select. This catalog includes all the information CompuServe has about the files in the library. You can choose to include all files, files matching a wildcard specification, files less than a certain number of days old, files listed under certain keywords, or a combination of these. Press to start the Library Search command. Enter the forum number if prompted. TAPCIS asks: Search by name ? y/n: N In this example we are not searching the LIBs for a particular name so press o. (If you know the exact name and LIB, you can enter those and have TAPCIS automatically download just that one file). The next prompt requests: Keyword -- for all : ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 104 TAPCIS Keywords help to put the many files that can be in a single LIB into categories. Even if you don't know a specific filename, you might guess that WordPerfect macros would have the keyword "MACRO" or "MACROS." Here we're trying to get a listing of all files so the key is pressed to select all keywords. Unfortunately, TAPCIS cannot give you a listing of keywords to choose from. or Age in days : The above prompt allows you to limit the search to files added within a certain number of days. This is a very convenient way of updating your catalog every week (7 days) or month (31 days). We'll get the full listing by pressing . [ Figure 26: Library Catalog Search ] TAPCIS then offers a list of available libraries in a box to the right and asks you to choose which ones you want to catalog. You can back out of the command at this point by pressing without entering any LIB numbers. The LIB numbers must be separated by spaces and followed by when you type them in as shown in the screen above where LIBs 1 (TAPCIS (tm)), 2 (Scripts and Tools), and 3 (Modem/Hardware/Operating System) are to be cataloged. The final question asks: Additional searches? y/n: N If you do not have any additional catalog commands to perform in this forum, press o and TAPCIS will return to the main menu. At the bottom of the screen next to the forum number you'll find the upside- down triangle indicating a LIB action. Press nline to go online and search the data libraries. [ Figure 27: Main Menu with LIB Action Pending ] ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 105 TAPCIS Marking Files to Download ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Once the catalog is saved in the .CAT file, you can mark the files for downloading at your convenience. TAPCIS does not show an indicator on the status line for forums with catalogs. Press atalog at the main menu prompt to process the catalog. Answer the forum number prompt if you have more than one forum defined. While the catalog files are being scanned, TAPCIS will show: Files: nnn Sessions: nn Libraries: nn FORUM on the top status line. When all the files have been scanned by TAPCIS, the first entry in the catalog will appear. Each file is shown separately on a screen similar to the following: [ Figure 28: Sample Catalog Entry ] The status line indicates that this is the first file out of 74 files in the catalog for the TAPCIS Forum. This particular file is from LIB 1. The user ID in brackets [ ]'s above the filename is the number for the person who uploaded this file to the library. This person may or may not be the author of the file. The next line can be decoded as follows: TAPCIS.INF The filename which can be up to six characters followed by a period and a 3 character extension. If the filename was followed by "/binary" then it would indicate a file that must be downloaded using a protocol. The absence of "/binary" indicates that this is an ASCII file which can be read online or downloaded. Other files can be stored in various graphics formats such as GIF. 05-Sep-88 The date the file was submitted to the library 24354 The approximate size of the file in bytes 1788 The number of downloads of this file since it was submitted ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 106 TAPCIS This file has a long list of keywords to help users find the file. The description below the keywords explains content of the file. If you want to download this file press ownload. TAPCIS stores a script for downloading the file in the DOS file .DOW which will be processed the next time TAPCIS goes nline. The other commands available are summarized at the bottom of the screen. Catalog Commands ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark the file for B+ Protocol downloading the next time online with or . Go on to the next file in the catalog ack Go back to the previous file in the catalog <1> Position to the first file <9> Go to the last file in the catalog <2> Skip to the top of the next catalog session <3> Skip to the last catalog session Find a string in the keywords and descriptions. You may also search on filenames, user IDs, extensions, or any other text in the file. Position to the next occurrence of the search string (if any) Exit the catalog Download the Marked Files ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you mark any files for downloading, the triangle will appear next to the forum number on the main menu. Go online with the nline command to download the files to your computer. TAPCIS goes to the forum with files to download and issues the command "LIB nn" where nn is the library containing the file. The program ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 107 TAPCIS then BROwses the file so you see which file is about to be downloaded. It then issues the command: DOW/PROTO:B CompuServe asks for the file for your computer. TAPCIS provides the full download path from your

arameters screen followed by the CompuServe filename for this file. If another file of the same name is in the download path, TAPCIS prompts you: File exists. Y to verify or resume; N to overwrite If you wish to have the file currently in your download path overwritten with the file that is on CompuServe, press within 30 seconds. TAPCIS beeps every few seconds to get your attention in case you are not watching the screen. If you do not press within 30 seconds, or if you press , TAPCIS tells CompuServe that it has a file of a certain length and CRC. If CompuServe sees that the file you have on your disk is a partial copy of the file you've asked to download, it resumes the download from the end of your file. Otherwise, the download is aborted and your file is left untouched. You'll need to delete it and re-select the file using atalog ownload in order to download the file. If the download fails in the middle, TAPCIS will ask you whether you want to retain the partial file. Saving the partial file, then re- trying the download can save significant time if a large part of the file has already been captured. [ Figure 29: Download in Progress ] At the top of the screen is the TAPCIS version number, a note that the entire session is being captured to ONLINE.LOG (TAPCIS was started using the G start-up option), and the time the transfer was started. Below the top status line is the description of the file being downloaded. The protocol status box at the bottom has at the top a reminder that will abort the transfer (after a delay for TAPCIS to convince CompuServe that it wants to abort). The box shows that the full B Plus Protocol is being used to transfer this file. CRC's are being used to detect any errors in the transmission. The data in the file is being broken into chunks ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 108 TAPCIS (packets) of 1K (1024 bytes). This is a download of an ASCII file (rather than a binary file). It is being stored in the download storage path, C:\TAP\DL in the file TAPCIS.INF. The section at the left has four columns: Port, Data, File, and Remaining. The rows are labeled Received (Rec'd), Sent, Rate (in characters per second), and Efficiency percentage (% Eff). In the example above, 14451 bytes have been received by the modem through the serial port. Of that, 14336 bytes were data. The difference of 115 bytes is the B Plus protocol overhead. The File column also shows 14336 bytes. That means that this download started from the beginning of the file. If it were a restart of an aborted download, the File count will be higher than the Data count. TAPCIS still needs to receive the remaining 10018 bytes in the file. If you add the Remaining figure to the File figure, you get the total length of the file shown in the top right of the box. On the Sent line you can see that TAPCIS has sent 30 bytes back to CompuServe to start the download and acknowledge the packets. The Rate and % Eff lines go together. This call is at 2400 baud, with a maximum throughput of roughly 240 bytes per second. The Port Rate shows that the full 240 cps maximum rate has been achieved for an efficiency rate of 100%. In this example we have a very clean line, no errors that had to be retransmitted, and a data efficiency of 99%. Why the discrepancy? The CompuServe "B Plus" protocol--like any file transfer protocol--has a certain amount of overhead. Each packet of data is sent with a header, data, and some check digits called a CRC. The CRC is what insures that the packet was received correctly. Without the overhead, erroneous data could be stored in your downloaded file without your knowing it. For binary transfers the descrepancy will be larger because of the need to mask some 8-bit characters. The section at the right shows the current time (03:11:47), the elapsed time of 1 minute, and the estimated time remaining of 0:42. The estimated time is based on bytes remaining divided by the current data rate in bytes per second. Under the estimated time remaining are the number of data packets exchanged and the number of errors detected. The B Plus protocol is an "error detecting" protocol. If an error is detected, the protocol asks for a resend of the damaged packet. TAPCIS does not store the data on disk until it has been received error-free. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 109 TAPCIS Transfer Log ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Downloading files without user intervention is one of the ways TAPCIS can save you time and money. If you use this feature, it is wise to also turn on transfer logging so you can later review whether the transfer was completed properly. Press

