PowerTerm FAQ

MAINFRAME AND AS/400 PRINTING

• To emulate an IBM printer in PowerTerm choose 3270/5250 printer.
• Connect using a printer name (LU or DEVICE name). When an application on the IBM needs to print it sends a print job to a printer by its name. If a 3270/5250 printer session is active (or there is a printer hardware) with this name, the data is sent to it and the printer session prints to the attached printer (local or remote - lpt1).

To print to a locally attached PC printer from the AS400, you must have APPC running on both the PC and AS400. An example of APPC on the PC is Client Access.   Another method is to have LPD running on your PC.  Because LPD is a separate application and is not a part of PowerTerm, please consult your LPD documentation to set this up.

A very frequent problem report we get from customers is that a file named "E32APPC.dll" is missing. This means that the PC doesn't have APPC, as explained above.

1. Open the Connect dialog box, choose APPC as 'session type' and '5250 Printer' as 'Terminal Type' (Version 5.2.2 and later). For earlier versions, choose Terminal type on the Terminal Setup Menu and APPC on the Connect screen.
2. Enter the system name & device name.
3. Press Connect.
4. It should be connected to the as/400 now as a system printer.
5. The user should send printouts (print jobs) to the printer session by its device name specified in item (3) above.

HOW DO I MAP KEYS (PART I)?

PowerTerm has 3 powerful and easy to use methods for mapping keys:

1. Drag and Drop Key Mapping facility -- for 'simple' mappings.

   With the Drag and Drop Key Mapping facility you can assign a key on your PC to perform the action of any (single) key on the terminal being emulated.

2. Input Box Key Mapping facility -- for 'complex' mappings.

   With PowerTerm Version 5.0.1 and newer you can assign a complex sequence to any key on the PC keyboard.

3. Script language for 'simple' or 'complex' mappings.

   Using the script language, you can create any type of key mapping.

Here are examples of the types of keymappings you can do:

1. The 'Enter' key on the numeric keypad of the PC should perform the function of the 'Do' key on the VT220.
2. The 'F2' key on the PC should send <CTRL>X.
3. The 'F7' key on the PC should run the 'ELM' command.

Versions earlier than 5.0.1 can perform all keymappings. In those versions, complex keymapping is done via the script language.

Here are examples of how to do those operations:

HOW DO I MAP KEYS (PART II)?

Remapping keys on the PC Keyboard - These keys can be mapped via a '.psl' (PowerScript Language) file. Here are the step by step instructions:

PowerPad and Softkey programming

PowerPad

The PowerPad is setup like a grid. You need to specify the row and column of the entry you want to program. The label of the button must be double-quoted and the function of the button goes after the "send".

Examples:

• pad 1 1 "ELM" {send elm^m}
• pad 1 2 "DATE" {send date^m}
• pad 1 3 "F3" {send <f3>}
• pad 1 4 "F4" {send <f4>}

Softkey

The softkeys are the labelled "F1", "F2" .. "F12" buttons at the bottom of the PowerTerm window. Here are examples of programming them in a script:

• func 1 "ELM" {send elm^m}
• func 2 "DATE" {send date^m}
• func 3 "F3" {send <f3>}
• func 4 "F4" {send <f4>}

AUTOCONNECT VIA MODEM WITH AN ICON ON THE DESKTOP

In Windows 95 and NT 4.0, create a "shortcut": Use "My Computer" or "Explorer" to view the PowerTerm Directory. You will see an item for 'ptw32.exe' or 'ptw.exe'. Perform a right-click action on this item and choose 'Create Shortcut'. A new icon will appear. (You may rename this if you like.) Drag this new icon onto the Desktop, right-click on it again and choose 'Properties'. Select the 'Shortcut' tab and then modify the 'Target' line.

..... ptw32.exe (or 'ptw.exe')

At the end of this line, simply add 'comm.psl' followed by:

1. the COM port your modem is connected to.
2. the baud rate you want
3. the protocol type (select from 'none', 'xonxoff', or 'hardware')
4. the phone number to dial

example:

..... ptw32.exe comm.psl 2 19200 xonxoff 508-234-7531

Important Note:
If you see quote marks around the text on the target line, place the new words OUTSIDE of the quotes, so you will have a target such as

"C:\Program Files\PTW32\ptw32.exe" comm.psl 2 19200 xonxoff 508-234-7531

AUTOCONNECT VIA TELNET WITH AN ICON ON THE DESKTOP

In Windows 95 and NT 4.0, create a "shortcut": Use "My Computer" or "Explorer" to view the PowerTerm Directory. You will see an item for 'ptw32.exe' or 'ptw.exe'. Perform a right-click action on this item and choose 'Create Shortcut'. A new icon will appear. (You may rename this if you like.) Drag this new icon onto the Desktop, right-click on it again and choose 'Properties'. Select the 'Shortcut' tab and then modify the 'Target' line.

