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MICORIM'S BULLETIN BOARD SYSOP'S GOOF PROOF GUIDE TO DOWNLOADING
AND UPLOADING FILES ON THE BBS
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Doc# 660 September, 1992
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Downloading and uploading from the BBS is actually quite simple. The
BBS software just talks to your local comm (communications) software,
one sends the data, the other receives it. The purpose of this
bulletin is just to give you a guide to making them do just that.
I often get calls from BBS users that say "I keep trying to download a
file from the BBS and it keeps aborting on me!" The problem: they've
just gone halfway and need to follow through. They need to tell the
local comm software that it's time to receive the data being sent.
Below are the instructions for downloading and uploading. The parts
that most people overlook will be in all upper case to draw your
special attention.
The instructions assume two (2), count 'em, TWO things: 1) You're
already successfully dialed in and 2) you are using some form of
communications software like CrossTalk, Procomm, etc.
STEPS IN DOWNLOADING FILES FROM THIS BBS
========================================
1. Type a "D" as in "Download" at any input prompt.
You can initiate the download from most anywhere in the BBS, from
conference level prompt, from the file listings prompt, from the
bulletins prompt, or from the message read prompt.
2. Specify the name of the file you want to download.
Most files available for download are posted somewhere in a
listing. However, some files are hidden for one reason or another,
but can (and will) be found when requesting download.
3. Specify the protocol to use (if you don't know which, use XMODEM).
This is the "language" (including all the formal constructs) that
the BBS software and your comm software will use to speak to one
another to get the data transferred from our machine to your PC.
Most comm software will speak XMODEM, so if you are unsure, specify
XMODEM.
4. TELL YOUR PC TO RECEIVE THE DATA THAT IS ABOUT TO BE SENT!!!
Your comm software has a signal that tells your modem to receive the
data. ISSUE THAT SIGNAL AT THIS POINT!
In the step above, you've made the BBS ready to send, if you don't
let your PC know that it's time to receive the data, it will "time
out", or abort, because it got tired of waiting, thinking that you
forgot.
Below is a list of the more common comm software packages and the
"signals" that tell them to start receiving the file about to be
sent by this BBS.
COMM SOFTARE SIGNAL TO RECEIVE FILE
------------------------------------------------------------------
BITCOM F2 (then menu selection)
CARBON COPY ATL-R
CROSSTALK for Windows Capture File (from menu selection)
CROSSTALK HOME (then type RX FILENAME.EXT)
CROSSTALK XVI (protocol) d:filename
KERMIT CTRL-] C (then RECEIVE)
PROCOMM PGDN (page down key)
QMODEM PGDN (page down key)
SMARTCOMM II F1 (then menu selection)
TELIX PGDN (page down key)
TelPac SCROLL LOCK then RECEIVE
If your comm software is not listed above, please consult your comm
software documentation.
5. Specify the file name on your local PC.
There will probably be some kind of interim step required by your
comm software, for example, to select the corresponding protocol.
It will then ask you what you wish to call the file on your PC.
It is best to use the same name as that of the origin file on the
BBS. You can usually specify the drive and subdirectory, if
omitted, the file will usually wind up on your C: drive. I say
"usually" because of the wide variety of comm software it is not
always the same.
6. Terminate the transfer when complete.
Most systems will do this automatically with some kind of bell to
alert you that it is done.
STEPS IN UPLOADING FILES TO THIS BBS
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1. Type a "U" as in "Upload" at any input prompt.
You can initiate the upload from most anywhere in this BBS, BUT
PLEASE DO IT FROM THE CONFERENCE LEVEL PROMPT.
2. Specify the file that you want to upload (destination file name).
This will be the file name that your file will have on the BBS.
Please name it appropriately. Be sure to specify the proper suffix
if it is a compressed file (.ZIP for PKZIP, .ARC for PKPAK, etc.).
3. Specify the protocol to use (if you don't know which, use XMODEM).
This is the "language" (including all the formal constructs) that
the BBS software and your comm software will use to speak to one
another to get the data transferred from your PC to the BBS.
Most comm software will speak XMODEM, so if you don't know, specify
XMODEM.
4. Provide a description of the file.
IF IT IS TO BE A PRIVATE FILE BE *SURE* TO BEGIN THE DESCRIPTION
WITH A "/".
If you omit the leading slash from your description the file will
be uploaded to a public directory. Everyone else will be able to
download the file if they so choose. By providing the leading
slash with your description, the file will be put into a private
directory where it will come to the immediate attention of the
SYSOP (that's me). No one else will be able to see or download files
in the private directory.
DO NOT OMIT THE DESCRIPTION. If after a certain period of time
there is no information on who or what a particular file in the
upload file directory is for, it will be deleted. If you forgot to
provide the description, send a COMMENT TO THE SYSOP and I'll stick
one on there.
5. TELL YOUR PC TO TRANSMIT THE DATA!!!
Your comm software has a signal that tells your modem to receive the
data. ISSUE THAT SIGNAL AT THIS POINT!
In the steps above, you've made the BBS ready to receive, if you
don't let your PC know that it's time to transmit the data, it will
"time out" or abort because it got tired of waiting, thinking that
you forgot or something.
Below is a list of the more common comm software packages and the
"signals" that tell them to start transmitting the file about to
be sent to the BBS.
COMM SOFTARE SIGNAL TO SEND A FILE
------------------------------------------------------------------
BITCOM F2 (then menu selection)
CARBON COPY ATL-T
CROSSTALK (for Windows) Upload File (from menu selection)
CROSSTALK HOME (then type XX FILENAME.EXT)
CROSSTALK XVI (protocol) d:filename
KERMIT CTRL-] C (then SEND FILENAME)
PROCOMM PGUP (page up key)
QMODEM PGUP (page up key)
SMARTCOMM II F1 (then menu selection)
TELIX PGUP (page up key)
TelPac SCROLL LOCK then SEND
6. Specify the file name from your local PC.
There will probably be some kind of interim step required by your
comm software, to select the corresponding protocol for example.
It will then ask you for the name of the file on your local PC.
This will be the file on YOUR PC that you wish to transmit to the
BBS. You may need to specify the drive and subdirectory if it's not
in your current directory (I don't exactly know how your comm
software works).
7. Terminate the transfer when complete.
Most systems will do this automatically with some kind of bell to
alert you that it is done.
That's it!
MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS REGARDING THE BBS
=================================================
Some of the questions that I most frequently hear from the BBS users
when they encounter problems are as follows.
Q: "I can't find (such-and-such) file on your BBS!" (smattered with
various %#&^*!!!!'s)
A: There can be many reasons why someone couldn't find a file...
1. You looked for the file using various file directory commands
available on the BBS but couldn't locate it. Chances are if you
had a specific file in mind to download, it's there and available
for you to download, it's just in a hidden directory.
Certain files are hidden for one reason or another. There is a good
reason for them to be hidden, I won't go into it here, so please
do not ask why.
2. You were in the wrong conference. Certain files, such as ONLINES
frequently mentioned in the Microrim Exchange magazine are located
in a specific conference, the Microrim Exchange conference can
only be downloaded from said conference.
You might take some time to poke around to see what's what, type a
"J" to see what conferences are out there.
3. You've misspelled the file name. Check the spelling or look in
the file listings for the right name. Make sure you're using the
right suffix, such as .ARC or .ZIP.
Q: "It keeps aborting when I try to download!"
A: Check the instructions above. If you're doing your part, you may
be experiencing a lot of line noise. If your connection or
"carrier" is lost during transmit, chances are it's line noise.
Any other questions you might have, please send a COMMENT TO THE
SYSOP. Good luck and happy communicating!