This hour describes the Windows 95 HyperTerminal application. HyperTerminal is an electronic communications program that lets your computer communicate with other computers. HyperTerminal was not available in previous versions of Windows. Microsoft wrote HyperTerminal making thorough use of the 32-bit application environment of Windows 95, so that HyperTerminal can take full advantage of the Windows 95 multitasking capabilities.
This hour explores the HyperTerminal program by showing you how to set up HyperTerminal and connect to online services. Be forewarned: Online communications are fairly technical. Microsoft realized the problems often associated with online access, however, and wrote the HyperTerminal program to eliminate many of the initial setup requirements that often accompany remote computer access.
Many of the more popular online services, such as CompuServe and America Online, provide their own communications software. You don't need a program such as HyperTerminal to connect to CompuServe if you use CompuServe's software. You can use HyperTerminal to connect to CompuServe and other services, however, if you don't have or like the service's software. More than likely, you'll use HyperTerminal to connect to bulletin board systems (BBSs) and other computers that provide basic online access.
The highlights of this hour include:
The first time you start HyperTerminal, you'll need to provide it with some fundamental
information about your modem. Luckily, HyperTerminal makes this one-time setup easy
to do.
Before starting HyperTerminal, you need to find a computer to connect to. This computer might belong to a neighbor who is running another version of telecommunications software. The other computer does not even have to be PC-compatible. You will need to find the other computer's phone number and, if the computer is a friend's, make sure that your friend's computer is connected to the phone line when you dial. (Despite the power of Windows 95, Windows 95 has difficulty talking to humans on the other end of a telephone line!)
TIME SAVER: You can access many local library databases and card catalogs through your computer's modem.
CAUTION: If you know for a fact that the other computer is running Windows 95, don't use HyperTerminal to talk with that computer. Although HyperTerminal will work, you'll like Windows 95's dial-up networking feature described in Hour 22, "Hardware: Big and Small."
TIME SAVER: If you want to connect to Microsoft's own dial-up BBS service called Microsoft Network, refer to Appendix C, "The Microsoft Network," for details. Microsoft Network is a full-featured, full-screen, dial-in service that requires a more specialized communications program than HyperTerminal can provide.
Task 13.1: Setting Up HyperTerminal
Step 1: Description
This task describes how to start HyperTerminal for the first time. Windows 95 does
most of the work and recognizes many modem types. The first time that you attempt
to start HyperTerminal, Windows 95 will intercept the HyperTerminal program (as shown
in this task) and request that you set your first dial-up connection's information
before continuing with HyperTerminal.
Step 2: Action
Figure 13.1.
The Hyper- Terminal window contains the HyperTerminal program.
Figure 13.2.
HyperTerminal knows that you are about to make a connection.
Figure 13.3.
Tell Hyper-Terminal the connecting computer's phone information and your
modem location.
CAUTION: If you cannot change any of the values in the Country code, Area code, or Phone number, you've yet to set up your modem. Refer to Hour 22 for help with setting up your modem for the first time.
Figure 13.4.
HyperTerminal verifies your dialing and modem information.
TIME SAVER: Even if all the verification information is correct, you may want to click the Dialing Properties command button to review your telephone properties, such as your calling card information or access number to get an outside line. If you normally dial from home but take your laptop on the road, for example, you may have to enter a value of 9 so that HyperTerminal properly connects to an outside line when dialing from your hotel room. Once you return home, you can clear out the outside line number if needed. To keep things straight, you might want to create separate profiles with their own icons for use at home or away. In addition, if you are dialing a long-distance number, but one that resides inside your own area code, click the option labeled Dial as a long distance call; HyperTerminal will then dial the area code and access number even though the number falls within your own area code. Recently, the phone companies changed long distance dialing within the same area code as the source call; consequently, you must now dial the area code.