arameters from the main menu, then press og until it says either "Transfers" or "Time and transfers." The status information and file descriptions are logged in the file XFER.LOG. You can then review this information using a file viewer, the DOS TYPE command, or an editor. TAPCIS does not delete this log, so you will need to delete the file from DOS using: [C:\TAP] DEL XFER.LOG Downloading Tips ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Download during off-hours when the system is not heavily loaded for the best time and money savings. * Download a few files at a time. You need not go through the entire catalog on one pass. The catalog will remain until deleted by you. However, files do get removed from CompuServe or get switched from one library to another. You should get an updated catalog if the one on disk is old. * If you start getting beeps during the download, the protocol is detecting errors. If it gets excessive, you should abort and retry the downloading. You can safely save the partial file despite the errors reported. Only valid data gets written to disk. When you try again, the transfer will resume from where it left off. * Be sure to check the file size before marking the file for downloading. A file may sound very interesting but not worth an hour or two of download time. Some of the best software available online (like TAPCIS) is quite large (well over 200K archived). You may want to ask for opinions before spending a lot of money downloading a large (over 100,000 byte) file. * If the download of a series of files is interrupted, you should ill the OW file for that forum and go back to the atalog command to redo the list of files to download, omitting the ones that already came through okay. TAPCIS won't download the same file twice, but it does take 30 seconds or more for each duplicated file to be skipped. If you use the dit OW command to remove the files, be sure to remove all three lines associated with the file (LIB, BRO, and DOW). ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 110 TAPCIS * Turn on transfer logging and review the XFER.LOG file after a batch download of several files is completed. Delete the log file if you are short on disk space. The log can be useful for determining where, what, who, and when a particular file was downloaded. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 111 TAPCIS Uploading ====================================================================== Uploading is the process of taking a file from your computer and submitting a copy to a forum library. It is one of the few processes not fully automated by TAPCIS. Fortunately, the actual uploading is currently free of CompuServe connect charges (network surcharges do still apply during your upload). First we go online using the nteractive command. Enter the number of the forum where you'll be uploading the file when prompted. TAP dials the phone, logs in, and goes to the forum. On the screen you'll be left at a prompt that says: Forum ! LIB 2 You need to enter the command LIB followed by the number of the LIB for your file. If you can't remember which LIB is most appropriate, type NAME at the prompt. The following dialogue between a user uploading the file C:\FILES\WEA.ARC demonstrates the uploading process. Upload Dialogue Forum ! LIB 2 LIB 2 ! UPL Suspending connect charges... File name: WEA.ARC Transfer types available - 1 ASCII 2 Binary 3 Image 4 Graphic:RLE 5 Graphic:NAPLPS 6 Graphic:GIF Enter choice ! 2 File name for your computer: C:\FILES\WEA.ARC ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 112 TAPCIS Enter Description (465 chars max, /EXIT when finished): THIS IS A SCRIPT AND DOCUMENTATION FILE FOR DOWNLOADING TODAY'S WEATHER AND STORING IT IN THE FILE TODAY.WEA. /EXIT Keywords: SCRIPT WEATHER WEA TODAY Keywords: SCRIPT WEATHER WEA TODAY This is a script and documentation file for downloading today's weather and storing it in the file TODAY.WEA. Is this okay (Y or N)? Y Copying file to Library... Your request will be processed by the Sysop as soon as possible. Resuming connect charges. LIB 2 ! OFF Thank you for using CompuServe! Off at 17:41 EST 2-Jan-89 Connect time = 0:03 Upload Tips ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * You can shorten the above dialogue by providing the necessary information on a single line as in: UPL FILENA.EXT/typ:bin If the file is ASCII, replace "/typ:bin" with "/typ:asc". Most files should be uploaded as binary files! * Always archive files over 10K or if multiple files are in the "distribution" such as a series of macros or a utility with documentation. Separate files makes it difficult to download all the files and keep them together. Archiving also preserves file integrity better. See "Archiving" on page 138. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 113 TAPCIS * Keywords are important. Make yours meaningful. Think about how you would try to locate the file if you did not know its name. * Descriptions should give a clear picture of the contents and purpose of the file. If it is a demo, say so. If you are the author, say so and give your name. If you are uploading with permission of the author, indicate that and give the authors name (and user ID if any). The more info you provide, the less follow-up required by the sysops. * Files are "merged" (made visible) by the sysops on a regular basis. Sysops try to verify every upload before the files are made available to the forum membership. This can sometimes take a few days. If your file is not merged after a few days, drop a message to *SYSOP to see if there was a problem with the upload. * Don't upload files you don't have the right to make available for public downloading. * The maximum length of a file name is 6 characters plus a 3 letter extension. CompuServe will truncate longer filenames. Also, avoid using special characters in the filename. CompuServe truncates a name like MDM_CMDS.ARC to MDM. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 114 TAPCIS Interactive Mode ====================================================================== Up to this point we have described primarily the auto pilot capabilities of TAPCIS. This manual started off by telling you that TAP was designed primarily for forums and EasyPlex. That is true. However, TAPCIS can be used to access the other parts of the vast CompuServe Information Service, too. This is done in "interactive mode" where you give the CompuServe computers commands directly. This is also referred to as "terminal mode." The nteractive command is given from the main menu. If you want to go to a specific forum, enter that forum's number at the prompt. Otherwise, press to connect to CompuServe and be left in your personal file area. Issue the command GO CIS to get to the top of the CompuServe menu system. You can tour CompuServe just by following the menus to areas you find interesting. Watch the elapsed time in the upper right corner though! [ Figure 30: Sample Interactive Screen ] The Interactive Keyboard ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Most of the keys when interactive are passed directly through to CompuServe. Some are interpreted by TAPCIS as commands. A letter preceded by a caret <^> means to hold the control key and press the letter: Aborts whatever you're trying to do and hangs up the phone. This is the "bail out" key. You should first try to logoff normally using the OFF command. If you want to capture what you are doing interactively, press and then enter the name of the file in which you want the captured session stored. If you want to stop the capture at any time press the key again. We used this function to capture the sign-on session for the IntroPak. You can use PRN as a file name to echo the screen to your printer. However, this slows transmission down and is much less economical than capturing the file and printing it offline. