----------------------------------------------------------------------------- F R E Q U E N T L Y A X E D Q U E S T I O N S ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to Johann Miranda (miranda@suspicion.eng.uiowa.edu) for his help in maintainig this FAQ. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Warning: Some of the things below are terribly outdated. Tha manual page, though, is always up-to-date. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How can I obtain Seyon? A: Well, the best way is to ftp to one of the following sites: sipb.mit.edu:/pub/seyon export.lcs.mit.edu:/contrib nic.funet.fi sunsite.unc.edu The *newes* version of Seyon can be found at sipb.mit.edu. Beta versions can also found at: sipb.mit.edu:/pub/seyon and context diffs against previous versions at: sipb.mit.edu:/pub/seyon/DIFFS You may have to hunt around in other sites to find the most recent release. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How do I build and install Seyon? A: Seyon comes with a file called 1-INSTALL, which basically tells you what you need to do to install it. You should also create a directory with the name ".seyon" in your home directory. Copy the files ``startup'', ``phonelist'' and ``startup'' to this directory (the make file will probably do that automatically for you) and edit them to your heart's content; or better yet, run Seyon and modify these these files from the command center. Once you have installed Seyon, you may wish to browse through the man page, it is complete and up-to-date. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How do I use Seyon? This is easy. After installation, just type "seyon -modems &" to invoke Seyon. From the command center you can set up your modem parameters, line parameters, scripts, phone numbers, transfer protocols, to wit anything you are likely to need. Afterwards, customaize Seyon to your needs by putting the appropriate resources in your ~/.Xresources or ~/.Xdefaults file (at least to avoid typing the -modems switch every time). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Where can I send bug reports and suggestions? Where can I get more information about the development and use of Seyon? Where can I participate in general discussions about Seyon? Where can I get the most up-to-date announcements about official and test releases? A: Join the Seyon mailing list. Send a message to linux-activists-request@joker.hut.fi with the following as one of the headers: X-Mn-Admin: join Seyon That should do it. To get more information about how to use the mailing list and send to it, send a message to the above address with the single word ``help'' as the subject and the body of the message. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Yesterday I compiled Seyon 2.12, however when I tried to run it, it gave me "Dial Arborted: Online". So I hangup first, the message now is "Line disconnected", then I dialed again, still "online". I quit and run kermit immediately and it works fine. This 'Online' problem happens even I hard-boot my system and run seyon at once. Has anybody have the same experience ? Any help will be appreciated. A: Seyon is smarter that kermit (well, at least it tries to). Before dialing a number, Seyon first checks to see if the modem is already on-line. It does so by querying the status of the DCD flag (Data Carrier Detect). If DCD is asserted, Seyon concludes that the modem is on-line and refuses to dial the number. Two resources govern this behavior. The first is hangupBeforeDial. If this resource is enabled (set to ``on'') and DCD is asserted, Seyon hangs up the line before dialing. The second is ignoreModemDCD. If this resource is enabled, Seyon ignores the status of DCD and 1) always hangs up befoe dialing if hangupBeforeDial is enabled, and 2) proceeds to dial even if DCD is asserted. In your case I think that your modem is asserting DCD all the time, even if the modem is off-line. When dialing, Seyon finds that DCD is asserted and hangs up. However, after hanging up, it finds that DCD is still asserted, and since the default for ignoreModemDCD is ``off'', it refuses to dial. To fix that, you have two options. The first is to tell your modem not to assert DCD all the time. The command for that in my modem is ``AT&C1'' (AT&C0 does the opposite), but might be different in yours. If you don't wish to do that, set the resource ignoreModemDCD to ``on''. This way Seyon will ignore DCD and behave just like kermit. To set the resource, put the line: Seyon.ignoreModemDCD: on in your ~/.Xresource file. The on-line clock at the top left corner of Seyon's command center will tell you whether DCD is asserted (clock running, button light or depressed) or not (clock not running, button dark or raised). The manual has more details and explanations of the above resources. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: I get the messages >> Warning: could not execute 'seyon-emu'. >> Warning: falling to 'xterm'. when I start Seyon. A: When Seyon s invoked. It looks first for seyon-emu and uses it as the terminal emulator. seyon-emu has to be a link to you favorite terminal emulation program (xterm, color xterm, xvt, mterm, Emu, cmdtool, ..etc). This allows for more flexibility in choosing the terminal emulator. If Seyon doesn't find seyon-emu, it just uses xterm as the terminal emulator. This warning is harmless. To get rid of it, make seyon-emu a link to xterm. Q: How do I use the meta (ALT) key with Seyon? A: If the remote host supports 8-bit-clean communications, you should be able to use it automatically (most hosts don't). Otherwise, you can make Seyon send ESC before a character when the meta key is pressed with that character. You can do that in two ways: 1) Set Meta->ESC translation to ``on'' using one of the following: a) the resource metaKeyTranslation b) from the ``Set'' console c) in a script: ``set meta_tr on'' 2) if you're using xterm as Seyon's terminal emulator, use Seyon.vt100.eightBitInput: off ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: When I dial, the modem says CONNECT and I get a Connection Complete message. To wake the remote host up, I first hit Enter a few times. But the host soon hangs up, apparently seeing a dead line. What's wrong? A: Try setting in the Set console. The Seyon default is to send a \n when you press Enter. Many hosts expect a \r; you get that when is selected. (contributed by Sakari Aaltonen, ) NOTE: starting from version 1.5, the defaults is to enable NL->CR translation. ======================================= Q: In the 'Set' console, which color means that the parameter is active? A: Black means active, otherwise inactive. ======================================= Q: How do I send an initialization string to my modem. A: put the command transmit "AT(whatever)^M" in Seyon's startup file. Most modern modems do not need an initialization string though, since they store their setup in non-volitile memory. ======================================= Q: How do I tell the remote host about the size of my terminal window? I want the applications to take advantage of the lerger size. A: If the remote host is a Unix machine (or any other machine that supports X-windows), issue the command 'resize' (if that doesn't help, try 'eval `resize`'. If the remote host is a BBS, set the page length by the appropriate command (e.g. 'p' on a BBS running PCBoard). ======================================= Q: What's this Xdefaults file you keep talking about? A: It is usually named ~/.Xresources. If that doesn't exist. the Xserver uses the file ~/.Xdefaults. Do 'man X' to learn how to customize the resources in this file. ======================================= Q: When I use 'Edit' to edit the phonelist or protocols files, the dialing directory and the transfer console do not reflect the changes I made, what's wrong? A: You have to use 'Reread' to update the the dialing directory and the transfer console. ======================================= Q: How do I make sz/rz work? A: The following is from the readme file included with minicom. I used it, and it has always worked for me: If you are using a new version if Chuch Forsenberg's zmodem, it is possible that it will not run OK in a window. This is because the new versions *don't* use stdin and stdout, but without mercy they just open /dev/tty. Ai! I changed the following in the file "rbsb.c" and now things work allright. You might want to change this also. Here is the particular function I'm talking about: --------------------------------------- /* Line 336 */ /* Initialize tty device for serial file xfer */ inittty() { #ifndef HVM Tty = open("/dev/tty", 2); if (Tty < 0) { perror("/dev/tty"); exit(2); } #else Tty = 1; #endif Ttystream = fdopen(Tty, "w"); setbuf(Ttystream, xXbuf); } --------------------------------------- And to get the Logging output to the screen instead of to /tmp/szlog, change the following in sz.c : --------------------------------------- if (npats < 1 && !Command && !Test) usage(); if (Verbose) { /* Line 403 of sz.c */ #ifndef HVM if (freopen(LOGFILE, "a", stderr)==NULL) { printf("Can't open log file %s\n",LOGFILE); exit(2); } #endif setbuf(stderr, NULL); } vfile("%s %s for %s\n", Progname, VERSION, OS); --------------------------------------- You might want to change the same in the file "rz.c" also, around line 249. It is now possible to use the -v[vv] flag with rz/sz and see the debugging output appear in the status window! You have to define 'HVM' to make the change effective, ofcourse! NOTE (for Seyon users): Once you have done that, use '$rz -vv' as your zmodem command (or '$sz -vv'). ======================================= Q: What are Seyon's configuration files? and where should they be put? A: Those are 'startup', 'phonelist', and 'protocols'. Seyon looks for them in the current directory, then the default Seyon directory ('~/.seyon'), and finally in the user's home directory. The names of these files as well as that of the default directory can be overridden by setting the appropriate resources. Refer to that in another answer somewhere in this file. ======================================= Q: Can I put the scripts somewhere else other than in my home directory? A: Yes, use the resource Seyon.scriptDirectory: (default is defaultDirectory). Seyon will look for scripts in the current directory, then in the script directory, and finally in the user's home directory. ======================================= Q: I'd like to start a local shell but I don't want to start another xterm, can I have a shell in the Seyon's terminal emulation window? A: Yes, click the 'Shell' button and instead of giving it a usual shell command, use the name of your shell (i.e. tcsh, sh, ..etc). This will start the shell of your choice in the terminal window. ======================================= Q: Do I have to specify the BITS and BPS fileds for each entry in the phonelist directory? A: No. Seyon will use the default BPS rate and bit mask if none is specified in the phonelist entry. ======================================= Q: Can I specify an alternate location and name for the help file? A: You can, but it's highly discouraged unless you have no write permission to the default location (determined automatically at compile-time). Use the resource Seyon.helpFile: You have to specify the complete file path and name. ======================================= Q: Seyon comes up tiny and with overlapping buttons, what's wrong? A: The app-defaults file must be installed properly or Seyon will not function properly. Use 'make install' to install the app-defaults file in the proper place and make sure it is installed properly and is not corrupt. ======================================= Q: I get 'killed by siganl 11' when I start seyon. A: You must be using old versions of libraraies. Test that by using ldd seyon-cmd This will tell you what libraries you have linked Seyon with. If you get anything other than /lib/XawVen.so.2.1 (Classic 2.1) /lib/libX11.so.2.1 (Classic 2.1) /lib/libc.so.4 (Jump table 4.1) it's time to upgrade to newer libraries. (This question is for linux only, for platforms it may be a bug. Report it.) ======================================= Q: How does the dialer work? A: Click on an item to toggles it. Once you have selected all the items you want, click on 'Go'. The dialer will dial each number until a connection is made. once a connection is made, that item is unselected automatically. Double-clicking on an item will select that item, unselect all others, and dial that item. You can interrupt the dialing or the script execution at any time by chossing 'Cancel'. 'Can. & hangup' will additionally hangup the line. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How do I use pulse dialing? A: Use the resources. Set Seyon.dialPrefix: ATDP There is also a simialr resource: dialSuffix. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How can I setup the ZMODEM autodownload feature or disable it? THIS ANSWER IS WRONG, READ THE MANUAL A: Via the resources. The resource Seyon.zmodemAutoDownload: off will disable it (default is 'on'). The resource Seyon.zmodemAutoDownloadCommand: $cd /usr/dl; rz -vv tells Seyon what command to use to for ZMODEM (default is 'rz'). The format of the command is the same as that of the shell and transfer commands. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Does Seyon support the V32 protocol? A: V32 is not a software protocol, it is used at the hardware level by the modem to communicate with modems at the remote end. Hence, it is transparent to comm programs, and they have nothing to do with it. This is along the lines of "your modem will talk to my modem at the best speed and level they can. How yor modem talks to your computer is your business" (See above) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How do I turn off the 'fun' messages or make them less frequent? A: The resource Seyon.showFunMessages: off will turn them off (default is 'on'). The resource Seyon.funMessagesInterval: 30 specifies that the messages should appear every 15 seconds (unless Seyon has something more important to say, like a real message). Default interval is 1 minute. ======================================= Q: How can tell seyon what port to use? A: There are two ways to do