Step 3: Review
When you want to dial a computer for the first time, HyperTerminal requests that
you enter dial-up connection information for that computer. HyperTerminal keeps track
of your dial-up connections through a series of connection profiles. A connection
profile contains a description and a representative icon that you generate when you
first set up the target computer's connection. Once you've set up a target computer's
connection profile, you can connect to that computer by selecting the profile's icon
from the HyperTerminal window. Figure 13.5 shows a HyperTerminal window with three
icons. The icon labeled Hypertrm continues to set up new connection profiles. The
other two profiles connect to different remote computers.
Once you establish a telephone connection with the remote computer and the two
computers begin to communicate, your access to that computer is usually limited until
you log on to the system. Logging on refers to the process of identifying
yourself to the remote computer.
Figure 13.5.
The HyperTerminal window contains icons for each connection profile.
There are many fee-based remote computer services and many free ones as well. Whether
or not you pay, you'll almost always need to set up a login name (you'll typically
make up a nickname that you'll go by on the remote system) and password. The remote
computer can then identify you and enable you to have the access you've paid for
or that's available to you.
There are several ways to set up a login name and password the first time you want to use the system. If you're paying for the access, the remote computer's owners may request that you fill out an application or verbally apply over a voice telephone line with your personal and billing information. Some remote computer services let you log in as a new user and then fill out an application online before being allowed to use the rest of the services.
However you set up the initial login name and password, this login procedure guards both you and other users on the system. Each user is known, so any action the user makes on the remote system can be traced, as long as everybody keeps his or her password secret. Your password helps keep others from logging on as you and doing something on your paid time or deleting files in your name.
TIME SAVER: Change your password frequently to make it harder for others to learn it. If your password contains special characters, such as window^woman, your password will be very difficult to guess by those who might otherwise be able to decipher "it."
Figure 13.6 shows what a typical CompuServe user sees upon first connecting to
CompuServe using HyperTerminal. The user can use none of CompuServe's services until
the user identifies himself with a proper login name and password (CompuServe assigns
login numbers and not names to new users).
Figure 13.6.
You will almost always log into the remote computer.
When you finish with a connection, be sure to log off by informing the remote
computer that you're getting ready to disconnect. There are several ways to log off.
Most of the time, you'll type Bye or Exit to log off. After logging
off, select Call | Disconnect to disconnect your computer from the
phone line's signal.
TIME SAVER: The toolbar contains an icon for disconnecting from remote computers and for connecting to remote computers.
Once you log off, you can dial another connection. You don't have to return to the HyperTerminal window to connect to another computer. You can choose the File | Open menu command to view a list of your connection profiles and connect to another computer. If you want to reconnect once again to the computer where you just logged off, you can do so by clicking the Connect button on the toolbar.
JUST A MINUTE:: If you are connecting to a friend's computer, you may not have to log in. The friend's computer software will determine whether or not you need to identify yourself to the system before using the remote computer from your own computer's keyboard.
The HyperTerminal program offers some extra features that make it the program of choice when communicating with Windows 95. With other communications programs, you would have to know much more about the remote computer than you have to know when using HyperTerminal. There are lots of technical terms, such as baud rate, that you don't always understand or can't readily obtain from the remote computer, even though your communications program requires that information.
HyperTerminal contains an auto detect feature that listens to the remote computer the first time you call it. Windows 95 and HyperTerminal go through a series of beeps and buzzes until HyperTerminal determines exactly how to connect to the remote computer using the best possible protocol. (Protocol refers to the technical connection details that must be in place before two computers can communicate with each other.)
Of course, HyperTerminal supports file downloading and uploading. When you download a file, you receive that file from the remote computer. When you upload a file, you send a file to the remote computer. Here are the steps you'll usually take to download a file from a remote computer:
Figure 13.7.
Downloading a file from a remote computer requires matching transfer protocols.
JUST A MINUTE:: There is simply no way to give you a step-by-step task that you can practice yourself because each reader will have different access to different remote computers and there is no one site readily available to everyone who reads this book.
To upload a file to a remote computer, you'll basically reverse the process and click the Send toolbar button after telling the remote computer to get ready for the file. Different remote computers receive files in different ways, so you'll have to read the remote computer's online help or call the remote computer's owner for assistance before uploading a file to the computer.