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 115 TAPCIS Is used to upload an ASCII file without error checking or to start the execution of a script. TAPCIS scripts must end with the file extension .SCR. Enter the CO mode. In this mode you type in a small three line window at the bottom of the screen. When you press twice in a row or you press at the end of the third line, your input is sent to CompuServe all at once. In a CO this is useful so that you can start typing your response while the other person is still "talking." When the other person is done you can send your text or erase it. Remember that in a conference that all CO commands start with a slash in the FIRST column. All other lines are sent to all people in the conference. Conference Mode Screen ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Below you see several CO commands. The /HELP will give you a full list of commands. (You could capture that list with the key). The /UST command gives you a list of users in the forum and the names of the ones in CO. The /HANdle command lets you change your name for the CO (you should do this to make your name shorter). The /EXIT command gets you out of the CO. Notice that the command has not been transferred to CompuServe since the second has not been pressed. A second ^X () switches back to terminal mode. erases the current line and in the above example would erase the /EXIT command even though it is on the line above the cursor. (Once the command is sent to CompuServe these keys would not have an effect). [ Figure 31: Conference Mode ] ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 116 TAPCIS Advanced Commands ====================================================================== The advanced commands display in the top box when you press dvanced from the main menu. They are used for specialized purposes that become more obvious as you use CompuServe forums actively. [ Figure 32: Advanced Commands Menu ] Advanced Commands Summary ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The advanced commands create entries in the .ADV file which will be acted upon the next time you go online with the command. The results of these commands are stored in the .MSG file and can usually be read by reading messages as you normally do. Go online and read only new messages sent to you in one particular forum only. This is like the command when the normal menu is shown, where TAPCIS goes online immediately and reads new messages marked for you in all selected forums. Read new messages in a Forum addressed to ALL. Read ALL messages in a Forum (old and new) addressed To you. Read ALL messages on this Forum (old and new) sent By you Go online and delete all (P)rivate message from or to you if they have already been read. You should delete private messages to you as you read your private messages in forums where private messages are allowed. If you forget to delete private messages you've read, this advanced command will get rid of them for you. DO NOT DELETE PUBLIC MESSAGES OF INTEREST TO OTHERS. THIS COMMAND WILL NOT AFFECT PUBLIC MESSAGES. Enter a "User" selected command. This creates an online script. The command becomes part of your .SND file and must be one that CompuServe recognizes as well as one that will cause the forum software to end its output with a Forum! prompt. Valid commands include: HIGH;12345 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 117 TAPCIS Reset high message number to 12345 HIGH;L Reset high message number to the last message in the forum HIGH;D Reset the high message to its value when you entered the forum. This is useful for resetting the high message after a search or another advanced command that might reset the high message count. REA FRO:JOAN STA:0 Read all messages from Joan starting with the first message that is still in the forum. REA TO:MARILYN STA:50000 Read all messages to Marilyn starting at 50000 REA NEW SUB:TAPCIS Read only new message that have "TAPCIS" in the subject REA THR NUM:12345 Read the thread that begins on message 12345 REA THR DAYS:2 Read all threads from the last two days. These functions may be chained as may times as you like in as many Forums as you like. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS FUNCTION FOR NAVIGATION BETWEEN FORUMS OR IF YOU ARE NOT CERTAIN OF THE APPROPRIATE COMMAND. Advanced commands are the first commands sent when TAPCIS enters a forum. Thus, if you want to set your high message number back and do a scan or read, you can do it in one pass. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 118 TAPCIS Time/Charges ====================================================================== The built-in accounting module can generate the usage statistics provided you have selected to Log Times on the

arameters screen. Press <$> from the main menu to start the time/charges function. You're first asked whether you want to change the rates. The default rates are those for use with a CompuServe network phone number. Rates are subject to change. Use the nteractive and GO RATES to obtain the current schedule. If you are using an alternative connection or pay metered local service, change the rates here to reflect those charges. Prime time is the day time rate. Standard time is evening and weekend. CompuServe keeps its own time record which you can access with the command GO BILLING. It is not detailed by forum as are the TAPCIS statistics. The output can be directed to the printer or the screen. The graph below will only appear on the screen. [ Figure 33: Sample Charges Graph ] The top line shows that the last login during October was done at prime rates (P) and not at standard rates (S). While CompuServe connect rates do not vary with the time, communications surcharges like Tymnet, Telenet, and premium services do. The logon was at 17:17:12 on 10/31/88. The logoff was 1 minute and 54 seconds later. 7194 characters were received for a throughput of 63 cps. The bar chart shows the relative usage per day of the month. The numbers along the right show actual dollar charges. The top of the second column is for the 21st (you can see from the chart there was no usage the 20th). On the next screens you get a breakdown by forum with totals. The "overhead" figure is for time spent navigating from one forum to another. "Terminal" is for time spent interactive. For example, a partial list might look like this: ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 119 TAPCIS FORUM RATE TIME CHARGE TOTALS Overhead P 2400 00:26:57 5.73 Overhead P 1200 00:01:01 0.22 Overhead S 2400 00:54:01 11.48 Overhead S 1200 00:00:14 0.05 17.47 Terminal P 2400 00:19:53 4.23 Terminal S 2400 00:47:18 10.05 14.28 EASYPLEX P 2400 00:27:43 5.89 EASYPLEX P 1200 00:00:08 0.03 EASYPLEX S 2400 00:19:47 4.20 EASYPLEX S 1200 00:00:31 0.11 10.23 TAPCIS P 2400 01:20:12 17.04 TAPCIS P 1200 00:00:18 0.06 TAPCIS S 2400 01:18:49 16.75 TAPCIS S 1200 00:00:19 0.07 33.92 Last: Date On Rate Off Time P 10/31/1988 17:17:12 2400 baud 17:19:05 01:54 7194 chars 63 cps 2400 bps - prime 06:11:56 79.04 1200 bps - prime 00:01:59 0.42 2400 bps - std 07:36:00 96.90 1200 bps - std 00:01:59 0.42 Total today 0.00 Total month to date 176.78 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 120 TAPCIS TAPCIS Tips ====================================================================== Practice Forum ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Practice Forum is where you can try out the TAPCIS features free of connect time. Add the forum using the name "PRACTICE" on the orums screen, join it using , and follow the normal methods of accessing a forum, leaving messages, etc. While the normal connect charges are waived while in the Practice Forum, network access charges are not. These charges range from $0.30 to $50.00 per hour. Check the current rates for your access network. Emoticons and TLA's ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Users new to CompuServe forums are often confused by a shorthand used by "regulars." TLA's (Three Letter Acronyms) actually refer to any number of acronyms in popular use. BTW By The Way IMO In My Opinion IMHO In My Humble Opinion ROF,L Rolling On the Floor, Laughing Emoticons are either symbols or words meant to add "body language" to a message. added after a sarcastic remark is meant to make sure the recipient doesn't take it seriously. The symbol equivalent it ":-)" which you have to turn your head sideways to the left to see the smile. We try to avoid acronyms as much as possible, to make it easier for new users to understand messages. Occasional use of emoticons can help avoid hurt feelings, but it is probably better to rewrite or not send the message if you have a doubt about how it will be interpreted. Getting Announcements ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TAPCIS automatically stores the News Flash announcement as Msg #0 in the forum message file. The News Flash appears when the sysop of the forum changes the content of an announcement and flags it to appear on everyone's next login. Several other announcements are available but are not captured by TAPCIS. In particular the New Member announcement when joining a ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 121 TAPCIS forum is not stored on disk except in the ONLINE.LOG (if one is being created). You can request that TAPCIS go online and capture an announcement by pressing dvanced ser-command and then typing: ANN;#;M;M where "#" is replaced by one of the following numbers corresponding to the announcement to capture. Then, go nline. After TAPCIS gets the announcement, press the number of the forum and read the announcement. 1 News flash 2 General 3 Messages 4 Conference 5 Library 6 Membership 7 Sysop roster 8 New member Upload Descriptions ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you are uploading a file when interactive, you must use the CompuServe editor to compose and edit the description of the file. If you mess up the description, the easiest way to edit it is to restart from the beginning. To clear the current description, type the following at the beginning of the line when in the editor: /T,P,D999 Executive News Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You cannot automate access to the Executive News Service (GO ENS). You can, however, save time by either capturing the stories to disk or sending the stories to your EasyPlex box. At $15/hr surcharge above normal connect rates, reading online is an excessive waste of money. Sending stories to your EasyPlex box allows TAPCIS to pick them up automatically. There is a delivery delay between the time you send the stories and when they are available in your EasyPlex box (1-15 minutes). Use the command: SEND #,#,#-# 7NNNN,NN ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 122 TAPCIS Replace the #'s with story numbers. Separate individual stories with commas, and ranges of stories with a dash. If you omit the user ID, ENS will prompt you for the user ID. If you press , ENS will use the login ID. MCI Mail to CompuServe ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To send a message from MCI Mail to CompuServe, create a message on MCI Mail, and at the "To:" prompt type addressee's name