NOVATERM 9.6 Documentation pages Contents | Introduction | Getting Started | Getting Familiar | On-line Activities | Configuration | Disk Utilities | Scripts | Utility Modules | Appendices ___________________________________________________________ 2. GETTING FAMILIAR If you've never used Novaterm before, take some time to get familiar with the software. This section takes you on a quick tour of Novaterm. More specific information on each part of the software may be found in later sections. 2.1 The Main Menu: a quick tour Whenever you load up Novaterm, you always start at the Main Menu. This menu is the "launch point" for accessing the various functions of the system. In the course of using Novaterm, you'll often return to the Main Menu in order to get to these functions. To get a feel for Novaterm, it is helpful to understand what happens when you select each item on the Main Menu. 2.1.1 Terminal mode Move the menu bar up to Terminal mode, the first item on the Main Menu, and press RETURN. The screen clears, and a single line of information appears across the top of the screen. A cursor appears on the second line. This is terminal mode. Terminal mode is where you interact with a computer on the other end of your modem. The entire screen is dedicated to displaying text. In terminal mode, anything you type on the keyboard is sent to your modem, and the data received by your modem from the other computer is displayed as it arrives. If you have a Hayes compatible modem, you may be able to see how this works. Watch the screen while you type a few keys. Your modem should echo the keys you type. Novaterm receives these characters from the modem and displays them on the screen. If your modem is not Hayes compatible, you'll have to wait until you are on-line with another computer for a demonstration of terminal mode. To exit terminal mode and return to the Main Menu, press C= Z (hold down the C= logo key and press the `Z' key at the same time). 2.1.2 Dial a number Move the menu bar to Dial a number and press RETURN. At the top of the screen, a list of commands appears. At the bottom of the screen is the label Phone book: with the words nova phone after it. This is the dialing directory. On this menu, you may create entries for bulletin boards you call frequently. Each entry may have a name, phone number, password, and other information associated with it. Your entries will show up in a menu below the commands, as soon as you create some. Press F2 to take a look at the menu for editing a single entry. (Select Quit to return to the dialing directory.) Press F1 to return to the Main Menu. 2.1.3 Configuration Move the menu bar to Configuration and press RETURN. This menu contains all of Novaterm's configuration options. You set some of these options when Novaterm led you through the first-time configuration process. All of these options are covered in a later section of the manual. Press the cursor-right key. A second set of configuration options appears. There are two parts to the Configuration menu; the cursor-right key toggles between them. Select Quit to return to the Main Menu. 2.1.4 Disk operations Move the menu bar to Disk operations and press RETURN. This menu provides some convenience functions for working with the disk drive. From here you may enter disk commands, look at the disk directory, and view the contents of text files. Move the menu bar to Disk directory and press RETURN. The directory of the disk is listed on the screen. Select Quit to return to the Main Menu. 2.1.5 Buffer menu Move the menu bar to Buffer menu and press RETURN. The `buffer' is a section of computer memory reserved for storing data received by the modem. The buffer is most useful for saving incoming text that you are interested in looking at later. Novaterm won't always store data in the buffer; you control when the "buffer capture", as it's called, is active. Remember the "RAM device driver" modules (section 1.3.3)? Novaterm may use a memory expansion device as storage for the buffer. If you have a Commodore RAM Expansion Unit (1700/1750/1764), a RAMLink or RAMDrive, or a BBG/GEORam cartridge, you'll have a lot of room available for capturing text. The buffer menu provides options for working with the contents of the buffer. Novaterm's buffer actually behaves like a disk. It has a directory, and files are stored with individual file names. You can create, rename, and scratch files, as on a normal disk. Select Quit to return to the Main Menu. 2.1.6 Device settings Move the menu bar to Device settings and press RETURN. This menu specifies which disk device to use for each of the listed operations. For instance, if you have a drive 8 and a drive 9, you could specify that modules and configuration files be loaded from drive 8 (the "program" drive) and file transfers use drive 9 (the "upload" drive and "download" drive). Select Quit to return to the Main Menu. 2.1.7 Utility modules Move the menu bar to Utility modules and press RETURN. This menu lists a set of separate programs that expand on Novaterm's basic functionality. When you select one, Novaterm loads and runs the program for you. Move the menu bar to Text editor and press RETURN. After a few moments, Novaterm's text editor appears on your screen. This is a general-purpose text editor for creating sequential files. Press Ctrl-H to see a summary of commands that work in the text editor. Press Ctrl-Z, then answer yes to leave the text editor. On the menu that follows, select Return to Novaterm to return to Novaterm. 2.1.8 Exit terminal Move the menu bar to Exit terminal and press RETURN. This option will terminate the Novaterm session. Answer no to return to the Main Menu. ___________________________________________________________ Contents | Introduction | Getting Started | Getting Familiar | On-line Activities | Configuration | Disk Utilities | Scripts | Utility Modules | Appendices