3.1 Step Up Did you ever use Windows 3.1's communications program? You could connect with online services and communicate with other computers. One thing that did not live up to expectations and promises was the multitasking capability of Windows 3.1's terminal program.
Neither Windows 3.1's terminal program, nor any other communications program running under Windows 3.1, worked well if you also tried to Alt+Tab to another program and download files in the background.
Suppose you started a download using the Windows 3.1 terminal program, and then switched to your database program and attempted to sort a file. More than likely, your communications program stopped downloading during the sorting (the best case), or completely disconnected you from the other computer (a worst case, but common, scenario). Windows 95 promises to eliminate the problems of communicating in the background.
One of the handiest features that people will find in HyperTerminal is the backscroll buffer. As you work with the remote computer, your HyperTerminal window will scroll to make room for new text. HyperTerminal keeps track of several screens of your online session in a memory area called the backscroll buffer. The default amount of backscroll buffer HyperTerminal keeps is 500 lines. Therefore, you can look at, by clicking the vertical scroll bars, up to 500 lines of your remote computer session. If you read something earlier on the remote computer that scrolled off the screen before you had a chance to finish reading the text, you can scroll your HyperTerminal screen backwards to look at the text once again.
TIME SAVER: You can adjust the size of the backscroll buffer if you want to increase or decrease the buffer size. Select File | Properties and click the tab labeled Settings to see the screen shown in Figure 13.8. You can adjust the number of lines HyperTerminal uses for the backscroll buffer by entering a new value in the center of the dialog box.
Figure 13.8.
You can change the size of thae backscroll buffer.
If your remote computer requires a special service named Minitel, HyperTerminal
can often emulate the special Minitel protocols. Select File | Properties
and click the Settings tab. Select Minitel from the Emulation list. HyperTermimal
changes to support the Minitel services by displaying buttons as shown in Figure
13.9.
Figure 13.9.
HyperTerminal emulates special Minitel services.
CAUTION: If your remote computer does not require Minitel emulation, don't use the emulation. In addition, some versions of Windows 95 do not supply the Minitel emulation, so you may not be able to access the service if you do not see the emulation in the list.
This hour introduced you to the world of remote computer communications. The HyperTerminal program lets you connect to other computers, upload and download files, send and receive electronic mail from other users on other computers, and join the online world of computer services such as shopping and banking.
The HyperTerminal works with connection profiles that you set up for each remote computer you want to access. Communicating with a remote computer requires nothing more than a double-click on that computer's icon that you set up. As long as you know the remote computer's phone number, HyperTerminal figures out everything else and starts the connection on the remote computer immediately.
auto detect HyperTerminal automatically detects the remote computer's technical requirements so you do not have to know anything but the remote computer's telephone number for HyperTerminal to talk to the machine.
backscroll buffer The memory area, adjustable in size, where HyperTerminal keeps track of previous online screens while you work on a remote computer.
baud rate A term that describes the speed of computerized telephone communications.
BBS An acronym for bulletin board system that lets you connect your computer, via the phone lines, to exchange electronic mail and files with the BBS's primary computer and other computers connected to the BBS.
connection profile An individual remote computer site's connection setting information. HyperTerminal keeps track of a remote computer's description, icon, phone number, and modem settings inside each connection profile.
download The process of receiving a file from a remote computer over the phone lines.
login name A nickname you go by on a remote computer.
logging off The process of typing a command that tells the remote computer you are finished using the computer and are ready to exit HyperTerminal or dial a different connection.
logging on The process of typing an identifying name and password when you first connect to a remote computer to gain access to the remote computer's capabilities.
protocol The technical connection details that must be in place before two computers can communicate with each other.
remote computer The computer you are trying to connect to using HyperTerminal.
transfer protocol A predetermined method of downloading and uploading files.
When one computer sends another computer a file, both computers must use the same
transfer protocol.
upload The process of sending a file to a remote computer over the phone lines.