..... ptw32.exe (or 'ptw.exe')

Simply add 'telnet.psl' and the host you want to telnet to.

example:

..... ptw32.exe telnet.psl myhost

Important Note:
If you see quote marks around the text on the target line, place the new words OUTSIDE of the quotes, so you will have a target such as

"C:\Program Files\PTW32\ptw32.exe" telnet.psl myhost

INCLUDING TERMINAL TYPE & SETTINGS IN AN ICON OR SCRIPT

Sometimes it is useful to be able to make a connection and have the program commence operation already in a designated emulation type with various saved parameters. This is easy to do. First you must select the emulation and other parameters you want and save them via the "Save Terminal Setup as" choice from the File menu. Example: sco.pts

HOW TO PROCESS A CONNECTION FAILURE CASE UTILIZING 'SESSION OPEN'

You can take advantage of an option to session open.

When session open cannot make a connection to the designated host, by default it pops up a message box on the screen saying that it has failed. The user proceeds by clicking the 'OK' button.

Sometimes, though, it is useful to be able to imbed session open statements in a script and be able to process the failure case differently than the success case. The session open no-message command permits this. Here is an example:

...
...
set comm-type telnet
set host-name $p1
result = [session open no-message]
if {$result == 0} {exit-emulator}
...
...

HOW DO I USE THE AUTO-INSTALL FEATURE IN POWERTERM?

Terminal ID

If you need to set the 'Terminal id' to a name which is not available in the pulldown list of the Terminal|Setup|General display, you can set this parameter on the Communications|Connect screen as a Telnet option. Additionally, you can use a PSL script command:

• set terminal-id NAME

where 'NAME' is the string you want to use.

More Advanced Script Programming

POWERTERM SCRIPT RULES

• PowerTerm Script language uses many '{' and not many '('
  

  NO: if ( $variable == "hello" )
  YES: if { $variable == "hello" }

• Variable assignment does not use a '$'. Variable reference does.

  NO: $var = $data
  YES: var = $data

• assignment '=' must be surrounded by whitespace.
  (tests need not be surrounded by whitespace -- 'if {$var<=10}' is acceptable.)

  NO: i=1
  YES: i = 1

• The '{' starting a block of statements MUST be on the same line as the 'if', 'for' ... statement.

  YES: if { $data == 10 } {
  i = 45
  }

  NO: if { $data == 10 }
  {
  i = 45
  }

• incrementing is interesting ...

  use the 'expr' command which evaluates an expression, and the '[ ...]' facility which replaces itself with the result.

  Thus, i = [ expr $i + 1 ]
  or, use the 'incr' command which increments its argument (and because there is an assignment involved, no '$' is used.
  i = [ incr i ]
  .. or ..
  i = [incr i 3 ] # increment by 3

• 'for' loop syntax is tricky:

  as usual, there are 4 parts

  • initialization
  • test
  • increment
  • body statements

  ALL 4 PARTS ARE individually wrapped in '{...}'
  AND -- as indicated above -- the '{' beginning the body statements MUST be on the same line as the 3 earlier parts:

  NO: for (i=0; $i <10; $i++)
  { var = 45
  }

  YES: for {i = 0} {$i <10} { i= [incr i]} {
  var = 45
  }

• Testing for Time Outs in 'wait' Here is an illustration of a script which uses a wait statement and an if to test the result:

  str = [wait 10 for "hi there"]
  if {$str == "1"} {message "Hello to you"} else {message "no one home, $str"}

  For an unconditional wait, the 'wait' command can be used in this manner:

  wait 10 seconds # [always say 'seconds', even in 'wait 1 seconds']

• 'wait'-ing for a string in a designated location The wait command can look for a string in a designated location, as in:

  wait 10 for "F1" at 23 70

  This will wait 10 seconds for the string "F1" to appear in row 23, column 70.

• Message and input boxes

  PowerTerm lets the script writer create pop-up boxes for 3 purposes: messages, text input and password-type input.

  • Message box.
    syntax: message text [title-text] [error|question|info]

    This will popup a box whose optional title is title-text, with the content of text, and with an optional icon suitable for error, question, or info. The user presses the OK button to continue.

