TECHNICAL BULLETIN #162 - Rev 1.20 (9/03/96)

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TITLE   : Keyboard Mapping
PRODUCT : Procomm Plus 4.x, 3.x
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The function keys on your keyboard each send specific codes to a host
computer, these codes will be different for each terminal emulation that you
select.  Procomm Plus allows you to view and modify the codes assigned to each
function key for a given emulation.

TERMINAL EMULATION AND KEYBOARD MAPPING
Terminal emulation is two-way communication.  The host computer or service you
connect to sends you terminal codes; sequences of special characters which
do not display, but which control how normal characters will appear on your
screen.

Additionally, your keyboard's function keys (<F1> to <F12> plus a few others)
send special character strings to the host that are meaningful to it.  The
Procomm plus Keyboard Editor gives you substantial control over those outgoing
character sequences. If those codes are not correct, you'll get unexpected
actions or no action when you press function keys while online.

OBTAINING THE ESCAPE CODES
While Procomm Plus supplies the most common default values in the keyboard
maps, each host system does things a little differently. You'll need to
contact the host system in order to obtain the specific key sequences that the
host is expecting to see. Your system administrator should be able to give you
the proper Terminal code sequences.

NOTE: Quarterdeck has no way of knowing how a host system has customized the
sequences, and only provides a general keyboard map.

CREATING THE KEYBOARD MAP
Enter the Keyboard Editor by pressing <Alt><F8> while you are in the Data
Terminal Mode.

Edit the desired key by double clicking on the representation of that key. The
escape character is represented by ^[ (so if your host tells you to put in
'escape OP', put in '^[OP').

Click Save As and save the custom keyboard file under a unique name
(i.e., 'NEWNAME.KBD').

LINKING THE NEW KEYBOARD MAP TO A DIALING DIRECTORY ENTRY
From the main window of Procomm Plus, click Setup | Data | Terminal Options.
In the Terminal Keyboard File field, select the name of the keyboard file you
have just created.  Next, click the Modify button beside the Current terminal
name.  Click on Save As, and give the emulation with the new keyboard map a
new name (i.e., NewTerm), and click OK.  Click OK again in the Setup dialog to
return to the main window of Procomm Plus.

Press <Alt><D> to enter the Dialing Directory, highlight the entry
that needs the new keyboard map.  Select Basic Options, then select the
Terminal Emulation name in the Terminal box. This will switch the
Terminal Emulation (and the keyboard map associated with that Terminal
Emulation) automatically when a connection is made.

TROUBLESHOOTING KEYBOARD EMULATIONS
One of the most common problems encountered when dealing with certain
Terminal Emulations such as VT220 and VT320 is the use of `8 bit mode',
which causes your keyboard mapping to display high bit characters that
are not found on your physical keyboard. To check if this is the case,
go back to the Terminal Options window of the Current Setup and click
Advanced, then uncheck the 8 bit option.

Another useful thing to know when troubleshooting Terminal Emulation
problems is the Monitor Window found under the Data drop down menu item.

Monitor Window shows the hex values of every character going in or out
of the port.  You can convert these hex values using an ASCII table to
determine which sequences are being sent and isolate the problem to
either the host system not responding in the expected manner to a
sequence correctly sent by Procomm Plus, or Procomm Plus not sending the
correct sequence.

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           Copyright (c) 1998 Quarterdeck  All rights reserved.
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