FAQ Table of Contents:

1. When starting the emulator a message appears stating that the fonts cannot be loaded, or there is not enough memory for the virtual screens. What's wrong?

This can be caused by several things. The emulator needs enough memory to load the fonts (about 98K) and also must be able to find them. The fonts are also compressed to save space. Any errors in the font files (615font.VGA or 615font.EGA) will cause an error message.

Make certain 1) the font files are in the current directory when you start the emulator, or 2) the font file path is specified using the /D command line option or 3) that an environment variable EM615PATH is defined.

Verify that at least 480K of memory is free before starting the emulator so there is enough memory to load the font files. If not, see your DOS Users Guide on loading other TSR applications in HIGH memory.

You may also re-copy the font files off of the floppy or reinstall the emulator to ensure the current font files are not corrupt.

If starting EM615-G with a /C or /W there is not enough memory to start the emulator. You will need to free up more memory before starting EM615-G by loading other programs in high memory. See your DOS manual for more information on loading TSR programs in high memory.

If running EM615-G in EGA or VGA mode you may also deselect some of the fonts you don’t need from the extended setup screen. Each of the 6 fonts takes approximately 16K of RAM. Typically the UKS, SIS, and MS sets may not be needed.

2 When running the emulator and communicating with another system sometimes the screen gets misaligned, jumbled, garbage characters appear, or columns do not line up. What causes this?

The emulator follows a very complex set of rules when displaying characters on the screen as described in the "Escape Sequence" section. If any of the characters in the data stream are lost, it is possible for the next few characters to appear in the wrong place, appear as garbage or even display the remaining characters in the wrong font, color or reverse video.

Make sure the emulator is set to the correct baud rate or speed as the host you are communicating with. If using a modem, make sure the speed is the same as the modem and the remote modem is also of the same speed.

Make certain the parity is set correctly. Most modern machines use NONE for parity. You can try other parity settings as well. If you are communicating with a UNIX system, in most cases, the parity should be EVEN, especially when communicating with an AT&T CMS.

If the problem is inconsistent and you are using a modem to communicate with the remote host, it may be line noise. Check your modem or have your local telephone company check the line you are using or the line connected to the host.

If communicating with a UNIX system, make certain the TERM environment variable is set correctly. The correct TERM type is 615cmt-102k (all lower case). If this term type is not available on your system, copy the 615cmt.src file from your floppy onto your server and use the UNIX tic command to compile a new TERM type. You may need your system administrator’s help for this process.

If using UNIX Word Perfect, ensure your Word Perfect environment variable WPTERM or WPTERM50 is set correctly. See the README files supplied with Word Perfect for the correct settings when using an AT&T 615 CMT terminal.

Check the Flow Control option and make sure it matches the expected flow control on the host end. If the flow control is not set correctly or enabled, it is possible to lose large portions of data when inbound or outbound buffers are full.

If the error occurs consistently and in the same place, see the next question/answer on debugging escape sequences.

3. My application displays unexpected characters or characters in the wrong place. I have checked the TERM type, flow control and parity and they are set correctly. What else could cause this problem? How can I debug escape sequences in my application?

Often applications send the incorrect escape sequences due to real application bugs. In a few cases an emulation difference was in the EM615-G software and was corrected. If you wish to debug a display error with your application or determine if a sequence error exists in the EM615-G software, you can perform the following steps:

Turn on Monitor mode on the Setup screen so the escape sequences are visible on the screen. If you are relatively sure where the error occurs, turn on Monitor mode only when that screen or field is ready to be displayed. This allows you to examine the sequences as they are sent and you can verify they contain valid data as described in the Escape Sequences section of this book. When Monitor mode is on, your screen will not paint properly and may be hard to read. If this is the case and you cannot find the error, try the next step.

The EM615-G software contains an advanced feature to capture all screen I/O to the disk. Using this feature enables you to capture all of the data to a file to be examined later, while still being able to read the screens as they are displayed. This function can be performed even when running multiple sessions with the emulator and each screen can be debugged individually. If debugging is turned on for a particular screen, its I/O is stored in a file called EM615x.TRC where X is the screen number displayed at the bottom of the screen when active. If you are not using the multi-session version of EM615, the file name is always em615.trc. The trace file generated can be examined and compared to the sequences listed in the Escape Sequence section.

4. When on the Setup screen I cannot change the communications port or select TCP/IP as the communications device. What is wrong?

The EM615-G software will not let you select a device which does not exist or use a device driver unless it is currently loaded on your system.

If trying to select a different serial port, verify that the port is enabled in your computer’s setup and the serial port is set to a standard address (i.e.: COM1, COM2).

If trying to select TCP/IP for a network connection, verify that your TCP/IP kernel (Sockets) is loaded. From a DOS prompt, run your network version of PING and make sure a host can respond to your system.

If trying to use TCP/IP, make certain the EM615-G software you are using is configured for your network type. When the EM615-G Welcome screen is displayed, the top box with the software credits will display WOL for Wollongong; NOV for Novel LWP; FTP for FTP’s kernel and; LM for Microsoft’s LAN Manager using Sockets.

5. How can I change or remap all of the function keys? On the Setup screen only keys 1 through 8 are visible?

There are actually two sets of function keys in the EM615-G emulator. One set is called the SYSTEM function keys, while the other is called the USER function keys. Although both sets can be remapped, only the USER function keys can be changed from the Setup screen. From the Setup screen you can enter up to 35 characters to be mapped to a key and 16 characters (2 rows of 8 characters) for the key cap labels. All of the remaining keys can be changed by downloading the key definitions to the keys using the Downloading Sequence commands. These sequences are described in the "Escape Sequences" section of the manual. These keys can be remapped by sending these required sequences to the emulator from any host. If you are working with a UNIX host, normally these keys do not need to be remapped since ALL of the keys are understood by the Terminfo file on your UNIX hosts. If your host does not have a 615cmt-102k definition, copy the source code for one off of your floppy and use the UNIX tic command to create one.