  • Text input box.
    syntax: input-line text [title-text]

    This will popup a box which includes a text input area. The box has text of text, and an optional title of title-text. You can assign the input to a variable as in:

    data = [input-line "Enter Name" "My Title"]

  • password-type input box.
    syntax: input-password text [title-text]

    This command is similar to input-line, except that the text which the user inputs is not echoed back to the screen. Rather, '*' symbols are displayed.

• Sending Hex Characters. This is done via '/xnnn'. example:
  key f3 do {send "\x301"}
• Sending the Null '0' Character. This is done with the special character <null>. example: you need to send 'ABCZDEF' where 'Z' means the NULL '0' character. key f7 do {send "ABC<null>DEF"}
• Sending the 'Enter' key: for Unix/VMS, '^M' represents the Enter/Return key. For IBM Mainframe/Midrange, <enter> is the way to do it.
• To include a filename in a script, it is necessary to use 2 backslash characters to represent each backslash. example: to refer to the file \tmp\myfile.txt , say \\tmp\\myfile.txt
• To access a PC environment variable within a script, use the 'GETENV' command. Here is an example:

  data = [getenv TMP]
  if {$data == "bernie"} {message "yes"} else {message "no"}

• To learn the current cursor position:

  get col is the command for the column
  get row is the command for the row

• To make a script 'pause' after it executes a PC program:

  The problem is that lines like:
  ...
  ...
  result = [exec MYPROG.EXE]
  if {$result == 0} {return}
  message "The Program failed" ERROR
  ...
  ...

  Will not behave as expected because the script will execute the 'if {$result == 0} {return}' line immediately after starting MYPROG.EXE

  The solution is to have the script create a temp file, and to modify MYPROG.EXE to delete this file as its last operation.

  Then the script can be re-written as follows: ...
  open "\\temp\\temp.dat" w
  result = [exec MYPROG.EXE] #This will erase \temp\fred.dat when it completes
  while { 1 == 1 } {

  wait 1 seconds
  isfile = [file exists "\\temp\\temp.dat"]
  if {$isfile == 0} {break}
  }
  

  if {$result == 0} {return} ## the files does NOT exist
  message "The Program failed" ERROR
  ...
  ...

• To use the proc script command:

  The proc must be defined before it is used [remember, the script language is an interpreter.] Here is an example of usage of proc.

  proc say_hello x {
  message $x
  }

  say_hello Josephine

• To exit PowerTerm under control of a script:

  exit-emulator is the command

How do I connect to my AS/400 via SNA Gateway?

I am have a problem naming devices on my AS/400

A major enhancement of Version 5.2 is the ability to name devices during 5250 sessions, you will now be able to print AS/400 jobs to a local PC printer, using all the controls available to printers connected directly to the AS/400.  However, there have been problems depending on the AS/400 operating system.  If the AS/400 has a CISC operating system, 3.2 will work.  If the AS/400 has a RISC operating system, 3.2, 3.7, 4.1 or 4.2 will work.   In any case, if the operating system is different from the supported version, a patch can be obtained from IBM to upgrade to a workable version.

Can I create Start Menu items for faster connectivity to hosts?

Version 5.2 offeres automatic creation of Start Menu items - for instant connectivity to your hosts

Capturing Screen data to a file

It is very easy to capture screen data to a file. Simply use the Ascii File capture capability:

1. Run the Communication|Receive File menu.
2. Choose the Ascii tab and input a filename into the text box.
3. Press OK, and proceed with your terminal session.
4. When you want to stop capturing, run the Communication|Stop Receiving Ascii file menu. All screen data will be in the file whose name you supplied.

Missing DLL Files

You may get a message from PowerTerm that a DLL file is missing. There are 2 possible reasons for this:

How to hide menus, status bar, buttons and toolbar

Menus can be hidden easily from the Options menu, but they will automatically be restored upon later invocations.

To permanantly remove them, you can place a line into a start-up script of the form:

• menu hide

Additionally you can bring menus back under script control:

• menu restore

To hide status bar, buttons and toolbar use the script commands:

set hide-status-bar on
set hide-buttons on
set hide-toolbar on

How do I launch a telnet session from Netscape?

Netscape Version 4.x

• Go into Edit|Preferences|Applications
• Select URL:Telnet Protocol
• Click Edit

On the 'application' line,

type: "c:\ptw32\ptw32.exe" "c:\ptw32\netscape.psl" "%1"

where

• c:\ptw32 is the path to the PowerTerm directory
• netscape.psl is the name of the PowerTerm script. (See below.)

The quotes are necessary and there should be 1 space in between each set of quotes.

Netscape.psl:

# This script only works if you are connect to a site that uses the URL plus a port number.  For #example:  telnet://info.rutgers.edu:805.