that: 1) Specify it in your Xdefaults file, something like: Seyon.modems: /dev/ttys0 2) Invoke Seyon by the the switch -modems, e.g. seyon -modems /dev/ttys0 ======================================= Q: How can I control the bahavior of the terminal emulation winow? A: You can do that via the resources of the vt100 widget of xterm. he following is an example of what you can put in your Xdefaults file: Seyon.vt100.foreground: black Seyon.vt100.background: white Seyon.vt100.geometry: 80x25+50+250 Seyon.vt100.saveLines: 100 . . . Refer to the xterm manual page for the full set of the resources. ======================================= Q: The resourecs I put in my Xdefaults file do not seem to work, why? A: You have to use xrdb to load the resourecs or restart your X server. Also, you have to use the class name 'Seyon' and not the instance 'seyon' in your Xdefaults file. ======================================= Q: How shoud the protocols file be formatted? A: Here is an example: regu_zm_dl "$ cd /dl; rz -vv" n "reg zm ul" "$sz -vv" y graphic_zm_dl grz No xrz3D $cd /dl; xrz" NO The first field is the title of the protocol. You can anything in there for your refrence as long as it is either one word or quoted. The second field is the actual command that will be executed. Again,if the command is more than one word, it has to be quoted. Notice how 'cd' is used to have one or more download or upload directories. If the command begins with '$', the standard input and standard outpt will be redirected to the modem. The last field tells Seyon whether it should prompt for a file name or not. this field can be either a yes or a no. Normally, you would put yes for an upload and no otherwise. ======================================= Q: How can tell Seyon about the non-standard responses of my modem? A: Use the following resources: Seyon.connectString Seyon.noConnectString1 Seyon.noConnectString2 Seyon.noConnectString3 Seyon.noConnectString4 Refer to what the defaults are for these resources in another answer in this file. ======================================= Q: When I choose an item in the dialing direcory or from the transfer protocols directory it get highlighted but nothing happens, why? A: Clicking once on an item only highlightes it. You have to double-click on it to choose it. You can highlight multiple items in the dialing directory and then click 'Go' to dial them (circulate) until a connection is made. ======================================= Q: How can I control the dialer behavior? A: Via the following resources: Seyon.dialTimeOut Seyon.dialDelay Seyon.dialRepeat Dial timeout is the time given for each try (default is 45 seconds), dial delay is the time between tries (default is 10 seconds), and dial repeat is the number of tries Seyon attempts before up (default is 5 seconss). ======================================= Q: How can disable the confirmation popups for hangup and exit? A: Via the resources hangupConfirm and exitConfirm. Put the following in your Xdefaults file: Seyon.hangupConfirm: off Seyon.exitConfirm: off ======================================= Q: What do I do if the terminal is stuck? A: Choose 'Refresh' under the 'Misc' button. This will restart the terminal process (not the terminal window). ======================================= Q: How can I use hardware flow control (RTS/CTS)? A: Use the rtscts mode. It is enabled by default. You disable it in the startup file, in a script, or interactively from the 'Set' console. ======================================= Q: How can I make Seyon send delete instead of backspace? A: Put the line set del "on" in the startup file or in the script. or set the parameter interactively by the 'Set' button. ======================================= Q: Can Seyon do ANSI color that most BBS systems use? A: Yes, but yu have to get color xterm. Patches for that are on export.lcs.mit.edu. ======================================= Q: Where can I get the latest copy of Seyon? A: By ftp from sipb.mit.edu at the directory /pub/seyon. ======================================= Q: How can I help? A: 1) Send your impression of he program after each upgrade. 2) Send suggestions for improvement (even the little details). 3) Send any pretty color customization you do. 4) If you implement an extra feature, send it to be included in the standard release. ======================================= Q: How can I send bug reports? A: Use the form included in the file BUGS. If you don't, I cannot guarantee that I'm going to look into it. Sending me something like 'the dialer doesn't work' doesn't tell anything. I have to know more. ======================================= Q: How can I contact the author? A: Send him (that's me!) email at alsaggaf@mit.edu =======================================