followed by "(ems)". At the EMS prompt, type "CompuServe" and at the MBX prompt enter the recipient's CompuServe ID. Press at the next MBX prompt, then finish and send the message as normal for MCI. Line Noise ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A noisy phone line is the enemy of automated communications. TAPCIS works by playing the role of a semi-intelligent operator. As long as TAPCIS receives the correct sequence of messages back from CompuServe in response to its commands, operation will be smooth and predictable. When line noise interferes, TAPCIS can get confused. Whereas a human might be able to make sense of the random garbage characters line noise produces, TAPCIS must assume that certain prompts and prompt characters make it through properly. And, commands sent by TAPCIS to CompuServe must be received properly. If the line is really noisy, you will not be able to use TAPCIS. More common is a burst of noise that might corrupt a command. If you are watching, you may be able to get TAPCIS back on track by supplying the correction yourself. For example, if line noise turns the command "GO EASYPLEX" into "GO ESYPEX" then CompuServe will respond that the ESYPEX page is empty, and TAPCIS will stop. If you do nothing, TAPCIS will logoff in about three minutes. If you type "GO EASYPLEX" then TAPCIS will pick back up again. A symptom of a noisy phone line is the appearance of ^U's on the screen. TAPCIS sends a control-U to CompuServe before every command. The ^U tells CompuServe to clear its input buffer. If any line noise had been received in the interim, it is flushed by the ^U. CompuServe will not echo the ^U unless there actually was garbage in the input buffer. If you start seeing ^U's, you have a noise problem. Solving a noise problem is not easy. First, check the connections to your modem and the telephone jacks to make sure they are secure. Then, try calling another CompuServe node, possibly in a nearby city in a different direction. If the noise appears on one node but not ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 123 TAPCIS another, note down the node ID that TAPCIS displays after the STATUS command on logon (TnnXXX), and then call CompuServe at 800-848-8990 to report the problem. If the noise persists on both nodes, the problem is either on your premises (the modem, jacks, wiring, cable, etc.) or in the line between your location and the telephone company central office. If you can hear the static on the line, report the problem to the phone company to have them fix it. Another option if you live in an area served by a CIS M node is to purchase a 2400 bps modem with "MNP." MNP is an error detecting and correcting protocol, similar in effect to CompuServe B+, but it works for terminal communications as well. Interrupting TAPCIS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The way to interrupt a CompuServe command without interrupting TAPCIS is by presing . For example, if you see that TAPCIS is reading a very long thread which has wandered far off the subject, you could get TAPCIS back to the Forum! prompt by pressing ^P. If you did this in an R forum, the entire READ THREAD NEW command would be aborted; the received messages would be stored on disk. Doing this in the middle of a thread read can have undesirable effects on your high message number, so use caution. If you want to abort the automated script completely, press . This sends a to CompuServe to abort the current command, and you are left in terminal mode talking directly to CompuServe. At this point you could type "OFF" to logoff, or perform any other nteractive functions. also works only after the to hang up the phone. You should use OFF, however, whenever possible. Aborting Downloads ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cancelling a file transfer is a drastic step. Some protocols (like XMODEM) allowed for a single character to abort a download. The request to abort was not error checked, so even line noise could cause a huge download to abort right before the end. CompuServe B+ protocol is more robust. The downside is that it can take 10-20 seconds (possibly more on a busy day) for the abort to be negotiated between your microcomputer and the CompuServe mainframe. If both computers are still working properly, the transfer will be aborted, and if a download you will be asked by TAPCIS whether you want to keep the partial file. If either the computers have failed (crashed), it is much harder to predict what will happen. In a worst case, TAPCIS may keep trying to ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 124 TAPCIS abort, and finally give up after 3 minutes and drop the carrier. If your computer crashes for some reason, CompuServe will drop the connection in 3-5 minutes on its own, or will drop it immediately if you drop carrier by turning off the modem (if external) or turning off the computer (if the modem is internal). GIF ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CompuServe has designed and implemented a "device independent" graphics format called GIF. For now, its primary uses have been for color radar maps (GO COLMAPS) and digitized pictures downloaded from the Picture Forums (GRAPHSUP, QPICS, and ARTGAL). If you need more detailed information on GIF, stop by the GRAPHSUP Forum. They have utilities for downloading to display GIF files on most computers. TAPCIS can download GIF files and color radar maps. TAPCIS does not support online viewing of these graphics. We've found that downloading the graphics and then either exiting TAPCIS or shelling out using works well for displaying GIF images. Marker Disappearance ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The markers at the bottom of the TAPCIS main menu show whether there are messages freshly downloaded and unread (the exclamation mark), activity to send online (the double arrow), headers to mark (the caret), or files to download (the triangle). If you exit TAPCIS, all exclamation marks will be gone when you return. TAPCIS does not store the status of these markers in the PARAMS.CIS file, and since there is no way to determine from the file name whether you have read the messages, TAPCIS assumes that you either did or did not want to. You can still read the messages; TAPCIS will not overwrite the old messages until you either go online with ew (and Append is off), or you ill the .MSG file. The header indicator <^> tells you that you have headers from a Q forum to mark. If you ark the headers, but don't choose any to read, TAPCIS does not create a .MRK file. If you exit TAPCIS and then return, the <^> marker will return. You must either ill the .QSD file or mark some headers for reading to get rid of this marker for good. The up/down arrow and triangle should always re-appear properly after an exit since they represent the presence of online actions pending in various files on disk (.SND file, .MRK, .DOW, .ADV). ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 125 TAPCIS Travel Kit ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you travel with a portable computer, you know how frustrating it can be to try and connect from hotel rooms. While some hotels are now offering simple RJ-11 jacks for connecting your computers to their telephone systems, others require that you almost tear down the wall, strip the wires, and kludge a connection together (only to find out that you'll have to go through an operator to connect with CompuServe and pay $1.50 per call for the privilege). TAPCIS Forum Sysop Joan Friedman has put together a travel kit that she uses for assaulting hotel phone systems. If you do travel and want to telecommunicate from your room, be sure to download the file TRAVEL.KIT from Library 3 of the TAPCIS Forum for Joan's tips. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 126 TAPCIS Modem Commands ====================================================================== The default modem commands and responses on the

arameters screen should work fine for Hayes compatible modems. If your modem requires different commands, you can often enter even complex dialing sequences using TAPCIS modem commands. The following special commands are available for the nitialize modem string, eset modem string, and in the telephone numbers. ^ A caret followed by a letter is used for control characters. ^M A carriage return (same as pressing ) ^J A linefeed ^N A control-N ?