6. How can I use other applications when the EM615-G software is running?

The answer to this question depends on what you need to run and whether or not you want the EM615-G sessions to remain active while running another application.

If you need to run another application to perform a quick task and do not care if the current session freezes until the task is complete, you can use the Alt-G command to exit the emulator to a DOS prompt, perform the task, then type exit to return to the active session. All data received when the session was frozen will be displayed once you return to the session.

If you need to run one or more applications while the emulator session remains active you must use one of several multitasking applications.

Use Windows 3.1 to allow you to run several applications simultaneously. The EM615-G software works very well with Windows to allow many applications to run while the emulator continues to receive data. While running Windows, it is also possible to run several copies of the EM615-G software to increase the number of host sessions that are active.

You may also use Desq-view to allow multitasking of several applications at once. Although you cannot run several applications in full 80x25 text screens while viewing several other applications at the same time like in Windows, it is acceptable when you need to run only character based applications along with EM615.

7. Are file transfer capabilities only available when using serial ports communications?

The built-in file transfer capabilities of the EM615-G software are only available when using serial communications. When using TCP/IP communications it is possible to use the file transfer software supplied with your networking software. Network applications are much more reliable than serial communications so the file transfer protocols supplied in the EM615-G software are not required. If running in a multitasking environment like Windows 3.1 or Desq-view, you can open another window and run the file transfer software. When not using a multitasking application, you can temporarily exit the emulator by pressing Alt-G.

8. When I launch EM615-G from a windows ICON some of the properties are not set correctly or it runs in full screen mode even though the PIF file is set to windowed mode.

The EM615-G software does not know Windows from DOS other than the /W parameter that prevents EM615-G from performing functions unfriendly to Windows. If any of the PIF properties are not correctly displayed when running EM615-G from a program ICON, it is possible that the incorrect PIF file is running, the PIF file is incompatible or the PIF file is not specified correctly. When using a PIF file to control a DOS application like EM615, you must specify that the PIF file be executed from the ICON program name and not the EM615.EXE executable. See the section on setting up EM615-G to work with Windows 3.1.

Make certain there is only one EM615.PIF file and it resides in the Windows directory (not the EM615-G directory!).

Check the ICON properties and make sure the EM615.PIF file is listed as the program to execute and not the EM615.EXE program. EM615.EXE should be listed as the executable in the PIF file only and not in the ICON properties settings.

Try deleting the EM615.PIF file and creating a new one with the PIF editor or copy the EM615.PIF file from the EM615-G distribution floppy to your windows directory.

9. When running EM615-G under Windows, 132 column screen will only display in virtual mode and not in real 132 column mode. What's going on?

When running EM615-G under Windows there is an extra command line parameter to tell EM615-G it is running under Windows and it should behave itself. The only factor this plays in running EM615-G is that it prevents EM615-G from changing video modes. Older versions of Windows 3.0 and early versions of Windows 3.1 could not handle it if DOS applications change the mode of the video adapter, and would make it impossible to continue running Windows or even cause a protection violation. This is the primary reason for using the /W command line option. If running in true 132 column mode is desired for viewing 132 column wide reports and such, then you may elect to start the EM615-G software with the /C command line option even when running under Windows 3.1. Be sure to set the Video mode option correctly on the Setup screen for 132 column mode to work correctly.

10. When running EM615-G under Windows 3.1, the screens often paint with sections or fields missing. If a key is pressed or the screen changes, the missing characters magically appear. What causes this?

This occurs when a corrupt PIF file is used or a PIF file is copied from a Windows 3.0 system. This has been corrected easily in the past by deleting the EM615.PIF file and using the PIF editor to create a new one. Be sure to set the PIF settings for video memory and monitor ports correctly to ensure proper configuration, as describe in the EM615-G & Windows section of this manual. There is also a known problem with Windows 3.1 and NetWare/X. When using NetWare with Windows it is recommended that you complete the "Black Screen Death" procedures to prevent any other problems. There have been cases when EM615-G was unable to find the HOSTS file or the screen did not always update correctly, and these procedures corrected the problem.

11. When starting the emulator three beeps are sounded. Sometimes after the Welcome screen disappears, the screen remains blank and nothing works except Alt-X. What’s wrong?

The emulator beeps three times as a warning when the configuration files cannot be accessed or they are corrupted. If one of the files is corrupt, you must create a new one. If a valid file exists, you must specify where it can be accessed by the emulator.

To create a new configuration file or replace a corrupt one, enter the Setup screen, change the settings as desired and save the settings by pressing F6.

If a valid file exists, you must be in the current directory or you must indicate where it is, using either the environment variable EM615PATH or the /D command line parameter. See the "Configuration & Setup" section for more information.

If the Font files cannot be accessed as well, the screen will clear after the Welcome screen disappears and the only key that will work is Alt-X to exit the emulator.

12. When running on a machine with a VESA compatible video controller, EM615-G or INSTALL just hangs? Nothing happens at all. Why?

EM615-G is compiled with support for VESA graphics compatibility but there are some video chips that have been known to have problems with programs compiled with Microsoft compilers. Microsoft currently distributes a TSR to solve this problem called VESA1D.EXE, created by Western Digital specifically for the Western Digital VESA controllers. This file is also on your EM615-G diskette. Try running it and if you get a message stating that the VESA support utility loaded then try EM615-G or INSTALL again. Contact your video controller manufacturer for more details.

13. When running EM615-G the cursor moves around the screen and all other functions appear to work but the data received from the host is not displayed.