
                    Procomm for Windows Internet Tools


                 Procomm for Windows v2.11 - Another Look!

                     Copyright 1995 by  Phil Leonard



 If you're like most people,  it seems just yesterday when you bought
 Procomm Plus For Windows 2.0 and you coughed up a half of a months rent
 for it.  It looked like a good investment at the time! Who dreamed
 computing would change so rapidly that a lot of Procomms features would
 soon be obsolete. If you are like me, you have been spending more and
 more time on the Internet and less and less time with Procomm.

 Datastorm, the producers of Procomm Plus for Windows, must feel much the
 same as well.  In the latest Procomm upgrade to V2.11, they have  added
 three applications for use when you connect to the Internet. In this
 article, I will show you how to upgrade from version 2.0 to 2.11, and how
 to setup and use these applications: Telnet, FTP, and Ping.

 This article assumes you already have the ability to connect to the
 Internet via PPP/SLIP with your Internet Provider.  It is beyond the
 scope of this article to explain all of these intricacies here. They will
 be a subject covered in a future article.  I am also assuming you have
 Procomm Plus For Windows 2.0 or above and Windows 3.1 or above.

 If you have not upgraded from Version 2.0 to 2.11, you will need to get
 the patch first. The name of the file to retrieve is PW211.EXE which can
 be found on the Internet at ftp.cica.indiana.edu in directory
 /pub/pc/win3/patches/pw211.exe. It is also available at the home of
 WindoWatch,  Channel1 BBS 617-354-2505,  in File Directory #3. Once you
 have the patch, it is easy to upgrade. Just put PW211.exe in your
 C:\PROWIN2 directory with File Manager. Quit Windows and change
 directories to C:\PROWIN2. (CD\PROWIN2 enter) Then type in PW211 enter.
 Next type UPDATE enter. Thats all there is to it. And restart Windows.

 PW-FTP

 Go ahead and start Procomm. Be sure your copy is upgraded to version 2.11
 by pressing ALT-F10. It should say Version 2.11 February 17, 1995. Click
 on the Tools Menu (Or ALT-T) and  you will notice that there is a new menu
 item called FTP CLIENT.  You can also use PW-FTP separately with it's own
 icon.

 If you were to click on FTP CLIENT, here's what you would see.  Notice on
 the left of the screen where your local file directory shows.  On the
 right side of the screen, the remote host's file directory will show up
 when connected.

 Now to add an address, you will select FILE | CONNECTION DIRECTORY or
 click the FTP Book Icon.  This opens the CONNECTION DIRECTORY shown
 below.

 Press the ADD button. I have filled in the appropriate entries needed to
 connect with the Channel1 BBS,  home of WindoWatch. You can choose any
 name for the NAME field but you must enter the proper address for the
 HOST/IP field.  Channel1s FTP address is ftp.channel1.com. You can also
 add the host directory you want PW-FTP to start in when you first
 connect.  In most cases you will select anonymous logon, unless of course
 it is password protected. Your home page address is an example of a
 location requiring a password.

 Finally, it is time to connect. After you connect with your Internet
 Provider, open PW-FTP and select an entry from the RAPID CONNECT menu. If
 you press on the arrow and select an item, it will automatically try to
 establish a connection.

 PW-TELNET

 Setting up Procomm with a Telnet Connection is actually just as easy as
 adding a new modem. In this case, we do not have to add a modem. It is
 called a DIRECT CONNECTION.  First we need to open SETUP | DATA MODEM
 /CONNECTION.  It should look something like the following:

 Now Press the button titled Install New Modem or Connection.
 For this new connection, be sure that your modem entry says DIRECT
 CONNECT and your PORT selection is TELNET  NETWORK CONNECTION.   You have
 just added a new telnet connection. Press OK and get back to the main
 screen. Now you have an additional connection for telnet. To test that
 everything is working properly, press your mouse pointer on the QUICK
 SELECT LINE at the bottom of the screen where your modem shown. You
 should see a pop up list with DIRECT CONNECT-TELNET. Select it and a
 screen should pop up requesting an address to connect to.


 We can now go a step further and add commonly used addresses to the
 ADDRESS BOOK just as if we were calling a local BBS.  In place of the
 DATA NUMBER you will enter the TELNET address you want to connect to.
 Open the DIALING DIRECTORY from the FILE menu or click on the OPEN BOOK
 icon.  An example of the DIALING DIRECTORY follows:

 Press the ADD button to add a new TELNET address.  Enter any name that
 you want in the NAME FIELD. Enter a valid TELNET address in the DATA
 NUMBER FIELD. For Channel1, the address would be bbs.channel1.com. Press
 the drop down list in the CONNECTION FIELD and choose DIRECT
 CONNECT-TELNET. Select the OK button to finish.

 If everything is set up properly now, you can just double click the RAPID
 DIAL DATA field when connecting on the Internet just as you would calling
 a local BBS. What's more, all of your basic Aspect scripts still work the
 same as when dialing into your local BBS. I merely copied my scripts,
 changed the names and changed the directory number to accommodate the
 Internet connections.

 PING

 During your upgrade of Procomm Plus For Windows 2.0 to 2.11, or in 2.11
 if that was the package you bought, you will find a program that does not
 show up in the menu list or in the installed icon group. DSPING.EXE. If
 you do not already have an icon setup for this, set one up now. For Win3,
 in program manager,  select the Procomm group and add the Ping program.
 In Win95, add the shortcut. To use Datastorm's Ping, merely load it up
 and enter the address of your Internet provider while you on line and it
 will return a response based on it's findings.

 Phil Leonard is a Systems Administrator and Accounting Controller. He is
 the latest to be added to the WindoWatch list of contributing writers. He
 can be reached at pleonard@cybercom.net

                                      ww



