Version: 1.1.20
6 Feb 2001
set terminal screen-update smooth set terminal screen-optimization on
In addition, certain keys must be set to \Kignore, so they can be used as controls for the screen reader or Braille software. Depending on the specific screen reader, these might be the keys on the numeric keypad. The method for doing all this is illustrated in the ASAP.KSC file, for setting K95 up to be used with the ASAP screen reader.
For related resources, see our links page.
Kermit 95 1.1.17 and later are distributed on CDROM. Version 1.1.16 was distributed only in patch form. Versions 1.1.15 and earlier were distributed on diskette. Since the last diskette release was in 1997, we've removed the longwinded discussion of problems with diskettes and diskette drives from the FAQ.
http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/k95patch.html
Meanwhile, to answer the frequently asked question: "Why is the patch procedure a DOS program?". It is so the same patch program can be used for all versions of Kermit 95: Windows 95/98/ME, Windows NT/2000 on Intel, Windows NT on Alpha, and on OS/2. For Intel (PC) architecture only, patches are also available in a GUI form (because GUI patch software is available only for Windows/Intel).
If you have problems with installation or patching, contact us and we'll help:
The Dialer is the graphical front end for Kermit 95. It is built using a portable GUI builder that creates versions for both Windows and OS/2.
The remaining .DAT files are associated with the GUI setup and registration programs.
http://www.microsoft.com/truetype/fontpack/
For an overview of Unicode fonts (that was current, and frequently updated, at the time of this writing), see:
http://www.hclrss.demon.co.uk/unicode/fonts.html
If you use K95 to make different types of connections, not just TAPI, take the SET TAPI line command out of your K95CUSTOM.INI file.
The following command-line options can be used to tell K95 not to load certain DLLs; this can speed startup:
These numbers can be added. So "-# 30" means don't load any of the above. On a 90 MHz PC, starting K95 1.1.16 with "-# 30" took about 1 second; without it about 4 seconds. You can omit the network DLLs if you will not be making network connections. You can omit TAPI if (a) you will not be making dialout connections, or (b) you will be using COM1 or COM2 directly rather than the TAPI modem device. You can omit Kerberos DLLs if you will not be making secure connections with Kerberos authentication. You can omit the XYZMODEM DLLs if you will not be transferring files with XMODEM, YMODEM, or ZMODEM.
It can take Windows 20-30 seconds to release the TAPI device if your modem is disconnected or powered off. When it is connected and turned on, it still can take 5-10 seconds. That's Windows, not Kermit, being slow.
If you are using the K95 Dialer:
Then when placing a call, make sure:
If the phone number is not in portable format, neither Kermit nor TAPI will be able to apply any prefixes or suffixes, including the credit card number. (This process is referred to as "Phone number conversions" in the menus.)
To create a new TAPI Location that uses a Credit Card:
Now when you dial, these dialing rules -- including the calling card number -- will be used.
SET PORT LPT1
(or other parallel-port device). Only DOS names are allowed. Parallel ports (like Serial ports) are not automatically installed as TAPI devices since they are not modems. If you want a parallel port installed as TAPI device you must manually install it as a "Direct Serial Connection" device.
Kermit 95 does not include a direct CAPI interface.
One user reported trouble using NASI until they selected "use hardware flow control always" in the NASI Workstation Global Settings configuration dialog.
If your Windows user ID is the same as your ID on the host you are Telneting to, you only need to supply your password on the host, since it already has your user ID.
However, if they are not the same, or if you want to ensure predictable behavior, e.g. in a script program, you can instruct K-95 not to send your user ID with the command:
set login userid
(without a user ID). Then the host will give its normal login: or Username: prompt. Put this command in your K95CUSTOM.INI file or your script file, depending on where/when you want it to apply.
SSH version 2.x is not supported because:
Kermit supports the following manageable security methods:
CLICK HERE for details about Kermit's security methods.
Purchase the manuals from the current marketer of the terminal. Manuals are still being sold for all Wyse and DEC VT terminals. Note that (a) DEC sold off its terminal products division years ago, and it has probably changed hands several times since then, and (b) DEC is now owned by Compaq. DEC and Wyse terminal manuals tend to be quite expensive.
For further information, visit Richard Shuford's Video Terminal Information site.
Normally K95 refreshes the entire screen every 100 milliseconds, i.e. 10 times per second. This has proven to provide the best overall throughput, which is always a tradeoff between (a) responsiveness to keystrokes, and (b) speed of displaying large amounts of scrolling text. You can change the balance and the frequency with the command:
A smaller interval might produce snappier echoing, but probably at the expense of scrolling speed. SMOOTH forces screen refresh with every incoming character, and so turns the balance to totally favor fast echoing.
In version 1.1.16, K95's echoing strategy has been redesigned to give snappier echoing on modem connections, virtually eliminating any delay that can not be attributable to external causes. Echoing of a character from the local modem's command processor now takes less than 0.001 second, compared to about 0.110 second in 1.1.15.