# Wait for # seconds where # is between 1-9 (?3 would pause 3 seconds) ? Wait for a letter back from the modem in response. (?K might wait for the K in OK) If your Hayes compatible modem needed to be reset before it could dial, the following sequence in the nitialize modem string sends an ATZ preceded and followed by a carriage return, waits for a K response from the modem, and then sends ATDP instead of ATDT to get pulse dialing instead of the default tone dialing: ^MATZ^M?KATDP With some new Hayes modems, the factory ships the modems with carrier detect and data terminal ready forced on. On those modems you may have to set the initialization string to change the state of those signals. Some possible settings for these and other modems are shown below: NITIALIZATION ESET Hayes V Series Modems ^M?1AT&C1&D2E1V1X1DT ?3 Most Hayes Compatibles ATV1X1DT ?3 ATZ^M?2ATV1DT ?3+++?3ATZ^M Multi-Tech 224EC ATV1X1&E1^M?1ATDT ?3 ATZ^M?K?2ATV1X4&E1&Q0DT ?3 Multi-Tech 224EH AT&E14V1X1DT ?3 Multi-Tech 224 ?1AT&E1&E14S7=17X1&R1DT. ?3 Promodem 2400 A?1TZ?1^M?K?1ATDT. ?3+++?3ATZ^M Migent Pocket Modem ^MATZ^M?2ATDT ?3 Zoom 2400 Internal ATV1&D2S11=55DT ?3+++?3ATH0^M Novation Smartcat 1200XE ATX2DT ATZ^M?3 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 127 TAPCIS Practical Periph PM2400 AT&D2&C1E1M1V1X4DT ?3 Microcom AX2400 ATV1M0\N3DT ?3 Tandy Internal *C*MODT ^T WorldPort 2400 AT^M?2ATZ^M?K?2ATV1X4DP ?3 US Robotics w/ MNP ATV1E1&M4X6DT ?3 US Robotics HST 9600 AT^M?2ATZ^M?K?2ATE1&M4X7DT ?3 To hang up the phone TAPCIS drops DTR to the modem at the same time that the remote modem is dropping carrier. This usually results in a hangup after 3 seconds, so the default modem reset string is ?3 which gives the 3 seconds. We cannot know in advance the strange incantations that are needed to get some modems to work properly. In some cases we have not been able to get the modem to dial on its own. Sometimes it is the setup of TAPCIS, sometimes it's the modem itself. One modem worked fine except through a hotel phone system where it would not dial. To manually dial, set the initialize modem string to the command needed to get the modem online and looking for carrier (ATDT or ATO work on most Hayes compatible modems). Then select a telephone number that is blank (no digits). Use the phone to call the network number. When greeted by the remote carrier, press the online command you want to run (N, O, R, etc) and hang up. TAPCIS will log in automatically. TAPCIS gives you flexibility to get your modem working. Try some of the setting examples above, even those from other modems. If you still have trouble, try to get online manually and ask for help in the TAPCIS Forum section 3. Give as much detail as possible. Remember that you can use TAPCIS' local mode to talk directly to the modem. Press the exclamation point at the main menu. Often you can then set and inquire about the modem parameters by following the instructions in your modem's reference manual. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 128 TAPCIS Floppy Installation Guidelines ====================================================================== Although a hard disk is recommended for TAPCIS due to the size of the program and its associated files, users of computer systems with two 5 1/4 inch floppy disk drives can make satisfactory use of the program by following these guidelines. Users with two 720K floppies have more flexibility and are not as critically cramped for space. While one 720K floppy can be made to work, one 360K is not sufficient. 1. Dual floppy users of TAPCIS will find that the program disk rapidly accumulates files that are necessary for program operation and for keeping track of your on-line activity. 2. Your TAPCIS disk includes several related files that must always be on the same disk as the TAPCIS.EXE program (which will usually reside in drive A:). Additional files will be created on this program disk that reflect the way you configure TAPCIS to interact with CompuServe and with the various forums you select. The monthly LOG file, which can become quite large for frequent CompuServe users, is also created and maintained on this program disk. Unless required, this logging should be turned off on the

arameters screen. 3. Dual floppy users should divert all data files (headers, messages, and all downloaded catalogs, programs and text files) to a formatted data disk in drive B:. This will reserve the program disk for the programs and files that TAPCIS needs to operate according to your own individual requirements. 4. Smooth, efficient use of TAPCIS on dual floppy systems requires a number of different data disks. Frequent disk file maintenance and normal vigilance can easily prevent disruptive "disk full" errors. With a bit of foresight and planning, some judicious disk-swapping and routine file maintenance, TAPCIS will perform admirably on a dual floppy computer system. The following suggestions and examples are designed to help new users get the most out of TAPCIS using two floppy disk drives. New users are advised to follow these guidelines until they become familiar with TAPCIS. They will provide efficient disk files for long-term use or future modification. If, after learning the program, the following procedures do not conform to your needs, the flexibility of TAPCIS will permit numerous variations as you tailor TAPCIS and the allocation of disk space to your own personal needs and preferences. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 129 TAPCIS Initializing TAPCIS on a dual floppy computer system is essentially the same as a hard disk with the following exceptions: 1. Begin by formatting 5 data disks. This will allow you to use TAPCIS for months to come without needing additional disks. Use the following "volume labels" for these disks if you wish: TAPCIS PGM, TAPCIS DAT1, TAPCIS DAT2, TAPCIS LOG, and TAPCIS DOW. Consult your DOS manual under "format" for information on volume labels. They are a handy way to identify your data disks at a glance, and are highly recommended. 2. At the "A>" prompt, place your master TAPCIS disk (the disk you received from Support Group) in drive A: and the blank disk you just formatted as "TAPCIS PGM" in drive B:. Copy the entire contents of the master TAPCIS disk in drive A: onto your "TAPCIS PGM" disk in drive B: using: COPY *.* B:/V 3. Remove your master TAPCIS disk from drive A: and store it in a safe place. The "TAPCIS PGM" disk in drive B: is now your working program disk. 4. Put your new "TAPCIS PGM" disk in drive A: and your blank, formatted "TAPCIS DAT1" disk in drive B:. This will be the normal arrangement of disks for your future sessions using TAPCIS. 5. Follow the instructions in the manual for starting TAPCIS and configuring it. Do not create subdirectories on A: for the program or on B: for the storage files. That uses up precious space. 6. In the parameters section of TAPCIS, specify "B:\" for your "torage disk path" and "ownload file path." This is CRITICALLY IMPORTANT for dual floppy users because it diverts all of TAPCIS' data files to drive B:. 7. While in the parameters section, set the "ppend/overwrite msg files" option to "Overwrite" to avoid "disk full" errors on a dual floppy system. 8. New users may wish to set the "eep outbox file" option to "Always" to avoid inadvertently losing messages until they become acquainted with the program. 9. You probably can't afford the disk space and time delays associated with session capture (start-up options L or G). You'll also have to watch free disk space carefully if you chose to log transfers or times on the

arameters screen. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 130 TAPCIS Accessing several CompuServe forums regularly and participating in message board or Easyplex correspondence can produce an overwhelming amount of data rather quickly. Because TAPCIS is designed to preserve data, dual floppy users need to perform periodic disk file maintenance. The following guidelines and cautions will help avoid "disk full" errors and help dual floppy users organize their CompuServe data to best advantage: 1. Before using TAPCIS to log in for a new CompuServe session, check your data disk in drive B: (TAPCIS DAT1) and eliminate any extraneous or outdated files. This can either be done from within TAPCIS using the "ill a file" option or from DOS using DELete or ERAse, whichever you prefer. Don't worry about files with a .MSG extension--they will be overwritten if you specified "Overwrite" on the parameters menu-- but delete any other old files before proceeding with your online TAPCIS session. 2. Ideally, your data disk will contain nothing but the current month's .SAV files from Easyplex and the various forums you access. Dual floppy users are advised to copy these .SAVed files to separate archive disks periodically and begin anew on the TAPCIS data disk. They are stored in ASCII format and can be accessed and edited with TAPCIS, WordPerfect Text In/Out, and by other programs that deal with ASCII. 3. The "" option to quickly scan forum headers (specified on the "orum" selection screen) is strongly recommended as opposed to the "ead messages" option for dual floppy users. In fact, the "" option is one of TAPCIS' most valuable ways of reducing on-line time (and costs) for all users. If you are an active member of a forum and miss an important point because you didn't download and read EVERYTHING, you can rest assured that another forum member will bring any oversights to your attention. 4. After "cleaning up" your TAPCIS DAT1 in drive B:, copy all the files onto TAPCIS DAT2 so that your files will be preserved in the event of a power outage or other problem. This is the purpose of TAPCIS DAT2--to serve as a backup data disk. 5. If you participate in a large number of forums and have not logged into CompuServe for four or five days, do not access all the forums at one time. Specify three or four of them at a time and divide your log-in sessions accordingly to avoid "disk full" errors on your data disk. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 131 TAPCIS In any event, pay careful attention to the files on your data disks and delete or transfer outdated files that do not pertain to your immediate needs for TAPCIS. Downloading information from forum data libraries using TAPCIS involves three steps: (1) going online to search a data library for files of interest; (2) creating a catalog offline of files you wish to download; and (3) logging in again to automatically retrieve the selected files onto your computer's disk. These three steps are interrelated, and files that TAPCIS creates in the first two steps are needed to accomplish the final procedure. To avoid "disk full" errors, dual floppy users are advised to use the blank formatted TAPCIS DOW disk when downloading programs or text files. 1. Replace the TAPCIS DAT1 disk in drive B: with the TAPCIS DOW disk before initiating your "ata Library search." 