# If you connect to a school without a port number, i.e. telnet://info.rutgers.edu, then you will want to #take out the part of the script where we get the port number.

VALUE = $p1

COL = [string first "//" $VALUE]

COL = [incr COL 2]
STR = [string range $VALUE $COL 100]

#get the domain

COL = [string first ":" $STR]
if {$COL > 0} {COL2 = [expr $COL -1]
COL = [incr COL] PORT = [string range $STR $COL 100]} else {COL2 = 100} DOM = [string range $STR 0 $COL2]

set host-name $DOM
if [info exist PORT] {
set telnet-port $PORT
}
session open
set session-name $DOM

Netscape Version 3.x

Under Netscape, go into Options|General Preferences|Apps. There are a couple lines for supporting applications. One is for 'Telnet' and the other is for 'TN3270'.

CALL BACK FROM A REMOTE HOST

It is sometimes necessary to dial in to a remote host which then auto detects you and calls back to establish a connection. Here is a sample comm.psl script which automates this process, putting your modem into auto answer mode:

... ...
...
if {$pc <1} {
message "Script COMM.PSL must have at least 1 parameter"
return
}
set comm-type com
set port-number $p1
if [info exist p2] {
set baud-rate $p2
if [info exist p3] {
set protocol-type $p3
}
}
session open
run keys.psl
send "ATS0=1^M"
if [info exist p4] {
send "ATDT$p4^M"
}

This script assumes that the remote host auto detects you, initiates the hang-up and then calls back. Include any special modifications for your particular host at the end of the script. For example, if you need to wait 10 seconds after connecting and then hang-up on your end, include the following lines:

Answerback

PowerTerm supports VT-type answerback.

Using Menu Commands in Scripts

As of Version 5.0.1, any menu command which can be executed with the mouse can be run from within a script. (Menu Commands which require typing or which product a choice-list cannot be run from scripts.)

The script command is: activate-menu-item <command>

where <command> is one of the following list:

Can I easily switch from one session window to another?

PowerTerm does permit 'toggling' from one session window to another in a rapid, convenient manner.

The way to switch between session windows is:

<SHIFT> <CTRL> CHARACTER

Performance

PowerTerm is a fast program, and you can make it even faster by setting the Scroll speed to PAGE or UNLIMITED.

National Language Support

PowerTerm has extensive National language support. To enable it:

Important Note For DG Emulation Users Who Are Using COM

If you are trying to connect via COM with DG emulation, it is important to note that you cannot use XONXOFF for the flow control.  The sequences used for the XONXOFF flow control are actually used by DG for its emulation. In our experience, NONE seems to be the preferred setting for the flow control on a DG.

TN3270E Support

To enable TN3270E support, check the "Use TN3270E Protocol" box in the Communications|Connect screen.

OS2 and PowerTerm

PowerTerm works well under OS2. Take a 16-bit version and install it in the usual manner. (a:setup). Then:

1. Double-click on the OS/2 System icon on the desktop
2. Double-click on the System Setup icon
3. Double-click on the Add Programs icon
4. Add new programs -> then exit
5. In OS/2 System Window, double-click on the Win-OS/2 group
6. Double-click on the Ericom PowerTerm folder
7. Right-click and hold on the PowerTerm icon, then drag out onto the desktop
8. That is it!

You will now be able to start PowerTerm as simply as any other application, by clicking on its desktop icon.

LAT support

Printing to a PostScript Printer in PowerTerm 5.2.2

Postscript printing enables one to either print the data currently on the screen or use slave printing to print to a Postscript printer. In Version 5.2.2 Postscript printing is enabled by setting Slave Printer Data Conversion option to Graphics. This is done in the Terminal|Setup menu Printing tab. If this is the case then slave printing to a postscript printer will work whether Print Device is set to File, Device, or Print Manager. However, if the Slave Printer Data Conversion option is set to none and Print Device is set to File, slave printing will fail and PowerTerm will appear to be hung. Screen printing to a Postscript printer will be successful if Print Screen Data Conversion is set to Graphics in the Terminal|Setup menu Printer tab.

What is AutoPrinting and how do I use it?

AutoPrinting is the ability to print (on a locally attached PC or network printer) whatever appears on the emulator screen. First you must engage the Start Auto Print option in the File menu or press the Auto Print button on the toolbar. Next, the material you want to print should be passed onto the screen of the terminal. When the file or series of lines has completely passed over onto PC screen, choose the Stop Autoprint option in the File menu or the press the AutoPrint button on the toolbar.