Also, beginning in 1.1.16, screen updates are optimized. This results in noticeable speed improvements on most PCs, but paradoxically, slows down some others. To disable optimization, use:
SET TERMINAL SCREEN-OPTIMIZE OFF
Kverb Typical Assignment Action upscn Gray Page Up Scrolls back one screen dnscn Gray Page Down Scrolls forward one screen if scrolled back upone Ctrl-Gray-Page-Up Scrolls back one line dnone Ctrl-Gray-Page-Down Scrolls forward one line homscn Gray Home Top of scrollback buffer endscn Gray End End of scrollback bufferSee the Screen Scrollback section of the Kermit 95 manual on your disk for details.
The need to display a mixture of character sets on the same screen is addressed by ISO Standards 4873, 2022, and 6429 and by terminals such as the VT220/320 that follow those standards. Kermit 95 and MS-DOS Kermit both fully support these standards.
The most common requirement for a mixture of character sets is to display accented letters (as in Spanish) and line- and box-drawing characters on the same screen. This can be done on a real VT220 by sending character-set designation and invocation escape sequences as described in the VT220 manual and the ISO standards, to switch between (e.g.) ISO 8859-1 Latin Alphabet 1 (for accented letters) and DEC Special Graphics for line and box drawing, or DEC Technical for math symbols.
Or it can be done by using a PC code page, such as CP437 or CP850, in the host application, and then telling Kermit to "set terminal character-set transparent". This is considered bad practice, because the structure of these PC code pages violates ISO standards by including graphic characters in the spaces that are reserved for control characters. And also because it will only work with PCs and not real terminals, or non-PC-based emulators.
Unfortunately, some application developers take a third approach and invent a "new character set" specific to their application, which requires the use of a custom translation table, such as supported by MS-DOS Kermit and several other terminal programs, so they don't have to go through the "bother" of using (or learning) the proper switching mechanisms. While this might seem a reasonable approach, closer inspection reveals what a bad idea it is. To understand why it is such a bad idea, one must first understand ISO 4873 and 2022, and how real terminals work. But this was the application developer's responsibility in the first place. An explanation of the ISO standards is beyond the scope of this document, but suffice it to say that they have been in effect since 1973.
If the application uses standard terminal presentation methods, it will work with Kermit 95. If it does not, it will not work with any real terminal, and therefore will not work with Kermit 95 either.
We have chosen high-performance defaults in Kermit 95 not only for public image reasons, but also because on this platform we have more assurance than we do with (say) C-Kermit that we have a fairly reliable communication method, such as a modem with error correction and hardware flow control or a TCP/IP connection.
However, sometimes file transfers -- especially uploads of binary files -- fail using these settings. Such failures can almost always be fixed by restoring full control-character prefixing:
SET PREFIXING ALL
If that doesn't do the trick, then consult Chapter 10 of Using C-Kermit, 2nd Edition: "Solving File Transfer Problems".
and on and on. And they desire this functionality to be packaged as a link library for this or that platform, a DLL, an OCX, a VBX, an Active X control, a Delphi component, a Netscape Plugin, a Java object, a Visual FoxPro object, etc etc etc. The combinations of functionality and interface are many, and there is no way we can satisfy them without warehouses full of programmers, which nobody can afford to pay for.
Consequently we recommend that software makers who wish to embed Kermit functionality in their products (communications, scripting, file transfer, terminal emulation, character-set translation, etc) license and use the programs we already have available. See the next item for an example.
The "API" (Application Program Interface) is the command language. It is more fully expressive, precise, comprehensive, and portable than any other API that could be designed (look at all the commands in C-Kermit or MS-DOS Kermit or Kermit 95; each one is there for a reason). As new releases of the Kermit program come out, your product can be easily updated and will benefit from all the new features, fixes, and speedups automatically.
The recommended method of embedding Kermit in another application is via command-line invocation. The Kermit command line can contain a selection of simple commands, and it can also refer to more complex command files or scripts composed by your application. Kermit can be configured to create any kind of log you need, and it can return the status of its operations in various ways that can be used by your application.
When you license Kermit software for embedding in your application, we are happy to work with you to ensure it meets your needs. And if Kermit protocol transfers are important to you, then it should also be important to you to come to the source -- we developed the protocol, we continue to improve it, we believe in it, and we stand behind it.
Following this advice allows each party to concentrate on what they are good at, rather than unnecessarily duplicating efforts and "reinventing the wheel". You concentrate on your application; we'll do the communications. We support our software, you support yours, everybody is happy.
k95 update.ksc
The command file can be prefabricated, or it can be created dynamically by your application. If it is not in the current directory, of course you must specify the full path:
k95 d:\scripts\update.ksc
If you want K95 to exit automatically when the script is complete, put EXIT commands in the script wherever you want to return control to your VB program.
To invoke K95 from VB, use:
Shell (commandline, windowstyle)
where commandline is the command with which to invoke Kermit 95, such as "k95 update.ksc", and windowstyle is one of the following:
0 - Hidden 1 - Window has focus and is restored 2 - Window is an icon with focus 3 - Window is maximized with focus 4 - Window is restored, current window keeps focus 6 - Window is an icon, current window keeps focusThe Shell() function returns Kermit 95's task ID.
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