2. Leave that disk in drive B: during the "create atalog" process of selecting files offline and during the actual download. All the necessary files, including the downloaded programs or text files themselves, will be written to this data disk. 3. The purpose of the TAPCIS DOW disk is to provide as much available storage space as possible. Carefully monitor the disk's contents and keep it as empty as possible by transferring downloaded information to other disks and deleting the files that TAPCIS creates to facilitate automated downloading. 4. When selecting files for a downloading session, be sure that the total of all programs and files does not exceed the available space on your TAPCIS DOW disk. 5. Replace the TAPCIS DOW disk with your TAPCIS DAT1 disk to resume normal interaction with CompuServe forums. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 132 TAPCIS Script Language ====================================================================== The script language in TAPCIS is still limited, but it has been expanded in version 5.2 to offer capture to disk, file erasing, unechoed sends, and comments. The script language has three primary uses in TAPCIS: customizing login scripts for access through non-CompuServe networks (e.g., Telenet, Tymnet, LATA networks, foreign networks), creating a FRONTEND.SCR to capture information like weather and the daily news to the EasyPlex message file, and simplifying the repetitive entry of commands in non-forum online services (e.g., stock portfolio analysis, weather radar map downloading, stock quotes). The script commands are as follows. Each is a single capital letter or semicolon for comments. Most commands are followed by a space which delimits the commands from the parameter. ; Comment lines begin with a semi-colon and can appear anywhere in the script. C D:\PATH\FILENAME.EXT Capture output and append it to "FILENAME.EXT" on drive "D:" in directory "PATH." K D:\PATH\FILENAME.EXT Kill (delete) the file "D:\PATH\FILENAME.EXT". If you have a script that uses the capture command, and want to remove the old capture if one exists, use the K command before the C script command. P N Pause for "N" seconds, where n = 1 through 9 S TEXT Send "TEXT" of any length. Most commands on most services must be followed by an . In these cases end the "S " command with caret-M <^> . The caret key can be com- bined with any alphabetic key to duplicate a control code. For example, ^C is ctrl-C. This command waits for an echo of what is sent before continuing. U TEXT This command also sends "TEXT" of any length. However, it does not wait for an echo of the characters sent before continuing. This is useful for login scripts to networks where the first few characters sent may not echo or echo correctly. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 133 TAPCIS W X Wait for a single character "X" before continuing. W XXXX Wait for a four character sequence "XXXX" before continuing. Use a full four characters. Using 2-3 may cause the script to fail. X Close a capture file C Y Start the capturing to EASYPLEX.MSG. ONLY USE THIS COMMAND IN THE FRONTEND.SCR FILE. C N Stop capturing to EASYPLEX.MSG. ONLY USE THIS COMMAND IN THE FRONTEND.SCR FILE. Login Scripts ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can have a user defined login script by putting an underscore < _ > after the phone number on the

arameters screen. If you are going to write your own scripts, you should look at supplied scripts as an example of how to put one together. Scripts must be in ASCII format. Here is a simple script for login through a CompuServe node. ; TAPCIS.SCR - Sample user defined login script ; This one logs in through a CompuServe node which is not recognizing the ; Control-C to go directly to Userid: prompt ; ; Wait for seven seconds P 7 ; Send a carriage return without worrying about echo U ^M ; Wait for the last part of "Host name:" W ame: ; Send "CIS" and a carriage return S CIS^M ; The next prompt is "User ID:" so end the script here ; and TAPCIS will pick up and login A script for a standard LATA Network (usually run by your local phone company) has been provided in the file LATANET.SCR. You select this script by placing a colon <:> after the phone number. One problem: LATA Networks are not standard! If you are going to use a LATA network, you may have to modify the supplied script to work with the connect sequence required by your LATANet. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 134 TAPCIS DataPac Script ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The following is a sample script that some people have found effective through the DataPac network in Canada. You may need to make some minor modifications before you put this script in TAPCIS.SCR. Remember to put the underscore < _ > after the DataPac phone number on the parameters screen. ; DPC.SCR - DataPac Login Script ; Version 5.2 01/15/89 RPW ; ; Rename to TAPCIS.SCR and put a _ after your phonenumber on the

arameters ; screen. ; P 12 ; ; Replace ".." with "." for 300 bps U ..^M W PAC: P 1 U P 29400138^M W ame: S CIS^M Weather Script ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is a script that will capture today's weather in the file TODAY.WEA. It deletes the old copy of the file before capturing the new information: ; WEA.SCR - Capture today's weather to TODAY.WEA ; ; To invoke the script, go online to CIS , make sure you're on a ; CompuServe prompt (like in the forums, or at a CIS menu). If in doubt, ; type GO CIS, then press then type WEA and press return ; ; Send the WEAther command (Note: this gets the weather at your login node. ; If you want the weather at a different city that has weather reporting, ; type the full city and state after WEA (e.g., ) S WEA ^M ; Kill the old weather report ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 135 TAPCIS K TODAY.WEA ; Open the capture file C TODAY.WEA ; Wait for the next prompt W port ; Close the capture file X ; Send carriage return to get back to prompt S ^M Upload Script ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is a simple script which uploads a file to a LIB. You should use caution when writing and testing such scripts! As you can see the upload script is really just a sequence of send a command and wait for the next prompt. You can invoke such a script from within a forum by pressing followed by the name of the file. Your script file must have a file extension .SCR. ; UPL.SCR -- Upload a file to a forum library. V 5.2 01/15/89 RPW ; ; Instructions for use: ; Change the forum name, library number, file name in the UPL command, ; filename on your computer, the file description (keep it fewer than ; 465 characters), and the keywords. ; Forum to receive the file (change!): S G TAPCIS^M ; Wait for Forum ! prompt W um ! ; ; Library to receive the file (change!): S LIB 2^M W ! ; ; Filename to use on CompuServe (change!) ; and file type (ASC or BIN -- change!): S UPL UPL.SCR/PRO:B/TYP:ASC^M W ter: ; ; Filename on your computer including path if necessary (change!) S UPL.SCR^M W : ; ; File description (change!). ; Be sure to keep the ^M's at the end of lines! S In a circular sort of way, this is a file that was uploaded using^M S itself. UPL.SCR will permit you to upload any file anywhere on^M S CompuServe. Edit it so that the Lib and Forums are correct and^M S go online nteractive selecting no Forum. At the first prompt,^M ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 136 TAPCIS S hit and then enter UPL. Two rules -- 465 char max and no^M S blank lines in this DES area.^M ; ; Exit the description S /EXIT^M W : ; ; Keywords for the file (change!) S UPLOAD SCRIPT UPL.SCR TAPCIS^M W ? S Y^M W ! ; Logoff S OFF^M ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 137 TAPCIS ARC Format ====================================================================== Files in the CompuServe data libraries are often in "ARC" format. Such files are typically indicated by the file extension .ARC as in MYMACS.ARC. A file in ARC (archive) format is compressed to save you transmission time and money. A single ARC file may contain hundreds of files or a single file. Before you can use the files inside an archive, you must "unARC" the files. This simply means that you run a program which takes the .ARC file, extracts the individual files stored inside, and decompresses them. The resulting files are stored on your disk, ready to use. The "unARC" process also checks each file to make sure it is unARCed accurately. If the file cannot be extracted, you'll be told so. You may need to redownload such files. Two unARC utilities are supported on most forums: PKUNPAK (previously called PKXARC) and ARC-E. Both take a standard ARC file and extract the individual files. PKUNPAK does ask for payment to the author of $20. ARC-E is free for non-commercial use. The PK utilities and the ARC-E.COM file can be downloaded from the TAPCIS Forum Library 2 as well as from many other forums around CompuServe. Both programs have a simple syntax. For example, to extract all the files from the archive MYMACS.ARC into the current directory one would type one of the following: PKUNPAK MYMACS ARC-E MYMACS The companion programs to create archives are PKPAK and ARC-A. These are also found in the LIBs of many forums. You should always archive files before contributing them to the LIBs. You'll also find that word processing files sent without ARCing can get "garbage" added to the end which has to be manually deleted. ARCing eliminates such problems. If you have any questions about archives or archiving, feel free to ask a question. Note: There is a lot of confusion in the "ARC" area. System Enhancement Associates, Inc., has claimed that the ARC format is proprietary to them. In an agreement with PKWare to settle a court dispute, it was agreed that after January 31, 1989, PKWare would cease to publish software that is compatible with the existing .ARC format. We've always preferred the PKWare software, but it will remain to be seen what evolves as the standard in compression and archiving software, whether it will be PK's new format, the old ARC format, or some new, completely public domain format. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 138 TAPCIS CompuServe Access Phone Numbers ====================================================================== See the file PHONES.ARC in Library 1 of the TAPCIS Forum. You can call CompuServe at 800-848-8990 to get the number of a local node while travelling or to get signed on. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 139 TAPCIS Forum Commands ====================================================================== See the file CMDS.ARC in Library 1 of the TAPCIS Forum. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 140 TAPCIS List of CompuServe Forums ====================================================================== The following is a list of forums and their "GO" reference names. If you wish to join one of these forums using TAPCIS, add the forum on the orums screen, then use from the main menu to join the forum. Forums marked with an asterisk [*] are not individual forums. They are the top menu for a series of forums. Using TAPCIS' nteractive command you can look at these menus (e.g., GO SOFTWARE). New forums are added regularly. You can get an (almost) complete list using the CompuServe command FIND FORUMS. AS OF JANUARY 1, 1989 ADCIS (Assoc. for Dev. of Computer-based Instructional Systems) ADCIS ADOBE (Postscript) ADOBE AEJMC (Assoc. for Educ. in Journalism & Mass comm. AEJMC AI EXPERT AIE100 ALDUS ALDUS Amiga Arts AMIGAART Amiga Tech AMIGATEC Amiga Vendor AMIGAVEN Apple Forums * MAUG Apple II & III APPLETWO Apple Community Area APPCOMM Apple Developers APPDEV Apple Hypercard APPHYP Apple Macintosh * MACINTOS Apple Mac Arts & Entertain. MACFUN Apple Mac Business MACBIZ Apple Mac Productivity MACPRO Apple Vendors Forum A APVENA Apple Vendors Forum B APVENB Aquaria / Fish FISHNET Ashton-Tate ASHFOR Astronomy ASTROFOR AtariNet * ATARINET Atari Art & Entertainment ATARIART Atari Productivity ATARIPRO Atari Vendors ATARIVEN Atari 8-Bit ATARI8 Auto Racing RACING Autodesk Software AUTODESK Aviation AVSIG Bacchus Wine WINEFOR Borland International * BORLAND Borland Application Prod BORAPP Borland Language Products Turbo Pascal/Basic BPROGA Other languages BPROGB Broadcast Professionals BPFORUM ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 141 TAPCIS CADKEY Forum CADKEY Cancer CANCER CB Interest Group CBFORUM CD ROM CDROM CP/M (CPM) Users Group CPMFOR Color Computer COCO Comic Book COMICS Commodore News * CBMNEWS Commodore Arts/Games CBMART Commodore Comm CBMCOM Commodore Programming CBMPRG Commodore Service CBMSER Computer Club CLUB Computer Consultants CONSULT Computer Language Mag CLM332 Computer Training DPTRAIN Consumer Electronics CEFORUM Cooks Online COOKS Crosstalk XTALK DEC PC DECPC DEC Users Network * DECUNET Digital Research DRFORUM Disabilities DISABIL Dr. Dobb's Journal DDJFORUM Educational Research EDRESEAR Educators EDFORUM Epson EPSON Financial Forums * FINFORUM Florida FLORIDA Foreign Language FLEFO Forth /Creative Solutions FORTH Gaming Connection * GAMECO Gamers GAMERS Game Vendors GAMEVEN Genealogy ROOTS Good Earth GOODEART HAM Radio HAMNET Hardware * HARDWARE Health GOODHEAL Hewlett Packard HP Human Sexuality * HUMAN HSX Support Groups 1 HSX100 HSX Support Groups 2 HSX200 IBM Users Network * IBMNET IBM Applications IBMAPP IBM Communications IBMCOM IBM Hardware IBMHW IBM Junior IBMJR IBM New Users IBMNEW IBM Programming IBMPRO IBM Systems/Utilities IBMSYS ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 142 TAPCIS IBM Vendor Support PCVEN Int'l Entrepreneurs' Network USEN Investors INVFORUM Javelin User's JAVELIN Journalism JFORUM LDOS/TRSDOS6 Users Group LDOS LOGO LOGOFOR Legal LAWSIG Literary LITFORUM Living Videotext LVTFORUM Lotus Integrated Prod. LOTUSA Lotus Stand-Alone Prod. LOTUSB MAUG(tm) (see Apple) * MAUG Medical SIG MEDSIG MIDI (Music) MIDI MicroPro MICROPRO Microsoft Connection * MSOFT Microsoft Applications MSAPP Microsoft Systems MSSYS Military Veterans Services * VETERAN Model Aviation MODELNET Model Trains TRAINNET Monogram Software MONOGRAM Multi-Player Games MPGAMES NAIC Investor Education NAIC Nantucket (Clipper) NANFORUM NOVELL Networks * NOVELL Novell Forum ($) NOVFORUM Novell Users Forum NOVUSER National Issues ISSUESFOR OS9 OS9 Outdoor OUTDOOR PDP-11 PDP11 PR and Marketing PRSIG Pascal MUSUS PC Magazine Forums * PCMAGNET PC Mag Editorial PCM_EDIT PC Mag Prgramming PCM_PROG PC Mag Tips PCM_TIPS PC Mag Utilities PCM_UTIL Photography PHOTOFOR Pictures/Graphics * GRAPHICS Pictures Graphics Support (GIF) GRAPHSUP Pictures (Quick, small) QPICS Pictures Art Gallery ARTGAL Play-By-Mail Games PBMGAMES Programmers PROGFOR Religion RELIGION RockNet ROCK Role-Playing Games RPGAMES Safetynet SAFETY ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 143 TAPCIS Sailing SAILING Science Fiction SCI-FI Science/Math Education SCIENCE Scuba Diving DIVING Software Forums * SOFTWARE Software Publishing SPCFORUM Space * SPACE Space Education SPACEED Space SPACEFOR Sports FANS Students' STUFO TANGENT TANGENT Tandy Model 100 M100SIG Tandy Professional TRS80PRO TAPCIS FORUM TAPCIS Texas Instruments TIFORUM Travel SIG TRAVSIG Unix UNIXFOR VAX VAXFORUM Veterans VETFORUM WIT Sig WITSIG WordPerfect Support Group WPSG Working-From-Home WORK * Do not use asterisk marked forums on the TAPCIS Forums Screen. These are "top" pages and not actual forums. You can explore these pages using the TAPCIS nteractive command, then when on CompuServe GO (for example, GO PCMAGNET). ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 144 TAPCIS CompuServe Rates ====================================================================== The following are the rates CompuServe charges subscribers for connect time, communications surcharges, and various EasyPlex fees. CompuServe does change rates on occasion, and these figures should be treated as unofficial and should be verified online using the command GO BILLING. (For example, CompuServe raised the rates for access through CSC-Net from $20/hr to $50/hr recently). AS OF JANUARY 1, 1988 CONNECT RATES Rates shown are per hour. Connect time is billed in one minute increments, with a minimum of one minute per session. Connect time rates do not include communication surcharges and product surcharges. 2400/1200 baud $12.50 300 baud $ 6.00 COMMUNICATIONS SURCHARGES Communications surcharges apply when the respective communications network is used for connection. Each location has the option of dialing through the above communications networks. All rates EXCLUDE long distance and other telephone company charges (e.g. message units). CompuServe $0.30/hr Telenet(R): Contiguous U.S. $12 Prime, $2 Standard Alaska $15 Prime and Standard Hawaii $14 Prime and Standard Puerto Rico $11 Prime and Standard Tymnet(R): Contiguous U.S. $12 Prime, $2 Standard Alaska $10 Prime, $5.50 standard Hawaii $12 Prime/Standard Hawaii (via Western Union) $14 Prime/Standard Puerto Rico $11 Prime/Standard Canada $9 Prime and Standard DataPac(R) from Canada ONLY: ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 145 TAPCIS CompuServe Gateway $8.75 Prime/Standard Computer Sciences Corporation (International) CSC-Net: Prime/Standard $50 LATA Networks Prime $6, Standard $2 HOURS OF OPERATION Determined by local time at location of network connection. Prime/Daytime Service: 8 am - 7 pm weekdays Standard/Evening Service: 7 pm - 5 am weekdays, all day Saturdays, Sundays and announced CompuServe holidays. Service between 5 am and 8 am weekdays is on an as-available basis and billed at the Standard/Evening Service connect rates. EASYPLEX ELECTRONIC MAIL In addition to these surcharges, you are billed for connect time charges plus communications surcharges. Receipt requested feature $0.25/request Multiple send feature $0.10/2nd-10th To Send EasyPlex to InfoPlex $0.45/message To Send up to 500 characters to MCI MAIL $0.45 To Send 501-7500 characters to MCI MAIL $1.00 Each additional 7500 characters to MCI MAIL: $1.00 To send EasyPlex to TELEX and TWX machines US Domestic Destination (I) $0.60/300 chars TWX (II) $0.65/300 chars International Destination Charges vary according to country. Exact charges will be displayed before the message is sent for your verification. ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 146 TAPCIS ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 147 TAPCIS Index ====================================================================== .SND File 99 Addresses 2, 66 ;OLDF 13 Addressing messages 59 (X) after the recipient's name Advanced commands 96, 117 93, 96 Alt-H 14 /ex 100 Alt-J 12, 14, 73 /split 101 Alt-L 8 [More]/[Continued] 11 Alt-P 13, 57 ^H 77 Alt-S 13 ^U 123 Alt-X <$> function 40, 119 Replacement Alt-J 14 ddress 95 Announcements 121 ppend/overwrite msg files Append 41 130 Appended 93 OW 110 ARC format 113, 138 dit 110 Archive 138 dit option 99 Archiving 97 File integrity 113 91 ASCII file retrieve 101 .SND 99 ASCII files 67 nitialize modem 127 Asterisks 75, 79, 94 nteractive 55, 112, 115 ATDT 36, 127 eep outbox file 130 Attributes 97 ill 41, 83 Auto reformatting 97 og 110 Auto-membership 73 ew 87 Autopilot 77, 82 nline 62

arameters B Plus Protocol 108 Screen 108 B+ Protocol 7, 16 ave 83 Backup 13 torage disk path 130 Billing Method 45 o Address 92 Binary file 59, 68, 69, 106 se Address 92 /binary 106 rite 95, 96 format 67 option 99 Binary file transfer 67 90-day satisfaction guarantee 3 Binary format 67 9600 bps support 11 Block commands 61 BROwse 108 Abort 34 Bulletin Discard 97 Short 90 Aborting downloads 124 Access Networks 37 Cancel 94 Accounting record 28 102 Active messages 84 Discard 100 Active section list 74 F1 34 Adding a forum 24 Search 102 Address Capture 55 Incorrect user ID 97 115 Address book 19, 65, 95 Captured messages 27 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 148 TAPCIS Carrier 128 CompuServe default parameters Remote 128 24 Carrier Detect Monitoring 9 CompuServe Forums 141 Catalog 28, 106, 132 CompuServe Information Service Commands 107 15 Create 104 CompuServe parameters 26 Data Library files 28 Conference 91, 116 Download marking 106 CO 17 Updating 105 Configure 129 Catalogs 129 Congressgrams 71 Charges graph 119 Connect charges 112 CheckFree 44 Connect time 63 Chit chat 86 Billed 145 CISSTATS.COM (see <$>) 40 Control characters 127 Clear all Convert 101 F10 75 Copyright ii CO 17 Counter CO mode 116 High message 78 /HANdle 116 CRC 108 /HELP 116 Creating directories 29 Color radar maps 125 Ctrl-C 52 Colors 41 Ctrl-D COM: port 35 Replacement Alt-P 14 Change 35 Ctrl-D Online Select 35 Replacement Alt-H 14 Command 76 Ctrl-O 53 dit 93 Ctrl-Q 53 nline 99 Ctrl-S 53 Del 93 Ctrl-X Command line option Replacement Alt-S 14 ? list 11 Cursor movement 60 - 7 C 9 Daily usage graph 21 D 9 Data Libraries 103, 105, 132, G 8 138 K 9 Data library 16 L 8 Datapac 135 Command line options (list) 31 Date 106 Commands Default option 98 CO 116 Default printer 94 Offline 33 Default rates 119 Online 33 Defaults 57 Script 133 Delete message 93 Commercial users ii Description 107 Composing 60, 102 Dial CompuServe Manually 128 Customer Service Phones 53 Directories Defaults 57 Creating 29 Rates 145 Directory CompuServe Basic Commands 52 subdirectory 29 Discard 98 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 149 TAPCIS Discard message 99 Elapsed time online 108 Disclaimer ii Electronic mail 59 Disk file Email 99 Maintenance 129 Emoticons 121 Disk full 129 ENS 72 Errors 29, 130 Erases the current line DL 16 ^Y 116 DL action Error Down Triangle 105 LOGINE 55 DL Search command 104 Error checking 116 DOS Commands 8 Error messages DOS Text format Disk full error 29 File 101 Insufficient memory 29 Double-headed up and down arrow write error 29 99 Error-free Down triangle 105 Downloading 104 Download 82 Errors Abort 124 Disk Full 130 File path 40 ESC key 9 Interrupted 110 Exclamation mark 82, 90 Log 110 Executive News Service 72 Tips 110 Executive Option 46 Download catalog 106 Exit 94 Downloaded headers 28 42 Downloading 16, 104, 132 F7 34 Marking the file 110 To a DOS program 94 Script 107 To DOS 94 Downloads 80 To main menu 94 Dual floppy 129 Extension .SCR Dynamics Scripts 116 Forum 83 F10-Save 93, 94 EasyPlex 59, 80, 96, 99 F3-Help 91 50K limit 10 Fail report 36 90-day expiration 71 FAX 70 Address 59 Features 19 Confidential 17 FEEDBACK 53, 71 Delivery delay 69 File Description 17 eep outbox 130 FAX 10, 70 Date 106 File Transfer 67 Formatted 101 Forwarding 95 Maintenance 129 Receiving ASCII files 69 Mark 107 EDIT 77, 100 Monthly log 129 Editing 96 Send 99 Editing commands 60 Size 106, 110 Editing keys Transfer 109 Alt-F3 97 File transfer Editor 60, 92, 97 EasyPlex 67 EDIT 77 Log 110 Editor screen 64 Filename 106 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 150 TAPCIS Files 27, 103 Headers 80 ppend/overwrite 130 Mark 83 Archive 113 Marked 81 Listing 105 Quick Scan 90 Mark 106 Help 34, 53 Multiple 113 F3 21 FIND command 53 Help Files 26 FIND FORUMS 74 High message 78 Floppy Installation 129 High message number 88 Format 130 Formatted Import 102 File 101 Indicator 82 Formfeed 94 Forum status 82 * command 11 Initial Parameters 43 Forum 15 Installation .SND file editing 99 Floppy 129 Adding a new 24 Hard drive 22 High message 78 Networks 2 Joining 12, 73 Integral time and charges log Libraries 103 21 list 141 Interactive 18, 104 Max total messages 84 Keyboard 115 Scroll rate 84 Interactive mode 91, 115 Section selection 88 IntroPak 1, 23, 39, 43 Section updating 88 Section/library names 12 Join 75 Status markers 125 Joining a Forum 73 Forum number 99 Forum select screen 75 Key replacements 14 Forum! 76 Keyword searches 20 Forums 34, 73 Keywords 105, 107 Files for downloading 103 R 85 L;; 100 Select all 79 LATA 27, 133 Forwarding 9, 95 LataNet Script 134 Frontend Script 8 Libraries 103 Function key 98 Library 16 Library search GIF 106 Command name change 12 GO BILLING 119 LIBs 103 GO command 52 License ii GO DEFAULT 57 Limit Guarantee 3 24 characters 97 Line breaks 99 Hard drive installation 22 Line noise 77, 123 Hardware Required 2 Local mode 10 Hayes compatible 127 Log 8 HAYS 36 Online 8 Header 63 Log Times 119 Fake 90 Login 75, 119 Header marking 82 LOGINE 55 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 151 TAPCIS Logoff 82 Transmit 99 Truncated 101 M-Forums 87 Unformatted 99 Main menu 99, 115 Writing 96 screen 33 Messages subjects 97 Manual access 20 MNP 124 Manually Modem Dial 128 9600 support 11 Mark Commands 127 Headers 83 Dial 127 Markers Fail report 36 Disappearance 125 Initialize 36 Marking 86 Local mode 10 Marking headers 83 Online report 36 Marking the file 110 Parity settings 10 Maximum message length 100 Reset 127 2000 characters 100 Reset command 37 MCI Mail 71, 123 Modems 35 Membership Directory 42 Monitor Menu 98 Colors 41 Parameters 35 Monthly LOG file 129 Message Multi-part reply 101 /split 101 Multiple addresses 59, 66 Abort 97 Multiple sessions 90 Composing 60 Edit 100 Name change 77 Edit before sending 99 Navigation 118 Editing commands 60 Network 38 Formatting 99 Network access Forwarding 95 Cost/Performance 37 Replying 64 Network installation 2 Reset 118 Network surcharges 112 Saving 64 Networks 37 Thread 16 New Features 7 Message #0 90 New Forum Software 7 Message editor 92 New mail 63 Message headers 80 Node 12 Message Navigation 91 Nodes 37 Message size limit 100 Message threads 28 Offline 132 Messages 16, 83 Offline commands 33, 104 Append 41 Omni Information Resources, Inc. Discard 99 2 Line breaks 99 Online 117 Maximum length 100 Activity 99 New 117 Script 117 Overwrite 41 Online Address Book 70 Pending 90 Online commands 33 Read 118 Online log 8 Splitting long ones 101 Online report 36 Subjects 97 Online Today Magazine 48 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 152 TAPCIS Online toggle 9 Q-forum 97 ONLINE.LOG 8, 108 QS;N 83 OPtions 76 Quick B Protocol 108 Overwrite 41 Quick B-protocol 20 Overwrite parameter 90 Quick Scan 74, 78, 90 Packets 109 R Forums 85 Parameter Radar maps 125 Overwrite 90 Rates 119, 145 Parameter settings 55, 76 Read Parameters Navigation 91 CompuServe 24 Read by the recipient Menu 35 (X) 96 Recheck 43 READ.ME 27 Section 130 Reading Messages 90 Setting 35 Reading mode TAPCIS 23 Marked messages 74 Parameters menu 39 Quick scan 74 Parity 10 Read all threads 74 Password 39, 43 Reformat 98 Password prompting 11 Reformatting 99 Path Refunds 3 Directory 101 Registration 3 Drive 101 Remote carrier 128 Pause 133 Replies 78, 81, 83 Pending messages 90 List 78 Permanent settings 57 Reply 92 Phone Numbers 139 Different forum 93 Practice Forum 121 Multi-part 101 Print New Subject/Section 92 Message 94 Reply to TO: address 92 Print this message 94 Replying 64 Printer Reset modem 37 Formfeed <*> 11 Retrieving 101 Private messages 17, 93 Retrieving Text 101 Program files 26 Return receipt 17 Prompt character 77 Return Receipts 59 ^H 77 Running TAPCIS 30 Prompts 51 Protocol Save this message 93 B+ 7 Saved message file 27 Packet size 7 Saving messages 64 Transfer log 8 Scanned Protocol transfer Catalog files 106 Aborting 124 Screen Protocol transfers 104

arameters 119 Logging 40 Script Public sections 88 Downloading 107 Pulse dialing 127 Frontend 8 LATANET 134 Upload 136 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 153 TAPCIS Script command Message 19 ; 10 Thread 19 C 10 Split-screen text editor 19 K 10 Splitting messages 101 X 10 Standard time 119 Script commands 133 Starting TAPCIS 22 Script comments 10 Status 12 Script files 26 Status line 64, 91 Script language 133 Status markers 125 Scripts 116, 134 Stock Quotes 8 Scroll rate 84 Storage 132 Search 102 Storage directory 69 Address book 66 Storage disk path 40, 69 Cancel 102 SU option 78 Search Another File 102 Subdirectory 101 Section 88 Subscriber Directory 49 Section box 74 Subtopics 91 Section list 88 Support 4 Section selection 88 Support Group, Inc. 1, 2 Sections 16, 78, 86, 91 Surcharge 62 Public 88 Surcharges Turning off 86 Product 145 Security 53 Send 98 TAPCIS Options 61 Executing 30 Privately 98 TAPCIS directory 27 Transmit to CompuServe 62 TAPCIS Forum 4 Send "text" 133 TapRoom 87 Send menu 61 Telenet 26, 38, 133 Send options 98 Telephone numbers 37 Serial ports 35 Telex 71 Service Agreement 44, 45 Terminal emulations 51 Sessions Terminal mode 115, 116 Multiple 90 Thread 16, 81 Set-up 1 Threads 101 M-forum 87 TLA's 121 R-forum 85 To: 59 Set-up checklist 22 Top box 117 Setting Parameters 35 Top window 102 Sh-F1 8 Tracking message threads 78 Shareware 3 Trademarks ii Shell to DOS 94 Transfer log 110 Shell to program 94 Transmit 62 Shelling to DOS 21 Triangle 107 Short bulletin 90 Truncated 101 Sign-on 43, 56 Tymnet 26, 38, 133 Session 44 Sign-on Procedure 55 Size File 106 Skip forward/backward ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 154 TAPCIS UnARC utilities ARC-E 138 PKXARC 138 Unformatted Messages 99 Unmark Selection 81 Upload 116 ASCII file 116 Upload script 136 Uploading 16, 112 Tips 113 Usage reports 28 Usage statistics 119 User ID 65 User ID's 83 User identification number PPN 39 UST 83 Village Inn 86 Volume labels 130 Wait for a four character sequence 134 Wait for a single character "x" 134 Weather 8 Wildcard 104 Window 116 WordPerfect 101 WordStar 19, 61 Write Address book 65 ASCII files 101 Retrieving DOS files 101 Transmit to CompuServe 99 While reading 9, 95 Writing Messages 96 XFER.LOG 8, 40, 110, 111 XMODEM 17 ______________________________________________________________________ TAPCIS 155 TAPCIS